Ableton Live CV to Modular

The Lounge
1

Hello,
I am looking to send CV information from ableton to a Modular.
How proceed ?
Ableton is on an Apple laptop. Am I forced to go through a DC coupled sound card or there is another method or hardware to do this?
No USB to CV box exists? (Ideally, gate, 1V/oct, some CV +/-)

2

There are lots of MIDI-CV converters out there. Do you want a eurorack module or something stand alone?

Is it something like this you are searching for?

3

did you try google or youtube for beginner modular help?

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4

Indeed, the CV midi module is a good solution; surely the best.
To be clearer; I use Ableton Live and a friend has it modular… I’ll check with him if he has this type of module.
I was wondering if there was another solution to not be dependent on this module.
In the case where this module is the solution, could a USB to MIDI cable be sufficient with albeton live, or is it imperative to use a sound card?

5

Ableton CV to modular is not the same as midi to CV.
For midi to CV a Korg sq-1 is a cheap option (or sq-64 if many are needed), or some modular modules.

Midi-> CV mapps the 128 steps to value in CV with equal interval.
Live cv → CV means outputting a continuous analog signal.

The later (going by the max for live page) needs a DC coupled audio interface.

There are probably a bunch of expensive modules that can do that I guess, but also a lot of cheap second hand audio interfaces. You could need amplification after the interface to get it up in level for modular

3 Likes
6

Oh ok ! I need to look that more closely.
My goal would be for his modular to receive certain information from what I play on ableton, set up env followers, and gate triggering and if possible the pitch

7

hexinverter mutant brain, befaco MidiThing V2, expert sleepers modules (more complex and kinda a pain to set up) or ya could get an audio interface that’s DC coupled and route CV directly from live through the outputs… more complex to set up and likely more expensive unless you dig up an older MOTU unit used somewhere.

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8

Ok, i didnt realize that OP asked for CV tools specificly :slight_smile:

But they also reference

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9

Now that you mention it… I just read it that way since he mentioned sending CV, but could just as well be that he actually wants to send midi data and convert it to CV.

The later is cheaper/easier to find.

That lik should help clear things up. :slight_smile: now it’s up to the op to clarify :smiley:

2 Likes
10

Indeed In my head I thought I needed these tools to do it!

11

MOTU 828s are DC coupled, and the Lexicon MPX-500/550 is too, when you talk to it via S/PDIF, IIRC.

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12

I personally prefer midi to cv better than cv tools for note data (cv, gate, trig, etc), but do love sending modulation via cv tools, as well as audio back and forth.
With note data via cv tools, you need to calibrate your oscillators to track correctly, and that can sort of mess with the flow state IMO.
With midi to cv, just tune the oscillators to a C note, and then your off to the races. I find that to be quicker.

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13

This is the only thing I found searching around that can handle both (USB) MIDI to CV/Gate and Audio to CV.

Very impressive module, but it’s +$600!

Summary
  • Multifunctional module with more than 80 algorithms, including quantisers, oscillators, filters, LFOs and envelopes, delays, reverb, chorus, looper, CV tools, audio player/recorder, MIDI file player and much more
  • OLED display
  • 3 Rotary controls, 2 encoders and 4 buttons
  • Micro SD card slot
  • 12 Inputs and 6 outputs for CV, gate and audio signals (DC-coupled)
  • USB-C Port
  • MIDI input and output (via breakout header)

And the dedicated thread for it :slight_smile:
Expert Sleepers Disting NT

Edit: Found this aswell

Around $499

Summary

Similarly to the SSP, the XMX combines a number of functions into one module:

  • a digital modular synthesizer engine with built in patching system
  • a multichannel direct to disk recorder/sampler/playback engine
  • a multichannel audio interface via USB
  • MIDI-to-CV conversion for USB MIDI controllers
  • preset management system

Hardware wise, the XMX has the following specs:

  • 28 HP width, less than 30mm deep
  • ~500mA @ 12V, ~100mA @ -12V, no 5V supply needed
  • aluminium CNC machined and anodized front panel
  • 4 aluminium knobs/encoders with push button feature
  • 8 audio/CV/trigger inputs, +/-5V
  • 2 audio/CV/trigger outputs, +/-5V
  • stereo headphone output with analog volume control
  • all I/O 24bit resolution and 48/96kHz sample rate
  • 10 function keys with soft touch and silent action
  • 2.4inch full colour IPS wide angle/visibility display
  • quad core ARM Cortex A35 CPU @ 1.3GHz running Linux (64-bit)
  • USB 2.0 Host and Device ports for MIDI (including MPE) controllers and multichannel USB audio
  • microSD card slot
  • expansion connector w/ I2C port

The XMX ships with nearly all of the SSP’s factory modules, including:

  • 3D wavetable oscillator
  • stereo reverb
  • simple and stereo delay
  • granular
  • 8 channel sample player
  • step sequencer
  • arpeggiator
  • quad virtual analog (SVF) filter with HP/BP/LP/PK/NT outputs
  • comb filter
  • physical modelling drum/membrane
  • signal switcher
  • quad VCA
  • bit crusher
  • macro module
  • envelope generator
  • quad envelope follower
  • bus
  • USB midi input w/ MPE support
  • LFO and audio rate square/sawtooth/triangle/sine oscillators
  • input and output including USB audio channels
  • variable frequency noise generator
  • microtonal quantizer
  • DC voltage generator
  • waveshaper
14

Thanks, i will use midi to usb

1 Like