Pioneer Cdj 900 Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Pioneer's Cdj 900 is a fantastically adaptable midi DJ controller 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 teach you everything needed in order to use the Pioneer Cdj 900 with Ableton Live, including the processes of linking, setting up and midi mapping the Cdj 900.

Article Contents

Does the Pioneer Cdj 900 work with Ableton Live?
Does the Pioneer Cdj 900 come with ableton Live included?
How to connect the Cdj 900 to ableton
How to midi map the Pioneer Cdj 900 in Ableton Live
The Limitations of midi mapping the Cdj 900
Why can’t I hear my Push in Ableton Live?

Does the Pioneer Cdj 900 work with Ableton Live?

To sum it up, the Pioneer Cdj 900 is fully compatible with Ableton Live.

Despite the absence of a built-in MIDI remote script within Ableton Live, users can still use the Cdj 900 to midi map to numerous functions in the software.

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 Cdj 900 is a MIDI enabled device it will be fully compatible with Ableton.

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 Cdj 900.

Does the Pioneer Cdj 900 come with ableton Live included?

Ableton Live Lite is not provided with the Cdj 900, 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.

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 Cdj 900 to ableton

Connecting the Pioneer Cdj 900 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 DJ controller.

1. Connect the Cdj 900 to your computer via USB.
First, connect the USB cable to both the Cdj 900 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 Cdj 900 from the list of available devices.
Click the the MIDI Sync tab, make sure that Input and Output for the Cdj 900 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 Cdj 900 (Sync can also be optionally checked).

The Cdj 900 is all set and can now be used with Ableton Live.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

Upon making a successful connection between the Pioneer Cdj 900 and Ableton Live using the instructions above, you can now use MIDI mapping to allocate the physical knobs, pads, keys etc on the device to their respective functions in Ableton Live like this:

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 Cdj 900, such as a knob or fader.
4. The parameter you selected is now mapped to the physical control which you moved on the Cdj 900.
5. Moving the physical control on your Cdj 900 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 Cdj 900

For the fastest way to map your Cdj 900, you can't go wrong with Ableton's midi mapping system, but make sure you take into account these limitations...

Saving your Cdj 900 Midi Mappings is cumbersome

Saving your mappings can be a problem as mappings are saved with an Ableton session, so if you start a new session you will need to re-map your controls again.

Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one

Through a one-to-one MIDI mapping, each control on your Cdj 900 can only be assigned to 1 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 Cdj 900, 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 Cdj 900's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Cdj 900,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Cdj 900, 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 Cdj 900 in Ableton Live?

There are several possible causes:
1. Make sure that the Cdj 900 is connected properly to your computer via USB and that the cable is not damaged.
2. Make sure that the Cdj 900 is selected as your audio input and output device in your audio settings.
3. Make sure that the correct driver is installed for the Cdj 900.
4. Make sure that the Cdj 900 is selected as the input device in Ableton's MIDI Preferences.