Ableton live only knows the device but does not differentiate between channels. It is a major flaw with this DAW. Usually, I use Cubase if I need competent midi routing.
This is exactly the discussion we are having internally. What to do prior to release?
- Multi Midi Out (one track across numerous midi channels?)
- Independent Midi Out (each track can be routed to a different midi channel) - Useless in Ableton, not great in Logic
- Drag and Drop Audio Render
For now we have:
- Export Audio - bounces what you hear, solo, a few channels the master etc
- Drag and Drop individual S3 midi to Daw tracks
- Duplicate Scaler and solo the channel so I do have the ability to use individual DAW tracks.
So flexibility is there for launch and then we can build according to what users want post release.
⦠and great in Reaper.
There might be a fourth way. Virtual midi cables. I use these in Audiomodernās Ripper. This plugin letās you send different outputs to different midi devices and channels. Midi devices like your midi controller. But in Windows there are software implementations of āvirtual midi cablesā that act like midi devices for example loopmidi. This is kind of neat in all sorts of ways. In Ableton Live input devices like your midi controller or a virtual midi cable can have different midi channels and this is the only time Ableton Live recognizes midi channels. For Ripper this works really nice in Ableton Live. If you test this for yourself, set-up the cable only as an input in Ableton. Do not set it up as an output because then the plugin cannot use this anymore and nothing gets through.
As every DAW works with midi input devices this might solve all kind of compatibility issues.
May I add my 2 centsā¦
Independent MIDI Out - should be prio 1, as for many DAWs itās perfect usable and (as Kai mentioned) theres a solution for the few DAWs that canāt handle.
Independent Audio Out - would be perfect to route to different DAW channels and process FX outside the Scaler"Verse" - might be easier than āduplicate scalerā?
Multi MIDI Out - nice to have, but more experimental to my taste
And hereās an additional wish
Maybe thereās a way to route MIDI Out from the VST loaded in Scaler⦠This would be a way to load an arpeggiator vst inside Scaler and trigger an instrument track.
An alternate solution would be to create a vst chain inside Scaler (like Plugin Buddy does).
Whatever you guys do: Scaler is awesome as it is now, and really getting even better with S3. Thanks!
@davide, Of that list Iād say Independent MIDI Out is the most important (even though Ableton canāt use it).
In Scaler 2 I make extensive use of Sync. Iām excited to have only one instance of Scaler driving several DAW tracks but I wonder if you should keep the Sync functionality in S3. It would help Ableton users and also allow folks to use S3 in the same way as they use S2. Although I expect Sync would be a PITA to add to S3 at this stage!
Something not on the list that is worthy of consideration is the ability to chain two or more instrument VSTs in the same Scaler track. The reason to do this is the existence of various VSTs that generate MIDI, like arpeggiators and similar. You could also have a mode where the instruments are in parallel so one Scaler track can play two or more VST instruments simultaneously, in a āstackā.
These are all just suggestions. Itās hard for a dev to cover absolutely every use case.
And Iām amazed Ableton have not improved their MIDI implementation. It feels like a relatively simple task to support MIDI channels properly.
I think ideally to suit most would be to have a choice of midi out on or off and if turned on select which channel 1-16. So a button within Scaler on each track, Iām not a programmer so I donāt know how difficult it would be to implement.
Welcome to the forum @Danuto and thanks for the input. I agree.
Thatā's exactly what I am thinking, but it seems overwhelmingly that Independent Midi Out is a huge āwantā from our users. Syncing at least Section C across instances is important to me but I think moving it to a post release priority and seeing how users use S3.
Yep, thereās a three dot menu on each track. Midi Out Channel X / Off. We just need to think about the main track as that outputs to all at the moment.
Seconded!
If Scaler 3 will be unable to send different patterns to its different internal tracks, and if the sync feature will be removed, I think Iāll never use this feature/release because I currently use multiple Scaler 2 instances to send DIFFERENT patterns, and often different note-ranges, to different plugins, something that is mandatory due to the different note-ranges of instruments
For example, the note-range of a trumpet is totally different from the note-range of a synth, and a pattern suitable for a trumpet can be unsuitable for a synth: I donāt know if I explained it correctly
Youāll still be able to duplicate Scalers, we are planning on having independent midi out and you can add any modifier / transposer after Scaler. We just need to prioritise for what the majority would want and ensure a good environment that works. Minor workarounds are ok for me because if the noise is there to introduce something we can respond quickly post launch. Time is precious right now!
I know that, and I understand it
Unfortunately, I am in the minority
OK hereās what we can do with Notes, Chords, Clips and MIDI within Scaler 3 and release date and pricing!
Super cool!
The MIDI editing is a game changer that will boost the boring fixed banks of most plugins I have and use live (that is, without editing in my DAW after)
Great news. I think the MIDI editor is very useful and easy to use.
I think the price for the Scaler 2 owners is fair.
Iām glad with this new Scaler 3 capabilities.
Great ideas on the midi editor, looking forward to playing with it to create new ideas.
Hello, I like that you have improved the editing of notes in the pianoroll and can use the modifications as new presets.
But, however, you do not fall into the situation that each user could use their own presets in the event that a midi file could be imported!!!
And I donāt want to be annoying or obsessive neurotic, but can you tell me if you can create note by note a small passage in the stacato style, or in any other style by painting each note one by one? Using your motion presets seems great to me, because I think they are all very good!!!, but please create the function of being able to import a small midi and thus, you can save a lot of time without having to paint them in the pianoroll!!!
As you already know, there are millions of midi files created as riffs, arpeggios, base lines, etc, etc⦠why not be able to use them???
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!
Create Midi Import on the piano roll!!!
On MIDI editing itās excellent that you can drag individual notes around and that they go red to show you are no longer āin chordā but is there a way to constrain the notes to the chord/scale, either by snapping to them or changing colour when they match? I quite often manually edit S2 phrases after dragging them into the DAW and the most common edit is to change the last couple of notes in the last phrase so they go up instead of down (or vice versa) so I usually want them to still be notes in the chord.
Agreed Import midi should be available and a top priority
This is unresolved for me. Weāve talked about this at length, one solution was to show the chords in the background and be able to fold the view to the scale. Another was to allow users to attach to a key and then it will transpose by the same amount the chord does. What happens before release and post release is a tight call!
We have a user track coming soon. If we do allow a midi import at launch it will be non-responsive in that it wonāt latch to the chord track. The mechanics in Scaler are live and itās not as easy as importing and tagging. It needs to consider many things. We we may have MIDI file import at launch, certainly one onto the user track but I donāt want to rush this aspect when thereās so much other stuff going on.