Response curve for Live Send Pot?
Hi all,
does anyone have information regarding the send pots in Ableton Live?
I'm trying to build an equal-power panning system for an 8-channel application and have found that the send pot is not truly logarithmic. In fact, it looks like it's modelled on a "real life" log pot.
Does anyone know what function Ableton use to produce this response?
best wishes
richard
OK. In case this is of use to others, I'm going to answer my own question:
The Live Send pot is neither linear nor truly logarithmic.
This is of particular importance if you are using it for an equal-power application like panning. Multichannel spatialisation devices like [Max Api SendsXnodes] and [Max Api SendsPan] that control Live Sends via the API and do not address this issue produce a marked drop off in level when sounds are panned in-between speakers in multichannel environment.
I talked to Ableton who say the design is procedural and not given to a mathematical solution, so I did some measurements and produced a lookup table (antipot.aif) to make the necessary corrections.
Here is the .aif file and a small example patch.
I have also applied this technique to a couple of audio-rate M4L devices which I will put up online soon.
best wishes
Richard
Hi Richard,
I ran into this exact same issue earlier this week trying to implement equal power quad panning in Live. It drove me nuts for a while because all the sources and tutorials I found online claiming to do this seemed to get it wrong.
I ended up using the curve~ subpatcher from the Max Api SendsPan device. If I remember correctly a value of about 0.83 gave me - 3db between speakers.
Thijs
So happy to see someone has looked into this. Thanks fellas.
While developing my m4l patch I experienced the exact same problem, your solution solved it all for me. What a remarkable way to do it also! Cheers Richard, this was amazing, and saved my day!
Thé problem is exactly the same with the volume faders and we never got a clear answer from Ableton. I started a thread, amongst others, at least three years ago...
if you have two options: build your own slider or wait for several yers until someone else will do it for you, what option will you choose?
I'll build it. The fact is I like to know how things work, specially when I explain something iin a workshop. Just was totally surprised that we can't get any official word about this.
