The MPC Plugin is a part of the Host DAW, therefore, the only way to begin playback in the plugin is to click Play in the DAW - the MPC's Play/Stop buttons will not respond by default. The workaround is to manually map the Play and Stop buttons of the MPC to the transport controls of Ableton. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Putting your MPC in Controller Mode

Before you can use your MPC with your computer, you have to put the MPC into Controller Mode.


  1. Press the Menu button.
  2. Press the microchip icon on the top-right hand side of the screen (displayed below). 
  3. Your MPC will ask if you want to enter Controller Mode, or cancel and go back to standalone mode. Press Controller Mode.


MPC Plugin Hardware Preferences Setup

The MPC Plugin has to be set up to receive Record/Overdub messages from the MPC.


  1. Open the MPC Plugin.
  2. Navigate to Preferences > Hardware.
    • PC: Click the three lines in the top left corner of the screen. Go to Edit > Preferences > Hardware.
    • Mac: Go to MPC > Edit > Hardware
  3. Set Record/Overdub to To MPC Plugin. Note: "To MPC Plugin" means that the Plugin will receive the record/overdub messages from the MPC hardware but Play/Stop will always be controlled by Ableton. 


MIDI/Sync Setup

The MPC ports must be set up correctly in Ableton's MIDI/Sync settings in order to map the transport controls.


  1. Navigate to Options > Preferences > MIDI.
  2. Select Akai Force MPC as the Control Surface and the MPC One Public ports for Input and Output. Make sure Track and Remote are checked for In: Akai_Force_MPC input (MPC One Public) and for Out: Akai_Force_MPC Output (MPC One Public). 


MIDI Mapping the Play/Stop buttons

Now that the MPC is set up in MIDI Sync, you can map the MPC's buttons to Ableton parameters.


  1. Click MIDI in the top right corner of the screen to enable MIDI Learn. Note: Mappable parameters will turn blue when MIDI Learn is enabled.
  2. Click on the Play symbol in Ableton and then press the Play button on your MPC, the CC message assigned to that button will appear under MIDI Mappings. Repeat the process for the Stop symbol and Stop button. 
    Now when you click the "Play" button after clicking "Record" or "Overdub" on your MPC Hardware, the MPC Plugin will begin recording.