Native Instruments Maschine Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

The Maschine from Native Instruments 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.

In this tutorial you will learn everything you need to know about using the Native Instruments Maschine with Ableton Live. including how to connect, setup and midi map the Maschine.

Article Contents

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

Does the Native Instruments Maschine work with Ableton Live?

To sum it up, the Native Instruments Maschine is fully compatible with Ableton Live.

The lack of a MIDI remote script in Ableton Live does not restrict users from midi mapping the Maschine to multiple functions inside the program.

All versions of Ableton Live, Intro, Lite, standard and suite can be used in conjunction with pretty much any device which sends MIDI data, and it will work with all versions of Live such as 9, 10 and 11. As the Maschine is a MIDI enabled device it will be fully compatible with Ableton.

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 Maschine.

Does the Native Instruments Maschine come with ableton Live included?

Ableton Live Lite is not provided with the Maschine, so it needs 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.

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 Maschine to ableton

Connecting and setting up the Native Instruments Maschine 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 controller.

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

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

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

Saving your Maschine 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

Through a one-to-one MIDI mapping, each control on your Maschine can only be assigned to 1 parameter in Ableton Live.

Limited Ableton parameter options to map to

When using Ableton's internal midi mapping mode, unfortunately now all options are available, controls such as selected track and selected device control aren't currently possible. View a full list of Ableton midi mapping options here.

We have a great solution to these problems

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

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