README

Description

This document describes the Block11 Python Remote Script for use with the Livid Block in Ableton Live 11.

Introduction

The Block11 script is based on an older general purpose remote script by software developer and artist J74. The original (Generic Python Remote Script) may be found here. It is more than 6 years old and incompatible with current versions of Ableton Live because Ableton's Python interpreter experienced a major version upgrade from Python 2.x to Python 3.x with the release of Live 11.

The Block11 remote script ports J74's Generic script to Python 3.x and uses this as a base for the relevant customisations to provide a configuration more suitable to the Livid Block controller. If you have used NativeKontrol's blockLive script in the past, the current implementation of Block11 provides the features of blockLive's Launch Mode. It is hoped that in the near future, some additional improvements will be made to the script to support extended modes similar in form if not in all details to the NativeKontrol script.

How to Use

0. Download the zip file (in github.com you can do this by clicking the big green 'Code' button above and choosing 'Download Zip')
1. Unzip the downloaded file (in any location on your system); once the file has been unzipped, the resulting folder, called Block11-main will contain the project folder also called Block11-main, and that folder contains the script folder: Block11 along with some other project files you can ignore.
2. Ignoring everything else, copy the Block11 folder and prepare to paste/move to the target directory.
3. Navigate to the target directory (Remote Scripts) and place the copy of the Block11 directory in it. The path to the target directory should look like this:

Windows: \Users\[username]\Documents\Ableton\User Library\Remote Scripts
Mac: Macintosh HD/Users/[username]/Music/Ableton/User Library/Remote Scripts

So, on my system, for example, the path to the Remote Scripts directory looks like this:

\Users\Leo\Documents\Ableton\User Library\Remote Scripts

Once you have copied or moved the Block11 script directory to the User Library Remote Scripts directory, you are essentially done.

4. Start up Ableton Live 11 and verify the script installed without incident, before proceeding to use the controller.

How to verify the script installed

Once Ableton Live 11 is up and running, take the following steps:

• open the Preferences dialog;
• navigate to the 'Link Tempo Midi' tab;
• find the new control surface (Block11) in the 'Control Surface' dropdown;
• find the 'block' controller in the Input and Output dropdowns.
• make sure 'track' and 'remote' are checked for all block entries

If the script compiled without error, and it should, you will experience no difficulty performing the previous steps. If anything goes wrong you can check Ableton's error logs. These are typically found at the following location:

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Ableton\Live 11.0.12\Preferences

So on my system, the log file is found here:

C:\Users\Leo\AppData\Roaming\Ableton\Live 11.0.12\Preferences

Features currently supported

All pertinent Launch Mode features are currently supported alongside a handful of Global Controls, primarily those that are relevant to the kind of work you will typically do in Launch Mode. Work is underway to capture a greater feature set, ideally as similar as possible to the blockLive script which it hopes to replace in some cases.

Description of Mappings

• Grid is mapped to tracks, clipslots, and scene launchers (see blockLive manual for more details on the relevant features)
• Function buttons are partially mapped to Global Controls
• Sliders are mapped to the Cue Volume, and Master Volume controls respectively
• The first seven encoders (from left to right) are mapped to track volumes
• The eighth encoder is mapped to the Mixer X-Fader