Using the MPD26 with Ableton...

Hi there, I'm new to MIDI controllers, not going to lie, so I don't really know much about navigating through this device. I am using Ableton Live 8. I recently bought a MPD26 & have figured out how to set drums & percussion to each pad but the thing is, I don't know how to sustain it? In better words it's not "tap to play" it's "hold to play". Without holding the pad it cuts off when I let go. I hope that makes sense & hope y'all can help me with this. Thank you for your help in advance, & if you are bored just go ahead & jot down some tips for me that you would think a beginner would be stumped at... thanks again.

Hey beeverz, I'm new to this forum but not Ableton so I might be able to help out.

1st off, which tool are you using in your Drum Rack or Impulse? Simpler or Sampler?

If you're just dragging your drum samples from the browser into the Drum Rack it's probably Simpler. If this is the case then click on the little 'Show/Hide Devices' on the left to expose the simpler on that drum pad. Then look for a dial called Release. If you crank this all the way to the top your drum hit will play all the way to the end. Depending on what your Decay and Sustain settings are though but if you've left them at default changing the Release should be enough. You should read the info view on each to get more information.

If you're using Impulse then just select your sample slot and look for Decay. Set that quite high and it should play all the way to the end.

I'm using the Drum Rack, thanks for the response, I'll tell you how it goes.

*edit*

I could have sworn that I messed with that dial before & it did nothing. Oddly enough it works thank you very much this will help out quite a bit. One more thing... how do you adjust the cut? I think that's what it's called, if one loop is going on & then when you hit another pad it interrupts it.

I think what you're looking for in Ableton is 'Choke Groups'
Have a look in the manual and you'll get a better description than I can give. Or better yet check out this

simpler explanation

Oh wow, thats it? Can't believe I didn't see that. I'll try it when I get outta class.

Thanks for the help. Got it working flawlessly.

you're welcome mate. If you have any other questions just ask away, there's a lot of weirdness in Ableton Live that takes a while to learn. It's really similar to Photoshop in that respect, with extra functionality hidden away in nested tabs or combinations of button holds and mouse clicks.

http://www.ableton.com/community is a brilliant resource.
or..
http://forum.ableton.com/viewforum.php?f=4

good luck

Haha, such a true comparison. I just hope I learn as quickly with this as I did with Photoshop. I like the community here, I think I'll stick around :].