Advanced MIDI With E-Drums/Sample Pads And Ableton Live

If you’re a drummer that uses Ableton Live, you should definitely check out the website abletondrummer.com. This site includes a wealth of knowledge, tutorials, and tools on how to get more out of our electronic drums using Ableton Live.

Note: We are not affiliated with abletondrummer in any way. We’re sharing this as it’s a great resource for those that want to get more out of their e-drums with Ableton Live.

If you’re looking for a basic guide on how to map and sync MIDI with your drum pad, then check out our guide here.

AbletonDrummer.com was created by Tobi Hunke as a great resource while also offering optional extras and teaching services.

The catalogue includes paid devices and a separate selection of free or donation-based tools. Check the exact device page before downloading: a free Max for Live device still needs a compatible Live installation and the appropriate Max for Live licence.

If you’re unsure of how to record or MIDI connect your electronic drum pad to your computer, then you can also check out our article: how to record electronic drums to your computer.

Why experiment with more advanced MIDI setups?

These days, we’re seeing more and more drummers using advanced hybrid setups and interesting drum triggered electronic performances.

You could connect a drum trigger to your bass drum and make it trigger a beefy club style kick sample through the PA for live performances.

You could also get an electronic drum pad such as a Roland SPD-SX, Octapad, or Yamaha DTX-Multi-12 and use that alongside your acoustic kit.

However, if you’re really looking to experiment with different types of sounds, then the available options might end up becoming quite limiting.

Using your drum pads, it can be a lot more challenging to do things such as alter sounds and effects of other virtual instruments, trigger drum loops with good flexibility, or execute more advanced midi sequencing.

That’s where the following types of devices can be very useful.

Drummers often don’t have free hands to tweak knobs, play keys, or push buttons, so some of these options are great ways to automate some of these processes.

The following is a quick rundown of the kinds of tools available on AbletonDrummer.com. Start with one task you want to control, such as sustaining a note or launching a clip, then choose a device that handles that task.

Max for Live Devices

• A device that allows you to control MIDI mappable parameters based off the velocity of your midi controller. Most sample pads have pretty decent velocity detection.
• A device that enables for endless MIDI notes. Drum pad signals are almost always short bursts because they represent drum strokes. This device allows you to create endless notes, which can be very useful.
• A device to help you to play loops through Ableton drum racks or simpler.
• MIDI Sequencing devices, such as ‘Round Robin’, which allows an individual pad to sequence through a set of predefined samples. You could use similar drum sounds with slightly different timbres or effects to get a more natural sound.

For example, Velocity to MIDI CC turns the strength of a drum hit into a control-change value. You can use that value to control a mapped effect rather than only switching it on and off. Endless Notes keeps a note active until another note arrives, with a separate NoteOff control to stop it. Add a reachable stop control before using sustained notes on stage.

These are devices that run inside Live, rather than standalone drum instruments or VST/AU plugins. Read each device’s minimum Live and Max requirements, load it on the intended MIDI track, and check the incoming notes before mapping the rest of your kit. Test soft and hard hits as well as the foot controls you use.

Remote MIDI devices for Electronic Drum Pads

AbletonDrummer offers Max for Live tools for remote control of Live, with both paid and free or donation-based downloads. The current device catalogue separates these categories. Do not assume that every remote-control device is free.

For example, a pad can control actions such as the metronome, recording or scene selection instead of playing a drum sound. The 16 MIDI Remote Buttons device provides assignable buttons for remote actions, including actions outside Live’s normal MIDI mapping. Map only the pads you intend to use for control so they do not interrupt your performance.

The original resource covered devices for the following controllers. Check the current download and manual for your exact controller and Live version rather than assuming an old controller-specific preset supports every newer model:

Max for Live is included with Live Suite and is available as a separate add-on for Live Standard. The Max application is bundled with Live 10 and later, but installation and licence entitlement are different things. Owning Standard without the add-on does not give you access to arbitrary third-party Max for Live devices.

• Yamaha DTX Multi 12
• BopPad
• DrumKat
• alesis samplepad pro
• Millenium MD-90
• Roland SPD-SX

Courses

The site offers courses and individual teaching. We haven’t enrolled in the courses. Read the current syllabus and check the required Live edition before choosing one, particularly if your goal is electronic-drum mapping rather than general production.

Patreon

If you like what Tobi is doing, check the site’s current support options. Use the developer’s own links for memberships or donations, and keep those separate from the licence needed to use a particular device.