How to get Ableton to send signals to Avolites Pearl Expert or Titan Mobile
Hello I know there has been a lot of post similar to this but I think I have an different application in mind and I am wondering if its possible and how to do it.
I want to fire cues on my Pearl expert lighting desk via dmx arcnet or but trigger them using my apc 40, usb keyboard, laundpad, etc...
Unlike most people trying to do this I have access to expensive lighting consoles that can do the heavy lifting as far as programming the lights but I want ableton midi signals to trigger them.
I want to use this for two applications.
I want to pre-program lighting cues for a song and have it triggered on time.
Secondly I want ableton to send when I hit apc 40 buttons(keyboards,etc) to fire playbacks I program on my lighting desk.
It's certainly possible, Max for Live is your friend.
This combines the modularity of Max with Ableton Live, they can share all resources. You will need a device that can send DMX on one side but can be connected to your computer on the other side (USB, LAN, ... )but most of them should work. If you search here on the forum on DMX you should find some relative topics.
If your Ableton device has a proper 5 pin MIDI connector, you can plug it directly into the Avolites desk. (Avolites desks do not support USB MIDI devices.) On the desk, go to System > Triggers. In the triggers workspace you can 'snapshot' a MIDI event and assign that specific snapshot to trigger a playback on the desk. I used the term 'MIDI event' because the desk captures MIDI signals coming from your Ableton gear as a 'snapshot image' but doesn't read them. The desk doesn't need to understand the MIDI being sent, it merely compares all incoming MIDI to see if it matches the snapshot you stored. If it sees a match, it triggers the designated playback.
Page 157 of the Titan Mobile manual has details on Triggers. They are quite easy to use.
http://www.avolites.com/Portals/0/Downloads/Manuals/TitanMobile/TitanMobile_Man_v6-0.pdf
BTW, I do training and support for Avolites. Google Alerts found your post.
Thanks Phil and Vjacobss!
Last night I hooked up a lepricon to titan mobile via DMX triggers to get extra faders and it was a breeze. In order to do this with ableton I think I will try DMXIS http://www.enttec.com/index.php?main_menu=Products&pn=70570
Then I use DMXIS as a VST in ableton and create mappings to ableton midi control surfaces that map to single DMX channels in DMXIS that trigger VIA DMX Avolites pearl expert or titan mobile!? I wonder if there will be latency issues...but I think its worth a shot. I think this opens up completely new ways to program light shows and combine flexibility and timing.
I am going to do this but on a full scale lighting rig and trigger playbacks on my lighting desk... http://www.youtube.c...h?v=SQAQtS8zlIQ
You could also look at DMaX as opposed to DMXIS for a slightly more integrated DMX/Live environment. http://www.theimpersonalstereo.com/software/dmax/