Novation Flkey Mini Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Novation's Flkey Mini 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.

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

Article Contents

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

Does the Novation Flkey Mini work with Ableton Live?

In a nutshell, the Novation Flkey Mini is able to work fully with Ableton Live.

Although Ableton Live doesn’t provide a default MIDI remote script within its software for it, the Flkey Mini can still be midi mapped to many functions within the software.

All versions of Ableton Live, from Intro to Suite, are able to be utilized in collaboration with any equipment that sends MIDI data. This is applicable to all releases of Live, such as 9, 10, and 11. As the Flkey Mini is a MIDI enabled tool, it will be completely compatible 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 Flkey Mini.

Does the Novation Flkey Mini come with ableton Live included?

Ableton Live Lite is not included with the Flkey Mini, therefore it must be bought separately.

There are three main versions of Ableton Live: Intro, Standard and Suite. Even though Intro and Standard are both effective, Suite offers a lot more, including 70GB of library sounds, compared 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 Flkey Mini to ableton

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

The Flkey Mini is now ready for use with Ableton Live.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

After you have connected the Novation Flkey Mini to Ableton Live with the aforementioned steps, you can now use MIDI mapping to link up the physical knobs, pads, keys etc on the device to their corresponding features in Ableton Live:

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

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

Saving your Flkey Mini 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

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

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