Ableton Live!

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OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

I think enough people here use Ableton Live to warrant it having its own thread. This thread is for questions, comments, and tips about the Ableton Live music production software. If you have no idea what Live is and what you can do with it, I suggest you check out the Ableton website at https://www.ableton.com or watch this youtube video. Ableton Live is mainly geared towards the electronic music community, but you can easily record and produce any kind of music with it.

I love Live. I've used a lot of other music production software, and Live feels like the most organic and intuitive production environment I've used. Producing music in Live feels more like playing an instrument than using computer software, and that's I've always been looking for in a DAW. I spend more time creating and less time thinking about what I'm doing.

Live is also an interesting choice for performing music. You can use Live as a DJ utility if that's what you're used to, or you can use it to launch individual musical components to create entirely new music on the fly. Live is amazing at keeping everything in time, and lets you focus on being creative.

I consider myself an intermediate Live user, but I'll be happy to answer any questions I can about Live. You can download a month long free trial from the Ableton website.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2009 22:24

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 08:30

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Why don't you see for yourself? The month long trial is free and has all the features unlocked. I think that it's great at all of the stuff you asked about. Sidechaining is a breeze, WAV files are the format it exports in, setting up a send is incredibly simple, and it supports VSTs. Live handles audio just as easily as it handles MIDI; very easily. Check it out, it's definitely worth the time to see if it's right for you.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2009 23:47

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Dolphin posted:

I have a question. I'm totally new to computer music, and I recently downloaded the trial of Ableton live to fool around. When I try to use any of the samples, though, the sound is delayed, distorted and glitchy. My first thought was I didn't have enough RAM, but upon checking I've got plenty of overhead. Is the problem that I'm using a lovely onboard soundcard?

I remember there was a tutorial in version 7 that walked you through the process of configuring your computer to optimally run Live. Let me check if it is in 8.

EDIT: Okay, here's what you need to do. Open up Live. Go to the help tab. Click on "Help View". There will be a pane that pops up on the right of Live. Follow the steps in "Learn how to set up your audio hardware". That should help you out.

OMGWTFAOLBBQ fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Jun 5, 2009

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 02:34

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Harry Hood posted:

man why use anything else live loving rules, surprised there's not already a thread

so those of you who have live 8, the looper effect seems pretty loving awesome but how does it work exactly? seems like you time it to record a part of a song and play that repeatedly until you stop it - but it plays it over the the track which keeps going, and doesn't slow down the clip, right?

This link should answer any questions you have about the Looper.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 02:45

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

prom candy posted:

I noticed I get considerable delay when using real instruments on Live. Is there anything I can do about this or is it a case of "you have a revision A Macbook, you need a macbook pro"?

mezzir posted:

Are you using ASIO? Also try disabling anything not necessary, even sometimes everything but a metronome while you're recording.

If he's using a MacBook he should have the "Core Audio" driver that's native to the OS. Prom Candy, we'll need some more information about your set up. What kind of analog to digital audio converter are you using? What kind of instrument are you recording? Are you sending MIDI information from your computer to the instrument and then recording the output?

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 05:16

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

AndysADinosaur posted:

Well, this p.o.s. laptop just isn't going to cut it.. I imagine my first step is to get a new one, anyone have any recommendations/guidelines? I'd like to be fairly future-proof, but I'm not sure how much money to expect to spend. I'd really like to keep it under $1000. Any suggestions?

You're going to be hard pressed to find a powerful laptop for less than $1000. With that in mind, I'd get a laptop with the best CPU and the most RAM you can for the money.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 05:20

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Terrible Horse posted:

I've got the same issue, and if youre not set on a mac I've found PC laptops with comparable specs for 600 bucks or so. Are there specific things you should look for when buying a laptop for music? I'm too poor to pay a premium for a mac for no other reason than "every dj I see uses one"

btw I make tracks in ableton and it runs like poo poo towards the end when Ive got 12 tracks or so and lots of reverb and delays running, I'm not sure if abletons a resource hog or my computer just runs terribly but I'm betting its the latter.

A powerful CPU and lots of fast ram are what you want to look for in a laptop for music production. If you don't need it to be mobile you get more bang for your buck with a desktop.

Something that might help you is to set up sends to handle effects like reverb and delays if you're using the same settings on them. You can have one instance of the device instead of one for each track. Another is to freeze and possibly flatten tracks. This renders them into audio with the effects on them, taking the load off the CPU. To do this right click on the track header and select freeze from the context menu. To flatten it do the same procedure after flattening, but be aware that you can't undo a flattened track.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 05:57

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

I use a MacBook with similar components and I don't have any real latency issues. I concur with vas0line's analysis that it's most likely an issue with the latency settings your using. Open up Live. Go to the help tab. Click on "Help View". There will be a pane that pops up on the right of Live. Follow the steps in "Learn how to set up your audio hardware". This will walk you through setting up everything so Live runs as smoothly as possible.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 17:39

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Gorilla Salsa posted:

What's the most RAM usage you guys have seen? The computer I'm using has 6GB, which is way too much for most stuff (I've only ever seen it use 3.5GB at once), but I have a feeling that I might need to up it to 12 if I get Ableton...

6GB is plenty.

# ¿ Jun 8, 2009 00:34

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Guitar Center has this going on: "Purchase Both an Akai APC40 and Ableton Live 8 Between May 30, 2009 and June 30, 2009 and Receive $200 Cash Back via Mail In Rebate!" If you're sitting on the fence I suggest taking advantage of this.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2009 23:10

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Happy Hedonist posted:

After using Sonar for 3 years and ignoring Live, I just have to say HOLY poo poo! Ableton + Monomachine + Machinedrum = love! It's going to take a few months to get used to this, but god drat I've had some great improv sessions already. I'm sold.

I really thing that there are only two kinds of producers; those that have used Live and love it, and those that haven't used Live.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2009 00:03

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?t=48922&highlight=sweepable+crossover

This thing rocks, check it out.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2009 04:41

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

EMUpirate posted:

I've been using Live 8 for about a month and I absolutely love it. I have a question about automation though. If I'm recording with arrangement view and triggering clips in session view. I have my effects going to the master, I'm using stuff like beat repeat and filters. After i finished random "on and off" triggering of effects and exporting my audio it just turned on all of my effects and added them to the final mixdown. Am I able to record automations that way or is there a better solution to what I'm trying to do. Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm still new to it.

I'd like to help you, but I have no idea what you're asking. Can you rephrase "After i finished random "on and off" triggering of effects and exporting my audio it just turned on all of my effects and added them to the final mixdown."? I was following you up until that point. All of the manipulations to effects and stuff you do in session view should be recorded as automation data in arrangement view.

# ¿ Jul 17, 2009 20:21

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

EMUpirate posted:

Yea, it's working correctly now, today was really the first day I'd played with automation. Sorry I didn't word it more clearly, I wasn't even sure how to word it. I was using like 4 different effects in the master effect box, playing with them while triggering stuff in session view. For some reason the MIDI automation track never started.

The global record button at the top might not of been activated. This will result in you being able to manipulate effects, but your actions will not be recorded as automation data.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2009 04:06

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

prom candy posted:

I just got my M-Audio Axiom 49 as an upgrade from my Oxygen8 in the mail today. Does anyone know where I can download Live templates that make good use of it. Failing that, anyone want to just make recommendations on how to get the most out of a decent MIDI controller? Usually I just assign knobs and stuff as I go, but I feel like I'm missing something because it seems like people have much more advanced uses for their controllers and don't have to spend a ton of time on each new project setting them up.

Have you considered making a template? Start a new project, spend the time to set up your controller, and then save it as "template". Then just open that project when you start something new and save it under a new name right away. You don't have to restrict the template to just MIDI stuff, either. You can set up any bussing you usually do, put a limiter on the master channel, or set up racks that you commonly use. Stuff like that.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2009 18:06

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

thunderthief posted:

It's easy as hell - you just go up in the top right and click the little midi button, click the one you want to assign, and move the slider around. I'm doing this out of my head without the program in front of me so there might be a step I'm missing but it's seriously like 1 - 2 step process to assign anything to any control.

I usually assign stuff as I need it so I don't waste all my controllers on "Aftertouch Panning" or something I will never use.

You didn't understand his question.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2009 22:24

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

magiccarpet posted:

Can anyone recommend some good reading for getting started with Ableton with a focus on live triggering down the line?

Thanks!

The first thing did when I got Live was read this cover to cover.

# ¿ Sep 17, 2009 20:12

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

prom candy posted:

So is this not possible?

I don't think so.

# ¿ Oct 26, 2009 22:08

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

colonp posted:

Thanks again dudes.

Which controllers are available specifically for Live? I know there's the Akai one and a Novation one. Any others? Of those, the novation one seems to be the best value for the money.

I perform with both and I'd way, yeah, the Launchpad is the back bang for your buck, but sometimes those knobs on the APC40 are awesome. It depends on what you want to do. I'm not aware of any other controllers that have the same kind of functionality as these two devices.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2009 07:32

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

k0konutz posted:

Can you learn how to be creative?
I'm proficient around software and making things sound good and adding effects...but when it comes to creation, I can never get past choosing some drum sounds and rhythms. Melodically, I don't know where to begin. Chord progressions? Melody lines? Bass? I have a basic understanding of music theory but...I just get stuck. Or am I just screwed and I have to be born with that talent?

I had this problem for a long time, and I got over it by just spending a huge amount of time practicing. One big things that I was doing wrong was that I was trying to make overly elaborate poo poo, and really I think that in electronic dance music sometimes less is more when it comes to complexity. It depends on what you're going for, though. Just keep tweaking it until it grooves, and if it doesn't work out scrap it/start over. One of the hardest things about being a producer is cutting something you worked hard on out of a track, but sometimes that's just what you need to do.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2009 06:00

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

I just use my ears for that kind of stuff. I always draw in an exponential curve anyway because it sounds more natural, if it's just a linear point to point glide it sounds weird. : /

# ¿ Dec 1, 2009 22:31

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Made with, of course, Ableton Live.

http://soundcloud.com/kevinrothi/string-theory

# ¿ Dec 2, 2009 01:40

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

The Cleaner posted:

I'm thinking about making a shift towards ableton as I'm mainly into writing electronic-based music. However it seems like its main sell is the ability to record complex and structured automation on the fly in long complex jams with midi/loops/samples.

Aside from this, what other unique functions does it have?

Non-linear "scene style" song writing would be Live's most unique feature.

Download it, try it, see if you like it.

# ¿ Jan 2, 2010 07:27

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

I tell everyone who starts out in Live to read Live 8 Power.

Read it cover to cover and you'll know what's up.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2010 03:33

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Mister Speaker posted:

I'm having a bit of an annoying issue that worries me a little (depending on the root cause of it). I recently got the 8.11 update, offloaded my loop libraries to an external FW800 drive, and connected an Access Virus TI 2 to my system (via USB, still using my MBOX II Pro as my monitoring interface though) - all around the same time, so the issue must have something to do with one of them.

The problem is audio dropping out entirely. I'm still metering all the way out to the Master fader, and occasionally I'll drop a clip into a track or hit a note on the keyboard and it will play. Inevitably, if I stop/re-start playback or try to so much as cue another clip, the audio drops out (but I'm still reading meters).

Under preferences, I can sometimes get sound back by switching the (CoreAudio) driver off and on, or changing the I/O devices (either tends to have an effect, which is weird) back and forth from the MBOX to the Virus.

I mentioned the three things I think could cause the problem. It could be that the samples need to be on my internal drive, but I don't see why (especially with a FW800 drive), and I think I've ruled that out by trying:
- Unmounting all other drives (one is daisy-chained through the FW800, another through the MBOX), no effect.
- Moving some loop libraries to internal HD & unmounting all external drives, no effect.

So I'm thinking there's either an issue with Live 8.11, or a conflict of interest between the FW400 interface of the MBOX, and the USB interface of the Virus. I'm hoping it's the former; has anyone had any similar experiences? In any case, is there anything I can do to fix it?

For reference, I'm running the following:
- iMac, 2.8GHz Core2 Duo, 2GB RAM (soon to be 8GB, maybe that'll make a difference?)
- MBOX II Pro connected directly to FW400 with one (non-critical) FW400 drive daisy-chained through it
- Access Virus TI2 occupying one USB port, Akai APC40 on another, (non-critical) hub on the third
- FW800 drive directly connected with one (non-critical) FW400 drive daisy-chained through it

I don't know exactly what's going on, but I'd get rid of that MBOX. Can I ask why you got an MBOX in the first place?

# ¿ Jan 6, 2010 02:00

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Project Lithium posted:

how hard is the switch from Reason to Ableton? I've just been getting used to Reason 4.0 but really want to convert.

There's a month long free demo on ableton.com that allows you full access to the software. You can save and export, it's free Ableton for a month. Try it, see if it works for you. You can also rewire Reason into Live.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2010 06:51

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Yoozer posted:

http://www.ableton.com/skibeatz

Was that posted already? Because goddamn is it clever. Completely throws the need for ReCycle out of the window. Would it be too patent-encumbered to create a "Slice to REX" option?

I've been doing something like that since Live 7. Basically just taking a longer sample and chopping it up into chunks with the warp markers. Slice to MIDI, and you have a neat new instrument to play with. Live is such an impressive piece of software. I don't think I could live without it.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2010 19:39

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Psychedelic posted:

Weird question -

If I have one big long audio track, and want to cut out a 20 second section in the middle of it, but keep the audio before and after that 20 second cut...how could I go about doing that?

I'd just duplicate it into three clips and crop them all into the sections you want. Easy enough?

# ¿ Jan 19, 2010 06:13

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

FatalTheGod posted:

There's so much great info in this thread! I've been reading through it the past few weeks since I knew I was going to be getting an APC40, so thanks for providing so many good tips and such in the thread, really helpful with getting used to Live and all it has to offer.

Anyways, I'm fairly new to Ableton (4-6 months), and I ended up picking up an APC40 since I really enjoy just messing around and trying to make DJ sets and such with it. Nothing too fancy, but it's definitely a hands-on type deal for me since my understanding of Ableton has increased ten-fold since getting the APC40.

However, I have a question that I'm hoping can be answered, since it seems fairly simple. Right now, I'm using Will Marshall's DJ template, which has the tracks playing out of the A channel, and the sends playing out of the B channel. When I have the send effects going, sometime I cut between A and B with the crossfader, however, when it passes over the middle, it gets slightly louder due to both channels being played. While this makes sense, it sounds odd when using the crossfader to go back and forth quickly since you get kind of a "bumping" sound. Is there any way to prevent this or limit it so the volume in the center of the crossfader is equivalent to it being all the way on the left or all the way on the right?

Right click on the crossfader. There are many several crossfade curves to choose from.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2010 05:54

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

"Many several"? gently caress, I fail at grammar.

Anyway, here, look at this.

http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/09/25/ableton-live-6-crossfader-curves-live-wiki/

I think "dipped" is the one you want. As for the muddled sound, that's most likely due to "masking". Use the EQ3 or some equivalent plugin to remove frequencies in the tracks to "make room" in the mix. I hope this helps.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2010 17:26

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Want to learn some tips for Collision?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1o85KfLfnc

# ¿ Jan 27, 2010 02:18

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Hey, what's the best reverb plug out there? I'm not a fan of Live's native one.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2010 02:35

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Okay, how about one that I can use in Ableton natively?

# ¿ Feb 4, 2010 02:55

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Aether is looking like it's the winner. It's almost exactly what I was looking for.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2010 19:53

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCx5L3kOoRA

# ¿ Feb 5, 2010 03:58

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Project Lithium posted:

Alright, I just picked up Suite. I haven't even installed it yet, but I had a question about rewire. I have a couple of songs I like quite a bit, and somebody in this thread said to use rewire to "bypass reason's lovely mixer."*

I suppose my question is should I use the effects from ableton or reason? I don't really have any VST plugins yet, which was my main reason for even getting Ableton, so should I wait to get some plugins or just use ableton for mixing/mastering and use the stuff that comes with Reason?

*this, I think, was paraphrased.

You're asking some questions that we can't answer for you because that boils down to personal preference and workflow integration. You can use Reason's effects and instruments, or the ones native to Ableton. You can use a combination of the two. The way that Rewire works will essentially force you to use Ableton as for mixing/mastering. I hope this clears some stuff up.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2010 04:39

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Project Lithium posted:

I'm waiting for NI Komplete to arrive.

I use Komplete, it's absolutely bomb. Good call.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2010 05:45

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Get the book "Ableton 8 Power".

Feel free to thank me later.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2010 07:23

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

Random track I cooked up in Live!

# ¿ Feb 13, 2010 06:53

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 08:30

OMGWTFAOLBBQ: May 18, 2008

I have no idea what the pedal you're talking about does, but if you're looking to process your bass with a plugin I suggest NI's Guitar Rig plugin. I'm a guitarist, not a bassist, but IMO this poo poo is bomb.

quote:

15 supreme-sounding guitar and bass amps
Brand new Control Room module offers carefully tweaked professional mikings for unparalleled studio tones.
New Matched Cabinets (version 4) offers a harmonized speaker setup for every single amp
48 perfectly modelled guitar effects including distortions, flangers, choruses, tremolos, wah-wahs, pitch shifting, delays and reverbs plus premium features like the loop machine and powerful modifiers.
New Master Effect section retains reverberation and delays while changing presets
Improved preset browser with extensive search functions and KORE 2 format compatibility
more than 250 brand new, high-quality presets for all genres
True stereo processing for all components
Cabinets & mics module with 17 guitar and six bass cabinets, four rotary speakers and nine microphones
Integrated tuner, metronome and two tapedeck modules for easy recording
Dedicated "Live View" for performing on stage

What more do you need?

OMGWTFAOLBBQ fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Feb 14, 2010

# ¿ Feb 14, 2010 00:11

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