Arturia Keylab Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Arturia's Keylab 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 tutorial will show you the whole process of how to operate the Arturia Keylab with Ableton Live. It will cover the steps of connecting, setting up and midi mapping the Keylab.

Article Contents

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

Does the Arturia Keylab work with Ableton Live?

To put it briefly, the Arturia Keylab is compatible with Ableton Live.

The Keylab comes with a midi remote script to ensure it functions with Ableton Live, so just plug it in (see the instructions below to see how) and you're good to go.

All versions of Ableton Live, from Intro to Suite, are able to be utilized in collaboration with any equipment that sends MIDI data. This is applicable to all releases of Live, such as 9, 10, and 11. As the Keylab is a MIDI enabled tool, it will be completely compatible with Ableton Live.

Creating your own midi mappings in Ableton is simple, and gives you the ability to control a variety of Ableton Live's components with your Keylab.

Does the Arturia Keylab come with ableton Live included?

You get a complimentary version of Ableton Live Lite with the Keylab, but its worth noting that the features of Ableton Live Lite are not as full as those of Ableton Live Standard or Suite.

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.

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 Keylab to ableton

Linking the Arturia Keylab to Ableton Live is a simple process, and when you have them connected you can control the software's parameters from your midi keyboard.

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

The Keylab is all set and can now be used with Ableton Live.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

Upon making a successful connection between the Arturia Keylab and Ableton Live using the instructions above, you can now use MIDI mapping to allocate the physical knobs, pads, keys etc on the device to their respective functions in Ableton Live like this:

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

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

Saving your Keylab Midi Mappings is cumbersome

Saving your mappings can be a problem as mappings are saved with an Ableton session, so if you start a new session you will need to re-map your controls again.

Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one

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

Limited Ableton parameter options to map to

When using Ableton's internal midi mapping mode, unfortunately now all options are available, controls such as selected track and selected device control aren't currently possible. View a full list of Ableton midi mapping options here.

We have a great solution to these problems

If you're looking to get the most out of your Keylab, 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 Keylab's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Keylab,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Keylab, 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 Keylab in Ableton Live?

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