Arturia Keylab Essential 88 Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

The Arturia Keylab Essential 88 is a highly versatile midi controller and is a powerful instrument when used in combination with Ableton Live. This midi keyboard has a great selection of features that make it perfect for your Ableton Live setup.

In this tutorial you will learn everything you need to know about using the Arturia Keylab Essential 88 with Ableton Live. including how to connect, setup and midi map the Keylab Essential 88.

Article Contents

Does the Arturia Keylab Essential 88 work with Ableton Live?
Does the Arturia Keylab Essential 88 come with ableton Live included?
How to connect the Keylab Essential 88 to ableton
How to midi map the Arturia Keylab Essential 88 in Ableton Live
The Limitations of midi mapping the Keylab Essential 88
Why can’t I hear my Push in Ableton Live?

Does the Arturia Keylab Essential 88 work with Ableton Live?

In a nutshell, the Arturia Keylab Essential 88 is able to work fully with Ableton Live.

The Keylab Essential 88 is pre-programmed with a midi remote script in Ableton Live, so all you have to do is connect it (refer to the information below on how to do that).

All forms of Ableton Live, Intro, Lite, Standard and Suite, can work with practically any instrument that sends out MIDI data, and it will be compatible with all versions of Live such as 9, 10 and 11. Due to this, the Keylab Essential 88 will be usable 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 Essential 88.

Does the Arturia Keylab Essential 88 come with ableton Live included?

The Keylab Essential 88 includes a complimentary version of Ableton Live Lite, but its available features are not as extensive as those in 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.

For those seeking the full range of Audio and MIDI effects, we highly suggest purchasing Ableton Live Suite, as it offers significantly more than the Standard edition.

How to connect the Keylab Essential 88 to ableton

Linking the Arturia Keylab Essential 88 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 Essential 88 to your computer via USB.
First, connect the USB cable to both the Keylab Essential 88 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 Essential 88 from the list of available devices.
Click the the MIDI Sync tab, make sure that Input and Output for the Keylab Essential 88 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 Essential 88 (Sync can also be optionally checked).

The Keylab Essential 88 is now ready for use with Ableton Live.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

After you have connected the Arturia Keylab Essential 88 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 Keylab Essential 88, such as a knob or fader.
4. The parameter you selected is now mapped to the physical control which you moved on the Keylab Essential 88.
5. Moving the physical control on your Keylab Essential 88 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 Essential 88

Ableton's midi mapping system is a great solution for quickly mapping your Keylab Essential 88, however, you must take into account some potential limitations...

Saving your Keylab Essential 88 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

A one-to-one MIDI mapping means that each button or knob on your Keylab Essential 88 can only be assigned to control a single parameter in Ableton Live.

Limited Ableton parameter options to map to

Unfortunately, Ableton's internal midi mapping mode does not include every control options, options such as selected track control and selected device control unfortunately aren't possible. You can view a comprehensive list of all 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 Essential 88, 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 Essential 88's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Keylab Essential 88,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Keylab Essential 88, 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 Essential 88 in Ableton Live?

There are several possible causes:
1. Make sure that the Keylab Essential 88 is connected properly to your computer via USB and that the cable is not damaged.
2. Make sure that the Keylab Essential 88 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 Essential 88.
4. Make sure that the Keylab Essential 88 is selected as the input device in Ableton's MIDI Preferences.