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TDAbleton 2.0

TDAbleton is a tool for linking TouchDesigner tightly with Ableton Live. It offers full access to most everything going on in an Ableton set, both for viewing and setting. The TDAbleton system contains a number of components for 2 way communication, and a framework for building custom components and new features.

TDAbleton operates through Ableton's MIDI Remote Scripts system and, when necessary, Max for Live (M4L) devices. Communication with TouchDesigner is via OSC (using UDP). It is fully network-capable, so TouchDesigner can be running on a separate machine from Ableton. The Python in TDAbleton extensively uses Ableton's Live Object Model.

Why the version upgrade?

TDAbleton has been around since Ableton Live 9 and has remained compatible with that version since then. With the release of Live 11, new features have been introduced that made it impossible to maintain that compatibility. The new system requirements for TDAbleton 2.0 are:

  • Ableton Live 11+
  • TouchDesigner 2022.20k+

Other than the backwards compatibility issues, TDAbleton 2.0 is very similar to the TDAbleton 1.x series, with some new features, described below.

What if I don't have Live 11?

If you are still using Live 9 or 10, TouchDesigner will include Live 9 & 10 folders in Samples and the Palette that contain TDAbleton 1.50. This version will not be updated except for bug fixes, but is compatible with Live 9, 10, and, if for some reason you want to use it, Live 11.

feature Highlights

arrangement clip info

It's finally here! Probably the feature most requested over the years for TDAbleton has been access to info about clips in the arrangement, and Live 11 gives us access. TDAbleton 2.0 provides info about arrangement clip name, color, position and more.

16 Macro racks

Live 11 increased the number of rack macros available to 16, and TDAbleton 2.0 gives you access via the already fast and powerful abletonRack component.

rack variations

Live 11 introduces rack variations, a preset system for macro settings on racks. TDAbleton 2.0 allows you to trigger those variations. 

MORE

Other additions include improved and requested features for: follow selection, clip launch quantization, pop-up suppression, duplicate-named cuepoints, and the Ableton Live console.

Notes on upgrading to TDABleton 2.0

General upgrade information (and all documentation) can be found at https://docs.derivative.ca/TDAbleton#Upgrading_TDAbleton

There seem to have been some changes to file permissions that prevent TDAbleton from automatically deleting old versions when installing. If this happens on your system, a pop-up dialog will appear with an option to automatically open a file browser at the correct location so that you can delete the TouchDesigner remote script folder by hand.

As always, you may need to update your TDA Max Devices. Instructions for this are in the wiki docs. Note that if you have old TDAbleton racks in your project, and you want to use the new 16 Macro features, you will have to update the TDA_Rack_OSC device in your rack and map the knobs in that device to your macros.

GEtting help

If you have trouble upgrading/installing, want to report other problems, or have feature requests, you can reply to this post or start a forum thread and tag me, @Ivan. 

The Live 9 & 10 version does work with Live 11 and is almost entirely unchanged from the last version of TDAbleton 1. In a pinch, you can go back to that version if your project has trouble upgrading to 2.0.

I also love to see what people make with TDAbleton, so if you're so inclined please do send links to your posts, projects, etc to ivan@derivative.ca. Enjoy!

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