Frontier Design Tranzport Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

The Tranzport from Frontier Design is an incredibly versatile midi controller and is a powerful tool when used in combination with Ableton Live. The Akai MPK Mini has a wealth of features that make it perfect for use with Ableton Live.

This tutorial will show you the whole process of how to operate the Frontier Design Tranzport with Ableton Live. It will cover the steps of connecting, setting up and midi mapping the Tranzport.

Article Contents

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

Does the Frontier Design Tranzport work with Ableton Live?

In short, yes, the Frontier Design Tranzport is compatible with Ableton Live.

The Tranzport is equipped with a standard midi remote script in Ableton Live, so you just need to connect it (see instructions below) to get it working.

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 Tranzport is a MIDI enabled device, it will work with Ableton Live.

Making your own midi mappings is a breeze with Ableton Live, which gives you the ability to control a lot of components of the software with your Tranzport.

Does the Frontier Design Tranzport come with ableton Live included?

The Tranzport doesn’t come with a copy of Ableton Live Lite, so this would need 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're looking to make sure you have the full range of Audio and MIDI effects, we suggest you go with Ableton Live Suite, as it has far more than the Standard edition.

How to connect the Tranzport to ableton

Connecting the Frontier Design Tranzport with Ableton Live is pretty simple, and when the two are linked you'll be able to adjust the software's parameters from your midi controller.

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

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

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

Saving your Tranzport 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

A one-to-one MIDI mapping means that each control on your Tranzport can only be assigned to a single Ableton Live parameter.

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 Tranzport, 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 Tranzport's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Tranzport,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Tranzport, 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 Tranzport in Ableton Live?

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