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touchAble – user manual

TouchAble Manual

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touchAble – user manual

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Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 2

1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 5

1.1 What is touchAble? .................................................................................. 5

1.2 What do I need to use touchAble? ........................................................... 5

2 Setup ............................................................................................................. 6

2.1 Setup on Mac ........................................................................................... 6

2.2 Setup on PC ............................................................................................ 7

2.3 Network 101 – Which connection type should I use? .............................. 8

2.3.1 Routed Networks ............................................................................... 8

2.3.2 AdHoc Connection between Mac & iPad ........................................... 8

2.3.3 AdHoc Connection between PC & iPad ............................................ 9

2.3.4 USB Connection .............................................................................. 10

2.3.5 Known Problems / Solutions ........................................................... 11

3 Beginning touchAble .................................................................................... 12

3.1 First Contact .......................................................................................... 12

3.2 The Settings Menu ................................................................................. 12

3.2.1 Overview ......................................................................................... 12

3.2.2 The Server List ................................................................................ 12

3.2.3 Adding Custom Servers .................................................................. 13

3.2.4 General Settings ............................................................................. 13

3.2.5 Linking several iPads ...................................................................... 14

3.3 The Main View ....................................................................................... 15

3.4 Main Menu ............................................................................................. 15

3.5 Navigation Cross ................................................................................... 16

3.6 Changing Clip & Track Size ................................................................... 16

3.7 Transport Section .................................................................................. 16

3.7.1 Clip Section ..................................................................................... 17

4 The Modules ................................................................................................ 18

4.1 Clips ....................................................................................................... 18

4.1.1 Clip Settings .................................................................................... 18

4.1.2 Clip Grid .......................................................................................... 19

4.1.3 Arms & Solos .................................................................................. 19

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4.1.4 Track Headers ................................................................................. 19

4.1.5 Scenes ............................................................................................ 19

4.1.6 Stop Menu ....................................................................................... 20

4.1.7 Loops .............................................................................................. 20

4.1.8 Beatjumps ....................................................................................... 21

4.2 Mixer ...................................................................................................... 22

4.2.1 Mixer Settings ................................................................................. 22

4.2.2 Mixer Menu ..................................................................................... 23

4.2.3 Controls Section .............................................................................. 23

4.2.4 Master / Return Section ................................................................... 24

4.2.5 Mutes .............................................................................................. 24

4.2.6 Crossfader ....................................................................................... 24

4.2.7 Snap Mode ...................................................................................... 25

4.2.8 Fullscreen Options .......................................................................... 25

4.3 Devices .................................................................................................. 26

4.3.1 Device Settings ............................................................................... 27

4.3.2 Device Selection View ..................................................................... 28

4.3.3 Toggle Mode ................................................................................... 28

4.3.4 Device Control View ........................................................................ 29

4.3.5 Snap Mode ...................................................................................... 30

4.3.6 Native Templates ............................................................................ 30

4.4 Keys ....................................................................................................... 31

4.4.1 Keyboard Module ............................................................................ 31

4.4.2 Velocity Modes ................................................................................ 31

4.5 Pads ...................................................................................................... 32

4.5.1 Drumpad Module ............................................................................. 33

4.5.2 Velocity Modes ................................................................................ 33

4.6 XY Pad................................................................................................... 34

4.6.1 Overview ......................................................................................... 34

4.6.2 Info Panels for all 4 dots .................................................................. 35

4.6.3 Configuration Menu ......................................................................... 36

4.6.4 Applying parameters Step-By-Step ................................................. 37

4.6.5 Recording Movements .................................................................... 38

4.6.6 Assigning automations to Dots ........................................................ 38

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4.6.7 Playing back automations ............................................................... 39

4.6.8 Snapshots ....................................................................................... 39

4.6.9 Saving and Loading Automations .................................................... 40

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1 Introduction 1.1 What is touchAble? touchAble is a wireless iPad controller App for Ableton Live. It gives control over almost all aspects of Lives session view – at the touch of your fingers. Since touchAble uses OSC to communicate directly with Lives API there is no need for MIDI Mappings or any other customization by the user. touchAble will simply read the required information from your current Live Set and display it on the iPad - ready for use. touchAble currently consists of 6 different modules, each handling a different aspect of Lives broad spectrum of controls. Each of these modules can be shown in combination or in a single full screen view.

• Clips • Mixer • Devices • Keys • Pads • XY Pad

Each of the modules will be explained to length in the following chapters. We hope this manual gives you enough information to feel comfortable using touchAble in Studio or on Stage. If you do run into trouble along the way, if you have feedback, feature wishes or criticism: Please get in touch with us via email:

[email protected][email protected]

1.2 What do I need to use touchAble? touchAble requires a running Ableton Live session on the same network as the iPad to function. The app all by itself will not produce any Sound! You will also need to download the Server package for your operating System from: http://www.touch-able.com/Site/Downloads.html and install it on your computer. Requirements:

• Ableton Live 8.2.6 or higher • MAC: OSX 10.5 or higher / PC: Windows XP or higher. • Network connection between the iPad and the MAC/PC

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2 Setup 2.1 Setup on Mac If not done already please download the latest installer from: http://touch-able.com/Site/Downloads.html Double-click the .dmg to mount the image on your Desktop. Inside the Image please find and run the touchAble Server Installer and go through the installation process. The installer will try to find your Ableton Live installations. If the installation that you are currently using is not found you can add it manually using the browse function. With each update or reinstall of Ableton Live you will also have to reinstall our Server package. This ensures that the needed Control Surface scripts are available to the Ableton Live version you are using. After the installation is done run the touchAble Server (it should be in your Applications Folder unless you specified otherwise) and restart Ableton Live. Open up Lives MIDI/Sync preferences. Under Control Surfaces select ‘touchAble 1’ and ‘touchAble Input 1’ as the MIDI Input. Activate the ‘Tracks’ Toggle for ‘touchAble Keys’ & ‘Pads’. Activate the ‘Sync’ Toggle for ‘touchAble Clock Sync’ If you want to connect more than one iPad to your Session please activate the appropriate number of Control Surfaces and the respective Inputs, e.g. for 3 iPads select touchAble 1, 2 & 3 and touchAble Input 1, 2 & 3. After you are done your Settings should look something like this:

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2.2 Setup on PC Windows users need to install MIDI Yoke prior to using touchable. Download MIDI Yoke from: http://www.midiox.com/zip/MidiYokeSetup.msi Install it and reboot your PC. Note: On Windows Vista and Windows 7 User Account Control has to be disabled prior to installing MIDI Yoke. Install it with Administrator rights. If not done already please download the latest installer from: http://touch-able.com/Site/Downloads.html Double-click the touchAble Installer and follow the Installation procedure. The Installer will try to find your Ableton Live installations. If the installation that you are currently using is not found you can add it manually using the browse function. With each update or reinstall of Ableton Live you will also have to reinstall our Server package. This ensures that the needed Control Surface scripts are available to the Live version you are using. After the installation is done run the touchAble Server (it should be in your Program Files Folder unless you specified otherwise) and restart Ableton Live. Open up Lives MIDI/Sync preferences. Under Control Surfaces select ‘touchAble1’ and ‘In From MIDI Yoke 3’ as the MIDI Input. Activate the ‘Tracks’ Toggle for ‘In From MIDI Yoke 1’&2. Activate the ‘Sync’ Toggle for ‘Out To MIDI Yoke 1’ If you want to connect more than one iPad to your Session please activate the appropriate number of Control Surfaces, each with ‘In From MIDI Yoke 3’ as their Input. E.G.: for 3 iPads select touchAble 1,2 & 3. After you are done your Settings should look something like this:

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2.3 Network 101 – Which connection type should I use?

2.3.1 Routed Networks touchAble will work over routed networks (e.g. a normal WIFI router connecting Mac & iPad with the internet). To connect using a routed network, simply connect your iPad to the network and select ‘DHCP’ in the advanced network settings on the iPad. touchAble should be able to find the Session if the touchAble Server is running. It is the easiest way to connect touchAble to a session. However: Routed networks heavily rely on the quality of the used Wi-Fi hardware and can provide inferior performance to using a direct AdHoc connection.

2.3.2 AdHoc Connection between Mac & iPad Click the Wi-Fi symbol on your Macs status bar and select ‘Create Network’.

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Set a name and a 5-digit password and confirm by clicking ‘Ok’.

Join the network you have just created with your iPad. On the iPad go to: Settings -> Wi-Fi -> select the network you just created -> enter your password -> connect.

2.3.3 AdHoc Connection between PC & iPad Disable any kind of Wireless client that was installed with the network adapter - we use the pure windows wireless-manager.

• Windows XP: 1. Go to Control Panel -> Network Connections. Right-click your wireless

network and click on properties. 2. In the properties dialog click on the Wireless Networks tab and then

‘Add’ 3. Enter a network name (SSID) and clear the checkbox next to “the key

is provided for me automatically”. 4. Enter a 13-digit password and type it into both boxes: Network key and

Confirm network key. 5. Enable the checkbox next to “This is a computer-to-computer (ad hoc)

network”. 6. Click “Ok” to save your changes.

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7. You should now have created a wireless network.

• Windows 7/Vista

1. Go to the Network & Sharing center. 2. Click on ‘Set up a new connection or network’ 3. Scroll down and select ‘Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-

computer) network’. Press next. 4. Enter a network name and a security key (5 digits exactly). Set the

Security type to WEP. 5. Enable the checkbox next to ‘save this network’.

After you created your Ad-Hoc network please connect the iPad to this network. On the iPad go to: Settings -> Wi-Fi -> select the network you just created -> enter your password -> connect.

2.3.4 USB Connection On jailbroken iPads it is possible to connect touchAble to Ableton Live via the USB cable. This is the fastest and most reliable solution, but it would require usage of a 3rd party software and a jailbroken iPad. To connect via cable you would have to purchase & download MyWi 4.0 or higher from the Cydia store. You would have to open MyWi and enable the USB tethering option. If you had several iPads that you would all want to connect via

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cable you should make sure to select different IP Address ranges for each of the iPads in MyWis settings. On a Windows PC simply connect the iPad to the PC and it should automatically find and configure the USB connection. On a Mac please go to the Systems network preferences and click on ‘Apply’ once after the iPad has been found. The connection should now be setup and usable.

2.3.5 Known Problems / Solutions If you experience dropouts, black clips, missing information or similar – please make sure to disable Bluetooth on the iPad. Using WPA2 on Windows 7 is known to cause problems with the iPad. Please use WEP as the security type.

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3 Beginning touchAble 3.1 First Contact The iPad is connected to the same Network as the Mac/PC? The Scripts are installed & selected in Ableton Live and the touchAble Server is running? Then let’s not waste any more time and get started with the fun Part! Start up the app by tapping on the touchAble icon. After a welcoming Logo, you will be greeted by the Settings Menu, which includes the connection screen.

3.2 The Settings Menu

3.2.1 Overview The Settings Menu – as the name suggests – contains all the settings that you can customize to fit touchAbles functionality to your needs. It has submenus for each of the main Modules: Clips, Mixer & Devices as well as General Settings & the Server List. After connecting to a Session the Settings Menu will disappear. You can bring it up again whenever you want by tapping the little wrench next to the XY Pad.

3.2.2 The Server List The Server List displays all available touchAble Sessions on the iPads network. Each Host found will be displayed with its IP Address.

If the host is reachable by touchAble the number of Slots will be shown in brackets as well.

If it is not reachable, only the plain IP will be shown. If the Server list entry does not show the available slots in brackets – make sure to disable any kind of firewall or packet blocker you might have installed.

If the Server list entry shows 0 slots make sure to select enough touchAble Scripts as Control surfaces in Lives MIDI/Sync settings.

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If the Server list does not show your server: Make sure that the touchAble Server is running and the iPad is connected to the same network as the computer running Ableton Live. After joining a new network with the iPad you should restart touchAble to make sure the Server is found. Connect to a Session by tapping it in the Server List.

3.2.3 Adding Custom Servers

If you want to store a Custom Server you can do so by typing in a name and the IP Address of the Server and then tapping the ‘+’ button next to the text fields.

3.2.4 General Settings

• Update Information from Live

By Tapping ‘Reload’ touchAble asks the Server to resend the information of the Live Set. This can be useful in bad network conditions if there is information missing like Names, Clips, Colors or similar.

• Lock Module Switching to double Taps – On/Off If enabled modules will only switch after repeated presses on the respective buttons.

• Disable Sleep – On/Off If enabled the iPad will not go to sleep while touchAble is running.

• Link iPads – On/Off Enables or disables the link to other iPads. If enabled the iPad will lead & follow other iPads depending on the relative position chosen with the ‘Relative Position to other iPads’ Setting.

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• Relative Position to other iPads By tapping the preview you can open the submenu to choose the relative position of the current iPad to others connected to the same Session.

3.2.5 Linking several iPads To connect multiple iPads to one Live session simply connect them one by one. Make sure to wait for the Slot number to update after you connect each iPad – this might take up to a few seconds. If you enabled the ‘Link iPads’ option, the iPad will send and receive positional information from other iPads connected to the session. This allows each iPad to follow the others movements and expand the active part of the Session you are controlling. To set the area of the Live set that you want to show on each of the iPads you can choose each position relative to the others. Setting relative positions of linked iPads Once you opened the submenu to choose the relative positions you will see a matrix of 4x4 possible positions.

Tap on one of the positions to select them for the current iPad. If you selected position X: 1 / Y: 1 on the 1st iPad and X: 2 / Y: 2 on the 2nd, the 1st iPad will show tracks 1-8 and scenes 1-6 while the 2nd iPad will show tracks 9-16 and scenes 7-12.

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3.3 The Main View

To enable control over several parts of Live at the same time, the Main View of touchAble is split into 2: Top & Bottom. The Main Menu on the right allows you to show a combination of Modules in Top & Bottom view or a single Module in one full screen view. To navigate around the Set simply drag around one of the views: All Modules are linked and will always show the same part of the Live set. Alternatively you can use the navigation cross to jump around the set. Note: If a control is time-critical, the respective view will not allow scrolling. For example it is not possible to scroll in the Arm/Solo part of the Clips.

3.4 Main Menu The Main Menu contains a section with 3 buttons for each of the modules, allowing showing each of them in either one of the half-screen views or in a full-screen view. The XY Pad & the Settings Modules can only be opened in full screen Mode. To switch to another Module simply tap the Top or the Bottom button of the module you want to use, and the old module in that view will be exchanged with the new one. To switch to the full screen mode of a given Module, tap on the big button to the right of the Top & Bottom buttons of the respective Module. The app will

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remember which of the Modules were selected before and will take you right back to them if you tap the full screen button again. In the lower right corner of touchAble you can find the Toggles for the Clip & the Transport Menu. If tapped, these will Show / Hide the Clip & Transport Sections.

3.5 Navigation Cross In the Middle of the Main Menu you can find the navigation cross. As the name suggests it can be used to navigate the Live Set. Each tap on one of the directions of the cross will jump the current frame of view to the neighboring frame in this direction. In the middle of the navigation cross is a toggle labeled ‘NAV’. Tapping it switches functionality of the cross between navigating the set and changing the clips width & height.

3.6 Changing Clip & Track Size

If the cross is in ‘Size changing’ mode you can use the directional buttons of the cross to change the clips width & height and therefore the amount of tracks / scenes displayed on the iPad.

3.7 Transport Section The transport section opens up by pressing the button labeled ‘TRSP’ in the Main Menu. It contains a number of controls and status displays for the currently active Live set.

1. Arrangement position Displays the current arrangement position in bars & beats.

2. Tempo Drag the tempo indicator vertically to increase / decrease the tempo. Drag it on the left to change in bigger, drag on the right to change in smaller steps

3. Nudge Down Temporarily decreases the song tempo.

4. Nudge Up Temporarily increases the song tempo.

5. Global Play Starts Playback / is highlighted in green when playing.

6. Global Stop

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Stops Playback 7. Global Record

Activates / deactivates global recording 8. Metronome

Turns the Metronome On/Off. 9. Preview/Cue Volume

Tap the button to show the Cue-Volume fader. Tap on Back to return to the transport menu.

10. Overdub Turns MIDI overdub On/Off.

11. Global Quantization Tap the global quantization button to be taken to the quantization Menu. Choose the quantization you need or Tap on Back to return to the transport menu.

12. Record Quantization Tap the button to open the record quantization menu. Set the automatic record quantization length of recorded MIDI notes by tapping one of the buttons. Tap on Back to return to the transport menu.

3.7.1 Clip Section The Clip Menu gives advanced Clip Controls and access to Undo/Redo. Some of the looping functions are covered in more depth by the loop section on the clips module.

1. Clip On/Off Mute / Unmute the clip.

2. Clip Selection Select the clip you want to tweak by pressing the clip selection button and then tapping on a clip.

3. Loop On/Off Turn the clips Loop On/Off

4. Pitch transposition Change the clips pitch from +48st to -48st

5. Start / Loop position Sets the loops start in bars / beats.

6. Loop length Sets the loops length in bars / beats.

7. Start / End Loop info Displays the selected clips current loop-start, end.

8. Clip Selection info Displays the currently selected clips color, name & loop-length.

9. Undo / Redo Sends Undo / Redo commands to Live.

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4 The Modules 4.1 Clips The Clips Module is a scrollable representation of your Live sets Session View. It includes advanced controls that allow looping & beat jumping. In Full screen mode the Clips module will expand to use the entire screen.

4.1.1 Clip Settings

• Set Rec. Clip length to glob. Quantization

If enabled, any clip you record will automatically be of the same length as the global launch quantization.

• Disable Scene Launch Buttons Disables the Scene launch buttons.

• Lock Navigation in Grid Locks Navigation in the Clip Grid. If enabled, clips will start immediately after touching - but you won't be able to scroll in the clip grid.

• Slide Clips to launch in nav lock mode If enabled you will be able to slide your finger over the grid and start any clip that your finger touches on the way. This works in any direction and with as many fingers as you like.

• Triolic Loops If enabled 1/12, 1/6, 1/3 and 2/3 loops will be usable in the Loop section.

• Default Loop length Sets the default Loop length.

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4.1.2 Clip Grid

The Clip Grid gives you a scrollable representation of your Lives Session view. Drag around the set with your finger or launch clips by tapping on them. Clips will be shown with their respective color & name. Dark gray slots represent Stop buttons. Black rectangles are empty slots. If a clip is playing the current playing position of that clip will be shown with a white bar that moves across the clip.

4.1.3 Arms & Solos

Just below the clip grid there is Arm & Solo for each of the tracks. The Solo/Cue buttons can be used as toggles or momentary buttons. If you tap them quickly they will toggle Solo/Cue on and off. If you do a longer tap on them (at least 150ms), they will act as momentary buttons, e.g. turning Solo/Cue on when touching and turning it off again when releasing the button.

4.1.4 Track Headers

The Track headers display the Tracks name and color. If a clip is playing in a track, the respective Header will light up. If you tap on it, touchAble will jump to the scene of the currently playing clip and select the clip in Live.

4.1.5 Scenes

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To the right of the Clip Grid you can find the Scenes. They will show the scenes names & colors and launch them when tapped.

4.1.6 Stop Menu

By pressing the red button labeled ‘X’ below the scenes you can show / hide the Stop Menu. It contains stop buttons for each track and a button that stops all currently playing clips. If a track is not playing, the stop button will be shown in grey. If it is playing the button will be shown in red. You can stop tracks by tapping the buttons or by dragging your finger over them. When stopping, the buttons will be highlighted in white.

4.1.7 Loops

The Loop button will resize the clip grid and show/hide the Loop Section. The Loop Section enables you to loop any given clip at any time -regardless of what loop settings are set for this clip in Live. You can half/double the loop size independently for each track by tapping the /2 & *2 buttons. Enable or Disable the loop by pressing the loop Button. The Track header will show a highlight that this track is currently looping. If a loop is enabled you can use the /2 & *2 buttons to change the loops size on the fly.

If you find a loop that you like – and you want to keep it – tap and hold the ‘keep loop’ button on the right. The loop toggles will switch to a save icon. Press this save icon and the loop will be remembered by Live.

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To disable all currently active loops (even on clips that are not playing currently) press the “deactivate loops” button. All clips should then return to their previous loop behavior.

4.1.8 Beatjumps

The Beatjump button will resize the clip grid and show the Beatjump Section. It is setup similar to the Loop Section, again you can half/double the jump size for each track by tapping the /2 & *2 buttons. Instead of a loop toggle the Beatjump section contains a button for backward jumping and one for forward jumping. To jump in a playing track simply select the length in bars you want to jump and press one of the directional buttons.

If you are currently looping a track with touchAble, the beat-jump buttons will change to loop-jump buttons. A loop-jump simply moves the current loop around and thus enables you to jump around a track always staying in loop. You can still do normal beat-jumps while in a loop – by selecting ‘beatjump’ on the right-hand side.

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4.2 Mixer

The Mixer gives Access to Lives Volume, Pan, Mute, Solo, Arm & Sends controls as well as the Crossfader and A/B controls.

4.2.1 Mixer Settings

• Lock Volume faders at +0 db

Locks the volume faders at +0db • Relative Faders

Sets the faders to relative mode. In this mode the faders will not jump to the position of the finger but increase / decrease relative to the amount the finger moved.

• Relative Crossfader Sets the crossfader to relative Mode

• Hide Mutes Hides the mute buttons from the Tracks Section and resizes the faders accordingly.

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• Max Shown Controls per Track Sets the maximum amount of Controls that can be toggled for each track size. You could e.g. have 2 Controls shown for each track in 8 tracks mode and 5 controls if you switch to 4 tracks mode.

4.2.2 Mixer Menu

The mixer menu allows you to select the controls you want to use. You can toggle/untoggle each of the controls independently. As long as the maximum number of controls is not reached, the previous controls will be resized, and the chosen control will be added to each track. If the maximum amount of controls is already reached, the newly chosen one will replace the last control added. The possible controls are:

• Volumes • Pannings • Toggles (solo, arm, monitor In/Auto/Off & reset volume/sends/pan) • Sends for each Return Track

Below the sends scroll view you can access toggles for snap mode (6), Crossfader (4) & the Master / Return Section (5).

4.2.3 Controls Section The Controls for each track are shown in this area. Note: If you did not select any control in the Mixer Menu the control section might be empty.

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4.2.4 Master / Return Section

The Controls for the Master Track and each of the Return Tracks are shown in this area. As far as possible, they will show the same controls as you have chosen for the normal tracks.

4.2.5 Mutes

By tapping the Mute buttons you can mute/unmute the corresponding tracks. By dragging the buttons left and right you can scroll through the live set.

4.2.6 Crossfader

Bring up the crossfader by tapping the crossfader icon (4) in the mixer menu. The Tracks & Master / Return Sections will resize and the crossfader module will be shown. It contains the crossfader itself, buttons for center, left and right position, and a button to toggle the A/B control section. If you tap the A/B toggle the A/B controls for each track will be shown. Change them by tapping on A or B.

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4.2.7 Snap Mode

If Snap Mode is enabled all Faders will return to their starting position once the finger touching it is lifted.

4.2.8 Fullscreen Options In Fullscreen Mode the mixer offers a range of different functionalities, which can be accessed by tapping the button below the Snap Mode and Crossfader buttons.

• 8 Tracks Mode

2 Mixer Panels are shown, each with their own Menu to choose controls. Both show the same area of the set.

• 16 Tracks Mode

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This mode effectively doubles the amount of tracks the mixer controls. E.g. the lower panel shows Tracks 1-8, the upper panel shows Tracks 9-16. Both panels will show the same controls that are chosen with the menu at the bottom.

• + Mode

This mode doubles the length of the faders for fine tunings, while showing only one panel.

4.3 Devices The Device Module gives access to all devices & instruments in your current live set. It automaps to the available parameters and gives feedback of Value &

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Parameter name information. In Fullscreen mode, two independent device modules are shown to allow control of 2 devices at the same time.

4.3.1 Device Settings

• Relative Faders - On / Off

Sets the faders to relative mode. In this mode the faders will not jump to the position of the finger but increase / decrease relative to the amount the finger moved.

• Always Open Device View 8 - On / Off If enabled devices will always open with the 8 macro template instead of the FX32, Ignoring the devices number of parameters.

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4.3.2 Device Selection View

The Device Selection View contains the list of devices for each of the tracks (2). It gives access to normal tracks as well as Master & Return tracks (5). In normal mode, tapping a device will open it to be controlled. Tapping one of the track headers (1) will switch Lives view to the respective tracks device chain. In the lower left corner you can find the Device-Toggle-Switch (3). Tapping it switches between normal mode and Toggle mode (III.).

4.3.3 Toggle Mode If Toggle Mode is active, the Device Selection View will change its functionality. Tapping on a device (2 & 5) will no longer open the device to be controlled, but instead turn the respective device On / Off. A short tap will toggle between On / Off. A long tap will enable momentary mode: e.g. turn on when touching, turn off when releasing the finger.

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4.3.4 Device Control View

If you selected a Device in normal mode, the Device Control View will open. Depending on the number of parameters on the device the Control View (1) will show 8 or 32 Macros. For some devices their native template will open. These templates typically offer the same types of control that the device offers in Live. The Track/Clip Info button (2) will switch Lives view to the Track, while also selecting it. The Device Info button (3) will switch Lives view to the currently controlled device, while also selecting it. Tapping on (4) switches the device On / Off. If you tap on FX8, FX32 or the native template button (5) the Device Control View will switch to the respective view and show 8 or 32 Macros, or – if available – the native template for the device. The Bank Up/Down buttons (6) can be used to switch through the devices parameter banks.

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By tapping on (7) you will be taken back to the Device Selection menu. The Control View will always try to match the type of control Live uses to display for its parameters. These types of control can be Toggles, centered faders, continuous faders or multi switches.

4.3.5 Snap Mode By pressing the Lock Icon on the Device Control View snap mode will be activated for this particular device. If snap mode is active, all controls on this device will return to their starting position once the finger touching it is lifted.

4.3.6 Native Templates • EQ Eight • Ping Pong Delay • Arpeggiator • Auto Filter • Impulse

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4.4 Keys

The Keys Module is a complete MIDI Keyboard that sends note data to Ableton Live. It has 2 different Velocity Modes that allow fine control over each notes velocity. In full screen mode 2 independent keyboards are shown.

4.4.1 Keyboard Module The Keyboard Module shows 17 keys starting from C-2 to C8. You can select the current octave with the octave selector on the top. In full screen mode these can be different for each of the keyboards. If you tap on the button labeled ‘velocity’ (2) one of the keys will be changed to a menu that allows control over the velocity modes and values.

4.4.2 Velocity Modes You can choose between ‘Global’ and ‘Range’ velocity.

In ‘Global’ mode each note played will have the velocity that is currently selected with the fader in the velocity menu. In this case 87.

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In ‘Range’ Mode the keys will be split into 5 different zones of velocity. The lower you hit the key the higher the velocity will be. With the fader in the velocity menu you can choose the lowest possible velocity. In this case, if you hit on the top of the key, the velocity will be 64. It will increase with each zone and reach 127 on the bottom of the key.

The Keys will show a stronger feedback if the note played had higher velocity. The velocity zones from high to low.

4.5 Pads

The Pads module is a MIDI-drumpad that offers 8 pads in half-screen and 16 pads in full-screen mode. It offers 3 different Velocity Modes that give complete control over the velocity of each of your played samples.

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4.5.1 Drumpad Module The Drumpad Module is made up of 8/16 drumpads and an octave selector to the right.

4.5.2 Velocity Modes On the Drum Pad you can choose between 3 different Velocity modes. Similar to the Keyboard there is a ‘Global’ mode, a ‘Positional’ mode and exclusively on the Drum Pad: a ‘Dynamic’ mode. Same as on the keyboard the ‘Global’ mode sets the velocity the fader displays for each of the notes played. Also, the ‘Positional’ mode splits the pads in 5 different zones with the lowest velocity being on top and the highest being on the bottom. You can select the lowest possible velocity with the fader. Additionally to these two modes there is the ‘Dynamic’ mode, which tries to incorporate the accelerometer as an alternative to velocity sensitive displays. Hit with different strength to have the pads respond accordingly. The velocity last sent will be displayed on the upper right. As this mode emulates velocity sensitivity and reacts to data streamed from the accelerometer it includes a little delay. To increase accuracy try letting the iPad calm down a little after each hit.

Again, the Pads will light up depending on the velocity sent.

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4.6 XY Pad

The new XY Pad lets you control 12 parameters at once through 4 dots – each with their own X, Y and Z-axis. You can easily select parameters from all of Lives Mixer & Devices and change them on the fly. It lets you record the dots movement, cut, loop & reverse it – and play it back in total sync to Ableton Live. You can take snapshots of the dots positions and jump or morph between them. All of your automations can be saved and restored with just a few taps.

4.6.1 Overview Basically it's an XY + Z axis Pad with 4 different dots - 12 parameters - that lets you record and playback movements in sync to live. It allows you to put drawn LFOs on anything in the set.

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4.6.2 Info Panels for all 4 dots

The preview on top shows two graphs that preview the automation that you applied to this dot. A short tap on this window will open a menu to configure the corresponding dot – a long tap will show or hide the dot. Below the preview window you can find buttons to arm the dot for recording, to toggle playback of applied automations and option buttons for bouncing and gravity. To stop the dot from moving automatically after you stop touching it, disable the bouncing option with the button to the left. You can also tweak the direction of gravity – a useful option if the parameter this dot is controlling is supposed to stop at different values (e.g. upper right corner for maximum value on both axes).

To change the direction of gravity: Tap on the button in the lower right of the dots info panel and keep touching it. A popup window will show up next to the info panel with 9 different options – including 8 directions and ‘no gravity’ in the middle. Now drag your finger to the desired direction and lift your finger. The dot should immediately feel the applied force and start falling in whatever direction you set. If a dot has an automation applied you can play it back by pressing the play-button on the info panel. Little icons inside the play-button will visualize if the automation is set to loop or reverse.

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4.6.3 Configuration Menu Think of the configuration menu as another view of your live set. Tracks, Returns and the Master are shown from left to right. Each track will show its Mixer parameters, Sends and all of its devices. It enables you to quickly select parameters for the X, Y and Z-axis and also change general options for the dot – its loop, reverse, gravity and bounce settings.

A. Track names and Colors B. Mixer Parameters, Sends and Devices on each track C. X/Y/Z selection menu:

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Tap on either of the fields to change the Axis you are currently selecting parameters for.

D. Loop mode: Enable this to automatically start the automation for this dot from the beginning once it reaches the end.

E. Reverse mode: Enable this to automatically start the automation backwards once it reaches the end. If combined with the loop option the automation will repeatedly play back and forth.

F. Gravity settings:

On the left you can find the same gravity-direction-button that is present in the info Panel. Tap and drag to change the direction the dots are falling. In the configuration menu you also have the possibility to change the force of gravity individually for each dot. Higher values mean the dot will feel a stronger force.

G. Bouncing ball ON/OFF and speed loss setting:

Again you will see the same button as in the info panel allowing you to enable or disable the automatic movement of the dots after you stop touching them. Each time the dot hits a wall it will lose a set amount of speed. By tweaking the fader you can exactly set the amount in % steps. At 50% the dot will be half as fast after it bounced off a wall.

H. Done button: To get back to the XY pad press this button

4.6.4 Applying parameters Step-By-Step 1. Select the axis that you want to select a parameter for with «C». 2. Tap on one of the shown parameters or devices. 3. If you selected a device a new menu will popup that shows all available

parameters of the selected device. Tap on one of them to select it for the currently active axis.

4. Repeat for the other axes. See #5 for Z Axis. 5. If you are selecting a parameter for the Z-axis you will be asked to specify

values for touch down and touch release. You can do so with the provided faders. The default values for touch down / release are the maximum / minimum values of a given parameter. While the X and Y axes can take different values depending on their position, the Z axis can only distinguish two different states: touched and not-touched

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6. Press Done and get back to making music!

4.6.5 Recording Movements

The Recording button « 2 » lets you record the movement of a dot of your choice. If you hit button « 2 » any movement you make with the armed dot will be recorded till you hit the record button again. It will always automatically arm the last touched dot or the one that you last armed manually on the left. Recordings will be synced to Live if a MIDI Clock Signal is available (which it should be if setup went fine). It will follow the normal launch quantization within Live – enabling you to make set lengths of recordings. E.G. if launch quantization is set to 4 bars and you tap record it will start recording at the same time as a clip would start playing – and it would be 4 bars of length if you immediately pressed record again. After you're done recording you'll see two graphs representing the automation on the bottom side. « 3 »

By default it's showing 1 bar of the recording you just made. You can scroll around in the recording by dragging the preview or change its length by pressing on 'Length' « 4 » and dragging the finger to the size you need. Lift your finger to apply.

4.6.6 Assigning automations to Dots

To assign automation to a dot press on 'Assign' « 5 » and drag your finger to the field that represents the dots number. Lift your finger to assign the automation. It will always assign an exact copy of the area that is shown in the preview « 3 ». A preview of the automation will show up in « 1 ». You can now tap the preview to configure the looping and reverse options of the dot. This will change the behavior of the automation when playing back:

• Loop off, Reverse off: The clip runs through the automation once and stops.

• Loop on, Reverse off: The clip runs repeatedly from start to end.

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• Loop off, Reverse on: The clip runs from start to finish, makes a turn and runs from end to start - then stops.

• Loop on, Reverse on: The clip runs repeatedly back and forth.

4.6.7 Playing back automations

Press on the play button within « 1 » to start playing back the automation that is stored for the dot. If launch quantization within Live is different to None the playback will start in sync to Ableton Live. The dot should now play back and loop or reverse depending on the setup you applied to this dot before.

Press on « 6 » to start playing all dots at once – and stop them by pressing it again.

4.6.8 Snapshots On the right side there is 8 snapshot slots. Touch or slide through one or more of the slots to take snapshots of the current position of the dots. Once a slot is filled with a snapshot it will light up in grey. You can now press the filled slots to make the dots jump to the saved positions. To delete a snapshot enter deletion mode by tapping on the Trash button and then tap on the snapshot that you want gone. There are three different modes when using snapshots:

• Hold:

Blocks all automations while a snapshot is pressed. Automations will continue after lifting the finger off the snapshot.

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• Stop:

Once a snapshot is pressed – all automations are immediately stopped.

• Morph:

Once a snapshot is pressed the dots will not jump but morph to their destination in a set time.

To cycle through these modes press « 11 » repeatedly.

If you tap on « 7» a popup menu will be shown in which you can select the amount of time in beats it takes to morph to a set snapshot. Additionally you can decide which of the dots should be affected by snapshots. You may want to have 2 dots automatically playing while morphing two others at the same time.

4.6.9 Saving and Loading Automations

To save and load a set of automations that you want to reuse later press on 'Save' « 9». touchAble will save all of the 4 dots into a bank at once. This information is saved and restored upon loading:

• Automations that are applied to the dots • Loop, Reverse, Gravity, Bounce settings • Assignments within current Live Set (make sure to reassign parameters

when working with different sets)

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To restore banks of recordings and assignments from your library press on 'Load' « 8». The Load – Menu will pop up which shows a preview of the saved automations – as well as their assignments.

You can load single automations by tapping on them and selecting the target-dot or load the whole bank of dots by tapping on 'ALL'.

To delete a bank from the library: tap on the red button 'X' and confirm deletion in the popup.