Ableton Live!

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No Music Discussion > Musician's Lounge > Ableton Live!

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

I have run Live 6 on my white Macbook 2.16ghz/2gb since it was released. I currently use it for band practice to run backing drums/synths and provide vocal inputs and the occasional guitar input. My interface is a MOTU Ultralite. Our band has also recorded our demo using Live, and it worked out fine.

Back when I was doing live techno sets (started with version 4), I could run a few light software synths and a whole mess of loops on my iBook G4... With very high latency, of course.

If you are having issues with delay/glitching, it is likely your latency settings. Preferences/Audio/Buffer Size. Mine is currently set at 128 samples, which is about 3.59ms. Almost unnoticeable. Give that a try.

You can also use the Driver Error Compensation to even it out if it's still not working out, or if you need to use higher buffer settings because of VSTs or whatever. Make sure you set your delay times in whichever channels you want to use. The manual describes this better than I can.

Also, Ableton runs a very active forum at http://forum.ableton.com/. Everyone is very helpful and there is a LOT of information.

a_pineapple fucked around with this message at 16:47 on Jun 5, 2009

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 16:44

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 01:34

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

JarmerFohn posted:

I haven't figured it out. Ive been working with it for awhile and every time I drop in a live audio clip it automatically changes the tempo and distorts the hell out of the clip. Ive given up trying to warp and then loop live tracks, it never comes out smooth at all.

Thats not to say Live isnt great. I've found ways around that little problem above, but it would be nice if I knew what the heck live was doing to my audio clips.... it would also be nice if i had a comp that could handle more than 3 midi instruments, but thats not changing anytime soon.

yes

You can toggle the various automatic warp settings. You can choose which warp mode Live uses by default. It's in Preferences/Record Warp Launch/Warp. Mine's set to "Auto" and "Re-Pitch".

If you're having issues with clips sounding warbly when you play them back, try changing the warp mode. I rarely use "Beats" for anything other than very chunky rhythmic elements. "Repitch" allows the clip to be sped up but does not preserve pitch. "Repitch" will be the least warb-ly of them all as long as you can deal with your clip's pitch changing.

"Complex" is an interesting one. I'm still on version 7, but I think they improved the algorithm in version 8. "Complex" uses more CPU, but you may get better results.

I rarely use "Tones" or "Texture" because I haven't really found anything I like to use them with. Remember that the farther your clip's original tempo is from Live's tempo, the weirder your warped clips may sound. Experiment with the different warp modes to find out how they work.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2009 22:32

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

TylerK posted:

Quick question: in arrangement view, are there any keyboard shortcuts for arming the track and for setting Monitor to "in"? I didn't see any in the keyboard shortcut list, but I'm hoping there's some hidden ones so I don't have to slap together some retarded AutoHotKey script that does it.

Hit CTRL+K or CMD+K and assign some keyboard keys to the buttons.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2009 02:08

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

TylerK posted:

Ah, should have been more specific. I'm looking for something that will do it for the currently selected track. But I didn't know about that keymapping thing, so that's pretty cool.

Hmm, not too sure on that one. You might look into a MIDI controller with Automap. Or else try a search/asking on the Ableton forums.

a_pineapple fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Jun 6, 2009

# ¿ Jun 6, 2009 04:03

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

Gorilla Salsa posted:

Record both bass and guitar (two mics in front of each amp going into a firewire interface is how I assume the setup would need to be)

Yeah, you enable the inputs in prefs, assign them to some channels, arm the channels, and record away.

quote:

Use my MIDI keyboard controller to play around with piano/synth sounds like I can in Reason?

First you start Live, then you start Reason. Live will act as a Rewire host. Then when Reason loads, you will have the option in any channels you have created in Live to accept audio from Reason.

quote:

Use an existing MIDI file to create realistic-sounding drum/marimba/synth tracks?

Yup, you just drag your MIDI file around from Live's browser into a channel, then slap whatever instrument you are using into the channel. Live also includes a shitload of sounds and some multisampling instruments.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2009 00:12

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

RivensBitch posted:

So what's the problem?

But on the topic of the thread, I've been using Ableton for over a year now, after having been pretty well versed in Protools and Cubase. I'm finally working on a project that is more linear that what I've been doing in Ableton, it's got 8 tracks of drumkit and guitars and bass etc. I'm trying to do some of the fancier editing that I was used to in protools, and I'm finding it's not as elegant as I'd like. For instance, in protools and cubase you can fade the edges of the clip by mousing over the edges until the icon changes to the fade tool, then you drag a fade envelope over the clip. In live it seems the only way to do this is to double click the clip, bring up the envelop editor, and draw in a fade on the volume envelope. This is a lot more tedious than I'd like, does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this more elegantly? And in general, any tips on how to use the arrangement view in live would be greatly appreciated.

Eh, it's not too hard at all. You pull down the envelope menu, CMD+B (to select pencil), click anywhere in the clip to create some of those nice little dots, CMD+B again, then drag the dots around to create a fade. Takes like 5 seconds. You can also copy and past envelopes.

The trick is figuring out the most efficient way to get the results you want.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2009 00:19

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

Gorilla Salsa posted:

Oh, I don't have reason, I was just using it as an example. I remember when I used the demo version of Reason, I was able to simply select an instrument (i.e. synth or other) and play my keyboard controller and it was just like playing a standalone synth.

poo poo that's even easier. You drag the instrument from Live's browser into whatever channel you want, select your controller in the channel, and tap away on your keyboard.

Live even includes some pretty decent synths for extra cash, or there are billions of third party synths out there.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2009 01:42

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

RizieN posted:

Bummer thats PC only Anyone know of a similar thing for mac, preferably free, but I could always pay if it's worth it.

Sugar Bytes Effectrix is even a little better than dBlue Glitch I think.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2009 16:07

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

Leninboarrir posted:

I just bought a FCB1010 though...would it be worth it to keep it?

Totally. The FCB is pretty versatile. Besides controlling playback and recording, you could also use it to control effects. Perhaps you will need to do some on-the-fly stuff too.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2009 20:43

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

Mannex posted:

today I made a bunch of live clips for every diatonic triad in the C major and C minor keys.

now to come up with songs I just randomly click buttons. Key change? Just turn this knob over here!

thanks ableton! :iamafag:

edit:

These might help you a bit:
http://www.fakecomputermusic.com/etc/chordscalepresets.zip

I can't remember where I got these, but they were from someone on the Ableton forum.

a_pineapple fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Jun 22, 2009

# ¿ Jun 22, 2009 23:35

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

ZeldaLeft posted:

i want to map certain buttons on my midi controllers to play specific notes/chords on the piano roll. do I have to make a separate midi clip for each desired note/chord and trigger them that way, or is there a way to map buttons directly to notes?

What kind of controller is it?
If I understand you, the best way would be if you could edit the control type of the particular button... Like if it's a CC, change it to note on or whatever it's called.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2009 18:29

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

RivensBitch posted:

So for those of you who start the song right on beat one, what do you do if you want to start recording vocals or an acoustic instrument right at the beginning of the track? What do you use for a timing reference / count off/in?

Maybe it's just a throwback to when computers weren't as fast, but even if everything is electronic and sequenced and I don't need to record something at the beginning of the track, I've always left an extra measure or two at the beginning of all my sessions to give the DAW some time to render any real time effects and "settle". I know that when I have a cpu heavy session, starting playback at any random point in the timeline can make playback stutter or hiccup for just a second.

And as for rendering, I always prefer to trim the ends of my mixdowns and I rarely ever start a track right exactly on the one.

I use Live's Count-In feature.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2011 17:16

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

I'm still on version 6. It kinda sucks because I can't use Complex warp mode on OSX 10.6 without crashing Live. (This is a known issue, and there is no fix AFAIK

) Should I bite the bullet and just get the upgrade, or continue to wait for version 9? The only things I would upgrade for would be the sidechaining in the compressor, external instrument/effect plugs, the new warping, and possibly the Bridge.

I guess I'm just trying to justify spending the $200 if 9 is slated to come out soon. I don't really think it is honestly. SOMEONE TELL ME TO UPGRADE ALREADY. I think I've saved up enough in my change jar.

# ¿ Feb 16, 2011 06:16

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

a foolish pianist posted:

Say I've got an acappella track, and I want to use it as the basis for a Live song. What's the best way to go about getting the song-length vocal into sync with everything else?

Call me crazy, but I prefer not to timestretch/warp acapellas. I like to manually slice the whole thing, line it up as needed, and then consolidate it. It works really well to create slightly glitchy chopped up vocals, and preserves the key.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2011 19:24

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

Rakshas posted:

I'm new to live and I'm trying to figure out how to keep a midi note alive. Firstly, I need a note to keep ringing after I press and release a key on my keyboard. It's an arpeggiated and chorded thingy, so I'd like to it go on till I press another key. At this point, the first note should stop and the second should start playing.

For the life of me I can't figure out how to do it. Under midi effects there's a note length utility but that doesn't seem like it works.

Use the Note Length MIDI plug. Set "Length" to 60s.
Whatever instrument plug you're using, make sure it's set to monophonic instead of polyphonic.

There are also other ways to do this depending on what, specifically, you are trying to do.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2011 17:34

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

wayfinder posted:

Isn't that precisely what Beat Mode warping is?

Yeah, same concept. However warping in Beat mode does a quantized warp thing at a defined rate which can create a warbly effect if it's used on stuff that is more textural or instrumental. I just remove parts/scootch stuff around based on if it sounds good or not. Primarily vocals. Complex Pro works good for anything else.

Rakshas posted:

I'm using the Midi Length tool like you suggested with Length set to 60s but I'm finding the previous note still keeps ringing. There a way to put a lid on the previous note?

I'm specifically trying to trigger midi samples in a live performance setting and I don't want the previous clip to play all the way through before the second clip starts. Basically need to press key once -> trigger clip 1 -> press second key -> shut clip 1 start clip 2.

Ah. so you're using clips? Try messing around with your clip launch modes. You have Trigger, Gate, Toggle, Repeat. Then the Legato button and the Quantization under that. In this case, I think all you gotta do is change the quantization. If you want the clip to play as soon as you press the button, set it to "None." If you need it on the beat for example, set it to "1/4." You could set up a monophonic sampler with enough clips in the channel if you wanted.

Also, here's how the clip launch options work:
Trigger: Clip plays normally
Gate: You gotta hold the clip's play button down
Toggle: Press once to play, press again to stop.
Repeat: Same as Trigger, except if you hold the play button down it repeats based on the clips quantization
Legato: The clip's playhead keeps going instead of going back to the beginning

# ¿ Aug 24, 2011 03:29

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

Or if you don't wanna use a return track, toss the plug into a rack device and make your own wet/dry control.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2012 01:18

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

If anyone is running an iPad/Phone/Touch, you should really check out LiveControl: http://livecontrol.q3f.org/
Pretty amazing software.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2012 18:46

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

Mister Speaker posted:

Content: what's the latest on Live 9?

Nothing but speculation, per the norm.

I'm really really really hoping to be able to use video clips in session view, and hoping for support for video fx plugs, but I'm not holding my breath.

# ¿ Apr 27, 2012 20:38

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

Dudes,
I've been annoyed with the lack of support for video clips in Session view. Then I remembered The Bridge! It turns Serato Video into a video player with effects and everything, that is tempo-synced to Live if the video file is tagged with the BPM.

It's rad as gently caress, and has worked flawlessly so far. The only caveat is that it requires an SSL interface to be connected like a huge dongle, and the whole thing crashes if it gets unplugged. Heh heh. I really wish Serato would make something like video-only thing work with The Bridge as long as it's synced to Live.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2012 00:40

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 01:34

a_pineapple: Dec 23, 2005

APC40 chat

I found a broken APC40 on craigslist. Took it apart and saw a botched USB port repair job. Some SMD resistors were blown too.
While it was apart, I decided to take reference pictures in case anyone can find use for them:
(right click open url for giant)

# ¿ Nov 21, 2013 23:21

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