Members jagster211 Posted February 1, 2011 Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 Hi there. I have run into a dilemma. I am about to tour, and I just got a new Akai APC40 controller for Ableton. I also have a Korg Kontrol49 MIDI keyboard. I was hoping that I could just link the two controllers via MIDI, but the APC40 doesn't have MIDI jacks. I also have an audio interface that I use to get my output out to the house mixer. All 3 of these devices connect via USB. My Macbook Pro only has 2 USB jacks. Here's where it gets tricky(er): My bandmate is also running Ableton on his laptop, and we need to sync together in order to have the same BPM and such. Now, I've heard that you can do this with MIDI, and my audio interface also has a MIDI Out and In Jack on it, so that might not be so tough. The problem? How do I connect all of these devices to my laptop, while connecting to my bandmates laptop at the same time?! I have a USB 4-port hub that I use to connect a typing keyboard and a mouse to. Will this work? It's 4 to 1. Please help me!!! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members duncan Posted February 2, 2011 Members Share Posted February 2, 2011 Does his laptop have firewire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted February 3, 2011 Members Share Posted February 3, 2011 I also have an audio interface that I use to get my output out to the house mixer. All 3 of these devices connect via USB. My Macbook Pro only has 2 USB jacks. You can use a USB hub, but I STRONGLY advise getting a powered USB hub. They seem a lot more reliable if you're going beyond the usual mouse/keyboard kind of peripheral. Audio is demanding on USB. My bandmate is also running Ableton on his laptop, and we need to sync together in order to have the same BPM and such. Now, I've heard that you can do this with MIDI, and my audio interface also has a MIDI Out and In Jack on it, so that might not be so tough. The problem? How do I connect all of these devices to my laptop, while connecting to my bandmates laptop at the same time?! We've already covered USB with the hub, so that's under control. Next up, your bandmate needs a MIDI out or in jack. You designate one laptop as the MIDI master and one as the MIDI slave. The master MIDI out connects to the slave's MIDI in via a standard MIDI cable. Next you need the master to output MIDI clock signals. Go Options > Preferences > MIDI Sync. Under MIDI Ports, turn sync on for the interface output. On the slave, go to the same preferences menu, and under MIDI Ports, turn sync on for the interface input. You're not quite done yet. Enable the slave to receive external sync by clicking on the EXT button in the upper left of either Session view or Arrangement view (I assume you use Session view). Now when the master starts, the slave should follow along. Give this a try and please report back on whether it works for you or not! If not, I'll do what I can to help. I've been using Live since Version 1 and the APC 40 since the day it was released, so I'm very much into this combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jagster211 Posted February 8, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 8, 2011 ok. all of this is great! actually. i have a Firewire audio interface as well. This might work better and it will allow me to not have to use a hub. Will this work? It has MIDI Outs and Ins as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted February 9, 2011 Members Share Posted February 9, 2011 FireWire can be "tweakier" than USB sometimes, but in my experience, if it works from the beginning it will keep on working and not be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jagster211 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 11, 2011 ok. everything works! we just tried it, and everything is looking good! thanks so much for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted February 12, 2011 Members Share Posted February 12, 2011 ok. everything works! we just tried it, and everything is looking good! thanks so much for the help! Thanks for the follow-up, and glad it worked for you. That's why we're here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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