I had been trying to figure a way to use Ableton and Axe-edit together while syncing tempo's without the aid of a dedicated Audio/MIDI interface since I finally got my Axe-FX back in November. Didn't find a thread with people describing the issue precisely until today which dated back to 2011. It did not contain a solution but fueled my thoughts and ultimately lead me to success, so here I am to give back some of the fascinating knowledge this forum has given to me. My method is specialized but the concept can be repurposed.
1) Enable IAC within OS X
2) Disable sync to Axe-FX in Live's MIDI settings
3) Enable Live's sync to an IAC bus of your choice
Now for the specialized part, I'm sure there are other apps/plugins which would serve this purpose as well but I use the Mobius looper plugin as the second most integral element of my music next to the Axe-FX. Mobius is absolutely staggering for many many reasons if you can wrap your head around it but that's beyond the scope of this post. Really any plugin which can independently select a MIDI in and MIDI through device, theoretically, should suffice.
4) Open Mobius's MIDI Device settings
5) Set Plugin Input Device to whichever IAC bus you chose earlier
6) Set Plugin Through Device to Axe FX MIDI In.
And viola; Ableton's tempo is sent to IAC, IAC sends it to Mobius which then sends the clock to your Axe-FX without intercepting/blocking/interfering/whatevering Axe-Edit's data. Chase tone while producing to your hearts delight.
I am no longer concerned about investing in a rack unit audio/midi interface for ease of setup. Just gotta to figure out a way to monitor reamping without S/PDIF or direct monitoring via an external interface. Thinking maybe the FX loop block will get me there...
Hopefully this helps someone out there, realizing Ableton's MIDI was the issue, not the Axe-FX's audio driver was the realization that allowed me to break the barrier.
1) Enable IAC within OS X
2) Disable sync to Axe-FX in Live's MIDI settings
3) Enable Live's sync to an IAC bus of your choice
Now for the specialized part, I'm sure there are other apps/plugins which would serve this purpose as well but I use the Mobius looper plugin as the second most integral element of my music next to the Axe-FX. Mobius is absolutely staggering for many many reasons if you can wrap your head around it but that's beyond the scope of this post. Really any plugin which can independently select a MIDI in and MIDI through device, theoretically, should suffice.
4) Open Mobius's MIDI Device settings
5) Set Plugin Input Device to whichever IAC bus you chose earlier
6) Set Plugin Through Device to Axe FX MIDI In.
And viola; Ableton's tempo is sent to IAC, IAC sends it to Mobius which then sends the clock to your Axe-FX without intercepting/blocking/interfering/whatevering Axe-Edit's data. Chase tone while producing to your hearts delight.
I am no longer concerned about investing in a rack unit audio/midi interface for ease of setup. Just gotta to figure out a way to monitor reamping without S/PDIF or direct monitoring via an external interface. Thinking maybe the FX loop block will get me there...
Hopefully this helps someone out there, realizing Ableton's MIDI was the issue, not the Axe-FX's audio driver was the realization that allowed me to break the barrier.
