Korg Microkey Air Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Korg's Microkey Air 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 explain all you need to know on using the Korg Microkey Air with Ableton Live. This includes connecting, setting up and midi mapping the Microkey Air.

Article Contents

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

Does the Korg Microkey Air work with Ableton Live?

In a nutshell, the Korg Microkey Air is able to work fully with Ableton Live.

Although Ableton Live does not come with a MIDI remote script, the Microkey Air can still be mapped to many of the software's functions.

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 Microkey Air 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 Microkey Air.

Does the Korg Microkey Air come with ableton Live included?

The Microkey Air doesn’t come with a copy of Ableton Live Lite, so this would need to be purchased separately.

There are three main versions with Ableton Live: Intro, Standard and Suite. Though Intro and Standard are both comprehensive, Suite offers much more, such as 70GB of library sounds, in comparison 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 Microkey Air to ableton

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

Set up of the Microkey Air with Ableton Live is now complete.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

After linking up the Korg Microkey Air to Ableton Live using the steps provided, you can now assign the physical buttons, pads, keys etc on the device to specific functions within Ableton Live via MIDI mapping as follows:

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

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

Saving your Microkey Air 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

With a one-to-one MIDI mapping, each control on your Microkey Air 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 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 Microkey Air, 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 Microkey Air's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Microkey Air,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Microkey Air, 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 Microkey Air in Ableton Live?

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