Sensel Morph Ableton tutorial – connect, setup & midi map

Sensel’s Morph is an incredibly multi-faceted midi controller and is a powerful addition to any Ableton Live setup. This midi controller has a wealth of features that make it ideal for use with Ableton Live.

In this tutorial you will learn everything you need to know about using the Sensel Morph with Ableton Live. including how to connect, setup and midi map the Morph.

Article Contents

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

Does the Sensel Morph work with Ableton Live?

To put it briefly, the Sensel Morph is compatible with Ableton Live.

The lack of a MIDI remote script in Ableton Live does not restrict users from midi mapping the Morph to multiple functions inside the program.

All versions of Ableton Live, Intro, Lite, standard and suite can be used in conjunction with pretty much any device which sends MIDI data, and it will work with all versions of Live such as 9, 10 and 11. As the Morph is a MIDI enabled device it will be fully compatible with Ableton.

You can easily create midi mappings for Ableton, allowing you to access many functions of Ableton Live with your Morph.

Does the Sensel Morph come with ableton Live included?

Ableton Live Lite is not provided with the Morph, 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 Morph to ableton

Linking and configuring the Sensel Morph to Ableton Live is not too complicated, and once you have them paired together you can control the software’s settings from your midi controller.

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

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

Ableton’s midi mapping system provides a great way to quickly map your Morph, there are however, some limitations to be aware of…

Saving your Morph Midi Mappings is cumbersome

When saving an Ableton session, your mappings will be saved as part of that session. Therefore, if you create a new session, you will need to remap your controls.

Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one

With a one-to-one MIDI mapping, each control on your Morph can only be assigned to a single parameter in Ableton Live.

Limited Ableton parameter options to map to

When using Ableton’s internal midi mapping mode, unfortunately now all options are available, controls such as selected track and selected device control aren’t currently possible. View a full list of Ableton midi mapping options here.

We have a great solution to these problems

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

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