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

Native Instruments's Maschine Jam is an exceptionally flexible midi controller and is a powerful tool when is used with Ableton Live. This midi controller has a plethora of features, making it perfect for Ableton Live.

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

Article Contents

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

Does the Native Instruments Maschine Jam work with Ableton Live?

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

Although Ableton Live does not come with a MIDI remote script, the Maschine Jam 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 Maschine Jam is a MIDI enabled device, it will work with Ableton Live.

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 Jam.

Does the Native Instruments Maschine Jam come with ableton Live included?

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

There are three main versions of Ableton Live: Intro, Standard and Suite. Whilst Intro and Standard are highly functional, Suite includes an additional 70GB library of sounds, in comparison 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 Maschine Jam to ableton

Linking the Native Instruments Maschine Jam to Ableton Live is a simple process, and when you have them connected you can control the software's parameters from your midi controller.

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

Set up of the Maschine Jam with Ableton Live is now complete.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

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

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

Saving your Maschine Jam Midi Mappings is cumbersome

When saving an Ableton session, your mappings will be saved as part of that session. Therefore, if you create a new session, you will need to remap your controls.

Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one

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

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