Open source / 1.0.1
I Made the Akai Force Send Audio to Ableton Over Wi-Fi
Force Link Audio keeps the Force standalone, keeps the pads alive, and publishes its main stereo mix as a Link Audio channel.
My Akai Force is sending its audio straight into Ableton Live over Wi-Fi.
No audio interface. No USB audio cable. No Computer Mode. The Force stays standalone, its pads stay lit, and Live sees the main stereo mix as a Link Audio source on the network.
That is what Force Link Audio does. I released it as a free GPL-licensed MockbaMod add-on, with the source available on GitHub.
Why not just use Computer Mode?
The Force’s USB topology changes when it enters Computer Mode. The computer takes the upstream side of the internal hub, which is useful for the workflows that mode was designed for, but it is not the same thing as leaving the Force fully standalone with its normal surface and software in charge.
I wanted the standalone instrument to remain exactly that, while still giving Ableton a way to hear it directly.
The network offered a way to keep the instrument standalone.
What the add-on is doing
Inside the Force, the add-on taps the main ALSA write path, places the stereo samples into a lock-free ring buffer, and hands them to a separate Link Audio process. That process publishes the stream to the Link session without asking the music application’s audio thread to do network work.
The result is deliberately narrow:
- the Force’s main stereo mix;
- sent as a Link Audio channel;
- to Live or another compatible Link Audio receiver;
- while the Force remains standalone.
It does not send separate stems, and it is not a replacement for a low-latency wired monitor path.
A correction on latency
In the first video I said I was seeing roughly 5–10 ms. That was too optimistic.
The demonstrated setup reported about 40 ms overall with a 7 ms receiver buffer. The add-on’s own path was around 20 ms, while the receiver buffer and network made up the rest. That was the result in my demonstrated setup, based on its readouts rather than a controlled comparison against other devices. Receiver settings and the network can change it substantially. Treat it as a routing and capture option, with a wired path for monitoring when tight timing matters.
I would rather leave the correction attached to the project than let the first spoken estimate turn into a permanent claim.
Releases and limits
The July 2026 release was followed by version 1.0.1, which fixes a beat-cursor bug and receiver dropouts.
The current project was tested on one Force running the documented firmware/kernel environment. It is a community modification, not an Akai or Ableton product, and it depends on MockbaMod. Read the requirements, limits, and recovery notes before installing it.
Watch it
Sources & useful links
