Hi all,
I’ve just spent the entire weekend banging my head against this issue, and scouring the forums here and over at Ableton. Here’s the issue:
I have most of the Elektron boxes (Digitakt, Digitone, AR4, AR, Syntakt) connected successfully to Ableton Suite 11 via Overbridge. Everything is latest version - firmware, everything. I drop the Digitakt (for example, but this is true with all 5 boxes) into a Midi track on Ableton, and my Push 2 will play track 1 just fine. All 64 pads lit, playing whatever is on track 1 (the kick, in the case of the Digitakt) chromatically. Perfect. But here’s the problem:
I can’t play any of the other tracks on the Push 2. For example, I create 8 audio tracks for the Digitakt, select “Audio from” Digitakt, then choose Track 1 on the next dropdown below that, then Track 2, Track 3, etc, for all 8 tracks. If I play the pattern on the Digitakt, this will successfully record audio for each of the 8 tracks. However, if I want to use the Push 2 (say, to create a high hat pattern on one of the other tracks) It won’t work. No matter what I do, it will only play track 1 - the kick. (I can hit “TRK” on the Digitakt, and the number of the track I want, and use the buttons on the Digitakt to play, and that works, but the MIDI signals from the Push 2 will not activate any track other than 1, which it continues to remain locked to.)
After a LOT of digging yesterday, I discovered an old thread on a forum in Reddit in which someone with this issue had contacted Ableton, and Ableton had finally responded saying that, “while the Push 2 shows Midi being sent on channels 9-16, that is a known bug, as the Push 2 is always locked to Midi channel 1, and cannot be changed.”
OK, no problem. I’ll just make channel 1 the auto channel on my Elektron boxes, and everything should work, right?
Wrong. The Push 2 will still only send midi to track 1 on whatever Elektron box I’m trying to use it with (Digitone, AR, A4, Syntakt, etc.)
I tried making an external instrument track as was suggested - that didn’t work.
I turned off “global sync” on Overbridge as someone else suggested - that didn’t work.
Sitting here I have an Arturia keystep, and if I set that to the autochannel on whatever Elektron box I’m using, it works perfectly. I change the track on the Digitone from track 1 to track 3, and now the keystep is playing track 3’s sound. Same for all the boxes. Tried it using my Novation 61 SL MKIII - same thing - works perfectly. I just choose the auto channel, and everything works perfectly with Overbridge. Whatever track I manually select on the box is what the controller is playing. Just not with the Push 2.
“So, what’s the problem then? You have other controllers - just don’t use the Push 2.”
I can’t play keyboards. I know theory, but I am useless as a keyboard player. With the Push 2, I can use the grid, set it into a key, and find chords/lead lines, etc. that work. I’m able to create that way, despite not being a keyboard player. Being locked into a traditional keyboard completely breaks my process.
So, my question is: Does anyone here have an Ableton Push 2 working such that you can use it to play tracks OTHER than track one on ANY of your Elektron boxes? And if so, would you be kind enough to tell me what you did?
Thanks!
