Akai Advance 61 Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Akai's Advance 61 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 Akai Advance 61 with Ableton Live, including the processes of linking, setting up and midi mapping the Advance 61.

Article Contents

Does the Akai Advance 61 work with Ableton Live?
Does the Akai Advance 61 come with ableton Live included?
How to connect the Advance 61 to ableton
How to midi map the Akai Advance 61 in Ableton Live
The Limitations of midi mapping the Advance 61
Why can’t I hear my Push in Ableton Live?

Does the Akai Advance 61 work with Ableton Live?

To put it briefly, the Akai Advance 61 is compatible with Ableton Live.

Ableton live provides a default midi remote script for the Advance 61, meaning it will work with Ableton Live as soon as you connect it (see the section below on how to connect to ableton).

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 Advance 61 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 Advance 61.

Does the Akai Advance 61 come with ableton Live included?

Ableton Live Lite is not provided with the Advance 61, so it needs to be purchased separately.

There are three main versions of Ableton Live: Intro, Standard and Suite. Even though Intro and Standard are both effective, Suite offers a lot more, including 70GB of library sounds, compared to Standard's 10GB.

If you prefer to have all the Audio and MIDI effects, we recommend getting Ableton Live Suite, because it comes with much more of them than the Standard edition.

How to connect the Advance 61 to ableton

Linking the Akai Advance 61 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 Advance 61 to your computer via USB.
First, connect the USB cable to both the Advance 61 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 Advance 61 from the list of available devices.
Click the the MIDI Sync tab, make sure that Input and Output for the Advance 61 are checked.
4. Ensure that the proper 'Track', 'Remote' and 'Sync' boxes are checked for both input and output.

Track: When checked, this allows MIDI notes and CC messages to be sent/received.
Sync: This option enables MIDI clock syncing between Ableton live and the external device.
Remote: Allows external MIDI controllers to remotely control parameters within Ableton Live.

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In the ‘MIDI’ section of this tab, make sure the ‘Track’ and ‘Remote’ boxes are checked for both the Input and Output of the Advance 61 (Sync can also be optionally checked).

The Advance 61 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 Akai Advance 61 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 Advance 61, such as a knob or fader.
4. The parameter you selected is now mapped to the physical control which you moved on the Advance 61.
5. Moving the physical control on your Advance 61 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 Advance 61

With Ableton's midi mapping system, you can swiftly map your Advance 61, however, you must be aware of a few restrictions...

Saving your Advance 61 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

A one-to-one MIDI mapping means that each control on your Advance 61 can only be assigned to a single Ableton Live parameter.

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 Advance 61, 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 Advance 61's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Advance 61,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Advance 61, 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 Advance 61 in Ableton Live?

There are several possible causes:
1. Make sure that the Advance 61 is connected properly to your computer via USB and that the cable is not damaged.
2. Make sure that the Advance 61 is selected as your audio input and output device in your audio settings.
3. Make sure that the correct driver is installed for the Advance 61.
4. Make sure that the Advance 61 is selected as the input device in Ableton's MIDI Preferences.