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 Studio One. 


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. 


External Device Setup

The MPC ports must be set up correctly in Studio One's External Device settings in order to map the transport controls.


  1. Navigate to Studio One > Options > External Devices.
  2. Click Add
  3. Select New Control Surface and Select MPC One Public ports for Receive From and Send To.  


MIDI Mapping Play/Stop Buttons

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


  1. Open the Mixer window by clicking Mix in the bottom right corner.
  2. Show External Devices by clicking the External Device symbol on the right side of the Mixer window. 
  3. Click the arrow on the New Control Surface and click Setup.
  4. Click MIDI Learn and then Press the Play button on your MPC. The CC message will appear. Note: You may have to right click and change it to Button (On/Off).
  5. Right click on the control, Click Assign Command, find and click Play Loop From Start and press OK. 
  6. Next, Press the Stop button on your MPC. The CC message will appear. Note: You may have to right click and change it to Button (On/Off).
  7. Right click on the control, Click Assign Command, find and click Stop and press OK. 
  8.  Click MIDI Learn again to turn it off and Exit out of External Device Setup. Now when you click the "Play" button after clicking "Record" or "Overdub" on your MPC Hardware, the MPC Plugin will begin recording.