I am a part-time professional keyboard player in a 3-piece jazz/R&B/pop band. I use Ableton on stage, but not to play any music inside of Ableton. I only use it to create my setups and splits for each song ahead of time. I use Keyscape for my piano sounds, and various VST synths inside Ableton. I have two StudioLogic MIDI controllers; one has internal sounds (Numa Compact 2x) and one does not (SL 88 Studio). I control soft synths inside of Ableton primarily from the SL 88 Studio, but sometimes also from the Numa Compact, when I have to remember to turn the volume knob down.
There are a few things I need to know:
1. Right now, when we play a certain song, I load an Ableton song file and start playing. There's some uncomfortable lag time as I search the list of potential files in Ableton. Am I doing this the right way? Is there a better/quicker method for what I want to accomplish? We frequently call songs on the fly so I don't want to have to build my set lists in advance, if possible. There's a few dozen files to choose from for our entire set list.
2. I'm still not sending MIDI program changes to my second synth, the Numa Compact. I don't know how to do this. So there is additional delay in between songs as I change programs and possibly turn the volume up or down,depending on whether the Numa triggers its internal sounds or those of a VST inside Ableton. I'd like to be able to load a song in Ableton that sends local on/off and program changes to this device as well.
3. The Numa Compact has 9 assignable sliders, that I can use to control the drawbars of the Hammond B3X (IK Multimedia) soft synth I own. I have not yet figured this out. I'd like to explore using these sliders to control other things as well.
4. We use a Midas MR-18 mixer on stage. This mixer accepts continuous controller changes to affect whether the EFX channel is on/off. I'd like to be able to send a quick MIDI message in between songs to turn off the vocal effects returns, talk to the audience, then turn them back on when we start playing.
This is just a starting list of things I'd like to incorporate into our playing. I consider myself a technical guy and have a lot of experience with MIDI over the years, but I'm a little lost with Ableton. I need a MIDI consultant.