Roland A-500 Pro Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Roland's A-500 Pro is an exceptionally flexible midi keyboard and is a powerful tool when is used with Ableton Live. This midi keyboard 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 Roland A-500 Pro with Ableton Live. including how to connect, setup and midi map the A-500 Pro.

Article Contents

1. Does the Roland A-500 Pro work with Ableton Live?
2. Does the Roland A-500 Pro come with ableton Live included?
3. How to connect the A-500 Pro to ableton
4. How to midi map the Roland A-500 Pro in Ableton Live
5. The Limitations of midi mapping the A-500 Pro
   1. Saving your A-500 Pro Midi Mappings is cumbersome
   2. Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one
   3. Limited Ableton parameter options to map to
   4. A great solution to these problems
6. Why can’t I hear my Push in Ableton Live?

Does the Roland A-500 Pro work with Ableton Live?

In short, yes, the Roland A-500 Pro is compatible with Ableton Live.

The A-500 Pro is equipped with a standard midi remote script in Ableton Live, so you just need to connect it (see instructions below) to get it working.

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 A-500 Pro is a MIDI enabled device, it will work 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 A-500 Pro.

Does the Roland A-500 Pro come with ableton Live included?

The A-500 Pro 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.

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 A-500 Pro to ableton

Linking the Roland A-500 Pro 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 A-500 Pro to your computer via USB.
First, connect the USB cable to both the A-500 Pro 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 A-500 Pro from the list of available devices.
Click the the MIDI Sync tab, make sure that Input and Output for the A-500 Pro 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 A-500 Pro (Sync can also be optionally checked).

The A-500 Pro 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 Roland A-500 Pro 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 A-500 Pro, such as a knob or fader.
4. The parameter you selected is now mapped to the physical control which you moved on the A-500 Pro.
5. Moving the physical control on your A-500 Pro 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 A-500 Pro

Ableton’s midi mapping system provides a great way to quickly map your A-500 Pro, there are however, some limitations to be aware of...

Saving your A-500 Pro 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 A-500 Pro 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 provide every control option, so options such as controlling the selected track or selected device aren't possible. A full list of Ableton midi mapping options can be found here.

We have a great solution to these problems

If you're looking to get the most out of your A-500 Pro, 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 A-500 Pro's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your A-500 Pro,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your A-500 Pro, 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 A-500 Pro in Ableton Live?

There are several possible causes:
1. Make sure that the A-500 Pro is connected properly to your computer via USB and that the cable is not damaged.
2. Make sure that the A-500 Pro is selected as your audio input and output device in your audio settings.
3. Make sure that the correct driver is installed for the A-500 Pro.
4. Make sure that the A-500 Pro is selected as the input device in Ableton's MIDI Preferences.