Built like hardware.
Not like an app.

One surface your hands can learn.

The control surface: sixteen knobs, four banks, one fixed layout.

1. 01
   Preset selectorSwitch setups, keep your workflow

   Change instruments or projects without rebuilding the surface.

2. 02
   MIDI statusKnow when your rig is ready

   A green light confirms the destination is connected before you touch a knob. With Ableton Live it turns blue and reads LIVE.

3. 03
   Bank selector | Shift64 controls. 16 at a time.

   Arrows step through four banks. Hold the active bank button to switch modes; tap it to exit a menu.

4. 04
   Double-tapFine-tune or MIDI Learn

   Double-tapping a knob toggles fine-tune or starts MIDI Learn, depending on what is chosen in Mode Select. A white cap, like Drive here, marks a knob in fine-tune.

5. 05
   Snapshot slotsReturn to saved states in one tap

   Four slots recall complete performance states instantly.

Hold one control. Change the machine.

Hold the active bank button and the grid becomes Mode Select. Tap a mode to switch the layout.

1. 01HOLDthe active bank
2. 02TAPa mode while holding
3. 03RELEASEback to the surface

TIPTap the active bank to exit a menu or configuration and return to the surface.

1. 01
   Active bankHold to open Mode Select

   Keep a finger on the bank button between the arrows and tap a mode below. Release it to return to the surface.

2. 02
   ControlThe lit ring marks the mode you are in

   While you hold the bank button, the ring shows the mode you came from — here Control, the surface from the previous sheet. Release to go back to it, or tap another mode to switch.

3. 03
   PlayTurn controls into notes

   The grid becomes a playable note surface.

4. 04
   EditGive each knob its own job

   Open per-knob settings — message type, range, precision, and name. See the next sheet.

5. 05
   GroupEnter group mode

   Link knobs so one lead moves many — see the group sheets. In Play mode this slot becomes Pad, for note and expression settings.

6. 06
   Double-tapChoose what a double-tap does

   Tap to switch a knob double-tap between Fine-tune and MIDI Learn. The label shows the current choice.

7. 07
   DragSet how every knob feels under your finger

   Global drag sensitivity for all knobs, plus an option to invert the vertical direction.

Every control has a job.

Configure behavior, range, precision, and identity — per knob.

1. 01
   Type · CCControl almost any MIDI target

   Standard MIDI CC works with nearly every device and DAW.

2. 02
   Type · 14-bitMake fine movement feel continuous

   Smoother motion for parameters that respond to small value changes.

3. 03
   Type · NRPNGo beyond standard CC mapping

   Reach high-resolution and manufacturer-specific parameters.

4. 04
   CC numberChoose exactly what this knob moves

   Point the control at the exact destination parameter.

5. 05
   MIDI channelControl several devices without collisions

   Keep each instrument independently addressable.

6. 06
   Min / MaxKeep gestures inside the useful range

   Restrict movement to a musical — or safe — window.

7. 07
   Fine factorSlow down when precision matters

   Set per knob: fine-tune mode moves this control ×8 slower, without giving up its full range.

8. 08
   RenameCall it Cutoff, Drive, Space — anything

   Replace protocol language with a label that means something.

9. 09
   DoneConfigure it, then keep playing

   Return straight to the same familiar surface.

One knob can move many.

Link knobs into color-coded groups. Each group has one lead and any number of followers, each with its own curve.

1. 01TAPassign a group
2. 02LONG PRESSmake it the lead
3. 03SWIPE UPchange the curve
4. 04SWIPE DOWNinvert it

1. 01
   LeadLong-press to change the lead

   The first knob in a group leads it. Long-press another knob of the same color to hand it the lead. The lead is the knob you turn; the rest follow.

2. 02
   FollowerTap to join a group

   Tap a knob to assign it to a group — its ring takes the group’s color.

3. 03
   Curve · LIN / EXP / LOGSwipe up to change the curve

   Linear, exponential, or logarithmic — how the follower responds as the lead turns.

4. 04
   Inverted · −LINSwipe down to invert

   A minus sign means the follower moves the opposite way to its lead.

5. 05
   No groupPlain knobs stay independent

   A knob without a colored ring is not part of any group.

6. 06
   Group colorsSeveral groups on one bank

   Each color is a separate group with its own lead — here red, green, and teal.

Turn the lead. The group follows.

In group mode, colored names show which knobs move together.

1. 01
   Lead · FilterDots mark the lead

   Dots around the name and a colored pointer show which knob leads its group.

2. 02
   FollowerFollowers move along their own curves

   Each ring shows the follower’s value, shaped by the curve you gave it.

3. 03
   Group follower · SizeA follower uses its assigned curve

   Size follows the green Verb lead with the response set in Group setup.

4. 04
   Ungrouped · PanUngrouped knobs keep their own value

   Pan is not in a group, so its name stays gray.

5. 05
   Name colorsThe color tells you the group

   Red, green, and teal leads each drive their own followers on the same bank.

The surface becomes an instrument.

The same 4×4 geometry, now under your fingers.

1. 01
   Bank selectorChange register, keep the geometry

   Move between playable ranges without learning a new layout.

2. 02
   Note padsSixteen playable pads per bank

   Play melodies and chords on a compact surface.

3. 03
   Note labelsEvery pad identifies itself

   Know exactly which note will sound before you touch it.

4. 04
   Row orderLow at the bottom, rising row by row

   Pitch climbs from the bottom-left pad to the top-right, like a pad controller.

5. 05
   4×4 layoutOne layout for control and performance

   The grid never moves, so muscle memory carries across modes.

Expression in every touch.

Choose what a vertical drag on a held pad does: velocity, pitch bend for every note, or per-note MPE.

1. 01
   Default velocitySet how hard pads play

   Every pad plays at this velocity unless the drag is set to control it.

2. 02
   Root noteStart from the right register

   Place the playable range where the music needs it.

3. 03
   ScaleChoose from 29 scales

   Keep every pad inside the key the track is written in.

4. 04
   Drag · VelocityDrag to play louder or softer

   Keep your finger on the pad and slide up for more velocity, down for less.

5. 05
   Drag · Pitch bendDrag to bend every note

   Works like a keyboard’s pitch wheel: the bend moves all notes that are sounding right now.

6. 06
   Drag · MPEShape only the note under your finger

   Each finger gets its own expression. Choose what the drag controls in the row below.

7. 07
   MPE · Pitch bendBend just this note

   Keep your finger on the pad and slide up to bend the pitch up, down to bend it down.

8. 08
   MPE · PressureSwell just this note

   Keep your finger on the pad and slide up to add pressure, down to ease off.

9. 09
   MPE · CC74Shape the tone of just this note

   Keep your finger on the pad and slide up to brighten the sound, down to darken it.

10. 10
    Bend rangeChoose a precise or dramatic bend

    Match the gesture to subtle inflection or wide movement.

11. 11
    DoneSet it once, then perform

    Return to the playable surface immediately.

Connect Live. Mode Select grows.

With the Knob16 Ableton script connected, Mode Select also reveals Live mode and transport for your set.

TIPBank 4 in Control mirrors Live mode automatically. If Live mode is set to Device, bank 4 shows the device selected in Ableton Live. The bank and Live layout now have different colors.

1. 01
   Live statusKnow when Live is following

   When the Ableton script is detected, the green MIDI indicator turns blue and reads LIVE.

2. 02
   Live layout barThe bar names the current Live layout

   Cyan marks Live mode. Instead of a bank number, the bar shows Device, a mixer layout, or a macro layout.

3. 03
   LiveBring the current Live set to the surface

   Follow Ableton devices, mixer channels, or Rack macros.

4. 04
   ModeChoose the Live layout

   Opens Device, Mixer, and Macros — see the next sheets.

5. 05
   Transport · PlayStart without reaching for the computer

   Start Live’s transport from the phone.

6. 06
   Transport · StopStop from the same surface

   Stop Live’s transport immediately.

7. 07
   RecordRecord while your hands stay in place

   Arm Live’s recording without leaving the instrument.

8. 08
   Capture MIDIKeep the idea you did not record

   Live’s Capture MIDI recovers what you just played, even if recording was off.

Follow the device you are shaping.

Device mode puts the device selected in Live on the surface — Ableton’s Blue Hand, on your iPhone.

1. 01‹ ›previous / next device
2. 02SHIFT + ‹ ›previous / next track

1. 01
   Arrows ‹ ›Step through devices

   In Device mode, the arrows switch which device on the track is shown on the surface.

2. 02
   Shift + arrowsChange the track

   Hold Shift and tap an arrow to move to another track — device selection moves with it.

3. 03
   DeviceBlue Hand under your fingers

   The surface follows the device selected in Live.

4. 04
   MixerLevels, pans, and sends

   Seven mixer layouts — next sheet.

5. 05
   MacrosRack macros across tracks

   Four grid shapes — see the macros sheet.

6. 06
   DoneBack to the surface

   Return to Live control with the chosen layout.

Pick the mixer you need.

Seven layouts for levels, panning, sends, and returns. Shift shows the one in use.

1. 01
   Layout nameAlways know the current layout

   The bar reads the layout in use — Vol+Pan+2S here.

2. 02
   VOLRide levels only

   Every knob controls a track’s volume.

3. 03
   VOL+PANBalance and place

   Volume and pan for each track.

4. 04
   VOL+S1Level plus one effect send

   Volume and the first send for each track.

5. 05
   V+P+2SA compact channel strip

   Volume, pan, and two sends per track.

6. 06
   VOL+3SLevel and three sends

   Volume and the first three sends per track.

7. 07
   4 SENDSSends only

   Four sends per track, for effect-heavy mixing.

8. 08
   RETURNSMix the return tracks

   Put Live’s return tracks on the surface.

Macros, laid out your way.

Rack macros across tracks in four grid shapes: tracks × parameters.

1. 01
   Layout nameThe grid shape at a glance

   The bar reads the layout in use — Macros 2x8 here.

2. 02
   8×2Eight tracks, two macros each

   Wide view: a couple of key macros across many tracks.

3. 03
   4×4Four tracks, four macros each

   A balanced grid — one row per track.

4. 04
   2×8Two tracks, eight macros each

   Go deeper on a pair of tracks.

5. 05
   1×16One track, sixteen macros

   Every macro of a single track under your fingers.