Arturia Minilab Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

The Arturia Minilab 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 Minilab with Ableton Live. including how to connect, setup and midi map the Minilab.

Article Contents

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

Does the Arturia Minilab work with Ableton Live?

To sum it up, the Arturia Minilab is fully compatible with Ableton Live.

Ableton live provides a default midi remote script for the Minilab, meaning it will work with Ableton Live as soon as you connect it (see the section below on how to connect to ableton).

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 Minilab is a MIDI enabled tool, it will be completely compatible with Ableton Live.

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 Minilab.

Does the Arturia Minilab come with ableton Live included?

Yes the Minilab comes with a free copy of Ableton Live Lite. Although it has unlimited usage, the available features are a lot less than what is available in the full versions 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.

For those who want to guarantee they have access to the largest selection of Audio and MIDI effects, we suggest investing in Ableton Live Suite, as it has a much larger selection than the Standard edition.

How to connect the Minilab to ableton

Connecting and setting up the Arturia Minilab with Ableton Live is a relatively simple process, once you have the 2 linked together you will be able to control parameters of the software from your midi keyboard.

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

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

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

Saving your Minilab Midi Mappings is cumbersome

Be aware that when saving your mappings, they will be stored with the Ableton session. Therefore, starting a new session will require you to re-map your controls.

Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one

With a one-to-one MIDI mapping, each control on your Minilab can only be assigned to a single parameter in Ableton Live.

Limited Ableton parameter options to map to

Unfortunately, Ableton's internal midi mapping mode does not provide every control option, so options such as controlling the selected track or selected device aren't possible. A full list of Ableton midi mapping options can be found here.

We have a great solution to these problems

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

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