Akai Advance 25 Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Akai's Advance 25 is a fantastically adaptable midi keyboard that is extremely useful when coupled with Ableton Live. This device has a great range of features, making it ideal as an Ableton Live controller.

This guide will provide you with all the knowledge necessary to utilize the Akai Advance 25 with Ableton Live, which includes how to connect, configure and midi map the Advance 25.

Article Contents

Does the Akai Advance 25 work with Ableton Live?
Does the Akai Advance 25 come with ableton Live included?
How to connect the Advance 25 to ableton
How to midi map the Akai Advance 25 in Ableton Live
The Limitations of midi mapping the Advance 25
Why can’t I hear my Push in Ableton Live?

Does the Akai Advance 25 work with Ableton Live?

To sum it up, the Akai Advance 25 is fully compatible with Ableton Live.

Out of the box, the Advance 25 has a midi remote script that is compatible with Ableton Live, so once you connect it (check the section below for more info) it is ready to go.

Any edition of Ableton Live, from Intro to Suite, will be compatible with any device that transmits MIDI data. This works for all editions of Live, for instance 9, 10, and 11. As the Advance 25 is a MIDI enabled device, it will work with Ableton Live.

You can easily create midi mappings for Ableton, allowing you to access many functions of Ableton Live with your Advance 25.

Does the Akai Advance 25 come with ableton Live included?

The Advance 25 does not have Ableton Live Lite, it must be purchased independently.

There are three main versions of Ableton Live: Intro, Standard and Suite. Although Intro and Standard are both powerful, Suite offers extra features, such as 70GB of library sounds, in contrast to Standard's 10GB.

Ableton Live Suite includes many more Audio and MIDI effects compared to Standard, so if you want to ensure you have everything, we recommend going with Ableton Live Suite.

How to connect the Advance 25 to ableton

Connecting and setting up the Akai Advance 25 with Ableton Live is a simple task, after they're connected you'll be able to adjust the software's parameters from your midi keyboard.

1. Connect the Advance 25 to your computer via USB.
First, connect the USB cable to both the Advance 25 and your computer.
2. Launch Ableton Live and open the MIDI preferences.
Double click the Ableton Live icon to launch the software. Then, in the top menu of Ableton, go to the Preferences menu by opening the ‘Live’ menu and clicking ‘Preferences’.
3. Select the Advance 25 from the list of available devices.
Click the the MIDI Sync tab, make sure that Input and Output for the Advance 25 are checked.
4. Ensure that the ‘Track’, ‘Remote’ and ‘Sync’ boxes are all checked.
In the ‘MIDI’ section of this tab, make sure the ‘Track’ and ‘Remote’ boxes are checked for both the Input and Output of the Advance 25 (Sync can also be optionally checked).

The Advance 25 is now ready for use with Ableton Live.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

After you have connected the Akai Advance 25 to Ableton Live with the aforementioned steps, you can now use MIDI mapping to link up the physical knobs, pads, keys etc on the device to their corresponding features in Ableton Live:

1. Select the MIDI Map Mode button in the top right corner of the Live window. The button should turn orange, indicating that the MIDI Map Mode is enabled.
2. Select the parameter you wish to control in Ableton by clicking it with the cursor, the parameter will become highlighted.
3. Move a control on the Advance 25, such as a knob or fader.
4. The parameter you selected is now mapped to the physical control which you moved on the Advance 25.
5. Moving the physical control on your Advance 25 will now move the position of the corresponding parameter in Ableton.
6. Repeat steps 2 - 4 for any other parameters you wish to map.
7. When you’re finished mapping, press the MIDI Map Mode button again to disable it.

The Limitations of midi mapping the Advance 25

For the fastest way to map your Advance 25, you can't go wrong with Ableton's midi mapping system, but make sure you take into account these limitations...

Saving your Advance 25 Midi Mappings is cumbersome

It is important to note that your mappings are stored with the Ableton session when saving. Consequently, when you create a new session, you will have to remap your controls again.

Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one

A one-to-one MIDI mapping indicates that each control on your Advance 25 is capable of controlling only one parameter in Ableton Live.

Limited Ableton parameter options to map to

Ableton’s internal midi mapping mode is unfortunately missing many control options. Options such as selected track and selected device control aren’t possible using this method. You can see a list of all available Ableton midi mapping options here.

We have a great solution to these problems

If you're looking to get the most out of your Advance 25, our Ableton Midi Script Creator tool 'Control Surface Studio' is exactly what you need!
With it, you'll be able to:
- save and re-use your Advance 25's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Advance 25,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Advance 25, than Live's internal midi mapping mode allows.

Learn more about Control Surface Studio and see how it can help you by clicking here!

FAQ / Troubleshooting

Why can't I hear my Advance 25 in Ableton Live?

There are several possible causes:
1. Make sure that the Advance 25 is connected properly to your computer via USB and that the cable is not damaged.
2. Make sure that the Advance 25 is selected as your audio input and output device in your audio settings.
3. Make sure that the correct driver is installed for the Advance 25.
4. Make sure that the Advance 25 is selected as the input device in Ableton's MIDI Preferences.