This article explains how to route MIDI from a Reaktor sequencer Ensemble to an external plug-in (eg. Massive, FM8, etc.) within Ableton Live. We will use the Spiral sequencer Ensemble as an example to walk you through the procedure.
- Load Reaktor as a VST plug-in in Ableton Live.
Note: On macOS, it is important to load Reaktor as a VST plug-in and not an Audio Unit (AU), since the AU format does not support MIDI output. Please read this article to learn how to insert a NI plug-in in Ableton Live.
- Find the Spiral Ensemble in the Reaktor Browser. It is located in the Player section of the Browser, under:
Reaktor Factory Library > Sequencers > Spiral.ens - Double-click "Spiral.ens" or drag it to the main working area in Reaktor to load the Ensemble.
- Enter Edit mode by pressing the EDIT button.
- Select the Properties tab on the Side Pane of Reaktor.
- In the Ensemble's Properties, select the Connect tab.
- In the MIDI OUT section, click the External drop-down menu and select plugin.
- In Ableton Live create a new MIDI Track and load a plug-in instrument of your choice.
- In the plug-in's Ableton Live track select Reaktor as MIDI From.
- Next, select Reaktor as the Input Channel.
Note: If you do not see a Reaktor entry under Input Channel, you have probably loaded the Audio Unit version of the Reaktor plug-in. In this case, you will have to re-load a VST version of the plug-in to be able to send MIDI from Reaktor (see above, point 1).
- Press play in Ableton Live. Spiral will start sending MIDI notes to your plug-in, which will generate audio.