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Ableton Live - 6.0 Reference Manual

1. Amount Rate 1 25ms 865ms Woms F0 Bz 76 The Chorus effect uses two parallel time modulated delays to create chorus thickening and flanging effects Each delay has its own delay time control calibrated in milliseconds Delay 1 has a highpass filter that can remove low frequencies from the delayed signal Greater highpass values let only very high frequencies pass through to Delay 1 Delay 2 can switch among three different modes When off only Delay 1 is audible In Fix Mode only Delay 1 s delay time will be modulated When Mod is activated Delay 2 will receive the same modulation as Delay 1 To set both delay lines to Delay 1 s delay time turn on the link button This is especially useful if you want to change both delays with a single gesture The Modulation X Y controller can impart motion to the sounds To change the modula tion rate for the delay times click and drag along the horizontal axis To change the amount of modulation click and drag along the vertical axis You can also make changes by entering parameter values in the Amount and Rate fields be low the X Y controller The Amount value is in milliseconds while the modulation frequency rate is in Hertz Clicking the 20 switch multiplies the modulation frequency by 20 to achieve more extreme sounds The Feedback control determines how much of the output signal feeds back into the input The Chorus Effect CHAPTE
2. 123 Warp Modes nns asennsuissnrrnun 123 Variable Bit Rate files see samples Watp Switch 2 0sdscc as dives eri kete es 100 Velocity Amount field 140 Warping cikidndedibtadoheddaiadeies 113 Velocity Editor wend s conned onqarnanedns 127 longer pieces E EEE N 119 Velocity effect EA E E E eee eae 287 manipulating grooves 119 View menu commands multiple clips 5 sieldareadewasnrn 122 Crossfader option EEEE re ae mee Re 168 odd length loops EE en EON EN ae 1 18 In Out option 26 147 168 straight loops eee eee 117 Mixer option 26 168 tempo master slave 114 Returns option 26 168 171 UNGUEIGOPE 2 ciduyetkssawyeveens 117 Sends option 5 26 168 webshop crcareceaiaeadeasat see Ableton Track Delays option 168 Widen Grid command 79
3. 224 Close All Folders command 37 Cut Scenes command 89 color scheme see Skin preference Cut Time command 7 Complex Mode sc02iscadeekconoanead 125 compressed audio files see samples D Compressor effect 252 Compressor Il effect 64 253 Decoding Cache preferences piaaepaes 45 Computer MIDI Keyboard button 151 Delay Compensation option 204 Computer MIDI Keyboard option 151 Delete Automation command 220 Consolidate command 55 81 Delete command CONTEXT MENU o seeeyseaeareeeseapace 372 and devices e 0 192 Control chooser 4 ipnss sndvaresnaases see and envelopes 5 228 Automation Control chooser see and tracka ooe E 171 in the Browser 004 43 Clip Envelope Control chooser Delete Locator button 74 INDEX 377 Delete Locator command 74 and MIDI notes 133 Delete Scenes command 89 and rendering to disk 48 Delete Time command 80 and return tracks 172 Demo Mode 0 0 0eee eee es 14 and Scenes 0 eee eee ees 86 turning off cece eee eee ee 16 and tracks cece eee 171 Demo Sets dacnauecdveeseadundiavede ds 18 in the Browser 0005 42 Detune field ssessorsrcssoisresuoisss 105 with Clip Stop buttons
4. All Channee in ai A MIDI From MIDI From Master All ins All Ins z All Channes i All Channew A yp Monlior Monlior The Track In Out Section in A OA in At OA Auto au in the Arrangemen nto rel bo giles Sala 5 Beats v Master lt 5 Beas v Left and Session View 1 Impulse ow 1 Impulse_ ov Right Audio tracks default to recording a stereo signal from the external input pair 1 2 MIDI tracks default to recording all MIDI that is coming in through the active external input devices The computer keyboard is by default activated as a pseudo MIDI input device allowing you to record MIDI even if no MIDI controller hardware is currently available For every track you can choose an input source other than the default any mono or stereo external input a specific MIDI channel from a specific MIDI in device audio from ReWire slave programs or a signal coming from another track The Routing chapter describes these options in detail 14 2 Arming Record Enabling Tracks 1 ii z an OrORO P 1 2 3 A 3 Rhodes 3 Ss 13 E S S Track Arm Buttons in the pa poa O A B A B A B Arrangement Left and Session Right Mixers y 1 Bass n n A 2 Chords To select a track for recording click on its Arm button It doesn t matter if you click a track s Arm button in the Session View or in the Arrangement View since the two share the same set of tracks By default armed tracks are mon
5. 100 00 40 Filter Freq Res Ei we Spread Transpose A Q 20 T30 2st Fixed Level Time Tone Volume A A oon D A Q 3 1 dB 85 25 6 0 dB Each of Operator s oscillators can either output its signal directly or use its signal to modulate another oscillator Operator offers eleven predefined algorithms that determine how the oscillators are connected An algorithm is chosen by clicking on one of the structure icons in the global display which will appear if the bottom right global section of the shell is selected Signals will flow from top to bottom between the oscillators shown in an algorithm icon Fixed Level Q e i Band 2408 v 13 dB Fixed Level r Pitch Env Ua E 8 4 dB 2 9 2 Volume SHO Cc 12 dB 70 Operator Folded Operator s Global Display CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 295 Typically FM synthesis makes use of pure sine waves creating more complex waveforms via modulation However in order to simplify sound design and to create a wider range of possible sounds we designed Operator to produce a variety of other waveforms including noise The instrument is made complete with an LFO a pitch envelope and a filter section Note that lots of classic FM synthesizers create fantastic sounds without using filters at all so we suggest exploring the possibilities of FM without the filter at first and adding it l
6. Global 2 Live also displays a movie file s QuickTime markers if present in the Arrangement View and Clip View QuickTime markers are created by external video authoring applications and although they cannot be selected or edited in any way by Live they do provide visual cues that can be helpful when scoring Note that these markers are always read from the original movie file and are not stored in the Live Set or video clip For the most part video clips in the Arrangement View are treated just like audio clips They can be trimmed for example by dragging their right or left edges However there are some editing commands that when applied to a video clip will cause it to be replaced by an audio clip which by definition has no video component This replacement only occurs internally your original movie files are never altered The commands which will cause this are Consolidate Reverse and Crop A Video Clip with a QuickTime Marker CHAPTER 19 WORKING WITH VIDEO 241 19 2 2 The Video Window abieton movie j A 1 Audio II O ableton movie mov b aie 2 Audio il 4 Master ll MWe eke 4 The Video Window is a separate floating window that always remains above Live s main window It can be dragged to any location you like and it will never get covered up by Live By default it opens at the same resolution as the video clip but it can be resized by dragging its bottom right
7. 153 Loop switch keyboard shortcuts 4 362 Clip View 103 236 237 Control Bar 0 2 eee ee 75 L with MIDI clips ac is9xceekeexanes 131 Loop To Next Locator command 75 Language preference 6 Loop Punch Region Length fields 75 latency see Sync Delay preference Loop Region controls 102 103 Launch box 0 e eee ee eee 94 138 and clip envelopes 236 Launch Modes 0 eee eee 139 with MIDI clips 00 0e0 131 Legato Mode eee eee 141 Loop Warp Short Samples preference 114 IESSONS as oooh ress teeters a 4 LiDrary cscverecd ce bee daeecactees 33 60 M migrating from Live 5 61 Library Path preference 61 Mackie Control cis acaeeevedeasiveses 339 Link Unlink Envelope switch 236 Macro Controls e eee ee 206 Live Clips tidcckitveseisivebiottiwdaed a 50 Macro Map Mode oo c ccesessass 216 Live Device Browser 190 Manage Files command Live Pack Preferences 6 and changing sample references 54 Live Packi 246 023 Serie det aeann 60 and collecting external samples 65 Live PrO SCtS asics wh eerren enian ak 55 67 and device presets s civigvsiases 57 and finding unused samples 67 and Live Sets o 2 lt a dadieeds ca 56 and importing projects 62 DACKING os natdosviatasedanidtwws 68 and locating mis
8. 290 Grain Delay effect 04 263 saturator and envelope 292 Grain Flux field 000 125 Start Tune and Stretch 291 Grain Size field o anaoa 124 Info VieW 1 cece cece eee cence ee eens 5 Grain Size knob 00 08 124 insert grid CHOC ede na a EEN 190 and Arrangement editing 78 INStrUMeNt 065 keds e aed eres 190 and envelope drawing 222 DIUG INS evisicitetinieretives be 195 and MIDI editing 132 TACK E E TTT 171 in editing clip envelopes 237 Insert Audio Track command 171 working with the 78 insert marker 0 0 e cee e ee eee 72 groove feature 0 0e eee 97 Insert MIDI Clip command 126 Insert MIDI Track command 171 H Insert Return Track command 172 Insert Scene command 89 hard disk ee ee ee see CPU insert Silente command lt lt lt nsss 80 Hard Disk Overload indicator 361 instruments 000 ee see devices hiding products scscaniy ta nion dspace any 16 High Quality switch 0 106 K hot swapping casaieiietyaweanteas ees 43 and device presets 194 Keep Offset button 045 99 INDEX 379 Key Map Mode switch 338 Loop Selection command 75 Key MIDI In Indicator 153 Loop Start Punch In Position fields 75 Key MIDI Out Indicator
9. Beat Time Horizontally The MIDI Editor has both vertical and horizontal navigation Along the horizontal axis lies CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 129 a time ruler which shows note position along a musical timeline The vertical axis contains both the note ruler displaying octaves CO C10 and a representation of a piano keyboard the piano roll Note that if the Preview switch at the top of the piano roll is activated you can listen to the results of your piano roll playing 1 To smoothly change the time zoom level click and drag vertically in the time ruler Drag horizontally in the time ruler to scroll from left to right 2 Click and drag vertically in the note ruler to change which octaves are shown or drag horizontally to change the vertical zoom size of MIDI notes and the keyboard 3 Click and drag over one or more notes to define a selection Then double click on the note ruler to automatically zoom in on your selection If no notes are selected double clicking the note ruler will zoom in on the area from the lowest to the highest note in the clip 4 To zoom in and out around the current selection use the computer keyboard s and keys 5 The Clip Overview just beneath the MIDI Editor can also be used for navigation It always shows the complete contents of the selected MIDI clip The black rectangular outline represents the part of the clip that is currently displayed in the Editor
10. 17 4 3 Locking Envelopes When moving clips Live normally moves all automation with the clip Sometimes you might want to lock the envelopes to the song position rather than to the clips and the Arrangement View s Lock Envelopes switch does just that You can also choose to lock envelopes from the Options menu To Move all Breakpoints Within the Selection Drag Any One of Them Dragging an Envelope Line Segment Moves the Segment Vertically CHAPTER 17 AUTOMATION AND EDITING ENVELOPES 224 gs t 17 4 4 Edit Menu Commands There are a number of useful Edit menu commands for editing envelopes To cut or copy automation from a track independent of the associated clip use the Edit menu s Cut Envelope and Copy Envelope commands respectively To simultaneously copy and paste a selection of envelope into a track s future use the Duplicate Envelope command Note that Live allows you to copy and paste envelope movements not only from one point in time to another but also from one parameter to another However there is obviously no meaningful conversion from a pan movement to say an equalizer frequency and all Live can do is somehow preserve the gesture 17 4 5 Editing the Tempo Automation The ability to dynamically stretch and compress audio to track any tempo or tempo variation is one of Live s specialties In Live the song tempo is just another automated control To edit the song tempo envelope unfold
11. Auto Filter com Envelope LFO S amp H Amount Shape ao 6 19 Rate LV E EFs bz 10 0 Hz Q 0 20 Spin o EJ 4 Ce 12 16 25 The Auto Filter Effect The Auto Filter effect provides classic analog filter emulation It can be modulated by an envelope follower and or an LFO to create moving filter effects CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 247 There are four different filter types lowpass highpass bandpass and notch For each type the X Y controller adjusts frequency to adjust click and drag on the X axis and Q also called resonance to adjust click and drag on the Y axis You can also click on the Freq and Q numeric displays and type in exact values Low Q values create a broad filter curve while higher values introduce a narrow resonant peak to the sound With bandpass filtering Q sets the bandwidth of the passed signal The Quantize Beat control applies quantized modulation to the filter frequency With Quan tize Beat off frequency modulation follows the control source Turning this feature on updates the filter modulation rhythmically with stepped changes that track the master tempo The numbered buttons represent 16th notes so for example selecting 4 as a beat value produces a modulation change once per beat The Envelope section controls how the envelope modulation affects the filter frequency The Amount cont
12. Fixed Level Volume Fine Zak m OS Devices in the Track View The Track View is where you insert view and adjust the devices for the selected track To select a track and open the Track View to access its devices double click the track s name The Track View appears in the bottom area of the Live screen To learn about a particular device and how to operate it consult the Live Audio Effect Reference Live MIDI Effect Reference or the Live Instrument Reference To learn about creating and using custom groupings of instruments and effects check out the Instrument and Effect Racks chapter Get hands on with devices by assigning their parameters to MIDI or key remote control CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 190 15 1 Using the Live Devices Devices Name v P23 struments gt E Instrument Rack gt E Impulse gt E Operator gt E Sampler gt E Simpler gt mot eftects v PD Audio Effects gt E Audio Effect Rack v E Auto Filter y E Cut 0 Move L 28 07 2006 00 04 a 03 F Click on the Device Browser selector to access the palette of Live s built in devices You will notice that MIDI effects audio effects and instruments each have their own folders in the Browser The easiest way to place a device in a track is to double click on it in the Browser which creates a new track to hold the device Alternatively select a destination track by clicking within it then
13. Pan Position mHE The Clip View s Envelopes Box The top menu is the Device chooser which selects a general category of controls with which to work Device chooser entries are different for different kinds of clips e Audio clips have entries for Clip the clip s sample controls every effect in the track s device chain and the mixer e MIDI clips have entries for MIDI Ctrl MIDI controller data and every device in the track s device chain CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 228 The bottom menu the Control chooser selects among the controls of the item chosen in the top menu In both the Device and the Control chooser you can easily identify the items that have a non neutral clip envelope by a little LED appearing next to their names The quick chooser buttons below the menus select commonly edited controls Clicking the menus or the quick chooser buttons brings up the Envelope Editor showing the selected envelope instead of the Sample Display or MIDI Editor You can toggle the display by clicking on the title bars of the Sample Notes and Envelopes boxes The techniques for drawing and editing clip envelopes are the same as those for automation envelopes in the Arrangement View If you create a nice section of envelope that you want to have repeat several times try the following 1 Enclose the desired selection in the loop brace and click the
14. Note that MIDI and computer key assignments are bound to the slots not to the clips they contain Switches and buttons among them the Track and Device Activator switches the Control Bar s tap tempo metronome and transport controls Radio buttons A radio button selects from among a number of options One instance of a radio button is the crossfader assignment section in each track which offers three options The track is assigned to the crossfader s A position the track is unaffected by the crossfader or the track is affected by the crossfader s B position Continuous controls like the mixer s volume pan and sends The crossfader the behavior of which is described in detail in the respective section of the Mixing chapter CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 328 23 1 MIDI Remote Control Live can be controlled remotely by external MIDI control surfaces such as MIDI keyboards or controller boxes Live also supports the Mackie Control a topic that is covered in its own section for completely mouse free program operation Before we explain how remote control assignments are made and implemented let s first make the distinction between MIDI remote control and a separate use of MIDI in Live as the input for our MIDI tracks Let s suppose that you are using a MIDI keyboard to play an instrument in one of Live s MIDI tracks If you assign C 1 on your MIDI keyboard to a Session View Clip Launch button th
15. The pitch envelope modulates the pitch of the sample as well as of the Modulation Oscil lator if it is enabled CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 318 22 3 6 The Filter Global Tab Sampler Type IM12dB Morph Freq Res ay 0 Ip bp Vel Key 100 0 0 Type Amount Se Jp The Filter Hard o 17 0 Zone v ENV Amount 72 4 inital L0 0 Attack Peak Decay Sample Sustain End Release Time lt Vei PitchvOsc Loop Filter Globals Volume 0 dB Vol lt Vel 0 0 inital None v Time Attack _ inf oB Peak Decay Modulation Sustain Release Time lt Vel Loop None 9 Time 993 m gt Bains 0 100 ms Fez ms Bi BE ms 0 100 ms Pan Pan lt Rnd Time Time lt Key Voices c 0 0 o q 0 AE Sampler features a powerful morphable filter with an integrated waveshaper The filter can morph continuously from lowpass to bandpass to highpass to notch and back to lowpass Naturally filter morphs can be automated Classic 24 dB lowpass bandpass and highpass modes supplement the morphable filter s 12 dB and 24 dB modes The Volume Envelope The volume envelope is global and defines the articulation of Sampler s voices Up to 32 voices are available simultaneously from each instance of the device Voice retriggering can optionally b
16. p Sonic Charge v Povst Plug In Devices Are Available from the Plug In Device Browser docimate x Consider an audio clip playing in an audio track The audio signal from the clip reaches the leftmost device in the chain This device processes changes the signal and feeds the result into the next device and so on The number of devices per track is theoretically unlimited In practice the computer s processor speed does impose a limit on the number of devices you can use at the same time a topic that deserves separate discussion Note that the signal connections between audio devices are always stereo but the software s inputs and outputs can be configured to be mono in the Audio Preferences When the signal has passed through the device chain it ends up in Live s mixer As the Session and Arrangement share the same set of tracks they also share the mixer The mixer can be shown in both views for convenience To optimize the screen layout the individual mixer sections can be shown or hidden using the View menu s entries Arrangement View Left and Session View Right Gems 8 0 a4 inf int Hens s eH mu oc il il nf inf 9 4 Y lt a Ee iow Ed e Soto The Live Mixer in the S EA e o7 e e The mixer has controls for volume pan position and sends which adjust the contribution CHAPTER 4
17. the sample currently in use but only the excerpt that is actually used plus a 50 millisecond safety margin on both ends The new sample can be found after saving the Live Set in the Set s Project folder under Samples Processed Crop Until the Set is saved the new sample remains at the location specified by the Temporary Folder 8 2 10 Replacing and Editing the Sample To replace the sample referenced by the clip with a different one drop the new sample directly from the File Browser into the Clip View Clip settings like pitch and volume will be retained The Warp Markers will be retained only if the new sample has the exact same length as the old sample The Sample Displays PC Mac context menu includes the Reveal Sample command This opens the File Manager for the current Set with the sample referenced by the clip selected From there you can replace and destructively edit the sample in such a way that all clips and instruments referencing the sample will be affected 8 3 The Notes Box Orig BPM Start Set 140 00 Iaa Daem Bank 16 La None Sub Bank toop None Position Gad ala Program E 18 J Length Ged 16 oj 0 The Notes Box CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 110 8 3 1 Tempo Controls The Orig BPM field displays Live s interpretation of the tempo at which the clip s MIDI was recorded When dragging up or down in the Original BPM field or clicking the
18. 1 Audio 2 Audio 3 MIDI 4 MIDI You can drag tracks by their title bars to rearrange them or click and drag on their edges to change their width in the Session View or height in the Arrangement View Tracks are deleted using the Edit menu s Delete command 13 3 Return Tracks and the Master Track In addition to tracks that play clips a Live Set has a Master track and up to twelve return tracks these cannot play clips but allow for more flexible signal processing and routing The return tracks and the Master track occupy the right hand side of the Session mixer view and the bottom end of the Arrangement View Tracks are Represented by Track Title Bars CHAPTER 13 MIXING 172 Note that you can hide and show the return tracks using the Returns command in the View menu Like the normal clip tracks the returns and the Master can host any number of effects However whereas a clip track s effect processes only the audio within that track return tracks can process audio sent to them from numerous tracks For example suppose you want to create rhythmic echoes with a delay effect If you drag the effect into a clip track only clips playing in this track will be echoed Placing this effect in a return track lets it receive audio from any number of tracks and add echoes to them A clip track s Send control regulates how much of the clip track s output feeds the associated return track s input What s more even the ret
19. 25 1 2 CPU Load from Tracks and Devices Generally every track and device being used in Live incurs some amount of CPU load However Live is smart and avoids wasting CPU cycles on tracks and devices that do not contribute anything useful For example dragging devices into a Live Set that is not running does not significantly increase the CPU load The load increases only as you start playing clips or feed audio into the effects When there is no incoming audio the effects are deactivated until they are needed again If the effect produces a tail like reverbs and delays deactivation occurs only after all calculations are complete While this scheme is very effective at reducing the average CPU load of a Live Set it cannot reduce the peak load To make sure your Live Set plays back continuously even under the most intense conditions play back a clip in every track simultaneously with all devices enabled 25 1 3 Track Freeze Live s Freeze Track command can greatly help in managing the CPU load incurred by devices and clip settings When you select a track and execute the Freeze Track command Live will create a sample file for each Session clip in the track plus one for the Arrangement Thereafter clips in the track will simply play back their freeze files rather than repeatedly calculating processor intensive device and clip settings in real time The Freeze Track command is available from Live s Edit menu and from
20. The Velocity Zone Editor The Chain Select Editor CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 214 a scale of 0 127 similar to the Velocity Zone Editor Above the value scale however you will find a draggable indicator known as the Chain selector The chain select zone is a data filter just like the other zones although all chains in a Rack receive input signals only those with chain select zones that overlap the current value of the Chain selector can be addressed and thereby produce output In MIDI Effect Racks chain select zones filter all incoming MIDI events such as MIDI CCs not just notes Fade ranges attenuate the velocities of notes entering a chain In Instrument Racks and Audio Effect Racks which both output audio signals fade ranges attenuate the volume level at each chain s output So what happens then if the Chain selector is moved outside of the chain select zone where a sound is currently playing If the zone ends in a fade range the chain s output volume is attenuated to zero while the Chain selector is outside of the zone If the zone had no fade range the output volume is not attenuated allowing the chain s effects like long reverb tails or delays to fade out according to their own settings Let s consider how we can make use of chain select zones in a performance situation Making Preset Banks Using Chain Select Audio Effect Rack 3a Auto Chain Hide o i 8 16 24 32 40 izaro me 4 s oF j
21. The following Preferences from the Record Warp Launch tab are relevant to the sample files that are created by recording e The sample file type you would like Live to create can be chosen from the File Type chooser in the Record Warp Launch Preferences e The bit depth of the sample file you will create by recording can be chosen from the Bit Depth chooser in the Record Warp Launch Preferences You can save time by setting up reasonable defaults for the clips you are recording in the Record Warp Launch Preferences tab In particular it is smart to indicate the rough category of sound to be recorded by choosing the appropriate default Warp Mode If you decide later on a different song tempo the program will automatically maintain good sound quality usually without further adjustment 14 8 Where are the Recorded Samples Recorded samples are stored with the current Set s Project folder under Samples Recorded Until the Set is saved it remains at the location specified by the Temporary Folder preference which is found in the Preferences File Folder tab To make sure Live will not run out of disk space while recording into a new Set please make sure the Temporary Folder is on a drive partition with sufficient free space 14 9 Using Remote Control for Recording Using Key Map Mode and MIDI Map Mode you can operate Live s recording functions without using the mouse You can map the Control Bar s Record and transport controls as well
22. an oa Aa W N Loop On Off Toggles the Arrangement Loop switch on off Punch In Punch Out Toggles Live s Punch In Punch Out switches on off Home Jumps to the Arrangement start 1 1 1 End Jumps to the Arrangement end Rew Forw When pressed once these buttons will move the play position one beat backward forward When held down the buttons move forward backward in increments of one bar during Arrangement playback one beat if the Ar rangement is stopped Holding down the Mackie Control s Alt button when the Arrangement is playing will also move in one beat increments forward backward Stop Stops Arrangement playback 8 Play Plays the Arrangement from the song start or insert marker 9 Record Toggles the Record button on off Arrows e In the Session View the arrows navigate through the Session View grid Pressing the zoom button in the middle of the arrows will fire the currently selected clip or stop another playing clip in the same track if the currently selected slot is empty To stop playing the selected clip hold down the Mackie Control s Options button while pressing zoom and use the Alt button to add remove the selected slot s Clip Stop button Note that the LEDs associated with the zoom buttons will display the play status of a clip an illuminated LED signifies a playing clip a blinking LED signifies a clip that has been triggered but is not yet playing and an unillu
23. e Edit a referenced sample using an external application which can be chosen in the Preferences File Folder tab Clicking the Edit button will open the referenced sample in the external application The sample will remain offline as long as the Edit switch is engaged For samples used in audio clips the current set of Warp Markers is retained only if the sample length remains the same as before External na Project Test n a Library na e View a sample s location The Location column states if a sample is missing or if it resides in the Live Library a Project or somewhere else external 5 6 Live Projects A Live Project is a folder containing Live related files that belong together Consider for example work on a piece of music You start out with an empty Live Set you record audio and thereby create new sample files you drag in samples from collections you save different Every Line in the Sample Reference List is a Drop Target for Samples The Sample Reference Lists Hot Swap Button The Sample Reference List s Edit Switch The Sample Reference List s Location Column CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 56 versions of the Live Set along the way so that you can go back and compare Perhaps you also save Live Clips or device presets that belong to this particular musical piece The project folder for this Live Project will maintain all the files related to this piece of
24. eton Q oy amm Reference Manual Live Version 6 0 for Windows and Mac OS Created by Bernd Roggendorf Gerhard Behles Robert Henke Awi Reiner Rudolph Stefan Haller Stefan Franke Frank Hoffmann Andreas Zapf Ralf Suckow Gregor Klinke Matthias Mayrock Friedemann Schautz Ingo Koehne Jakob Rang Pablo Sara Nicholas Allen Henrik Lafrenz Jan Buchholz Kevin Haywood Dominik Wilms Christian Kleine Amaury Groc Daniel Buettner Alex Koch Henrik Hahn Simon Frontzek Torsten Wendland Torsten Slama Eduard Mueller Jeremy Bernstein Bernard Chavonnet Reference Manual by Kevin Haywood Rose Knudsen Gerhard Behles Jakob Rang Robert Henke Torsten Slama Essential Instrument Collection created by SONiVOX Web www sonivoxrocks com Drum samples provided by Big Fish Audio Il Copyright 2006 Ableton AG All rights reserved This manual as well as the software described in it is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license The content of this manual is furnished for informational use only is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Ableton Ableton assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this book Except as permitted by such license no part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means elec
25. 0 Ciips DA gt M Presets After entering your search terms begin the search by clicking the Go button or pressing on your computer keyboard Live will search the entire Browser root for your search terms The results will include files that match all search terms as opposed to any For example if you search for acoustic bass the search will yield all acoustic bass sounds not all acoustic sounds and all bass sounds By default the search function matches the entered criteria not only to any part of a file s name and suffix e g wav but also to any part of its file path This means that a search for bass for example will yield not only files with names containing the word bass but also those located in folders with names containing the word bass Compressed sample metadata tags are also included in the search making it possible to search for songs from a specific album or artist for example Searching file paths and metadata can be deactivated with the Search In Path and Search In Metadata settings available in the Preferences File Folder tab The names of MIDI tracks within multitrack MIDI files are also included in searches Live maintains an index of the hard disk so that it can deliver search results instantly The index is kept up to date as you create install delete rename and move files within Live it has no way of knowing however what you are doing outside of Live If
26. 00085 124 Time Ruler Format option 393 INDEX 385 U view selector buttons 5 7 views working with 05 see Undo command View menu commands see view and Arrangement editing 131 selector buttons and automation editing 220 Vinyl Distortion effect 276 and recorded clips 1 a es aaeee 181 Volume control 0 eee rras 169 and recording MIDI 185 Volume quick chooser button see Unfold Track button se eee eee eee TI 221 quick chooser buttons Unfreeze Track command 359 VST Plug ins using see devices unlock key ima d bee ae ata TETTETETT ET 11 VST Plug In Custom Folder button 199 unlocking Live 0 eee e eee ee 11 more than once n 15 Ww OMMINS sec ovasardvotianasagaceienes 12 GND psdawesddavesiederutbiddan 12 Warp BPM From Here command 122 unlocking the program see copy Warp As Bar Loop command 121 protection Warp From Here Start At command updates see Check for Updates 121 command Warp From Here Straight command 122 Use Audio Units preference 203 Warp From Here command 121 Use Plug In Custom Folder ee eer 199 Warp Markers airbase ta lam OO Sara rah EE ON 115 Use VST Plug In System Folders 199 COPYING 0 eee veces teeter ees 122 Utility effect erosa inaid 275 SAVING e 116 saving settings 106 V Warp Mode chooser
27. 1 1 1 A Video Clip at the Start of the Arrangement Next we double click on the video clip s title bar to display its contents in the Clip View There we drag the Start Marker to the right so the video clip starts at the beginning of the action Dragging the Start Marker behind the Pre Roll Now both the action and the music to be composed start at 1 1 1 00 00 00 00 Once the music is done and ready to be rendered to disk we need to bring back the pre roll In the Arrangement View we select all materials Edit menu Select All then drag the entire composition a few seconds to the right CHAPTER 19 WORKING WITH VIDEO 245 i Pea een een eS oe TG The Video Clip and the SSS Final Clip of Music Now we click on the video clip s title bar to deselect everything else then drag the video clip s left edge to the left as far as possible to reveal the pre roll again The Video Clip with Pre Roll Restored The Render to Disk command per default creates sample files as long as the Arrangement selection as the video clip is still selected the exported sample file will have the exact same duration as the original movie file including the pre roll 246 Chapter 20 Live Audio Effect Reference Live comes with a selection of custom designed built in audio effects The Working with Instruments and Effects chapter explains the basics of using effects in Live 20 1 Auto Filter
28. 180 183 FOULING 4 054 ce aint etadnbaedt ied 28 147 punch in punch out 180 and computer keys 151 resampling the Master output 155 and external audio in out 150 with count in 0 eee ee eee 185 and external MIDI in out 150 recording an Arrangement 89 and instruments 161 recording automation 219 and layering 0005 165 Redux effect casas esndenows aides 267 and post effects recording 159 registration see Ableton and recording MIDI as audio 159 remote control see mapping to and ReWire jcc aeneaituedeeuavded 153 MIDI keys and sidechain inputs 164 Remote Control Surfaces settings 339 between tracks 155 Rename command for creating submixes 160 in the Browser 0 045 43 with external synthesizers 152 WIAClipE srsgricusiireserareinari 96 with locators ee eee eee 74 S with plug ins cana anevieGib wrens 202 Renderto Disk eoa cnn iocaenn ceed 47 SAlGS 24 426 A a aes see Ableton Repeat Mode eeee eee 139 Sample box seeeeeeeeeeeees 94 resampling 155 see recording sample collections see Essential Rescan Plug Ins preference 196 Instrument Collection Resonators effect 0000005 268 Sample Display 5 94 101 return tracks 0 0ec eee 26 171 Sam
29. 2 and 2 buttons you will see that the notes in the MIDI Editor are correspondingly stretched or compressed This is useful for aligning notes that you have recorded without a tempo reference like Live s metronome 8 3 2 Bank and Program Change Live can send MIDI bank program change messages to external devices According to the settings in these controls launching a clip also sends its bank program change message If you are using Live to send MIDI to your synth this means that each MIDI clip in your Live Set can play a different sound on your synth Live offers messages for 128 banks with 128 sub banks each of which has 128 programs Please see the documentation that came with your synthesizer to determine how many of these messages it can use If you do not want your clip to send program or bank change messages simply set the bank program choosers to None 8 3 3 MIDI Loop Region These controls manage how the contents of a MIDI clip are played and shown in the MIDI Editor They work the same way as those for audio clips In the MIDI Editor the zoom scroll area is located above the beat time ruler the scrub area just below 8 4 Clip Defaults and Update Rate You can change the rate at which Live applies your Clip View settings to a running clip Clip View changes will be quantized by the rate selected from the Clip Update Rate chooser in the Record Warp Launch Preferences Certain clip settings such as Launch Mode and Warp
30. 9 70 4 On Chan Pres Volume Osc 71 14 4 LFO 1 Amt Vol Mod Wheel LFO 3 Amt A 33 33 q LFO 2 Amt A Pitch Bend Pitch Osc gt 0 00 Fiter Freq Pitch Bend Range ie The MIDI Tab The MIDI tab s parameters turn Sampler into a dynamic performance instrument The fundamental MIDI controllers Key Velocity Release Velocity Channel Pressure and Pitch Bend can be mapped to two destinations each with varying degrees of influence CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 320 22 4 Simpler Simpler ee dee eid itahcaminett hades e nee ee Stat Loop Length Fade Miep VSI Attack Decay Sustain Release LFO Pan Volume DIOAOMMOAQGH LOR 873 365 603 135 742ms 600ms 0 00B 537 ms 0 0 c 0 00 Filter Freq Res Vel LFO Rate Attack Retrig Transp LFO Glide Spread Vel Con HOEN E E BE e E ei a ES Eoee C Offset Type Type Beats Key Fine Env Time Voices Notet y A v Ms 0 0 oo ocd ost 4 Mm 19 20 Simpler is an instrument that integrates the basic elements of a sampler with a set of classic synthesizer parameters A Simpler voice plays a user defined sample section which is in turn processed by envelope filter LFO volume and pitch components Owners of Sampler who wish to take their Simpler creations further can convert Simpler s current settings to a
31. Auto Filter effect 00005 246 Auto Pan effect 0 0e eee 248 Auto Select i 3 nessa sadnagaveonsd ieees 211 Auto Hide Plug In Windows preference 198 Auto Open Plug In Windows preference 198 AUtO Warp ii cscesescie lien sdadesades ay Auto Warp Long Samples preference 114 Automatic Rescan on Each Search 40 INDEX 375 automation 6 cee eee ee 30 219 Clp BOM danveuetnesueekadteocnaataaaay 94 and grid lines so ciaaoaneniiasess 222 Clip Color chooser sa ciiuecenrieorns 96 AraWING 1 eee eee eee eee 222 Clip Envelope Control chooser 228 editing tacheleesarienes ve ieaes 222 Clip Envelope Device chooser 227 overriding reactivating 220 clip envelopes sasuserataiwese cade 31 226 FECOMGING sii es Sestece panera iaaa 219 and changing note pitch 229 Automation Control chooser 221 and changing note volume 231 Automation Device chooser 221 ASIL EOS oaea te neha ae 238 changing Clips for s 056 0s0e 232 B creating long loops with 237 for MIDI controls 234 Back to Arrangement button 21 90 220 general editing of 227 Beat Repeat effect es cawedceerven vas 249 imposing rhythm with 238 beat time ruler 7 loop region settings for 235 and Arrangement editing 71 mixer control modulation with 233 and editing envelopes 236 scrambling beats with 231 aer
32. CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 111 Mode can be set up as defaults for all new clips This is also done in the Record Warp Launch Preferences 112 Chapter 9 Tempo Control and Warping Unlike music stored on tape or in a traditional digital audio workstation the music in Live remains elastic at all times Live is capable of time warping samples while streaming them from disk so as to synchronize them to the current Live Set s tempo This happens without affecting the pitch which can be changed independently Mixing and matching audio from different origins is therefore extremely easy 9 1 Tempo 9 1 1 Setting the Tempo The Control Bar s Tempo 129 00 t EX Field The Control Bar s Tempo field allows you to change the playback tempo of your Live Set at any time in real time You can even automate the tempo to create smooth or sudden tempo changes along the song timeline CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 113 You can have an external sequencer or drum machine play along with Live or have Live play along with the sequencer The respective settings are made in the MIDI Sync Preferences and the EXT switch next to the tempo control is activated to have Live follow an external MIDI clock source Please refer to the section on synchronization for details 9 1 2 Tapping the Tempo You can use Live s Tap Tempo function to set the tempo at any time As you click the Control Bar s Tap Tempo button once every beat the t
33. Compand values of less than zero on the other hand force outgoing velocity toward the mid range Drive pushes all values in the curve to the outer extremes Use these two controls together to sculpt or even redefine the dynamic structure of a piece 289 Chapter 22 Live Instrument Reference Live comes with a selection of custom designed built in instruments The Working with Instruments and Effects chapter explains the basics of using instruments in Live The boxed version of Live 6 ships with the Essential Instrument Collection a multi gigabyte library of meticulously sampled and selected instruments ready for use in either Simpler or our newest add on instrument Sampler Learn how to access the EIC sounds at the end of this chapter CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 290 22 1 Impulse Impulse 6a Volume Y Kick Snare PercA PercB PercC PercD Hi1 Hi 2 2 29 dB Stat Transp Stretch Drive Freq Res Pan Volume Time NGONO 0 00ms 2st 00 300 1 00kH 0 30 100s 0 000B 00 Velocity Velocity eamate veto hear Transp 0 0 00 Sat Rien Random Mode 0 0 A Impulse is a drum sampler with complex modulation capabilities The eight drum samples loaded into Impulse s sample slots can be time stretched filtered and processed by enve lope saturation pan and volume components nearly all of which are subject to random and velocity based m
34. LIVE CONCEPTS 27 each track makes to the input of any return tracks Return tracks only host effects and not clips Via their sends all tracks can feed a part of their signal into a return track and share its effects The mixer also includes a crossfader which can create smooth transitions between clips playing on different tracks Live s crossfader works like a typical DJ mixer crossfader except that it allows crossfading not only two but any number of tracks including the returns Ag Ag Ag Ty Bal FH 4 5 5 7 S s S S e Q7 iT et Devices that receive and deliver audio signals are called audio effects Audio effects are the only type of device that fit in an audio track or a return track However two more types of devices are available for use in MIDI tracks MIDI effects and instruments Consider a MIDI track playing a clip The MIDI signal from the clip is fed into the track s device chain There it is first processed by any number of MIDI effects A MIDI effect receives and delivers MIDI signals One example is the Scale effect which maps the incoming notes onto a user defined musical scale The last MIDI effect in the chain is followed by an instrument Instruments for instance Live s Simpler and Impulse receive MIDI and deliver audio Following the instrument there can be any number of audio effects as in an audio track MOI O EQ Three on e e je C s KEA D x Pa A 7 y A i GainLow GainMid GainHi
35. Or the instrument might offer a submixer of its own Using Impulse s Individual Outs to Separately Process Sample Slots CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 164 1 Bass Out 2 Drum Out 3 Lead 4 Bass 5 Drums jina toad synth bass FJarums lead slap bass kick drum closed HH 8 Q we W mW Audio From Audio From MIDI From MIDI From MIDI From 3 Lead gt 3 Lead All Ins All Ins All ins v ii 3 4 Konta gt lii 5 Konta gt All Channew All Channee f All Channew Monitor Monitor Monitor HE Auto Om HA Auto Om A Auto Or Audio To Audio To MIDI To Master gt Master 3 Lead x 2 Kontakt a 10 Komtakt v Sending MIDI to a multi timbral instrument is a variation of a case described above One MIDI track hosts the multi timbral instrument and additional MIDI tracks are used to feed its individual parts Each additional MIDI track has its Output Type chooser pointed to the track that contains the instrument and its Output Channel chooser referencing the target MIDI channel Additional audio tracks can then be used to tap the instrument s individual outputs as described earlier Feeding Sidechain Inputs Some effects have so called sidechain inputs A vocoder for instance imposes spectral characteristics taken from one signal say spoken word onto another signal for instance a stri
36. You can also adjust the clip start and end numerically using the respective value fields to the left of the Sample Display For warped clips these fields display values as bars beats CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 103 sixteenths for unwarped clips the display is in minutes seconds milliseconds Notice that you can use the Set buttons here to place the markers during playback Setting markers this way is quantized according to global quantization Clicking in the scrub area in the lower half of the waveform or above the beat time ruler will make clip playback jump to that point FORTEAN PTA ORT PAT APRN TD ee 1 Audio me alltel daddethlaailtte aia aldaiaeileads The size of this jump is quantized by the global quantization setting which can be quickly changed using the Ctrl_ 6 PC _ 6 Mac Z 8 Q and O shortcuts While the mouse is held down over the scrub area a portion of the clip the size of the chosen quantization setting will be repeatedly played With small quantization settings or a setting of None this allows you to scrub through the music Looping Clips To have the clip play as a potentially infinite loop turn on the Loop switch Note that the Warp switch must be activated before the Loop switch is accessible as unwarped clips cannot be looped You can click and drag to change the position and length of the loop brace in the Sample Display or you can type exact values into the Loop Length
37. command Drawing Identical Velocities Left and a Crescendo Right 138 Chapter 11 Launching Clips The Live Session View is set apart by the fact that it gives you the musician an spontaneous environment that encourages performance and improvisation An important part of how you take advantage of the Session View lies within how you configure your various Session View clips This chapter explains the group of settings used to define how each Session View clip behaves when triggered or launched 11 1 The Launch Box Remember that clips in the Session View are launched by their Clip Launch buttons or remote control Clip launch settings are made in the Launch box The Launch box only applies to Session View clips as Arrangement View clips are not launched but played according to their positions in the Arrangement To view the Launch box open the Clip View of a Session View clip by double clicking the clip then activating the leftmost Clip View Box selector panel CHAPTER 11 LAUNCHING CLIPS 139 Clip Launch Use the Clip View Box Selector to Bring up the Launch Box Note that you can edit the launch settings of more than one clip at the same time by first selecting the clips and then opening the Clip View 11 2 Launch Modes Clip Launch Launch Mode Trigger v The Clip Launch Mode Chooser The Launch Mode chooser offers a number of options for how clips behave with respect to mouse clicks compute
38. has copied the clips you launched during recording into the Arrangement in the appropriate tracks and the correct song positions Notice that your recording has not created new audio data only clips The Session clips and the Arrangement clips in one track are mutually exclusive Only one can play at a time When a Session clip is launched Live stops playing back the Arrangement in favor of the Session clip Clicking a Clip Stop button causes the Arrangement playback to stop which produces silence sA 7 The Back to OVR 1 Bar pea Arrangement Button Arrangement playback does not resume until you explicitly tell Live to resume by clicking the Back to Arrangement button which lights up to remind you that what you hear differs from the Arrangement 9 rT ew L EE al a LIITT IITTTT j J J The Stop All Clips Button CHAPTER 7 SESSION VIEW 91 To disable all Arrangement clips simultaneously click on the Stop All Clips button in the Master Track Status field The clips in the Arrangement and in the Session View exist independently from one another which makes it easy to improvise into the Arrangement over and over again until it s right Furthermore you can move clips not only within the Session grid but also from the Session View to the Arrangement and vice versa by using Copy and Paste or by dragging clips over the or O selectors When pasting material from the Arrangement into the Sessio
39. negative values move it towards the past Fortunately Live performs the modulation in beats rather Imposing a Volume Envelope on a Sample CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 232 than centimeters A vertical grid line is worth a sixteenth note of offset and the modulation can reach from plus eight sixteenths to minus eight sixteenths Sample offset modulation is the tool of choice for quickly creating interesting variations of beat loops We discourage using this technique for analytical cut and splice tasks they are much easier to perform using Live s Arrangement View and the results can easily be consolidated into new clips 1 12 13 14 2 Some sample offset envelope gestures have a characteristic effect a downward escalator shape for instance effectively repeats the step at the envelope s beginning Similarly a smooth ramp with a downwards slope is slowing time and can create nice slurring effects when the slope is not quite exactly 45 degrees try this with a 1 32 Transients setting 18 2 5 Using Clips as Templates As you are making creative use of clip envelopes the clips containing them develop a life of their own independent of the original sample You might wonder at a point What does this clip sound like with a different sample This is easy to find out by selecting the clip so that it is displayed in the Clip View and dragging the desired sample from one of the File Browsers or the Session or Arra
40. ro pe pt ct tent tn el a tl nt y 7 7 E u 003e 0 0048 0 0048 j m e t Frequ infected Bass A0ws 0 0 48 gt A Link 8424 9620 314 Oct Good gt o Snap RootKeyDetune Scale Pan Sample End Release Mode Release Mode Crossfade Detune B Eao oaa 100 c 18897 or a F o o Oct RAM 155 Hz 10 9 kHz Freqhi Reverse Sample Vol Sample Stan Sustain Mode Loop Stat LoopEnd Crossfade Detune Interpol off o If a MIDI track has no instrument and no audio effects then the track s output is a plain MIDI signal which has to be sent somewhere else to be converted into audio In this case the track s mix and Send controls disappear from the mixer Live s Crossfader A MIDI Effect an Instrument and an Audio Effect in a MIDI Track CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 28 eeccececeese a eeceeececeeece LJ 4 8 Presets and Racks Every Live device can store and retrieve particular sets of parameter values as presets As presets are stored independently from Live Sets new presets become part of a library that any project can draw from Live s Instrument and Effect Racks allow saving combinations of devices and their settings as a single preset This feature allows for the creation of powerful multi device creations and effectively adds all the capabilities of Live
41. the insert marker hold down the modifier while pressing the space bar 3 Clicking in the scrub area above the tracks will make playback jump to that point The size of these jumps is quantized according to the Control Bar s Quantization menu setting While the mouse is held down over the scrub area a portion of CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 73 the Arrangement the size of the chosen quantization setting will be repeatedly played With small quantization settings or a setting of None this allows you to scrub through the music gt r 7 44 45 Bass Bass Bass Bass qatar outarchra Scrubbing Arrangement 420_KRid 20_KRid modes rhodes2 modes rnodos2 I Playback 4 The song position can be adjusted numerically using the Control Bar s Arrange ment Position fields Setting the Play Position oh gt i ml e love lt 1 Bar o in the Arrangement Position Fields The Arrangement Position fields show the song position in bars beats sixteenths To change the values e Click and drag up or down in any of these fields e Click and type a number then hit Return e Click and decrement or increment the value with and 4 5 Arrangement playback can be started at a particular point in one of your clips using the scrub area in the Clip View 6 Several Arrangement playback positions can be set using launchable locators Note that any computer keyboard key or MIDI message can be mapped to the transpor
42. 88 Device Activator switch 132 WIL CHDS 4aesuedduasascuneracwuse 96 Device chooser 00 0eeeeees see with scenes 02 cece eee 89 Automation Device chooser see effects ais dasa cane teesesees see devices Clip Envelope Device chooser Envelope Editor 94 227 devices skiing ei ieee ia diadaadeaas 24 envelopes see automation see clip compensating for delays 204 envelopes PrESetS secu hiss TIPRO anaguasen 193 Envelopes DOM scscanescoesnesces 94 227 the Live audio effects 246 EQ Eightetfect sorsra ss ivia eo eay ees 256 the Live instruments 289 EQ Three effect 0 00 0000 257 the Live MIDI effects 278 Erosion effect 0ee eee ee 259 using Audio Units Plug ins 203 Essential Instrument Collection 324 using Live devices 190 Exclusive Arm Solo preference 169 using plug in devices 195 Export MIDI Clip command 50 using VST Plug ins 199 exporting audio see Render to Disk Double Halve Original BPM buttons 110 external sync see MIDI synchronization 117 Draw Mode tasnstevennssaeseten eee 222 F and drawing MIDI 127 with clip envelopes 229 FAQs APEE TEETE see Ableton Draw Mode command cette cache 222 File Browser seb yeh fit ee eee eees 35 Duplicate Envelope command 224 opening Sets with the 18 Duplicat
43. Alternatively you can hold down the PC Mac modifier to solo more than one track 6 If the Arm Recording button is on the track is record enabled Tracks can only be armed one at a time unless the Exclusive Arm option in the Record Warp Launch Preferences is deactivated Alternatively you can hold down the PC Mac modifier to arm more than one track CHAPTER 13 MIXING 170 13 1 1 Session Mixer Features 11 Audio 12 Audio B gt m gt a o a Oo a m Gint Cnt Cant inf inf FI a 4t a ao ao LILII E LJILILI LJL LJLJLI EHSA LILI E Stop Clips i 6 i o I ceococcooooooooooooooooooos 3 o gy AS O a a a eo an mMM eup eeecccccccccccccccccsecccs CG H eecccccccccccccccccccscsss ERED m ena S The Session Mixer s Possibilities The Mixer section of the Session Mixer has several additional features that are not visible by default The mixer is resizable and dragging upwards on the top of the mixer will extend the height of the track meters adding tick marks a numeric volume field and resettable peak level indicators Increasing a track s width in this state will add a decibel scale alongside the meter s tick marks These enhancements are tailored for use in traditional mixing settings but a
44. Arrangement 2 MIDI Track with a Reverb Tail Frozen Arrangement View tracks will play back any relevant material extending beyond the lengths of their clips e g the tails of Reverb effects These frozen tails will appear in the Arrangement as crosshatched regions located adjacent to their corresponding clips They are treated by Live as separate temporary clips that disappear when unfrozen since the effect is then calculated in real time Therefore when moving a frozen clip in the Arrangement you will usually want to select the second frozen tail clip as well so that the two remain together For frozen Session clips only two loop cycles are included in the frozen clip which means that clips with unlinked clip envelopes may play back differently after two loop cycles when frozen The samples generated by the Freeze Track command are stored in your temporary recording folder until you save your Live Set at which point they are moved to the following project folder sub directory Samples Processed Freeze CHAPTER 25 COMPUTER AUDIO RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES 361 You can also decide to flatten frozen tracks which completely replaces the original clips and devices with their audible result The Flatten command is available from the Edit menu Besides providing an opportunity to conserve CPU resources on tracks containing a large number of devices the Track Freeze command simplifies sharing projects between compu
45. Audio Units Plug In Window 205 Chapter 16 Instrument and Effect Racks D Audio Effect Rack O Dynamic Tube Skiter Slosh Chain iaa Dry Wet a ji Progos E Soi lt 100 jj chatet Beet i S jj Output jivorx Bo Sl jj 33 Drife Cough ii Squatch Bic Is eii 2 38 dB Drive 9 C Drop Audio Effects Here mm cs lo ri 107 Fip 13 2 ms A Rack is a flexible tool for working with effects plug ins and instruments in a track s device chain Racks can be used to build complex signal processors dynamic performance instruments stacked synthesizers and more Yet they also streamline your device chain by bringing together your most essential controls While Racks excel at handling multiple devices they can extend the abilities of even a single device by defining new control relationships between its parameters Racks greatly expand upon the concept of device groups introduced in Live 5 The device groups of any Live Sets imported from Live 5 are automatically converted to Racks by Live 6 Note that these Live Sets once saved can no longer be opened in older versions of Live e Envelope a 138 Attack a 4 58 ms Release a 15 3 ms An Audio Effect Rack CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 206 16 1 An Overview of Racks 16 1 1 Signal Flow and Parallel Device Chains In any of Live s tracks device
46. Env control Tip If the pitch envelope is only applied to the LFO and is looping it can serve as another LFO modulating the rate of the first And since the envelope of the LFO itself can loop it can serve as a third LFO modulating the intensity of the first CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 300 22 2 5 Filter Section Filter Freq Res Ps Q O 2 13 30 0 Hz As mentioned earlier the filters are not the main focus of this instrument However they can be very useful for modifying the sonically rich timbres created by the oscillators And since the oscillators also provide you with the classic waveforms of analog synthesizers you can very easily build a subtractive synthesizer with them The filter section offers lowpass bandpass highpass and notch filters each with the choice of 12 dB or 24 dB slopes The 24 dB modes attenuate the filtered frequencies to a much greater degree and are commonly used in the creation of bass patches Filter cutoff frequency and resonance can be adjusted in the shell Filter frequency can also be modulated by note velocity note pitch the LFO and the filter envelope The Freq lt Vel Freq lt Key and Envelope controls in the filter s display set these three functions respectively 22 2 6 Global Controls The maximum number of Operator voices notes playing simultaneously can be adjusted with the Voices parameter in the global display Ideally one would want to leave thi
47. Here if You Are Interested in Buying Live CHAPTER 3 UNLOCKING LIVE 15 3 3 2 What if Change My Computer s Components If the challenge code of your computer changes for some reason Live will indeed ask you to unlock the software another time The challenge code does not change however when computer peripherals are replaced audio or MIDI hardware printers modems The challenge code may change if the motherboard processor or network card is replaced On some computers reformatting a hard drive also changes the challenge code 3 3 3 Can I Unlock Live More than Once The standard Live license allows you to use Live on only one computer at a time However if you have registered your product the Ableton server will provide you with two unlock keys in good faith that you will use Live on only one machine at a time Just proceed as described in the corresponding section You can therefore run Live on both a studio desktop computer and a tour laptop but not at the same time Should the Ableton server reject your demand for another unlock key please contact Able ton s technical support They can be reached by e E mail e Telephone 49 0 30 288 763 151 available Monday to Friday 11 to 15hrs CET e Fax 49 0 30 288 763 11 To speed up the process please e Register your copy of Live e Include a brief explanation of the circumstances Shttp www ableton com register Ssupport ableton com 7http
48. If the computer you want to unlock Live for is connected to the Internet the only thing you need to do is press the Unlock Online button Live will then create a connection to the Ableton server send your serial number and challenge code and receive the unlock key from the server No information other than this is exchanged between your computer and the Ableton server 3 2 4 Unlocking Offline Unlock Offline Use this option if this computer is not connected to the Internet Please note your Serial Number and the below Challenge Code and visit www ableton com uniock There you can either download the Unlock Key with a computer that is connected to the Internet transfer it to this computer and load it or you can enter the Unlock Key manually Challenge Code Load Unlock Key Unlocking Live Offline If the computer you want to unlock Live for is not connected to the Internet you can use any other computer to access the Ableton server s web interface This is a website with fields for entering your serial number and the challenge code which you can copy from Live s Unlock dialog 3http www ableton com unlock CHAPTER 3 UNLOCKING LIVE 13 Unlock Live Unlocking Live To work with your Ableton product you need an Unlock Key that is unique to your computer The Ableton server generates an Unlock Key based on your Serial Number and the Challenge Code of your computer Please enter your Serial Nu
49. Interpol POr nected Bass F t io 0 2 Unk 9571 12432 317 Oct Good y Snap Rootkey Detune Scale Sample End Release Mode Release Loop Crossfade Detune Er oct 4 100 15288 A Sie o 0 Oct RAM The playback characteristics of individual samples are set within the Sample tab Most of this tab is dedicated to displaying the waveform of the currently selected sample It is important to keep in mind that most of the values in this tab reflect the state of the currently selected sample only The Sample chooser always displays the current sample layer s name and is another way to switch between layers when editing The RootKey Detune Vol and Pan parameters add basic per sample mixing tools for quick assembly and tweaking of multisamples Reverse This is a global modulatable control that reverses playback of the entire multi sample Unlike the Reverse function in the Clip View a new sample file is not generated Instead sample playback begins from the Sample End point proceeds backwards through the Sustain Loop if active and arrives at the Sample Start point Snap Snaps all start and end points to the waveform zero crossings points where the amplitude is zero to avoid clicks As with Simpler this snap is based on the left channel of stereo samples so a small Crossfade value may be necessary in some cases to completely eliminate clicks T
50. Mac shortcut Cancel renaming with the key e Create folders by opening the context menu with PC 6 Mac and then selecting the Create Folder command e Delete files and folders using the Edit menu s Delete command or your computer s or key Deleting items within Live moves them to the system trash if necessary you can recover items from the system trash via your computer s operating system Note that while you can rename or delete entire MIDI files via the Browser this is not possible with the individual MIDI tracks contained within them This is also the case with the individual components of Live Sets 5 1 7 Hot Swap Mode In addition to the drag and drop method of loading files from the Browser Live offers a Hot Swap Mode to save you mouse travel Hot Swap Mode establishes a temporary link between the Browser and for example a virtual instrument While in Hot Swap Mode you can step through samples or presets to audition them in place that is within the instrument Hot swapping for presets is covered in the Live Device Presets section Let s go through an example of hot swapping samples Live s built in Impulse instrument features eight sample player slots that can be filled by dropping samples into them Alternatively we can click the Hot Swap button that appears as we move the mouse over a slot The Hot Swap Button in an Impulse Slot CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 44 Clicking the Hot Swap button
51. Note that the Track Activator switch on the same track still controls whether or not the track is heard at the Master output 5 The Cue Volume control adjusts the volume of the cueing output Note that when cueing is set up and activated the output of audio files that you are previewing in the Browser is also heard through the Cue Out 13 6 Track Delays A Track Delay control is available for every track in Live The control allows delaying or pre delaying the output of tracks in milliseconds in order to compensate for human acoustic hardware and other real world delays This section of the interface can be shown or hidden using its respective Mixer Section selector Stop Clips Track Delay Track Delay Track Delay Track Delay Track Delay Track Delay Track Delay 0 00 ms 0 00 ms 0 00 ms 0 00 ms 0 00 ms 0 00 ms 0 00 ms oO We do not recommend changing track delays on stage as it could result in undesirable clicks or pops in the audio signal Micro offsets in Session View clips can be achieved using the nudge buttons in the Clip View however track delays can be used in the Arrangement View for such offsets Note that delay compensation for plug ins and Live devices is a separate feature and is automatic by default Unusually high Track Delay settings or reported latencies from plug ins may cause noticeable sluggishness in the software If you are having latency related difficulties while recording
52. Set in the File Browser just as if it were a folder BB Parent Folder v E Tango Project 6 gt ea Samples e Unfolding a Set to A Reveal its Tracks You can now drag the individual tracks and drop them as described at the beginning of this section Of the three tracks contained in the Tango Set shown in the following figure two contain Session View clips These can be accessed by unfolding the tracks v EB Tango ais v Guitar lody Revealing the Session View Clips Contained in a Set i i You can browse preview and import Session View clips from the Set as if they had been stored as individual Live Clips This basically means that any Live Set can serve as a pool of sounds for any other suggesting creative reuse and crossover 5 5 3 Exporting Session Clips as New Sets You can export a selection of Session View clips as a new Live Set by dragging them to the File Browser To export a Set first click and drag or use the or PC CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 54 Mac modifiers to select more than one Session View clip Then simply drag the clips to a folder in the File Browser where you can either confirm Live s suggested name or type in one of your own 5 5 4 Template Sets Use the File Folder Preferences Template Save button to save the current Live Set as a template Live will use these settings as the initialized default state for new Live Sets You can use this
53. Tap Tempo button to tap along thereby setting the Live Set s tempo to match that of the clip 3 Turn warping on again and use the Warp From Here Start At command to tell Auto Warp to use your tapped tempo as a reference e Warp From Here Straight tells Auto Warp that this is a clip with no tempo variations common in electronically produced works Auto Warp will then set a single Warp Marker derived from its guess of the file s original tempo e Warp BPM From Here will also set a single Warp Marker but in this case Auto Warp is forced to interpret the clip as exactly matching the Live Set s tempo This is useful in cases when you happen to know the exact BPM value of an electronically produced work and can type it into the Control Bar before warping Multi Clip Warping When clips of equal length are multi selected adding or changing Warp Markers for one clip will apply identical Warp Markers to all This is convenient in any situation where several tracks have the same rhythm and you wish to alter the timing of each recording in the same way A common scenario would be when multi tracking a band s performance where the musicians all play in time with each other yet the timing itself is in some way flawed Copying Warp Markers You can also selectively copy and paste Warp Markers from one clip to another Copied Warp Markers don t even need to be pasted into the same bar as the original CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL
54. The Follow Action Time control defines when the Follow Action takes place in bars beats sixteenths from the point in the clip where play starts The default for this setting is one bar 2 The Follow Action choosers allow selecting two different Follow Actions A and B 3 The Chance A and Chance B controls set the likelihood of each of the two Follow Actions occurring If a clip has Chance A set to 1 and Chance B set to 0 Follow Action A will occur every time the clip is launched As we can see from this example a Chance setting of 0 means that an action will never happen Changing Chance B to 10 in this scenario makes Follow Action A occur much less often approximately once out of every ten clip launches There are eight Follow Actions available m Stop simply stops the clip after it has played for the chosen Follow Action Time Note that this overrides clip loop region settings e Play Clip Again restarts the clip Play Previous Clip triggers the previous clip the one above the current one Play Next Clip triggers the next clip down in the group If a clip with this setting is last CHAPTER 11 LAUNCHING CLIPS 143 in a group this Follow Action triggers the first clip Play First Clip launches the first top clip in a group Play Last Clip launches the last bottom clip in a group Play Any Clip plays any clip in the group z Play Other Clip is similar to Play A
55. This is done in the MIDI Ports section of the MIDI Sync Preferences tab and is described in the next section Instant mappings are advantageous because the control surface s controllers will automati cally reassign themselves in order to control the currently selected device in Live CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 330 om Start gn Fade G0p Vol Attack Decay Sustain Release LFO Volume ASChAmmSSaOD SOS 11 1 44 4 4 0 00 7 10ms 16 3ms 13 85 9ms 0 0 0 00 Filter Freq Res Vel LFO Rate Attack Retrig Transp LFO Glide Spread Vel w y SPV 00 0 00 RGA a E BBs mi A 0 st 4 0 00 Portas Type Key Type Freq Key Offset Detune Env Time BP24 137KHi 242 100 A v E 00 000 oc d ost 4 Bim 11 Control Surfaces Can Follow Device Selection In addition to following device selection natively supported control surfaces can be locked to specific devices guaranteeing hands on access no matter where the current focus is in your Live Set To enable or disable locking PC Ctrl Mac on a device s title bar and then select your preferred controller from the Lock to context menu You ll recognize the same list of control surfaces that you defined in the MIDI Sync Preferences Lock to Control Surface 2 offline Decay Sustain Release LFO Volume Lock to Control Surface 3 offline gt 00 EFs oj Lock to Control Surface 4 offli
56. above To scroll click within the outline and drag left or right to zoom MIDI Editor Navigation CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 130 in and out drag up and down 6 Change the length of what is shown in the Editor by dragging the left or right edges of the outline in the Clip Overview 7 To quickly change what is shown in the Editor click on a section that you want to examine in the Clip Overview then drag downwards to zoom in or scroll by dragging left and right 8 The Page Up and Page Down keys on your computer keyboard scroll the Note Editor vertically The PC Mac modifier will change this to horizontal scrolling ra 1 PE O ove S 1Bar 2 The area displayed in the Note Editor can be set to scroll with playback using the Follow switch from the Control Bar You can click in the scrub area just below the beat time ruler to start playback from that point rounded by the global quantization setting Learning about the loop region controls and associated shortcuts can also be helpful in getting around in the MIDI Editor and playing selections quickly and easily As you work with MIDI you may find yourself needing extra screen space You can click and drag vertically on the window split between the Session or Arrangement View and the Clip View to enlarge the MIDI Editor The Control Bar s Follow Switch The MIDI Clip Scrub Area CH
57. additional modifier key some of the above commands can also be applied to Windows Macintosh Clips and Slots Across all Tracks Time Across all Tracks The Selected Part of the Envelope Alt can be used to move from one track or scene to another while renaming CHAPTER 26 LIVE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 366 26 7 Loop Brace and Start End Markers The loop brace and start end markers must first be selected before any of the following commands will apply to them Windows Macintosh Move Start Marker to Position A Click A Click Nudge Loop Left Right eP lt gt Move Loop By Loop Length 4 4 HA Double Halve Loop Length Ciri JHN S HW Shorten Lengthen Loop Ctrl JK 6 BSS Select Material in Loop Click Loop Brace or Click Loop Brace or Cri J amp J G He JL 26 8 Session View Commands See also the editing commands Windows Macintosh Launch Selected Clip Slot Return Return Select Neighbouring Clip Slot Arrow Keys Arrow Keys Select all Clips Slots Ctrl A SG 8A Copy Clips Ctrl Drag At Drag Add Remove Stop Button Ctrl E WE Insert MIDI clip Cr J4 JM o CE AHO JM or Double Click Slot Double Click Slot Insert Scene Ctrl jl S WE Insert Captured Scene Ctrl A G G Bj Drop Browser Clips as a Scene Ctr SG CHAPTER 26 LI
58. addresses FAQS 2 cstcviees eevee e rrenen 356 registration jo sas esesatetdwes 10 tutorials 2 eee eee 356 unlocking cece eee eee 12 webshop yinnciiieseaicssansids 14 Adaptive Grid options 78 Add Remove Stop Button command 88 analysis files 00 cee cece neces 46 storing clip settings in 106 analysis of files batch processing 47 Analyze Audio command 47 Arm Recording button 169 179 Arpeggiator effect 278 Arrangement see Arrangement View Arrangement Overview 71 Arrangement Position fields Ta Arrangement View ssssssrscrsserss 70 and copying to Session 91 and Session View 19 grid SNappINg avccvedawes advance es 78 insert marker 0 0 ee 72 looping IN the ciscsta aqua cearioan 75 NAVIGATION ox ideo ye Siauirect she 71 recording new clips in the 180 scrub area 1 cece eee eee eee 12 Arrangement Viewselector 19 asd files see analysis files audio Clips ccnsdutiuuerrienzioes see clips audio effects see devices audio files see samples audio interface setup see Audio Preferences see routing Audio Preferences 0 0eeee eee 6 audio tracks 04 see tracks Audio Units Plug ins using see devices authorization see copy protection
59. aliasing turn Tone up fully and play a few very high notes You will most likely notice that some notes sound completely different from other notes Now turn Tone down and the effect will be reduced but the sound will be less bright The frequency of an oscillator can be adjusted in the shell with its Coarse and Fine controls An oscillator s frequency usually follows that of played notes but for some sounds it might be useful to set one or more oscillators to fixed frequencies This can be done for each individual oscillator by activating the Fixed option This allows the creation of sounds in which only the timbre will vary when different notes are played but the tuning will stay the same Fixed Mode would be useful for example in creating live drum sounds Fixed Mode also allows producing very low frequencies down to 0 1 Hz Note that when Fixed Mode is active the frequency of the oscillator is controlled in the shell with the Frequency Freq and Multiplier Multi controls Operator includes a special Osc lt Vel control for each oscillator that allows altering frequency as a function of velocity This feature can be very useful when working with sequenced sounds in which the velocity of each note can be adjusted carefully Part of this functionality CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 297 is the adjacent quantize control If this control is activated the frequency will only move in whole numbers just as if the Coarse control wer
60. always achieve the results that their names imply 1 16 Many of the techniques described in the following section on unlinking a clip envelope from its associated clip can be adapted for use with MIDI controller clip envelopes 18 5 Unlinking Clip Envelopes From Clips A clip envelope can have its own local loop region settings The ability to unlink the envelope from its clip creates an abundance of exciting creative options some of which we will present in the rest of this chapter 18 5 1 Programming a Fade Out for a Live Set Let us start with a straightforward example Suppose you are setting up a Live Set and wish to program a fade out over eight bars to occur when a specific clip is launched but all you have is a one bar loop A MIDI Controller Clip Envelope CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 236 qi 2 D a 2 w N N N N w N D wo wo N Clip Start m Volume BEEE Transpose End Volume __3 L31 Pan Loop Position ILa Region Loop Length aJ CoCo 8 W 1 Choose the Clip Volume envelope and unlink it from the sample The clip envelope s loop braces now appear colored to indicate this envelope now has its own local loop region settings The loop region controls in the Envelopes box come to life 2 Make sure the clip envelope s Loop switch is off Notice the Sample box s Loop switch is not affected The sample will keep loopi
61. and Position fields to the left of the display The Clip Scrub Area CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 104 Sample The Clip Loop Controls The loop brace can be selected with the mouse and its position changed with commands from the computer keyboard e lt and e and gt nudge the loop brace to the left right by the current grid setting 4 shift the loop brace left right in steps the size of its length e Ctrl JS PC G84 Mac shortens or lengthens the loop brace by the current grid setting e Ctrl NA PC Mac doubles or halves the loop length Regardless of the position of the loop brace clip play upon launch will begin at the position marked by the start marker which means you can set up the clip to run into a loop 2718 wo N lbi a ali Position 9 1 Length 4 o BEIR 5 Setting the Clip to Run loro lons gt loz Into a Loop The Loop Length and Position fields are equipped with Set buttons which can be used to create loops spontaneously during playback CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 105 e Playing the clip and then clicking the Set Loop Position button moves the beginning of loop to the current playback position rounded to the global quantization setting and engages the loop Then clicking the Set Loop Length button moves the end of the loop to the current playback position This lets you capture the music
62. and playing back instruments you may want to try turning off The Track Delay Control and Selector CHAPTER 13 MIXING 177 device delay compensation however this is not normally recommended You may also find that adjusting the individual track delays is useful in these cases Note that the Track Delay controls are unavailable when device delay compensation is deactivated 178 Chapter 14 Recording New Clips This chapter is about recording new clips from audio and MIDI input signals Note that this is a different kind of recording than the capturing of Session clips into the Arrangement For successful audio recording please make sure the audio preferences are set up properly For more on this please see the built in program lesson on setting up Audio Preferences Also keep in mind that devices such as microphones guitars and turntables do not operate at line level meaning that they will need to have their levels boosted before they can be recorded For these devices you must therefore use either an audio interface with a preamp or an external preamp 14 1 Choosing an Input A track will record whatever input source is shown in its In Out section which appears when the View menu s In Out option is checked In the Arrangement View unfold and resize the track in order to completely see the In Out section CHAPTER 14 RECORDING NEW CLIPS 179
63. any standard digital audio editing program which can be called up from within Live The Disk Overload Indicator 362 Chapter 26 Live Keyboard Shortcuts 26 1 Showing and Hiding Views Windows Macintosh Toggle Full Screen Mode F11 Ctrl Toggle Session Arrangement View S S Toggle Track Clip View D 4 Hi de Show Track Clip View Ciri _ t Dou ble Click Clip Track S WAt L Dou ble Click Clip Track Hide Show Info View Hide Show Browser Ctrl At JB S HAt B Hide Show Overview Ctrl At JO S At 0 Hide Show In Out Ctrl At jt S gAt i Hide Show Sends Ctrl jt J6 S KA E Hide Show Mixer Ctrl Alt M C HAt AM Hide Show Crossfader Ciri At JF 3S 8At F CHAPTER 26 LIVE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 363 Windows Macintosh Open the Preferences fe J Close Window Dialog Esc Esc 26 2 Accessing Menus Under Windows you can access each menu by pressing and the first letter of the menu Alt__ F for File for instance While a menu is open you can use e to navigate the menu items e to open the neighboring menu to choose a menu item 26 3 Adjusting Values Windows Macintosh Increment Decrement HH HA Large I
64. as well as any alias folders contained therein Some VST Plug ins contain errors or are incompatible with Live During the scanning process these may cause the program to crash When you re launching Live a dialog will appear to inform you about which plug in caused the problem Depending on what Live detects about the plug in you may be given the choice between performing another scan or making the problematic plug in unavailable If you choose to rescan and they crash the program a second time Live will automatically make them unavailable meaning that they will not appear in the Plug In Device Browser and will not be rescanned again until they are reinstalled 15 3 2 VST Programs and Banks Every VST Plug in instance owns a bank of programs A program is meant to contain one complete set of values for the plug in s controls CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 202 gt A decimate x gt yjde dimate 4 To select a program from the plug in s bank use the chooser below the title bar The number of programs per bank is fixed You are always working in the currently selected program that is all changes to the plug in s controls become part of the selected program Note that VST programs are different from Live device presets Whereas the presets for a Live device are shared among all instances and Live Sets the VST programs belong to this specific instance of the VST Plug in gt A dec
65. as you would expect When modulating device controls it is important to keep the interaction of clip envelopes and device settings in mind Unlike a device preset the clip envelope cannot define the values for the devices controls it can only change them relative to their current setting 18 4 MIDI Controller Clip Envelopes Whether you are working with a new MIDI clip that was recorded directly into Live or one from your files Live allows you to edit and create MIDI controller data for the clip in the form of clip envelopes Choose MIDI Ctrl from a MIDI clip s Device chooser and use the Control chooser below it to select a specific MIDI controller You can create new clip envelopes for any of the listed controllers by drawing steps or using breakpoints You can also edit clip envelope representations of controller data that is imported as part of your MIDI files or is created Modulating a Send The Send Knob s Position Ring Indicates the Modulated Value CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 235 while recording new clips Names of controllers that already have clip envelopes appear with a little LED in the Control chooser Live supports most MIDI controller numbers up to 119 accessible via the scroll bar on the right hand side of the menu Note that devices to which you send your MIDI controller messages may not follow the conventions of MIDI control channel assignments so that Pitch Bend or Pan for example will not
66. available for control with the V Pots The two character display above the assignment switches shows the currently selected assignment mode 1 I O Switches the V Pot and main display to I O mode This allows Live s track inputs and outputs to be set with the V Pots e Click once to select the track s Input Type chooser e Click twice to select the track s Input Channel chooser e Click three times to select the Output Type chooser e Click four times to select the Output Channel chooser 2 Send Switches the V Pot to control the levels of all available Send controls for the currently selected track If more than eight sends are available you can navigate through them using the previous and next buttons see item 5 below 3 Pan Assigns the V Pot and main display to the track s Pan control 4 Devices Pressed once this will bring up all available devices for the currently selected track in the main display Using the page buttons see item 5 below you can then scroll through the available devices and choose a particular device to edit by pressing the V Pot When you are done editing device settings you can change the selected track or press the device assignment switch again to return to scrolling and selecting devices When device settings are being changed the name and settings of the selected device are shown in the main display You can use the V Pot to change parameter values as described in the introduction to
67. cat egorically into tabs accessed from Sampler s title bar We will get to know Sampler by examining each of them Sampler PitctvOsc Filter Globals Modulation Sampler s Tabs in the Title Bar CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 312 22 3 3 The Zone Tab G Auto in A Infected Bass Infected Bass Infected Bass Infected Bass Infected Bass Infected Bass v Infected Bass Clicking on the Zone tab toggles the display of Sampler s Zone Editor which offers a hands on interface for mapping any number of samples across key and velocity ranges The Zone Editor opens in its own dedicated view directly above the Track View When used in conjunction with Sampler s other tabs this layout greatly accelerates the creation and editing of multisamples On the left side of the Zone Editor is the sample layer list where multisamples are organized All of the individual samples belonging to a multisample are shown in this list where they are referred to as layers The rest of the view is occupied by one of two editors that correspond to the sample layers the Key Zone Editor and the Velocity Zone Editor These editors can be horizontally zoomed by pressing PC Mac within them to bring up a context menu with sizing options Auto Select Auto As MIDI notes arrive at Sampler they are filtered by each sample layer s k
68. cceceeeeseeeee sees 72 Racks fetter ee eters 205 plug ins uSINg 66 see devices Auto Select option 211 P ug In Buffer Size preference fhe ie 199 Chain List 2 22 h sad es vedadea anes 210 Plug In Device Browser 196 COMPONEMS eni krna eae ena a 208 Plug In Device Browserselector 195 ClEAUNG skis doa cdeiesdddenaes ays 207 Plug In Edit button 008 198 Macro Controls 206 216 Plug In Unfold button 197 routing tap points 158 pre listening samples see previewing within Racks iaocscatasatebcedans 217 Pre Post switches 0 000 172 ZONES raa a a eag 211 Preferences chee i dadheradadereuwadives 5 RAM Mode switch 05 107 and recording clips 186 Random effet i cicanacne roneneeads 285 presets ernan na a EES 193 Re Pitch Mode gt ssis 125 for specific Live Projects 59 Record button Kase nan esnenayseeae an tins 89 rAMIEAC T oaca oo os ac vldecseaat 41 128 Record Quantization 185 Preview Volume knob 184 Record Warp Launch Preferences 6 INDEX 382 recording Live as master 153 and remote control 186 Live as slave 0008 359 audio and MIDI 178 recording see recording automation 0 00 219 tutorials see Ableton overdubbing
69. conjunction with zones which are discussed next and is quite helpful when troubleshooting complex Racks 16 5 Zones Zones are sets of data filters that reside at the input of every chain in a Rack Together they determine the range of values that can pass through to the device chain By default zones behave transparently never requiring your attention They can be reconfigured however to form sophisticated control setups The three types of zones whose editors are toggled with the buttons above the Chain List are Key Velocity and Chain Select The adjacent Hide button whisks them out of sight Note Audio Effect Racks do not have key or velocity zones since these two zone types filter MIDI data only Zones contain a lower main section used for resizing and moving the zone itself and a narrow upper section that defines fade ranges Resizing of either section is done by clicking and dragging on its right or left edges while moving is accomplished by clicking and dragging a zone from anywhere except its edges 16 5 1 Signal Flow through Zones To understand how zones work let s examine the signal flow in a MIDI Effect Rack Our MIDI Effect Rack resides in the device chain of a MIDI track and therefore processes MIDI signals We will assume that it contains four parallel device chains each containing one MIDI effect 1 All MIDI data in the track is passed to its device chain and therefore into the input of the MIDI Effect Ra
70. context menu options 18 08 2006 17 05 Sot 18 08 2006 12 59 Showing Hiding Browser b PE Tanan with Piano Set 18 08 2006 13 13 Columns Columns can be reordered by drag and drop To resize the columns drag their divider lines horizontally BB Parent Foia Resizing Browser Diaea EEA Columns 5 1 1 Browsing the Folder Hierarchy Each of the three File Browsers has its own root directory shown at the top of the Browser the contents of which are available for browsing below CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 37 Library BS Parent Folder gt 5 Clips gt 5 Presets gt M Samples Library Is this Browser s Root The Browser root can easily be changed The topmost Browser item called Parent Folder will move the Browser root up one step up in the disk hierarchy when double clicked The File Browser s Parent Folder Item You can also set the Browser root to any folder in the Browser by double clicking the folder or by selecting it and pressing Return A Folder in the Browser Moving through the files in Live s Browser can be done with either the mouse or the computer keyboard e Scroll up and down in the Browser with and e Close and open folders with and P e Jump to the parent folder of any closed folder using f Hint If executed on a top level folder this is an alternative to selecting the Parent Folder item and will move
71. do this 4 11 Automation Envelopes Often when working with Live s mixer and effects you will want the controls movements to become part of the Arrangement The movement of a control across the Arrangement timeline is called automation a control whose value changes in the course of this timeline is automated Automation is represented in the Arrangement View by breakpoint envelopes which can be edited and drawn synth 1 m Mixer m Track Panning v _ Clear Envelope gt Practically all mixer and effect controls in Live can be automated even the song tempo Creating automation is straightforward All changes of a control that occur while the Control Bar s Record switch is on become automation Changing an automated control s value while not in Record Mode is similar to launching a Session clip while the Arrangement is playing It deactivates the control s automation in favor of the new control setting The control will stop tracking its automation and rest with the new value until the Back to Arrangement button is pressed which will resume Arrangement playback The Control Bar s Quantization Chooser The Automated Pan Control and its Envelope CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 31 4 12 Clip Envelopes Envelopes are found not only in tracks but also in clips Clip envelopes are used to modulate device and mixer controls Audio clips have in addition clip envelopes to influence the clip s
72. engages Hot Swap Mode Live s Hot Swap Browser opens and the Hot Swap icon appears next to one of the files shown Ww m mmmm mMM While in Hot Swap Mode pressing the key loads that file into the Impulse slot presumably while Impulse is playing incoming MIDI notes pressing then loads the next sample and so on Instead of using the keys we can also double click on a sample to load it The link between the Browser and the instrument will be broken if a different view is selected or if the Hot Swap button is pressed again Hot swapping can also be cancelled with a press of the key When Hot Swap Mode is re entered the Hot Swap Browser will try to reconstruct what you saw when you loaded the current file into the Impulse slot If for instance the current file was found by searching for gretsch kick the Hot Swap Browser will come up with that search string in the search field In our example we were hot swapping for an empty Impulse slot so Live came up with something appropriate a search for Drum Kick in Library Samples Waveforms 5 2 Sample Files A sample is a file that contains audio data Live can play both uncompressed file formats WAV AIF and Sound Designer II for Mac and compressed file formats MP3 AAC Ogg Vorbis Ogg FLAC and FLAC The Hot Swap Browser CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 45 A note on using Variable Bit Rate VBR files Please install QuickTime for decoding purposes if you do no
73. getting rid of unwelcome house guests or terrifying small pets just kidding To refer delay time to the song tempo activate the Sync switch which allows using the Delay Time beat division chooser The numbered switches represent time delay in 16th notes For example selecting 4 delays the signal by four 16th notes which equals one beat a quarter note of delay With Sync Mode active changing the Delay Time field percentage value shortens and extends delay times by fractional amounts thus producing the swing type of timing effect found in drum machines If the Sync switch is off the delay time reverts to milliseconds In this case to edit the delay time click and drag up or down in the Delay Time field or click in the field and type in a value You can route each parameter to the X Y controller s horizontal or vertical axis To assign a parameter to the X axis choose it from the parameter row below the controller To assign a parameter to the Y axis use the parameter row on the left side The Feedback parameter sets how much of the output signal returns to the delay line input Very high values can lead to runaway feedback and produce a loud oscillation watch your ears and speakers if you decide to check out extreme feedback settings You can transpose the grain pitch with the Pitch parameter which acts much like a crude pitch shifter The Spray control adds random delay time changes Low values smear the signal a
74. hand corner The video can be shown in full screen and optionally on a second monitor by double clicking in the Video Window Movies with Partial Tracks In the QuickTime file format the audio and video components do not have to span the entire length of a movie Gaps in playback are allowed During gaps in video Live s Video Window will display a black screen gaps in audio will play silence 19 2 3 Clip View Soundtrack composers will want to note the Tempo Master option in Live s Clip View When scoring to video video clips are usually set as tempo masters while audio clips are left as tempo slaves These are therefore the default warp properties of clips in the Arrangement View In this scenario adding Warp Markers to a video clip defines hit points that the CHAPTER 19 WORKING WITH VIDEO 242 music will sync to Note that a video clip s Warp switch needs to be activated in order for the clip to be set as the tempo master Global 2 mcs 9 cen Paci Al AEA RGR PO st RPL pta acne ell aa ithe Spe omar Bucket Setting a Video Clip as Tempo Master Remember from the Tempo Control and Warping chapter that although any number of warped Arrangement clips can have the Tempo Master option activated only the bottom most currently playing clip is the actual tempo master This also means that it is possible for video clips that are not the current tempo master to become warped resulting in warped video output
75. how to adjust the warping controls for clean stretching It s also fun to misuse these controls to achieve interesting artifacts instead of accurate stretching 9 3 1 Beats Mode Beats Mode works best for material where rhythm is dominant e g drum loops as well as most pieces of electronic dance music The granulation process is optimized to preserve transients attacks note onsets in the audio material Use the Transients control to guide Live s assumptions about where to find transients in the waveform If there is no rhythmic activity at odd 16th notes choose 8th etc For some interesting rhythmic artifacts choose large transient values in conjunction with pitch transposition 9 3 2 Tones Mode Tones Mode serves well for stretching material with a more or less clear pitch structure such as vocals monophonic instruments and basslines Grain Size provides rough control over the average grain size used The actual grain size is determined in a signal dependent manner For signals with a clear sense of pitch contour a small grain size works best Larger grain sizes help avoid artifacts that can occur when the pitch contour is unclear but the tradeoff can be audible repetitions 9 3 3 Texture Mode Texture Mode works well for sound textures with an ambiguous pitch contour e g poly phonic orchestral music noise atmospheric pads etc It also offers rich potential for manipulating all kinds of sounds in a creat
76. in it The internal threshold for the LEDs is set to 24 dB The frequency range of each band is defined via two crossover controls FreqLo and FreqHi If FreqLo is set to 500 Hz and FreqHi to 2000 Hz then the low band goes from 0 Hz to 500 Hz the mid band from 500 Hz to 2000 Hz and the high band from 2000 Hz up to what ever your soundcard or sample rate supports A very important control is the 24 dB 48 dB switch It defines how sharp the filters are cutting the signal at the crossover frequency The higher setting results in more drastic filtering but needs more CPU Note The filters in this device are optimized to sound more like a good powerful analog filter cascade than a clean digital filter The 48 dB Mode especially does not provide a perfect linear transfer quality resulting in a slight coloration of the input signal even if all controls are set to 0 00 dB This is typical behavior for this kind of filter and is part of EQ Three s unique sound If you need a more linear behavior choose 24 dB Mode or use the EQ Eight CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 259 20 10 Erosion Width Amount The Erosion effect degrades the input signal by modulating a short delay with filtered noise or a sine wave This adds noisy artifacts or aliasing downsampling like distortions that sound very digital To change the sine wave frequency or noise band center frequency click and drag along the X axis in the X
77. in the sample 2 to mess up the flow of time in the sample If a single event in a percussion loop comes late just pin it to the Warp Marker which shows the beat position at which you actually want to hear that event You may want to pin the adjacent beat positions as well to avoid affecting neighboring regions in the sample Removing a sample s natural groove by applying Warp Markers is an interesting creative method particularly in conjunction with Live s ability to impose an artificial groove onto clips in real time Syncing Longer Pieces Live s Auto Warp algorithm makes longer samples and entire songs readily available for integration into your project You can use the Browser to import long samples or MP3 AAC Ogg Vorbis Ogg FLAC and FLAC files When you drag a file into Live that is too long to justify the assumption that it is a loop or a one shot Live will auto warp the clip by default though this can be changed in the Using Warp Markers to Manipulate the Groove CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 120 Record Warp Launch Preferences Note that for the auto warp mechanism to work files which are being imported into the program for the first time will need to undergo a first time analysis process and will not be immediately available for playing or editing As explained in the section in this manual on analysis files analysis can be batch processed with the PC Ctrl Mac context menu
78. influencing the signal Signal shaping has six fixed modes Analog Clip Soft Sine Medium Curve Hard Curve Sinoid Fold and Digital Clip There is also the flexible Waveshaper mode featuring six adjustable waveshaping parameters In the Analog Clip and Digital Clip modes the signal is clipped completely and immediately Soft Sine Medium Curve and Hard Curve modes soften signal clipping to varying degrees Sinoid Fold mode can be good for special effects The most dramatic effects can be created by selecting the Waveshaper curve which has its own dedicated set of controls To access these six parameter fields unfold the Saturator window by toggling the button in its title bar The Waveshaper mode s six additional parameters are Drive Lin Curve Damp Depth and Period e Drive determines how much the input signal will be influenced by the Waveshaper parameters Setting Drive to zero will negate the effect entirely Lin works together with the Curve and Depth parameters to alter the linear portion of the shaping curve Curve adds mostly third order harmonics to the input signal e Damp flattens any signal near the grid s origin It behaves like an ultra fast noise gate e Depth controls the amplitude of a sine wave that is superimposed onto the distortion curve e Period determines the density of ripples in the superimposed sine wave Activating the Color button enables two filters The first of these controlled with t
79. into a track They now form a Follow Action group CHAPTER 11 LAUNCHING CLIPS 144 2 Audio 3 Audio 4 MIDI 2 Limon p Follow Action F s C oCo i i 1 io 3 Set up Follow Actions for the first clip You will want to make Follow Action Time equal to the clip s length Set the Follow Action A chooser to Play Next Clip with a Chance setting of 1 leaving Follow Action B alone Now this clip is set up to advance to the looping clip after it plays 4 Activate the Loop switch for the second clip The first clip will now proceed to the second after it has played in its entirety the second clip will simply play in a loop until it is stopped 11 6 2 Creating Cycles One of the most obvious possibilities that Follow Actions open up is using a group of samples to form a musical cycle If we organize several clips as a group and use the Play Next Clip Follow Action with each clip they will play one after the other ad infinitum or until we tell them to stop Cycles can be peppered with occasional rearrangements through the addition of other Follow Actions such as Play Any Clip with smaller relative Chance settings 11 6 3 Temporarily Looping Clips There are some interesting applications of Follow Actions when it comes to creating tem porary musical loops Creating a Group With the Two Clips CHAPTER 11 LAUNCHING CLIPS 145 The default setting for Follow Action is actually a 1 0 chance
80. intuitive than the Arrangement mixer which comes in handy when you work with automation Note that the Tab key toggles between the Arrangement and Session Views The View menu options listed below show or hide mixer components You can use different mixer view setups in the Session View and in the Arrangement View e In Out e Sends e Returns e Mixer Track Delays e Crossfader The Mixer Section selectors on the right hand side of the screen duplicate the View Menu commands making it possible to quickly show or hide different mixer components CHAPTER 13 MIXING 169 Stop Clips cr I eoou8e The Mixer Section Selectors Let s look at the mixer controls ii k ll Th i p e ui E aw NE 4 Bes Sc J ea S o fs os s o c e w o7 2 5 The Mixer Controls 1 The Meter shows the track s RMS average and peak output level While moni toring however it shows the input level 2 The Volume control adjusts the track s output level 3 The Pan control positions the track s output in the stereo field To reset the Pan control to center click on its associated triangle 4 To mute the track s output turn off the Track Activator switch 5 The Solo switch solos the track by muting all other tracks but can also be used for cueing Tracks can only be soloed one at a time unless the Exclusive Solo option in the Record Warp Launch Preferences is deactivated
81. is to individually pan an Instrument or Effect Rack s parallel device chains The Width control acts as a continuous mono to stereo controller when set from O to 100 percent However beyond 100 percent the output starts to fold in on itself At 200 percent the output contains only the difference between the left and right channels If The Utility Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 276 either Left or Right have been chosen in the Channel Mode chooser the Width control has no function and is therefore disabled At the bottom of the device you will find two Phase controls one for each channel As their names imply they invert the phase of each channel 20 23 Vinyl Distortion Vinyl Distortion oe Tracing Model Crackle Volume 0 31 Ws Density Stereo Mono The Vinyl Distortion effect emulates some of the typical distortions that occur on vinyl records during playback These distortions are caused by the geometric relationships between the needle and the recorded groove The effect also features a crackle generator for adding noisy artifacts The Tracing Model section adds even harmonic distortion to the input signal Adjust the amount of distortion with the Drive knob or click and drag vertically in the Tracing Model X Y display To adjust the distortion s frequency or color drag horizontally in the X Y display or double click on the Freq field and typ
82. it will record stereo samples Signals in the track s device chain are always stereo even when the track s input is mono or when the track plays mono samples Mono is turned into stereo simply by using the identical signal for left and right channels When a track is routed into a mono output the left and right signals are added together and attenuated by 6 dB to avoid clipping 12 3 External MIDI In Out MIDI from the outside world is routed into Live just like audio From the Input Type chooser of a MIDI track you can either select a specific MIDI input port or All Ins which is the merged input of all external MIDI ports The Input Channel chooser offers the individual input channels of the selected MIDI port and the merged signal of all channels All As is CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 151 the case with audio inputs the Input Channel chooser also has meters next to every entry to represent activity on the respective input channel 12 3 1 The MIDI Ports List in the Preferences MIDI Ports Track Sync Remote Input ReMOTE LE On of On Output ReMOTE LE On Off On You can configure which MIDI ports are made available to Live using the MIDI Ports section of the MIDI Sync Preferences All available input and output ports are listed here For Live s tracks to receive send MIDI from to a specific MIDI port the corresponding switch in the Track column must be set to On You can use any number of M
83. layout e The upper chooser pair Audio MIDI From selects the track s input Audio tracks have an audio input and MIDI tracks have a MIDI input Return tracks receive their input from the respective sends e The Monitor radio button selects the monitor mode the conditions under which the track s input is heard through the track e The lower chooser pair Audio MIDI To selects the track s output All tracks have audio outputs except for MIDI tracks without instruments Remember that instruments convert MIDI to audio Within a chooser pair the upper chooser selects the signal category Ext for instance for external connections via an audio or MIDI interface and is called the Input Output Type chooser If this signal type offers sub selections or channels they are available from the lower chooser or the Input Output Channel chooser In our Ext example these would be the individual audio MIDI inputs and outputs 12 1 Monitoring 1 Monitoring in the context of Live means passing a track s input signal on to the track s output Suppose you have set up an audio track to receive its input signal from a guitar Monitoring then means that the signal from your live guitar playing actually reaches the The Mixer s In Out Section and Mixer Section Selectors CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 149 track s output via the track s device chain If the track s output is set to Master you can hear the
84. left and right input channels while the second and fourth resonators are dedicated to the left channel and the third and fifth to the right channel The Note parameter defines the root pitch of all the resonators ranging from C1 to C5 It can also be detuned in cents using the Fine parameter The Decay parameter lets you adjust the amount of time it takes for the resonators to be silent after getting an input signal The longer the decay time the more tonal the result will be similar to the behavior of an undamped piano string As with a real string the decay time depends on the pitch so low notes will last longer than higher ones The Const switch holds the decay time constant regardless of the actual pitch Resonators provides two different resonation modes Mode A provides a more realistic sounding resonation while Mode B offers an effect that is especially interesting when Resonator l s Note parameter is set to lower pitches The brightness of the resulting sound can be adjusted using the Color control All of the resonators have an On Off switch and a Gain control A resonator that is turned off does not need CPU Turning off the first resonator does not affect the other ones Resonators through V follow the Note parameter defined in Resonator but they can each be individually transposed 24 semitones using the Pitch controls and detuned in cents using the Detune controls The output section features the obligatory Dry Wet
85. loop is enabled even if the volume envelope has not ended Sustain Mode The optional Sustain Loop defines a region of the sample where playback will be repeated while the note is in the sustain stage of its envelope Activating the Sustain Loop also allows the Release Loop to be enabled This creates several playback options No Sustain Loop Playback proceeds linearly until either the Sample End is reached or the volume envelope completes its release stage CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 316 Sustain Loop Enabled Playback proceeds linearly until Loop End is reached when it p P y P jumps immediately to Loop Start and continues looping If Release Mode is OFF looping will continue inside the Sustain Loop until the volume envelope has completed its release stage Back and Forth Sustain Loop Enabled Playback proceeds to Loop End then reverses until it reaches Loop Start then proceeds again towards Loop End If Release Mode is OFF this pattern continues until the volume envelope has completed its release stage Link Enabling the Link switch sets Sample Start equal to Loop Start Note that the Sample Start parameter box doesn t lose its original value it simply becomes disabled so that it can be recalled with a single click Release Mode Whenever the Sustain Loop is active Release Mode can also be enabled OFF The volume envelope s release stage is active but will occur within the Sustain Loop
86. moves with an attack rate to its peak level moves from there to the sustain level with a decay rate and then finally after note off occurs back to inf dB at the release rate Operator s display provides a good overview of the actual shape of any particular envelope and lets you directly adjust the curve by clicking on a breakpoint and dragging The breakpoints retain their selection after clicking allowing them to be adjusted with the keyboard s cursor keys if desired Hint Envelope shapes can be copied and pasted from one place to another in Operator using the PC Ctrl Mac context menu With FM synthesis it is possible to create spectacular endless permuting sounds the key to doing this is looping envelopes Loop Mode can be activated in the lower left corner of CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 299 the display If an envelope in Operator is in Loop Mode and reaches sustain level while the note is still being held it will be retriggered The rate for this movement is defined by the Loop Time parameter Note that envelopes in Loop Mode can loop very quickly and can therefore be used to achieve effects that one would not normally expect from an envelope generator While Loop Mode is good for textures and experimental sounds Operator also includes Beat and Sync Modes which provide a simple way of creating rhythmical sounds If set to Beat Mode an envelope will restart after the beat time selected from t
87. music and Live s File Manager will provide the tools you need to manage them 5 6 1 Projects and Live Sets In Live there is no need to manually create Projects as they are automatically built for you When you save a Live Set under a new name or in a new folder location Live will create a new project folder and store the Live Set there unless you are saving the Live Set into an existing Live Project Let s look at an example to illustrate this process We have recorded some audio into a new Live Set We now save the Live Set under the name Tango on the Desktop Here is the result as displayed by the Live Browser Parent Folder Tango Project v amp Samples E v P Recorded Erg 0001 1 Guitar wav Erg 0001 2 Accordion wav Tango als A The project folder Tango Project contains the Live Set Tango als and a Samples folder which in turn contains a Recorded folder with two samples in it Note that the main window of Live now shows us that we are working on Project Tango Next we record another track into our Project We save the modified version of the Live Set under a new name so that we do not lose the previous version Accepting the Save As command s default suggestion we store the new version of the song in the Tango Project folder A Live Set and its Recordings in a Live Project Folder CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 57 I Desktop Name E Parent Folder
88. new note is moved away again If the new note overlaps with the tail of the original the original note s length will change so that it lasts just until the new note s beginning This too is not an irreversible action and the old note length will be restored if the new clip is again moved Copying Left and Pasting Right a Loop CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 135 10 4 6 Changing Note Length Clicking and dragging on a note s left or right edges changes its length Note length can only be changed when Draw Mode is inactive and will be quantized unless the PC Mac modifier is held down while dragging 16 16 2 eS Changing Note Length Tip To set a group of notes to the same length select them all grab the end of the longest one drag them all down to zero length and then extend them MIDI Note Stretch Fold 1 11 3 1 2 123 13 13 3 14 143 c4 Three Variations Created c3 with the Stretch Notes Command When multiple notes are selected in the Note Editor the Stretch Notes command becomes available from the context menu if you invoke it with PC Ctrl 6 Mac Note Stretch markers will then appear in the Note Editor allowing notes to be scaled proportionally in time The markers are a pair of downward pointing indicators that snap to the beginning of the first and last notes in the selection By clicking and dragging one of the markers horizont
89. or Attenuating Notes in a Sample Click on the Volume quick chooser to access an audio clip s volume envelope By drawing steps in Draw Mode or creating shapes with breakpoints you can impose an arbitrary volume shape onto the sample 12 13 14 1 16 ooo lo00 500 looi loot sd0 The volume envelope s output is interpreted as a relative percentage of the clip volume slider s current value The result of the clip envelope s modulation can therefore never exceed the absolute volume setting but the clip envelope can drag the audible volume down to silence 18 2 4 Scrambling Beats One very creative use of clip envelopes is to modulate the sample offset Sample offset modulation makes the most sense for rhythmical samples and is only available for clips that are set up to run in the Beats Warp Mode Try sample offset modulation with a one bar drum loop Make sure Beats Mode is chosen in the Envelopes box choose Clip from the Device chooser and Sample Offset from the Control chooser The Envelope Editor appears with a vertical grid overlay In envelope Draw Mode set steps to non zero values to hear the loop scrambled What is going on Imagine the audio is read out by a tape head the position of which is modulated by the envelope The higher a value the envelope delivers the farther away the tape head is from its center position Positive envelope values move the head towards the future
90. output signal feeds back into the delay lines inputs Internally they are two independent feedback loops so a signal on the left channel does not feed back into the right channel and vice versa The Simple Delay Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 275 The Dry Wet control adjusts the balance between the processed and dry signals Set it to 100 percent when using Simple Delay in a return track 20 22 Utility Utne Mute DCH Stereo y Panorama 3R 4 Width 66 q Phz L Phz R Utility can perform some very useful tasks especially in combination with other devices The Mute button simply silences the incoming signal when enabled Note The active mute controls of a track are always placed at the very end of the signal chain However since you can place Utility anywhere in a signal chain you can use its mute function to cut the input of a delay line or reverb without turning off the output of these devices The Gain control adjusts the level of the input signal 35 dB The Channel Mode chooser allows selective processing of the left and right channels of a sample If for example Left is selected the right channel is ignored and the left channel appears on both outputs This is especially useful if you have a stereo file that contains different information on both channels and you want to use only one The Panorama chooser pans the signal anywhere in the stereo field Its main purpose
91. play time in minutes seconds rom MIDI From A microphone icon appears in an audio track that is set to monitor its input A keyboard icon appears in a MIDI track under these same circumstances q o_o RUO From Audio F t xt If the track is playing clips from the Arrangement a miniature display representing the Arrangement clips being played appears 7 4 Setting Up the Session View Grid Clips arrive in the Session View by being imported from the File Browsers or through recording Library Name v P 04 oct14 Eg 04 0ct14a aif Eg 04 oct14b aif Eg 04 oct14c aif gt 0 04 oct18 A One shot Session Clip Monitoring the Input Playing the Arrangement Dropping Multiple Clips Into the Session View CHAPTER 7 SESSION VIEW 88 If you are dragging multiple clips into the Session View Live defaults to arrange them vertically in one track Hold down PC Mac prior to dropping them so as to lay the clips out in one scene Clips can be moved around the Session grid by drag and drop To move several clips at once select them by using the 4 or Ctr PC Mac modifier before dragging You can also click into an empty slot and rubber band select from there Scenes can be reordered by drag and drop as well 7 4 1 Select on Launch By default clicking a Session View clip s Launch button also selec
92. plays the sample at its original normal tempo irrespec tive of the current Live Set tempo This is useful for samples that have no inherent rhythmic structure percussion hits atmospheres sound effects spoken word and the like Turn the Warp switch on to play rhythmically structured samples such as sample loops music recordings complete music pieces etc in sync with the current song tempo To verify this note that a warped sample s speed follows the tempo as you change the Control Bar s Tempo control Live offers a number of controls to adjust the time warping engine for optimal stretching quality For accurate warping Live needs to know the sample s metrical structure For properly prepared loops tempo and duration are calculated automatically most of the time this is accurate enough that the sample is immediately ready for use in Live For other samples you may have to provide some hints We will examine these topics thoroughly in the Tempo Control and Warping chapter The Sample Box Warp Controls The Control Bar s Tempo Control CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 101 8 2 2 Sample Loop Region and Display Zooming and Scrolling daaa aai NT The Clip Zoom Scroll Area 1 Audio Zooming and scrolling in the Sample Display work much like they do in the Arrangement View Using the zoom scroll area in the top half of the waveform you can click and drag vertically to smoothly change the zoom level and horizontally t
93. s MIDI and audio effects to the built in instruments 4 9 Routing As we have seen all tracks deliver signals either audio or MIDI Where do these signals go This is set up in the mixer s In Out section which offers for every track choosers to select a signal source and destination The In Out section accessible through the View menu s In Out option is Live s patchbay Its routing options enable valuable creative and technical methods such as resampling submixing layering of synths complex effects setups and more The Mixer for a MIDI Track without an Instrument CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 29 All Channee in Auto al MIDI From MIDI From Master bd All Ins a All ins i All Channes f All Channew EAC reer MAANA Track Routing Is Set up in Auto 0 in oft Using the In Out Section in Ata OF mana rhe a 5 Beats v Master v 5 Beats v in the Arrangement Left T Impuise v T impulse v or Session View Right Signals from the tracks can be sent to the outside world via the computer s audio and MIDI interfaces to other programs that are connected to Live via ReWire or to other tracks or devices within Live Likewise a track can be set up to receive an input signal to be played through the track s devices Again tracks can receive their input from the outside from a ReWire program or from another track or device
94. select a device or preset in the Browser and press to add it to the selected track You can also drag devices into tracks or drop areas in the Session and Arrangement Views or into the Track View Note If you are using an external input signal to feed your Live track using the default settings you will need to activate the track s Arm button in the mixer in order to hear the input through the devices in your track s device chain The Live Device Browser CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 191 G 7 LILII ITITITTT B This is how you would play live instruments through effects on a track for example or use a MIDI keyboard s input to play a track s instrument Note that you can easily move from this setup into recording new clips for further use in Live If you have alternative monitoring preferences please see the Monitoring section to learn how to make these settings To add another device to the track simply drag it there or double click its name to append it to the device chain Signals in a device chain always travel from left to right You can drop audio effects in at any point in an audio track s device chain keeping in mind that the order of effects determines the resulting sound The same is true for a MIDI track s device chain If you drop an instrument into a MIDI track s device chain be aware that signals following to the right of the instrument are audio signals available only to audio ef
95. switch in its Remote column is set to On You can use any number of MIDI ports for remote mapping Live will merge their incoming MIDI signals When working with a control surface that provides physical or visual feedback you will also need to enable the Remote switch for its output port Live needs to be able to communicate with such control surfaces when a value has changed so that they can update the positions of their motorized faders or the status of their LEDs to match To test your setup try sending some MIDI data to Live from your control surface The Control Bar s MIDI indicators will flash whenever Live recognizes an incoming MIDI message Once your controller is recognized by Live you have completed the setup phase but we recommend that you take the time to select a Take Over Mode before you leave the Preferences behind Your next step will be creating MIDI mappings between your control surface and Live Luckily this is a simple task and you only need to do it for one parameter at a time Defining Control Surfaces Manually CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 332 23 1 3 Take Over Mode Take Over Mode Value Scaling MIDI Ports rack Sync Remote When MIDI controls that send absolute values such as faders are used in a bank switching setup where they address a different destination parameter with each controller bank you will need to decide how Live should handle the sudden jumps in values that will occu
96. that a Misc Preference setting in Live allows deactivating exclusive track soloing When this setting is deactivated the behavior of this knob with respect to exclusive and nonexclusive soloing is reversed 4 Mute Mutes unmutes the track nonexclusively 5 Select Selects the track both in Live and on the Mackie Control for various functions 6 V Pot Fader The fader controls track volume by default but can be flipped to control track panning Please see the next section for the details on V Pots CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 342 23 3 2 V Pots and Assignment Switches The V Pots and Assignment Switches The Mackie Control s V Pots have dual functionality in many cases as they can be both rotated and pressed When being used to adjust single parameters those belonging to track devices for example pressing a V Pot returns a control to its default value Pressing a V Pot when dealing with a control that has various options filter type choosers for example selects the options in sequence With controls having only two options e g an on off CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 343 switch pressing a V Pot toggles the options There are six assignment switches to the right of the channel strips on the Mackie Control These select which parameters are displayed in the main display and set these parameters to be
97. the Control Bar CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 117 Syncing Straight Loops When you import a sample that represents a well cut musical loop of 1 2 4 or 8 bars in length Live usually makes the correct assumptions to play the loop in sync with the chosen tempo It places two Warp Markers one at the sample s beginning and one at the end The Orig BPM field displays Live s guess of the loop s tempo if you happen to know the tempo of the loop you can type it in here Sometimes Live s guess of the original tempo is wrong by half or double If so correct this by clicking on the buttons labeled 2 and 2 respectively The sample plays at double speed when you press 2 because you are changing Live s interpretation of the sample s tempo which serves as a point of reference for determining the required time stretch factor Syncing Uncut Loops When importing a loop that has not been edited into a well cut loop Live will play it out of sync Suppose there is a portion of silence at the sample beginning prior to the first beat You can easily correct this by moving the Warp Marker labeled with a 1 to the first beat s onset Likewise you can eliminate silence after the actual loop end by moving the Warp Marker at the sample s right edge A One Bar Loop as It Appears in the Clip View by Default CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 118 Setting the Warp Markers for a Poorly Cut Loop Syncing Od
98. the Browser root up one level To clean up the Browser use PC 5 Mac to access the context menu and then select the Close All Folders option to show only top level folders Double clicking a CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 38 File Browser s selector button will do the same 5 1 2 Browser Bookmarks Using bookmarks you can quickly save and recall frequently used folder locations in the Browser Clicking in the Browser s title bar will open the Bookmark menu vV Library Current Project Desktop Workspace My Documents C Multisamples E Musik E Samples C ideo m OAC e AA The Bookmark Menu The Bookmark menu lists a number of preset bookmarks such as Desktop and Library Selecting the latter will bring you to the Live Library To bookmark the current Browser root choose the Bookmark menu s topmost item the Bookmark Current Folder command Note that if the current Browser root is already bookmarked the topmost option in the Bookmark menu will remove the bookmark All File Browsers share the same set of bookmarks a bookmark stored in one Browser can be retrieved from another 5 1 3 Searching for Files Live s File Browsers are equipped with a search function for finding files Clicking the Search button in the upper right corner of the Browser or using the PC Mac shortcut will open the Browser s Search Mode CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 39 a E Parent Folder gt
99. the Master track choose Mixer from the top envelope chooser and Song Tempo from the bottom one The Lock Envelopes Switch The Tempo Envelope CHAPTER 17 AUTOMATION AND EDITING ENVELOPES 225 When adjusting the tempo envelope you might want to scale the value axis display which is the function of the two value boxes below the envelope choosers The left box sets the minimum and the right box sets the maximum tempo displayed in BPM Note that these two controls also determine the value range of a MIDI controller assigned to the tempo 226 Chapter 18 Clip Envelopes Every clip in Live can have its own clip envelopes The aspects of a clip that are influenced by clip envelopes change depending upon clip type and setup clip envelopes can do anything from representing MIDI controller data to modulating device parameters In this chapter we will first look at how all clip envelopes are drawn and edited and then get into the details of their various applications CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 227 18 1 The Clip Envelope Editor Clip Launch Use the Clip View Box Selector to Bring up the Envelopes Box eco To work with clip envelopes bring up the Clip View s Envelopes box by activating the rightmost Clip View Box selector panel The Envelopes box contains two choosers for selecting an envelope to view and edit Envelopes Sample i Clip x 4p d Volume Transpose Volume gt
100. the notes will wait until 2 3 of the way through the beat to play where an 8th note triplet would normally fall 16th and 32nd note swing works similarly but on a smaller scale Every other note shifts forward toward the nearest 16th or 32nd note triplet position Returning to our rubber band analogy we can see that Swing 8 can actually affect more than just 8th notes Actually any notes that do not lie directly on a beat will be affected when the rubber band is stretched including 16th and 32nd notes By the same token Swing 16 where our rubber band is anchored to positions just an 8th note apart can affect 32nd notes Groove can be applied to both MIDI clips and audio clips Applying groove to audio clips does require that the Warp switch be activated and a Warp Mode other than Re Pitch selected If an audio clip is in Beats Mode the Transients setting must be greater than or equal to the Clip Groove chooser s swing setting e g with a Transients setting of 1 16 Swing 8 and Swing 16 can be used but not Swing 32 The Control Bar s Global Groove Control CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 98 Because of this feature s dependency on note timing we recommend that you quantize MIDI clips prior to applying groove provided you want predictable results For audio clips any swing contained within the original sample can be removed by appropriately setting Warp Markers prior to applying the artificial swing of the Groove settin
101. to 100 percent repetitions will always take place at the given Interval Offset time if set to zero there will be no repetitions Gate defines the total length of all repetitions in sixteenth notes If Gate is set to 4 16 the repetitions will occur over the period of one beat starting at the position defined by The Beat Repeat Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 250 Interval and Offset Activating the Repeat button bypasses all of the above controls immediately capturing material and repeating it until deactivated The Grid control defines the grid size the size of each repeated slice If set to 1 16 a slice the size of one sixteenth note will be captured and repeated for the given Gate length or until Repeat is deactivated Large grid values create rhythmic loops while small values create sonic artifacts The No Triplets button sets grid division as binary Grid size can be changed randomly using the Variation control If Variation is set to 0 grid size is fixed But when Variation is set to higher values the grid fluctuates considerably around the set Grid value Variation has several different modes available in the chooser below Trigger creates variations of the grid when repetitions are triggered 1 4 1 8 and 1 16 trigger variations in regular intervals and Auto forces Beat Repeat to apply a new random variation after each repetition the most complex form of grid variation in Beat Re
102. to prevent compatibility problems Instead you will be requested to Save As Doing this will insure that the newly saved Live Sets reside in project folders CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 59 5 6 2 Projects and Presets By default new instrument and effect presets are stored in the Live Library making them available to any project At times however it may make more sense to save a preset with the current Project You might for example want to keep a number of alternative master EQ settings for a given piece These EQ presets are specific to the piece and of little use to other Projects For this reason every device in the Device Browser has a Current Project sub folder Simply drag a preset here after saving it a Vurrpresou ae gt E Compressor Il gt E Dynamic Tube v E EQ Eight E Bright Acoustic Guitar T E Center Kin E Cheesy Speaker Clear Acoustic Guitar a v E Current Project Electro with Piano E Hi boost Project Specific Presets Appear Under Current z Project in the Device 5 ros Browser E Troble boost 5 6 3 Managing Files in a Project Live s File Manager offers several convenient tools for managing Projects Choose the Manage Files command from the File menu and then click the Manage Project button The File Manager will present you with an overview of the Project s contents and tools for e locating samples that the Project is missing e collecting e
103. track has one or more Racks in its device chain internal routing points Pre FX Post FX and Post Mixer will also be available for every chain within the Rack In this case each Rack will also be listed in the Input Channel chooser e Rack Name Chain Name Pre FX The signal will be tapped from the point that it enters the Rack before it reaches the chain s devices e Rack Name Chain Name Post FX The signal will be tapped from the end of the chain but before it passes to the chain s mixer e Rack Name Chain Name Post Mixer The signal will be tapped from the output of the chain s mixer just before the point where all of the chains in the Rack are summed together to create the Rack s output 12 7 2 Making Use of Internal Routing This section presents several internal routing examples in more detail Tap Points for Every Chain in a Track CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 159 Post Effects Recording Let s say that you are feeding a guitar into Live building up a song track by track overlaying take onto take It is certainly powerful to have a separate effects chain per track for applying different effects to different takes after the fact You might however want to run the guitar signal through effects a noise gate or an amp model for instance before the recording stage and record the post effects signal Audi 4 Guitar 5 Audic 6 Audic 7 Pad Audio From Audio From Audio From MIDI Fror Ext
104. use the numbered filter selector buttons to select a band for editing and then edit parameter values with the Freq Gain and Q dials and or type values into the number fields below each dial To achieve really drastic filtering effects assign the same parameters to two or more filters As boosting will increase levels and cutting will decrease levels use the Gain field to optimize the output level for maximum level consistent with minimum distortion The Scale field will attenuate the gain of all filters that support gain all except high cut and low cut 20 9 EQ Three EQ Three OA GainLow GainMid GainHi Inf dB 6 000B infdB m M The EQ Three Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 258 If you have ever used a good DJ mixer you will know what this is An EQ that allows you to adjust the level of low mid and high frequencies independently Each band can be adjusted from infinite dB to 6 dB using the gain controls This means that you can completely remove for example the bass drum or bassline of a track while leaving the other frequencies untouched You can also turn on or off each band using the On Off buttons located under the gain controls These buttons are especially handy if assigned to computer keys EO Three gives you visual confirmation of the presence of a signal in each frequency band using three green LEDs Even if a band is turned off you can tell if there is something going on
105. v E Tango Project v P Samples v P Recorded Eg 0001 1 Guitar wav Erg 0001 2 Accordion wav Erg 0001 3 Piano wav gt Tango with Piano als A Second Version of the Live Set Has Been Pie tangs Added to the Project gt LEIEL The Tango Project now contains two Live Sets and its Samples Recorded folder contains the samples used by both of them And now for something completely different We choose the File menu s New command and record a samba tune As this has nothing to do with our tango dabblings we decide to save it outside the Tango Project folder say on the Desktop Live creates a new project folder named Samba Project next to Tango Project Fe 0001 1 Guitar wav Px 0001 2 Accordion wav E Fr 0001 3 Piano wav i gt B Tango with Piano als A New Project Was Added Next to Tango Project So far we have seen how to create Live Projects and save versions of Live Sets into them How do we open a Project Simply by opening any of its contained Live Sets Double clicking Tango with Piano als opens that Set and the associated Project as displayed in the Live window s title bar Let s suppose that in the course of our work on Tango with Piano als we get sidetracked CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 58 The piece evolves towards something entirely different and we feel that it should live in a Project of its own So we Save As current Project say the Desktop n under a new n
106. viii NN XT 1 Ag x An Audio Track o e E 1 2 3 4 Receiving Audio From 5 z e 5 S and a MIDI Track ol gt jm z z Sending MIDI to Reason The following example shows how to send MIDI from one of Live s MIDI tracks into an instrument within Propellerhead s Reason and then route the audio result back into an audio track 1 First start Live 2 Then start Reason and set up the Reason rack as desired 3 Select Reason from the MIDI track s Output Type chooser 4 The Output Channel chooser presents you with a list of the instruments that you currently have in your Reason rack select the instrument you want to address m Select Reason from the audio track s Input Type chooser 6 From the audio track s Input Channel chooser select the audio channel that corresponds to the instrument to which you are sending MIDI 7 Set the audio track s Monitor radio button to In 8 Select All Ins from the MIDI track s Input Type chooser 9 Arm the MIDI track Now any MIDI that you are playing into Live will arrive in Reason which will generate the corresponding audio back into the audio track ready for further processing in Live s mixer and effects If you want to continue work on the project without reopening Reason simply record Reason s audio by arming the audio track and engaging Record Mode CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 155 12 6 Resampling Live s Master output can be
107. volume envelopes It is therefore listed in the section on envelopes LFO Rate lt Key Rate lt Key The LFO s frequency can be a function of note pitch If this is set to 100 the LFO will double its frequency per octave functioning like a normal oscillator LFO Amount lt Velocity Amt lt Vel This setting adjusts modulation of the LFO intensity by note velocity Oscillators A D Shell and Display Osc On This turns the oscillator on and off Osc Coarse Frequency Coarse The relationship between oscillator frequency and note pitch is defined by the Coarse and Fine parameters Coarse sets the ratio in whole numbers creating a harmonic relationship Osc Fine Frequency Fine The relationship between oscillator frequency and note pitch is defined by the Coarse and Fine parameters Fine sets the ratio in fractions of whole numbers creating an inharmonic relationship Osc Fixed Frequency On Fixed In Fixed Mode oscillators do not respond to note pitch but instead play a fixed frequency Osc Fixed Frequency Freq This is the frequency of the oscillator in Hertz This frequency is constant regardless of note pitch Osc Fixed Multiplier Multi This is used to adjust the range of the fixed frequency Multiply this value with the value of the oscillator s Freq knob to get actual frequency in Hz CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 307 Osc Output Level Level This sets the output level of the oscill
108. with Ctrl S Plug In Edit Button Open Mac Keystroke Plug In Window D with Plug In Edit Button Group Ungroup Devices Ciri JG S Activate Deactivate All Devices in Group Alt Device Activa O E d Alt Device Activa r a O Click to Append Devices to a Selected Device gt Load Selected Device From Browser Return or Double Return or Double Click 26 20 Using the Context Menu A context menu is available in Live for quick access to many commonly used menu items To access the context menu PC Mac on the part of the interface where you would like to execute a particular command It is worth noting that Live s context menu may sometimes contain applicable settings from the Preferences You should change these options with care as they will affect not only the currently selected item but the general settings of the program Some commands only appear in the context menu Among these are the Create Folder Analyze Audio Search In Folder Close All Folders and Refresh commands from the Browser the special grid marker commands for directing Auto Warp detailed options for zoom adaptive and fixed grid line width and copying and pasting for Operator s envelopes and oscillators 373 Chapter 27 Index 374 Index A Ableton e mail addresses Sales esed elade isis ehaievesd 16 technical support 15 web
109. with playback never proceeding beyond Loop End Release Enabled When the volume envelope reaches its release stage playback will proceed linearly towards Sample End Release Loop Enabled When the volume envelope reaches its release stage playback will proceed linearly until reaching Sample End when it jumps immediately to Release Loop and continues looping until the volume envelope has completed its release stage Back and Forth Release Loop Enabled When the volume envelope reaches its release stage playback will proceed linearly until reaching Sample End then reverses until it reaches Release Loop then proceeds again towards Sample End This pattern continues until the volume envelope has completed its release stage Sustain and Release Loop Crossfade Crossfade Loop crossfades help remove clicks from loop transitions Sustain and Release Loop Detune Detune Since loops are nothing more than oscillations the pitch of samples may shift within a loop relative to the loops duration With Detune the pitch of these regions can be matched to the rest of the sample Interpolation Interpol This is a global setting that determines the accuracy of transposed samples Be aware that raising the quality level above Normal will place significant CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 317 demands on your CPU RAM Mode RAM This is also a global control that loads the entire multisample into RAM This mode can
110. you can use the Consolidate command to create new samples 18 2 2 Changing Pitch and Tuning per Note Drop a sample loop from the Browser into Live and play it Click on the Transpose quick chooser button You can now alter the pitch transposition of individual notes in the sample as you listen to it The fast way to do this is by enabling Draw Mode and drawing steps along the grid Deactivate Draw Mode to edit breakpoints and line segments This is useful for smoothing the coarse steps by horizontally displacing breakpoints CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 230 The Transposition Envelope with Steps Top and Ramps Bottom Note that the warp settings determine how accurately Live s time warping engine tracks the envelope shape To obtain a more immediate response reduce the Grain Size value in Tones and Texture Mode or choose a smaller value for the Transients control in Beats Mode To correct the tuning of individual notes in the sample hold down the PC Mac modifier while drawing or moving breakpoints to obtain a finer resolution To scroll the display hold down the PC Mac modifier while dragging Pitch is modulated in an additive way The output of the transposition envelope is simply added to the Transpose control s value The result of the modulation is clipped to stay in the available range 48 48 semitones in this case CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 231 18 2 3 Muting
111. you decide to check out extreme feedback settings Each delay channel has its own volume control which can be turned up to 12 dB to compensate for drastic filtering at the input The Dry control adjusts the unprocessed signal level Set it to minimum if using Delay in a return track 20 12 Flanger oe LFO S amp H Amount Shape 40 9 Rate 0 11 Hz Phase E Delay Time Feedback JE gt 100 Ons E OB 302 Flanger uses two parallel time modulated delays to create flanging effects Flanger s delays can be adjusted with the Delay Time control The Feedback control sends part of the output signal back through the device input while the Polarity switch or sets the polarity Delay Time and Feedback can be changed simultaneously using the effect s X Y controller Periodic control of delay time is possible using the envelope section You can increase or decrease the envelope amount or invert its shape with negative values and then use the Attack and Release controls to define envelope shape Flanger contains two LFOs to modulate delay time for the left and right stereo channels The Flanger Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 262 The LFOs have six possible waveform shapes sine square triangle sawtooth up sawtooth down and random The extent of LFO influence on the delays is set with the Amount control LFO speed is controlled with the Rate control
112. 2 SMPTE Beats Toggles between displaying beats bars and SMPTE in the time display 3 Name Value Switches the meters in the main display on off Note that these CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 350 meters appear only when pan assignment mode is active F Keys These keys can be mapped freely to controls in Live 5 ViewArr On Toggles Arrangement View and Session View When the Mackie 10 11 12 13 Control s Shift key is held down this sets the program focus to the Arrangement View or Session View whichever is currently on screen ToggleDetail Rec Rdy Toggles Clip View and Track View When the Mackie Control s Shift key is held down this sets the program focus to the Clip View or Track View whichever is currently on screen ViewBrowser SnapShot Shows hides the Browser When the Mackie Control s Shift key is held down this sets the program focus to the Browser ViewDetail Touch Shows Hides the Clip Track View When the Mackie Con trol s Shift key is held down this sets the program focus to the Clip View or Track View whichever is currently on screen Undo and Redo Undoes redoes the last change made to the Live Set The LED will illuminate if there is an available action to undo redo BTA Cancel Stops clips in the Session View from playing differently than how they were recorded into the Arrangement and returns to playing the Arrange ment The LE
113. 2 2 9 Finally Operator is the result of an intense preoccupation with FM synthesis and a love and dedi cation to the old hardware FM synthesizers such as the Yamaha SY77 the Yamaha TX81Z and the NED Synclavier Il FM synthesis was first explored musically by the composer and computer music pioneer John Chowning in the mid 1960s In 1973 he and Stanford Uni versity began a relationship with Yamaha that lead to one of the most successful commercial musical instruments ever the DX7 John Chowning realized some very amazing and beautiful musical pieces based on a syn thesis concept that you can now explore yourself simply by playing with Operator in Live We wish you loads of fun with it 22 2 10 The Complete Parameter List The function of each Operator parameter is explained in the forthcoming sections Remem ber that you can also access explanations of controls in Live including those belonging to CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 303 Operator directly from the software by placing the mouse over the control and reading the text that appears in the Info View Parameters in this list are grouped into sections based on where they appear in Operator Global Shell and Display Time This is a global control for all envelope rates Tone Operator is capable of producing timbres with very high frequencies which can sometimes lead to aliasing artifacts The Tone setting controls the high frequency content of sounds Higher
114. 3 Narrow Grid command 79 editing velocities 136 New command 0 cee eee ee 52 loop region settings for 131 Next Locator button settee 74 MIDI note Stretch L 135 normalizing rendered audio 48 navigation 0 ee0eee es 128 Note Editor 1 15 42 andes hoatite de siss 127 rearranging notes in 132 Note Length effect 283 MIDI effects EE AAEE see devices Notes DOM EELEE TEET A A E 94 MIDI files o ssiirirsrisisririsiinisissss 23 Nudge buttons see Clip Nudge buttons MIDI interface setup see routing o MIDI Map Mode switch 334 MIDI Ports list cccntgeaiaseetiedgonce 151 offline clips oo iniii ieina 62 MIDI Preferences ee 6 Ogg files o on see samples MIDI synchronization EEEE 351 Open Open Recent command 52 MIDI Timecode Frame Rate preference 353 Operator instrument 293 MIDI Timecode Start Offset preference 353 algorithms 0 294 MIDI Track In Indicator rade anions 133 aliasing and Tone 0 296 MIDI Track Out Indicator 153 aid CPU resources eoscicocscce crs 302 MIDI tracks e eee eee see tracks envelopes o on 298 Minimum Free Space preference 45 FE ea cooets 300 mixer CE 26 167 Glide and Spread n u 301 Mixer Section selector ee 168 global controls o on 300 modulation see clip envelopes sole escsawneiadi
115. 7 a S o7 A mts mls ral The Crossfader and Selector The crossfader is accessed via the Session View s mixer selectors It features seven different crossfade curves so that you can choose the one that fits your style the best To change the curve PC 6 Mac on the crossfader then select an entry from the context menu Dipped Intermediate v Constant Power Transition Return to Default Del on AA BRI Sr Slow Cut 5 5 Fast Cut S e e Alls Alls Choose from Seven Crossfader Curves The crossfader can be mapped to any continuous MIDI controller absolute or incremental In addition to the crossfader s central slider its absolute left and right positions are separately available for MIDI or keyboard mapping There are two special scenarios for remote control with respect to the crossfader e A key mapped to any one of the three assignable crossfader positions left center or right will toggle the crossfader s absolute left and right positions CHAPTER 13 MIXING 174 e Mapping to two of the three fields allows for a snapping back behavior when one of the assigned keys is held down and the other is pressed and released ty A Ag Ag Ag Ap 3 4 5 6 7 s s s s s g s a e o7 A ra Each track has two Crossfade Assign buttons A and B The track can have three states with respect to the crossfader e f neither Assign button is on the c
116. 9 4 1 OK Cancel Rendering Options The Render dialog offers several rendering options CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 49 e Normalize If this is activated the sample resulting from the render process will be normalized i e the file will be amplified so that the highest peak attains the maximum available headroom e Render as Loop If this is activated Live will create a sample that can be used as a loop For example suppose your Live Set uses a delay effect If Render as Loop is on Live will go through the rendering process twice The first pass will not actually write samples to disk but add the specified delay effect As the second pass starts writing audio to disk it will include the delay tail resulting from the first pass File Type Bit Depth Sample Rate These options specify the type of sample to be created Create Analysis File If this is activated Live will create an asd file that contains analysis information about the rendered sample If you intend to use the new sample in Live check this option e Convert to Mono If this is activated Live will create a mono file instead of a stereo file 5 3 MIDI Files A MIDI file contains commands that prompt MIDI compatible synthesizers or instruments such as Live s Simpler to create specific musical output MIDI files are exported by hardware and software MIDI sequencers Importing MIDI files into Live works differently than with sampl
117. 94 in common e The Clip box contains basic clip settings e The Envelopes box and the Envelope Editor manage the clip s envelopes which are used to modulate the effects mixer and clip or MIDI controls Clip envelopes and their associated Clip View components are covered in detail in a separate manual chapter e The Launch box controls clip launch behavior and as such only appears for Session View clips Setting Session View clip launch properties is covered in detail in a separate manual chapter Audio clips have these additional Clip View controls e The Sample Display toggles with the Envelope Editor on the right hand side of the Clip View and controls Live s sample warping capabilities and clip playback settings e The Sample box contains settings pertaining to how the clip plays its sample and displays it in the Sample Display Boogie Launch Mode Modular Recording T Stat Get Clip __ Start SS Tigger 44 1 kHz 24 Bit 1 Ch P Volume Signature Legato Save Rev Seg BPM End Get Transpos End 4 i _4 Quantization EG Fade RAM 74 52 7IL Woltme Groove Global gt Transpose Gd CD Pan Swing8 gt vei 0 0 O Beats v Loop Follow Action Position Set Region Loop Position 5 joo Ost lt We EIE Link
118. AND WARPING 123 Three Selected Warp Markers Here are the steps 1 Select the Warp Markers that you wish to copy by clicking on them with the mouse After the first Warp Marker has been selected hold while clicking another to select the range of Warp Markers in between or PC Mac click to add individual Warp Markers to your selection 2 Once your selection is complete choose the Copy command from the Edit menu 3 Click on the title bar of the destination clip to select it 4 In the destination clip s Clip View click once on any Warp Marker to select it as the starting point for placement of the new Warp Markers 5 Choose the Paste command from the Edit menu The Warp Markers will be pasted into the destination clip 9 3 Adjusting for Good Stretching Quality Live offers a number of time stretching modes to accommodate all sorts of audio material Each clip s time stretching mode and associated parameters are set in the Clip View s Sample Box The warp modes are different varieties of granular resynthesis techniques Granular resyn thesis achieves time compression and expansion by repeating and skipping over parts of CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 124 the sample the grains The warp modes differ in the selection of grains as well as in the details of overlapping and crossfading between grains Let s investigate which warp modes work best for different types of signals and
119. APTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 131 o 10 4 Editing MIDI 10 4 1 Non Destructive Editing You can always return your MIDI clip to its previous state by using the Edit menu s Undo command Furthermore if the MIDI clip being edited originated in a MIDI file on your hard drive none of your editing will alter the original MIDI file as Live incorporates its contents into your Live Set when importing 10 4 2 Folding and Looping An important feature of the MIDI Editor is the Fold button located in the upper left corner Activating this button will immediately hide all rows or key tracks that do not contain MIDI notes This is very useful when working with percussion kits for example which are oftentimes mapped out along a keyboard in sections corresponding to percussion type e g snares grouped together two octaves down from hi hat cymbals etc When working with a MIDI file created by such a mapping sometimes only one or two of each type of percussion sound is used and it becomes unnecessary to view the entire keyboard range Enlarge the MIDI Editor by Dragging the Window Split Between Session and Clip Views The Fold Button Extracts Key Tracks Containing Notes CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 132 When editing MIDI you might find that you want to change which part of the clip you are listening to or loop the clip in ord
120. D will illuminate if there is an Arrangement state available to which to return Locator Marker Deletes a locator when a locator is currently selected and the song is stopped Otherwise it creates a new locator at the current play position DrawMode Enter Enables disables Draw Mode for drawing notes and en velopes Follow Mixer Toggles Follow Mode which scrolls Live s display to follow playback 351 Chapt er 24 Synchronization and ReWire 24 1 Synchronizing via MIDI The MIDI protocol defines two ways to synchronize sequencers both of which are supported by Live Both protocols work with the notion of a sync master which delivers a sync signal that is tracked by the sync slave s e MIDI CI ock MIDI Clock works like a metronome ticking at a fast rate The rate of the incoming ticks is tempo dependent Changing the tempo at the sync master e g a drum machine will cause the slave to follow the change The MIDI Clock protocol also provides messages that indicate the song position With respect to MIDI Clock Live can act e MIDI Ti as both a MIDI sync master and slave mecode MIDI Timecode is the MIDI version of the SMPTE protocol the standard means of synchronizing tape machines and computers in the audio and film industry A MIDI Timecode message specifies a time in seconds and frames subdivi sions of a second Live will interpret a Timecode message as a position in the Arrangem
121. Deep Freeze keeps most editing functions available while tracks are frozen Chapter 2 First Steps When you install Live and run it for the first time you will be presented with a dialog asking for your Live serial number Please see the chapter on unlocking Live should you have questions or concerns during the authorization process If you do not yet own Live you can close the dialog and proceed as Live will run in Demo Mode by default In Demo Mode you will be able to work with all of Live s features with the exception of saving and exporting 2 1 Learn About Live Live comes with a set of interactive lessons to take you step by step through the key features of the program The lessons are organized in a table of contents which can be opened directly in the program via the Help menu We highly recommend following the lessons Many users have told us that the lessons helped them become familiar with the program very quickly We also recommend that you read the Live Concepts chapter which encapsulates every thing that Live is and can do and is therefore a worthwhile read for both beginners and CHAPTER 2 FIRST STEPS 5 experienced users The remaining chapters of this manual serve as in depth reference for the material introduced in Live Concepts 2 1 1 Using the Info View and Index Live s Info View tells you the name and function of whatever you place the mouse over E Viny Distortion A H A B A H Info View Th
122. ELOCITIES 134 The Edit menu s Select Loop command selects all notes that begin within the loop brace The Select Loop command can also be executed without the menu by simply clicking the loop brace This command can speed up editing when coupled with the loop brace s shortcuts Let s say you have arranged a nice 1 bar loop in the Note editor and you want to duplicate it a couple of times You can click the loop brace to select the notes that begin within the loop execute the Edit menu s Copy command shift the loop to the right by one loop length with f and execute the Edit menu s Paste command As we have already seen creating new MIDI notes is as simple as activating Draw Mode and drawing them into the Note Editor MIDI notes can also be added and deleted by double clicking when Draw Mode is inactive Vertical movements in Draw Mode correspond to velocity changes This means that with one horizontal motion and one vertical motion you can draw multiple notes and their velocities without releasing the mouse button If you change velocity with this vertical movement Live will remember the change and use your new velocity on any notes that you draw afterward You may sometimes by dragging or by drawing place a new note on top of one that already exists If the new note overlaps with the beginning of the original note the original note will vanish The original note is invisible but still exists and will reappear intact if the
123. ER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 329 listed here don t fret it can still be enabled manually in the next section Manual Control Surface Support Depending on the controller Live may need to perform a preset dump to complete the setup If this is the case the Dump button to the right of your control surface s choosers in the Live Preferences will become enabled Before pressing it verify that your control surface is ready to receive preset dumps The method for enabling this varies for each manufacturer and product so consult your hardware s documentation if you are unsure Finally press the Dump button Live will then set up your hardware automatically Instant Mappings In most cases Live uses a standard method for mapping its functions and parameters to physical controls This varies of course depending upon the configuration of knobs sliders and buttons on the control surface These feature dependent configurations are known as instant mappings Within Live s built in lessons you will find a Control Surface Reference that lists all currently supported hardware complete with the details of their instant mappings The Lessons View can be accessed at any time by selecting the Lessons option from the View menu Note You can always manually override any instant mappings with your own assignments In this case you will also want to enable the Remote switches for the MIDI ports that your control surface is using
124. FECT REFERENCE 248 Spin detunes the two LFO speeds relative to each other Each stereo channel is modulated at a different frequency as determined by the Spin amount For sample and hold the Phase and Spin controls are not relevant and do not affect the sound Instead the Auto Filter offers two kinds of sample and hold The upper sample and hold type available in the chooser provides independent random modulation generators for the left and right channels stereo while the lower one modulates both channels with the same signal mono 20 2 Auto Pan 3a Amount Rate Phase Shape 180 26 2 Offset av Auto Pan offers LFO driven manipulation of amplitude and panning for creating automatic panning tremolo and amplitude modulation and beat synchronized chopping effects Auto Pan s LFOs modulate the amplitude of the left and right stereo channels with sine triangle sawtooth down or random waveforms The Shape control pushes the waveform to its upper and lower limits hardening its shape The waveform can be set to Normal or Invert use Invert to for example create the saw up waveform from the saw down waveform LFO speed is controlled with the Rate control which can be set in terms of hertz Rate can also be synced to the song tempo Though both LFOs run at the same frequency the Phase control lends the sound stereo movement by offsetting their waveforms rel
125. Free Space 500 00 MB CPI Maximum Cache Size On 35068 Gleanup Thttp www apple com quicktime download Preferences for the Decoding Cache CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 46 5 2 2 Analysis Files asd An analysis file is a little file that Live creates when a sample file is brought into the program for the first time The analysis file contains data gathered by Live to help optimize the stretching quality speed up the waveform display and automatically detect the tempo of long samples When adding a long sample to a project Live might tell you that it cannot play the sample before it has been analyzed This will not happen if the sample has already been analyzed i e Live finds an analysis file for this sample or if the Record Warp Launch Preferences Auto Warp Long Samples preference has been deactivated To prevent waiting for analysis of longer samples you can pre analyze them via the Browser as we will see in a moment An analysis file can also store default clip settings for the sample Clicking the Clip View s Save button will store the current clip s settings with the sample s analysis file The next time the sample is dragged into Live it will appear with all its clip settings intact This is particularly useful for retaining Warp Marker settings with the sample Storing default clip settings with the analysis file is different from saving the clip as a Live Clip The analysis file s n
126. G AND I O 160 1 Piano Audio From Ext 3 Absynth i 1 2 ij Post Mixer All Channe Monitor Monitor In Auto O ort Audio To Master A il s E a Recording the Output of a Complex Instrument in n l a Audio Tracks A setup similar to the one described above accomplishes the task We have one MIDI track hosting the virtual instrument and we use additional audio tracks to record the audio result of playing the instrument Creating Submixes 5 Submix Oo m m m a Audio From Audio From Audio From Audio From Ext In Ext In No Input gt No Input gt M 1 2 M 12 gt Monitor Monitor Monitor i Lin Auto Or in Amo n Audio To Audio To Audio To Audio To 5 Submix v 5 Submix__ v 5 Submix v Master Subm ixing the Individual Track In Track In Track In Drums of a Drum Kit Suppose we have the individual drums of a drum kit coming in on separate tracks for multitrack recording In the mix we can easily change the volumes of the individual drums but adjusting the volume of the entire drum kit against the rest of the music is less convenient CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 161 Therefore we add a new audio track to submix the individual drums The drum tracks are all set to output to the submix track which outputs to the Master The submix track gives us a handy volume control for t
127. IDI ports for track input and output the mixer s In Out choosers allow them to be addressed individually 12 3 2 Playing MIDI With the Computer Keyboard The computer keyboard can be used as a pseudo port for generating MIDI notes from computer keyboard strokes Using this pseudo port you can generate MIDI even without a real MIDI input port To turn the computer MIDI keyboard on use the Control Bar s Com puter MIDI Keyboard button or the Ctrl j 4___J K PC _ WA JK Mac shortcut to the Options menu entry LES miD D The center row of letter keys on the keyboard will play notes corresponding to the white keys on a piano beginning on the left with the note C5 The black keys on a piano correspond to the upper row of computer keys The four leftmost letters on the lower row of the keyboard are used to transpose the note range and to set velocity The results of changing these values are displayed in the Status Bar at the bottom of the Live screen As it happens when the computer keyboard is set to send notes between C3 and C4 the keys are mapped to MIDI notes such that the center row of the keyboard ASDF addresses The MIDI Ports List in the Preferences Activating the Computer MIDI Keyboard CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 152 the Impulse percussion sampler s sample slots This means that you can play and record drum patterns right off the computer keyboard Note that when the computer MIDI keyboa
128. In 4 Guitar 4 Guitar 12 i PostFX gt ii Post Mixer i Monitor Monitor Monitor in Auto 00 in Auto Gf This is easily accomplished by devoting a special audio track for processing and monitoring the incoming guitar signal We call this track Guitar and drag the desired effects into its device chain We do not record directly into the Guitar track instead we create a couple more tracks to use for recording Those tracks are all set up to receive their input Post FX from the Guitar track Note that we could also tap the Guitar track Post Mixer if we wished to record any level or panning from it As for monitoring we set the Guitar track s Monitor radio button to In because we always want to listen to our guitar through this track no matter what else is going on in Live The other tracks Monitor radio buttons are set to Off Recording MIDI as Audio When working with MIDI and complex software instruments it is sometimes more useful to record the resulting audio than the incoming MIDI A single MIDI note can prompt for example Native Instruments Absynth to produce something that sounds more like a piece of music than a single tone This output lends itself more to representation as an audio waveform than a single note in a MIDI clip particularly when comparing the editing options An Example Setup for Post Effects Recording CHAPTER 12 ROUTIN
129. In Sync Mode this behavior will be quantized to song time Envelope Beat Sync Rate Repeat The envelope will be retriggered after this amount of beat time as long as it is still on When retriggered the envelope will move at the given attack rate from the current level to the peak level Envelope Loop Time Time If a note is still on after the end of the decay sustain segment the envelope will start again from its initial value The time it takes to move from the sustain level to the initial value is defined by this parameter Envelope Rates lt Velocity Time lt Vel Envelope segments will be modulated by note ve locity as defined by this setting This is especially interesting if the envelopes are looping Note that this modulation does not influence the beat time in Beat or Sync Modes but the envelope segments themselves CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 309 22 3 Sampler Filter Gtobals Modulation orl Sample Part Vol Sampie Start SE Mode Loop Start Loop End Crossfade Detune Interpol Infected Bass F 1 0 046 4 GE 2 Unk 9571 12432 317 Oct Good v Rootkey Detune as Pan Tk End Release Mode Release Loop Crossfade Detune Wri oa 4 10 C 4 _ 15288 DE Sie o 0 Oct RAM Sampler is a sleek yet formidable multisampling instrument that takes full advantage of Live s agile audio engine It has been designed from the start to handle multi
130. Loop for Editing 6 7 Using the Editing Grid To ease editing the cursor will snap to grid lines that represent the meter subdivisions of the song tempo The grid can be set to be either zoom adaptive or fixed You can set the width of both zoom adaptive and fixed grid lines using the PC 6 Mac context menu available in either the Arrangement View track area or the Clip View display CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VI EW 79 The following shortcuts to Options menu commands allow quickly working with the grid e Use Ctrl Jf PC G_ 8 grid lines e g from eighth e Use Ctrl j 2 PC G_ amp lines e g from eighth note e Use Ctrl J PC 8 change the grid from e Use Cir j 4 PC 8 off the cursor does n e Use Ctrl J PC 8 peta N l oo 4 5 Mac to narrow the grid doubling the density of the notes to sixteenth notes Mac to widen the grid halving the density of the grid to quarter notes Mac to toggle triplets mode this would for instance eighth notes to eighth note triplets Mac to turn grid snapping on or off When the grid is ot snap to meter subdivisions Mac to toggle fixed and adaptive grid modes The current spacing between adjacent grid lines is displayed in the lower right corner of the Arrangement View or Clip View 6 8 Using the Time Commands Whereas the standard comman
131. MOTE CONTROL 336 imagine that you have assigned the pan knob on your control surface to the pan parameter of a track in Live If the hardware control is panned hard right and the Live control is panned hard left a slight movement in a hardware pan knob that sends absolute values would tell Live to pan right causing an abrupt jump in the track s panning Apan knob sending relative messages would prevent this since its incremental message to Live would simply say Pan slightly to the left of your current position There are four types of relative controllers Signed Bit Signed Bit 2 Bin Offset and Twos Complement Convention Mode Increment Decrement Relative Signed Bit 001 064 065 127 Relative Signed Bit 2 065 127 001 064 Relative Bin Offset 065 127 063 001 Relative 2 s Comp 001 064 127 065 Each of these are also available in a linear mode Some MIDI encoders use acceleration internally generating larger changes in value when they are turned quickly For contro surfaces that are not natively supported Live tries to detect the controller type and whether acceleration is being used or not You can improve the detection process by moving the relative controller slowly to the left when you make an assignment Live will offer its suggestion in the Status Bar s mode chooser but if you happen to know the relative controller type you can manually select it Live will
132. Mac on one of the selected title bars to open a context menu featuring the same command Note that if you repeat the command again on the same device you will create a Rack within a Rack To ungroup devices dismantling their Racks select the Rack s title bar and then use the Edit menu or the context menu to access the Ungroup command CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 16 3 Looking at Racks Audio Effect Rack Skitter Slosh Chain Hido jj Presgers aa dls jj chait ESE i S 33 18 7 Drop Audio Effects Here ii Vortex as of S sS Drife Cough Wompa ii Squatch ea A S si aij ai si Dynamic Tube Dry Wet 100 Output 2 38 dE Drive 10 5 6B Alec Tone 0 52 Bias 90 KZ Envelope 138 Attack 4 58 ms Release 15 3 ms 1 Racks have three distinct views that can be shown or hidden as needed There fore every Rack has a view column on its far left side that holds the corresponding view selectors Macro Controls Chain List Devices a AeA WwW N Racks are also identifiable by their round corners which bracket and enclose their content When the Devices view is shown the end bracket visually detaches itself to keep the Rack hierarchy clear To move copy or delete an entire Rack at once simply select it by its title bar as opposed to the title bars of any devices that it contains When selected a Rack ca
133. R 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 252 while the Polarity switch sets surprise the polarity Polarity changes have the most effect with high amounts of feedback and short delay times The Dry Wet control adjusts the balance between the processed and dry signals Set it to 100 percent when using Chorus in a return track 20 5 Compressor Compressor Thresh G R a 19 8 dB Ratio Attack Release 7 0 08 ms 80 6 ms A Compressor reduces gain for signals above a user settable threshold Compression reduces the levels of peaks opening up more headroom and allowing the overall signal level to be turned up This gives the signal a higher average level resulting in a sound that is subjectively louder and punchier than an uncompressed signal The two most important parameters are the Threshold and the compression Ratio The Threshold slider sets where compression begins Signals below the threshold are not processed Signals above the threshold are attenuated by an amount specified by the Ratio parameter which sets the ratio between the input and output signal For example with a compression ratio of 3 1 if a signal above the threshold increases by 3 dB the compressor output will increase by only 1 dB If a signal above the threshold increases by 6 dB then the output will increase by only 2 dB The red Gain Reduction meter shows how much the gain is being reduced at any given moment The more reduction the more audi
134. Se o 3 4 5 6 e 7 Ld G e S z e e o o 1 Each clip in the Session View has a triangular button at the left edge Click the button with the mouse to launch clip playback at any time or pre select a clip by clicking on its name and launch it using the computer s key You can then move on to the neighboring clips using the arrow keys Please refer the manual section on clip launch settings for details on how to customize this behavior 2 Click on a square Clip Stop button to stop a running clip either in one of the track s slots or in the Track Status field below the Session grid Clips can be controlled remotely with the computer keyboard or a MIDI controller They can even be mapped to MIDI note ranges so that they play chromatically Clips can be played at any time and in any order The layout of clips does not predetermine their temporal succession the Session grid offers random access to the clips it contains Notice that even if you stop playback for a Session View clip the Play button in the Control Bar will remain highlighted and the Arrangement Position fields will continue running These fields keep a continuous flow of musical time going so that you can always know your position in song time during a live performance or while recording into the Arrangement regardless of what your individual Session clips are doing You can always return the Arrangement Position fields to 1 1 1 and stop playback for the
135. Search In Metadata option 37 LEO seri scaieirhiepadangesteaes te 322 Search In Path option 39 Pall justvaduoetuniumyeunnbamsebes 324 searching in the File Browser 38 sample controls n u nan 320 FOSCAN erosia m ae AA E dels 3 Sample View dace sasdugandeades 320 Select Loop command osss nsnssnn 78 TANS BOSC urcnesciic eraiten 323 and clip envelopes 228 VOICES gerrit iateipipe ninen tuny 323 INDEX 384 Ao 0 a sissirsced ir ioandireonss 324 Toggle Mode 0e eee eee 1239 ZOGI ea naa pena A NGA 321 Tones Mode ee cee e eee 124 site or secondary licenses 16 Track Activator switch 169 Skin Preferences isacccrveereagrvesenges 6 Track Delay control 176 Snap to Grid command 1 Track Delays selector 176 SOlG SWItGH daticsc estan vedes danas des 169 track Meter eina sarapa nannan 169 Solo Cue Mode switch 176 Track Status field 00 86 sound THES Jot nsssaneradenaes see samples Track titlebar eeuugnigedeamenhweraes 171 Split BUMO ci cted teil dcondemiabas 127 Track View dadaididagediathatdiateatd 188 Split command nananana nannan 80 e1 CETERE E 20 Start Recording on Scene Launch 182 activating 0005 169 start end markers 0 0005 102 audio and MIDI in 21 Stop All Clips button 90 automation
136. The X Y scale map is 12 squares in length and width corresponding to the 12 notes in a full octave Darker squares represent the black keys on a keyboard The base of the diagonal scale the lower left square shown on the map can be changed using the Base control The X axis of the map shows incoming note values and the Y axis their outgoing equivalents Use mouse clicks to move or delete the yellow squares which define where an incoming note will be sent on the scale Deleting a note on the scale map means that it will no longer play The Range and Lowest controls work together to define the note range within which scale mapping will take effect Outside of the range defined by these controls the Scale effect will be inapplicable and the LED light will flash to indicate that some notes are not being processed by the effect but are playing at their unaltered pitch The Scale Effect CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 287 21 7 Velocity Velocity Drive Velocity re maps the 127 MIDI note velocity values It can function on MIDI Note On or Note Off messages or both depending on the setting of the Operation chooser The Out Low and Out Hi knobs control the outgoing velocity from 1 to 127 which is represented by the Y axis of the X Y display Incoming velocities that are shown in the display are within the range chosen by the Range and Lowest controls and are represented on the X axis The resulting curve sh
137. ULTE MNN ANAA MAOA IOMA UH ATE MANN here a ES E E E N E E PA E S E a ss y f if e x S Y The Mackie Control s eight channel strips and master strip are automatically assigned to tracks in Live Each of these strips has a set of track controls including a motorized fader and a V Pot for controlling any number of track parameters The Mackie Control s bank channel controls allow reassigning the channel strips to access an unlimited number of Live tracks The Eight Channel Strips and the Master Strip CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 341 1 Arm By default this arms the track for recording in exclusion of all other tracks To arm the track nonexclusively i e in addition to other tracks hold down the Mackie Control s Control button while pressing this Note that a Misc Preference setting in Live allows deactivating exclusive track arming When this setting is deactivated the behavior of this knob with respect to exclusive and nonexclusive arming is reversed 2 Signal LED Shows an armed track s input signal level from MIDI or audio shows an unarmed track s output signal level 3 Solo Activates deactivates soloing for the track in exclusion of all other tracks To solo the track nonexclusively i e in addition to other tracks hold down the Mackie Control s Control button while pressing this Note
138. VE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 367 26 9 Arrangement View Commands The shortcuts for zooming snapping drawing and loop region settings also work in the Arrangement View See also the editing commands Windows Macintosh Split Clip at Selection Ciri JE 8E Consolidate Selection into Clip Ctrl JU S u Loop Selection Gti JL S L Insert Silence Ctrl J e Pan Left Right of Selection Ctr Alt S At Unfold all Tracks Alt nfold button Alt Unfold button Scroll Display to Follow Playback Ctrl F WF 26 10 Commands for Tracks See also the editing commands Windows Macintosh Insert Audio Track Ctrl T S WT Insert MIDI Track A A Insert Return Track Ctr Gs Rename Selected Track Ciri JR S R While Renaming Go to next Track i C Arm Solo Multiple Tracks Ctrl Click _ 8 Click Add Device from Browser Double Click Double Click CHAPTER 26 LIVE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 368 26 11 Commands for Breakpoint Envelopes The shortcuts for zooming snapping drawing and loop region settings also work in the Envelope Editor and Arrangement View See also the editing commands Windows Macintosh Finer Resolution for Dragging Enable Dragging Over Breakpoints Ca 26 12 Key MIDI Map Mode and the Computer MIDI Ke
139. Y field The Y axis controls the modulation amount If you hold down the PC Mac modifier key while clicking in the X Y field the Y axis controls the noise bandwidth The Frequency control determines the color or quality of the distortion If the Mode control is set to Noise this works in conjunction with the Width control which defines the noise bandwidth Lower values lead to more selective distortion frequencies while higher values affect the entire input signal Width has no effect in Sine Mode Noise and Sine use a single modulation generator However Wide Noise has independent noise generators for the left and right channels which creates a subtle stereo enhancement The Erosion Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 260 20 11 Filter Delay Filter Delay input Filter Feedback Pan Volume QQQ QAQ QA 24 50R 9 0dB The Filter Delay provides three independent delay lines each preceded by linked lowpass and highpass filters This allows applying delay to only certain input signal frequencies as determined by the filter settings The feedback from each of the three delays is also routed back through the filters Each of the three delays can be switched on and off independently The Filter Delay device assigns delay 1 to the input signal s left channel delay 2 to the left and right channels and delay 3 to the rig
140. a Therefore please register your product as otherwise you might lose your property 3 2 Step 2 Unlocking Live The second step of authorizing Live is called unlocking Unlocking means associating your serial number with a specific computer Please be aware that the standard Live license grants you the right to use Live on only one computer at a time You can however unlock Live with your serial number more than once under the legal and technical conditions described later 3 2 1 The Unlock Key For unlocking you require an unlock key that can only be created by the Ableton server Unlocking therefore requires access to the Internet The computer from which you connect to the Internet does not have to be the same computer for which you wish to unlock Live but it does make things easier 3 2 2 The Challenge Code The Ableton server creates the unlock key from your serial number and a so called challenge code The challenge code is a fingerprint that Live takes of your computer s components For details please see the corresponding section 7http www ableton com register CHAPTER 3 UNLOCKING LIVE 12 3 2 3 Unlocking Online Unlock Online This method of unlocking Live 6 is much faster and easier than unlocking Offline as it is done automatically via the Internet If this computer is connected to the Internet please press the Unlock Online button C Unlock Online Unlocking Live Online
141. a Bookmark After installation the Library will already contain a few sound ideas courtesy of Ableton We encourage you to remove change augment or replace this content as you like Ableton provides additional Library content in the form of Live Packs which are available from installation CDs DVDs or the Ableton website Owners of a boxed version of Live can enjoy the Essential Instrument Collection a multi gigabyte library of meticulously sampled and selected instruments 2http www ableton com downloads 35 Chapter 5 Managing Files and Sets Various types of files are used in making music with Live from those containing MIDI and audio to more program specific files such as Live Clips and Live Sets This chapter will explain everything you need to know about working with each of these file types in Live However we should first take a look at Live s File Browsers through which most files arrive in the program 5 1 Working with the File Browsers Live offers three File Browsers which can be accessed via their selector buttons CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 36 The File Browser Selector Buttons Erg 0001 1 GuitarX wav Rael nnna 2Aceardian waw Each Browser can point to a different disk location something that Live will remember across sessions The Browser display is divided into columns corresponding to Name Date etc which you can show and hide using the PC Mac
142. a a ee ete ee unlinking from clips 236 Beats Mode 0 ce cee eee eee 124 ae i bees ci ee Clip Fade switch ccacsesctayivageanes 107 Bit Depth preference 186 Clip Gain slider sacwsesiudeueaseges 105 bookmarks Sond a a E 38 Clip Groove chooser 2 000 97 breakpoint envelopes je S66 automaton Clip Launch button osicicvorkesevoanes 84 see clip envelopes Clip Name field c scccscvcvesasenoes 96 Browser ZEEE gt see File Browser see Clip Nudge PU ONS eae a os 98 Live Device Browser see Plug In Clip Overview 00 088 93 Device Browser for zooming scrolling 101 browsing files eee eee eee 35 Clip Quantization chooser 140 c Clip Record button 29 182 Clip Signature fields 97 Capture and Insert Scene command 89 Clip Stop button 12 205 84 challenge code cccceeeeees 11 _ adding removing 5 88 Check for Updates command 1 Clip Update Rate preference 110 Chord effect 0i2ialaanbveguentewuans 282 Clip View sssssssrereerrrrrrrerrens 92 Chorus effect pc cckonedieneeasaneidy 251 and playing the Arrangement 73 Clip Activator switch 0 96 and remote control mapping 338 INDEX 376 scrub area oo eee cece eee ee 103 control surfaces Clip View boxes selector 95 127 138 and take over mode 332 227 instan
143. a track that you do not want to record over and allows you to set up a pre roll or warm up time The punch in point is identical to the Arrangement Loop s start position 5 Likewise to prevent recording after the punch out point activate the Punch Out switch The punch out point is identical to the Arrangement Loop s end position 6 When you are recording into the Arrangement Loop Live retains the audio recorded during each pass You can later unroll a loop recording either by repeatedly using the Edit menu s Undo command or graphically in the Clip View After loop recording double click on the new clip In the Clip View s Sample Display you can see a long sample containing all audio recorded during the loop recording process The Clip View s loop brace defines the audio taken in the last pass moving the markers left lets you audition the audio from previous passes 14 3 2 Recording Into Session Slots You can record new clips on the fly into any Session slots CHAPTER 14 RECORDING NEW CLIPS 182 gt Ww N F v Recording a New Clip i _ Into the Session View 1 Set the Global Quantization chooser to any value other than None to obtain correctly cut clips 2 Activate the Arm button for the tracks onto which you want to record Clip Record buttons will appear in the empty slots of the armed tracks 3 Click on any of the Clip Record buttons to commence recording A new
144. able by taking over the most essential parameters of a Rack as determined by you of course Once you have set up your ideal mapping the rest of the Rack can be hidden away The Macro Control view s dedicated Map Mode button opens the door to this behavior Enabling Macro Map Mode causes three things to happen e All mappable parameters from a Rack s devices will appear with a colored overlay e Map buttons will appear beneath each Macro Control dial e The Mapping Browser will open The following steps will get you started mapping 1 Enable Macro Map Mode by clicking the Map Mode button 2 Select a device parameter for mapping by clicking it once 3 Map the parameter by clicking on any Macro Control s Map button The details will be added to the Mapping Browser 4 Refine the value range if desired using the Min Max sliders in the Mapping Browser Inverted mappings can be created by setting the Min slider s value greater than the Max slider s value The current values can also be inverted by pressing PC Mac on the entry in the Mapping Browser CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 217 5 Select another device parameter if you d like to create more mappings or click on the Map Mode button once more to exit Macro Map Mode Note that once assigned to a Macro Control a device parameter will appear disabled since it hands over all control to the Macro Control although it can still be modulated externally via C
145. ag At Drag Change Velocity From Note Editor Alt Drag Drag Add Delete Note in Edit Mode Double Click Double Click Scroll Display to Follow Playback Gtr F So 8 Move Clip Region with Start Marker A Jeb A 26 16 Grid Snapping and Drawing Windows Macintosh Toggle Draw Mode Ctrl _ B S WB Narrow Grid Ciri J0 S si Widen Grid Ctr J2 S We Triplet Grid Ctrl 8 So e Snap to Grid Ctrl J4 C HE Fixed Zoom Adaptive Grid Cti 6 6 Bypass Snapping While Dragging Alt S g CHAPTER 26 LIVE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 371 26 17 Global Quantization Windows Macintosh Sixteenth Note Quantization Ctrl 6 C 6 Eighth Note Quantization Ctrl JE Quarter Note Quantization Ctrl Je 1 Bar Quantization Ctrl J G_ 8e Quantization Off Ctrl JO G_ 80 26 18 Working with Sets and the Program Windows Macintosh New Live Set Ctrl JN S WN Open Live Set Ctrl __ O c o Close Live Set Cti JW S gw Save Live Set Ctri JE S eS Save Live Set As A Ciri J6 JC 86 Quit Live Ctrl JQ S ga Hide Live S WH Render to Disk Ctrl J __ JR S HOR Export MIDI file cti JA JE GS He JE CHAPTER 26 LIVE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 372 26 19 Working with Plug Ins and Devices Windows Macintosh Show Hide Plug In Windows Ctrl J P S WP Open Second Multiple Windows
146. age by pressing a keyboard key turning a knob etc on your MIDI controller You will see that this new MIDI mapping is now listed in the Mapping Browser 4 Exit MIDI Map Mode by pressing the MIDI switch once again The Mapping Browser will disappear but you can always review your mappings by entering MIDI Map Mode again 23 2 2 Mapping to MIDI Notes MIDI notes send simple Note On and Note Off messages to Live s interface elements These messages can produce the following effects on controls in Live e Session View Slots Note On and Note Off messages affect clips in the slot according to their Launch Mode settings e Switches A Note On message toggles the switch s state e Radio Buttons Note On messages toggle through the available options e Variable Parameters When assigned to a single note Note On messages toggle the parameter between its Min and Max values When assigned to a range of notes each CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 335 note is assigned a discrete value equally spaced over the parameter s range of values Hint Session View slots can be assigned to a MIDI note range for chromatic playing First play the root key this is the key that will play the clip at its default transposition and then while holding down the root key hold one key below the root and one above it to define the limits of the range 23 2 3 Mapping to Absolute MIDI Controllers Absolute MIDI controllers send message
147. ains will only respond to MIDI notes that lie within their key zone The zones of individual chains may occupy any number of keys allowing for flexible keyboard split setups Key zone fade ranges attenuate the velocities of notes entering a chain CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 213 16 5 3 Velocity Zones MIDI Effect Rack ee Ca Kay Vel Chain Hide 104 112 120 127 feran me Chain 2 CHER chain 3 JER chain 4 mesaj Chain 5 CoH Chain 6 HS 6 chain 7 CEH Each chain in an Instrument Rack or MIDI Effect Rack also has a velocity zone specifying the range of MIDI Note On velocities that it will respond to The Velocity Zone Editor when displayed replaces the Key Zone Editor to the right of the Chain List MIDI Note On velocity is measured on a scale of 1 127 and this value range spans the top of the editor Otherwise the functionality here is identical to that of the Key Zone Editor Velocity zone fade ranges attenuate the velocities of notes entering a chain 16 5 4 Chain Select Zones MIDI Effect Rack Key Chain 1 Chain 2 Chain 3 Chain 4 chains Chain 6 Chain 7 i Ci id iq id iq q Activating the Chain button displays the Chain Select Editor All Rack types have chain select zones which allow you to filter chains spontaneously via a single parameter The editor has
148. ally the selected notes will move and stretch so that they continue to occupy the same proportion of time that they did when they were initially selected The Note Stretch markers will always snap to the Note Editor s grid CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 136 lines unless the grid is not shown or the PC Mac modifier is held while dragging If one marker is dragged beyond the boundary of the other then the order of the stretched notes will be reflected in relation to their initial sequence this is sometimes referred to as retrograde behavior Any changes occurring to the notes included in the Note Stretch before the mouse button is released will cancel the stretch operation This can occur for example if the MIDI clip is simultaneously being overdubbed with new notes 10 4 7 Editing Velocities To change velocity for a MIDI note click and drag on the associated marker in the Velocity Editor To help you locate the velocity marker belonging to a MIDI note that may be stacked vertically with others Live highlights the velocity marker for whichever note your mouse is hovering over Velocity changes will be shown numerically in a small display in the time ruler As in the Note Editor you can select multiple velocity markers to change by clicking with the Q___ modifier held down Tip To set a group of notes so that they all have the same velocity select their markers in the Velocity Editor d
149. along the spectrum and hence the color of the sound This effect can be further adjusted with the Color control Periodic control of the filter frequency is possible using the envelope section You can increase or decrease the envelope amount or invert its shape with negative values and then use the Attack and Release controls to define envelope shape Phaser contains two LFOs to modulate filter frequency for the left and right stereo channels The LFOs have six possible waveform shapes sine square triangle sawtooth up sawtooth down and random The extent of LFO influence on the filter frequency is set with the Amount control LFO speed is controlled with the Rate control which can be set in terms of hertz Rate can also be synced to the song tempo and set in meter subdivisions e g sixteenth notes The Phase control lends the sound stereo movement by setting the LFOs to run at the same frequency but offsetting their waveforms relative to each other Set this to 180 and the The Phaser Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 266 LFOs will be perfectly out of phase 180 degrees apart so that when one reaches its peak the other is at its minimum Spin detunes the two LFO speeds relative to each other Each filter frequency is then modulated using a different LFO frequency as determined by the Spin amount The Dry Wet control adjusts the balance between the processed and dry signals Set it to 100 pe
150. als that can actually be heard Some instruments such as Live s Simpler are for chromatic playing of one sound via the keyboard Other instruments such as Live s Impulse have a different percussion sound assigned to each keyboard key lFor an introduction to digital audio and MIDI please see http img uoregon edu emi emi php and http www midi org The Back to Arrangement Button CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 22 Audio signals are recorded and played back using audio tracks and MIDI signals are recorded and played back using MIDI tracks The two track types have their own corre sponding clip types Audio clips cannot live on MIDI tracks and vice versa Information about inserting reordering and deleting audio and MIDI tracks is found here 4 5 Audio Clips and Samples An audio clip contains a reference to a sample also known as a sound file or audio file or a compressed sample such as an MP3 file The clip tells Live where on the computer s drives to find the sample what part of the sample to play and how to play it When a sample is dragged in from one of Live s built in File Browsers Live automatically creates a clip to play that sample Prior to dragging in a sample one can audition or preview it directly in the Browser the switch in the Browser with the headphone icon activates previewing Current Project Library Name Type Eg Tenor Hard BS 1 aif Aiff Fa Tenor Hard B5 2 aif Aiff Pe Tenor Har
151. ame and in some location outside the v E Tango Project v P Samples v amp Recorded Erg 0001 1 Guitar wav Erg 0001 2 Accordion wav Erg 0001 3 Piano wav gt a Tango with Piano als b ME Tananais A New Project Was Added by Saving a Live Set Outside its Original Project Note that the new project folder has no Samples folder yet Electro with Piano als is still referencing the piano sample from the original Tango Project There is nothing wrong with this except for when the Tango Project is moved away or deleted then Tango with Piano als will be missing samples You can prevent this by collecting samples Even after the fact Live s tools for searching missing samples can help solve this problem There is actually no need to keep a Project s Live Set exactly one level below the Project itself Within a project folder you can create any number of sub folders and move files around to organize them as desired In general Live will do what it can to prevent situations such as orphaned Project less Live Sets and Live Clips and presets or nested project folders which have the potential of confusing both the user and Live s file management tools It cannot however control situations in which Sets or files are moved out of order and become disorganized via the Explorer Windows Finder Mac A note for users of older Live versions Live 6 does not allow overwriting Live Sets that were created by older versions
152. ame is the same as that of the associated sample with an added asd extension Live puts this analysis file in the same folder as the sample 7 bee Samples that have an asd file are displayed like this in the Browser ve Samples without an asd file look like this The analysis files themselves do not appear in Live s Browsers Note that you can suppress the creation of asd files by turning off the Create Analysis Files option in the File Folder Preferences All data except for the default clip settings can be recreated by Live if the asd file is missing however this will take some time for longer samples CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 47 5 2 3 File Pre Analysis To avoid waiting for longer samples to be analyzed the first time they are imported into Live you may want to pre analyze them To pre analyze all the files contained in any folder in the Browser use the PC 5 Mac context menu s Analyze Audio command This process can also be cancelled via the context menu 5 2 4 Exporting Audio The File menu s Render to Disk command allows exporting Live s audio output as new samples The resulting files can be used to burn an audio CD for listening purposes or a data CD which could serve as a backup of your work or be used with other digital audio applications Which Signal Will Be Rendered Data Rendered Track Normalize All tracks Render as Loop 1 Guitar 2 Accordion File 3 Piano File Typ
153. an aupreset extension and are stored in the following directory according to their manufacturer s name Home Library Audio Presets Manufacturer Name Plug in Name 15 5 Device Delay Compensation Live automatically compensates for delays caused by Live and plug in instruments and effects including those on the return tracks These delays can arise from the time taken by devices to process an input signal and output a result The compensation algorithm keeps all of Live s tracks in sync regardless of what their devices are doing while minimizing delay between the player s actions and the audible result Device delay compensation is on by default and does not normally have to be adjusted in any way However Live Sets that were created with Live 4 or earlier will open without device delay compensation To manually turn latency compensation on or off use the Delay Compensation option in the Options menu Unusually high individual track delays or reported latencies from plug ins may cause no ticeable sluggishness in the software If you are having latency related difficulties while recording and playing back instruments you may want to try turning off device delay com pensation however this is not normally recommended You may also find that adjusting the individual track delays is useful in these cases Note that device delay compensation can depending on the number of tracks and devices in use increase the CPU load Opening an
154. an be dragged back out of a Live Set to the File Browsers and thereby exported to disk as Live Clips The Key MIDI Map Controls CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 33 a Library Name E Parent Folder v P ciips v Po Bass FE Bass Detector Part 1 alc 2 TE m mnam anaana Live Clips are a very powerful way of storing ideas as they save not only the clip s Clip View settings but also the corresponding track s instruments and effects chain Live Clips in the Browser can be previewed and added to any open Live Set just like sample files In the Live Set they restore the original clip s creative options Using Live Clips you can build your own personalized library of e MIDI sequences with matching instruments and effects e g a MIDI drum pattern with the associated Impulse and effects settings e Different regions or loops referencing the same source file e Variations of a sample loop created by applying Warp Markers clip envelopes and effects e Ideas that may not fit your current project but could be useful in the future 4 15 The Library The Live Library acts as a repository of sounds that are available to all projects In Live s File Browsers the Library is accessible through a bookmark Bookmarks can be selected by clicking the Browser s title bar to open the Bookmark menu A Live Clip in the File Browser CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 34 E Musik E Sampies Choosing the Library
155. an just set this to zero Decay Time This is the time needed for an incoming note s velocity to decay to zero The decay begins immediately from the moment the device receives a MIDI Note On message The value at the time of Note Off will become the velocity of the output MIDI note Key Scale The pitch of incoming notes can be used to alter the length of the output notes With positive values notes below C3 will be made progressively longer and notes above C3 will be made shorter Negative values will invert this relationship 21 4 Pitch O Pitch amp Pitch z Pitch is a transposition tool that changes incoming note pitch by 48 semitones The Range and Lowest controls act together to define a pitch range through which notes are allowed to pass Notes outside of the defined pitch range will be blocked and the effect s LED light will flash when this happens Notes outside of the pitch range are limited based on their untransposed pitch prior to the transposition stage of the effect The Pitch Effect CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 285 21 5 Random D Random Chance 80 Choices Random adds an element of the unknown to the otherwise commonplace pitch parameter The Chance control defines the likelihood that an incoming note s pitch will be changed by a random value You can think of it as being something like a dry wet control for randomness The random
156. an setting of each track preserved Soloing a clip track leaves the return tracks unaffected solo in place Soloing a return track affects al other tracks Live allows you to replace the standard soloing operation with a cueing operation that lets you previ clips and ew tracks as though you were cueing a record on a DJ mixer This allows choosing adjusting effects without the audience hearing before bringing tracks into the mix In order to set Live up for cueing you must be using an audio interface with at least four dedicated outputs or two dedicated stereo outputs The respective settings are accessible in the Session View mixer Make sure you have the Mixer and In Out options checked in the View menu 1 The Master Out chooser selects the output on your interface to be used as the main output 2 The Cue Out chooser selects the output on your hardware interface to be used for cueing This has to be set to an output other than that selected for the Master If the desired outputs don t show up in these choosers please check the Audio Preferences The Cueing Related Session Mixer Controls CHAPTER 13 MIXING 176 3 Activate cueing by setting the Solo Cue Mode switch to Cue 4 The tracks Solo switches are now replaced by Cue switches with headphone icons When a track s Cue switch is pressed that track s output signal will be heard through the output selected in the Cue Out chooser
157. and setting its Input Type chooser to tap the string track s Post FX signal 2 Speech 3 Strings 4 Brass 5 Strings melody Audio From MIDI From MIDI From Audio From xt 4 Brass All ins x tl Il 1 3 i Post FX i All Channes Il Monitor Monitor Monitor in Auto In Auto Omi in Auto Audio To Audio To Audio To 5 Strings Master Master OF Oa OF it Using an Auxiliary MIDI Track to Layer Instruments Perhaps you wonder why this works given that the string track s output is audio and not MIDI When routing MIDI in from another track we are tapping the MIDI at the latest possible CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 166 stage which is after any MIDI Effects and just before the instrument 167 Chapter 13 Mixing 13 1 The Live Mixer Live includes a mixer section that is accessible from two views 124 13 4mii The Arrangement View Mixer In the Arrangement View the mixer appears as a horizontal strip to the right of the track area To display all mixer controls for a track unfold the track using the button next to CHAPTER 13 MIXING 168 its name and adjust its height accordingly The Session View Mixer The Session View is a standard vertical mixer layout You ll likely find the Session View mixer more
158. ansposition of a single recorded sample multisampling captures an instrument at multiple points within its critical sonic range This typically means capturing the instrument at different pitches as well as different levels of emphasis played softly moderately loudly etc The resulting multisample is a collection of all the individually recorded sample files Sampler is designed to let you approach multisampling on whatever level you like You can load and play multisample presets like those from Ableton s Essential Instrument Collection import multisamples from third party vendors or create your own multisamples from scratch Importing Third Party Multisamples To import a third party multisample navigate to the file in Live s File Browser and double click to import it into the Live Library Note that AKAI formatted CD ROMs require one step before this can be done please see the next section Importing will create new Sampler presets which you can find in the Device Browser under Sampler Imported Live automatically brings up the Device Browser to show the new presets ready to drag in sort rename or delete Note that some multisample files will be converted to Instrument Rack presets that contain several Sampler instances used to emulate the original more accurately For all multisample formats except Apple EXS24 GarageBand and Kontakt Live will import the actual audio data into the Library where they will appear as new
159. arrow keys on your computer keyboard CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 75 To name a locator select it by clicking its triangular marker and choose the Rename Edit menu command or use the Ctrl J R PC 6 WR Mac shortcut Locators can be removed with your computer s or Delete key the Insert menu or the Delete Locator button Note that the locator PC Ctrl Mac context menu offers a quick way of looping playback between two locators with its Loop To Next Locator command The locator PC Ctrl Mac context menu s Set Song Start Time Here command can be used to overrule the default play starts at selection rule when this command is checked play starts at the locator 6 4 The Arrangement Loop do p For Live to repeatedly play a section of the Arrangement activate the Arrangement loop by clicking on the Control Bar s Loop switch You can set loop length numerically using the Control Bar fields The left hand set of fields determines the loop start position while the right hand set determines loop length t l The Edit menu s Loop Selection command accomplishes all of the above at once It turns the Arrangement loop on and sets the Arrangement loop brace to whatever timespan is selected in the Arrangement The Control Bar s Loop Switch The Loop Start Fields Left and the Loop Length Fields Right CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 76 Chorus 1 gt Verse 2 rh
160. as the track Arm buttons For recording into the Session slots you can map the individual slots as well as the relative navigation controls to initiate recording remotely for instance CHAPTER 14 RECORDING NEW CLIPS 187 3 MIDI 4 MIDI Master 2 o a Stop Clips gt gt E a The Scene Up Down OF li Buttons One key is used to jump to the next scene 3 MIDI 4 MIDI Master i 2 4 Stop Clips gt Pt H A J e o il A Track Launch Button and another key to start and end recording in the respective track 188 Chapter 15 Working with Instruments and Effects Every track in Live can host a number of devices These devices can be of three different sorts e MIDI effects act upon MIDI signals and can only be placed in MIDI tracks e Audio effects act upon audio signals and can be placed in audio tracks They can also be placed in MIDI tracks as long as they are downstream from an instrument e Instruments are devices that reside in MIDI tracks receive MIDI and output audio CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 189 E Old Sampler S ll S BS Resonators d o Ss ow J Random Operator OB ORA Chance Coarse Fine Fixed Level Rate Mod z Q z 25 dB Che Q Fine Fixed Level Freq Res o O Band 244B _ gt O ro Q 46 dB Q kH 1 94 Bit Reduction 50 Fine Fixed Level Pitch Env Spread Transpose fol Q Ce Es Gis ea C
161. at allows for negligible latencies a few milliseconds If you are recording into Live with monitoring set to Off you may want to make the Audio Preferences Overall Latency adjustment which is described in the built in program tutorial on setting up the Audio Preferences Audio and MIDI Track Arm Buttons CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 150 12 2 External Audio In Out An audio interface s inputs are selected by choosing Ext In from the Input Type chooser of an audio track The Input Channel chooser then offers the individual input channels Entries in this chooser each have meters next to their names to help you identify signal presence and overload when the meter flashes red Setting up the audio interface s outputs works the same way via the output chooser pair The list of available inputs and outputs depends on the Audio Preferences which can be reached via the Input and Output Channel choosers Configure option Note that the Audio Preferences also provide access to the Channel Configuration dialogs which determine which inputs and outputs are used and whether they are available to Live as mono or stereo pairs Essentially the Channel Configuration dialog tells Live what it needs to know about how the computer is connected to the other audio components in your studio 12 2 1 Mono Stereo Conversions When a mono signal is chosen as an audio track s input the track will record mono samples otherwise
162. at key will cease play C 1 of your MIDI track s instrument as it now belongs solely to the Clip Launch button MIDI keys that become part of remote control assignments can no longer be used as input for MIDI tracks This isa common cause of confusion that can be easily resolved by observing the Control Bar s MIDI indicators Before making any MIDI assignments you will need to set up Live to recognize your control surfaces This is done in the MIDI Sync tab of Live s Preferences which can be opened with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl J PC _ _ Mac 23 1 1 Natively Supported Control Surfaces Control Surfaces are defined in the table at the top of the MIDI Sync tab Up to six supported control surfaces can be used simultaneously in Live Control Surface Input Output 1 RemoteSL RemoteSL Port 1 e RemoteSL Port 1 Gimp 2 Oxygen8v2 v Oxygen Port 1 Oxygens Port 1 _ v Gimp 3 Tranzport RemoteSL Port 2 v RemoteSL Port 2 Dump 4 None v None None O 5 None v None gt None Dump 6 None v None None Dump Open the first chooser in the Control Surface column to see whether your control surface is supported natively by Live if it is listed here you can select it by name and then define its MIDI input and output ports using the two columns to the right If your controller is not Setting Up Control Surfaces CHAPT
163. ater if necessary Operator will keep you busy if you want to dive deep into sound design If you want to break the universe apart completely and reassemble it you should also try modulating Operator s controls with clip envelopes or track automation 22 2 2 Oscillator Section and Aliasing Coarse Fine Fixed Level m 9 1 dB The oscillators can basically play back five waveform types sine square sawtooth triangle and noise as chosen from the Wave chooser in the individual oscillator displays The first of these waveforms is a pure mathematical sine wave which is usually the first choice for many FM timbres Since FM synthesis has a long tradition in hardware synthesizers we added some variations of the pure sine wave that allow for more realistic modeling of vintage digital synthesizers The differences between these sine waves are very subtle and whether or not they are audible is highly dependent upon the individual sound We also added Sine 4 Bit and Sine 8 Bit to provide the retro sound adored by C64 fans and Saw D and Square D digital waveforms which are especially good for digital bass sounds Another special case is the noise waveform This is not real noise generated by a random generator Oscillator D s Display and Shell Parameters CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 296 but a looping noise sample For more statistical noise one could modulate the no
164. ative to each other Set this to 180 and the The Auto Pan Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 249 LFOs will be perfectly out of phase 180 degrees apart so that when one reaches its peak the other is at its minimum Phase is particularly effective for creating vibrato effects The Offset control shifts the start point of each LFO along its waveform The device s influence on incoming signals is set with the Amount control 20 3 Beat Repeat Beat Repeat 0 0625 0 125 0 1875 DA C fant C 116 1 256 Not 14 Mix ins Gate Gate Pitch Pitch Decay Volume Decay O 316 100 4 1 dB 46 5 Beat Repeat allows for the creation of controlled or randomized repetitions of an incoming signal The Interval control defines how often Beat Repeat captures new material and begins re peating it Interval is synced to and set in terms of the song tempo with values ranging from 1 32 to 4 Bars The Offset control shifts the point defined by Interval forward in time If Interval is set to 1 Bar for example and Offset to 8 16 material will be captured for repetition once per bar on the third beat i e halfway or eight sixteenths of the way through the bar You can add randomness to the process using the Chance control which defines the likeli hood of repetitions actually taking place when Interval and Offset ask for them If Chance is set
165. ator If this oscillator is modulating another its level has significant influence on the resulting timbre Higher levels usually create bright and or noisy sounds Osc Waveform Wave Choose from a collection of carefully selected waveforms including slight derivations of sine waves that are especially useful for creating emulations of vintage digital hardware synthesizers Osc Phase Phase This sets the initial phase of the oscillator The range represents one whole cycle Osc Frequency lt Velocity Osc lt Vel The frequency of an oscillator can be modulated by note velocity Positive values raise the oscillator s pitch with greater velocities and negative values lower it Osc Freq lt Vel Quantized Q This allows quantizing the effect of the Frequency lt Velocity parameter If activated the sonic result is the same as manually changing the Coarse parameter for each note Volume Envelope Rates lt Velocity Time lt Vel This parameter exists for filter pitch LFO and volume envelopes It is therefore listed in the section on envelopes Osc Output Level lt Velocity Vel This defines how much the oscillator s level depends upon note velocity Applying this to modulating oscillators creates velocity dependent timbres Osc Output Level lt Key Key This defines how much the oscillator s level depends upon note pitch The center point for this function is C3 Osc D Feedback Feedback Osc D can modulate itse
166. ays how much of the computer s computational potential is currently being used For example if the displayed percentage is 10 percent the computer is just coasting along If the percentage is 100 percent the processing is being maxed out it s likely that you will hear gaps clicks or other audio problems Note that the CPU meter takes into account only the load from processing audio not other tasks the computer performs e g managing Live s user interface Audio calculations have the highest priority in Live Therefore even if the CPU shows a high percentage of processor usage the audio stream should remain uninterrupted However non critical functions such as screen redraws might slow down because these tasks are handled only when the audio processing lightens up a bit 25 1 1 CPU Load from Multichannel Audio One source of constant CPU drain is the process of moving data to and from the audio hardware This drain can be minimized by disabling any inputs and outputs that are not required in a project There are two buttons in the Audio Preferences to access the Input and Output Configuration dialogs which allow activating or deactivating individual ins and outs Live does not automatically disable unused channels because the audio hardware drivers usually produce an audible hiccup when there is a request for an audio configuration change The CPU Load Meter CHAPTER 25 COMPUTER AUDIO RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES 359
167. be viewed and edited as breakpoint envelopes m Mixer m Track Volume y 1 To access a track s envelope unfold the track by clicking the button next to the track name 2 Clicking on one of the track s mixer or device controls will display this control s envelope 3 The envelope appears on top of the audio waveform or MIDI display Its vertical axis represents the control value and the horizontal axis represents time For switches and radio buttons the value axis is discontinuous 4 The Automation Device chooser either selects the track mixer one of the track s devices or None to hide the envelope It also provides you with an overview of what devices actually have automation by showing an LED next to their labels 5 The Automation Control chooser selects a control from the device chosen in the Automation Device chooser The labels of automated controls have an LED An Automation Envelope in the Arrangement View CHAPTER 17 AUTOMATION AND EDITING ENVELOPES 222 17 4 1 Drawing Envelopes With Draw Mode enabled you can click and drag to draw an envelope curve gt gt ove SF 1 Bar 7 The Draw Mode Switch To toggle Draw Mode select the Draw Mode option from the Options menu click on the Control Bar s Draw Mode switch or press PC Mac Drawing an Envelope Drawing creates steps as wide as the visible grid which
168. ble the effect a gain reduction above 6 dB or so might produce the desired loudness but significantly alters the sound and is easily The Compressor Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 253 capable of destroying its dynamic structure This is something that cannot be undone in later production steps Keep this in mind especially when using a compressor limiter or sound loudness maximizing tool in the master channel Less is often more here Because compression reduces the volume of loud signals and opens up headroom you can use the Out slider so that the peaks once again hit the maximum available headroom The Out meter shows the output signal s level A second set of two essential parameters defines how fast a compressor reacts to input level changes Attack time and Release time Attack defines how long it takes to reach maximum compression once a signal exceeds the threshold while Release sets how long it takes for the compressor to return to normal operation after the signal falls below the threshold A slight amount of attack time 5 10 ms allows peaks to come through unprocessed which helps preserve dynamics If these peaks cause overloads you can try shortening the attack time but extremely short times take the life out of the signal and may lead to a slight buzziness caused by distortion Short release times can cause pumping as the compressor tries to figure out whether to compress or not wh
169. brace so that it is selected This will execute the Edit menu s Select Loop command which selects all material in the loop 2 Copy the envelope with PC WC Mac 3 Shift the loop brace to the right by one loop length with 4 4 Paste the envelope with Ctrl__ v PC Mac Note that you can use the arrow keys to quickly manipulate the loop brace and start end markers in other useful ways to expedite clip envelope editing tasks To delete a clip envelope i e to set it back to its default value first go to Edit Select All then to Edit Delete Let us now look at some uses of clip envelopes 18 2 Audio Clip Envelopes Clip envelopes extend Live s elastic approach to audio and in conjunction with Live s audio effects turn Live into a mighty sound design tool Using clip envelopes with audio CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 229 clips you can create an abundance of interesting variations from the same clip in real time anything from subtle corrections to entirely new and unrelated sounds 18 2 1 Clip Envelopes are Non Destructive Using clip envelopes you can create new sounds from a sample without actually affecting the sample on disk Because Live calculates the envelope modulations in real time you can have hundreds of clips in a Live Set that all sound different but use the same sample You can of course export a newly created sound by rendering or by resampling In the Arrangement View
170. cenes For details see the previous section on Relative Map Modes 3 Assign this button to launch the highlighted scene If the Record Warp Launch Preferences Select Next Scene on Launch option is checked you can move successively and hopefully successfully through the scenes 4 Assign these buttons to launch the clip at the highlighted scene in the respective track Relative Session mapping is useful for navigating a large Live Set as Live always keeps the highlighted scene at the Session View s center The Relative Session Mapping Strip CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 338 Mapping to Clip View Controls The Clip View displays the settings for whichever clip happens to be currently selected but it will also display the settings of multi selected clips To avoid unpleasant musical surprises it is important to remember that creating remote control mappings for any control in the Clip View interface could potentially affect any clip in the Live Set For this reason we recommend mapping Clip View controls to relative MIDI controllers to prevent undesirable jumps in parameter values 23 2 5 Computer Keyboard Remote Control The Key Map Mode Switch Creating control surface assignments for your computer keyboard is straightforward 1 Enter Key Map Mode by pressing the KEY switch in the upper right hand corner of the Live screen Notice that the assignable elements of the interface become highlighted in red whe
171. ch LFO and volume envelopes It is therefore listed in the section on envelopes Filter Frequency lt Envelope Envelope Filter frequency is modulated by the filter envelope according to this setting A value of 100 means that the envelope can create a maximum frequency shift of approximately 9 octaves LFO Shell and Display LFO On This turns the LFO low frequency oscillator on and off Turning it off when it is unused saves some CPU power LFO Waveform Select from among several typical LFO waveforms Sample and Hold creates random steps and Noise supplies bandpass filtered noise All waveforms are band limited to avoid unwanted clicks Cyclic waveforms restart with each note on message LFO Range The LFO covers an extreme frequency range Choose Low for a range from 50 seconds to 30 Hz or Hi for 8 Hz to 12 kHz Due to the possible high frequencies the LFO can also function as a fifth oscillator CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 306 LFO Rate Rate This sets the rate of the LFO The actual frequency also depends on the setting of the LFO Range and the LFO Rate lt Key controls LFO Amount Mod This sets the intensity of the LFO Note that the actual effect also depends on the LFO envelope LFO to Osc Destination A D The LFO modulates the frequency of the respective oscillator if this is turned on LFO Envelope Rates lt Velocity Time lt Vel This parameter exists for filter pitch LFO and
172. ch Envelope On This turns the pitch envelope on and off Turning it off if it is unused saves some CPU power Pitch Envelope Amount Pitch Env This sets the intensity of the pitch envelope A value of 100 means that the pitch change is exactly defined by the pitch envelope s levels A value of 100 inverts the sign of the pitch envelope levels Spread If Spread is turned up the synthesizer uses two detuned voices per note one each on the left and right stereo channels to create chorusing sounds Spread is a very CPU intensive effect Transpose This is the global transposition setting for the instrument Changing this pa rameter will affect notes that are already playing Pitch Bend Range PB Range This defines the effect of MIDI pitch bend messages Pitch Envelope Rates lt Velocity Time lt Vel This parameter exists for filter pitch LFO and volume envelopes It is therefore listed in the section on envelopes Glide G With Glide on notes will slide from the pitch of the last played note to their played pitch Note that all envelopes are not retriggered in this case if notes are being played legato Glide Time Time This is the time it takes for a note to slide from the pitch of the last played note to its final pitch when Glide is activated This setting has no effect if Glide is not activated Pitch Envelope to Osc Destination A D The pitch envelope affects the frequency of the respective osc
173. ck 2 Our MIDI Effect Rack has four device chains all of which receive the same MIDI data at the same time CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 212 3 Before any MIDI data can enter a device chain it must be able to pass through every zone in that chain Every chain in a MIDI Effect Rack has three zones a key zone a velocity zone and a chain select zone 4 An incoming MIDI note gets compared to a chain s key zone If the MIDI note lies within the key zone it is passed to the next zone for comparison if it does not then we already know that the note will not be passed to that chain s devices 5 The same comparisons are made for the chain s velocity and chain select zones If a note also lies within both of these zones then it is passed to the input of the first device in that chain 6 The output of all parallel chains is mixed together to produce the MIDI Effect Rack s final output If there happened to be another device following after the Rack in the track s device chain it would now receive the Rack s output for processing 16 5 2 Key Zones MIDI Effect Rack rae y Wat Gain Chain 1 ws Chain 2 ME ea CIE Chain 3 Drop MIDI Effects Here The Key Zone Editor When the Key button is selected the Key Zone Editor appears to the right of the Chain List illustrating how each chain maps to the full MIDI note range nearly 11 octaves Ch
174. ck as described in the previous section s Approach 2 the signal received can be tapped from one of three different points chosen from the Input Channel chooser Pre FX Post FX or Post Mixer CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 157 rom Audio From Audio From i TrackA li Post Mixer w Monitor jj Pre FX Wij Post Fx r jj Post Mixer e Pre FX taps the signal that is coming directly from a track before it has been passed on to the track s device chains FX or mixer Therefore changes that are made to the tapped track s devices or mixer have no effect on the tapped signal e Post FX taps the signal at the output of a track s device chains FX but before it has been passed back to the track mixer Changes to the tapped track s devices will therefore alter the tapped signal but changes to its mixer settings will not e Post Mixer taps the final output of a track after it has passed through its device chains and mixer Tap Points for Track Routing CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 158 Routing Points in Racks 1 Track A 2 Track B 3 Audio 4 Guitar 5 Audio Audio From 1 TrackA jj li Post Mixer w ii Pre FX ij Post FX ij Post Mixer ij 1989 Multi FX Delay Chain Pre FX ij 1989 Multi FX Delay Chain Post FX ij 1989 Multi FX Delay Chain Post Mixer il Q ji 1989 Mut Fx Phaser Chain Pre FX Ip ij 1989 Multi FX Phaser Chain Post FX ij 1989 Multi FX Phaser Chain Post Mixer If a
175. ck the Hot Swap button i e the leftmost item in every line of the list of missing samples to have the File Browser present the candidates in Hot Swap Mode You can now double click the candidates in the File Browser to load them as the music plays if you like 5 9 Collecting External Samples To prevent a Live Set from containing broken sample references Live provides the option of collecting i e copying them into the Set s project folder This is accomplished via the File Manager e Choose the Manage Files command from the File menu e Click the Manage Set button e Unfold the triangular shaped fold button in the External Samples section CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 66 x Current Live Set ra View and Replace Samples Click below to view all the samples used by the current Live Set View Samples Missing Samples There are no missing samples Vv External Samples This Live Set uses external samples Live can collect them for you and copy them into the current Project 1 sample from the Library 0 49 MB Collect into Project Yes 1 sample from another Project 0 49 MB Collect into Project C Ys 4 sample from elsewhere Show 0 49 MB Collect into Project CEE Options for Collecting External Samples Separated by location the Library other Projects and elsewhere sample collections from external drives for example the File Manager provides e Asample count and the associat
176. cks with a Simple Delay in order to stay in sync Compressor II can either react to short peaks within a signal or to something that is more related to how people perceive loudness The parameter for this is the Peak RMS switch If you intend to use Compressor II as a limiter in the master section Peak is probably better since it reacts more to the actual signal level while RMS is usually more musical But as always if it comes to compression trust your ears and not the meter The most exotic feature of Compressor Il is the sidechain EQ The sidechain is the part of the signal that is used to control the compressor Normally the sidechain signal is the same as the input signal However it can make sense to apply some filtering here Imagine a bass drum a snare and some chords in the background The bass drum has a pretty high level and it will normally determine how the compressor reacts If you now turn the side chain EQ on and set its Frequency to 100 Hz and the Gain to 15 dB the bass drum will not influence the compression anymore and the behavior of the compressor will be very different You could also set the Frequency to around 1 kHz and turn up the gain to make the compressor more responsive to the snare Since the EQ is only in the sidechain and not part of the normal signal path it will not change the sound of the input signal It only changes how the compressor reacts to different frequencies of the input Unlike Com
177. clip will appear in the slot with a red Clip Launch button that shows it is currently recording To go from recording immediately into loop playback press the clip s Launch button 4 Alternatively you can click a Clip Stop button or the Stop button in the Control Bar to stop recording leaving the new clip silent Note that by default launching a Session View scene will not activate recording in empty record enabled slots belonging to that scene However you can use the Start Recording on Scene Launch option from the Record Warp Launch Preferences to tell Live that you do want empty scene slots to record under these circumstances CHAPTER 14 RECORDING NEW CLIPS 14 3 3 Overdub Recording MIDI Patterns Live makes pattern oriented recording of drums and the like quite easy Using Live s Impulse instrument and the following technique you can successively build up drum patterns while listening to the result Or using an instrument such as Simpler which allows for chromatic playing you can build up melodies or harmonies note by note 1 2 Set the Global Quantization chooser to one bar To automatically quantize the notes you are about to record choose an appro priate value for Record Quantization Double click any of the Session View slots in the desired MIDI track the one containing the Impulse or other instrument A new empty clip will appear in the slot The new clip will default to a loop length of one bar bu
178. control and a Width parameter that affects only the wet signal and blends the left and right outputs of Resonators II V into a mono signal if set to zero CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 270 20 19 Reverb D Reverb a Input Processing Early Reflections Global Diffusion Network Reflect Mocu Hi Cut Spiny Quality iG S 47 Ll jii 3 5 dB e e Diffuse A A OSE SEs SH Hz Gis S 90 0 Hz 0 75 BP Hz B 3 008 Predelay Shape Stereo Freeze Density Scale Dry Wet 5 G O meg SS 35 3 ms 0 50 100 00 60 40 35 20 19 1 Input Processing The input signal passes first through high and low cut filters whose X Y controller allows changing the band s center frequency X axis and bandwidth Y axis Either filter may be switched off when not needed to save CPU power Predelay controls the delay time in milliseconds before the onset of the first early reflection This delays the reverberation relative to the input signal One s impression of the size of a real room depends partly on this delay Typical values for natural sounds range from 1ms to 25ms 20 19 2 Early Reflections These are the earliest echoes that you hear after they bounce off a room s walls before the onset of the diffused reverberation tail Their amplitude and distribution give an impression of the room s character The Shape control sculpts the prominence o
179. cross time which adds noisiness to the sound High Spray values completely break down the structure of the source signal introducing varying degrees of rhythmic chaos This is the recommended setting for anarchists The Random Pitch control adds random variations to each grain s pitch Low values create a sort of mutant chorusing effect while high values can make the original source pitch completely unintelligible This parameter can interact with the main Pitch control thus allowing degrees of stability and instability in a sound s pitch structure The size and duration of each grain is a function of the Frequency parameter The sound of Pitch and Spray depends very much on this parameter Grain Delay now also has a dry wet control it can be routed to the vertical axis of the X Y controller CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 265 20 15 Phaser on Envelope LFO S amp H Amount Shape 46 5 Rate Feedback Phaser uses a series of all pass filters to create a phase shift in the frequency spectrum of a sound The Poles control creates notches in the frequency spectrum The Feedback control can then be used to invert the waveform and convert these notches into peaks or poles Filter cutoff frequency is changed with the Frequency control which can be adjusted in tandem with Feedback using the effect s X Y controller The device has two modes Space and Earth for changing the spacing of notches
180. cting a mega synth and hiding it away behind a single customized interface For the greatest degree of expression try MIDl mapping the Macro Controls to an external control surface 16 2 Creating Racks Three Rack variants cover the range of Live s devices Instrument Racks Audio Effect Racks and MIDI Effect Racks Just as with track types each kind of Rack has rules regarding the devices it contains e MIDI Effect Racks contain only MIDI effects and can only be placed in MIDI tracks e Audio Effect Racks contain only audio effects and can be placed in audio tracks They can also be placed in MIDI tracks as long as they are downstream from an instrument e Instrument Racks contain instruments but can additionally contain both MIDI and audio effects In this case all MIDI effects have to be at the beginning of the Instrument Rack s device chain followed by an instrument and then any audio effects There are different ways to create Racks A new empty Rack can be created by dragging a generic Rack preset Audio Effect Rack for example from the Device Browser into a track Devices can then be dropped directly into the Rack s Chain List or Devices view which are introduced in the next section If a track already has one or more devices that you would like to group into a Rack then simply select the title bars of those devices in the Track View and use the Edit menu s Group command Alternatively PC
181. d e Any selection of Live Sets Live Clips Live Presets PC Ctrl Mac on the respective items in the File Browser and choose the ie Files command Remember to click the Collect and Save button at the bottom of the File Manager when you are finished Otherwise your changes will be discarded 5 11 Finding Unused Samples Live s File Manager can find the unused samples in a Project for you You can then review them and decide to delete them individually or collectively When searching for unused samples Live will inspect each sample in a project folder checking if it is referenced by any CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 68 of the Live Sets Live Clips or device presets in the Project If not the sample is regarded as unused even if other Projects or programs still use it To find the unused samples for the currently open Project choose the Manage Files com mand from the File menu click the Manage Project button and then click on the triangular shaped fold button next to Unused Samples to access a summary and the Show button Clicking the Show button makes the File Browser list the unused samples there you can preview the samples and delete them if you like Note you can also find the unused samples from the Library choose the Manage Files command from the File menu then click the Manage Library button and then see the Unused Samples section Last but not least you can find the unused samples fo
182. d BS 3 aif Aiff Erg Tenor Hard BS 4 aif Aiff Be Tenor Hard C 4 aif Aiff Erg Tenor Hard C 5 aif Aiff fe Tenor Hard C3 1 aif Aiff Live offers many options for playing samples in exciting new ways allowing you to create an abundance of new sounds without actually changing the original sample all the changes are computed in real time while the sample is played The respective settings are made in the Clip View which appears on screen when a clip is double clicked Samples Are Dragged in from Live s File Browsers CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 23 Boogie Launch Mode Modular Recording T WERE stat Gab Clip gt Stan MS Tige gt 44 1 kHz 24 Bit 1 Ch A Volume gt Signature Legato Save Rev Seg BPM End Geb Transpose End 4 s_4 Quantization EG Fade RAM 74 52 714 Goon Groove Global Transpose SD SP C Pan Swing 8 v vei 00 eais vj Loop Follow Action Position Set Region Loop Position lt lt gt gt 1 ol ol Ost lt Transients r 2 KE Linked E a Keep RVO m mem Ne e Detune Length Get Length 00o 1 0 Oct 4 0 00 dB a oCo Many powerful manipulations arise from Live s warping capabilities Warping means chang ing the speed of sample playback independently from the pitch so as to match the song tempo The tempo ca
183. d Length Loops If you import a sample that contains a seven bar loop Live initially assumes the loop is eight bars long or four depending on its length and plays it out of sync For correct playback the last marker needs to show an eight not a nine To achieve this do the following 1 Double click on the last Warp Marker to delete it 2 Double click on the eight to create a new Warp Marker 3 Drag the new Warp Marker to the sample end If Live s initial guess had been a four bar loop the eight would not have been accessible In that case you could initially drag the Warp Marker at the end toward the left until the eight became visible Theoretically this should have done the job for our seven bar loop Practically though it is very likely that moving the markers led to a change of the loop start and end points This is because the loop is tied to the meter grid and therefore moves with the Warp Markers which define the meter grid Live makes sure the loop fits in the sample and therefore has to change its length if required by a Warp Marker change CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 119 Manipulating Grooves You can now create any number of Warp Markers by double clicking on one of the numeric grid markers Drag in a straight looped sample set a few Warp Markers and move them around to see what happens Warp Markers really serve two purposes 1 to provide a correct interpretation of the flow of musical time
184. d at the same time Each one of the selector buttons at the screen borders calls up a specific view clicking this one for instance accesses the Live devices Name nstruments lea Instrument Rack E impulse To hide one of Live s views and free up screen space click on the triangle shaped button next to it To restore the view click the button again O Name nstruments Instrument Rack You can run Live in Full Screen Mode by selecting the Full Screen command from the View menu To leave Full Screen Mode click the button that appears in the lower right corner of the screen Full Screen Mode can also be toggled by pressing Fi1_ Note On Mac OS X this key is assigned by default to Expos and will not toggle Full Screen Mode unless Expos has been deactivated or assigned to a different key in OS X s System Preferences You can adjust the main window s horizonta split by dragging Massuese Massive gt The Device Browser Selector A View Show Hide Button Adjusting the Main Window Split Chapter 3 Unlocking Live Live is protected against illegal use by a copy protection scheme This scheme has been designed to meet the highest security standards while avoiding hassles for our customers If you find this procedure to be an inconvenience please understand that the copy protection secures your investment It allows Ableton to provide you with support and to continue d
185. d in the lower left corner which links slot 8 with slot 7 Linking the two slots allows slot 7 s activation to stop slot 8 s playback and vice versa This was designed with a specific situation in mind but can of course be used for other purposes Replicating the way that closed hi hats will silence open hi hats Each slot can be played soloed muted or hot swapped using controls that appear when the mouse hovers over it 22 1 2 Start Tune and Stretch The Start control defines where Impulse begins playing a sample and can be set up to 100 ms later than the actual sample beginning The Transposition control adjusts the transposition of the sample by 48 semitones and can be modulated by incoming note velocity or a random value as set in the appropriate fields The Stretch control has values from 100 to 100 percent Negative values will shorten the sample and positive values will stretch it Two different stretching algorithms are available Mode A is ideal for low sounds such as toms or bass while Mode B is better for high sounds such as cymbals The Stretch value can also be modulated by MIDI note velocity 22 1 3 Filter The Filter section offers a broad range of filter types each of which can impart different sonic characteristics onto the sample by removing certain frequencies The Frequency control defines where in the harmonic spectrum the filter is applied the Resonance control boosts frequencies near that point Filt
186. d line that appears You can use the modifier to click and add individual notes or additional rubber band selections to your current selection You can also remove a single note from your selection by holding down 4 and clicking on it Holding and clicking on the piano roll selects all notes in a single key track There are two options for quantizing MIDI notes in Live As previously mentioned you can move notes so that they snap to the visible grid lines Alternatively you can select a note or notes and choose the Quantize command from the Edit menu or use the PC Mac hotkey This brings up a dialog box with several quantization options E m ya z A B A B Quantize To Adjust Note Amount Using the options presented here you can select a meter value for quantization and set either the note start or end or both to be quantized Quantizing the note end will stretch the note so that it ends at the chosen meter subdivision You can also quantize notes without giving them that quantized feel using the Amount control which will move notes only by a percentage of the set quantization value 10 4 5 Creating and Editing Notes Selecting a note or notes makes it subject to commands from the Edit menu such as Copy and Paste You can use the PC Mac modifier to click and drag a copy of a note to a new location Quantizing MIDI Notes CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND V
187. d out about buying options and buy Sampler online Once you own Sampler unlock it using the Serial Number you received from Ableton Hide Deactivate Demo Mode for Sampler To continue using Sampler in Demo Mode simply close this dialog 3 1 Step 1 Entering Your Serial Number As an owner of Live you have received a serial number from Ableton either via e mail if you ordered Live directly from Ableton or on a card as part of the Live package Enter Your Serial Number Please enter the Serial Number for Live which you received from Ableton gt After clicking the Unlock button in the Products tab you will be presented with six fields for typing in your serial number Each field holds four characters The serial number is composed of numbers 0 9 and letters A F If you accidentally type the wrong string into a field the field will turn red When you have successfully entered the serial number click the Ok button to proceed The serial number identifies your ownership of Live Because your serial number is a valuable good you should keep it in a safe place and out of reach of unauthorized hands Please be aware that sharing your serial number will render it unusable The only way for Ableton Selecting the Unlock Button in the Products Tab The Fields for Entering Your Serial Number CHAPTER 3 UNLOCKING LIVE 11 technical support to help you get back your serial number if you lose it is via your registration dat
188. dicator pairs represent from left to right 1 MIDI Clock and Timecode signals that are used for synchronizing Live with other sequencers The Control Bar s MIDI Indicators CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 153 2 MIDI messages that are used for remote controlling Live s user interface ele ments 3 MIDI messages coming from and going to Live s MIDI tracks MIDI messages that are mapped to remote control Live s user interface elements are eaten up by the remote control assignment and will not be passed on to the MIDI tracks This is a common cause of confusion that can be easily resolved by looking at the indicators 12 4 Master and Cue Outs The Master track is the default destination for audio signals The Master track in turn is routed to the external audio outputs The Cue Preview Out can be independently routed to allow for instance for previewing samples and cueing tracks via headphones 12 5 ReWire Slave Routing Live can operate as a ReWire master or slave in cooperation with another ReWire application As a ReWire master Live can send MIDI to and receive audio from any ReWire slave application installed on the same computer CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 154 MIDI From MIDI From Audio From Audio From All ins gt Reason i LAI Channes I 1 2 Mix Lo ll Monitor Monitor Monitor A GA Auto or MIDI To Ji To Audio To Audio To h t Reason Master
189. dited collectively in the Clip View as a multi selection To create a multi selection click and drag to highlight the clips or select one clip and use the PC Mac or modifiers to add to your selection The properties available in the Clip View for a multi selection depend on the contents of the clips generally only properties which the clips have in common are shown 2 Chords 3 Rhodes 4 Perc s 5 Beats PHOENIX rhodes shaker guitarchord rhodes shaker Drums A guitarchoru odes2 shaker Drums B theme Drums C Drums B Drums E Controls such as sliders and knobs behave slightly differently when they are part of a multi selection If the clips in a multi selection have differing values for any particular knob or slider parameter clip transposition for example the range of these values will be displayed and can be adjusted with the control Dragging the knob or slider to its absolute maximum or minimum value will make the clips settings thereafter identical adjustable as a single value MIDI clips and audio clips in Live have different sets of properties and consequently do not share the same set of Clip View controls The two types of clips do have the following Clicking the Clip Overview Opens the Clip View Clicking a Session View Track Status Field Opens the Clip View Creating a Clip Multi Selection CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW
190. do the following with relative MIDI controller messages e Session View Slots Value increment messages are treated like Note On messages Value decrement messages are treated like Note Off messages e Switches Increment messages turn the switch on Decrement messages turn it off e Radio Buttons Increment messages make the radio button jump forward to the next available option Decrement messages make it jump backward e Continuous Controls Each type of relative MIDI controller uses a different inter pretation of the 0 127 MIDI controller value range to identify value increments and decrements CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 337 Please consult the documentation that came with your MIDI controller if you need further information on relative MIDI controllers Relative Session View Navigation Notice that you can make not only absolute mappings to individual slots and scenes but also relative mappings to move the highlighted scene and operate on the highlighted clips In both MIDI Map Mode and Key Map Mode a strip of assignable controls appears below the Session grid 4 JesTux melody rsin Bara G CDe w Ok On 1 Assign these buttons to keys notes or controllers to move the highlighted scene up and down G 2 Assign this scene number value box to a MIDI controller preferably an endless encoder to scroll through the s
191. ds like Cut Copy and Paste only affect the current selection their Time counterparts act upon all tracks by inserting and deleting time e Cut Time cuts a selection of time from the Arrangement thereby moving any audio or MIDI on either side of the cut area closer together in the timeline This command reduces the length of your Arrangement by whatever amount of time you have cut Note that the Cut Time command affects all tracks not only the selected ones A Gap Between Clips Has Been Deleted by First Selecting It Then Executing the Delete Time Command CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 80 e Paste Time places copied time into the Arrangement thereby increasing its overall duration by the length of time you have copied Duplicate Time places a copy of the selected timespan into the Arrangement thereby increasing its overall duration by the length of the selection Delete Time deletes a selection of time from the Arrangement thereby moving any audio or MIDI on either side of the deleted area closer together in the timeline This command reduces the length of your Arrangement by the amount of time you have deleted Note that the Delete Time command affects all tracks not only the selected ones Insert Silence inserts as much empty time as is currently selected into the Arrangement before the selection 6 9 Splitting Clips The Split command can divide a clip or isolate part of it To split a clip in two hal
192. e FE Bass Detector Part 3 alc RE Base Matantar Cunth Variatia Locates the File Last Selected Among the Search Results For mouse free searching we suggest the following sequence of shortcuts 1 Ctrl QF PC Mac to open the search field CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 41 2 Type your search terms 3 to Go 4 to jump to the search results 5 4 and to scroll the search results 6 Ctr J amp A JE PC Mac to close the search field and go back to the folder view 5 1 4 Previewing Files fe ibrary ame ype l 3p ht NLY alf Aiff fay 3rdnight 07c aif Aiff The Preview Switch Live allows you to preview files in the File Browser before they are imported into the program Previewing is activated using the Browser s Preview switch Hint You can preview files even when the Preview switch is not activated by pressing Q___ Return Click on the files or use and to select and listen to them Live tries to preview files in sync with the current Live Set so that you can better judge which samples will work for you The previewing volume can be adjusted using the mixer s Preview Volume knob The Preview Volume Knob CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 42 If your audio hardware offers multiple audio outs you can privately audition or cue files via headphones connected to a separate pair of outs while the music continues to play To learn how t
193. e A Retum Bit gt B Retum The Render dialog s Rendered Track chooser offers several options for which signal to render e Master the post fader signal at Live s Master output If you are monitoring the Master output you can be sure that the rendered file will contain exactly what you hear e All tracks the post fader signal at the output of each individual track including return tracks and MIDI tracks with instruments Live will create a separate sample for each The Rendered Track CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 48 track All samples will have the same length making it easy to align them in other multitrack programs e Individual tracks the post fader signal at the output of the selected track When Render to Disk is invoked while the Arrangement View is up Live will render the selected time range If you would like to render the current Arrangement loop choose the Select Loop command from the Edit menu prior to choosing Render to Disk If you choose Render to Disk while the Session View is up Live will ask you to specify the length of the sample to be rendered The Render to Disk dialog will come up with a bars beats sixteenths field where you can type in the desired length Live will capture audio starting at the current play start position for whichever duration you have specified Rendering Options Live will render output of the chosen track over the selected time range 1 1 1
194. e Lessons Table of Contents command from the Help menu e The MIDI Sync Preferences are used to help Live recognize MIDI devices for three separate and distinct purposes Playing MIDI notes To learn how to route an external device into Live for MIDI input or how to send MIDI to an external device please see the Routing and O chapter Controlling parts of the interface remotely This subject is covered in detail in the MIDI and Key Remote Control chapter Syncing the program with an external sequencer or drum machine either as a master or a slave Please see the Synchronizing via MIDI chapter for details e The File Folder Preferences pertain to Live s file management and the location of plug in devices e The Record Warp Launch Preferences allow customizing the default state for new Live Sets and their components as well as selecting options for new recordings e The CPU Preferences include options for managing the processing load including multicore multiprocessor support e The Products Preferences are used to manage licensing and installation of the Live platform and add on components like the Operator instrument and Live Packs 2 3 The Main Live Screen Most of your work in Live happens in the main Live screen This screen consists of a number of views and each view manages a specific aspect of your Live Set Since screen space is CHAPTER 2 FIRST STEPS usually limited the Live views can t all be displaye
195. e This means that a Warp Marker on the downbeat of the second bar of a clip will end up on the downbeat of the second to last bar after reversal Clip loop region settings are similarly flipped Second clip envelopes remain fixed to their position in time Therefore a mixer volume envelope that lowers the volume of the first half of a clip will continue to do exactly that after reversal The reversal process is quite fast about as fast as copying but for very long samples it might take a little time When this is the case the Status Bar in the lower portion of the Live screen will give you a progress display and further actions in the program will be temporarily locked though running clips will continue to play You can play the reversed clip and perform other actions in the program as soon as Live begins to draw the new waveform into the Sample Display Once a sample is reversed a link to the reversed sample will be maintained until the you quit the program and reversing the same clip again or a copy will be instantaneous It is not recommended that you reverse clips in a live performance situation as a slight glitch can sometimes occur while Live reapplies the warp and loop settings 8 2 9 Cropping Samples The Sample Display s PC Ctr Mac context menu includes the Crop Sample command This function creates similarly to the Reverse function a new sample by copying The Reverse Button CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 109
196. e Control s Shift button while pressing these 3 Flip When flip mode is enabled as shown by the illuminated LED above the button the functionality of the V Pots and faders is switched This is the case in all available assignment modes 4 Return By default the channel strips display only those tracks in Live that contain clips When return mode is enabled as shown by the illuminated LED above the button the channel strip will show and control the return tracks All assignments and modes will function otherwise identically CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 346 23 3 4 Transport IE CONTROL ree Ge me o D E G gi g Oo efe Ie PTO anne THANE TU AUTRE N Ses The Transport Controls 1 Previous Next Locator Using these buttons you can skip forward or backward through the Arrangement from locator to locator Note that the Arrangement start and end are also marked with invisible locators to which you can navigate using these buttons The LEDs above these buttons are illuminated when a previous next locator is available in the respective direction CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 347
197. e Info View provides a brief description of the user interface element that the mouse is currently over To save screen space fold in the Info View by clicking the triangle shaped button in the lower 7 Show Hide Info View CS C O 5 The Info View and its Show Hide Button If you require more information on a specific user interface element or topic please consult this reference manual The index found at the end of the manual contains the names of all user interface elements and will lead you to the relevant section 2 2 Setting up Preferences Live s Preferences window is where you can find various settings that determine how Live looks behaves and interfaces with the outside world This window is accessed from the Options menu s Windows Live menu s Mac OS X Preferences command or with the Ctrl JG PC 6 Mac shortcut Live s Preferences are distributed over several tabs CHAPTER 2 FIRST STEPS 6 e In the Look Feel tab you can make various settings including the language used for text display and the color scheme or skin for the Live user interface e The Audio Preferences are used to set up Live s audio connections with the outside world via an audio interface Please take the time to follow the program s built in Setting up Audio I O lesson which will walk you through all the steps required to set up and optimize the settings for any given system To access the lesson use th
198. e MIDI and output audio signals Plug in audio effects can only be placed in audio tracks or following instruments Please see the previous section Using the Live Devices for details The Save Preset Button CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 196 v P gt Bram Smantelectronix gt E s Mjexoscope Audio Unit b 5 Gmedia v F Novation gt WA BassStation Audio Unit t Sonic Charge v Povst docimate x Audio Units and VST Plug ins are browsed and imported using the Plug In Device Browser which is accessed via its selector Plug in instruments can be differentiated from plug in effects in the Browser as they appear with a keyboard icon The Browser s search functionality is only available for Audio Units Plug ins as is loading presets directly from Track View devices via the Hot Swap button In some instances factory presets for Audio Units will only appear in the Browser once the device has been placed in a track and its Hot Swap button activated Note The first time you start Live no plug ins will appear in the Plug In Device Browser as you must first activate your plug in sources Activating your plug in sources tells Live which plug ins you want to use and where they are located on your computer Information on activating and deactivating plug in sources can be found later in this chapter in the sections on the VST Plug in folder and Audio Units Plug ins Note for Intel Mac users Int
199. e Scenes command 89 file management see Manage Files Duplicate Time command 80 command Dynamic Tube effect 060 255 File Manager 0 0 000085 59 File Type preference 186 E File Folder Preferences 0 6 and VST Plug ins 199 Edit menu commands Filter Delay effect 4 260 and automation 220 224 Fixed Grid command 5 79 INDEX 378 Fixed Grid options sx s0rKcwaiayiand ss 78 and Impulse ssclsravradasegeras 290 FLAC files eee ene ei see samples and SIMBISE cig digemctewswieteags 320 Flanger effect see eee e ee 261 Fold buton 1c cvassctnt eugedethanss 131 l Follow Actions 2 2 02e eee 141 Follow command a aaea ot 72 101 VO Peete tee ete eee teen tees see routing ee a 72 101 116 130 importing files EEEn EIRA IENE E 42 Freeze Track command 359 UM POTN IOI ae ahenequanwnadnaens 62 Full Screen Mode ccs s aGudeunsGadesnes 7 Impulse instrument 45 290 and individual outputs 292 G and MIDI 00 eee 290 TILER od ease cg Saad ritet oiea 291 Gate eect nic enea dees 262 global controls 292 Gate Mode 0 cece ee eee 13 Link button 0 eee eee ee 291 Global Quantization chooser 30 pan and volume oc ccnvgaandnacs 292 and Session recording 181 sample slots and controls
200. e Target inf 12 st o The Arpeggiator Effect Live s Arpeggiator effect takes the individual MIDI notes from a held chord or single note and plays them as a rhythmical pattern The sequence and speed of the pattern can be CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 279 controlled by the device which also provides a full complement of both classic and original arpeggiator features Arpeggiators are a classic element in Eighties synth music The name originates with the musical concept of the arpeggio in which the notes comprising a chord are played as a series rather than in unison Arpeggio is derived from the Italian word arpeggiare which refers to playing notes on a harp 21 1 1 Style and Rate Sections Arpeggiator s Style chooser determines the sequence of notes in the rhythmical pattern Up and Down UpDown and DownUp Down amp Up and Up amp Down Converge and Diverge CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 280 Play Order places notes in the pattern according to the order in which they are played This is therefore only recognizable when more than one chord or note has been played In addition to the Arpeggiator styles above there are a number of random styles Random randomly selects incoming MIDI notes for playback Random Other creates a random pattern from incoming MIDI notes and then plays the randomly generated ch
201. e a large impact on the coloration contributed by the diffusion The Chorus section adds a little modulation and motion to the diffusion Like the Spin section you can control the modulation frequency and amplitude or turn it off 20 19 5 Output At the reverb output you can adjust the effect s overall Dry Wet mix and vary the amplitude of reflections and diffusion with the Reflect Level and Diffuse Level controls 20 20 Saturator Saturator Drive GF Waveshaper Depth Orive Curve Depth ee Freq Width Base pt A Q tn a bees 8 22 1 90kHi 100 130 0 00 0 3 BE Saturator is a waveshaping effect that can add that missing dirt punch or warmth to your sound It can coat input signals with a soft saturation or drive them into many different flavors of distortion The Saturator Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 273 An X Y grid helps to visualize Saturator s shaping curve The shaper s input and output values are mapped to the X and Y axes respectively The curve defines the transfer function which is the extent to which output values fluctuate in relation to input values Because this is usually a nonlinear process the incoming signal is reshaped to a greater or lesser degree depending upon its level at each moment in time Incoming signals are first clipped to the dB level set by the Drive control The meter on the right side of the display shows how much Saturator is
202. e active For more information please refer to the CPU load section The Freeze Track command discussed there is especially helpful when working with CPU intensive devices Devices in Live s tracks have input and output level meters These meters are helpful in finding problematic devices in the device chain Low or absent signals will be revealed by the level meters and relevant device settings can then be adjusted or the device can be turned off or removed A MIDI Track s Device Chain Can Contain All Three Device Types Device Activator Switches CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 193 Utility Beat Repeat Mt Interval Offset Grid 4 16 Width Chance Gate Pitch 100 N 9Y Phz L Phz R Variation 4 72 kHz 5 m Filter f Phase Shape 1 8 o il D 3 No Tepi Trigger Mix Ins fi 180 0 00 Pitch Decay Offise 21 1 dB Stereo Panorama 1 Bar r Repeat Volume Decay t PAN oe 0 0 dB 13 5 0 00 Note that no clipping can occur between devices because there is practically unlimited headroom Clipping can occur when an overly strong signal is sent to a physical output or written to a sample file Further information about track types in Live can be found in the Routing and I O chapter in cluding information on using return tracks to distribute the effect of a single device amongst several tracks After reading about using devices in Live it might also be interesting lo
203. e being manually adjusted If quantize is not activated the frequency will be shifted in an unquantized manner leading to detuned or inharmonic sounds which very well could be exactly what you want The amplitude of an oscillator depends on the Level setting of the oscillator in the shell and on its envelope which is shown in its display and can be adjusted from there It can also be modified by note velocity and note pitch with the Level lt Vel and Level lt Key parameters available in the lower portion of each oscillators display The phase of each oscillator can be adjusted using the Phase control in its display As explained earlier oscillators can modulate each other when set up to do so with the global display s algorithms Oscillator D can also modulate itself via the Feedback param eter available in its display When an oscillator is modulating another oscillator two main properties define the result the amplitude of the modulating oscillator and the frequency ratio between both oscillators 22 2 3 LFO Section LFO Rate Mod Bm A O 90 17 7 8 The LFO in Operator can practically be thought of as a fifth oscillator It runs at audio rates and it modulates the frequency of the other oscillators It is possible to switch modulation by the LFO on or off for each individual oscillator and the filter using the Destination buttons in the LFO s display The LFO can also be turned off if it is unused Operator s LFO Parame
204. e enabled by activating the Retrigger button to the right of the Voices chooser The Filter Global Tab CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 319 22 3 7 The Modulation Tab Zone W Sample PitchvOsc Filter Globals Modulation ts mm Type Rate Beats Type Rate Beats Type Rate Freq m y Se E ru m m s ee ez inital Peak Sustain End Loop Attack Retrig Offset Attack Retrig Offset Attack Retrig Offset EEx 00 Beat v 010 ms om 000 010 ms Om 0 00 i ms Gam 0 00 Attack Decay Release Time lt Vel Repeat Key Key Stereo Phase Key Stereo Spin 3 ins is o gt m o0 E 0 Kso Eo A Pitch Sample 30 00 4 vol 547 Fit RBM A Loop Stato 43 534 A LFO 3 Rate _ v 16 00 4 e Pach Osc 36 00 4 Pan 33 Piten E45 B Release Loop gt 1045 q B LFO2Rate gt 16 00 4 The Modulation Tab The Modulation tab offers an additional loopable envelope plus three LFOs all capable of modulating multiple parameters including themselves Each LFO can be free running or synced to the Live Set s tempo and LFOs 2 and 3 can produce stereo modulation effects 22 3 8 The MIDI Tab Sampler Zone v Sample Pitch Osc Filter Globals Modulation Destination A Amount A Destination B Key Pitch Sample 11 94 Time Velocity Shaper Amt 63 68 4 Fiter Q Rel Vel Shaper Amt
205. e in a value Holding the PC Mac modifier while dragging vertically in the X Y display changes the frequency band s Q bandwidth The Pinch Effect section adds odd harmonics to the input signal These distortions typically occur 180 degrees out of phase creating a richer stereo image The Pinch Effect has the same controls as the Tracing Model but generates a rather different sound The Drive control increases or decreases the overall distortion amount created by both the The Vinyl Distortion Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 277 Tracing Model and Pinch There are two distortion modes Soft and Hard The Soft Mode simulates the sound of a dub plate while Hard Mode is more like that of a standard vinyl record The stereo mono switch determines whether the Pinch distortion occurs in stereo or mono Set it to stereo for realistic simulation of vinyl distortions The Crackle section adds noise to the signal with noise density set by the Density control The Volume control adjusts the amount of gain applied to the noise 278 Chapter 21 Live MIDI Effect Reference Live comes with a selection of custom designed built in MIDI effects The Working with Instruments and Effects chapter explains the basics of using effects in Live 21 1 Arpeggiator Arpeggiator aa Style Transpose Velocity On Chord Trigger ov Groove Straight y 7 Decay 1 92 A Repeats Distanc
206. e the Velocity Editor by dragging on the split line that runs between it and the Note Editor You can also show and hide the Velocity Editor using the triangular button on the left hand side of the split line 1 1 1 gt m ove Se 1 ear i The Control Bar s Draw Mode Switch Switch to Draw Mode by activating the Control Bar s Draw Mode switch You can now draw MIDI notes into the Note Editor with the mouse Deactivating Draw Mode allows notes to be selected and moved around by clicking and dragging either vertically to change their transposition or horizontally to change their position in time CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 128 a n f CS S l v Previewing MIDI Notes Provided your MIDI track s device chain contains an instrument activating the Preview switch in the MIDI Editor allows you to hear notes as you select and move them Note velocity is adjusted in the Velocity Editor by clicking and dragging on the associated markers You can also use Draw Mode in the Velocity Editor It will draw identical velocities for all notes within a grid tile After drawing a few notes and moving them around you will probably want to know how to get around in the Note Editor So before we get into detailed editing information we will first explain MIDI Editor navigation 10 3 MIDI Editor Navigation and Transport Note Scale Position Is 4 Shown Vertically and
207. eactivated directly from the Session or Arrangement View with their PC Mac context menus 8 1 2 Clip Name and Color The Clip Name field allows naming the clip By default a clip s name matches the name of the file it references but in general the clip name is independent from the file name Renaming an audio clip does not rename the referenced sample file To rename a file select it in Live s File Browsers and then choose the Edit menu s Rename command The Clip Color chooser allows choosing a clip color CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 97 8 1 3 Clip Signature Using the Clip Signature fields you can specify the signature of an audio clip s sample This setting is relevant only for display it does not affect sample playback 8 1 4 Groove The Clip Groove chooser selects the type of groove used for the clip Swing 8 for example applies an 8th note groove The Global Groove control defines the amount of the groove for every clip in the Live Set So how does it work Imagine a simple one bar MIDI clip that has a time signature of 4 4 Our MIDI clip is made up of 8th notes eight of them that play either on or between each of the four beats With a Clip Groove setting of Swing 8 the timing of our one bar clip becomes a bit like a rubber band that is pinned down at each beat but flexible in between The 8th notes that fall between beats can shift slightly forward With a Global Groove setting of 50 for example
208. ectric Keyboards E Piano MK 1 B3 Jazz Organ B3 Rock Organ 3http www ableton com shop CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 326 Orchestral Strings Solo Strings legato Double Bass Cello Viola Violin Ensemble Strings legato pizzicato Orchestral Brass Solo Brass legato French Horn Bass Trombone Tuba Eb Trumpet Ensemble Brass legato staccato Orchestral Woodwinds Solo Woodwinds legato legato vibrato English Horn Bas soon Clarinet French Oboe Concert Flute Alto Sax Ensemble Woodwinds legato Plucked Instruments Harp fingers Jazz Upright Bass P Bass fingers picks Six String Nylon Guitar tones chords Strat Clean tones chords Mallets Glockenspiel hard mallets Xylophone hard mallets e Voice Mixed Choir ahh ohh Special Features of the Guitar and Bass Banks The EIC s guitar instruments have additional banks for single key chords with strumming and the PBass instrument has a similar bank for down and up strokes played with a pick In all cases lower octaves play down strums while upper octaves play up strums 327 Chapter 23 MIDI and Key Remote Control To liberate the musician from the mouse most of Live s controls can be remote controlled with an external MIDI controller and the computer keyboard This chapter describes the details of mapping to the following specific types of controls in Live s user interface 1 Session View slots
209. ed Keep Ryn v z Detune me v Length Geb Length LEHRE 1 o Oct 0 00 dB a oo MIDI clips have these additional Clip View controls e The MIDI Editor toggles with the Envelope Editor on the right hand side of the Clip View and allows editing and creating MIDI notes and velocities e The Notes box contains settings pertaining to how Live plays a MIDI clip and what it displays in the MIDI Editor The Clip View for an Audio Clip CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 95 The Clip View for a MIDI Clip To make best use of the screen real estate you can show or hide the Launch Envelopes and Sample or MIDI boxes using the Clip View Box selector in the Clips box You can also toggle between the Sample Display MIDI Editor and the Envelope Editor by clicking in the title bars of the Sample Notes box and the Envelopes box respectively Cip Launch Carols Pad Launch Mode MS Trigger Signature Legato Ko E Quantization Groove Global Swin wing 8 ull 2 a The Clip View Box L 1j _0 _0 Keep Rynt Selector Shows and za Hides Various Clip View 4 0 Components CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 96 8 1 The Clip Box e Launch Sample Envelopes Carofs Pad Signature 4 i 4 j Fade The Clip Box 8 1 1 Clip Activator Switch Using this switch you can deactivate a clip so that it does not play when launched in the Session View or during Arrangement playback Clips can also be activated d
210. ed disk space used e A Show button that will list the samples in the File Browser e A Yes No toggle for engaging or disengaging collection Note Make sure to confirm your choices by clicking the File Manager s Collect and Save button Collect and Save The File Manager s Collect and Save Button CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 67 The File menu s Collect All and Save command is a shortcut that collects and saves all external samples referenced by the current Set including those from the Library Note that this can cause a lot of copying especially when the Library contains large multisample collections 5 10 Aggregated Locating and Collecting Instead of having to deal with problems while you are in a creative mode you might prefer putting aside some dedicated housekeeping time to solve all the problems in one go Using Live s File Manager you can find missing samples and collect external samples not only for the current Live Set but also for e The Library choose the Manage Files command from the File menu then click the Manage Library button The current Live Project choose the Manage Files command from the File menu then click the Ma Project button e Any Live Project PC Cta Mac on a Project in the Live Browser and choose the Manage a ect option e All Projects found in a specific folder and its sub folders PC Ctrl 6 Mac on a folder in the File Browser and choose the aes a comman
211. el Macs cannot natively run VST or AU plug ins that have been written for the PowerPC platform Only plug ins of type Universal or Intel can be used in Live If you install de install a plug in while the program is running Live will not detect your changes or implement them in the Plug In Device Browser until the next time you start the program Use the Rescan button in the File Folder Preferences to rescan your plug ins while Live is running so that newly installed devices become immediately available in the Plug In Device Browser The Plug In Device Browser CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 197 You can also rescan if you believe that your plug in database has somehow become cor rupted Holding down the PC Mac modifier while pressing Rescan will delete your plug in database altogether and run a clean scan of your plug ins 15 2 1 Plug Ins in the Track View BassStation OSC voice mode osc 1 PWM source multi Ifo x osc 2 semi osc 2 PWM source filter frequency manual P osc2 pulse width Ifo gt ffreq 0 14 1 49 osc 1 waveform osct pulse width osc 2 cents filter resonance 0 5 98 osc 1 modenv 71 22 6 97 39 84 osc 2 waveform osc 2 modenv filter slope 63 75 osc 2 Ifo1 x 62 75 1 mod env gt ffreq 116 04 A VST Plug in in the Track View Once a plug in is dragged from the Browser into a track it will show up in the Trac
212. elope settings but also the original track s devices In order to recreate a Live Clip s device chain either import it into a track containing no clips or devices or drag it into the space in the Session or Arrangement View containing no tracks Note that Live Clips that are imported into tracks already containing devices or clips will appear with their clip settings but not their devices You could for instance drop a bass line Live Clip on an existing track that drives a bass instrument rather than creating a new track Clips belonging to any Live Sets already on disk are also Live Clips Please see the section on merging Sets for more on this topic Note that storing default clip settings with a sample s analysis file is different from saving a Live Clip The default clip in the asd file annotates the sample with sensible default values warp gain and pitch settings so that it will play in a defined way when it is added to a Set Live Clips on the other hand are stored on disk as separate musical ideas For example you could create a number of variations from the same audio clip by using different warp pitch envelope and effect settings and store them all as separate Live Clips In the Browser you could then independently sort and preview these clips even though they are all referring to the same source sample 5 5 Live Sets The type of document that you create and work on in Live is called a Live Set A Live Clip in the Bro
213. empo of the Live Set will follow your tapping It is better to assign the Tap button to a computer key than using the mouse Click on the Control Bar s KEY switch to enter Key Map Mode then select the Tap button press the key you would like to use for tapping click the KEY switch again to leave Key Map Mode The assignment will take effect immediately The Tap button can also be assigned to a MIDI note or controller like a foot switch in a similar fashion Although Live responds to your tapping immediately it does apply some degree of inertia to prevent sluggish behavior in the software The more taps Live receives in a row the more precisely it will be able to conclude the desired tempo You can also use tapping to count in If you are working in a 4 4 signature it takes four taps to start song playback at the tapped tempo 9 2 Time Warping Samples Live s ability to play any sample in sync with a chosen tempo is a unique and important feature In addition you can warp the rhythmic flow of a piece changing its feel or even move notes to other meter positions The Tap Button The Key Map Mode Switch CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 114 A clip s warping properties are set in the Sample box which is a sub section of the Clip View Sample gt Warp Slave Seg BPM 158 00 D amp Beats Transients 1 16 The most significant control here is the Warp switch which tog
214. en Panorama is defined by the Pan control but can be further swayed by randomness or modulated by the LFO Finally the output volume of Simpler is controlled by the Volume control which can also be dependent upon note velocity as adjusted by the Velocity control Tremolo effects can be achieved by allowing the LFO to modulate the Volume parameter 22 4 9 Strategies for Saving CPU Power Real time synthesis needs lots of computing power However there are strategies for reducing CPU load Save the CPU spent on Simpler by doing some of the following e Turn off the Filter if it is not needed e Use filter types that are less expensive when possible A filter s cost correlates with the steepness of its slope LP24 is more expensive than LP12 Turn off the LFO for a slightly positive influence on CPU Stereo samples need significantly more CPU than mono samples as they require twice the processing Decrease the number of simultaneously allowed voices with the Voice control 22 5 The Essential Instrument Collection The boxed version of Live 6 ships with the Essential Instrument Collection a multi gigabyte library of meticulously sampled and selected instruments from the SONiVOX formerly Sonic Implants premium collections CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 325 Note The Essential Instrument Collection is not included with downloadable purchases Download customers can choose however to have the Live 6 bo
215. ene will automatically be selected as the next to be launched unless the Select Next Scene on Launch option in the Launch Preferences is set to Off This allows you to trigger scenes from top to bottom without having to select them first Computer keys or a MIDI controller can be used to launch scenes and scroll between them Scenes can be renamed using the Edit menu s Rename command One can quickly rename several scenes by executing the Rename command and using the computer s Tab key to move from one scene to the next Each scene can actually store a tempo setting as part of its name so that it changes the project tempo upon launch this is accomplished by selecting the scene and renaming it with a viable tempo e g 96 BPM Any tempo can be used as long as it is within the range allowed by Live s Tempo control 20 999 BPM This Scene Will Change the Tempo to 96 BPM 7 3 The Track Status Fields You can tell a track s status by looking at the Track Status field just above the active track s mixer controls A Track Playing a TY y TY l Looping Session Clip The pie chart icon represents a looping Session clip The number to the right of the circle is the loop length in beats and the number at the left represents how many times the loop has been played since its launch CHAPTER 7 SESSION VIEW 87 The progress bar icon represents a one shot non looping Session clip The value displays the remaining
216. ent Timecode messages carry no meter related information when slaving Live to another sequencer using MIDI Timecode you will have to adjust the tempo manual y Tempo changes cannot be tracked Detailed MIDI Timecode preferences CHAPTER 24 SYNCHRONIZATION AND REWIRE 352 are explained later in this chapter With respect to MIDI Timecode Live can only act as a MIDI sync slave not a master 24 1 1 Synchronizing External MIDI Devices to Live Live can send MIDI Clock messages to an external MIDI sequencer or drum machine After connecting the sequencer to Live and setting it up to receive MIDI sync turn the device on as a sync destination in Live s MIDI Sync Preferences MIDI Ports Track Sync Remote Output RemoteSL Port 2 The lower indicator LED next to the Control Bar s EXT button will flash when Live is sending sync messages to external sequencers 24 1 2 Synchronizing Live to External MIDI Devices Live can be synchronized via MIDI to an external sequencer After connecting the sequencer to Live and setting it up to send sync use Live s MIDI Sync Preferences to tell Live about the connection MIDI Ports Track Sync Remote b Input RemoteSt Port 1 L Off m of Then activate external sync either by switching on the EXT button in the Control Bar or using the External Sync command in the Options menu The upper indicator LED next to the EXT button will flash if Live receives useable sy
217. entire Live Set by pressing the Control Bar s Stop button twice The Controls for a Session View Clip CHAPTER 7 SESSION VIEW 85 The Arrangement nf 91 4 Jule ovr se 160 19 ae RE Po Position Fields and the Stop Button 7 2 Tracks and Scenes Each vertical column or track can play only one clip at a time It therefore makes sense to put a set of clips that are supposed to be played alternatively in the same columns parts of a song variations of a drum loop etc Digitai_o2 AAA Resized Session View PPI i ae Tracks For convenient access to more clips at once you can resize Session View tracks by clicking and dragging at the edges of their title bars Tracks can be narrowed this way so that only Clip Launch buttons and essential track controls are visibile dada E IM 1 Bass 2 Chords 3 Rhodes 4 Perc s 5 Beats 6 Crash Master synth 1 rhodes intro A Scene in the Session Bss C E rhodes groovy Drums Crash Verse2 View The horizontal rows are called scenes The Scene Launch buttons are located in the rightmost column which represents the Master track To launch every clip in a row simultaneously click on the associated Scene Launch button This can be very useful in organizing the live performance of a song with multiple parts CHAPTER 7 SESSION VIEW 86 The scene below a launched sc
218. er Frequency can be modulated by either a random value or by MIDI note velocity CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 292 22 1 4 Saturator and Envelope The Saturator gives the sample a fatter rounder more analog sound and can be switched on and off as desired The Drive control boosts the signal and adds distortion Coincidentally this makes most signals much louder and should usually be compensated for by lowering the sample s volume control Extreme Drive settings on low pitched sounds will produce the typical overdriven analog synth drum sounds The envelope can be adjusted using the Decay control which can be set to a maximum of 60 seconds Impulse has two decay modes Trigger Mode allows the sample to decay with the note Gate Mode forces the envelope to wait for a note off message before beginning the decay This mode is useful in situations where you need variable decay lengths as is the case with hi hat cymbal sounds 22 1 5 Pan and Volume Each sample has Volume and Pan controls that adjust amplitude and stereo positioning respectively Both controls can be modulated Pan by velocity and a random value and Volume by velocity only 22 1 6 Global Controls The parameters located to the right of the sample slots are global controls that apply to all samples within Impulse s domain Volume adjusts the overall level of the instrument and Pitch adjusts the transposition of all samples The Time control governs the time st
219. er to listen to it repeatedly You can use the loop region markers for this 10 4 3 Grid Snapping Most functions in the MIDI Editor are subject to grid snapping You can hold down the PC Mac modifier while performing an action to bypass grid snapping Note movements will also snap to an offset which is based on the original placement of the note relative to the grid This is useful for preserving a groove or loose playing style that you do not necessarily want to set straight 10 4 4 Arranging and Quantizing Notes As we have seen notes in the MIDI Editor can be moved both horizontally changing their position in time and vertically changing their transposition They can be moved either by clicking and dragging or with the arrow keys on your computer keyboard in either case they are subject to grid and offset snapping If you are playing the clip while you move notes you can listen to them play in their new assignments as you drag them without waiting until you have released the mouse button Multiple notes can be selected and moved in unison Rubber band select more than one note with one mouse motion by clicking in empty space then dragging diagonally upward Use the Loop Region Markers to Select a Specific Region of the Clip to Play CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 133 or downward to enclose the notes in the dotte
220. es MIDI file data is incorporated into the Live Set and the resulting MIDI clips lose all reference to the original file MIDI files appear as folders in the File Browser opening the folders gives you access to the file s individual tracks also called voices or instruments CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 50 v 2 bach_847 mia 3 Piano right Z Piano left EI Fuga 1 o Fuga 2 2 Fugas A MIDI File and its Tracks in the Browser 5 3 1 Exporting MIDI Files Live MIDI clips can be exported as Standard MIDI files To export a MIDI clip use the File menu s Export Selected MIDI Clip command This command will open a file save dialog allowing you to choose the location for your new MIDI file Exporting a MIDI file is different from saving the clip as a Live Clip 5 4 Live Clips Individual clips can be exported to disk in the Live Clip format for easy retrieval and reuse in any project To save a clip from the open Live Set to disk simply drag it to the File Browser and drop it into any folder You can then type in a new name for the clip or confirm the one suggested by Live with Return CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 51 Name E Parent Folder v P ciips v Po Bass t FE Bass Detector Part 1 alc 4 EET 2 MIE a m s mam aso aoaa Live Clips are a great way of storing your ideas for later use or development as they save not only the original clip including all its clip and env
221. eveloping Live Authorization of Ableton products takes place in the Preferences Products tab which will appear when you start Live for the first time Here you can choose to authorize unlock or purchase any Ableton products available to you for example the Operator instrument Please note that products such as Operator are sold separately from Live but are unlocked using the same procedure described in the following sections They can also be individually set to Demo Mode in the Products tab so that you can try them out CHAPTER 3 UNLOCKING LIVE 9 Status Unlocked version 6 The Real Time Music Production Platform Clicking on any product listed in the Products tab will give you the option of unlocking or buying that product Please click the Unlock button here to complete the unlocking process in two steps If you have not yet purchased the product you can do so online by clicking the Buy button You can always return to the Products Preferences tab later or visit the Ableton webshop to make a purchase Live s Preferences are available via the Options menu or the Live menu in Mac OS X Thttp www ableton com shop The Products Tab in the Preferences CHAPTER 3 UNLOCKING LIVE 10 S A M P L E R The Ableton Sampler Sampler has not yet been unlocked and is running in Demo Mode In Demo Mode you can explore the product s functionality but you cannot save or export your work Buy Fin
222. ey and velocity zones With Auto Select enabled all sample layers that are able to play an incoming note will become selected in the sample layer list for the duration of that note Zone Fade Mode Lin Pow These buttons toggle the fade mode of all zones between linear and constant power exponential slopes Zone Editor View Key Vel These buttons toggle the display of the Key Zone Editor and the Velocity Zone Editor The Key Zone Editor CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 313 The Sample Layer List All samples contained in the currently loaded multisample are listed here with each sample given its own layer For very large multisamples this list might be hundreds of layers long Fortunately layers can be descriptively named according to their root key for example Selecting any layer will load its sample into the Sample tab for examination Key Zones Key zones define the range of MIDI notes over which each sample will play Samples are only triggered when incoming MIDI notes lie within their key zone Every sample has its own key zone which can span anywhere from a single key up to the full 127 A typical multisampled instrument contains many individual samples distributed into many key zones Samples are captured at a particular key of an instrument s voice range known as their root key but may continue to sound accurate when transposed a few semitones up or down This range usually corresponds to the sample s k
223. ey zone ranges beyond this zone are represented by additional samples as needed By default the key zones of newly imported samples cover the full MIDI note range Zones can be moved and resized like clips in the Arrangement View by dragging their right or left edges to resize them then dragging them into position Zones can also be faded over a number of semitones at either end by dragging their top right or left corners This makes it easy to smoothly crossfade between adjacent samples as the length of the keyboard is traversed The Lin and Pow boxes above the sample layer list indicate whether the zones will fade in a linear or exponential manner Velocity Zones Each sample also has a velocity zone determining the range of MIDI Note On velocities that it will respond to The timbre of most musical instruments changes greatly with playing intensity Therefore the best multisamples capture not only individual notes but also each of those notes at different velocities CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 314 The Velocity Zone Editor when toggled replaces the Key Zone Editor alongside the sample layer list Velocity is measured on a scale of 1 127 and this number range appears across the top of the editor The functionality of the Velocity Zone Editor is otherwise identical to that of the Key Zone Editor 22 3 4 The Sample Tab Filter Globais Reverse Sample Part Sample Start Sustain Mode Loop Start Loop End Crossfade Detune
224. f 120 degrees each ear receives a reverberant channel that is independent of the other this is also a property of the diffusion in real rooms The lowest setting mixes the output signal to mono 20 19 4 Diffusion Network The Diffusion network creates the reverberant tail that follows the early reflections The decay time control adjusts the time required for this tail to drop to 1 1000th 60 dB of its initial amplitude High and low shelving filters provide frequency dependent reverberation decay The high frequency decay models the absorption of sound energy due to air walls and other materials in the room people carpeting and so forth The low shelf provides a thinner decay Each filter may be turned off to save CPU consumption The Freeze control freezes the diffuse response of the input sound When on the reverber ation will sustain almost endlessly Cut modifies Freeze by preventing the input signal from CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 272 adding to the frozen reverberation when off the input signal will contribute to the diffused amplitude Flat bypasses the high and low shelf filters when freeze is on If Flat is off the frozen reverberation will lose energy in the attenuated frequency bands depending on the state of the high and low shelving filters The Echo Density and Scale parameters provide additional control over the diffusion s den sity and coarseness and when the room size is extremely small hav
225. f the early reflections as well as their overlap with the diffused sound With small values the reflections decay more gradually and the diffused sound occurs sooner leading to a larger overlap between these components With large values the reflections decay more rapidly and the diffused onset occurs later A The Reverb Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 271 higher value can sometimes improve the source s intelligibility while a lower value may give a smoother decay Spin applies modulation to the early reflections The X Y control accesses the depth and frequency of these modulations A larger depth tends to provide a less colored more spectrally neutral late diffusion response If the modulation frequency is too high doppler frequency shifting of the source sound will occur along with surreal panning effects Spin may be turned off using the associated switch for modest CPU savings 20 19 3 Global Settings The Quality chooser controls the tradeoff between reverb quality and performance Eco uses minimal CPU resources while High delivers the richest reverberation The Size parameter controls the room s volume At one extreme a very large size will lend a shifting diffused delay effect to the reverb The other extreme a very small value will give it a highly colored metallic feel The Stereo Image control determines the width of the output s stereo image At the highest setting o
226. fects Signals preceding to the left of the instrument are MIDI signals available only to MIDI effects This means that it s possible for a MIDI track s device chain to hold all three types of devices first MIDI effects then an instrument and finally audio effects MIDI and Audio Track Arm Buttons CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 192 D y e v a en eeee S a a cs a cay Redux 2 Chance LFO Bit Reduction A H Sine 25 dB 50 Fixed Level Filter D A f Dee 46 dB B Choices Fixed Level r Pitch Env a is 19 Fixed Level Time Aan 5 1 dB To remove a device from the chain click on its title bar and press your computer s or key or select Delete from the Edit menu To change the order of devices drag a device by its title bar and drop it next to any of the other devices in the Track View Devices can be moved to other tracks entirely by dragging them from the Track View into the Session or Arrangement Views Generally devices can be placed reordered and deleted without interrupting the audio stream Random gt a Operator EN p D 0 5 25 df Devices are turned on and off using their Activator switches Turning a device off is like temporarily deleting it The signal remains unprocessed and the device does not consume CPU cycles Live devices generally do not load down the CPU unless they ar
227. g 8 1 5 Clip Offset and Nudging To jump within a playing clip in increments the size of the global quantization period you can use the Nudge buttons in the Clip box Clip Using the Nudge Buttons to Jump Through a Clip These buttons can also be mapped to keys or MIDI controllers In MIDI Map Mode a scrub control will appear between the Nudge buttons and can be assigned to a rotary encoder wheel for continuous scrubbing Clip om The Scrub Control in MIDI Map Mode With quantization set to values less than one bar it is easy to offset clip playback from Live s master clock by launching clips using the Nudge buttons or scrubbing within the clip CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 99 Clip Offset from Global Time as Shown in the Clip s Display When clip play is offset from global time in this manner a little dot will illuminate in the Sample Display or MIDI Editor to display the offset start position Clip Using the Keep and Revert Buttons to Keep Rv Manage Meter Offset The current offset as indicated by the dot can be made permanent by moving the start marker to the dot s position and this is exactly what the Keep button found just beneath the Nudge buttons does Or the current offset can be undone using the Revert button CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 100 8 2 The Sample Box 8 2 1 Warp Controls Sample gt N Beats Transients 1 16 When the Warp switch is off Live
228. g sample Simpler will play the first instance of a looped sample beginning with the Start point then continue playing only the loop region When the sample s start or end points are moved Simpler will try to preserve the loop length for as long as possible by automatically adjusting the Start Loop and Length settings It is possible for glitches or pops to occur between a looped sample s start and end points due to the discontinuity in waveform amplitude i e the sample s loudness The Snap switch will help mitigate these by forcing Simpler s loop markers to snap to zero crossing points in the sample points where the amplitude is zero Note Snapping is based on the left channel of stereo samples It is therefore still possible even with Snap activated to encounter glitches with stereo samples The transition from loop end to loop start can be smoothed with the Fade control which crossfades the two points This method is especially useful when working with long textural samples 22 4 3 Zoom Quite often one starts with a longer region of a sample and ends up using only a small part of it Simpler s Sample view can be zoomed and panned just as in other parts of Live drag vertically to zoom and drag horizontally to pan different areas of the sample into view CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 322 22 4 4 Envelope Simpler contains three classic ADSR envelopes as seen in most synthesizers for shaping the dynamic res
229. g signals below the threshold rather than just cutting them off If set to inf dB a closed gate will mute the input signal A setting of 0 00 dB means that even if the gate is closed there is no effect on the signal Settings in between these two extremes attenuate the input to a greater or lesser degree when the gate is closed The Attack time determines how long it takes for the gate to switch from closed to open when a signal goes from below to above the threshold Very short attack times can produce sharp clicking sounds while long times soften the sound s attack When the signal goes from above to below the threshold the Hold time kicks in Note to tech heads the gate has hysteresis so the release occurs about 3 dB lower than the threshold After the hold time expires the gate closes over a period of time set by the Release parameter 20 14 Grain Delay Grain Delay 0 00 ms ELA The Grain Delay effect slices the input signal into tiny particles called grains that are then individually delayed and can also have different pitches compared to the original signal source Randomizing pitch and delay time can create complex masses of sound and rhythm that seem to bear little relationship to the source This can be very useful in creating new The Grain Delay Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 264 sounds and textures as well as
230. gging the loop braces beyond the view limit or by entering values into the numeric region loop controls You can choose an arbitrary loop length for each envelope including odd lengths like 3 2 1 It is not hard to imagine great complexity and confusion arising from several odd length envelopes in one clip i pe re tp nt bf The Sample Left and Envelope Right Start Marker To keep this complexity under control it is important to have a common point of reference The start marker identifies the point where sample or envelope playback depart from when the clip starts Note that the start end markers and loop brace are subject to quantization by the zoom adaptive grid as is envelope drawing CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 238 18 5 3 Imposing Rhythm Patterns onto Samples So far we have been talking about imposing long envelopes onto small loops You can also think of interesting applications that work the other way around Consider a sample of a song that is several minutes long This sample could be played by a clip with a one bar volume envelope loop The volume envelope loop now works as a pattern that is repeatedly punching holes into the music so as to perhaps remove every third beat You can certainly think of other parameters that such a pattern could modulate in interesting ways 18 5 4 Clip Envelopes as LFOs If you are into sound synthesis you may want to think of a clip envelope with a local loop as a
231. gigabyte instrument libraries with ease and it imports most common library formats But with Sampler playback is only the beginning its extensive internal modulation system which addresses nearly every aspect of its sound makes it the natural extension of Live s sound shaping techniques The full version of Sampler is not included with the standard version of Live but is a special feature available for purchase separately For details please visit the Ableton webshop where you will be offered the opportunity to buy Sampler online Once you have purchased Sampler you will need to unlock it before using it as described in the chapter on unlocking Getting started with Sampler is as easy as choosing a preset from the Device Browser Like all of Live s devices Sampler s presets are located in folders listed beneath its name Presets imported from third party sample libraries are listed here too in the Imports folder Once you have loaded a Sampler preset into a track remember to arm the track for recording which also enables you to hear any MIDI notes you might want to play and then start playing http www ableton com shop The Sampler Instrument CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 310 22 3 1 Multisampling Before going on let s introduce the concept of multisampling This technique is used to accurately capture the complexity of instruments that produce dynamic timbral changes Rather than rely on the simple tr
232. give better performance when modulating start and end points but loading large multisamples into RAM will quickly leave your computer short of RAM for other tasks In any case it is always recommended to have as much RAM in your computer as possible as this can provide significant performance gains 22 3 5 The Pitch Osc Tab Sampler Zone v Inital AMB Attack 0 10 ms Sample Peak Decay Peak Pitch Osc Sustain Release Sustain End inf dB Filter Globals Loop None v Modulation MIDI Type _ sa64 Volume Vol lt Vel Wigs 00 Time lt Vel Time Fixed Coarse Fine 0 100 ms L 5 End Loop Transp Detune q 49 4 0 0 4 0 0 None Decay Release Tim lt Vel Time ZoneSh j_Ost_ Oct 4 Glide Time E io ms 0 100 ms Ost Portas Biiims The Modulation Oscillator The Pitch Osc Tab Sampler features one dedicated modulation oscillator per voice which can perform fre quency or amplitude modulation FM or AM on the multisample The oscillator is fully featured with 21 waveforms plus its own loopable amplitude envelope for dynamic wave shaping Note that this oscillator performs modulation only its output is never heard directly What you hear is the effect of its output upon the multisample The Pitch Envelope
233. gles a clip s warping on or off The Warp section of Live s Preferences will determine the default warp settings for new clips but they can always be overridden here on a per clip basis When the Warp switch is off Live plays the sample at its original normal tempo irre spective of the current Live Set s tempo This is useful for samples that have no inherent rhythmic structure percussion hits atmospheres sound effects spoken word and the like Turn the Warp switch on to play rhythmically structured samples such as sample loops music recordings complete music pieces etc in sync with the current song tempo To direct Live s assumptions about new samples use the Record Warp Launch tab of Live s Preferences If the Auto Warp Long Samples preference is on Live assumes that long samples contain music that should be played in sync with the Live Set s tempo If you would rather have Live default to playing long samples as they are disengage this preference 9 2 1 Tempo Master Slave All warped clips in the Arrangement View have one further option They can be defined as tempo masters by toggling their Master Slave switches Any number of clips can be set as tempo masters but only one clip at a time can actually be the tempo master This distinction is always granted to the bottom most currently playing clip in the Arrangement View The clip that is the current tempo master will play as if warping was off but with one impo
234. guitar signal processed by whatever effects are used and delayed by whatever latency the audio hardware interface incurs over your speakers The In Out section offers for every audio track and MIDI track a Monitor radio button with the following three options e The default Auto monitoring setting does the right thing for most straightforward recording applications Monitoring is on when the track is armed record enabled but monitoring is inhibited as long as the track is playing clips eeccceceeesce oe B e To permanently monitor the track s input regardless of whether the track is armed or clips are playing choose In This setting effectively turns the track into what is called an Aux on some systems The track is not used for recording but for bringing in a signal from elsewhere for instance a ReWire slave program With this setting output from the clips is suppressed An In monitoring setting can be easily recognized even when the In Out section is hidden by the orange color of the track s Activator switch e Monitoring can be turned off altogether by choosing the Off option This is useful when recording acoustic instruments which are monitored through the air when using an external mixing console for monitoring or when using an audio hardware interface with a direct monitoring option that bypasses the computer so as to avoid latency Generally it is preferable to work with an audio interface th
235. h The full version of Operator is not included with the standard version of Live but is a special feature available for purchase separately For details please visit the Ableton webshop where you will be offered the opportunity to buy Operator online Once you have purchased Operator you will need to unlock it before using it as described in the chapter on unlocking 22 2 1 General Overview The interface of Operator consists of two parts the display surrounded on either side by the shell The shell offers the most important parameters in a single view and is divided into eight sections On the left side you will find four oscillator sections and on the right side Thttp www ableton com shop The Operator Instrument CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 294 from top to bottom the LFO the filter section the pitch section and the global parameters If you change one of the shell parameters the display in the center will automatically show the details of the relevant section When creating your own sounds for example you can conveniently access the level and frequency of all oscillators at once via the shell and then adjust each individual oscillator s envelope waveform and other parameters in its display Operator can be folded with the triangular button at its upper left This is convenient if you do not need to access the display details Fixed Level LFO Rate Mod oO D Sine v 14 dB
236. h 22 4 6 LFO The LFO low frequency oscillator section offers sine square triangle sawtooth down sawtooth up and random waveforms The LFO run freely at frequencies between 0 01 and 30 Hz or sync to divisions of the Set s tempo LFOs are applied individually to each voice or played note in Simpler CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 323 The Key parameter scales each LFO s Rate in proportion to the pitch of incoming notes A high Key setting assigns higher notes a higher LFO rate If Key is set to zero all voices LFOs have the same rate and may just differ in their phase The LFO will modulate the filter pitch panorama and volume according to the setting of the LFO amount controls in each of these sections The time required for the LFO to reach full intensity is determined by the Attack control 22 4 7 Glide and Spread Simpler includes a glide function When this function is activated new notes will start from the pitch of the last note played and then slide gradually to their own pitch Two glide modes are available Glide which works monophonically and Portamento which works polyphonically Glide is also adjusted with the Glide Time control Simpler also offers a special Spread parameter that creates a rich stereo chorus by using two voices per note and panning one to the left and one to the right The two voices are detuned and the amount of detuning can be adjusted with the Spread control Tip Whether o
237. have to quit Live then the ReWire master application Live s operation in ReWire slave mode differs from the usual operation in some regards e Live will not have direct access to the audio interfaces audio input output is handled by the ReWire master application No audio input will be available to Live e The sample rate is determined by the host application rather than by Live e External synchronization will be disabled synchronize to the ReWire master application instead Live will not send sync or controller messages to the MIDI output Controlling Live via MIDI is still possible e Live will not act as a ReWire master application For instance you cannot run Rebirth as a ReWire slave of Live while Live is running as a ReWire slave of Cubase You can however run both Live and Rebirth as ReWire slaves of Cubase at the same time CHAPTER 24 SYNCHRONIZATION AND REWIRE 356 24 2 3 More on ReWire You can find tutorials on connecting Live to specific ReWire master programs at the Ableton tutorial website The Ableton FAQ website is the first place to go if you encounter ReWire related problems If you cannot seem to find an answer there please contact the Ableton support team 1 http www ableton com tutorials http www ableton com faq 3http www ableton com support 357 Chapter 25 Computer Audio Resources and Strategies Real time audio processing is a demanding task for general purpose computers wh
238. he Base control dictates how much the effect will be reduced or increased for very low frequencies CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 274 The second filter essentially an equalizer is used for controlling higher frequencies It is shaped with the Freq cutoff frequency Width and Depth controls The Output control attenuates the level at the device output When the Soft Clip switch is activated Saturator will also apply an instance of its Analog Clip curve to the output The Dry Wet control adjusts the balance between the processed and dry signals Set it to 100 percent when using Saturator in a return track 20 21 Simple Delay Simple Delay Link L3 4 8 16 1 00 ms 3 4 8 16 0 00 4 Feedback Dry Wet The Simple Delay provides two independent delay lines one for each channel left and right To refer delay time to the song tempo activate the Sync switch which allows using the Delay Time beat division chooser The numbered switches represent time delay in 16th notes For example selecting 4 delays the signal by four 16th notes which equals one beat a quarter note of delay If the Sync switch is off the delay time reverts to milliseconds In this case to edit the delay time click and drag up or down in the Delay Time field or click in the field and type in a value The Feedback parameter defines how much of each channel s
239. he Repeat chooser In Beat Mode the repeat time is defined in fractions of song time but notes are not quantized If you play a note a bit out of sync it will repeat perfectly but stay out of sync In Sync Mode however the first repetition is quantized to the nearest 16th note and as a result all following repetitions are synced to the song tempo Note that Sync Mode only works if the song is playing and otherwise it will behave like Beat Mode Note To avoid the audible clicks caused by restarting from its initial level a looped envelope will restart from its actual level and move with the set attack rate to peak level The rates of all the envelopes in Operator can be scaled in unison by the Time control in the global section of the shell Note that beat time values in Beat and Sync Modes are not influenced by the global Time parameter Envelope rates can be further modified by note pitch as dictated by the Time lt Key parameter in the global section s display The rate of an individual envelope can also be modified by velocity using the Time lt Vel parameter These modulations in conjunction with the loop feature can be used to create very very complex things The pitch envelope can be turned on or off for each individual oscillator and for the LFO using the Destination A D and LFO buttons in its display It can also be turned off altogether via the pitch section of the shell The pitch envelope amount is adjusted with the adjacent Pitch
240. he Sample Tab CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 315 Sample Displays the name of the current sample layer and can be used to quickly select from among the sample layers of the loaded multisample Root Key RootKey Defines the root key of the current sample Detune The sample tuning can be adjusted here by 50 cents Volume A wide range volume control variable from full attenuation to a gain of 24 dB Pan Samples can be individually panned anywhere in the stereo panorama Sample Playback All of the following sample specific parameters work in conjunction with the global volume envelope in the Filter Global tab to create the basic voicing of the Sampler instrument If you are unfamiliar with how envelopes work you will find that they are well documented in Operator s Envelopes section All time based values in this tab are displayed in either samples or hours seconds millise conds which can be toggled using the PC 6 Mac context menu on any of their parameter boxes Samples in this context refer to the smallest measurable unit in digital audio and not to the audio files themselves which we more commonly refer to as samples Sample Start The time value where playback will begin If the volume envelope s Attack parameter is set to a high value the audible result may seem to begin some time later than the value shown here Sample End The time value where playback will end unless a
241. he entire drum kit Several MIDI Tracks Playing the Same Instrument Consider a MIDI track containing a virtual instrument a Simpler playing a pad sound for example We have already recorded MIDI clips into this track when we realize that we would like to add an independent parallel take for the same instrument So we add another MIDI track We could now drag another Simpler into the new track but we would really like to reuse the Simpler from the pad track so that changing the pad s sound affects the notes from both tracks 8 Pad 3 9 Pad 10 Pad2 Master MIDI From _ MIDI From All ins All ins v All Channes f All Channew Off Auto ofr eseeeesee e This is accomplished by setting the new MIDI track s Output Type chooser to Pad Note that the Output Channel chooser now offers a selection of destinations We can either feed the new track s output into the input of the pad track or we can directly address the Simpler The Track In option in the Output Channel represents the pad track s input signal the signal to be recorded which is not what we want We instead select Simpler Ch 1 to send the new track s MIDI directly to the Simpler bypassing the recording and monitoring stage With this setup we can choose to record new takes on either track and they will all play the same pad sound Feeding an Additional MIDI T
242. he list and click the Uninstall button to remove them http www ableton com downloads Choosing the Library Bookmark CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 61 You can of course also move remove or rename any files or folders residing in the Library whether you have put them there yourself or they have been installed from a Factory Live Pack the Library is intended to be your own Live space 5 7 1 Changing the Library Location Upgrading a Live 5 Library The Library can reside in any hard disk location of your choice In the Preferences File Folder tab you will find the Library Path button which brings up a dialog for selecting a Library folder Library Path mid Volumes Ableton Library When you have selected a path Live will ask whether you want the contents of the cur rent Library merged into the target location Doing this can have a few different effects depending on the new location e If the target location is an empty folder the contents of the current Library will be copied there If the target location is a Live 6 formatted Library the contents of the current Library will be copied into the target location without altering what was already there If the target location is a Live 5 formatted Library Live 6 will interpret this as your irreversible decision to upgrade and leave Live 5 behind The folder structure of the Live 5 formatted Library will be changed to match new Live 6 conventions then
243. he selection This editing method lends itself to an efficient division of labor between the two hands One hand operates the mouse or trackpad while the other hand issues the keyboard shortcuts for the menu commands The menu eventually is only used as a reference for looking up the keyboard shortcuts Here is how selection works e Clicking a clip selects the clip e Clicking into the Arrangement background selects a point in time represented by a flashing insert mark e Clicking and dragging selects a timespan e To access the time within a clip for editing unfold its track by clicking the button next to the track name Moving a Clip Changing a Clip s Length CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 78 melody var A 1 Audio Adjusting an Unfolded nUSiMbeat a 2a Track s Height Notice that you can adjust the height of the unfolded track by dragging the split line below the Unfold Track button Clicking and dragging in the waveform display below the clip s horizontal strip allows you to select time within the clip Note that you can actually unfold all of your tracks at once by holding down the PC Mac modifier when clicking the button Clicking on the loop brace is a shortcut for executing the Edit menu s Select Loop command which selects all material included within the loop Holding while clicking extends an existing selection in the same track or across tracks Clicking the Loop Brace to Select the
244. his means that if for example you recorded with Record Quantization set to Eighth Note Triplet Quantization and then changed your mind using the Edit menu s Undo command would undo only the quantization and leave your recording otherwise intact For Session and Arrangement recording the Record Quantization setting cannot be changed mid recording When overdub recording with the Clip View Loop activated changes to the Record Quan tization take effect immediately and they cannot be separately undone with the Edit menu command Recorded MIDI notes can also be quantized post recording with the Edit menu s Quantize command as described in the chapter on editing MIDI 14 6 Recording with Count in A count in for recording can be set in Live s Record Warp Launch Preferences When the Count In preference is set to any value other than None Live will not begin recording until the count in is complete The Arrangement Position fields in the Control Bar display the count in in orange as bars beats sixteenths Po ee The count in runs from negative bars beats sixteenths beginning at 2 1 1 for example with a Count In setting of 2 bars up to 1 1 1 at which point recording commences Note that count in recording does not apply when Live is synced to external MIDI devices or being used as a ReWire slave The Count In is Displayed in the Control Bar CHAPTER 14 RECORDING NEW CLIPS 186 14 7 Setting up File Types
245. ht channel The Pan controls at the right can override the delay channels outputs otherwise each delay outputs on the channel from which it derives its input Each delay channel s filter has an associated On switch located to the left of each X Y controller The X Y controllers adjust the lowpass and highpass filters simultaneously for each delay To edit filter bandwidth click and drag on the vertical axis click and drag on the horizontal axis to set the filter band s frequency To refer delay time to the song tempo activate the Sync switch which allows using the Delay Time beat division chooser The numbered switches represent time delay in 16th notes For example selecting 4 delays the signal by four 16th notes which equals one beat a quarter note of delay With Sync Mode active changing the Delay Time field percentage value shortens and extends delay times by fractional amounts thus producing the swing type of timing effect found in drum machines lf the Sync switch is off the delay time reverts to milliseconds In this case to edit the delay time click and drag up or down in the Delay Time field or click in the field and type in a The Filter Delay Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 261 value The Feedback parameter sets how much of the output signal returns to the delay line input Very high values can lead to runaway feedback and produce a loud oscillation watch your ears and speakers if
246. ich are usually designed to run spreadsheets and surf the Internet An application like Live requires a powerful CPU and a fast hard disk This section will provide some insight on these issues and should help you avoid and solve problems with running audio on a computer 25 1 Managing the CPU Load To output a continuous stream of sound through the audio hardware Live has to perform a huge number of calculations every second If the processor can t keep up with what needs to be calculated the audio will have gaps or clicks Factors that affect computational speed include processor clock rates e g speed in MHz or GHz architecture memory cache performance how efficiently a processor can grab data from memory and system bus bandwidth the computer s pipeline through which all data must pass For this reason many people involved with pro audio use computers that are optimized for musical applications CHAPTER 25 COMPUTER AUDIO RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES 358 Fortunately Live supports multicore and multiprocessor systems allowing the processing load from things like instruments effects and I O to be distributed among the available resources Depending on the machine and the Live Set the available processing power can be several times that of older systems If you are working on a multicore or multiprocessor system you will want to enable support for it in the CPU tab of Live s Preferences The Control Bar s CPU meter displ
247. iew s Sample Display by double clicking any of its numeric grid markers They can then be dragged or moved with the arrow keys to different positions in the clip Warp Markers can also be deleted by double clicking them or by pressing the computer keyboard s or Delete key after selecting them CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 116 i 0 00 0 05 0 10 0 15 ic When working with your sample you can have Live scroll the Sample Display to follow playback Use the Control Bar s Follow switch to activate this feature It also might be helpful to vertically resize the Sample Display by dragging on the split line between the Clip View and the Session View track area Ee on oe Saving Warp Markers Your Warp Markers will automatically be saved with the Live Set but you may also want to save them with the sample file itself so that they are reconstructed anytime you drag the file into Live To do this click the Clip View s Save button Note that if a sample has a saved set of Warp Markers Auto Warp will have no effect When this is the case you can use any of the PC 6 Mac context menu commands described in this section to initiate auto warping 9 2 3 Using Warp Markers In the following sections we will look at a couple of applications for time warping samples Warping is of course an optional property of clips Double Clicking a Grid Marker Creates a Warp Marker The Follow Switch in
248. iew can be set as tempo master or slave We want the Master Slave switch set to Master which will force the rest of the clips in the Live Set to adapt to the video clip s tempo i e its normal playback rate 5 Now add Warp Markers to the video clip and adjust them to your liking The locations of the Warp Markers define the synchronizing points between our music and our video Notice how the video clip s waveform in the Arrangement View updates to reflect your changes as you make them 6 If desired enable the Arrangement Loop to focus on a specific section of the composition 7 When you have finished choose the Render to Disk command from Live s File menu All of your audio will be mixed down and saved as a single audio file which can then be imported into your chosen video authoring program 19 4 Video Trimming Tricks Commonly composers receive movie files with a few seconds of blank space before the real beginning of the action This pre roll two beep serves as a sync reference for the mixing engineer who expects that the composer s audio files will also include the same pre roll While working on music however the pre roll is in the composer s way It would be CHAPTER 19 WORKING WITH VIDEO 244 more natural for the movie action to start at song time 1 1 1 and SMPTE time 00 00 00 00 This can be accommodated by trimming video clips as follows First we drop a movie file at the start of the Arrangement
249. ile generally considered an undesirable effect some engineers use it on full drum kits to give unusual sucking effects 20 6 Compressor Il D Compressor II CA Rato Attack Release LookAhead Side Chain T 2 2 Oms EQ og Mae Tms 54 148ms 233ms Thresh GR Compressor II is a state of the art compression unit the tool of choice for a wide range of The Compressor II Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 254 dynamic processing applications including limiting and loudness maximization Compressor II s design is a lot more sophisticated and capable than Compressors It includes frequency selective compression using a sidechain EQ variable look ahead times and two response modes Peak and RMS Compressor is still a valuable sound design tool in spite of or rather because of its simplicity and roughness which can add interesting flavors to your sounds A compressor can only react to an input signal once it occurs Since it also needs to apply an attack release envelope the compression is always a bit too late A digital compressor can solve this problem by simply delaying the input signal a little bit Compressor II offers three different predelay times zero ms one ms and ten ms The results may sound pretty different depending on this setting Keep in mind that using ten ms of predelay makes the output appear significantly later You may have to delay other tra
250. illator if this is turned on Pitch Envelope to LFO Destination LFO The pitch envelope affects the frequency of the LFO if this is turned on Filter Shell and Display Filter On This turns the filter on and off Turning it off when it is unused saves CPU power CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 305 Filter Type Lowpass bandpass and highpass are second order filters with resonance Their names imply the part of the spectrum they affect The notch filter passes everything apart from its center frequency and is more audible with low resonance settings The 24 dB filter modes attenuate the filtered frequencies to a much greater degree than the 12 dB modes Filter Frequency Freq This defines the center or cutoff frequency of the filter Note that the resulting frequency may also be modulated by note velocity and by the filter envelope Filter Resonance Res This defines the resonance around the filter frequency of the lowpass and highpass filters and the width of the bandpass and notch filters Filter Frequency lt Velocity Freq lt Vel Filter frequency is modulated by note velocity ac cording to this setting Filter Frequency lt Key Freq lt Key Filter frequency is modulated by note pitch according to this setting A value of 100 means that the frequency doubles per octave The center point for this function is C3 Filter Envelope Rates lt Velocity Time lt Vel This parameter exists for filter pit
251. imate x A To rename the current program select the VST program chooser and execute the Edit menu s Rename Plug In Preset command Then type in a new program name and confirm by pressing P decimate x VST programs and banks can be imported from files Clicking the VST Program Load button brings up a standard file open dialog for locating the desired file Windows only Please select from the File Type menu whether you want to locate VST Device Program files or VST Device Bank files To save the currently selected program as a file click the VST Program Bank Save button to bring up a standard file save dialog select VST Device Program from the Format menu Macintosh from the File Type menu Windows select a folder and name For saving the entire bank as a file proceed likewise but choose VST Device Bank as a file type format The VST Plug In Program Chooser Renaming a VST Plug in Program The VST Program Bank Load Button Left and Save Button Right CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 203 15 4 Audio Units Plug Ins Audio Units Plug ins are only available in Mac OS X In most respects they operate just like VST Plug ins MicroTonicau Fill Rate Mu Mute 7 Mod Amount 1 w Ueno aoe 0 00 o o 0 00 0 00 Play Stop Mute 4 Mute 8 Osc Decay 1 Noise Filt Mode 1 StopNext KB A amp ray LP 0 84 LJ 0 0 50 Mute 1 Mute 5 Osc Wave Mod Mode 1 Noise Filt F
252. improvi sation into the Arrangement for further refinement This works because Arrangement and Session are connected via tracks 4 3 Tracks Tracks host clips and also manage the flow of signals as well as the creation of new clips through recording sound synthesis effects processing and mixing 2Chords m Auto Filter m Frequency The Session and Arrangement share the same set of tracks In the Session View the tracks are laid out vertically from left to right while in the Arrangement View they are horizontal from top to bottom A simple rule governs the cohabitation of clips in a track A track can only play one clip at a time Therefore one usually puts clips that should play alternatively in the same Session View column and spreads out clips that should play together across tracks in rows or what we call scenes 1 Bass 2 Chords 3 Rhodes 4 Perc s 5 Beats 6 Crash Master synth 1 rhodes groovy intro Verse Bas O amp gt Bass guitartheme rhodes groow Drums c Crash Verse2 A Track in the Arrangement View A Scene in the Session View CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 21 The exclusivity of clips in a track also implies that at any on time a track will either play a Session clip or an Arrangement clip but never both So who wins When a Session clip is launched the respective track stops whatever
253. in 221 St p DUTON 1 4 cccacncansaeanscaseds 72 compensating for device delays 176 SWING erare npaka rate see groove feature devices IN scriiscssatasssianasas 188 Sync Delay preference 353 in Arrangement View 76 Sync In Indicator 4 152 in Session View 0 eee 85 Sync Out Indicator 008 152 INSEFLING tata idiedbarsdie bead dens 171 synthesizer MIDI setup see routing mixer controls in 167 MUNG dis ssadcinusadainpsasetes 169 T PESIZING es eraris eroaan dheann 171 return tracks 0004 171 Take Over Mode preference 332 ELUM S s2cG2 0sgaacreseasonenees 26 Tap Tempo button 113 tha Master tack ooo daa 171 with WarPINg eee essere 121 unfolding eeee 77 221 technical support ssseeee 15 Transient Resolution chooser 124 Template Save button oF TANSPOM Sia those yediiaete ca sae tates 72 tempo Transpose quick chooser button see automating eeeeeee ee 224 quick chooser buttons MIDI MAPPING DEN Renae eee 225 Transposition knob iiisccesssweeeaee 105 Se E weet 112 Trigger Mode eee 139 APPINI anea sE 113 Triplet Grid command scascaicvescctes 72 Tempo field 55 100 112 tutorials see Ableton see lessons Temporary Folder preference 186 Texture Mode
254. in Live The Monitor controls regulate the conditions under which the input signal is heard through the track 4 10 Recording New Clips Audio tracks and MIDI tracks can record their input signal and thereby create new clips Recording is enabled on a track by pressing its Arm button Hold down the PC Mac modifier to arm several tracks at once When the Control Bar s Record button is on every armed track records its input signal into the Arrangement Every take yields a new clip per track Al Ag ty ff HHH It is also possible to record into Session View slots on the fly This technique is very useful for the jamming musician as Session recording does not require stopping the music When a track is armed its Session slots exhibit Clip Record buttons and clicking one of Track Arm Buttons as They Appear in the Session View CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 30 these commences recording Clicking the Clip Record button again defines the end of the recording and launches the new clip As these actions are subject to real time launch quantization the resulting clips can be automatically cut to the beat Session recording in conjunction with the Overdub option and Record Quantization is the method of choice for creating drum patterns which are built up by successively adding notes to the pattern while it plays in a loop It only takes a MIDI keyboard or the computer keyboard and a MIDI track with Live s Impulse percussion instrument to
255. in a loop on the fly While the loop is still off you can click the Set Loop Length button to set the loop to end at the current playback position without changing its preset length This simultaneously activates looping The Set buttons the Loop switch the loop brace and the start end markers can all be mapped to MIDI controls You could for example use a rotary encoder to move the loop through a sample in increments the size of the chosen quantization interval 8 2 3 Clip Pitch and Gain Sample gt Transpose The Transpose control shifts the clip pitch in semitones The Detune field fine tunes the clip in cents 100 cents one semitone The Clip Gain slider calibrated in dB changes the clip gain The Clip Pitch and Gain Controls CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 106 8 2 4 Saving Default Clip Settings with the Sample Sample No Idea Lost wav 32 0 kHz 16 Bit 2 Ch The Save Default Clip MAFO Fade RAM Button The Save Default Clip button saves the current clip s settings with the sample Once saved Live will restore the current clip settings whenever you drop the sample into a Live Set This is especially useful with regards to the Warp Markers which have to be set correctly for Live to play long files in sync Note that you can use the Save button without affecting any existing clips Save just saves default settings for future clips using this sample The clip data becomes part of the analysis file that accompa
256. in the Video Window Warp Markers While dragging a Warp Marker belonging to a video clip you will notice that the Video Window updates to show the corresponding video frame so that any point in the music can be easily aligned with any point in the video clip Since Live displays a movie file s embedded QuickTime markers they can be used as convenient visual cues when setting Warp Markers 19 3 Matching Sound to Video In Live it takes just a few steps to get started with video Let s look at a common scenario matching a piece of music to edits or hit points in a video CHAPTER 19 WORKING WITH VIDEO 243 1 Make sure that Live s Arrangement View is visible Your computer keyboard s key will toggle between the Session View and Arrangement View 2 Drag a QuickTime movie from Live s File Browser and drop it into an audio track in the Arrangement View The Video Window will appear to display the video component of the movie file Remember that you can move this window to any convenient location on the screen 3 Now that the video clip is loaded drag an audio clip into the Arrangement View s drop area A new track will automatically be created for it Unfold both tracks so you can see their contents by clicking the buttons to the left of their names 4 Double click on the video clip s title bar to view it in the Clip View In the Sample box make sure that the Warp button is enabled Warped clips in the Arrange ment V
257. ing can be specified in terms of notes or bars and is aligned with song position An LED in the upper right corner of the section indicates when the pattern has been retriggered 21 1 2 Transposition and Velocity Sections The pattern generated by Arpeggiator can be transposed the device s transposition controls allow forcing this transposition into a specific major or minor key or using the Transpose chooser s Shift option doing it in semitones The distance between transposition steps is set in scale intervals for Major and Minor transposition or semitones for Shift transposition with the Distance control Using the Steps parameter you can choose the number of times the sequence is transposed A setting of 8 will transpose the sequence a total of eight times playing it in higher notes each time CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 282 The dynamics of Arpeggiator are controlled using the velocity section With Velocity set to On and Target set to 0 for example the sequence will gradually fade out eventually reaching O velocity The Decay control sets the amount of time Arpeggiator takes to reach the Target velocity With Retrigger activated retriggering of the sequence will also retrigger the velocity slope Tip The velocity section s Retrigger option can be used in conjunction with Beat retriggering to add rhythm to the dynamic slope 21 2 Chord gt Shitt2 Shina OC 3 st 54 4 Shit 5 Shift 6
258. ing up VST Plug In Sources for Windows Setting up VST Plug In Sources for Mac OS X CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 201 and local directories Library Audio Plug Ins VST You can turn Live s use of these plug ins on or off with the Use VST Plug ins in System Folders option 2 You may have an alternative folder in which you store your VST Plug ins perhaps those that you use only with Live You can use VST Plug ins in this folder in addi tion to or instead of those in the System folders To tell Live about the location of this folder click the Browse button next to the VST Plug In Custom Folder entry to open a folder search dialog for locating and selecting the appropriate folder 3 Note that you can turn off your VST Plug ins in this folder using the Use VST Plug In Custom folder option Once you have configured your Plug In Preferences the Plug In Device Browser will display all plug ins it finds in the selected VST Plug in folder s as well as any sub folders It is also possible to use VST Plug ins stored in different folders on your computer To do this create a Mac OS or Windows alias of the folder where additional VST Plug ins are stored and then place the alias in the VST Plug In Custom folder or in the VST Plug In System folder on Mac OS X selected in Live s File Folder Preferences The alias can point to a different partition or hard drive on your computer Live will scan the set VST Plug in folder
259. ing with 0e ee eee 44 clip giid ss agape es 87 Saturator effect ce eee e eee 272 copying to Arrangement 91 Save a Copy command 52 recording an Arrangement 89 Save As command 0 0eee eee 52 recording audio in 181 Save command psc ciigsiasc okipe saet 52 Session Viewselector 5 19 Save Default Clip button 46 106 Set 1 1 1 Here command 120 Scale effect occthaxeenees esis adsense 286 Set Locator button 4 74 Scene Launch button 85 Set Locator command 74 Scene Select field 337 Set Song Start Time Here command 75 Scene Up Down buttons 186 337 SOUS dada waouhsieraes sane see Live Sets SCENES iti dis seaaadeadeleheaiates 20 85 shortcuts see keyboard shortcuts and MIDI key mapping 337 Show Hide Plug In Windows command 199 COILING secade es beans ee wagade ee 89 shuffle see groove feature recording sto shy ea peut rdes 182 Simple Delay effect 274 scrubbing playback Simpler instrument 320 in the Arrangement View 72 and CPU resources 324 in the Clip View tiioidanvedavadia 103 SNVEIONS dorspdartis reri niiret 322 Search DUTTON isse devin tenise esa 38 TIC aisanana ananin ET 322 Search In Folder command 39 Glide and Spread siaaceveiacias 323
260. input signal can be processed using one of three modes Stereo L R and M S Stereo mode uses a single curve to filter both channels of a stereo input equally L R mode provides an independently adjustable filter curve for the left and right channels of a stereo input M S mode Mid Side provides the same functionality for signals that have been recorded using M S encoding When using the L R and M S modes both curves are displayed simultaneously for reference although only the active channel is editable The Edit switch indicates the active channel and is used to toggle between the two curves The filters can switch among five responses e High cut cuts frequencies above the specified frequency e High shelf boosts or cuts frequencies higher than the specified frequency CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 257 e Bell curve boosts or cuts over a range of frequencies e Low shelf boosts or cuts frequencies lower than the specified frequency e Low cut cuts frequencies below the specified frequency Each filter band can be turned on or off independently Turn off bands that are not in use to save CPU power To edit the filter curve click and drag on the filter dots in the display Horizontal movement changes the filter frequency while vertical movement adjusts the filter band s gain To adjust the filter O also called resonance or bandwidth hold down the PC Mac modifier while dragging the mouse You can also
261. ion FAQs 3 3 1 Can I Use Live or Other Ableton Products Without a Serial Num ber If you do not yet own Live you can work with Live in Demo Mode Demo Mode offers Live s complete functionality but saving and exporting are disabled Live will run in Demo Mode by default if it has not been authorized You can try out other Ableton products such as the Operator instrument by individually switching them to Demo Mode in the Products tab of the Preferences Demo Mode can also be deactivated on a product by product basis in the Product Prefer ences If running Live or another product in Demo Mode raises your interest in purchasing it please select it from the Products Preferences tab and then click the Buy button or visit the Ableton webshop This site contains information about Ableton s distributor and dealer network It also offers you the namie to buy Ableton products online Live s Preferences are available via the Options menu or the Live menu in Mac OS X Fo SE The Real Time Music Production Platform Live 6 has not yet been unlocked and is running in Domo Mode In Demo Mode you can explore the product s functionality but you cannot save or export your work C ey Find out about buying options and buy Live 6 online Unlock Once you own Live 6 unlock it using the Serial Number you received from Ableton To continue using Live 6 in Demo Mode simply close this dialog 4http www ableton com shop Click
262. irectional connection between Live and the Mackie Control any changes made in the program are reflected in the mixing surface and vice versa To establish this connection open Live s MIDI Sync Preferences At the bottom of the window you will find the Remote Control Surfaces options Selecting Mackie Control from the Control Surface chooser and then setting the necessary input and output will establish the connection between Live and the control surface It is possible to expand the number of Mackie Control channel strips available using a hardware extension This extension is separately set up in Live s Preferences signified by MackieControlXT in the Control Surface chooser If the Mackie Control extension is selected from the topmost chooser it will control the Live tracks beginning at the left hand side of the program and should therefore be placed to the left of the Mackie Control mixing surface If selected from the lower chooser the Mackie Control extension should be placed to the right of the main Mackie Control The following sections will describe how to operate the Mackie Control with Live You may find the Mixing chapter to be particularly useful in locating and understanding Live s track controls CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 340 23 3 1 Channel Strips TT AAMA OLOO UL TUL P
263. ise oscillator with another oscillator or with real noise from the LFO The square triangle and sawtooth waveforms are resynthesized approximations of the ideal shape The numbers included in the displayed name e g Square 6 define how many harmonics are used for the resynthesis Lower numbers sound mellower and are less likely to create aliasing when used on high pitches Hint Oscillator waveforms can be copied and pasted from one oscillator to another using the PC Ctrl Mac context menu Aliasing distortion is a common side effect of all digital synthesis and is the result of the finite sample rate and precision of digital systems It mostly occurs at high frequencies FM synthesis is especially likely to produce this kind of effect since one can easily create sounds with lots of high harmonics This also means that more complex oscillator waveforms such as Saw 32 tend to be more sensitive to aliasing than pure sine waves Aliasing is a two fold beast A bit of it can be exactly what is needed to create a cool sound yet a bit too much can make the timbre unplayable as the perception of pitch is lost when high notes suddenly fold back into arbitrary pitches The Tone parameter in the global section allows for controlling aliasing Its effect is sometimes similar to a lowpass filter but this depends on the nature of the sound itself and cannot generally be predicted If you want to familiarize yourself with the sound of
264. it is doing to play that clip In particular if the track was playing an Arrangement clip it will stop it in favor of the Session clip even as the other tracks continue to play what is in the Arrangement The track will not resume Arrangement playback until explicitly told to do so p rPisie p EI B o This is what the Back to Arrangement button found in the Control Bar at the top of the Live screen is for This button lights up to indicate that one or more tracks are currently not playing the Arrangement but are playing a clip from the Session instead We can click this button to make all tracks go back to the Arrangement Or if we like what we hear we can capture the current state into the Arrangement by activating the Record button Disengaging Record Mode or stopping Live using the Stop button leaves us with an altered Arrangement 4 4 Audio and MIDI Clips represent recorded signals Live deals with two types of signals audio and MIDI In the digital world an audio signal is a series of numbers that approximates a continuous signal as generated by a microphone or delivered to a loudspeaker A MIDI signal is a sequence of commands such as now play a C4 at mezzo piano MIDI is a symbolic representation of musical material one that is closer to a written score than to an audio recording MIDI signals are generated by input devices such as MIDI or USB keyboards It takes an instrument to convert MIDI signals into audio sign
265. itored meaning that their input is passed through their device chain and to the output so that you can listen to what is being recorded This CHAPTER 14 RECORDING NEW CLIPS 180 behavior is called auto monitoring and you can change it to fit your needs Clicking one track s Arm button unarms all other tracks unless the PC Mac modifier is held Arming a track selects the track so you can readily access its devices in the Track View 14 3 Recording Recording can be done in both the Session and the Arrangement Views If you want to record onto more than one track simultaneously and or prefer viewing the recording linearly and in progress the Arrangement View may be the better choice If you want to break your recording seamlessly into multiple clips or record while you are also launching clips in Live use the Session View 14 3 1 Recording Into the Arrangement Nesom ll Recording Into the Arrangement CHAPTER 14 RECORDING NEW CLIPS 181 1 Recording commences when the Control Bar s Record button is activated and the Play button is pressed 2 Recording creates new clips in all tracks that have their Arm button on 3 When the Overdub switch is on the new clips contain a mix of the signal already in the track and the new input signal The Overdub option only applies to MIDI tracks 4 To prevent recording prior to a punch in point activate the Punch In switch This is useful for protecting the parts of
266. ive way CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 125 The Grain Size control determines the grain size used but unlike in Tones Mode this is a setting that Live will use unaltered without considering the signal s characteristics Fluctuation introduces randomness into the process Larger values give more randomness 9 3 4 Re Pitch Mode In Re Pitch Mode Live doesn t really time stretch or compress the music instead it adjusts the playback rate to create the desired amount of stretching In other words to speed up playback by a factor of 2 it s transposed up an octave This is like the DJ stretching method of using variable speed turntables to sync two records or what happens to samples in samplers when they re transposed The Transpose and Detune controls have no effect in Re Pitch Mode 9 3 5 Complex Mode Complex Mode is a warping method specifically designed to accommodate composite signals that combine the characteristics covered by other Warp Modes it works well for warping entire songs which usually contain beats tones and textures Complex Mode is a rather CPU intensive function using approximately ten times the CPU resources required by the other Warp Modes As such you may want to freeze tracks where Complex Mode is used or record the results as a new clip to use as a substitute 126 Chapter 10 Editing MIDI Notes and Velocities A MIDI clip in Live contains notes and controller data for playi
267. iz Pre mA i jisooy EESO C jj oswen as a S ejj jjooorknobs gazok A S 6 ji Drop Audio Effects Here Taking the previous example one step further we can tweak our chain select zones to produce a smooth transition between our presets To accomplish this we will make use of our zones fade ranges To create some room for fading let s extend the length of our zones a bit Setting the zones as shown maintains four exclusive values for our presets so that each still has one point where neither of the others are heard We crossfade between the presets over eight steps If this is too rough a transition for your material simply reposition the zones to maximize the fade ranges Crossfading Between Effects Presets Using Chain Select Zones CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 216 16 6 Using the Macro Controls Audio Effect Rack Map Mode gt Saturator ee A W Macro1 Macro2 Macro3 Macro 4 Ma 1 Output a Soft Clip gt Q G cr 85 o 74 127 14 9 0B i Map Map Map Map Output Maco 5 Macro6 Macro7 Maco 8 Gow Waveshaper 6 00 dB Drive Curve Depth Base aS CF Ga cS a a T GOO Fa 3 Ma OryiWver Making Macro Control anea an Assignments in Map Mode Map Map Map 365Hz 54 107 25 fMa 4 Ma 8 100 With the potential for developing such complex device chains Macro Controls keep things manage
268. j S099 wwa jjoswon BMS 6 E ijoconnons BOS o S Drop Audio Effects Here Unlike the other zone types the default length of a chain select zone is 1 and the default value is 0 From this setup we can quickly create preset banks using the Chain Select Editor Again we will use a Rack with four chains as our starting point Each of the four chains contain different effects that we would like to be able to switch between To make this Using Chain Select Zones to Create Effects Presets CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 215 a hands on experience we have MIDI mapped the Chain selector to an encoder on an external control surface Let s move the chain select zones of the second and third chains so that each of our zones is occupying its own adjacent value The first chain s zone has a value of 0 the second chain s zone has a value of 1 the third has a value of 2 and the fourth has a value of 3 Since each of our chain select zones has a unique value with no two zones overlapping we now have a situation where only one chain at a time can ever be equal to the Chain selector value shown at the top of the editor Therefore by moving the Chain selector we determine which chain can process signals With our MIDI encoder at hand we can now flip effortlessly between instrument or effect setups Crossfading Preset Banks Using Fade Ranges Audio Effect Rack B pra Chain Mide o 8 16 a 24 32 40
269. k View The original plug in panel graphics will be replaced with a Live panel which will usually represent all of the plug in parameters accurately and completely unless they are simply too numerous or are not modifiable in real time When this is the case the plug in s original editor panel can be opened in a separate window J BassStation ce mode The Plug In Unfold Button osc 1 waveform You can view or hide the VST Plug in s parameters by toggling the button in the plug in s title bar The X Y control field can be used to control two plug in parameters at once and is therefore especially well suited for live control To assign any two plug in parameters to the Live panel X Y field use the drop down menus directly beneath it CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 198 Once a plug in is placed in a track you can use it just like a Live device e You can edit all of its parameters and drag it to different locations in the device chain or to other tracks according to the rules of audio effects and instruments e You can map MIDI controller messages to its parameters e You can modulate its continuous parameters with clip envelopes e You can also use the multiple I O features of some plug ins by assigning them as sources or targets in the routing setup of tracks See the Routing and I O chapter for details Showing Plug In Panels in Separate Windows OSC voice mode The Plug In Edit button o
270. latform you may also CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 200 have to tell Live about the location of the VST Plug in folder containing the devices you want to use In order to set up your VST sources press the Activate button in the Plug In Device Browser or open the File Folder Preferences by pressing Ctrl J PC 8 Mac There you will find the Active Sources section Use VST Plug in Custom Folder VST Plug in Custom Folder Not Set For Windows proceed as follows 1 Use the VST Plug In Custom Folder entry to tell Live about the location of your VST Plug ins Click the Browse button to open a folder search dialog for locating and selecting the appropriate folder 2 Once you have selected a VST Custom Folder and Live has scanned it the path will be displayed Note that on Windows Live may have found a path in the registry without the need for browsing 3 Make sure that the Use VST Plug In Custom Folder option is set to On so that your selected folder is an active source for VST Plug ins in Live Note that you can choose not to use your VST Plug ins in Live by turning off the Use VST Plug In Custom Folder option Use VST Plug in System Folders Use VST Plug in Custom Folder VST Plug in Custom Folder Not Set Set up your VST Plug ins under Mac OS X by doing the following 1 Your VST Plug ins will normally be installed in the following folder in your home Sett
271. lf The modulation is dependent not only on the setting of the feedback control but also on the oscillator level and the envelope Higher feedback creates a more complex resulting waveform Envelope Display Envelope Attack Time Attack This sets the time it takes for a note to reach the peak level starting from the initial level The shape of this segment of the envelope is linear Envelope Decay Time Decay This sets the time it takes for a note to reach the sustain level from the peak level The shape of this segment of the envelope is exponential CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 308 Envelope Release Time Release This is the time it takes for a complete fade out of a note after a note off message is received The shape of this segment is exponential The note will fade out from the value of the envelope at the moment the note off message occurs regardless of which segment is currently active Envelope Initial Level Initial This sets the initial value of the envelope Envelope Peak Level Peak This is the peak level at the end of the note attack Envelope Sustain Level Sustain This is the sustain level at the end of the note decay The envelope will stay at this level until note release unless it is in Loop Sync or Beat Mode Envelope Mode Mode If this is set to Loop the envelope will start again after the end of the decay segment If set to Beat or Sync it will start again after a given beat time
272. lick on the Status Bar message to access these This is actually a shortcut for choosing the Manage Files command from the File menu clicking the Manage Set button and then clicking the Locate button found in the Missing Files section The File Manager will present you with a list of the missing files and associated controls CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 63 3 of the referenced samples are missing gt Automatic Search Ge a Bass Detector wav Missing nia e Bass Dotector wav Missing na The File Manager s List Bass Detector wav Missing nia of Missing Samples 5 8 1 Manual Repair To manually fix a broken sample reference locate the missing sample in the File Browser drag it over to the File Manager and drop it on the respective line in the list of missing files Note that Live will not care if the sample you offer is really the sample that was missing In fact to Live fixing a broken sample reference is no different than replacing a working sample reference 5 8 2 Automatic Repair Live offers a convenient automatic search function for repairing sample references To send Live on a search click the Automatic Search section s Go button To reveal detailed options for guiding the automatic search function click the neighboring triangular shaped button CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 64 9 Missing Files 3 of the referenced samples are missing ee Ep Bass Detector wav Missing nia Aut
273. lip Envelopes You can edit or delete your assignments at any time using the Mapping Browser which only appears when Map Mode is enabled 16 7 Racks Within Racks Now that you have seen all of the components that make up a Rack we will introduce an advanced concept A Rack can contain any number of other Racks within its device chains This idea is easier to grasp if you remember our statement from the beginning of this chapter The entire contents of any Rack can be thought of as a single device With this in mind adding a new Rack at any point in a device chain is no different than adding any other device Audio Effect Rack O Audio Effect Rack a A Chain He m Chain MaE I Cnaiot wE Sei g urns MWENS i Patsy jj Sparks tho GOP E S A jj jj Positive ci GBH E 5 aij Drop Audio Effects Here Drop Audio Effects Here A Rack can be enclosed in another Rack by first selecting it and then selecting the Group command from the Edit menu In the Track View the contents of Racks are always contained between end brackets Just as with punctuation or in mathematics a Rack within a Rack will have a pair of brackets within a pair of brackets Racks chains and devices can be freely dragged into and out of other Racks and even One MIDI Effect Rack Contained Within Another CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 218 between tracks Selecting a chain then draggi
274. llows you to record and alter clips and to create larger musical structures from them songs scores remixes DJ sets or stage shows A Live Set consists of two environments that can hold clips The Arrangement is a layout of clips along a musical timeline the Session is a real time oriented launching base for clips Every Session clip has its own play button that allows launching the clip at any time and in any order Each clip s behavior upon launch can be precisely specified through a number of settings gt rhodes gt RRS gt a gt erase rhodes2 D ERE gt orume e 5 a a Wario E i E The Arrangement is accessed via the Arrangement View and the Session via the Session View you can toggle between the two views using the computer s Tab key or their respective selectors Because the two views have distinct applications they each hold individual collections of clips However it is important to understand that flipping the views simply changes the appearance of the Live Set and does not switch modes alter what you hear or change what is stored WI Key MIDI 2 D Clips in the Session View Left and in the Arrangement View Right The Arrangement and Session View Selectors CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 20 The Arrangement View and the Session View interact in useful though potentially confusing ways One can for instance improvise with Session clips and record a log of the
275. mber and Challenge Code to retrieve an Unlock Key Your Serial Number Your Challenge Code The Live Unlocking Web Continue Site If you have entered your serial number and challenge code correctly another website will appear to provide you with the unlock key There now are two options for transferring the unlock key to the computer that is to be unlocked Follow the weblink to download the unlock key as a file Transfer the file to the target computer via a diskette or CD ROM Then press the Unlock dialog s Load Unlock Key button to load the unlock key file Download Unlock Key MAC Please hold the Option key while clicking here and the Unlock Key should begin to download PC Please right click here and save the Unlock Key to disk The Unlock Key Can Be installed Start Live and inthe Live unlock dalog press Load Unlock Key Finaly load the Downloaded as a Text Unlock Key in the file selection dialog File He OR it might be more convenient to print the webpage with the unlock key on it On the target computer press the Enter Unlock Key button to open a dialog with fields for typing in the unlock key Typing it in is easier than it first appears because the fields will turn red if you type the wrong string Unlock Key XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX Manually Enter Your Unlock Key CHAPTER 3 UNLOCKING LIVE 14 3 3 Copy Protect
276. minated LED signifies a stopped clip or empty slot In the Arrangement View with the zoom button enabled i e its LED illu minated you can use the arrow buttons for zooming and scrolling in the currently selected track When zoom is not enabled the arrow buttons can be used to select tracks 11 Scrub This fires the currently selected scene in the Session View and has no effect in the Arrangement View To stop all running clips hold down the Mackie CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 348 12 Control s Options button while pressing this Jog Wheel In the Session View the jog wheel scrolls through the scenes In the Arrangement View the jog wheel moves the play position To change global quantization hold down the Mackie Control s Control button while turning the jog wheel You can also use the Mackie Control s Alt button in the Arrangement View to move the play position in smaller increments CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 349 23 3 5 Software Specific Controls SE AETAT MINS Pre cies s AONE AU AOU IE WANN s THVT VONE DANAKIN VUE IANN Qe ee egs The Software Specific Controls 1 Shift Option Control Alt Used to access additional Mackie Control options
277. n and Selector All manual MIDI computer keyboard and Macro Control mappings are managed by the Mapping Browser The Mapping Browser is hidden until one of the three mapping modes is enabled It will then display all mappings for the current mode For each mapping it lists the control element the path to the mapped parameter the parameter s name and the mapping s Min and Max value ranges The assigned Min and Max ranges can be edited at any time and can be quickly inverted with a PC 6 Mac context menu command Delete mappings using your computer s or key Note that Instant Mappings are context based and are not displayed in the Mapping Browser Their mapping structure can be displayed while working in Live by choosing the Lessons option from the View menu and then opening the Control Surface Reference lesson CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 334 23 2 1 Assigning MIDI Remote Control The MIDI Map Mode Switch Once your remote control setup has been defined in the MIDI Sync Preferences giving MIDI controllers and notes remote control assignments is simple 1 Enter MIDI Map Mode by pressing the MIDI switch in Live s upper right hand corner Notice that assignable elements of the interface become highlighted in blue and that the Mapping Browser becomes available If your Browser is closed PC Mac will open it for you 2 Click on the Live parameter that you d like to control via MIDI 3 Send a MIDI mess
278. n LFO This LFO is running in sync with the project tempo but it is also possible to set up a loop period odd enough to render the envelope unsynchronized By hiding the grid you can adjust the clip envelope loop start and end points completely independent of meter grid 239 Chapter 19 Working with Video Live s flexible architecture makes it the perfect choice for scoring to video You can trim video clips to select parts of them and then use Warp Markers to visually align music in the Arrangement View with the video Before diving in you will want to be familiar with the concepts presented in the Tempo Control and Warping chapter If you are interested in syncing Live with external video equipment you ll also want to read the chapter on synchronization 19 1 Importing Video Live can import movies in Apple s QuickTime format mov to be used as video clips Movie files appear in Live s File Browser alongside audio files and Live Sets and can be imported in the same way by simply dragging them into the Live Set Note that Live will only display video for video clips residing in the Arrangement View Movie files that are loaded into the Session View are treated as audio clips CHAPTER 19 WORKING WITH VIDEO 240 19 2 The Appearance of Video in Live 19 2 1 Video Clips in the Arrangement View A video clip in the Arrangement View looks just like an audio clip except for the sprocket holes in its title bar
279. n View Live attempts to pre serve the temporal structure of the clips by laying them out in a matching top to bottom order Moving through the scenes from the top down you can reconstruct the original ar rangement This is useful for taking a composed piece of music back to the improvisational stage 92 Chapter 8 Clip View The Clip View is where clip properties can be set and adjusted Launch Mode Tr igger Legato Quantization Global synth 2 Signature 4 i 4 Groove F 0010 8 theme aif 44 1 kHz 16 Bit 2 Ch F Straight v Vel 0 0 GES Follow Action oj ees Rv ooo Save Rev D start Clip __ v Get JO Sample v Seg BPM Ha Fade RAM 120 00 Transpose D0 Beats v Transients 116 __ v Position Length The Clip View is opened by clicking on the Clip Overview or double clicking a clip in the Session or Arrangement View The Clip View CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 93 ITTF PTT i bi das Ma aai naainianiiaia LL Mt Dads i mi en ee ee 1 Audio In the Session View clicking on a Track Status Field opens the Clip View for editing the clip that is currently running in the track MAAN The properties of more than one clip can be e
280. n also be renamed by using the Edit menu s Rename command When all of a Rack s views are hidden its title bar will fold into the view column making the entire Rack as slim as possible Components of a Rack CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 209 Drop Audio Effects Here Racks Can Be Very Compact If you would like to locate a particular device in a Rack without searching manually through its entire contents you will appreciate this navigation shortcut PC 5 Mac on the Track View selector and a hierarchical list of all devices in the track s device chain will appear Simply select an entry from the list and Live will select that device and move it into view for you Dual Resonators on Dual Shifters gt BB Grain Delay Auto Chain Hide Spray Z requer jjPitem S a g Dual Resonators Pitch m D sf D jjPitcn2 6 18 d a S Resonator id Pi 4th T Sth T Resonators Resonator2 Resonators a Dual Shifters 5 G Drop Audio Effects Here Pichi 5 a 27 Grain Delay Pitch2 Grain Delay Navigate Racks Quickly Via a Context Menu CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 210 16 4 Chain List Audio Effect Rack ea z Auto Chain ITAS jj Presgers aak jj Chalet Sane d jj Vortex HS oi ij Sauaten LIC ES Drop Audio Effects Here As signals enter a Rack they are first greeted by the Chain List We will therefore als
281. n be adjusted on the fly in the Control Bar s Tempo field APyl 129 00 4 4 2 EX The most elementary use of this technique and one that usually requires no manual setup is synchronizing sample loops to the chosen tempo Live s Auto Warp algorithm actually makes it easy to line up any sample with the song tempo such as a recording of a drunken jazz band s performance It is also possible to radically change the sonic signature of a sound using extreme warp settings 4 6 MIDI Clips and MIDI Files A MIDI clip contains musical material in the form of MIDI notes and controller envelopes When MIDI is imported from a MIDI file the data gets incorporated into the Live Set and the original file is not referenced thereafter In the Live File Browsers a MIDI file appears as a folder that can be opened to reveal its individual component tracks which can be selectively dragged into the Live Set An Audio Clip s Properties as Displayed in the Clip View The Control Bar s Tempo Field CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 24 MIDI Files Are Dragged in from Live s File Browsers As you d expect a MIDI clip s contents can be accessed and edited via the Clip View for instance to change a melody or paint a drum pattern A MIDI Clip s Properties as Displayed in the Clip View 4 7 Devices and the Mixer A track can have not only clips but also a chain of devices for processing signals Double clicking a track s
282. n identical setup in Sampler by PC Mac on Simpler s title bar and choosing the Simpler gt Sampler command 22 4 1 Sample View The Sample View displays the sample waveform Samples can be dragged into Simpler either directly from the Browser or from the Session or Arrangement View in the form of clips In the latter case Simpler will utilize only the section of the sample demarcated by the clip s start end or loop markers Samples can be replaced by dragging in a new sample or by activating the integrated Hot Swap button 22 4 2 Sample Controls Simpler plays a specific region or loop of the sample as determined by a group of sample controls The Simpler Instrument CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 321 The Start and Length controls work together to specify where Simpler begins and ends its sweep of the sample As the name implies Start defines where sample playback starts The sample will play for the length defined by the Length parameter Both parameters are defined as a percentage of the whole region so setting start to 25 percent and length to 50 percent for example will start playback 1 4 of the way through the sample and stop playback at the 3 4 mark using 50 percent of the sample Samples are played by Simpler as one shots or as loops depending on whether or not the Loop switch is active When looping is active the Loop control dictates the length of the loop starting from the end of the playin
283. n you enter Key Map Mode The Mapping Browser will also become available If the Browser is hidden you will want to show it at this point using the appropriate View menu command 2 Click on the Live parameter that you wish to assign to a key Remember that only the controls that are shown with a red overlay are available for mapping 3 Press the computer key to which you wish to assign the control The details of your new mapping will be displayed in the Mapping Browser 4 Leave Key Map Mode by pressing Live s KEY switch once again The Mapping Browser will disappear but your mappings can be reviewed at any time simply by entering Key Map Mode again Keyboard assignments can produce the following effects in Live e Clips in Session View slots will be affected by mapped keys according to their Launch Mode settings CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 339 e Keys assigned to switches will toggle switch states e Keys assigned to radio buttons will toggle through the available options Please be sure not to confuse this remote control functionality with Live s ability to use the computer keyboard as a pseudo MID keyboard that can generate MIDI notes from computer keystrokes for use with instruments 23 3 Mackie Control The comprehensive Mackie Control mixing surface puts all of Live s real time creative power at your fingertips The Mackie Control allows for mouse free program operation and navigation Through the bi d
284. nc messages Choosing a MIDI Slave for Live Setting up Live as a MIDI Slave CHAPTER 24 SYNCHRONIZATION AND REWIRE 353 po When Live is synced to an external MIDI device it can accept song position pointers from this device syncing it not only in terms of tempo but in terms of its position in the song If the master jumps to a new position within the song Live will do the same However if the Control Bar s Loop switch is activated playback will be looped and song position pointers will simply be wrapped into the length of the loop 24 1 3 MIDI Timecode Options Timecode options can be set up per MIDI device Select a MIDI device from the MIDI Sync Preferences MIDI Ports list to access the settings The MIDI Timecode Frame Rate setting is relevant only if MIDI Timecode is chosen from the MIDI Sync Type menu The MIDI Timecode Rate chooser selects the type of Timecode to which Live will synchronize All of the usual SMPTE frame rates are available When the Rate is set to SMPTE All Live will auto detect the Timecode format of incoming sync messages and interpret the messages accordingly Note that you can adjust the Timecode format that is used for display in the Arrangement View Go to the Options menu and then access the Time Ruler Format sub menu The MIDI Timecode Offset setting is also only relevant if MIDI Timecode is chosen from the Sync Type menu You can specify a SMPTE time offset using thi
285. ncrement Decrement J Page Page Return to Default Delete 1 Type in Value 0 0 Go to Next Field Bar beat 16th aie i Abort Value Entry Esc Esc Confirm Value Entry Return Return CHAPTER 26 LIVE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 364 26 4 Browsing In addition to the shortcuts shown here editing shortcuts can also be used in the Browser Windows Macintosh Scroll Up Down HA HA Open Close Folders Ap AP Set Selected Folder as Browser Root Return Return Load Selected Item from Browser Return or Double Return or Double Click Click Preview Selected File QA Return 4 Return Activate Browser Search Mode Cti 4A IF GS BA JF Jump to Search Results 7 26 5 Transport Windows Macintosh Play from Start Marker Stop Space Space Continue Play from Stop Point A A Play Arrangement View Selection Ctrl At Record F9 F9 Back to Arrangement F10 F10 Activate Deactivate Track 1 8 F1 A Fi a CHAPTER 26 LIVE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 365 26 6 Editing Windows Macintosh Cut Ctrl K G BK Copy Ciri C S 8C Paste Ctri JV S 8V Duplicate Ctri JD SG 80 Delete Delete e Undo Cti JZ S SZ Redo CDCA G_ 8H JZ Rename Ctrl R C 8R Select All Cirl JA WA By holding down an
286. nd thus producing different timbres with successive echoes The Freeze button labeled F will cause the delay to endlessly cycle the audio which is in its buffer at the moment that the button is pressed ignoring any new input until Freeze is disabled The Dry Wet control adjusts the balance between the processed and dry signals Set it to 100 percent if using Ping Pong Delay in a return track 20 17 Redux Bit Reduction C oa 8 Overload Downsample ma 4 Nostalgic for the famed low resolution sound quality of the Ensoniq Mirage Fairlight CMI or Commodore 64 computer Redux returns us to the Dark Ages of digital by reducing a signal s sample rate and bit resolution The Downsample section has two parameters Downsample and a downsample Mode switch If the downsample dial is set to 1 every input sample passes to the output and the signal does not change If set to 2 only every second sample will be processed so the result sounds a bit more digital The higher the number the lower the resulting sample rate The Redux Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 268 and the more deconstructed the sound Downsampling is like applying a mosaic effect to an image There s a loss of information and sharp edges occur between the blocks The Downsample Mode switch defines if the downsampling either interpolates over a smaller range soft down to 20 0 samples or does n
287. nd the control s value stays constant across the entire song Note that this will not work with controls that are switches like the Track Activator switch because they cannot be selected by clicking You can only delete automation for switches by editing their breakpoint envelopes 17 3 Overriding Automation In practice you will often want to try out new control moves without overwriting existing automation data Well nothing is forever in the world of infinite Undo but it s easy to disable a control s automation temporarily to avoid overwriting existing data If you change an automated control s value while not in Record mode the automation LED goes off to indicate the control s automation is inactive Any automation is therefore overridden by the current manual setting gt gt mjo oo E 2 When one or more of the automated controls in your Live Set are not active the Control Bar s Back to Arrangement button lights up This button serves two purposes 1 It reminds you that the current state of the controls differs from the state captured in the Arrangement Volume Pan and the Track Activator Switch Have Been Automated The Back to Arrangement Button CHAPTER 17 AUTOMATION AND EDITING ENVELOPES 221 2 You can click on it to reactivate all automation and thereby return to the automa tion state as it is written on tape 17 4 Drawing and Editing Automation In the Arrangement View automation curves can
288. ne Rand LFO Lock to Control Surface 5 offline s 16 3ms 13 85 9ms 0 0 0 00 Lock to Control Surface 6 offline Attack Retrig Transp LFO Glide vel A i E b m O Ost 4 0 00 Pora ak Getting Hands On Key Offset Detune Env Time Voices Control Surfaces Can Be 0 0 0 00 oct 4 0st lt Bp m 327R Locked to Devices A hand icon in the title bar of locked devices serves as a handy reminder of their status Note Some control surfaces do not support locking to devices This capability is indicated for individual controllers in the Control Surface Reference lesson Select the Lessons option from the View menu to access Live s built in lessons CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 331 23 1 2 Manual Control Surface Setup If your MIDI control surface is not listed in the MIDI Sync Preferences Control Surface chooser it can still be enabled for manual mapping in the MIDI Ports section of this tab MIDI Ports Track gt Input Oxygens Port 1 Input RemoteSl Port 1 s Jags eld eg e lal lal REER b gt Input RemoteSt Port 2 gt Output Oxygen8 Port 1 gt Output RemoteSL Port 1 gt Output RemoteSL Port 2 gt Output RemoteSL Port 3 The MIDI Ports table lists all available MIDI input and output ports To use an input port for remote control of Live make sure the corresponding
289. ng a MIDI instrument This instrument can be a virtual instrument in a MIDI track s device chain or an external synth fed via the track s output routing The MIDI clip provides the device with a musical score to play specifying note pitch length position and dynamics referred to as velocity in the MIDI lexicon MIDI is composed and edited in Live s MIDI Editor 10 1 Creating an Empty MIDI Clip MIDI clips are created e by means of recording e or by double clicking an empty Session slot in a MIDI track e or by selecting an empty Session slot in a MIDI track and choosing the Insert menu s Insert MIDI Clip command or in the Arrangement View by selecting a timespan in a MIDI track and choosing the Insert menu s Insert MIDI Clip command CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 127 10 2 The MIDI Editor To bring up the MIDI Editor double click a MIDI clip to open the Clip View You can use the Clip View Box selector to make sure the Notes box is showing then click in the title bar of the Notes box to bring up the MIDI Editor on the right hand side of the screen ip Notes Drums A Orig BPM MS 120 00 Signature G 4 4 Bank Groove None v Swing 8 Sub Bank None v CIE Program The MIDI Editor The MIDI Editor is comprised of two editing windows the upper Note Editor and the lower Velocity Editor You can resiz
290. ng although the envelope is now playing as a one shot 3 Type 8 into the leftmost envelope loop length value box 4 Zoom the envelope display out all the way by clicking on the Envelope s time ruler and dragging upwards 5 Insert a breakpoint at the region end and drag it to the bottom zero percent Now as you play the clip you can hear the one bar loop fading out over eight bars Please note toggling Linked Mode changes the envelope data Toggling back and forth effectively deletes the envelope data To return to the previous state please use the Edit menu s Undo command Using a Clip Envelope to Create a Fade Out Over Several Repetitions of a Loop CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 237 18 5 2 Creating Long Loops from Short Loops Let us take this a step further For a different part of your set you would like to use the same one bar loop because it sounds great but its repetition bores you You would like to somehow turn it into a longer loop We depart from the clip we just set up to fade out over eight bars Activate the clip volume envelope s Loop switch Now as you play the clip you can hear the eight bar fade out repeating You can draw or edit any envelope to superimpose onto the sample loop This of course not only works for volume but for any other control as well how about a filter sweep every four bars Note that you can create as much time as needed in the Envelope Editor either by dra
291. ng and hovering over another Session or Arrangement View track will give that track focus its Track View will open allowing you to drop your chain into place 219 Chapter 17 Automation and Editing Envelopes Often when working with Live s mixer and devices you will want the controls movements to become part of the music The movement of a control across the song timeline is called automation a control whose value changes in the course of this timeline is automated Practically all mixer and device controls in Live can be automated including the song tempo 17 1 Recording Automation Creating automation is straightforward All changes of a control that occur while the Control Bar s Record switch is on become automation Try recording automation for a control for instance a mixer volume slider After recording play back what you have just recorded to see and hear the effect of the control movement You will notice that a little LED has appeared in the slider thumb to indicate that the control is now automated Try recording automation for track panning and the Track Activator switch as well their automation LEDs appear in their upper left corners CHAPTER 17 AUTOMATION AND EDITING ENVELOPES 220 jrumioop 17 2 Deleting Automation To delete automation data simply select an automated control by clicking on it and choose the Edit menu s Delete Automation command The automation LED disappears a
292. ng pad The vocoder is inserted as an audio effect into the string track It has a sidechain input for the speech signal which has to be delivered from another track So we create an additional audio track named Speech and set its Output Type chooser to the Strings track From the Output Channel chooser we select the vocoder s sidechain input Tracks Feeding MIDI to and Tapping Audio From the Parts of a Multi Timbral Instrument CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 165 1 Absynth 2 Speech 3 Strings 4 MIDI Spoken Woj String A MIDI From Audio From Audio From MIDI From puter K Ext In Ext In Ins i var HW 1 2 amp t Monitor Monitor Monitor in Auto In Alito in Auto Audio To Audio To MIDI To Maste 3 Strings Master N tput Vvokator B On OF On Routing a Speech Signal Into a Vocoder s Sidechain Input Some vocoder plug ins include a built in synthesizer to generate the carrier signal In this case the only difference from the above procedure is that the vocoder instrument is dragged into a MIDI track Feeding the side chain audio input works as described above Layering Instruments Suppose that we have a MIDI track containing an instrument playing a string sound which we would like to lubricate by adding a brass sound playing the same notes This can be easily done by adding a MIDI track that contains an instrument playing the brass sound
293. ngement View onto the Clip View All clip settings including the envelopes will remain unaltered only the sample will be replaced Repeating Steps and Slowing Time with the Sample Offset Envelope CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 233 18 3 Mixer and Device Clip Envelopes Clip envelopes can be used to modulate mixer and device controls Since mixer and device controls can also be controlled by the Arrangement s automation envelopes this is a potential source of confusion However clip envelopes differ from automation envelopes in one important way Whereas automation envelopes define the value of a control at any given point in time clip envelopes can only influence this defined value This difference allows the two types of envelopes to work together in harmony when controlling the same parameter Imagine that you have recorded volume automation for an audio clip so that it gradually fades out over four bars What happens to your fade out when you create a clip envelope that gradually increases the mixer volume over four bars At first your fade out will become a crescendo as the clip envelope gradually increases the volume within the range allowed by the automation envelope But once the decreasing automated value meets with the increasing clip envelope value the fade out will begin as automation forces the absolute control value and the operable range of the clip envelope down 18 3 1 Modulating Mixer Volumes and Sends Notice
294. nies the sample Note that storing default clip settings with the sample is different from saving the clip as a Live Clip which also saves devices and device settings 8 2 5 High Quality Interpolation Sample No idea Lost wav 32 0 kHz 16 Bit 2 Ch Save Rev reo aa RAM The High Quality Switch If the High Quality switch is on Live uses an advanced sample rate conversion algorithm that provides better sound quality at the expense of a higher CPU load Samples processed with the Hi Q algorithm generate less distortion particularly at high frequencies when transposing a sample and or matching an imported sample s sampling rate to the system s sampling rate Note This feature involves only sample rate conversion not the time stretching quality There are dedicated controls for adjusting the stretching properties CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 107 8 2 6 Clip Start and End Fades Sample No idea Lost wav 32 0 kHz 16 Bit 2 Ch Save Rev aftag ram The Clip Fade switch when enabled applies a short fade to the clip start and end to avoid clicks at the clip edges The length of the fade is signal dependent and ranges from 0 4 milliseconds 8 2 7 Clip RAM Mode Sample No Idea Lost wav 32 0 kHz 16 Bit 2 Ch Save Rev vo rag If the RAM Mode switch is on Live is loading the audio referenced by the clip into the computer s memory rather than reading it from disk in real time RAM Mode can help with these problems e Yo
295. ny Clip but as long as the current clip is not alone in the group no clip will play consecutively There is also the possibility to have no Follow Action by selecting No Action or leaving the chooser blank Note that a Follow Action happens exactly after the duration that is specified by the Follow Action Time controls unless clip quantization is set to a value other than None or Global Follow Actions circumvent global quantization but not clip quantization So why do you need these things Music is repetition and change Music based on loops or short melodic fragments has a tendency to sound static Follow Actions allow you to create structures that will repeat but can also be surprising Remember that you can always record the results of your experiments so this can provide a good source for new material In the following sections we will look at some practical examples and ideas for Follow Actions 11 6 1 Looping Parts of a Clip Let s say that you want to play a longer clip but then you want only the last eight bars to loop You can set this up using Follow Actions 1 Drag the clip into the Arrangement View and make sure that the Clip View s Loop switch is not activated Use the Edit menu s Split command to split the clip between the non looping and looping parts 2 Click and drag the resulting two clips into the Session View by letting the mouse cursor hover over the Session View selector Drop the two clips
296. o choose this point for our own introduction The Chain List represents the branching point for incoming signals Each parallel device chain starts here as an entry in the list Below the list is a drop area where new chains can be added by dragging and dropping presets devices or even pre existing chains Since the Track View can show only one device chain at a time the Chain List also serves as a navigational aid The list selection determines what will be shown in the adjacent Devices view when enabled Try using your computer keyboard s and keys to change the selection in the Chain List and you ll find that you can quickly flip through the contents of a Rack The Chain List also supports multi selection of chains for convenient copying and organizing In this case the Devices view will indicate how many chains are currently selected Each chain has its own volume slider as well as Chain Activator Solo and Hot Swap buttons Like Live Clips entire chains can be saved and recalled as presets in the Device Browser You can give a chain a descriptive name by selecting it then choosing the Edit menu s Rename command You ll appreciate your effort once your Racks start growing in size and complexity The Chain List CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 211 16 4 1 Auto Select When the Auto Select switch is activated every chain that is currently processing signals becomes selected in the Chain List This feature works in
297. o scroll the display rer TTT a The Clip Overview The Clip Overview provides additional zoom scrolling functionality It always shows the complete clip from start to end The black rectangular outline represents the part of the clip that is currently displayed You can click within the outline and drag horizontally or vertically to scroll or zoom To have the Sample Display follow the play position and scroll automatically turn on the Follow switch or use the Follow command from the Options menu CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 102 ia 1 1 1 gt m1 ove Ea ear 9 The Follow Switch Playing and Scrubbing Clips The section of the sample that plays when a clip is launched is set with the clip s region and loop controls An unlooped clip will play from its start marker to its end marker or until it is stopped 0 00 0 05 0 10 0 15 H 16 The Clip Start and End Markers These markers can be clicked and dragged to new positions in the Sample Display or they can be moved with the and keys To move the entire clip region i e both the start and end markers select the start marker hold down __ and use the arrow keys 04 mar19f aif 44 1 kHz 24 Bit 2 Ch Save Rev Seg BP Hi Q Fade RAM 140 0 Transpose 2 Loop Beats r Position Set Ost ransients z 7 n n6 l Using Clip Start and End Setune ength n Osta Lengih SS Controls to Change Clip Oct 0 00 dB 4 4 O Length
298. o set up Live for cueing please refer to the relevant section of the Mixing chapter 5 1 5 Adding Clips from the Browser There are several ways to add clips to a Live Set e Files can be dragged and dropped from the File Browsers into tracks in the Session or Arrangement View Dragging and dropping material from the Browser into the space to the right of Session View tracks or below Arrangement View tracks will create a new track and place the new clip s there Master gt s IQ gt 4 A gt gt 6 gt 7 Drop Files and l l mone 1 Dropping a Clip to 9 Create a New Track e In the Session View double clicking or pressing on a file in the Browser will automatically create a new track to the right of the other tracks and load it with the clip e Files can be dropped directly into Live from the Explorer Windows Finder Mac 5 1 6 File Maintenance in the Browser You can use Live s File Browsers for all of the file maintenance activities that you are familiar with on your operating system CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 43 e Move files and folders by dragging and dropping or by copying cutting and pasting Copying cutting and pasting can be done with either Edit menu commands or key board shortcuts A file can be moved from one File Browser to another by dragging it over the target Browser s button e Rename files and folders using the Edit menu s Rename command or the Ctrl__ R PC R
299. oad Please check on our website nowt or choose the Check for Updates command from the Help menu We hope you enjoy using Live and that it enhances your creative process Should you have suggestions about how we can improve Live please let us know Your Ableton Team 1 http www ableton com downloads 2contact ableton com CHAPTER 1 WELCOME TO LIVE 2 1 2 What s New in Live 6 1 2 1 Movie Import e Improvise compose and warp music to picture 1 2 2 Live Effects and Instruments e Sampler optional add on instrument Dynamic Tube effect e EQ Four upgrades to EO Eight Note Length MIDI effect e Enhancements for Operator Saturator and Utility e Instrument and Effect Racks enable custom groupings of devices along with a simplified set of controls for tweaking the sound 1 2 3 Mixing and Routing e Pro Session Mixer features e Pre effects post effects and post mixer routing options for more flexible mix setups 1 2 4 Warping e Tempo Master setting for warped audio and video clips in the Arrangement e Multi clip warping CHAPTER 1 WELCOME TO LIVE 1 2 5 ReWire and Remote Control e ReWire master access to Live s instruments e Instant mappings for many popular control surfaces e Improved MIDI and key mapping 1 2 6 File Management and Browsing e New file management tools e Better browsing 1 2 7 Processor Maximization e Multiplied audio processing power with multicore and multiprocessor support e
300. odes The loop brace can be selected with the mouse and manipulated with commands from the computer keyboard e and nudge the loop brace to the left right by the current grid setting and 4 shift the loop brace left right in steps the size of its length e The PC Mac modifier used with the arrow left and right keys shortens or lengthens the loop by the current grid setting e The PC Mac modifier with the arrow up and down keys doubles or halves the loop length You can also drag the Arrangement s loop brace Dragging the left and right ends sets the loop start and end points dragging between the ends moves the loop without changing its length The loops PC 6 Mac context menu s Set Song Start Time Here command can be used to overrule the default play starts at selection rule when this command is checked play starts at the loop start 6 5 Moving and Resizing Clips A piece of audio or MIDI is represented in the Arrangement View by a clip sitting at some song position in one of Live s tracks The Arrangement s Loop Brace CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 77 CEC EEC EE SEE EC EEE Dragging a clip s left or right edge changes the clip s length 6 6 Selecting Clips and Time With the exception of moving and resizing clips Arrangement editing in Live is selection based You select something using the mouse then execute a menu command e g Cut Copy Paste Duplicate on t
301. odulation 22 1 1 Sample Slots Drag and drop samples into any of Impulse s sample slots from the Browser or the Session and Arrangement Views Alternatively each sample slot features a Hot Swap button for hot swapping samples Loaded samples can be deleted with your computer keyboard s or key Imported samples are automatically mapped onto your MIDI keyboard providing that it is plugged in and acknowledged by Live C3 on the keyboard will trigger the leftmost sample and the other samples will follow suit in the octave from C3 to C4 Impulse s eight slots will appear labeled in the MIDI Editor s key tracks when the Fold button is active even if the given key track is void of MIDI notes Mapping can be transposed from the default by applying a Pitch device or it can be rearranged by applying a Scale device Each of the eight samples has a proprietary set of parameters located in the area below the sample slots and visible when the sample is clicked Adjustments to sample settings are only captured once you hit a new note they do not affect currently playing notes Note that The Impulse Instrument CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 291 this behavior also defines how Impulse reacts to parameter changes from clip envelopes or automation which are applied once a new note starts If you want to achieve continuous changes as a note plays you may want to use the Simpler Slot 8 s parameters also include a Link button locate
302. ok into clip envelopes which can modulate individual device parameters on a per clip basis 15 1 1 Live Device Presets Every Live device can store and retrieve their parameter settings as presets Presets for Live instruments and effects are managed through the Device Browser Each device appears there as a folder that can be opened to reveal its presets The Level Meters Between Devices in a Chain CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 194 Notch Step Slide Away Swirl 1to4 Note Contenders 90 Degrees Around The Head Chopper Copycat You can browse and load presets quickly with the computer keyboard Date Modified 28 07 2006 00 04 28 07 2006 00 04 28 07 2006 00 04 28 07 2006 00 04 28 07 2006 00 04 28 07 2006 00 04 28 07 2006 00 04 28 07 2006 00 04 e Scroll up and down using the and keys e Close and open device folders using the and keys e Press to load a device or preset gt Operator Si Clicking a device s Hot Swap Presets button will temporarily link the Browser to a device calling up its presets in the Device Browser With the device and Browser linked in this manner you can quickly browse load and audition different presets You can even replace the current device with a new one by simply selecting another device s preset To load a device s default factory settings select the parent folder of its presets i e the one with the device s name from the Device B
303. om Click Here to Hide a Product s Features CHAPTER 3 UNLOCKING LIVE 17 You can always choose to show a product again later and then try out its features by using them in Demo Mode 3 3 6 What Do Do About Problems or Questions Regarding Copy Pro tection Please contact technical support They are happy to help support ableton com Chapter 4 Live Concepts This chapter introduces the essential concepts of Live We advise you to read this chapter early in your Live career as a solid understanding of the program s basic principles will help you fully exploit Live s potential for your music making 4 1 Live Sets The type of document that you create and work on in Live is called a Live Set Live Sets reside in a Live Project a folder that collects related materials and can be opened either through the File menu s Open command or via the built in File Browsers jemo ngs Demo Sounds gt BJ Demo Song ais Live Set Waveforms A Live Set in the File Browser CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 19 Selecting the Library bookmark in Live s File Browser will take you to the Live Library of creative tools There are a number of Demo Sets here and double clicking a Live Set s name in the Browser will open that Live Set 4 2 Arrangement and Session The basic musical building blocks of Live are called clips A clip is a piece of musical material a melody a drum pattern a bass line or a complete song Live a
304. omatic Repair Bass Detector wav Missing nia Options in the File Bass Detector wav Missing na Manager Search Folder includes a user defined folder as well as any sub folders in the search To select the folder click the associated Set Folder button Search Project includes this Set s project folder in the search Search Library includes the Live Library in the search Search nearby samples already found includes the neighborhood of samples that have already been fixed manually or automatically in the search Require exact matches only samples that exactly match those missing will be ac cepted as candidates Live will use fingerprints of header and audio data to test sample identity somewhat slowing down the search Fully rescan folders guarantees all samples currently present will be considered not only those currently known to Live s index of the file system Note that searching the hard disk this way is much slower than using the information from the index CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 65 For each missing sample the automatic search function may find any number of candidates Let s consider the following cases e No candidate found you can either relax the search function s constraints and try again or locate the sample manually e One candidate found Live accepts the candidate and considers the problem solved e Several candidates found Live requires your assistance Cli
305. or clip transposition settings Using Follow Actions and Legato Mode together provides a powerful way of gradually changing a melody or beat Imagine that you have several identical clips of a melody that form a group and they are set up to play in Legato Mode Whenever their Follow Actions tell them to move on to another clip in the group the melody will not change as Legato Mode will sync the new play position with the old one in beat time The settings and clip envelopes of each clip or even the actual notes contained in a MIDI clip can then be slowly adjusted so that the melody goes through a gradual metamorphosis CHAPTER 11 LAUNCHING CLIPS 146 11 6 5 Mixing up Melodies and Beats You can let Follow Actions perform unpredictable remixes and solos for you Use a clip containing a beat or melody and copy it so that there are several instances of it forming a group Alternatively you can use several different beats or melodies that you want to mix together The start and end for each clip can be set differently as can clip envelopes and other clip settings As long as Follow Action Time in each clip is equal to the length of the clip that you want to play you can set up two Follow Actions with different Chance values in each clip launch a clip and surprise yourself 11 6 6 Creating Nonrepetitive Structures Follow Actions are great when it comes to sound installations as they allow you to create structures that play for week
306. ord repeatedly Random Once creates a random pattern from incoming MIDI notes and repeats the pattern until it has been transposed or retriggered at which point a new pattern is created Arpeggiator will play the pattern of notes at the speed set by the Rate control which can be calibrated in either milliseconds or beat time using the neighboring Sync Free button With Sync chosen Arpeggiator will be synced to the song tempo A Gate control to the right of Rate determines the length of notes played by Arpeggiator as a percentage of the current Rate setting Any setting larger than 100 will therefore play notes that overlap i e are legato The rhythmic pattern generated by Arpeggiator does not necessarily have to be straight patterns can be given groove with the respective control just beneath the Mode chooser Groove in Arpeggiator works just like it does for clips so that the intensity of the groove is set in the Control Bar With the Hold parameter active Arpeggiator will continue to play the pattern even after the keyboard keys have been released The pattern will be repeated until any other key is Con amp Diverge Pinky Up and Pinky UpDown Thumb Up and Thumb UpDown CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 281 pressed When Hold is active and any of the original keys also remain physically held notes can be added to the pattern simply by playing them Notes can also be removed from the
307. ot interpolate over a larger range hard down to 200 samples Bit Reduction is similar but while downsampling superimposes a grid in time bit reduction does the same for amplitude If the Bit Reduction amplitude dial is set to 8 amplitude levels are quantized to 256 steps 8 bit resolution If set to 1 the result is pretty brutal Each sample contains either a full positive or full negative signal with nothing in between Bit Reduction defines an input signal of OdB as 16 bit Signals above OdB are clipped and the red overload LED will light up Turning off Bit Reduction results in modest CPU savings 20 18 Resonators 88 9 0 006B 2 8908 6 000B This device consists of five parallel resonators that superimpose a tonal character on the input source It can produce sounds resembling anything from plucked strings to vocoder like effects The resonators are tuned in semitones providing a musical way of adjusting them The first resonator defines the root pitch and the four others are tuned relative to this pitch in musical intervals The Resonators Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 269 The input signal passes first through a filter and then into the resonators There are four input filter types to select from lowpass bandpass highpass and notch The input filter frequency can be adjusted with the Frequency parameter The first resonator is fed with both the
308. out losing the sync For this you could use a large quantization setting one bar or greater however this might limit your musical expression Another option which works even with quantization turned off is to engage Legato Mode for the respective clips When a clip in Legato Mode is launched it takes over the play position from whatever clip was played in that track before Hence you can toggle clips at any moment and rate without ever losing the sync Legato Mode is very useful for creating breaks as you can momentarily play alternative loops and jump back to what was playing in the track before Unless all the clips involved play the same sample differing by clip settings only you might hear dropouts when launching clips in Legato Mode This happens because you are unexpectedly jumping to a point in the sample that Live has had no chance to pre load from disk in advance You can remedy this situation by engaging Clip RAM Mode for the clips in question 11 6 Follow Actions Follow Actions allow creating chains of clips that can trigger each other in an orderly or random way or both A clip s Follow Action defines what happens to other clips in the The Legato Mode Switch CHAPTER 11 LAUNCHING CLIPS 142 same group after the clip plays A group is defined by clips arranged in successive slots of the same track Tracks can have an unlimited number of groups separated by empty slots The Follow Action Controls 1
309. ows how velocity is being altered by the effect If Lowest and Out Low are both set to zero and Range and Out Hi are set to 127 the display will show a straight diagonal line that indicates the equivalent of an effect bypass Softly played notes are being output quietly and vice versa If instead Out Hi is set to zero and Out Low to 127 the slope of the line will be reversed and softly played notes will actually produce the loudest output What happens to incoming notes that are outside of the range set with the Range and Lowest controls This depends on which Mode is selected Clip Mode does just what it says It clips incoming note velocities so that they stay within the range Gate Mode removes incoming notes altogether if their velocities are outside of the range You will see the little LED below the X Y display flash when a note is blocked by gating In Fixed Mode the Out Hi velocity defines all outgoing note velocities regardless of incoming note velocity The Random function adds or subtracts a random value to the all velocities and is repre sented by a gray area on the display curve The Drive and Compand controls can be combined to create more complex curves Com The Velocity Effect CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 288 pand is a simultaneous expanding and compressing tool When set to values greater than zero it forces incoming notes to the outer boundaries of the curve making them play ei ther loudly or softly
310. pasting Live inserts enough scenes to fit the material from the clipboard Delete Scenes deletes all scenes with selected slots from the Session View thereby reducing the total number of scenes Please note that the Delete Scenes command affects all tracks not only those containing selected slots Insert Scene inserts an empty scene below the current selection Capture and Insert Scene inserts a new scene below the current selection places copies of the clips that are currently running in the new scene and launches the new scene immediately with no audible interruption This command is very helpful when developing materials in the Session View You can capture an interesting moment as a new scene and move on changing clip properties and trying clip combinations 7 5 Recording Sessions into the Arrangement Your Session View playing can be recorded into the Arrangement allowing for an improvi sational approach to composing songs and scores com ae VR e H A When the Record button is on Live logs all of your actions into the Arrangement the clips launched The Control Bar s Record Button CHAPTER 7 SESSION VIEW 90 e changes of those clips properties e changes of the mixer and the devices controls also known as automation To finish recording press the Record button again or stop playback The Arrangement Selector To view the results of your recording bring up the Arrangement View As you can see Live
311. pattern in this scenario by playing them a second time allowing the gradual buildup and rearrangement of the pattern over time Tip If you want the pattern to stop playing momentarily deactivate Hold The Offset parameter shifts the sequence of notes in the pattern by the number of places selected with the control This is best illustrated with an example A setting of 1 makes the second note in the pattern play first and the first note last If you imagine the pattern as a circle of notes that is played in a clockwise direction from a set start point the Offset parameter effectively rotates this circle counter clockwise one note at a time changing where in the pattern play begins With the Repeats parameter the pattern can be set to repeat a specified number of times until it is retriggered A setting of inf will repeat the pattern indefinitely Hint This feature provides an excellent way of emulating the strum of a guitar or playing a chord as an arpeggio once or twice Another interesting effect can be achieved by combining this feature with the Retrigger parameter which we will explain in a moment This can be used to create rhythmically generated arpeggios separated by pauses The Retrigger parameter resets the pattern so that it starts again from the beginning Retriggering can be deactivated Off set to occur when new notes are pressed Note or set to occur at a specified song position or beat time Beat Beat retrigger
312. peat especially if triplets are also allowed Beat Repeat s repetitions can be pitched down for special sonic effects Pitch is adjusted through resampling in Beat Repeat lengthening segments to pitch them down without again compressing them to adjust for the length change This means that the rhythmical structure can become quite ambiguous with higher Pitch values The Pitch Decay control tapers the pitch curve making each repeated slice play lower than the previous one Warning This is the most obscure parameter of Beat Repeat Beat Repeat includes a combined lowpass and highpass filter for defining the passed fre quency range of the device You can turn the filter on and off and set the center frequency and width of the passed frequency band using the respective controls The original signal which was received at Beat Repeat s input is mixed with Beat Repeat s repetitions according to one of three mix modes Mix allows the original signal to pass through the device and have repetitions added to it Insert mutes the original signal when repetitions are playing but passes it otherwise and Gate passes only the repetitions never passing the original signal Gate mode is especially useful when the effect is housed in a return track You can set the output level of the device using the Volume control and apply Decay to create gradually fading repetitions CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 251 20 4 Chorus Cn Polarity
313. pens a floating window that shows the original VST or Audio Units Plug in panel Changing parameters on the floating window has the same effect as changing them in the Live panel and vice versa There are a few important Plug In Preference settings for working with plug in edit windows e f activated the Auto Open Plug In Windows Preference assures that plug in edit windows open automatically when plug ins are loaded into tracks from the Browser e If the Multiple Plug In Windows option in the Plug In Preferences is activated you can open any number of plug in windows at once Even with this option off you can hold down the PC Mac modifier when opening a new plug in window to keep the previous window s from closing e Using the Auto Hide Plug In Windows preference you can choose to have Live display only those plug in windows belonging to the track that is currently selected The Plug In Edit Button CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 199 You can use the View menu s Show Hide Plug In Windows command or the Ctr j Alt__ P PC G__ Alt P Mac shortcut to hide and show your open plug in windows Notice that the name of the track to which the plug in belongs is displayed in the title bar of the plug in editor window Macintosh only The floating editor windows of some VST Plug ins do not receive computer key strokes This is generally an implementation error in the plug in itself If it is necessary to
314. pitch volume and more these can be used to change the melody and rhythm of recorded audio MIDI clips have additional clip envelopes to represent MIDI controller data Clip envelopes can be unlinked from the clip to give them independent loop settings so that larger movements like fade outs or smaller gestures like an arpeggio can be superimposed onto the clip s material m Clip m Transpo 000 Position Length 4 13 MIDI and Key Remote To liberate the musician from the mouse most of Live s controls can be remote controlled via an external MIDI controller Remote mappings are established in MIDI Map Mode which is engaged by pressing the MIDI switch in the Control Bar In this mode you can click on any mixer or effect control and then assign it to a controller simply by sending the desired MIDI message for example by turning a knob on your MIDI control box Your assignments take effect immediately after you leave MIDI Map Mode Session clips can be mapped to a MIDI key or even a keyboard range for chromatic playing MIDI keys and controllers that have been mapped to Live s controls are not available for recording via MIDI tracks These messages are filtered out before the incoming MIDI is passed on to the MIDI tracks An Envelope for Clip Transposition CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 32 Session clips switches buttons and radio buttons can be mapped to com
315. ple Editor preference 55 Reverb effect 0 cee eee eee 270 Sampler instrument 5 309 Diffusion Network 271 F Iter Global tab 318 Early Reflections 270 importing samples 310 Global Settings 0 271 MIDI tab Sis ahead EPE E EEN T 319 Input Processing 0 00 270 Modulation OD gurii pereieni 319 Output oseaan icici ririri 272 Pitch Osc Tab n 317 Reverse button 22 0000 108 purchasing ss ee 309 Revert Offset button 255 99 Sample tab 00s 314 RE Wire E 354 ZONE tab sinwasy ssachadeievasess wie Sample Ac gnevenhendenbeacarayedews es 22 INDEX 383 collecting cece eee eee eee 65 and editing MIDI 133 destructive editing 55 and rendering to disk 48 finding unused n snesen 67 Select Next Scene on Launch option 85 high quality interpolation 106 Select Next Scene on Launch preference offline missing 00s eee 62 337 played from RAM Mode 107 Select on Launch preference 88 replacing 008 54 Send controls 08 26 172 reversing eee 108 serial number 0 200 e eee eee 10 saving with clip settings 106 Session VieW 0 cece eee neers 83 tiMe warping eee eee ee las and Arrangement View 19 work
316. ponse of the sample Volume filter frequency and pitch modulation are all modifiable by toggling their respective buttons in the envelope section Attack controls the time in milliseconds that it takes for the envelope to reach its peak value after a note is played Decay controls the amount of time it takes for the envelope to drop down to the Sustain level which is held until the note is released Release time is the amount of time after the end of the note that it takes for the envelope to drop from the Sustain level back down to zero The influence of envelopes on pitch and filter cutoff can be decided using the envelope amount Env controls in each of these sections 22 4 5 Filter The Filter section offers classic 12 dB or 24 dB lowpass bandpass and highpass filters as well as a notch filter each of which can impart different sonic characteristics onto the sample by removing certain frequencies from the waveform The most important parameters are the typical synth controls Frequency and Resonance Frequency determines where in the harmonic spectrum the filter is applied Resonance boosts frequencies near that point The best way to understand the effects of these controls is simply to play with them The Frequency parameter can be modulated by an LFO note velocity and an envelope each of which have an amount control in the Filter section The Key tracking control allows for shifting the filter s frequency according to note pitc
317. pressor Compressor II has a built in compensation stage that counteracts the gain loss due to the compression and makes it much easier to adjust the other parameters Careful adjustment of attack and release times is essential when it comes to compression of rhythmical sources If you are not used to working with compressors play a drum loop and spend some time adjusting Attack Release Threshold and Gain It can be very exciting CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 255 20 7 Dynamic Tube D Dynamic Tube a Dry Wet Envelope N Y LV 100 Output x A c 4 76 dB E Drive Tone Bias b 4 GAO 8 57 dB 0 32 13 The Dynamic Tube effect infuses sounds with the peculiarities of tube saturation An in tegrated envelope follower generates dynamic tonal variations related to the level of the input signal Three tube models A B and C provide a range of distortion characteristics known from real amplifier tubes Tube A does not produce distortions if Bias is set low but will kick in whenever the input signal exceeds a certain threshold creating bright harmonics Tube C is a very poor tube amp that produces distortions all the time The qualities of Tube B lie somewhere between these two extremes The Tone control sets the spectral distribution of the distortions directing them into the higher registers or through the midrange and deeper The Drive control determines how much signal reaches the tube g
318. puter keyboard keys as well This happens in Key Map Mode which works just like MIDI Map Mode Live offers in addition to this general purpose mapping technique dedicated support for Mackie Control compatible mixer surfaces which allows for mouse free operation of the program 4 14 Saving and Exporting Saving a Live Set saves everything it contains including all clips their positions and settings and settings for devices and controls An audio clip can however lose the reference to its corresponding sample if it is moved or deleted from disk The links between samples and their clips can be preserved with a special command Collect and Save which makes a copy of each sample and stores it in a project folder along with the Live Set A separate Save button in the Clip View saves a set of default clip settings along with the sample so that each time the sample is dragged into the program it will automatically appear with these settings This is especially useful if you have made warp settings for a clip and want to use it in multiple Live Sets Exporting audio from Live can be done from both the Session and Arrangement Views Live will export the audio coming through on the Master output as an audio file of your specifications via Render to Disk Live can also export individual MIDI clips as MIDI files Exporting and saving material for later use in Live can be done very conveniently with the Live Clip format Session View clips c
319. r all Projects found in a specific folder and its sub folders PC 6 Mac on a folder in the File Browser and choose the Manage Projects command then see the Unused Samples section Live inspects each Project individually and labels a sample unused even if another Projects in the same folder does use that sample To prevent losses you may want to first collect the samples into their respective Projects and then purge the Projects of unused samples 5 12 Packing Projects into Live Packs Live s File Manager provides the option of packing a Live Project in Live Pack format for convenient archiving and transfer To do this choose the Manage Files command from the File menu click the Manage Project button and then click on the triangular shaped fold button next to Packing Click the Create Live Pack button to bring up a file select dialog where you can specify the name and location of a new Live Pack file Creating a new Live Pack from a Project does not affect the Project If you want the Project deleted you can delete it using the File Browser Live employs lossless compression techniques to minimize the file size of Live Packs De pending on the audio materials in a Project this saves up to 50 percent in file size To unpack a Live Pack i e to restore the original Live Project double click the Live Pack file alp drag it into the Live main window or locate it via the File menu s Install Live Pack command Live will then
320. r keyboard actions or MIDI notes e Trigger down starts the clip up is ignored e Gate down starts the clip up stops the clip e Toggle down starts the clip up is ignored The clip will stop on the next down e Repeat As long as the mouse switch key is held the clip is triggered repeatedly at the clip quantization rate CHAPTER 11 LAUNCHING CLIPS 140 11 3 Clip Level Quantization Clip Launch Sample The Clip Quantization S Chooser The Clip Quantization chooser lets you adjust an onset timing correction for clip triggering To disable clip quantization choose None To use the Control Bar s Global Quantization setting choose Global Global quantization can be quickly changed using the Ctrl_ 6 PC 6 Mac 7 6 and shortcuts Note that any setting other than None will quantize the clip s launch when it is triggered by Follow Actions 11 4 Velocity Clip Launch Sample 7 Vei _0 0 ATN The Velocity Amount Field CHAPTER 11 LAUNCHING CLIPS 141 The Velocity Amount control allows you to adjust the effect of MIDI note velocity on the clip s volume If set to zero there is no influence at 100 percent the softest notes play the clip silently For more on playing clips via MIDI see the respective section 11 5 Legato Mode Clip Launch Sample Suppose you have gathered in one track a number of looping clips and you now want to toggle among them with
321. r not spread is applied to a particular note depends upon the setting of the Spread parameter during the note on event To achieve special effects you could for instance create a sequence where Spread is zero most of the time and turned on only for some notes These notes will then play in stereo while the others will play mono 22 4 8 Pitch Pan Volume and Voices Simpler plays back a sample at its original pitch if the incoming MIDI note is C3 however the Transpose control allows transposing this by 48 semitones Pitch can also be modulated by an LFO or pitch envelope using the amount controls in this section The pitch envelope is especially helpful in creating percussive sounds Simpler reacts to MIDI Pitch Bend messages with a sensitivity of 5 semitones You can also modulate the Transpose parameter with clip envelopes and external controllers The Voices parameter sets the maximum number of voices that Simpler can play simultane ously If more voices are needed than have been allocated by the Voices chooser voice CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 324 stealing will take place in which the oldest voice s will be dropped in favor of those that are new For example if your Voices parameter is set to 8 and ten voices are all vying to be played the two oldest voices will be dropped Simpler does try to make voice stealing as subtle as possible A small LED near the Voices control flashes when a voice has been stol
322. r when moving a control for the first time after switching the bank Three Take Over modes are available None As soon as the physical control is moved its new value is sent immediately to its destination parameter usually resulting in abrupt value changes Pick Up Moving the physical control has no effect until it reaches the value of its destination parameter As soon as they are equal the destination value tracks the control s value 1 1 This option can provide smooth value changes but it can be difficult to estimate exactly where the pick up will take place Value Scaling This option ensures smooth value transitions It compares the physical control s value to the destination parameter s value and calculates a smooth convergence of the two as the control is moved As soon as they are equal the destination value tracks the control s value 1 1 MIDI Controller Take Over Mode CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 333 23 2 The Mapping Browser E G 1 Audi 3 MIDI Sampler 3 MIDI Sampler Filter Envelope Re 3 MIDI Sampler Fitter Envelope Su 3 MIDI Sampler Fitter Envelope A 3 MIDI Sampler Filter Envelope Att lt 3 MIDI Sampler Filter Envelope De T ll 3 MIDI Sampler Fitter Envelope init d 3 MIDI Sampler Fitter Envelope Pe 1 3 MIDI Sampler Shaper On 3 MIDI Sampler Shaper Type e The Mapping Browser Sampler rone m t Filte a M atio
323. rack Into an Existing MIDI Track to Reuse its Instrument CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 162 7 Audio 8 Pad 3 9 Pad 10 Pad2 Master ar 7 gt eee 2 Stop Clips Audio From MIDI From MIDI From MIDI From All ins No Input All ins v Il i All Channew i All Channee 1 Simpler 1 Simpier Oi On Al We might be bothered by the fact that muting the pad track by turning off its Activator switch also mutes the other MIDI track To be precise the other track keeps playing but its MIDI is played by an instrument that is out of the mix This can be easily remedied by cutting the clips from the pad track and pasting them into a third track that can be independently muted and that can hold its own MIDI effects The original pad track now acts as a mere instrument container As we are not recording new clips into this track we can set its Input Type chooser to No Input which makes its Arm button disappear and helps to avoid confusion when the mixer s In Out section is hidden Tapping Individual Outs From an Instrument Some software instruments like Live s Impulse percussion sampler offer multiple audio outputs for the signals they produce By default Impulse mixes the output of its eight sample slots internally and delivers the mix at the instrument s audio out Any audio effects following Impulse in the same track process the composite signal Some
324. rag left or right to zoom out and in drag up and down To change the displayed part of the Arrangement drag the outline s left and right edges Toseea specific part of the Arrangement in more detail click on it in the Overview and drag downwards to zoom in around that part Note that you can also drag Navigating the Arrangement View CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 72 horizontally to scroll the display Using this method you can zoom and scroll to focus around any part of the Arrangement with just one mouse motion 6 To have the Arrangement display follow the song position and scroll automati cally turn on the Follow switch or use the Follow command from the Options menu 6 2 Transport There are a number of ways to control Live s transport with the computer keyboard and mouse 1 You can start Arrangement playback by clicking the Control Bar s Play button and stop playback by clicking the Stop button Arrangement playback can also be toggled on and off by pressing the keyboard s space bar merged pis wail 2 Buttons in the Control b y e OVR G Bar 2 You can set the Arrangement playback position by clicking anywhere along the Arrangement to place the flashing insert marker Double clicking the Stop button will return the Arrangement play position to 1 1 1 Arrangement Playback Begins from the Insert Marker To continue playback from the position where it last stopped rather than from
325. rag them up to maximum velocity and then decrease velocity to the desired value As we saw earlier Draw Mode allows drawing identical velocities for all notes within a grid tile Velocity drawing can be limited to only those notes that are currently selected if the Changing Note Velocity CHAPTER 10 EDITING MIDI NOTES AND VELOCITIES 137 modifier is held To draw markers individually as you would want to with a crescendo for instance deactivate grid snapping with the PC Mac shortcut or simply hold down the PC Mac modifier Fold 4 12 13 14 Tip To draw a velocity ramp with notes that are all in the same key track press and click on the piano roll to select all notes within the desired key track make sure Draw Mode is activated and draw the ramp into the Velocity Editor while holding the modifier so that you affect only the selected notes Notes in the Note Editor display their velocity in their coloring light notes play softly and vice versa To change the velocity of notes without the Velocity Editor open click any selected note and drag vertically while pressing the the PC Mac modifier 10 4 8 Deactivating Notes To deactivate or mute a note or notes in the MIDI Editor select itand PC 5 Mac to access the context menu The Deactivate Note s command will mute the note making it appear gray in the display To reactivate notes use the context menu s Activate Note s
326. rcent if using Phaser in a return track 20 16 Ping Pong Delay D PingPong 2 50 3 ioe E 8 33 ms Dry Wet The Ping Pong Delay effect uses a single tapped delay line to create a delay that jumps from the left to the right output The delay is preceded by a lowpass and highpass filter that can be controlled with an X Y controller To define the filter bandwidth click and drag on the vertical axis To set the position of the frequency band click and drag on the horizontal axis To refer delay time to the song tempo activate the Sync switch which allows using the Delay Time beat division chooser The numbered switches represent time delay in 16th notes For example selecting 4 delays the signal by four 16th notes which equals one beat a quarter note of delay This delay time represents the time it takes for the input signal to appear at the left channel The delay time between the input and the right channel is twice as long If the Sync switch is off the delay time reverts to milliseconds In this case to edit the delay The Ping Pong Delay Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 267 time click and drag up or down in the Delay Time field or click in the field and type in a value The Feedback parameter controls how much of the right channel output signal returns to the delay line input The feedback loop also includes a filter that can color the feedback sou
327. rd a technically difficult part and pull it up again afterwards It is important to record in sync to make sure everything will later play in sync The easiest way to record in sync is to play along with or to use the built in metronome which is activated via its Control Bar switch and will begin ticking when the Play button is pressed or a clip is launched v O la aD fo To adjust the metronome volume use the mixer s Preview Volume knob Notice that Live s metrical interpretation of the audio being played can be edited at any time using the Warp Markers Warp Markers can be used to fix timing errors and to change the groove or feel of your recordings Using Warp Markers you can fix things in your recordings that would otherwise require complicated editing or could not be done at all Likewise the metrical interpretation of recorded MIDI can be changed after recording using the MIDI clip s Original BPM controls The Metronome Switch The Preview Volume Knob CHAPTER 14 RECORDING NEW CLIPS 185 14 5 Recording Quantized MIDI Notes If you will be recording MIDI you have the option of automatically quantizing MIDI notes while recording The Record Quantization chooser in the Edit menu allows selecting the meter subdivisions with which your recorded notes will align When recording into Session slots or into the Arrangement record quantization is an independent step in Live s Undo history T
328. rd is activated it will steal keys that may have otherwise been assigned to remote control elements of the Live interface To prevent this you can turn the computer MIDI keyboard off when it is not needed 12 3 3 Connecting External Synthesizers Routing MIDI to an external synthesizer is straightforward The Output Type chooser is set to whatever MIDI port the synthesizer is connected to the Output Channel chooser is used to select which MIDI channel to send on Important If you are using a keyboard synthesizer both as a master keyboard to play into Live and as a sound generator then please make sure to check the synthesizer s Local Off function Every synthesizer has this function which effectively separates the keyboard from the sound generator allowing you to treat both components as if they were separate devices This allows you to use Live as the hub of your MIDI studio which receives MIDI from the keyboard and dispatches the incoming MIDI as well as the MIDI from the clips as appropriate 12 3 4 MIDI In Out Indicators Live s Control Bar contains three pairs of indicator LEDs that tell you about incoming and outgoing MIDI These indicators tell you not only about the presence of signals but also about their use In every pair the upper indicator flashes when a MIDI message is received and the lower indicator flashes when a MIDI message is sent e eyf gt m o ove 1Bar 2 al Keyj m 48 The three in
329. re available anytime the Mixer section is displayed Because of the enormous headroom of Live s 32 bit floating point audio engine Live s meters can be driven far into the red without causing the signals to clip The only time that signals over 0 dB will be problematic is when routing to or from physical inputs and outputs like those of your sound card or when saving audio to a file Nevertheless Live provides this optional visual feedback for signals that travel beyond 0 dB in any track CHAPTER 13 MIXING 171 13 2 Audio and MIDI Tracks Audio and MIDI tracks in Live are for hosting and playing clips as explained earlier You can add new audio and MIDI tracks to your Live Set s mixer at any time using the appropriate Insert menu commands Tracks can also be created by double clicking or pressing on files in the Browser to load them or by dragging objects from the Browser into the space to the right of Session View tracks or below Arrangement View tracks Devices or files loaded into Live in this manner will create tracks of the appropriate type e g a MIDI track will be created if a MIDI file or effect is dragged in A track is represented by its track title bar You can click on a track title bar to select the track and then execute an Edit menu command such as Rename on the track One can quickly rename a series of tracks by executing this command and then using the Tab key to move from title bar to title bar
330. reater Drive yields a dirtier output The intensity of the tube is controlled by the Bias dial which pushes the signal into the celebrated realms of nonlinear distortion With very high amounts of Bias the signal will really start to break apart The Bias parameter can be positively or negatively modulated by an envelope follower which is controlled with the Envelope knob The more deeply the envelope is applied the more the Bias point will be influenced by the level of the input signal Negative Envelope values create expansion effects by reducing distortion on loud signals while positive values will make loud sounds dirtier Attack and Release are envelope characteristics that define how quickly the envelope reacts The Dynamic Tube Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 256 to volume changes in the input signal Together they shape the dynamic nature of the distortions Note that if Envelope is set to zero they will have no effect Cut or boost the device s final signal level with the Output dial 20 8 EQ Eight O EQ Eight mje Esja Freq v Q 3 00 did O 100 91 0Hz 7 310B 3 56 i The EQ Eight Effect The EQ Eight effect is an equalizer featuring up to eight parametric filters per input channel useful for changing a sound s timbre It extends the functionality of the former EQ Four device and is fully backward compatible with EO Four presets The
331. req 1 amp amp Sin Y Deca x o o Decay a 1 00 Mute 6 Osc Freq 1 Mod Rate 1 Noise Filt Q 1 4 A 0 47 50 0 17 An Audio Units Plug In The first time you open Live Audio Units Plug ins will not appear in the Plug In Device Browser In order to activate your Audio Units as a plug in source please press the Activate button in the Plug In Device Browser or go to the File Folder Preferences by pressing Ctrl jC PC 68C Mac There you will find the Active Sources section Turning on the Use Audio Units option activates Audio Units Plug ins so that they appear in Live s Plug In Device Browser Note that you can always turn this option off later if you decide not to use Audio Units Active Sources Re Scan Plug ins Use Audio Units On Activating Audio Units aes Plug Ins Audio Units Plug ins sometimes have a feature that allows choosing between different modes for the device You might be able to choose for example between different levels of quality in the rendering of a reverb Choosers for these device modes can only be accessed through the original plug in panel which is opened using the Plug In Edit button CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 204 Pattern Audio Units have presets that function just like those for the Live effects However some AU presets cannot be dragged to different locations in the Browser as they are read only Audio Units presets have
332. request that you choose a location for the new Project Note CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 69 Factory Live Packs those provided by Ableton will automatically be installed in the Live Library 70 Chapter 6 Arrangement View The Arrangement View displays the Arrangement which contains music laid out along a song timeline like a multitrack tape O a o o o A Piece of Music in the Arrangement View The Arrangement View is a powerful editing tool that easily lets you combine and arrange MIDI loops sound effects video and complete pieces of music CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 71 6 1 Navigation Live offers several fast methods for zooming and scrolling the Arrangement display KE guitarchord 1 To smoothly change the zoom level click and drag vertically in the beat time ruler at the top of the Arrangement View you can also drag horizontally to scroll the display To zoom in and out around the current selection use the computer keyboard s and keys To pan the display click and drag while holding the Ctrl PC Mac modifier The Arrangement Overview is like a bird s eye view of your music It always shows the complete piece from start to end The black rectangular outline repre sents the part of the Arrangement that is currently displayed in the Arrangement display below To scroll the display click within the outline and d
333. retching and decay of all samples allowing you to morph between short and stretched drum sounds 22 1 7 Individual Outputs When a new instance of Impulse is dragged into a track its signal will be mixed with those of the other instruments and effects feeding the audio chain of the track It can oftentimes make more sense to isolate the instrument or one of its individual drum samples and send CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 293 this signal to a separate track Please see the Routing chapter to learn how to accomplish this for Impulse s overall signal or for Impulse s individual sample slots 22 2 Operator O Operator on Coarse Fine Fixed Level LFO Rate Mod Q Q Ae 5 2 14 dB 100 00 40 Fine xed Level Filter Freq Res Q Q oO e I Band 2406 A a 2 2 13 dB 100 Hz 3 00 Fine Fixed Level r PithEnv Spread Transpose O Q U a a Cie Eig Cia Fine Fixed Level ARAT amp re Time Tone Volume zta Hid an Ke moe Oan me Gu Ge C o 3 1 dB 85 25 6 0 dB Operator is an advanced and flexible synthesizer that combines the concept of frequency modulation FM with classic subtractive synthesis It utilizes four multi waveform oscillators that can modulate each other s frequencies creating very complex timbres from a limited number of objects Operator includes a filter section an LFO and global controls as well as individual envelopes for the oscillators filter LFO and pitc
334. rol defines the extent to which the envelope affects the filter frequency while the Attack control sets how the envelope responds to rising input signals Low Attack values cause a fast response to input levels high values integrate any changes gradually creating a looser slower response Think of it as adding inertia to the response Lower Release values cause the envelope to respond more quickly to falling input signals Higher values extend the envelope s decay The Auto Filter also contains a Low Frequency Oscillator to modulate filter frequency in a periodic fashion The respective Amount control sets how much the LFO affects the filter The Rate control specifies the LFO speed It can be set in terms of hertz or synced to the song tempo allowing for controlled rhythmic filtering Available LFO waveform shapes are sine creates smooth modulations with rounded peaks and valleys square triangle sawtooth up sawtooth down and sample and hold generates random positive and negative modulation values in mono and stereo There are two LFOs one for each stereo channel The Phase and Offset controls define the relationship between these two LFOs Phase keeps both LFOs at the same frequency but can set the two LFO waveforms out of phase with each other creating stereo movement Set to 180 the LFO outputs are 180 degrees apart so that when one LFO reaches its peak the other is at its minimum CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EF
335. rossfader does not affect the track at all e If Ais on the track will be played unattenuated as long as the crossfader is in the left half of its value range As the crossfader moves toward the right across the center position the track fades out At the crossfader s rightmost position the track is muted e Likewise if B is on the track s volume will be affected only as the crossfader moves left across its center position It is important to understand that the Crossfade Assign buttons do not affect the signal routing The crossfader merely influences the signal volume at each track s gain stage The track can be routed to an individual output bus regardless of its crossfade assignment In studio parlance you can think of the crossfader as an on the fly VCA group As with almost everything in Live your crossfading maneuvers can be recorded into the Arrangement for later in depth editing To edit each track s crossfade assignment please choose Mixer from the Envelope Device chooser and X Fade Assign from the Control chooser The crossfader s automation curve is accessible when Mixer is chosen from the Master track s Device chooser and Crossfade is selected from its Control chooser Crossfade Assign Buttons CHAPTER 13 MIXING 175 13 5 By defau is heard Soloing and Cueing t soloing a track simply mutes all other tracks The signal from the soloed tracks through their respective outputs with the p
336. routed into an individual audio track and recorded or resampled Resampling can be a fun and useful tool as it lets you create samples from what is currently happening in a Live Set that can then be immediately integrated It can be used to record tracks that include processor intensive devices so as to delete the devices or for quickly previewing before rendering to disk The Resampling option in any audio track s Input Type chooser will route the Master output to that track You can then decide on what exactly you will be resampling and mute solo or otherwise adjust the tracks that are feeding the Master output You will probably want to use the Master Volume meter to make sure that your level is as high as possible without clipping indicated by red in the meter Then you can arm the track and record into any of its empty clip slots Note that the recording track s own output will be suppressed while resampling is taking place and will not be included in the recording Samples created by resampling will be stored in with the current Set s Project folder under Samples Recorded Until the Set is saved they remain at the location specified by the Temporary Folder 12 7 Internal Routings Live s mixer allows for inter track routings These routings albeit potentially confusing enable many valuable creative and technical options Inter track routing can work two ways 1 Track A is set up to send its output signal to Track B Thi
337. rowser The link between the Device Browser and the device will be broken if a different view is selected or if the Hot Swap button is pressed again Preset hot swapping can also be cancelled with a press of the key Note that although importing via the Browser is the recommended method presets can also be dropped directly into Live from the Explorer Windows Finder Mac Presets in the Device Browser The Hot Swap Presets Button CHAPTER 15 WORKING WITH INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS 195 Saving Presets You can create and save any number of your own presets in the Device Browser P Operat Po Q QA Q Q Click the Save Preset button to save a device s current settings as a new preset You will be redirected to the Browser where you can press to use Live s suggested name or you can type one of your own a For detailed information on what can be done with the Browser please see the Manag ing Files and Sets chapter For more on how to store project specific presets see the appropriate section 15 2 Using Plug Ins The collection of devices that you can use in Live can be extended with plug ins Live supports Steinberg Media s VST Plug ins format as well as Apple Computer s Audio Units Plug ins format Mac OS X only Working with VST and Audio Units AU Plug ins is very much like working with Live devices VST and AU instruments can only be placed in Live MIDI tracks and like Live instruments they will receiv
338. rtant difference the rest of the Live Set will be warped so that it plays in sync with the The Sample Box s Warping Controls CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 115 current tempo master This is achieved by adding tempo automation to the Master track for the duration of the tempo master clip You will notice that the Tempo field in Live s Control Bar becomes disabled in this state this is because all tempo control is handed over to the tempo master clip When toggling a clip s Master Slave switch or when deleting a clip that was set as tempo master the Master track tempo automation is removed again restoring the proper tempo to the region If you wish instead to keep the generated tempo automation to continue working with it then PC Mac on the Control Bar s Tempo field and choose the Unslave Tempo Automation command All clips will then be set to Slave but the tempo automation will remain in place Note that when Live s EXT switch is enabled the Master Slave switch has no effect and appears disabled 9 2 2 Warp Markers Think of a sample as a rubber band that you want to pin to a musical time ruler In Live the pins are called Warp Markers A Warp Marker forces the software to arrive at a specific point in the sample at a specific musical time You can use any number of Warp Markers to create an arbitrary mapping of the piece s inherent rhythm to a musical meter Warp Markers are set in the Clip V
339. s Analyze Audio command Once analysis is finished you can view the results of Auto Warp s assumptions about the file henas 654 1 64 71751884 13 1 11 4131136 4 99 ENNIE oh aN rn t lt a NRO 0 00 As long as Auto Warp made the correct set of informed guesses the clip will be ready to play in perfect sync with the Live Set s tempo However if Auto Warp does not quite do what you want you can control its results The remainder of this section will focus on various ways of guiding Live s auto warping Remember that the metronome in the Control Bar will probably come in handy as you warp longer pieces AP 14 414 aE It might happen that Auto Warp guesses the tempo correctly but gets the downbeat wrong To remedy this you can do the following e Zoom in and drag the 1 1 1 marker to the desired position e Use the start markers PC Cti 6 Mac context menu to select the Set 1 1 1 Here command Auto Warp s Results in the Clip View The Metronome Switch CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 121 Set 1 1 1 Here Warp From Here Warp From tere Start At 129 00 BPM Warp From Here Straight Warp 129 00 BPM From Here Warp As 256 Bar Loop Directing Auto Warp is also relatively simple when you have imported a perfectly cut loop You can tell Auto Warp to work accordingly using the Warp As Bar Loop command Live will propose a loop length that make
340. s are connected serially in a device chain passing their signals from one device to the next left to right By default the Track View displays only a single chain but there is actually no limit to the number of chains contained within a track Racks allow among other things additional device chains to be added to any track When a track has multiple chains they operate in parallel Each chain receives the same input signal at the same time but then processes that signal serially through its own devices The output of each of these parallel chains is then mixed together producing the Rack s output The entire contents of any Rack can be thought of as a single device Indeed when all of a Rack s views are collapsed they take up almost no space at all If more devices follow after a Rack in a track s device chain the Rack s output is passed on to them as usual 16 1 2 Macro Controls D Audio Effect Rack Skitter Slosh Fizz OIG 33 18 30 113 Drife Cough Wompa Spin The Macro Controls One unique property of Racks are their Macro Controls The Macro Controls are a bank of eight knobs each capable of addressing any number of parameters from any devices in a Rack How you use them is naturally up to you whether it be for convenience by making an important device parameter more accessible for defining CHAPTER 16 INSTRUMENT AND EFFECT RACKS 207 exotic multi parameter morphs of rhythm and timbre or for constru
341. s control Live will interpret this value as the Arrangement s start time 24 1 4 Sync Delay The Sync Delay controls which are separately available for each MIDI device allow you to delay Live s internal time base against the sync signal This can be useful in compensating for delays incurred by the signal transmission The Sync Delay for a specific MIDI device appears as you select the MIDI device from the MIDI Sync Preferences MIDI Ports list To adjust the delay have both Live and the other sequencer play a rhythmical pattern with The External Sync Switch CHAPTER 24 SYNCHRONIZATION AND REWIRE 354 pronounced percussive sounds While listening to the output from both adjust the Sync Delay control until both sounds are in perfect sync Adjusting Sync Delay 24 2 Connecting via ReWire Live supports the ReWire interface for connecting with another ReWire compatible audio program running on the same computer The ReWire technology developed by Propellerhead Software provides ReWire compatible programs with e common access to the audio hardware e shared transport functionality e synchronization to audio word clock and song positioning e exchange of audio streams The programs in a ReWire connection play distinct roles The ReWire master accesses the audio hardware and provides mixing facilities the ReWire slave s have no direct link to the audio hardware but instead send their audio output into the Master
342. s is possible because every track that can receive an output signal of the appropriate type from Track A shows up in its Output Type chooser 2 Track B is set up to receive its input signal from Track A This works because every track that delivers a signal of the appropriate type appears in Track B s Input Type chooser CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 156 Audio From Audio From Audio From Audio From 1 TrackA v lii Post Mixer Monitor Monito Monit Audio To Audio To Audic 2 TrackB v Track In ITN T Ii Both approaches result in Track A s output being fed into Track B Approach 1 leaves Track B s in out settings alone and we can at any time add more tracks that feed their output into Track B This is the method of choice for many to one routings such as submixes or several MIDI tracks playing the same instrument AN T A i Two Ways to Route Track L J I 7H A into Track B Approach 2 on the other hand leaves Track A unaffected except for Track B tapping its output We can easily add more tracks like Track B that all tap Track A s output Instrument layering is a good example of such a one to many routing setup 12 7 1 Internal Routing Points Signals travel from Live s tracks into their respective device chains and then into the track mixer where they might become panned or have their levels altered by the tracks faders Whenever a track s Audio From input chooser is set to another tra
343. s mixer Common ReWire master applications are Digidesign Pro Tools Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo Emagic Logic Audio MOTU Digital Performer Cakewalk Sonar and Cycling 74 Max MSP Common ReWire slave applications are Propellerheads Rebirth Propellerheads Reason Arturia Storm Cakewalk Project 5 and Cycling 74 Max MSP Live can act as both a ReWire master and slave Note that the ReWire protocol itself does not consume much CPU power However as expected running two audio intensive programs on the same computer requires more CHAPTER 24 SYNCHRONIZATION AND REWIRE 355 resources than running a single program 24 2 1 Running Live in ReWire Master Mode The step by step procedure for sending MIDI to and receiving audio from a ReWire slave program is presented in the routing chapter 24 2 2 Running Live in ReWire Slave Mode In ReWire slave mode Live can both receive MIDI from but also send audio to the master application All of Live s MIDI tracks are accessible to the master application as destinations for MIDI signals and all of its audio tracks and MIDI tracks containing instruments are accessible as audio sources If you have not used Live yet please launch Live so that it can install its ReWire engine in your system Live will run in ReWire slave mode if it detects a running ReWire master application upon startup Therefore always start the ReWire master application first and then start Live Likewise you will first
344. s or months and never exactly repeat You can set the Follow Action Time controls in a series of clips to odd intervals and the clips will interact with each other so that they never quite play in the same order or musical position Remember that each clip can have two different Follow Actions with corresponding Chance settings have fun 147 Chapter 12 Routing and I O In the context of Live routing is the setup of the tracks signal sources and destinations i e their inputs and outputs Routing happens in the mixer s track In Out section which offers for every track choosers to select a signal source and destination The mixer s In Out section is Live s patchbay The In Out section can be independently shown or hidden from the Session and Arrange ment Views Toggle its visibility using the I O Mixer Section selector or via the View menu s In Out option CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 148 1 Audio 2 Audio 3 Audio 4 Audio 5 MIDI 6 MIDI Master 8 Q Stop Clips Audio From Audio From Audio From MIDI From MIDI From Ext In No Input a A Return Computer Kew 5 MIDI 7 fi PostFX All Channes f Post Mixer gt Monitor Monitor in Auto Of in Auto Auto Cue Out Audio To MIDI To ii 1 2 Master v No Output Master Out ii 1 2 For every track except the Master the In Out section has the same
345. s setting high enough so that no voices would be turned off while playing however a setting between 6 and 12 is usually more realistic when considering CPU power Tip Some sounds should play monophonically by nature which means that they should only use a single voice A flute is a good example In these cases you can set Voices to 1 If Voices is set to 1 another effect occurs Overlapping voices will be played legato which Operator s Filter Section CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 301 means that the envelopes will not be retriggered from voice to voice and only pitch will change A high quality setting HiQ can be switched on and off in the global display controlling the interpolation algorithm of the oscillators and LFO This setting will affect the sound of some waveforms more than others especially the noise waveform and also affects CPU resources Global Volume and Transpose controls for the instrument can be found in the global section of the shell and a Pan control is located in the global section s display Pan can be modulated by a random factor or by note pitch using the adjacent Rnd and Key controls respectively MIDI pitch bend messages will affect Operator as defined by the PB Range control in the pitch section of the display 22 2 7 Glide and Spread Pitch Env Spread Transpose cM Q E st Operator includes a polyphonic glide function When this function is activated new no
346. s the most sense given the current Live Set s tempo Decreasing the Live Set s tempo can for instance lead Live to assume the loop is 8 bars at 90 BPM instead of 16 bars at 180 BPM Sometimes more accurate control of Auto Warp is necessary The best way to go about warping a clip that requires more detailed attention is in sections working gradually from left to right You can set a Warp Marker by double clicking one of the numeric grid markers to the right of each correctly warped section pinning it into place The shortcuts for working with the clip loop brace and start end markers can speed up this process considerably You might also find it helpful to select multiple Warp Markers for moving by selecting them with the or PC Mac modifiers held down The four Warp From Here commands provide various ways of resetting Warp Markers to the right of the selected grid marker or Warp Marker leaving Warp Markers to the left untouched These commands are also available from the start marker e Warp From Here runs the Auto Warp algorithm on the material to the right of the selected marker e Warp From Here Start At directs Auto Warp to use the current Live Set s tempo as a starting point for tempo tracking The strategy here is as follows 1 Deactivate the Warp switch for the clip so that it plays unwarped Using the Context Menu to Direct Auto Warp CHAPTER 9 TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 122 2 Use the Control Bar s
347. s to Live in the form of absolute values ranging from 0 to 127 These values lead to different results depending on the type of Live control to which they are assigned A value message of 127 for example might turn the Volume control on a Live track all the way up or play a Session View clip Specifically MIDI controller messages from 0 to 127 can produce the following effects on controls in Live e Session View Slots Controller values 64 and above are treated like Note On messages Controller values 63 and below are treated like Note Off messages e Switches Controller values 64 and above turn the switch on Controller values below 64 turn it off e Radio Buttons The controller s 0 127 value range is mapped onto the range of available options e Continuous Controls The controller s 0 127 value range is mapped onto the param eter s range of values Live also supports pitch bend messages and high precision 14 bit Absolute controller messages with a 0 16383 value range The above specifications apply to these as well except that the value range s center is at 8191 8192 23 2 4 Mapping to Relative MIDI Controllers Some MIDI controllers can send value increment and value decrement messages instead of absolute values These controls prevent parameter jumps when the state of a control in Live and the corresponding control on the hardware MIDI controller differ For example CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY RE
348. samples found under Samples Imported This means the new Sampler presets will work regardless of whether the original multisample file is still around To import Apple EXS24 GarageBand and Kontakt multisamples Live will create new Sampler presets that reference the original WAV or AIF files This means that removing the original WAV or AIF files will render the new Sampler presets useless Live s File Manager offers the option to collect and save these external samples into the Library CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 311 Mounting AKAI Multisample CDs To import multisamples from AKAI formatted CD ROMs you first have to mount the CD ROM so that Live can see its contents This is only necessary because the legacy AKAI CD format cannot be processed by the operating system like standard CD ROM formats which are mounted automatically upon inserting and can be browsed as usual with Live s File Browser Here are the steps 1 Insert the AKAI formatted sample CD 2 Ona Mac click on the title bar of Live s File Browser and select All Volumes On a PC navigate Live s File Browser to the Workspace by clicking on the Browser s title bar and selecting Workspace 3 Click on the Browser item found at the bottom named Find Sample CDs 4 Double click the item that appears to import the CD s contents 22 3 2 Sampler s Tabs Once you begin working with Sampler you will notice that its features are organized
349. semtianden s 293 monitor mix EE N EE SA 172 FO LLL 297 monitoring se ranne 148 PSIG HOPES ek dec so dex Cade 295 monitoring through Live see Audio parameter list 0 302 INDEX 381 purchasing xh apentinovsenseen ane 293 previewing unlocking 490 ota bat dade dee doa se 8 in the Browser 000 41 Original BPM field 110 117 in the MIDI Editor 128 Overdub Switch 181 183 Previous Locator button 74 Overdubbing ciicpivasansiyneedin xe 183 DrOCESSON Jui sabe cdcdeda ironia see CPU Product Preferences 00 6 8 P projects project management see Live f Projects packs vi didiatidbedegoniden see Live Packs Punch In O tswitches oooi 181 Pan control 0 0ceeee eee es 169 Pan quick chooser button see Q quick chooser buttons Parent Folder item 37 quantization Paste Scenes command 89 command for selected MIDI notes 133 Paste Time command jaca dscnseuedaes 80 for clip launching cases cssarsades 140 pencil tool see Draw Mode for MIDI notes during recording 185 Phaser effect 0eeee ee eee 265 Quantize menu command 133 Ping Pong Delay effect 266 quick chooser buttons 228 Pitch Bend quick chooser button see quick chooser buttons R Pitch effect cece eee eee 284 Play button
350. settings are typically brighter but also more likely to produce aliasing Volume This sets the overall volume of the instrument Algorithm An oscillator can modulate other oscillators be modulated by other oscillators or both The algorithm defines the connections between the oscillators and therefore has a significant impact on the sound that is created Voices This sets the maximum number of notes that can sound simultaneously If more notes than available voices are requested the oldest notes will be cut off High Quality HiQ This changes the interpolation algorithm of the oscillators and the LFO If turned off some timbres will sound more rough especially the noise waveform Turning this off will also save some CPU power Time lt Key The rates of all envelopes can be controlled by note pitch If the global Time lt Key parameter is set to higher values the envelopes run faster when higher notes are played Pan Use this to adjust the panorama of each note This is especially useful when modulated with clip envelopes Pan lt Key Key If Pan lt Key is set to higher values low notes will pan relatively more to the left channel and higher notes to the right Typically this is used for piano like sounds Pan lt Random Rnd This defines the extent to which notes are randomly distributed be tween the left and right channels CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 304 Pitch Shell and Display Pit
351. sing samples 62 LIVE SOS inated nnaiines iaai 18 51 and packing Live Projects 68 changing sample references 54 and project management 59 exporting and importing 52 managing files see File Manager saving a template n s usus 54 Mapping Browser 333 IQCANONS dakadtediiarecamendaasiindaacs 74 mapping to MlDl keys 31 327 Lock Envelopes command 223 and recording 4 186 Lock Envelopes switch 223 Master Out chooser 175 Look Feel Preferences 545 6 Master track 0 2 0 0 0 cece eee eee 171 loop brace Maximum Cache Size preference 45 in the Arrangement re Metronome switch 45 184 WII CIDS icy sadddarscentawadcads 103 MIDI INDEX 380 EXPOMtING kosarek nannaa 50 Preferences quantizing eaae a aaie 133 185 MP3 files a nn see samples sending bank program changes 110 Multicore Multiprocessor Support 357 MIDI Clips cs cwaxeovacwenis teane on see clips Multiple Plug In Windows preference 198 MIDI controllers see control surfaces Multisampling iiitscceevereses chanson 310 MIDI Editor 0 08 94 126 muting see Track Activator switch and drawing MIDI i c 0t0s 127 lips eaoin a 96 and drawing velocities 136 and grid lines 132 135 N and recording MIDI 183 f creating and editing notes 13
352. t ers Computers that are a bit low on processing power can be used to run large Live Sets as long as any CPU intensive tracks are frozen This also means that computers lacking certain devices used in one Live Set can still play the Set when the relevant device tracks are frozen 25 2 Managing the Disk Load A hard drive s access speed which is related to but not the same thing as rotational speed can limit Live s performance Most audio optimized computers use 7200 RPM or faster drives Laptops to save power often use 5400 RPM or slower drives which is why projects on laptops usually have lower track counts The amount of disk traffic Live generates is roughly proportional to the number of audio channels being written or read simultaneously A track playing a stereo sample causes more disk traffic than a track playing a mono sample CIT The Disk Overload indicator flashes when the disk was unable to read or write audio quickly enough When recording audio this condition causes a gap in the recorded sample when playing back you will hear dropouts Do the following to avoid disk overload e Reduce the amount of audio channels being written by choosing mono inputs instead of stereo inputs in the Audio Preferences Channel Configuration dialog e Use RAM Mode for selected clips e Reduce the number of audio channels playing by using mono samples instead of stereo samples when possible You can convert stereo samples to mono using
353. t controls as described in the respective chapter CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 74 6 3 Launching the Arrangement with Locators AT wija Using Locators to I Launch Play in the Ka naps Jrrodos2 rhodes i rrodos2 Arrangement Locators can be set at any point in the Arrangement This can be done in real time during playback or recording with the Set Locator button and will be quantized according to the global quantization value set in the Control Bar Clicking the Set Locator button when the Arrangement is not playing will create a locator at the insert marker or selection start You can also create a locator using the context menu in the scrub area above the tracks or via the Insert menu Note that the position of a new locator is quantized according to the Control Bar s Quantization menu setting Set lt ees ests ests The Locator Controls You can recall jump to locators by clicking on them or with the Previous and Next Locator buttons on either side of the Set button Locators can also be recalled using MIDI key mapping Note that locator recall is subject to quantization Double clicking a locator will select it and start Arrangement playback from that point After jumping to the first or last locator in the Arrangement the Previous and Next Locator buttons will jump to the Arrangement start or end respectively Locators can be moved by clicking and dragging or with the
354. t already have it on your system It can be downloaded from the Apple website As Live plays the samples directly from disk you can work with a large number of large samples without running into RAM memory limitations Live can combine uncompressed mono or stereo samples of any length sample rate or bit depth without prior conversion To play a compressed sample Live decodes the sample and writes the result to a temporary uncompressed sample file This usually happens quickly enough that you will be able to play the sample right away without waiting for the decoding process to finish Note When adding a long sample to a project Live might tell you that it cannot play the sample before it has been analyzed Please see the section on analysis for an explanation 5 2 1 The Decoding Cache To save computational resources Live keeps the decoded sample files of compressed samples in the decoding cache a sub directory of the Audio Record Folder Maintenance of the cache is normally not required as Live automatically deletes older files to make room for those that are new You can however impose limits on the cache size using the File Folder Preferences Decoding Cache section The cache will not grow larger than the Maximum Cache Size setting and it will always leave the Minimum Free Space on the hard disk Pressing the nearby Cleanup button will delete all files not being used by the current Live Set Warp Decoding Cache Minimum
355. t mappings for 329 CUPS cuniapan sneha tad ntaswet ne dienes 19 locking to devices 06 4 330 adding fades to 107 manual setup Lcccineretn ives 331 arranging editing 76 natively supported 328 as templates o n annsan 232 Copy Envelope command 224 audioclips c4skesaverandyaandeeh 22 copy protection 6 eee eee 8 clip multi selections 93 count in for recording 185 deactivating muting 96 Count In preference 185 editing MIDI notes velocities 126 CPU edra E E NE eee 357 importing from files 42 CPU Load meter 000 358 in Arrangement View 76 CPU Preferences 000eeeee ees 6 in audio MIDI tracks 21 Create Analysis Files preference 46 in Session View 05 84 Create Folder command 43 LiVe CPS ouivestettwst eared seris 50 crossfader 4 2544 saws he atwona caves 27 173 managing meter offset 99 and remote control 173 MIDCh pS 223002 tie Ghtieed trite 23 automating the n s 174 renaming sporecaroniapere niitan 96 Cue Out chooser 2022005 175 FEVETSING sc psarisadd oa setiadion Sonne 108 CUS POINTS 0 strane eetmuge d4 see locators saving settings for 106 CUEING 54 b2 cian a cada iaaa 175 setting properties of 92 Cut Envelope command
356. t you can change that by double clicking the clip and changing its loop properties Arm the track 5 Launch the clip Note that holding PC Mac while double clicking the empty slot to create The notes you play are added into the looping clip and you can observe your recording in the Clip View By default the Control Bar s Overdub switch is activated so that you can build your pattern layer by layer However if you would like to pause recording for a moment to rehearse you can deactivate the Overdub switch The contents of the clip will continue to play but you can play along without being recorded When you are ready to record again simply turn on the Overdub switch Stop recording by pressing a Clip Stop button or the Stop button in the Control Bar a new clip will implicitly arm the track and launch the clip At any time while overdub recording is going on you can use the Undo command to remove the last take or even draw move or delete notes in the Clip View s Note Editor Note that you can also add notes to existing Session clips while the Overdub switch is on CHAPTER 14 RECORDING NEW CLIPS 184 14 4 Recording in Sync Live keeps the audio and MIDI you have recorded in sync even when you later decide ona different song tempo In fact Live allows you to change the tempo at any time before after and even during recording You could for instance cheat a bit by turning down the tempo to reco
357. ters CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 298 The LFO offers a choice of classic LFO waveforms sample and hold S amp H and noise Sample and hold uses random numbers chosen at the rate of the LFO creating the random steps useful for typical retro futuristic sci fi sounds The noise waveform is simply bandpass filtered noise Tip FM synthesis can be used to create fantastic percussion sounds and using the LFO with the noise waveform is the key to great hi hats and snares The frequency of the LFO is determined by the LFO Rate control in the shell as well as the low high setting of the adjacent LFO Range switch The frequency of the LFO can follow note pitch be fixed or be set to something in between This is defined by the Rate lt Key parameter in the LFO s display The intensity of the LFO is set by the LFO Mod control in the shell This parameter can be modulated by note velocity via the display s Amt lt Vel control The LFO s intensity is also affected by its envelope 22 2 4 Envelopes Operator has seven envelopes one for each oscillator a filter envelope a pitch envelope and an envelope for the LFO All envelopes are constructed similarly and feature some special looping modes An envelope s shape is defined by six parameters three rates and three levels A rate is the time it takes to go from one level to the next For instance a typical pad sound starts with the initial level inf dB which is silence
358. tes will start with the pitch of the last note played and then slide gradually to their own played pitch Glide can be turned on or off and adjusted with the Glide Time control in the pitch display Operator also offers a special Spread parameter that creates a rich stereo chorus by using two voices per note and panning one to the left and one to the right The two voices are detuned and the amount of detuning can be adjusted with the Spread control in the pitch section of the shell Operator s Pitch Section CHAPTER 22 LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 302 Tip Whether or not spread is applied to a particular note depends upon the setting of the Spread parameter during the note on event To achieve special effects you could for instance create a sequence where Spread is 0 most of the time and turned on only for some notes These notes will then play in stereo while the others will play mono 22 2 8 Strategies for Saving CPU Power If you want to save CPU power turn off features that you do not need or reduce the number of voices Specifically turning off the filter or the LFO if they do not contribute to the sound will save CPU power For the sake of saving CPU resources you will also usually want to reduce the number of voices to something between 6 and 12 and carefully use the Spread feature The high quality setting can also be turned off to conserve CPU resources Note that turning off the oscillators will not save CPU power 2
359. that Nothing happens after the Follow Action Time which means that there is effectively no Follow Action But now imagine a group consisting of one single clip Follow Action A is set to Play Clip Again with a Chance of 8 Follow Action B is set to None with a Chance of 1 The clip uses a long sample and Follow Time is set to one bar Clicking on the clip will play the first bar after which it will be very likely that it will play the first bar again However after a few repetitions it will eventually come to Action B Nothing and continue playing the rest of the sample Or a clip can be played from its start to a specific point when its Follow Action tells it to Play Next Clip The same file can be used in the next clip in the group but this one can be set to loop This second clip can have any manner of Follow Action settings so that it might then play forever for a specified time or until random chance leads to the next clip in the group 11 6 4 Adding Variations in Sync Paired with clip envelopes and warping Follow Actions can be used to create all sorts of interesting variations within a group of similar clips You could for example use Follow Actions to randomly trigger clips with different MIDI controller clip envelopes so that fine variations in pitch bend or modulation of an instrument or synth could occur as the clips in a group interacted Audio clips could morph between different effect
360. that there are actually two volume modulations Clip Volume and Mixer Volume The latter is a modulation for the mixer s gain stage and therefore affects the post effect signal To prevent confusion a small dot below the mixer s volume slider thumb indicates the actual modulated volume setting As you raise and lower the Volume slider you can observe the dot following your movement in a relative fashion Modulating the track s Send controls is just as easy Again the modulation is a relative Modulating the Mixer Volume The Little Dot Below the Volume Slider Thumb Represents the Modulated Volume Setting CHAPTER 18 CLIP ENVELOPES 234 percentage The clip envelope cannot open the send further than the Send knob but it can reduce the actual send value to minus infinite dB ae 18 3 2 Modulating Pan The Pan envelope affects the mixer pan stage in a relative way The pan knob s position determines the intensity of the modulation With the pan knob set to the center position modulation by the clip envelope can reach from hard left to hard right the modulation amount is automatically reduced as you move the pan knob towards the left or right When the pan knob is turned all the way to the left for instance the pan clip envelope has no effect at all 18 3 3 Modulating Device Controls All devices in a clip s track are listed in the upper clip envelope Device chooser Modulating the devices controls works just
361. the PC Mac context menu of tracks and clips Once any processing demands have been addressed or you have upgraded your machine you can always select a frozen track and choose Unfreeze Track from the Edit menu to change device or clip settings On slower machines you can unfreeze processor intensive tracks one at a time to make edits freezing them again when you are done Many editing functions remain available to tracks that are frozen Launching clips can still be done freely and mixer controls such as volume pan and the sends are still available Other possibilities include e Edit cut copy paste duplicate and trim clips CHAPTER 25 COMPUTER AUDIO RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES 360 e Draw and edit mixer automation and mixer clip envelopes e Consolidate e Record Session View clip launches into the Arrangement View e Create move and duplicate Session View scenes Drag frozen MIDI clips into audio tracks When performing edits on frozen tracks that contain time based effects such as reverb you should note that the audible result may be different once the track is again unfrozen depending on the situation This is because if a track is frozen the applied effects are not being calculated at all and therefore cannot change their response to reflect edited input material When the track is again unfrozen all effects will be recalculated in real time lt etp a 4 1Audio ll mer Reverb a tee ae l A Frozen
362. the current Library s contents will be merged with the pre existing contents The resulting Library will contain both the old files and the new files but Live 5 will no longer be able to use it This is only recommended if you are sure about abandoning Live 5 or have saved a backup copy of your Library elsewhere The Library Path Preference CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 62 5 7 2 Importing Projects into the Library You can merge the contents of a Live Project into the Library to make them available to any Project 1 Open any of the Project s Live Sets to make this Project the current Project 2 Choose the Manage Files command from the File menu 3 Click the Manage Project button 4 Unfold the Export to Library section by clicking the arrow on its left hand side and click the Export button Note that as an alternative to steps 1 through 3 above you can PC Ctrl Mac on a project folder in the File Browser and select the Manage Project command 5 8 Locating Missing Samples If you load a Live Set Live Clip or preset that references samples which are missing from their referenced locations Live s Status Bar located at the bottom of the main screen will display a warning message Clips and instrument sample slots that reference missing samples will appear marked Offline and Live will play silence instead of the missing samples Live s File Manager offers tools for repairing these missing links C
363. this section 5 Previous Next If in any of the above assignment modes especially with de vices more than one page of parameters is available these buttons will scroll through the pages LEDs above these switches illuminate when more pages are available before or after the current one CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 344 23 3 3 Bank Channel and Flip Return B858 68 68 HAHAM O T 858s wy v ao Qe ees Bank Channel Flip and Return Buttons 1 Bank If more than eight tracks are being used in Live these buttons can be used to page through the additional tracks and set them to the Mackie Control s eight channel strips The bank and buttons page the channel strips in increments of eight or more if a fader extension is installed to the right or left respectively To go to the first last page hold down the Mackie Control s Shift CHAPTER 23 MIDI AND KEY REMOTE CONTROL 345 button while pressing these wun 2 Channel You can use the channel and buttons to scroll through the additional tracks singly setting them to the Mackie Control s eight channel strips To go to the first last track hold down the Macki
364. tially recordings of the time warping engine s audio output prior to processing in the track s effects chain and mixer Hence the new sample incorporates the effects of in clip attenuation time warping and pitch shifting and of the respective clio envelopes however it does not incorporate the effects To create a new sample from the post effects signal please use the Render to Disk command The new samples can be found in the current Set s Project folder under Samples Processed Consolidate Until the Set is saved they remain at the location specified by the Temporary Folder 83 Chapter 7 Session View In Live s Arrangement View as in all traditional sequencing programs everything happens along a fixed song timeline For a number of applications this is a limiting paradigm e When playing live or when DJing the order of pieces the length of each piece and the order of parts within each piece is generally not known in advance e In the theatre sound has to react to what happens on stage e When working along with a piece of music or a film score it can be more efficient and inspirational to start with an improvisation which is later refined into the final product This is exactly what Live s unique Session View is for CHAPTER 7 SESSION VIEW 84 7 1 Session View Clips gt rhodes groovy Egrnodes sroovy rr ll T i mil gt oil Nie
365. times it is desirable to take an individual drum sound out of the mix for individual effects processing and mixing This is possible because Impulse offers its sample slots as audio sources to other tracks The Instrument Has Been Isolated in a Dedicated Track CHAPTER 12 ROUTING AND I O 163 1 Audio 2 Snare 3 MIDI Audio From 3 MIDI E li Post Mixer w ij Pre FX ij Post FX ij Post Mixer MIDI From All ins z FAI Channev Audio From ij tom b Impulse ij pan impulse ij hh c impulse ij hh o Impulse We simply create an audio track and select from its Input Type chooser the track with the Impulse The Input Channel chooser now offers in addition to Pre FX Post FX and Post Mixer Impulse s eight individual outputs labeled according to the sample used in each slot Notice that routing an individual output from Impulse into another track automatically takes this signal out of Impulse s own internal mix This convenience is not standard behavior of most plug in instruments however Using Multi Timbral Plug In Instruments Many plug in instruments support multi timbral operation A multi timbral instrument is like several instruments in one with each component part or whatever term the manufacturer uses receiving MIDI on a separate MIDI channel Usually the multi timbral instrument offers individual outputs so that the parts can be separately routed into the mixer
366. title bar brings up the Track View which shows the track s device chain CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 25 E Old Sampler S ll S e Resonators e ecce S a a Random Operator OB ORA Chance Coarse Fine Fixed Level Rate Mod Bit Reduction Q g Q 25 dB be Che cis 50 Fine Fixed Level Freq Res Band 2408 v a O Choices Q 46 dB 467 kH 1 94 Fine Fixed Level Pitch Env Spread Transpose ai Q Ce Es Cis Ost Fixed Level Volume Fine Tone ic ia 0 Qoa The Track View ses EE Displaying a MIDI Track s Device Chain Live s built in audio effects MIDI effects and instruments are available from the Device Browser and can be added to tracks by dragging them from there into the Track View or into a Session or Arrangement track Devices Name y PS struments gt E Instrument Rack gt E Impulse gt Operator gt i Sampler gt E Simpler gt 5 mt effects v Audio Effects gt E Audio Effect Rack Ae EAA A v E Auto Filter OO Bowomosn am aor ovos Live s Built in Devices y E Cut o move L 28 07 2006 00 04 Are Available from the Device Browser You can also use plug in devices in Live VST and Audio Units Mac OS X only Plug ins are available from the Plug In Device Browser CHAPTER 4 LIVE CONCEPTS 26 v P gt Bram Smantelectronix b EF s Mjexoscope Audio Unit b 5 Gmedia v P Novation b FA BassStation Audio Unit
367. to pre configure e Your multichannel input output setup e Preset devices like EQs and Compressors in every track e Computer key mappings e MIDI mappings The template Live Set Template als is located in Live s Preferences folder and can be copied or deleted from there The easiest way to locate this folder is to search your disk for Template als 5 5 5 Viewing and Changing a Live Set s Sample References To view a list of the samples referenced by the current Live Set choose the Manage Files command from the File menu click the Manage Set button and then click the View Samples button Live will display one line for each sample used by the Live Set regardless of how many clips or instruments within the Live Set are using that sample Here is what you can do e Replace a sample Dragging a sample from the File Browser and dropping it on a line in the list makes the Live Set reference the new sample instead of the old one For samples used in audio clips Live retains the clip properties the Warp Markers are kept if the new sample has the same or a greater length as the old sample and discarded otherwise CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 55 Replace Sample Files e Hot swap samples Using the Hot Swap button at the left hand side of each line you can quickly browse through alternatives for the sample that is currently being referenced This is like dragging samples here only quicker
368. tronic mechanical recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of Ableton Ableton is a trademark of Ableton AG Mac the Mac logo Mac OS Macintosh and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc registered in the U S and other countries The Audio Units logo and GarageBand are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc Windows and DirectX are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U S and other countries Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U S and other countries SONiVOX is the brand name trademark of Sonic Network Inc VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH ASIO is a trademark and software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH ReWire is a trademark of Propellerhead Software AB Mackie Control is a trademark of LOUD Technologies Inc Ogg Vorbis and FLAC are trademarks of Xiph Org All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders Chapter 1 Welcome to Live 1 1 The Ableton Team Says Thank You Live is the result of musicians wanting a better way to create produce and perform music using a computer A great deal of effort has been put into making Live easy and fun to use yet at the same time capable of helping you create music with unlimited depth and sophistication This effort continues even as you read these lines in fact a new improved Live version might already be available for downl
369. ts the clip since you will typically want the Clip View to show the newly launched clip However some power users don t want the current focus e g a return track s devices to disappear just because a clip has been launched especially when starting a clip in order to try it with the return track device settings Turn off the Select on Launch option from the Launch Preferences if you prefer the view to remain as is when you launch clips or scenes 7 4 2 Removing Clip Stop Buttons 1 Audio 2 Audio 3 Audio 4 MIDI You can add and remove Clip Stop buttons from the grid using the Edit menu s Add Remove Stop Button command This is useful for pre configuring the scene launch behavior If for instance you don t want scene 3 to affect track 4 remove the scene 3 track 4 Stop button Slots Without Clip Stop Buttons CHAPTER 7 SESSION VIEW 89 7 4 3 Editing Scenes There are a number of useful commands in the Edit and Insert menus that apply to scenes Cut Scenes cuts out scenes with selected slots from the Session View thereby reducing the total number of scenes Please note that the Cut Scenes command affects all tracks not only those containing selected slots Paste Scenes works like Paste but inserts blank scenes before pasting Live inserts enough scenes to fit the material from the clipboard The new scenes will be inserted behind the current selection Duplicate Scenes works like Duplicate but inserts blank scenes before
370. two notes with the same pitch playing at the same time within the entire Live universe 21 3 Note Length D Note Length O Trigger Release Vel Note Off i Mode A Sync 26 Length Decay Time f 24 58 Key Scale ba Note Length alters the length of incoming MIDI notes It can also be used to trigger notes from MIDI Note Off messages instead of the usual Note On messages When the device is set to trigger from a Note On message only the timing controls are available The length of held notes can be adjusted in milliseconds or synced in relation to the song tempo Gate defines the percentage of the Length value that notes should be held for At 200 percent the Gate parameter will double a note s length When the device is set to trigger from a Note Off event the moment at which a played note is released the timing of an incoming note will be delayed by its length because it will be starting at the point at which it would have been stopping Note Length s other settings will then determine the duration of the newly triggered note Three other parameters are available when the device is triggering from Note Off messages The Note Length Effect CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 284 On Off Balance This determines the velocity of the output note It is a balance between the incoming note s Note On and Note Off velocities If your MIDI keyboard does not support MIDI Note Off velocity you c
371. type into a plug in window for instance for entering a serial number or unlock code hold down while clicking the Plug In Edit button The editor window will then appear as a normal application window rather than as a floating window and receive your typing Note that this functionality is intended only as a workaround for the limitations of such plug ins We recommend closing the window after you have finished typing then reopening it normally before working with the plug in parameters 15 2 2 Plug In Performance Options The CPU Preferences contain a Plug In Buffer Size setting for balancing plug in latency and performance Here you can set the number of samples processed at any one time by the plug in Higher settings may result in a noticeable performance increase but will also result in higher latencies With the As Audio Buffer setting selected the plug in will calculate the exact number of samples per millisecond as the computer s sound card This setting usually means that very few dropouts or performance problems will occur especially with DSP cards The size of the computer s sound card buffer i e the number of samples it calculates per millisecond can be set using the Buffer Size setting in the Audio Preferences 15 3 VST Plug Ins 15 3 1 The VST Plug In Folder When you start Live for the first time you will need to activate your VST Plug in sources before working with VST Plug ins Depending on your computer p
372. ur computer s hard disk is too slow to deliver audio for as many tracks as desired in real time For more information on disk related problems please refer to the respective section e You are experiencing audio dropouts when playing clips in Legato Mode Use RAM Mode with care as RAM is usually a scarce resource Your computer is using the hard disk for swapping out RAM contents that have not been used in a while The more clips you are running in RAM Mode the higher the likelihood for them to be swapped out Live can handle disk overloads more gracefully than swapped out audio arriving late Disk overloads result in unwanted mutes whereas RAM overload results in both mutes and rhythmical hiccups The Clip Fade Switch The RAM Mode Switch CHAPTER 8 CLIP VIEW 108 8 2 8 Reversing Samples Sample No Idea Lost wav 32 0 kHz 16 Bit 2 Ch This function creates a new sample by reversing the sample referenced by the current clip It then reapplies the old clip s settings according to some rules that we will explain in a moment and replaces the original sample with the reversal in the Clip View The new sample can be found after saving the Live Set in the Set s Project folder under Samples Processed Reverse Until the Set is saved new samples remain at the location specified by the Temporary Folder There are a few rules for the reversing process First any Warp Markers will remain fixed to their positions in the sampl
373. urn track s own output can be routed to its input allowing you to create feedback Please use this feature with care as runaway feedback can boost the level dramatically and unexpectedly Every return track has a Pre Post toggle that determines if the signal a clip track sends to it is tapped before or after the mixer stage i e the pan volume and track active controls The Pre setting allows you to create an auxiliary mix that is processed in the return track independently of the main mix As the return track can be routed to a separate output this can be used to set up a separate monitor mix for an individual musician in a band The Master track is the default destination for the signals from all other tracks Drag effects here to process the mixed signal before it goes to the master output Effects in the Master track usually provide mastering related functions such as compression and or EQ You can create multiple return tracks using the Insert menu s Insert Return Track command but by definition there is only one Master track The Send Controls and Pre Post Toggle CHAPTER 13 MIXING 173 13 4 Using Live s Crossfader Live includes a crossfader that can create smooth transitions between clips playing on different tracks Live s crossfader works like a typical DJ mixer crossfader except that it allows crossfading not only two but any number of tracks including the returns Ag Ag Or Ag Ag 5 6 7 S
374. v pet Y This effect assembles a chord as the name implies from each incoming note and up to six others of user defined pitch The Shift 1 6 knobs allow selecting the pitch of the notes that contribute to the chord from a range of 36 semitones relative to the original Setting Shift 1 to 4 semitones and Shift 2 to 7 semitones for example yields a major chord in which the incoming note is the root The Velocity control beneath each Shift knob makes further harmonic sculpting possible given that the instrument allows for changes in volume or timbre as function of velocity It is a relative control with a range of 1 to 200 percent 100 percent defined as playing at a velocity equal to that of the incoming MIDI note Use the Velocity controls to do anything from adding slight overtones to washing out most of the other chord elements The order in which pitches are added to the chord is inconsequential The effect of a 12 semitone shift added with the Shift 1 control for example is equal in effect to a 12 The Chord Effect CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 283 semitone shift added with the Shift 6 control Note that no two notes of the same pitch can contribute to the chord and that selecting the same shift value twice e g 8 semitones on both Shift 2 and Shift 3 will result in the latter control appearing disabled indicating that it is a duplicate and therefore not in use Actually there is no such thing as
375. value that determines the pitch change is created by two variables The Choices control defines the number of different random notes possible from a range of 1 to 24 the Scale control value is multiplied by the Choices control value and the result dictates the pitches that random notes are allowed to have relative to that of the incoming note For example with Chance set to 50 percent Choices set to 1 and Scale set to 12 half of the resulting notes will play at the original pitch and half will play 12 semitones higher But with Chance set to 50 percent Choices set to 12 and Scale set to 1 half of the resulting notes will play at the original pitch and half will play at one of any that are 12 semitones higher These examples assume that the Sign buttons are set to Add The Sign controls decide whether the random alteration adds to the original note s pitch subtracts from it or does a little of both The LEDs below the Sign controls give you a visual idea of how output pitch compares with that of the original Hint Try using the Scale effect after Random to obtain random values within a specific harmonic range The Random Effect CHAPTER 21 LIVE MIDI EFFECT REFERENCE 286 21 6 Scale Scale alters incoming note pitch based on a scale mapping Each incoming note is given an outgoing equivalent on the X Y scale map of the effect All incoming Cs for example might be converted to outgoing Ds
376. ves do the following 1 2 3 Unfold the track In the waveform or MIDI display click at the position where you want the clip to be split Execute the Split command To isolate a part of a clip do the following 1 2 Unfold the track In the waveform or MIDI display drag a selection over the part of the clip you want to isolate Execute the Split command to divide the original clip into three pieces CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 81 Drumioop The Result of Splitting a Clip 6 10 Consolidating Clips The Consolidate command replaces the material in the Arrangement View selection with one new clip per track This is very useful for creating structure nT Consolidating Several T Clips Into a New Clip Suppose you have by editing or improvising come up with a layout of clips that sound good in Arrangement Loop mode Selecting that part of the Arrangement for instance by using the Edit menu s Select Loop command and then executing the Consolidate command creates a new clip that can be treated as a loop You can now for instance drag the clip edges to create more repetitions You might also want to drag the new loop via the Session View selector into a Session View slot for real time arrangement purposes CHAPTER 6 ARRANGEMENT VIEW 82 When operating on audio clips Consolidate actually creates a new sample for every track in the selection The new samples are essen
377. which can be set in terms of hertz Rate can also be synced to the song tempo and set in meter subdivisions e g sixteenth notes The Phase control lends the sound stereo movement by setting the LFOs to run at the same frequency but offsetting their waveforms relative to each other Set this to 180 and the LFOs will be perfectly out of phase 180 degrees apart so that when one reaches its peak the other is at its minimum Spin detunes the two LFO speeds relative to each other Each delay is modulated at a different frequency as determined by the Spin amount Adjusting the HiPass control will cut low frequencies from the delayed signal The Dry Wet control adjusts the balance between the processed and dry signals Set it to 100 percent if using Flanger in a return track 20 13 Gate 28 0B Release HE Fap 3 45 ms The Gate effect passes only signals whose level exceeds a user specified threshold A gate can eliminate low level noise that occurs between sounds e g hiss or hum or shape a sound by turning up the threshold to where it cuts off reverb or delay tails or truncates an instrument s natural decay The Gate Effect CHAPTER 20 LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE 263 The Threshold slider sets the gate s sensitivity If the gate is open and passing signal i e the signal exceeds the gate threshold the green LED lights The Floor parameter located beneath the Threshold fader can allow attenuatin
378. wser CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 52 5 5 1 Creating Opening and Saving Sets Use the File menu s New command to create new Live Sets and the Open or Open Recent command to open existing ones In the File Browser you can double click or press on a Live Set to open it The File menu s Save command saves the current Live Set exactly as it is including all clips and settings You can also use the Save As command to save the current Live Set under a different name and or in a different directory location or the Save a Copy command to create a copy of the current Live Set with a new name and or new directory location 5 5 2 Merging Sets Live makes it easy to merge Sets which can come in handy when combining work from different versions or pieces To add all tracks except the return tracks from one Live Set into another drag the Set from the File Browser into the current Set and drop it onto any track title bar or into the drop area next to or below the tracks The tracks from the dropped Set will be completely reconstructed including their clips in the Session and Arrangement View their devices and their automation HipHop Simpiez yy E Drop Files and Devices Here Session View Drop Area for Importing Live Sets Arrangement View Drop Area for Importing Live Sets CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 53 If you prefer to import individual tracks from a Set you can unfold the Live
379. www ableton com register CHAPTER 3 UNLOCKING LIVE 16 To use Live on more than one computer at a time you require a secondary license or a site license Ableton offers these licenses at special rates Please contact the sales team for details 3 3 4 Can I Play my Set from a Computer That Is Not Unlocked In Demo Mode you can load and perform a Live Set with no time limitation You cannot however save or export your work When you go on tour consider taking along your Live program CD and a CD with the last state of your Live Set s In case of an emergency you can install and run Live on any computer available and play your backup Live Set s 3 3 5 How Can I Turn Demo Mode Off If Live is unlocked but other products are set to Demo Mode Live will also run in Demo Mode and you will not be allowed to save or export your work To turn Demo Mode off in this case activate the Hide option for each additional product in its respective Product Preference page The Ableton Synthesizer Operator has not yet been unlocked and is running in Demo Mode in Demo Mode you can explore the product s functionality but you cannot save or export your work Buy Find out about buying options and buy Operator online Unlock Once you own Operator unlock it using the Serial Number you received from Ableton Deactivate Demo Mode for Operator To continue using Operator in Demo Mode simply close this dialog 8orders ableton c
380. x including the Essential Instrument Collection shipped to them later for an additional fee 22 5 1 EIC Installation The Essential Instrument Collection is installed separately from the main Live installation The various instruments on the EIC DVD are grouped into separate Live Packs that can be installed as needed To install a Live Pack double click the Live Pack file alp drag it into the Live main window or locate it via the File menu s Install Live Pack command After you have installed the EIC Live Packs you will need to unlock them using the unlock code provided in your Live 6 box To do this open Live s Preferences with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl Jf PC __ _ Mac and then select the Products tab where you ll find the Essential Instrument Collection listed amongst any other Ableton products that you own Further details can be found in the Unlocking Live chapter 22 5 2 Accessing The EIC Multisamples After installation the instruments are accessed through Live s Device Browser You will find them as Instrument Rack presets located in the Instruments folder Many of the orchestral instruments are also available in Lite variations with lower memory and CPU requirements All of the EIC presets come conveniently mapped to Macro Controls for greater expression 22 5 3 The Included Instruments The following multisampled instruments are included e Acoustic Keyboards Grand Piano Harpsichord Celesta e El
381. xternal samples into the Project e listing unused samples in the Project CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 60 e packing a Project in Live Pack format e exporting the Project s contents to the Library 5 7 The Live Library The Live Library acts as a repository of sounds that are available to all Live Projects In Live s File Browsers the Library is accessible through a bookmark C Multisampies E Musik E Sampies a Clips can be conveniently saved in Live Clip format for later reuse by dragging them from the open Live Set into the desired folder in the Library Device presets are saved in the Library by default but you can also save them with a Project Note that saving presets and Live Clips in the Library does not mean that their referenced samples are also saved but Live offers tools for collecting these samples so as to make the Library self contained Ableton delivers Library content that can serve as a starting point for creative exploration Content is shipped in the form of Factory Live Packs Factory Live Packs are available from installation CDs DVDs or the Ableton website To install a Factory Live Pack in the Library double click the Live Pack file alp drag it into the Live main window or locate it via the File menu s Install Live Pack command A list of the currently installed Factory Live Packs is available from the Preferences Products tab Here you can select individual Live Packs from t
382. y board Windows Macintosh Toggle MIDI Map Mode Ctrl M Toggle Key Map Mode Cti JK Computer MIDI Keyboard CHAPTER 26 LIVE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 369 26 13 Zooming Display and Selections Windows Macintosh Zoom In Zoom Out Drag Click to Append to a Selection Click to Add Adjacent Clips to Multi Selection IT i i oha Click to Add Nonadjacent Clips to a Multi Selection Ctrl Q 8 Follow Auto Scroll Ctrl J F Q 98 Pan Left Right of Selection Ctrl Q 2 d 26 14 Clip View Sample Display The shortcuts for zooming and loop region settings also work in the Sample Display Windows Macintosh Move Selected Warp Marker eo KP Select Warp Marker Cr JS Scroll Display to Follow Playback Cr Move Clip Region with Start Marker A JS CHAPTER 26 LIVE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 26 15 Clip View MIDI Editor The shortcuts for zooming snapping drawing and loop region settings also work in the MIDI Editor Windows Macintosh Quantize Ctrl JU aE Scroll Editor Vertically 4 Page y Page Scroll Editor Horizontally Ctrl Page ft Page 8 Page ft Page Copy Note Ctrl Dr
383. you can modify using a number of handy shortcuts For freehand drawing you can hide the grid using the Snap to Grid Options menu entry or the Ctrl_ 4 PC _ W4 Mac shortcut 17 4 2 Editing Breakpoints With Draw Mode off the envelope display looks and works differently The line segments and the breakpoints connecting them become draggable objects Clicking and dragging in the envelope s background defines a selection Here is what you can do e Double click at a position on a line segment to create a new breakpoint there e Double click on a breakpoint to delete it e Click and drag a breakpoint to move it to the desired location If the breakpoint you are dragging is in the current selection all other breakpoints in the selection will follow the movement CHAPTER 17 AUTOMATION AND EDITING ENVELOPES 223 Your movement is constrained by the neighboring breakpoints unless you hold down the modifier while dragging which will eliminate breakpoints as you wipe over them Holding down the PC Mac modifier while dragging switches to a finer resolution e Click and drag a line segment between two breakpoints to move it vertically without affecting the breakpoint s horizontal position If the line segment is in the current selection the envelope is moved vertically across the selected timespan Live inserts breakpoints at the selection s edges to make sure the move only affects the selected part of the envelope
384. you have subsequently moved files using programs other than Live the initial results of a search might be incomplete The Go button s label will change to Rescan If you can t find a file in the search results or need to be sure that the results are comprehensive click the Rescan button or once more and Live will rebuild its index for the current Browser root Activating Browser Search Mode The Search Field and Go Button CHAPTER 5 MANAGING FILES AND SETS 40 J gt F Bass Detector Part 1 alc The Rescan Button Automatic rescanning for new searches can be activated and deactivated in the File Folder Preferences While a search rescan is going on the adjacent search button is labeled Stop Rescanning happens in the background and you can keep making music while Live does its work but you can also abort the search with this button if the disk traffic is bothering you You can go back to the Browser s folder view at any time by closing the search field ii E Bass Detector Part 3 alc gt B Bass Detector Synth Variation alc gt E Fingered Bass Bass 1 alc Closing the Search Field If you select a file from the search results and then close the search field Live makes sure that file remains selected in the folder view opening folders as required Name BB Parent Folder v PS Clips v Po Bass EE Bass Detector Part 1 alc EB Bass Detector Part2al

Ableton Live - 6.0 Reference Manual

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