Set up question. (Korg Electribes to Ableton)

Hey all,

I've recently had the urge to make some tunes again (It comes around every 3 years or so!)

My set up in the past has always been out from hardware and into a mixer and then an amp no computers connected.

This time around i'm trying to plug into ableton to have a bit more control with what i'm doing.

I've downloaded the trial version of ableton and acquired a midi to USB cable, this is where the problem comes in. 

Korg - EA-1 Midi channel 1 and 2

Korg - ER-MkII Midi Channel 3

connected together the EA-1 is the ext master and the ER is the slave, they trigger together and play just fine.

but inside ableton i can only ever see either channel 1 and 2 triggering or 3 on its own, never all 3 at the same time.

I think this is because my midi to usb has an x1 in and x1 out, i was under the impression that midi could have 16 channels? So i dont see why it cant see all the channels at the same time.

EA1 has Midi out to Midi in of the ER

The USB is Midi in connected to the THRU of ER and Midi out Connected to IN on EA1

Im wondering if something like http://www.m-audio.com/products/view/midisport-4x4-anniversary-edition could solve my problem having a midi port for each one instead of linking them via THRU . I will be adding more bits to this setup over time no doubt so will only get more complicated with linking them.

How do you guys normally go about linking them all together?

Sorry if this seems overly complex.

You should get a midisport. I guess you could get a 4io but a 2 is enough for what you're trying to do.

I don't think the way you have it set will work. MIDI thru is just a mirror of whatever is plugged into the MIDI in, so it's only carrying the EA1 MIDI since that's what's plugged into the MIDI in of the ER1.

You could make it work, however, by making ableton master clock. Plug the MIDI to USB into the ER1 and the thru to the EA1.

Thanks sheathe, i think im going to get the midisport as it seems like it will simplify my midi setup.

I had a quick look at making the master as Ableton, but it seems to have knocked off the control for my midi keyboard (Korg k25) so that needs looking into.

You can still use the keyboard. Ableton can route everything to your needs. Just make sure your ins, outs, and channels are in order

Also, in the MIDI menu of ableton, there's track, sync, and remote. I know most of what I know by reading the rollover help info in the bottom left.