Manual Using the Mackie C4 with Ableton

What can you do with the script and the Mackie C4 in Ableton (aka the manual).

At the moment the script supports 3 of the 4 possible modes, "chan strip", "track" and "function" mode.

"Channel Strip" mode

Shows the current track and the devices currently loaded on that track.

In Chan strip mode you can:

1. edit the sends amounts of the selected track. Clicking the encoder resets the value to -♾
2. switch to a device via pressing one of the vpots in row 2.
   Huge Update: This now also allows direct selection of devices in Racks (RackDevices). All devices in Racks are shown "flattened", so if your rack device has 4 devices IN the rack, this row will show 5 devices, the 4 plus the enclosing rack device itself.
3. bank forward to more devices, should you have more than 8 on a track. Can be done via Encoder 7/8 or via Buttons Parameter/Bank ◀▶
4. the top row also allows you to fold and unfold group tracks. This also works for nested groups and tracks which are IN a group. Just press the vpot/encoder "4" underneath fold / unfold group (only displayed if you are on a group track or grouped track)
5. arm / unarm track (for tracks that are arm-able)
6. mute / unmute track (for audio or group tracks)
7. edit volume 🔊 of track or group track. Clicking the encoder resets the value to 0.0dB
8. edit panning. Clicking the encoder resets the value to Center (C)
9. Solo / Un-Solo the track
10. Crossfade / Crossfade Assign: On normal tracks, you can assign the track to A, B or none by clicking on the encoder. On the master track you can turn the encoder the crossfade between A and B.
11. Row 1 also indicates if the track is frozen
12. Switch tracks with "Track L" ◀ or "Track R" ▶

"Track" mode

(should be called Device or Plug-in mode, but there's no Device button on the C4)

Shows the currently selected device and you can:

1. Switch devices by either "Slot up 🔼 / down 🔽" when in Track mode, or go to channel strip mode and press one of the vpots in row 2. The currently selected device is displayed with its name in the top row display.
2. All parameters of a device (which are exposed by the plug-in *), are shown on the lower 3 displays (in total 24) and can be edited by turning the vpots. If there is a default value given by the plug-in, pressing the vpot will select said default value. The top row will display the parameter name, the lower the parameter value. Also the encoder ring around each vpot will indicate the current value.
3. If a device has more than 24 parameters, the top right display will indicate this with banking arrows. You can change parameter banks by either pressing the right most two vpots in top row or by the "Parameter/Bank" arrows ◀▶. Currently a maximum of 128 parameters are supported.
4. The amount of characters that can be shown per parameter name / display segment is limited to 6 characters. An automatic abbreviation of the amount of characters is done.
5. Row 1 also indicates if the track is frozen. If frozen, the values are still shown both on the display as well as the encoder rings, but you cannot change any values (because frozen)
6. Switch tracks with "Track L" ◀ or "Track R" ▶

"Function" mode

This is for Song or Global toggles. Currently has 20 features for vpot encoders.

Pressing/Clicking or turning them you can:

(the vpots / encoder rings will light up, if there's something you can do or if something is enabled)

1. Follow / Unfollow Song
2. Loop on / off 🔁
3. switch between Clip view and Detail/Device view
4. switch between Session and Arrangement view
5. show / hide Live's browser panel
6. unsolo all (if there are solo'd tracks, indicated by a lit up V-Pot Encoder)
7. unmute all (if there are muted tracks, indicated by a lit up V-Pot Encoder)
8. BTA / Back to arrangement
9. undo (also of course multiple times, vpot and display show, if there's anything to undo)
10. redo (also of course multiple times, vpot and display show, if there's anything to redo)
11. overdub on/off
12. See the Song position pointer or Beat position pointer in the second row over encoder 12 and 13. Pressing encoder 12 will switch between beat and spp mode. Turning the encoder scrubs/scrolls through the song (like a jog dial on the MCU).
13. Loop Length: change the loop length
14. Loop Start: change the loop start position
15. Scroll / Zoom: In Session mode this encoder scrolls through the tracks and shows the current track name. In Arrange mode it becomes a Zoom function for the arrange window. While still showing the current track name in lower row.
16. Metronome: enable/disable
17. Re-enable Automation: If Automation is overwritten (by for example manually changing the track volume on an automated track), the ring of this encoder shows this by lighting up. Pressing the encoder re-enables automation.
18. Scrub Clip with Encoder 19. Scrubs through the selected clip. Basically sets the start point from which to play the clip. Length of section being played is set by Loop length. Pressing the encoder stops scrubbing.
19. Change BPM / Tempo in steps of 0.25
20. Play ▶, Stop ⏹, Continue Play
21. Switch tracks with "Track L" ◀ or "Track R" ▶

check https://github.com/markusschloesser/MackieC4_P3/issues/65 for current implementation status

'* not all plug-ins expose their parameters initially. Here's how to do that manually: Ableton - expose plug-in parameters. For m4l devices it is a bit more complicated. For that you need to open the device in maxforlive, go to "Parameters" and set the visibility of the parameter you want to "visible and automatable (or something like this) and then store the device. Be careful to not include all parameters as that will spam your undo history.

ToDo: clean-up C4 before taking pictures 🙄😇🤪