Questions

How to use an Xbox controller as a MIDI controller on a Mac

Connect the Xbox controller to the Mac, open InputConfig, and turn on one of its built-in MIDI presets. A, B, X and Y then play notes, the triggers and sticks send Control Change and pitch bend, and music apps see a MIDI input named InputConfig. There is no IAC Driver to switch on and no virtual MIDI cable to install.

I make InputConfig. It is free on the Mac App Store, with no account and nothing to buy inside it.

On this page: 10 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Set it up
  3. Know what each control sends
  4. Pick the preset for the job
  5. Use what the Xbox controller is good at
  6. Map a trigger to a knob in the music app
  7. If the music app hears nothing
  8. What it cannot do
  9. The short version
  10. Questions

Steps

  1. Connect the Xbox controller by Bluetooth, or by USB on macOS 15 or later.
  2. Open InputConfig and activate the built-in preset MIDI: DAW Performance.
  3. In the music app, enable the InputConfig MIDI input and arm an instrument track.
  4. Press A to play a note.

Set it up

  • You: Connect the controller, open InputConfig, and activate MIDI: DAW Performance from the built-in presets. Arm a software instrument track in the music app and press A.
  • InputConfig: Publishes a MIDI source named InputConfig while it runs, and sends a note for as long as the button is held.
  • Check: The track's meter moves and you hear middle C.
  • Logic Pro and GarageBand. Nothing to switch on. They listen to every MIDI source, InputConfig included.
  • Ableton Live. In Settings, Link, Tempo and MIDI, switch on Track for the InputConfig input to play notes, and Remote to map controls.
  • FL Studio, Reaper, Bitwig and others. Enable the InputConfig input in the app's MIDI settings.

If InputConfig is running, the MIDI port is there. How to connect an Xbox controller to a Mac has the pairing steps.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreInputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.

Know what each control sends

Xbox controlSends, in MIDI: DAW Performance
ANote C4 (60)
BNote E4 (64)
XNote G4 (67)
YNote C5 (72)
Right stick, left and rightPitch bend, down and up
Right stick, downCC 1, modulation
Left trigger (LT)CC 11, expression
Right trigger (RT)CC 7, volume
D-pad up, down, rightMIDI Start, Stop, Continue

Every row can be changed: another note, another CC number, another channel. Buttons play notes, and anything that moves by degrees sends a value that follows it.

Pick the preset for the job

  • Playing and recording. MIDI: DAW Performance: four notes, pitch bend, modulation, expression, volume and transport.
  • Drums. MIDI: Drum Pad: kick on A, snare on B, closed hat on X, open hat on Y, a tom on LT and a crash on RT, all on channel 10. Hold a button and it rolls.
  • Knobs. MIDI: CC Dials: both sticks and both triggers become six controllers, CC 1, 11, 74, 71, 7 and 10, for a synth or a mixer.

Start from the preset closest to the job and change rows as you go. Gamepad to MIDI on a Mac builds a fuller instrument with a pentatonic scale across eight buttons.

Use what the Xbox controller is good at

  • Analog triggers. LT and RT report how far they are pulled, so a CC on a trigger swells and fades under one finger.
  • Elite Series 2 paddles. In the default profile, with no profile light lit, each paddle reports as its own button, P1 to P4, which is four more notes.
  • Xbox Adaptive Controller. Its switch ports read as buttons, so any switch or pedal plugged into it can play a note.
  • Rumble. A row can vibrate when it fires, which confirms a note without looking down.

An Xbox controller has no touchpad and no motion sensor, so everything is buttons, sticks and triggers. Put expression on a trigger: it is the closest thing on the pad to a fader.

Map a trigger to a knob in the music app

The music app sees InputConfig as one more MIDI keyboard, so its own MIDI learn does the mapping.

  • Logic Pro. Click the control, choose Logic Pro, Control Surfaces, Learn Assignment, move the trigger or stick, then choose it again to finish.
  • Ableton Live. Press Command M for MIDI Map Mode, click the control, move the trigger or stick, and press Command M again.
  • GarageBand. There is no MIDI learn. It plays the notes and follows pitch bend and the modulation wheel, CC 1.

Learn one control at a time, because the app learns whichever moved last. MIDI learn explains the idea.

If the music app hears nothing

  1. Check InputConfig is running and the preset is active. The MIDI port exists only while the app runs.
  2. Open the Live Visualizer and press a button. If nothing lights, the Mac is not reading the controller.
  3. Enable the InputConfig input in the music app, and arm the track.
  4. Match the channel. MIDI: Drum Pad sends on channel 10, and a track that listens to one channel must be set to the same number.

Most silent setups are a track that is not armed, or an input that is not switched on. The Xbox controller tester shows whether the browser can read the pad at all.

What it cannot do

  • Velocity from the buttons. A button is on or off. Each note plays at the velocity set in its row, from 1 to 127.
  • Xbox 360 pads. Wired Xbox 360 controllers, the 360 wireless receiver and XInput-only pads cannot be read on a Mac.
  • Wired on older macOS. Xbox One and Series pads over USB need macOS 15 or later. On macOS 14, use Bluetooth.

For dynamics, set the velocity in the row and ride expression on a trigger.

The short version

  • Connect. Bluetooth, or USB on macOS 15 or later.
  • Activate. MIDI: DAW Performance, MIDI: Drum Pad or MIDI: CC Dials.
  • Enable. The InputConfig input in the music app, then arm a track.

The Xbox controller in the drawer is a MIDI controller with two faders and four pads.

Questions

Can an Xbox controller be used as a MIDI controller on a Mac?

Yes. InputConfig, a free Mac app, sends MIDI notes from the buttons and Control Change and pitch bend from the triggers and sticks, through a MIDI port music apps can use.

Do I need the IAC Driver to use an Xbox controller for MIDI?

No. InputConfig creates its own MIDI source, named InputConfig, whenever it runs. There is nothing to switch on in Audio MIDI Setup.

Does an Xbox controller work as MIDI in Ableton Live?

Yes. In Live's Settings, Link, Tempo and MIDI, switch on Track and Remote for the InputConfig input. Buttons play notes, and Command M maps a trigger or stick to any control.

Do the Xbox triggers send a full range of MIDI values?

Yes. LT and RT are analog, so a CC bound to one follows the pull from 0 to 127.

Does it work over Bluetooth?

Yes. Xbox One, Series and Elite controllers work over Bluetooth, and over USB on macOS 15 or later.

Is it free?

Yes. InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store, with no account, no ads and no purchases inside it.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreFree. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.

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