Using Ableton Live to switch Helix Setlists/Patches/Snapshots

[stevenallen81]

Hi there,

 

I have been trying to figure how to change setlists/patches/snapshots with midi through ableton live.  Having read the manual and had an extensive look here/online, I could gather that:

 

Change a Setlist - CC32 - to whichever is needed

Change a Patch - PC - to the relevant one

Change a snapshot - CC69 - to the relevant snapshot

 

The ultimate aim is that I run backing tracks through Live (as of up to now I have been running scenes for each song in session view) And can leave the Helix offstage, but having some issues.

 

So I have been creating a midi clip under the audio track needed in arangemenrt view.  As the setlist needed was the first one, I had not input anything CC32 wise, I had input the PC as the relevant patch, and then in the envelope, selected 69 and drawn a line between 0 and 3 to trigger the relevant snapshot as the track moves on through.

 

My main issue is that at points I can do this and it seems to work fine, then I run the track again and just either doesnt work, or selects different snapshots.

 

A few things that I had noticed:

- For a patch change the PC number had to be 1 higher than the actual number for some reason?

- When trying to change to a different setlist, I have had to put the bank as 36, the sub as the correct one (3 ikn this case) and then the PC as the correct one (2 in this case) and it would work.

 

But then again I would try the track agian and just would not work.

 

So am hoping/praying/begging that someone may be able to give me a breakdown on how to do this from scratch, am reletively new to midi so just working things out for myself, but seem to be hitting a brick wall.  Ideally, where do I set the CC32 number to select the setlist, then the same with the patch and snapshot, and get this working in a live situation.

 

Have attached a screenshot to show how the notes/envelope is setup.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

 

Many Many thanks

Steve

 

[jackwagner]

I don't have any experience controlling the Helix via MIDI. I want to do the opposite - use Helix to control Ableton. I want to be able to select a specific Ableton Live set when I switch from Preset A to Preset B. Good luck, I hope to learn something by following this thread.

 

--jack

[rd2rk]

2 hours ago, jackwagner said:

I don't have any experience controlling the Helix via MIDI. I want to do the opposite - use Helix to control Ableton. I want to be able to select a specific Ableton Live set when I switch from Preset A to Preset B. Good luck, I hope to learn something by following this thread.

 

--jack

 

Unlike a preset, a Live Set is a file, with a file extension (.als). It lives in the computer's file system. There's no way to call a file system function (LOAD PATH/PROGRAM/FILE) using MIDI, even from within Ableton.

.

Once you've loaded a Live Set manually, most other Ableton functions can be controlled with MIDI from your Helix. For instance, within a Live Set, you could load a different selection of VST presets by setting the VSTs to "listen" on different MIDI Channels, then send Program Changes on those channels using Instant Commands.

[rd2rk]

19 hours ago, stevenallen81 said:

But then again I would try the track agian and just would not work.

 

You're not the first to notice this. There's another thread on that subject which, last time I checked, had no solution.

 

 

I suggest that you might have better luck on an Ableton forum.