So I've been setting up the live show for Like Diamonds in Ableton, and therefore learning everything about the program so that I'm totally proficient in it.
One of the more annoying things that happens while playing a live show with synths is having to change presets/sound patches between and during songs, especially if I'm operating more than one synth. We're going to want my Moog Little Phatty to be playing live basslines and leads as often as possible. Sometimes it'll be played via midi through ableton clips, other times it'll be either myself or Luka actually playing the synth, but the main thing is, we don't want to be worrying about whether the correct patch is selected. We want to be immersed in actually playing and singing.
So I did a bit of research and it's actually really simple. I tested this out on the LP and the MicroKorg. Couldn't try it on my Juno 106 'cuz it's in the shop, but I doubt it'll work on that anyway.
Here are the instructions:
Obviously, your synth needs to be connected to Ableton via midi.
Create a midi channel in the session view. Make sure the "Midi to" output is set to your synth, and that your synth is set to the correct midi channel.
Add a midi clip. It can be a blank "dummy clip" if you're gonna be playing the synth, or it can have midi music data if Ableton will be "playing" the synth.
Select the clip, and down to the lower, left-hand corner in Ableton the "Clip View" will appear.
In the "Notes" menu, You'll see "Bank", "Sub-Bank", and "Program". Play with these (it's different for every synth), and voila!
For my Moog LP, I found that "Sub-Bank" changed the patch, and that it was always off by 1. So if I put "42" in the Sub-Bank, the LP would go to patch 41.
