EMU can be driven from Ableton Live, so your lighting cues follow the music session instead of being triggered by hand. This article keeps ENTTEC's original video walkthrough and adds a written summary of the two supported control routes (MIDI and the EMU VST3 plug-in), plus an audio-reactive alternative, so you can set things up without watching the video.
The video is ENTTEC's walkthrough of configuring EMU with Ableton Live. If it shows an older EMU interface, the written steps below reflect the current version of EMU and take precedence.
Before you start
- EMU installed on the same computer as Ableton Live. Download it from the EMU product page.
- MIDI mapping and the VST3 plug-in are part of EMU's paid tiers and are not available on the free tier. See EMU Licensing.
- EMU accepts one MIDI input and one MIDI channel at a time. If you need several sources, merge them onto one channel with third-party MIDI translator software first.
Option 1: send MIDI from Ableton to EMU
Two applications on the same computer cannot see each other's MIDI directly; you need a virtual MIDI bus between them. Ableton references the bus as its output destination, and EMU listens to it as an input.
Create the virtual MIDI bus:
- macOS: use Apple's built-in IAC Driver. Open the Audio MIDI Setup app, choose Window > Show MIDI Studio, double-click IAC Driver, tick "Device is online", then add at least one bus and click Apply.
- Windows: there is no native virtual MIDI driver. Install a free third-party one such as Tobias Erichsen's loopMIDI, or MIDI Yoke (note: MIDI Yoke is 32-bit only and may not work with all 64-bit software).
Point EMU at the bus:
- In EMU, open Settings > MIDI and click Refresh.
- Select the virtual bus from the MIDI port list and click OK.
- Send a MIDI event from Ableton. The "Received MIDI event" indicator in EMU should light up.
Map controls with MIDI Learn: click the yellow MIDI box in EMU's Main window, select the fader you want to control, send the MIDI message from Ableton, and EMU pairs them. Click the yellow box again to exit Learn mode. MIDI CC is 7-bit (0-127); EMU doubles the value to cover the 8-bit DMX range (0-255).
Two MIDI commands work without any mapping:
| MIDI command | EMU action |
|---|---|
| CC 0 (any value) | Advance to the next Bank |
| Program Change | Advance to the next Program |
Placing Program Change messages in an Ableton arrangement is a simple way to step through lighting cues in time with a backing track. Full detail on virtual MIDI, network MIDI between computers, and merging sources is in the EMU MIDI article.
Option 2: the EMU VST3 plug-in (tightest sync)
EMU ships a VST3 plug-in that lets a DAW drive EMU's Programs, Banks, and individual faders through normal automation lanes. Ableton Live is one of the tested DAWs. The plug-in is installed alongside EMU:
| Platform | VST3 location |
|---|---|
| Windows | C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\EMU.vst3 |
| macOS | /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/EMU.vst3 |
Rescan plug-ins in Ableton, then add EMU to any track. Only one instance connects at a time; a second instance on another track is ignored. Exposed parameters include Program, Bank, Bypass, and Fader 1 through Fader 512 (one per DMX channel).
To automate an EMU fader: right-click the fader in EMU, choose VST Mapping, and pick a parameter such as "Fader 1". The fader turns blue, and automating that parameter in Ableton now moves it. While the plug-in is active and the DAW is playing, EMU's Speed master automatically follows the DAW tempo, so Oscillators stay on the beat.
Alternative: react to Ableton's audio instead
If you only want lights to respond to the music rather than to explicit cues, route Ableton's audio output into EMU's Audio Tracker with a software loopback: VB-CABLE on Windows, or BlackHole, Loopback, or a Multi-Output device on macOS. Then select that loopback device in EMU under Settings > Audio. See Audio Input and How to Make Lights React to Music.
Related resources
- MIDI in EMU (virtual MIDI, network MIDI, merging multiple sources)
- EMU User Manual (MIDI mapping, VST3 plug-in, and audio reactivity chapters)
- Check your EMU version and upgrade to the latest
Note: EMU does not support the MIDI implementation of the DMX USB Pro Mk2, so MIDI must reach EMU via a virtual, USB, or network MIDI port rather than through that interface.