How to use a game controller in Ableton Live on a Mac
Run InputConfig, a free Mac app, and Ableton Live sees the game controller as a MIDI device. In Live's Settings, open Link, Tempo & MIDI and switch on Track and Remote for the input named InputConfig. Buttons then play instruments and launch clips, and a stick or a trigger can be mapped to any control with MIDI Map Mode.
I make InputConfig. The Live steps follow Ableton's manual for Live 12, and they are the same for an Xbox, PlayStation or Switch controller.
On this page: 10 sections
Steps
- Connect the controller, open InputConfig and activate a MIDI preset such as MIDI: DAW Performance.
- In Live's Settings, open Link, Tempo and MIDI and find InputConfig in the MIDI Ports table.
- Switch on Track and Remote for the InputConfig input.
- Arm a MIDI track and press a button, or press Command M to map a stick to a control.
Set it up
- You: Activate MIDI: DAW Performance in InputConfig. In Live, open Settings, Link, Tempo & MIDI. In the MIDI Ports table, switch on Track and Remote for the InputConfig input.
- InputConfig: Publishes a MIDI source named InputConfig while it runs, so it is listed with Live's other input ports.
- Check: Press a button on the controller. The MIDI indicator in Live's Control Bar flashes.
Track lets the port play instruments. Remote lets it be mapped to controls. Switch on both, and the controller can play and control in the same set. Ableton's chapter is MIDI and Key Remote Control.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Play an instrument
- Notes. Arm a MIDI track with an instrument on it. In MIDI: DAW Performance the four face buttons play C, E, G and the C above.
- Drums. Activate MIDI: Drum Pad and load a Drum Rack. The face buttons send notes 36, 38, 42 and 46: kick, snare, closed hat and open hat.
- Bend and expression. The right stick bends the pitch, and the triggers send CC 11 and CC 7.
Live and InputConfig name octaves differently: note 60, middle C, is C3 in Live and C4 in InputConfig. Go by the note number, which is the same in both. The MIDI note numbers chart shows both namings.
Map a stick or trigger to any control
- Press Command M, or click the MIDI switch in Live's upper right corner, to enter MIDI Map Mode. Controls that can be mapped turn blue.
- Click the control you want to move.
- Move the stick or pull the trigger.
- Press Command M again to leave MIDI Map Mode.
The new mapping is listed in Live's Mapping Browser. Move only one stick or trigger while mapping, because Live takes the first message it hears. MIDI: CC Dials gives both sticks and both triggers a controller number of their own, ready to map.
Launch clips and flip switches from buttons
A button sends a note, and Live can map a note as well as a controller. In MIDI Map Mode, click a Session View slot and press a button, and that button launches the clip. Click a switch, such as a track's Activator or the metronome, and the button toggles it. A note mapped to a switch flips it on each press. A track should not also be armed and listening to the same notes, or the button plays an instrument as well as launching the clip.
Know how a springy stick behaves
A stick returns to its center when you let go, and a trigger returns to zero. Whatever it is mapped to returns with it. That suits effects you ride by hand, such as a filter sweep or a delay throw, and it does not suit a level you want to set and leave. Map sticks and triggers to effects you perform, and leave mix levels to the mouse or a fader. For a control that stays put, a flight stick's throttle works, and HID to MIDI on a Mac covers those.
Mix MIDI with keyboard shortcuts
One InputConfig preset can send MIDI from some buttons and Live's own keyboard shortcuts from others. Put Space on a button for play and stop, beside the notes. Because the keys go to the app in front, they work whenever Live is the front window. Use MIDI for what Live maps and keys for what Live already has a shortcut for. The Ableton Live preset is a ready layout of shortcuts.
If Live hears nothing
- Check InputConfig is running and the preset is active. The port exists only while the app runs.
- Open InputConfig's Live Visualizer and press a button. If nothing lights, the Mac is not reading the controller.
- In Live's MIDI Ports table, check that Track is on for the InputConfig input, and Remote for mapping.
- Arm the track, and set its MIDI From to All Ins or to InputConfig.
If the Control Bar's MIDI indicator flashes, the notes are arriving and the fix is on the track.
The short version
- Run. InputConfig, with a MIDI preset active.
- Enable. Track and Remote for the InputConfig input in Link, Tempo & MIDI.
- Map. Command M, click a control, move a stick.
To Live, a game controller running through InputConfig is one more MIDI controller.
Questions
Can I use an Xbox controller in Ableton Live?
Yes, on a Mac with InputConfig, a free app. It turns the controller's buttons into MIDI notes and its sticks and triggers into controllers, and Live lists it as a MIDI input named InputConfig.
Can I use a PS5 controller in Ableton Live?
Yes. A DualSense works the same way, and its touchpad can be split into zones that each play a note or launch a clip.
How do I map a game controller stick to a knob in Ableton?
Switch on Remote for the InputConfig input in Link, Tempo and MIDI. Press Command M, click the knob, move the stick, and press Command M again.
Can a controller button launch clips in Ableton Live?
Yes. In MIDI Map Mode, click a Session View slot and press the button. Live maps the button's note to that slot.
Do I need Max for Live for a gamepad?
No. InputConfig runs beside Live and reaches it as a MIDI port, so it works in every edition of Live.
Is there a free way to use a gamepad with Ableton on a Mac?
Yes. InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store, with no account and nothing to buy inside it.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.
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