How do I make mapping midi controller knobs in Ableton Live 11 less painful?

[thedisavowed]

Set up: Arturia Keystep, Midi Fighter Twister

I love the feel of the midi fighter's knobs, and I definitely get the most enjoyment out of my sessions when I've mapped cool parameters to knobs that I can then just jam with. Problem is, I'm lazy, and sometimes the friction of knob mapping is enough to kill my creative spirit (my creative spirit is not very strong). Plus, once mapped, I just sort of have to remember what I mapped, and once I move beyond 8-12 knobs it just becomes impossible). 

What are your workflows or software or scripts you've found helped you? This side of buying a push (or buying hardware, which as far as I can tell increases the complexity quite a bit), how can I reduce all the midi mapping hell? I'm open to any of other quality of life suggestions on Ableton too. I just want to create stuff man not spend my night midi mapping.

[Johnny Hawk]

Spend some time creating a default ableton set with a limited set of instruments and fx, then assign key controls of each instrument to your controller.

Think of it like making your own groove box. Being limited to a fixed set will force you to be more creative. 
when you get bored of it you can create a new groove box. Is the kind of thing you can do when you’re not feeling particularly inspired

[Johnny Hawk]

2 hours ago, Johnny Hawk said:

Spend some time creating a default ableton set with a limited set of instruments and fx, then assign key controls of each instrument to your controller.

Think of it like making your own groove box. Being limited to a fixed set will force you to be more creative. 
when you get bored of it you can create a new groove box. Is the kind of thing you can do when you’re not feeling particularly inspired

 

2 hours ago, thedisavowed said:

Set up: Arturia Keystep, Midi Fighter Twister

I love the feel of the midi fighter's knobs, and I definitely get the most enjoyment out of my sessions when I've mapped cool parameters to knobs that I can then just jam with. Problem is, I'm lazy, and sometimes the friction of knob mapping is enough to kill my creative spirit (my creative spirit is not very strong). Plus, once mapped, I just sort of have to remember what I mapped, and once I move beyond 8-12 knobs it just becomes impossible). 

What are your workflows or software or scripts you've found helped you? This side of buying a push (or buying hardware, which as far as I can tell increases the complexity quite a bit), how can I reduce all the midi mapping hell? I'm open to any of other quality of life suggestions on Ableton too. I just want to create stuff man not spend my night midi mapping.

I have an APC40mkII and both Push 1+2, a midi keyboard and a faderfox pc4 (16 knobs)

I thought it'd be hard remembering the 16 knobs on my faderfox, but that's part of the fun while your jamming - not being completely in control - a knob will make a weird sound and i'm not even sure what it's doing but in the moment of recording, it's then easier to focus on the sound and not worry what's actually happening

I don't like the Push 1 or 2, I've gotten much more use out of the APC40 and just a standard midi keyboard,

[user]

Have you considered making use of Ableton's info text? You can add notes to any track that will appear in the info/help box on the bottom right of the screen (shift+? to show/hide). As long as you always adhere to the same mental layout of the midi fighter (top row = knobs 1,2,3,4 etc) you can quickly add some notes right after you've mapped a knob and the mapping plus your notes will be there next time you open the project.

Another strategy would be to always use racks when you assign anything. You can use a midi script to automatically assign the first 0-16 macro's on whichever rack you have selected to the midi fighter's knobs. Again adhering to the same arbitrary layout will make it easier to find what's what later on.

For more run of the mill mappings (track volume, pans, sends,etc) I recommend using Selected Track Control. STC also includes macro mappings btw. 

http://stc.wiffbi.com/

Make sure you get the 1.4.0 version for Live 11