$Page Using the APC40 MkII $TargetName Using the APC40 MkII APC40MkII.png The /APC40 MkII/ (Ableton Performance Controller) is a dedicated controller for Ableton Live, designed by the same engineering team responsible for Akai's iconic MPC range of products. This lesson will help you set up your APC40 MkII, and introduce its capabilities. Because the APC40 MkII is one of Live's plug-and-play compatible devices, it requires no special configuration. As long as it's powered on and connected to your computer's USB port, configuration should happen automatically. Click $Link here to launch a Live Set that you can work with while learning the APC40 MkII. Then click the /Next Page/ button at the bottom right of this lesson to proceed, or use the following links for quick reference: -> $Link Clip Launch Matrix -> $Link Session Overview -> $Link Mixer Section -> $Link Device Control -> $Link Transport and Tempo Control -> $Link Track Control -> $Link Crossfader -> $Link Using the Footswitch -> $Link Customizing the APC40 MkII Controls -> $Link Connecting Multiple APCs For a general introduction to using control surfaces with Live, as well as a list of how Live's devices are mapped across control surfaces, please see the $Link Control Surface Reference lesson. $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Clip Launch Matrix $TargetName Clip Launch Matrix The APC40 MkII's unique matrix of buttons gives you direct access to the clips in your Session View. The matrix has 40 RGB buttons arranged in a five-scene-deep-by-eight-track-wide grid. The smart color-coding system lets you know exactly what's happening in each clip, and simple directional controls let you move around inside your Session View. LaunchMatrix.png Pressing a /Clip Launch/ button triggers the clip in the corresponding clip slot in Live. If the track is armed to record, pressing the button records a new clip. The buttons in the matrix light up in different colors so you know what's going on: -> The color of non-playing clips in the Live Set will be shown on the corresponding pad on the APC40 MkII. -> Playing clips will pulse from green to white. -> Recording clips will pulse from red to white. Many aspects of the Live interface are replicated in the APC40 MkII. You can stop all music in a track with its /Clip Stop/ button and fire horizontal lines of clips with the /Scene Launch/ buttons. /Stop All Clips/ does just that. The controller tells you what's going on in the software, but, importantly, the software also reflects what's happening on the controller. The clip slots currently being controlled by the button matrix are shown in Live with a colored border. RedBorder.png Simple directional controls and the /Shift/ or /Bank/ buttons increase the scope of the eight-by-five grid: NavigateAndShift.png -> Pressing Up or Down moves you up or down one scene at a time. -> The Left and Right arrow keys move you left or right one track at a time. -> Hold Shift while pressing the arrow buttons to move the grid by eight tracks/five scenes at a time. Pressing Bank toggles Bank Lock on or off. When on, the arrows behave as if Shift is held down. $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Session Overview $TargetName Session Overview The APC40 MkII's /Session Overview/ lets you navigate through your Live Set quickly. Hold down the Shift button and the matrix zooms out to reveal an overview of your Session View. In the Session Overview, each button represents a five-scene-by-eight-track block of clips, giving you a matrix of 25 scenes by 64 tracks. Hit a button to focus on that section of the Session View. For example, hitting the Shift button and then pressing the button in row three, column one will put the focus on scenes 11-15 and tracks 1-8. In the Session Overview, the color coding is a little different: -> Yellow: indicates the currently selected block of clips, which will be surrounded by the red border in the software. -> Green: there are clips playing in that block of clips (though that may not be the block of clips selected). -> Red: there are no clips playing in that range. -> No color: there are no tracks or scenes in that range. $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Mixer Section $TargetName Mixer Section The APC40 MkII features eight tracks, each with its own /fader,/ /solo/pre-cue,/ /mute,/ /record arm,/ and /crossfader assign/ buttons. A /Master/ fader controls the master volume and a /Cue Level/ knob controls cue volume, so you can pre-listen to a clip or the metronome without your audience hearing it. MixerSection.png $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Device Control $TargetName Device Control The APC40 MkII features a set of /device control buttons/ and eight /endless dials/ that map to your devices automatically. DeviceControl.png The Track Selection buttons route the eight endless encoders to the first device or Rack on that track, with LED rings to automatically show you the levels of the selected parameter. /Device Left/ and /Device Right/ shift you to the previous or next device in a track's device chain. Some effects or virtual instruments have more than eight parameters. When one of these devices is selected, the /Bank Left/ and /Bank Right/ buttons shift to the previous or next bank of eight device parameter controls. The four buttons below give you additional control options: -> /Dev. On/Off/ turns the currently selected device on or off. -> /Dev. Lock/ locks the device control knobs to the currently selected device. -> /Clip/Dev. View/ lets you switch between viewing the devices on a track or the properties of a track's clip in the currently selected scene. -> /Detail View/ opens or closes the Clip/Device View. $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Transport and Tempo Control $TargetName Transport and Tempo Control Seven buttons and an encoder provide control of Live's transport and tempo functions: TransportAndTempo.png -> /Play/ toggles Live's transport on or off. Hold Shift while pressing Play to return Live's transport to 1.1.1 without starting playback. -> /Record/ toggles the Arrangement Record function. -> /Session/ toggles Session Record. -> /Metronome/ toggles the metronome on or off. /Tap Tempo/ and /Nudge -/+/ buttons are useful for live performance, helping you to stay in sync with turntables, other musicians or a live band, and correct timing issues quickly. As you hit the Tap Tempo button once every beat, the tempo of the Live Set will follow your tapping. You can also use tapping to count in: If you are working in a 4:4 signature, it takes four taps to start song playback at the tapped tempo. On stage and in the studio, you may find yourself in situations in which you need to adjust to sources that aren't locked to one tempo, such as live musicians or turntables. You can use the Nudge buttons to temporarily speed up or slow down Live's playback to match what you hear. The Tempo encoder adjusts Live's tempo in increments of one BPM. Holding Shift while adjusting will set the tempo in increments of .1 BPM. Additionally, Live's global launch quantization can be set from the APC40 MkII by holding Shift and pressing the Track Select buttons. $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Track Control $TargetName Track Control The Track Control encoders allow you to adjust pan, send levels, and additional user-assignable controls for whichever eight tracks are currently selected. TrackControl.png The corresponding buttons let you select what the encoders are controlling. Hold the Sends button while pressing one of the Track Select buttons to switch between controlling any of the first eight sends. Press User to switch the encoders to a User mode, allowing them to be freely mapped to the parameters of your choice. $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Crossfader $TargetName Crossfader The APC40 MkII's replaceable crossfader can stand up to some pretty brutal treatment. Not only an essential DJ control, it's also handy for controlling effect, volume and modulation curves. Crossfader.png Use the crossfade assign buttons to set any track as an A or B destination, and then crossfade between A and B with the crossfader. Normal wear and tear can render a crossfader obsolete. The APC40 MkII's crossfader is fully replaceable from the bottom of the device, so you can extend the lifetime of this already durable unit. $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Using the Footswitch $TargetName Using the Footswitch Connect a footswitch to the port on the back of the APC40 MkII to allow for hands-free control of Live's session recording functionality. A single tap of the footswitch will toggle Live's Session Record button, thus switching between recording/overdubbing and playback of the current clip. Quickly double-tapping the footswitch is the same as pressing Live's New button; it will prepare a scene for recording new clips. $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Customizing the APC40 MkII Controls $TargetName Customizing the APC40 MkII Controls You can change the assignment of all of the knobs, faders and buttons on the APC40 MkII. To prepare the APC40 MkII for custom mapping, you'll need to return to the /MIDI/Sync Tab/ of Live's Preferences. Then enable the Remote switch for the /Input/ and /Output/ ports for the APC40 MkII: CustomMappingSettings.png Enabling an input port's Remote switch tells Live that it should listen for MIDI control messages arriving from that port, while the Remote switch for the output port allows changes made within Live to be sent out to the controller. Now, by entering Live's /MIDI Map Mode,/ you can override the pre-assigned functions of all of the APC40 MkII's knobs, faders and buttons. Divider.tif *Tip:* If you have overridden the APC40 MkII's default mappings with manual mappings, you can easily switch back to the defaults by deactivating the Remote switch of the APC40 MkII's input port. Activating the switch again will re-establish your manual mappings. Divider.tif $Comment ----------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Connecting Multiple APCs $TargetName Connecting Multiple APCs When you connect more than one APC20, APC40 or APC40 MkII to Ableton Live, the controllers will automatically work in Combination Mode. You can use up to six total APCs side by side. The topmost controller selected in your preferences will control tracks 1-8, the second controller selected will control tracks 9-16, and so on. $Comment Status: Translate