Worlde Orca Mi25 Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Worlde's Orca Mi25 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.

This tutorial will teach you everything needed in order to use the Worlde Orca Mi25 with Ableton Live, including the processes of linking, setting up and midi mapping the Orca Mi25.

Article Contents

Does the Worlde Orca Mi25 work with Ableton Live?
Does the Worlde Orca Mi25 come with ableton Live included?
How to connect the Orca Mi25 to ableton
How to midi map the Worlde Orca Mi25 in Ableton Live
The Limitations of midi mapping the Orca Mi25
Why can’t I hear my Push in Ableton Live?

Does the Worlde Orca Mi25 work with Ableton Live?

In a nutshell, the Worlde Orca Mi25 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 Orca Mi25 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 Orca Mi25 is a MIDI enabled tool, it will be completely compatible with Ableton Live.

You can create your own custom Ableton midi mappings easily, which allows you to control much of the functionality in Ableton Live with your Orca Mi25.

Does the Worlde Orca Mi25 come with ableton Live included?

Ableton Live Lite is not included with the Orca Mi25, therefore it must be bought separately.

There are three main versions of Ableton Live: Intro, Standard and Suite. Although Intro and Standard are both powerful, Suite offers extra features, such as 70GB of library sounds, in contrast 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 Orca Mi25 to ableton

Connecting the Worlde Orca Mi25 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 Orca Mi25 to your computer via USB.
First, connect the USB cable to both the Orca Mi25 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 Orca Mi25 from the list of available devices.
Click the the MIDI Sync tab, make sure that Input and Output for the Orca Mi25 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 Orca Mi25 (Sync can also be optionally checked).

The Orca Mi25 is now ready for use with Ableton Live.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

After you have connected the Worlde Orca Mi25 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 Orca Mi25, such as a knob or fader.
4. The parameter you selected is now mapped to the physical control which you moved on the Orca Mi25.
5. Moving the physical control on your Orca Mi25 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 Orca Mi25

For the fastest way to map your Orca Mi25, you can't go wrong with Ableton's midi mapping system, but make sure you take into account these limitations...

Saving your Orca Mi25 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 Orca Mi25 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 Orca Mi25, 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 Orca Mi25's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Orca Mi25,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Orca Mi25, 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 Orca Mi25 in Ableton Live?

There are several possible causes:
1. Make sure that the Orca Mi25 is connected properly to your computer via USB and that the cable is not damaged.
2. Make sure that the Orca Mi25 is selected as your audio input and output device in your audio settings.
3. Make sure that the correct driver is installed for the Orca Mi25.
4. Make sure that the Orca Mi25 is selected as the input device in Ableton's MIDI Preferences.