Allen And Heath Xone K2 Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Allen And Heath's Xone K2 is an exceptionally flexible midi controller and is a powerful tool when is used with Ableton Live. This midi controller has a plethora of features, making it perfect for Ableton Live.

In this tutorial you will learn everything you need to know about using the Allen And Heath Xone K2 with Ableton Live. including how to connect, setup and midi map the Xone K2.

Article Contents

Does the Allen And Heath Xone K2 work with Ableton Live?
Does the Allen And Heath Xone K2 come with ableton Live included?
How to connect the Xone K2 to ableton
How to midi map the Allen And Heath Xone K2 in Ableton Live
The Limitations of midi mapping the Xone K2
Why can’t I hear my Push in Ableton Live?

Does the Allen And Heath Xone K2 work with Ableton Live?

In a nutshell, the Allen And Heath Xone K2 is able to work fully with Ableton Live.

The lack of a MIDI remote script in Ableton Live does not restrict users from midi mapping the Xone K2 to multiple functions inside the program.

All versions of Ableton Live, Intro, Lite, standard and suite can be used in conjunction with pretty much any device which sends MIDI data, and it will work with all versions of Live such as 9, 10 and 11. As the Xone K2 is a MIDI enabled device it will be fully compatible with Ableton.

You can create your own Ableton midi mappings with ease, giving you the power to control many of the features of Ableton Live with your Xone K2.

Does the Allen And Heath Xone K2 come with ableton Live included?

Ableton Live Lite is not provided with the Xone K2, so it needs to be purchased separately.

Ableton Live has 3 main versions, Intro, Standard and Suite. Whilst Intro and Standard are very capable pieces of software, the Suite version packs more in, such as over 70GB of library sounds compared to Standard’s 10GB.

If you prefer to have all the Audio and MIDI effects, we recommend getting Ableton Live Suite, because it comes with much more of them than the Standard edition.

How to connect the Xone K2 to ableton

Linking and configuring the Allen And Heath Xone K2 to Ableton Live is not too complicated, and once you have them paired together you can control the software's settings from your midi controller.

1. Connect the Xone K2 to your computer via USB.
First, connect the USB cable to both the Xone K2 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 Xone K2 from the list of available devices.
Click the the MIDI Sync tab, make sure that Input and Output for the Xone K2 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 Xone K2 (Sync can also be optionally checked).

The Xone K2 will now be setup and ready to use with Ableton Live.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

After successfully connecting the Allen And Heath Xone K2 to Ableton live following the steps above, you can now MIDI map the physical knobs, pads, keys etc on the device to functionality within Ableton Live by doing the following:

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 Xone K2, such as a knob or fader.
4. The parameter you selected is now mapped to the physical control which you moved on the Xone K2.
5. Moving the physical control on your Xone K2 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 Xone K2

For the fastest way to map your Xone K2, you can't go wrong with Ableton's midi mapping system, but make sure you take into account these limitations...

Saving your Xone K2 Midi Mappings is cumbersome

Mappings are saved along with your Ableton session. Therefore, if a new session is created, you must re-map all of your controls.

Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one

With a one-to-one MIDI mapping, each control on your Xone K2 can only be assigned to a single 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 Xone K2, 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 Xone K2's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Xone K2,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Xone K2, 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 Xone K2 in Ableton Live?

There are several possible causes:
1. Make sure that the Xone K2 is connected properly to your computer via USB and that the cable is not damaged.
2. Make sure that the Xone K2 is selected as your audio input and output device in your audio settings.
3. Make sure that the correct driver is installed for the Xone K2.
4. Make sure that the Xone K2 is selected as the input device in Ableton's MIDI Preferences.