Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

The Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 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.

This guide will provide you with all the knowledge necessary to utilize the Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 with Ableton Live, which includes how to connect, configure and midi map the K Board Pro 4.

Article Contents

Does the Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 work with Ableton Live?
Does the Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 come with ableton Live included?
How to connect the K Board Pro 4 to ableton
How to midi map the Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 in Ableton Live
The Limitations of midi mapping the K Board Pro 4
Why can’t I hear my Push in Ableton Live?

Does the Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 work with Ableton Live?

In a nutshell, the Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 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 K Board Pro 4 to multiple functions inside the program.

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 K Board Pro 4 is a MIDI enabled device, it will work 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 K Board Pro 4.

Does the Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 come with ableton Live included?

Ableton Live Lite is not provided with the K Board Pro 4, 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.

Ableton Live Suite includes many more Audio and MIDI effects compared to Standard, so if you want to ensure you have everything, we recommend going with Ableton Live Suite.

How to connect the K Board Pro 4 to ableton

Connecting the Keith Mcmillen K Board Pro 4 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 keyboard.

1. Connect the K Board Pro 4 to your computer via USB.
First, connect the USB cable to both the K Board Pro 4 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 K Board Pro 4 from the list of available devices.
Click the the MIDI Sync tab, make sure that Input and Output for the K Board Pro 4 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 K Board Pro 4 (Sync can also be optionally checked).

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

With Ableton's midi mapping system, you can swiftly map your K Board Pro 4, however, you must be aware of a few restrictions...

Saving your K Board Pro 4 Midi Mappings is cumbersome

It is important to note that your mappings are stored with the Ableton session when saving. Consequently, when you create a new session, you will have to remap your controls again.

Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one

A one-to-one MIDI mapping indicates that each control on your K Board Pro 4 is capable of controlling only one 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 K Board Pro 4, 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 K Board Pro 4's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your K Board Pro 4,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your K Board Pro 4, 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 K Board Pro 4 in Ableton Live?

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