Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ABLETON LIVE 8 VOLUME 2 THE IN-DEPTH GUIDE FOR THE CREATIVE MUSICIAN
ABLETON LIVE 8
THE IN-DEPTH GUIDE FOR THE CREATIVE MUSICIAN
PRO ADVICE
AND ALL NEW
WORKSHOPS
132
PAGES OF
NEW & IMPROVED
LIVE 8 KNOW-HOW
8.99
ISBN 978-1-906925-37-6
9 781906 925376
www.musictechmag.co.uk
18 Live 8 Workshops
75 Power Users tips
Essential Live 8 controllers
Industry pros interviewed
Whats next for Live?
VOLUME 2
Great site! There is always something to learn here, no matter what your level is! - David Guetta
There is something for every Producer & DJ to learn on Sonic Academy - Dave Dresden
Welcome MTF
Welcome
Contributors
Mike Hillier, Hollin Jones, Liam OMullane
MUSIC TECH FOCUS MAGAZINE
www.musictechmag.co.uk
Anthem Publishing Ltd
Suite 6, Piccadilly House
London Road, Bath BA1 6PL
Tel +44 (0) 1225 489984
Fax +44 (0) 1225 489980
editorial@anthem-publishing.com
DONT MISS
OUR GREAT
SUBS OFFER!
Never miss an issue
by subscribing to
Music Tech Focus.
Turn to page 106 to
discover a fantastic,
money-saving offer.
| 03
MTF Contents
Issue 24
ALL NEW
WORKSHOPS
& TUTORIALS
Technique
Feature
The story of
LIVE
King Britt
Francesco Tristano
Kutmaster Kurt
and Phon.o
focus
Contents MTF
006 | Workshop
Understanding Lives audio editor
p92
p104
p95
p76
042 | Walkthrough
Processing techniques
046 | Workshop Performance
controls for a live show
050 | Round Up Microphones
12 Live Workshops
054 | Workshop
MIDI effect plug-ins
p92
058 | Walkthrough
Bass instruments
062 | Workshop
The Bridge: Part 1 The Basics
p28
066 | Workshop
The Bridge: Part 2
Enhancing a DJ set
p06
p122
6 Live Step-by-Steps
p24
p31
p58
125 | Walkthrough
Programming live sounding
drums
129 | Next issue Recording Vol 2
130 | Your MTF DVD
|5
Understanding
Lives audio editor
On the disc
iveisafullycapableaudioproduction
environmentbut,morethananyotherDAW,it
placesanemphasisonworkingwithclipsand
samples:shortsectionsofaudioandMIDIthat
youloopuptocreateyourtracks.Itcanrecord
longtakesaswell,ofcourse,butitsotherbigselling
point,thewarpingofaudio,isbestcarriedouton
shortersectionsofaudio.TheideabehindLivewhenit
wascreatedwasthatyoucouldtakeloopsfromany
source,orindeedrecordthemdirectly,andthesoftware
wouldanalysetheseandmakethemelastic,enabling
themtoautomaticallystretchtofitaprojectstempoas
wellasfollowingtempochangesinaproject.Audio
wouldbecomemorelikeMIDI,infinitelymalleable.Over
timethishasbecomemoresophisticatedandnow
Liveswarpingengineisverypowerful.
Clip view
youareabletospecifyanexternalaudioeditorinthe
Preferencesthatwillhandlemorecomplexediting
tasks.Formanyusers,however,Livesownaudioclip
editorismorethanpowerfulenoughtoaccomplishthe
kindsoftasksthatyouneedtoperformeverydaywhen
usingthesoftware.
Double-clickonanyaudioclipanditopensinthe
Clipviewatthebottomofthewindow.Warpmodewill
automaticallybeon,andyoucangointothe
Preferences>Warpsectiontochoosethedefaultwarp
modefornewclips. 1 Thiscanbesettodefaulttoa
varietyofdifferentmodes.Theseclipsarealsoavailable
onaper-clipbasis,bygoingintotheSampleareainthe
Clipviewer.
PRO TIP
If you need to perform detailed
or complex audio waveform
editing Live enables you to
specify a third-party
application to do this. Here for
example, Peak has been
chosen, so when we click Edit
on an audio clip in Live, it is
opened in Peak. We can make
any changes or processing
that we need to do in Peak and
then save the file and it will be
updated in Live, complete with
the new changes.
Beats setting
TheBeatssettingisperhapsthemostconventional,
andusesanalgorithmappropriateforslicingupbeats,
drumsandrhythms.Inothercases,though,thematerial
maynotberhythmic,soyoumaywanttosetadifferent
algorithmtogetthebestresults. 2
Tonesmodeisforaudiowithaclearpitch,perhaps
monophonicaudio,suchasavocal.Textureisfor
polyphonicsoundsparticularlysoundsthathavealot
goingon,suchasguitarchords.Re-PitchforcesLiveto
alterthepitchaswellasthetimingtheeffectisthe
sameasifyouhadchangedthespeedonarecord.This
isoffbydefaultbecausenormallyyouwouldntwanta
warpedcliptobehaveinthisway,butinsomecasesits
usefultobeabletoswitchiton.
Finally,ComplexandComplexPromodesarebetter
employedformoredifficultjobs,suchaswarpinga
wholesong,orforusingonanaudioclipwithbeatsand
otheraudioinitwhichmaynotrespondwelltothe
AlthoughLivedoesnothavethedetailedaudioediting
featuresofsomeoftheotherDAWsyoucanuse,one
advantagethatitdoeshaveoverthecompetitionisthat
2
3
Warping for audio clips is on by default but can be changed
to suit the kind of material you are working with rhythmic,
monophonic, polyphonic or complex.
focus
LivesaudioeditorWorkshop MTF
4
6
PRO TIP
Using an external wave editor
doesnt necessarily mean
spending money. Audacity is a
great free audio editor
package for all major
platforms that can perform
most of the kinds of tasks that
you would ever need for
editing clips from Live. Simply
go into Lives preferences and
specify Audacity as the editor
that should be launched, and
youre away.
Loop selector
By dragging the mouse over an area of a clips waveform
you can select areas of it to use as a loop. Live should
snap everything to a grid for you, so when you select,
the mouse should snap to bars or divisions of bars
accurately. The Loop Brace can be dragged around an
area of a clip to set a loop area and if you hold the [Alt]
key while clicking in the Ruler area, you can instantly
move the loop to a new location in the clip. 5 This loop
will be exactly the same length and, with snapping
focus AbletonLive8Volume2 |7
Samples can be looped and cropped, and warp markers added and
manipulated in real time to create variations and mashed up samples.
Sample settings
Back in the Sample section of the clip editor you can
make further settings for the audio clip to control its
playback. By clicking on its name you will reveal it in the
browser and under the name readout can be seen
quality settings for the clip. 10
Hitting the Edit button will open an external audio
editor program, if you have linked one in Lives
preferences, and clicking the Save button will ensure
that the clip is saved with any settings you have made
here. Any instances of this clip dropped into a Set any
time in the future will retain all the settings you have
made, so this is a good way to ensure that clips behave
as expected.
Do your preparatory work by setting up clips in this
way and save them. Then you shouldnt get any
surprises when you come to use them as part of a live
Livesaudioeditorsectionis
logically laid out andgivesyou
accesstoallkindsofparameters
performance in future. The Rev button will reverse a clip
and the Hi-Q button enables higher quality sample rate
conversion, at the expense of a little more CPU usage.
The Fade button performs a very short fade when the
clip ends and loops, avoiding any clipping, and the RAM
button makes the clip play from RAM rather than the
hard drive, which can be faster.
Beneath this section can be found a global
transpose control for the clip, which can be used to
alter its pitch without changing the tempo. There is also
a Detune box here, into which you can enter smaller
tuning values, or click and hold with the mouse and
drag up or down to change values. 11 This is a very
useful tool for when you are trying to match the pitch of
a sample with your projects key, especially if it has
been recorded live and may be slightly out of tune. A
volume slider lets you set the volume of the clip
independently of Lives mixer.
As Lives audio editor section is logically laid out and
gives you access to all kinds of parameters, so do dive in
and take better control of your audio clips. Before long
youll be a master of audio warping and tweaking.
10
8|AbletonLive8Volume2
11
focus
:
g
n
i
y
Pla
w
o
N
ry
e
v
e
h
Watc
eo
d
i
v
r
e
h
t
o
y
er
v
e
s
lu
p
o
e
vid
e
v
i
nL
o
t
e
l
Ab
te!
i
s
e
on th
Get it all.
Video tutorials by certied instructors, pro mixers, producers and power users
Ableton Live, Pro Tools, Logic, Reason, plug-ins, recording, mixing and more
Learn basics, advanced material, tips & tricks and mix / production techniques
Value priced online subscriptions, boxed discs and digital downloads available
www.groove3.com
compatible with:
PC
With all new looks, usb connection and over 80 shortcuts for Ableton Live , your Editors
Keys dedicated keyboard will help you to edit lightning fast and turn your average studio,
into a professional studio in no time.
Compatible with PC and Mac, and with a 97% rating on trustpilot.com (based on
independent reviews), its time to get yours now, before they sell out. Just 59.99
Over 80 shortcuts
3 year warranty
Visit: www.editorskeys.com
Power up
MTF Technique Hardware controllers
LIVE
However you go about using Live, you will almost certainly
want to add a few extras if you are really going to get the
most out of it. Hollin Jones has a few ideas for you
e can safely say that the computer is at the heart of almost every studio these days,
whether its for MIDI sequencing, audio recording and editing or, more likely, some
combination of all three. Software took a while before it became capable enough to
handle every part of the production process, but it has been at that level for some
time now. Although people realised just how much more flexible software could be
than traditional recording technology, the focus has gradually changed from wanting to do
everything in the box to remembering what had been quite useful about incorporating some
hardware into a setup. This wasnt a desire for a return to the days of limited tracks, low RAM
capacities and outboard effects that could only be used on one track at a time but rather a wish to
bring some of the old hands-on
element back to the music-making
process. This was true of studio
musicians but especially of live
performers, who started to be able
to use laptops reliably as part of
their stage shows about a decade
ago and not just for playing
backing tracks, but for creating and
triggering things on the fly....
Enter Live
Live, as the name might suggest, has always had a focus on live performance, and was an obvious
candidate for the development of hands-on hardware control. Not all that long after such devices
became available, mobile technology also started to take off, with Apples App Store opening up a new
world of controller possibilities using the companys powerful portable wireless devices. MIDI over Wi-Fi
had existed before, and there had been excellent if expensive programmable touch controllers like
Jazzmutants Lemur, but the iOS devices changed the landscape forever. More powerful than the top-end
computers people made music on 20 years ago, they are relatively affordable think hundreds rather
than thousands of pounds and the apps themselves inexpensive. Theyre not yet able to perform all the
focus Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
| 11
Sound advice
The most basic category of hardware you need to pair
with Live is not actually a MIDI input device but an
audio interface. Actually, you could use your
computers built-in audio card but these rarely if ever
offer a satisfactory combination of quality and
performance. The biggest issue is latency, and they are
simply not designed for high performance playback
and recording. So an audio interface is necessary. The
most common platform for Live is a laptop, which more
or less necessitates a USB2 or FireWire interface, most
probably the USB option. Almost all laptops lack a
PCMCIA card slot only the highest end and largest
form factor ones have these so although such
interfaces are available, they are rare.
A good
USB audio
interface, such
as Focusrites
Saffire 6 USB, will
give you excellent
recording quality
at low latencies.
LiveRemote,
available from the
App Store, is one of
a small number of
dedicated apps for
controlling Live
directly from your
iPod Touch, iPad or
iPhone.
focus
MIDI matters
Recording sound is one of Lives talents but it is also an
excellent MIDI sequencer and comes with a range of MIDI
instruments of its own, as well as supporting third-party
plug-ins in VST format on Windows, and VST and Audio Unit
on the Mac. Although you can enter MIDI data by hand using
the mouse, its far more creative to use a MIDI keyboard or
other input device. There are loads of these available, and
they are almost all USB-powered, sending current and MIDI
data across a single cable to
your computer. The most
basic kind of MIDI
keyboard simply has keys,
which are used to trigger
notes in Live to record MIDI
clips. Most also have some
real-time controls, which
may include faders, dials,
buttons and pads. The
bigger the keyboard,
Novations
Launchpad is a
dedicated portable
unit for controlling
Live sets. The buttons
correspond to clip
slots and you can
navigate around
projects easily.
MIDI mapping
These MIDI controllers, with their pads, faders and
dials, are rendered much more useful than they might
otherwise be thanks to Lives support for both instant
mapping of certain devices and MIDI-learn features for
devices that are not directly supported, or for when you
want to customise a template. Instant mapping saves
time if you are using a supported device, because it
means that when you plug the device in and make sure
it can be seen in Live, by going into the MIDI
preferences and choosing it from the list
of available control surfaces, its
controls will map to the devices that
you select in Live, so you can quickly
and easily control drum machines,
synth parameters and mixer
channels with no set-up. Go to www.
ableton.com/controllers to see a list
of currently supported models.
If your model isnt supported, or
you want to change an assignment,
go to the controls at the top
right-hand corner of Lives window.
InyourLiveproject,gototheMIDI
buttonatthetoprightofthescreen.
Whenyouclickonthisyouwillseeelements
oftheinterfacelightupinblue,meaningthey
canbeassigned.Selectanoutlined
parameterthenmoveacontrolonyourMIDI
hardware.Thetwoshouldthenlinktogether.
01
Ifthetwodonotlink,gointoLives
PreferencesandcheckthatyourMIDI
deviceisactiveandrecognisedintheMIDI/
Syncsection.Aswellasbeingsenttothe
Track,itwillneedtobebeingsenttothe
Remotefunctionaswell,sotheRemotebutton
foryourdeviceshouldbeactivated.
02
PresstheKeybuttonatthetopright
ratherthantheMIDIbuttonandyour
computerkeysbecomeassignableas
shortcuts,usefulifyouareworkingwithouta
MIDIdevice,ortoextendthemappingofyour
Set.Anyassignmentsyoumakeappearinthe
KeyorMIDIMappingswindowtotheleft.
03
| 13
Dedicated devices
So far we have talked about more generic MIDI
controllers which, even if supported by the Instant
Mapping system in Live, are not designed to work with
the software. There are, however, some hardware units
that have been designed to work with Live, from
Novation and Akai.
The Novation Launchpad is a highly portable Live
controller, with a multi-coloured, backlit 64-button grid
and modes both for controlling clips in Session view
and for Lives mixer. The buttons correspond to clip
slots, and theres bi-directional communication
between the software and the hardware so you can see
what is active. In either of the two custom User modes,
the Launchpad becomes completely customisable,
letting you set up assignments as you wish using the
MIDI learn mode. Amazingly you can also chain up to
six launchpad units together, creating a system with
more than 400 assignable buttons. With a single unit
you can still use the arrow buttons to navigate a
project so youre not limited to just controlling whats
on screen.
Going mobile
One of the most recent developments in controller technology
has been in the mobile arena. Some apps are generic MIDI
control applications, others are specifically designed to work
with Live, though Ableton has so far not produced one of its
own. They vary from rudimentary controllers that require
Tostartwithyouneedtohaveyour
audiointerfaceconnected,switchedon
andcorrectlysetuptoappearasasystem
device.GointoLivesPreferencesandfind
Audio.SelectthedevicefromtheAudioInput
andOutputdropdownmenus.OnWindows
youmayalsoneedtochooseadrivertype
fromthemenubythatname.
01
focus
Whereyourinterfacehasmorethantwo
insandouts,youcanclicktheConfig
buttonstoactivateordeactivatethem.You
mightwanttoactivatemore inputchannelsfor
recordingmultiplesourcesatonce,andmore
outputchannelsforroutingtracksoutofLive
separatelyformixingusingexternalmixer
hardware.
02
BackinLivesmainwindowinSession
viewyoucannowassigntheinputof
anyaudiotracktoreadfromanyoftheaudio
channelsyouactivatedinthelaststep,as
wellasdoingthesamewithoutputs.Ifyou
areDJingwithLiveyoumightalsowantto
changetheCueoutputs,givingyoumore
flexibilityovermonitoringinlivesituations.
03
AKAI MPK25
Price 169
Based on the Akai MPK49, the MPK25 has
a 25-key, semi-weighted keyboard with
after-touch, 12 genuine MPC pads and
four pad banks 48 sounds in total
transport controls and MPC features like
note repeat and swing normally found on
AKAIs flagship sequencer hardware.
Web www.akaipro.com
Powered up
Live is flexible enough to use it on its own on a laptop
with no extra devices, but almost everyone will want
to add some extras at the very least, a MIDI input
device and an audio interface. The dedicated Live
controllers from Novation and Akai are excellent for
taking Live Sets to the next level, and you can use any
third-party MIDI controller with the software thanks
to its MIDI mapping functionality. Anyone who owns
an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad can take advantage of
the small but growing number of controller apps that
can be used with Live, and these are usually not very
expensive. Last but not least, a decent array of
third-party plug-ins or samples can really round off
your system and give you everything you need to be
making great music. MTF
01
02
03
| 15
Drum sounds
On the disc
and devices
eforegettingtootechnicalwithDrumRacks,
itsagoodideatoexplorethevariouskitand
hitpresetsfromtheLivelibrary(andanyyou
mayhaveinstalledfromthird-partyLive
Packs).Thesecanbeagreatstartingpoint
fordrumwork.Youcanviewthesebyexpandingthe
DrumRackfolderintheLiveDeviceBrowser. 1
DrumRackpresetsthemselvescanbequite
complex.Theyoftenoffermultiplelayersofsamplesfor
differentvelocitiesaswellascarefullyselectedMacro
controlsforeasytweakingofthesoundofthekitorhit.
LoadanypresetfromtheKitfolderandthenclickallof
thebuttonsontheleft-handsidetoexpandeachDrum
Racksection.Itseasiesttounderstandwhichbutton
openseachsectionbyclickingthemonandoffafew
timestovisualiseandrememberthem. 2
ThefirstisunderneaththeDeviceActivatorbutton
onthetopleft-handside,whichrevealstheeightMacro
dials.BelowthisistheChainListbutton,whichshows
horizontalDrumRackaudiochannelsforeachdrum
pad.ThenextbuttonshowsyoutheactualDevicesfor
PRO TIP
Fast drum layering can be
achieved by highlighting
numerous audio files in the
Browser to then drag into the
Drum Pads Chain List (not the
main Rack). This may create
too many competing layers,
which will overload the output.
So expand the Drum Rack
mixer in Session View,
highlight all channels, pull
their volume fully down and
then blend to your own taste.
eachchain.WhentheChainListisopen,fourmore
buttonsappearbelow.TheAbuttonworkswithDevices
view,auto-updatingtothelastdrumpadtriggered.
ClickontheSsymbolandyouwillbeabletosee
individualsendsontheChainview,whiletheRsymbol
opensanewreturnviewbelowthis.Thesereturnsare
withintheDrumRackitselfandarecombinedwiththe
originaldrumsoundatitsoutput,whichcanthenbe
processedtogetherasawhole.Thisisusefulforglueing
adrumsoundtogetherwiththeeffectsusing
compression.UptosixDrumRackReturnchannelscan
becreatedandyoucansendanychainelementtothem
forinstance,addingreverbtojustthesnaredrum.
Shouldyouwishtosendasingledrumelementfrom
aRacktooneofthemainmixerreturns,youcancreate
ablankReturnChainwithintheRack.Right-click(PC)/
[Ctrl]-click(Mac)intheblankareaoftheRacksreturn
section,thenchoseCreateReturnChainfromthe
popupmenu.Nowselectthenameofthemainreturn
channelyouwishtousefromtheAudioTomenu(setto
RackOutputbydefault).Thissendnowleavesthedrum
Rackandgoesstraighttomainreturn,whilethedry
drumpadsoundleavesasnormalthroughtheRacks
output.Agoodreasonforemployingthissetupistouse
asinglereverbunit,ensuringthatyourwholemixhasa
unifiedambience.
Finally,theIObuttonshowsMIDInoteinandout
optionsanditsmostusefultools,whicharethe16
chokegroups.Thesearetypicallyusedformaking
closedandopenhi-hatsamplesoverrideeachother
whentheotherplays,likearealhi-hatdoes.Theyare
alsoexcellenttoolsforavoidingoverlapbetween
elementssuchasbassdrumsandsnaresinany
3
Various presets are available for full drum kits or single sounds, both with
plenty of macro-based variables for easy control. These can be used as
quick audio starting points to then swap out for other sounds later on.
focus
DrumsoundsanddevicesWorkshop MTF
Therelease stageonthevolume
ADSRusuallyneedsincreasingso
eachsoundhas a natural decay
non-four-to-the-floor-based genre. By setting sounds
to the same group, any tails will be muted when
programming fills or builds, which means you reduce
audio clutter and any slight increases in volume.
Swap shop
The Hot-Swap button appears in various different
places within a Drum Rack. It looks like a recycling sign,
with two arrows rotating in one direction. 3
Reading from left to right, the first Hot-Swap button
is on the drum pad itself; this can load single sound
presets or raw audio files while creating a default
Simpler device to play it. The next is on the Drum Rack
title bar; this replaces the entire Rack with other
presets, so its useful only when starting drum work and
searching for a kit to get started with. You can always
use the other available Hot-Swaps to swap out sounds
after youve programmed a beat later on.
If youve loaded a preset kit or sound, the Simpler
device may be surrounded by an Instrument Rack for its
own macro controls. Its Hot-Swap (on kick-606) only
lets you change for more presets, not audio files. If you
are working on drum layers (which involves numerous
chains on one pad), you can Hot-Swap one layer at a
time using the Hot-Swap on each chain to the right of
the solo button. The final two are on the Simpler itself,
which is the default instrument holding the audio file.
Using the Simplers title bar option will leave any MIDI
or audio effects in the current chain intact but change
the Simpler, whereas the Hot-Swap button on the
bottom-right of the waveform display changes only the
sample and leaves all settings such as filter, pitch and
ADSR controls as they are. This is handy if you want to
try different sample sources while keeping any
sound-shaping you have already created.
When using sample-based hot-swapping from the
drum pad or the waveform display, be sure to disengage
auto-audition by clicking the small headphone symbol
at the bottom of the file browser. If you dont do this,
PRO TIP
A fast way to interact with any
potential new audio file is by
manually using the audition
option in the File Browser. Set
the Quantization menu to
None, then switch off
auto-audition by clicking the
headphone symbol below the
Browser. Now you can tap out
rhythms with the right arrow
key and preview any potential
new sounds on the spot.
Simpler sounds
Whether you load in presets to start with or work from a
blank canvas by loading in raw audio, the best control
can be done at source and this process, by default,
starts with a Simpler. The purest way to start is when
audio has been dragged to a pad or a chain. This way the
Simpler will be initialised for you to then shape the
sound as you prefer.
The release stage on the volume ADSR usually needs
increasing so each sound has a natural decay. But the R
symbol in the lower right has a choke-like behaviour
and prevents overlaps on fast repeats of the sound.
Before thinking of compression, lower the sustain level
and shape the initial transient with the Attack and
Decay stages, then raise the Sustain as appropriate.
10
12
11
focus
Oh my god, my flow
is unstoppable! I get
things done ten times
faster than I ever
imagined
The MTF Interview King Britt
King Britt has one impressive CV, combining commercial with critical success, and now
the award winning and best selling producer and DJ reveals to Music Tech Focus how
hardware control eventually turned him on to Ableton Live
focus
| 21
GOING API
King Britt also recommends going
deeper with other third-party tools that offer
unconventional effects. I also love the API
tools. Especially the API Param2Param. Its like
you can have all these extra hands like robots
within the program doing things to make your
mixes breathe.
RESAMPLING IS A LIFESAVER.
The resampling feature (which is shown here
as the right-hand track recording) is another top tool
used by Britt. You can really be creative and make
your own samples quickly and cleanly with this one.
focus
MIXERS/
INTERFACES
Avalon 727i
MOTU 828
Native
Instruments
Audio 6/8
Yamaha 03D (x2)
EFX/PEDALS
Korg Kaoss Pad
Quad
Moogerfooger
Low Pass Filter,
MIDI Murf, Ring
Modulator
Moog MP201
Multi Pedal
Pioneer EFX 1000
CONTROLLERS
Akai MPK Mini,
APC40
Monome 64
Native
On the disc
Arrange clips
ByarrangingclipsinSessionviewinrowsratherthancolumnsyoucan
createScenesthatcanbelaunchedwithasingleclickintheMastercolumn.
Modify clips
Clipscanbemodifiedpostrecordingorimport,sotheresno
limittowhatyoucanachievein
termsofcreatingvariationsand
layeringtogetherbackingparts.
focus
InyourLiveSet,openthebrowserand
navigatetoafolderthatcontainsaudio
loops.Setyourprojecttempotosomething
suitablethiscanbechangedlaterand
thenclickonanaudiolooptohearit.Youwill
needtoclicktheheadphonesicon.Then
double-clickontheloopordragitintothe
SessionViewareaanditwillbeplacedintoa
clipslot.
01
Repeatwithmoreloops.Itwillhelpifthey
arepartofthesamecollection,inwhich
caseyoumightfindthattherearemultiple
loopsfordifferentstagesofasong.Buildups,
breakdownsandsoon.Placetheminseparate
tracksifyouwanttoplaythematthesame
time,orinthesametrackifyouwantthemto
playatdifferenttimes.
02
Sounds live
Importing audio loops is another really common way to
quickly build up backing parts and, if you want it to be, its
PRO TIP
If you right-click on a clip in
Session or Arrangement view
you get the option to freeze
the track. This is helpful if you
have a heavy instrument or a
lot of processing and effects
on a track and your CPU is
struggling. By freezing the
track you render it down to a
temporary audio file so the
burden is lifted from your
system.
Right-clickonanaudioclipinthe
browserorinaslotandyoucanchoose
tosliceittoanewMIDItrack.Ifyoudothis,
theloopwillbecomeeasiertoeditand
re-sequenceitwillalsobecomepossibleto
playitbyhandfromyourMIDIkeyboardand
recorditasanewpatterninthesequencer.
Chooseanappropriateslicingmethod.
03
even easier than playing MIDI loops because you can use
audio samples from any external source. This could be
some free loops that came on a cover disc, or a sample
collection that you have bought. Previewing audio loops
at the project tempo will work where a loop has tempo
information embedded but may not work with regular
audio files. Live will try to play the sample back in time
with the project unless the RAW button is pressed, but
its only when you actually place the sample into a clip
slot that you will hear it stretched to fit the project.
Despite this, sample collections are an excellent way to
build up backing parts and once a loop is in a project it
should stretch faster or slower with every tempo change
you make.
You also have the option if you right-click on an audio
file in the browser to slice it to a new MIDI track, and you
can choose different slicing types depending on the
source material. This is particularly clever because it
makes the loop available in different formats. At its most
Loadaninstrumentthiscouldbeone
ofLivesownorathird-partyVSTorAU
andmakesureMIDIisconnectedtoitfrom
yourkeyboard.Herewehavechosenasynth
andpressedtheRecordbuttonontheclip
slotinthatsynthschannelinSessionview.
HitRecordandPlayandthenrecordapart.
Afterweredone,wedouble-clicktoopenthe
clipintheMIDIeditorandquantiseit.
01
ByholdingtheAltkeyanddraggingthe
cliptothenextslotdownwecanquickly
duplicateit.Ifweopenthisduplicatedclipin
theMIDIeditorwecanalterthenotestocreate
variations.Wealsohavetheoptionofopening
theGroovePoolandapplyingsomegrooveto
eitherorbothoftheMIDIparts,eitherby
draggingthecliptotheGroovePoolareaorby
usingtheGroovemenuinClipview.
02
Finally,wehavedroppedaMIDIeffect
fromLiveslibraryofpresetsontothe
MIDIpart.Wevechosenanarpeggiator,
whichhelpstolivenupoursynthpart.This
doesntrequiremucheffortyoucanjust
dragitonandseeifitlivensthingsup.
Continuetoduplicateandalterclipsand
youllquicklygetsomegoodvariationsgoing
on.Deleteanythingthatdoesntsoundgood.
03
| 25
WithsomeclipsinSessionview,press
playandrecordinthemaintitlebarand
useeithertheplaybuttonsontheclips
themselvestotriggerclipsindividuallyorthe
Mastercolumnsplaybuttontotriggerentire
rowsatonce.Theassignmentsyoumakewill
berecordedasdatainthemainsequencer,
andyoucanfliptoArrangementviewtosee
thisafterrecording.
01
InArrangeviewyoucanseethe
recordingsthatweremade.Eachblockof
datacorrespondstoanaudioorMIDIclipthat
hasbeentriggeredforaspecificlengthoftime.
Clickonanyoftheseandyoucaneditit
post-recording.Youcanalsodeleteclipshere,
andifyouholdtheAltkeywhiledraggingaclip
youcanduplicateitonthetimeline.
02
PRO TIP
In the browser you can
right-click to perform a
number of actions on patches,
files and folders. You can
create new folders from this
menu, so theres no need to
actually go into your
computers file system to do
this. Maintaining your own set
of folders is good practice
when you store a lot of your
own loops and patches.
Clipsareelastic,sotheycanbe
shortenedorlengthenedbypickingup
theiredgesanddraggingleftorright.With
snappingswitchedon,whichitshouldbe
mostofthetime,youcaneasilymovedata
aroundandcreateoreditarrangements.If
youchoosetodraganddropclipsstraight
fromthebrowsertoArrangeview,thisishow
youwouldbuildyourbackingtrack.
03
to alter parts as you go, so clips are not set in stone. Even
audio clips can be sliced up and re-warped easily. So one
way to get up and running quickly would be to simply
record or import some clips, layer them up into different
rows and then use either individual play buttons or Scene
launch buttons to create a fully live performance.
Making arrangements
In many cases you will probably want to record your
performance or create a preset playback order for clips,
and this is done in Arrangement view. By simply pressing
the master Record button while you perform, you will
capture all clip actions to the sequencer. These can then
be edited by dragging the clip borders left or right, and
further parts overdubbed onto the top. The Clip-based
approach to sequencing means that you get a good idea
of the structure of a track simply by looking at the way
the clips are arranged on the timeline. So, for example,
you can see buildups, breakdowns and build-downs as
Whatwehavedonehereisstarteda
newLiveSetandthen,fromour
desktop,draggedanddroppedaMIDIfile
thathasbeenexportedfromReason.Ifwe
hadexportedasingleMIDIloopwecould
dropittoasingleMIDItrack,butinReason
weexportedawholeloopcontainingseveral
MIDItrackssotheseareimportedtoo.
01
focus
Ifyoudouble-clickonanyoftheMIDI
clips,whichwillhaveimportedtheir
originaldevicenamesaspartofthefile,you
willseetheMIDIdatahasbeenimportedtothe
clipslot.Whatyouwillwanttodonextis
reassigntheseclipstoplaynewinstrument
deviceswithinLive.
02
PickupaninstrumenteitherfromLives
libraryorfromthelistofthird-party
instrumentsanddraganddropitintotheclip
slotoftheMIDIpartyouwanttotriggerit.You
shouldfindthattheMIDIpartismappedto
playthenewinstrument.Youmayneedto
lengthenorshortentheparttomakeitfit
yournewproject.
03
Youmightwantyourbackingtracksto
beexportedoutofLive,eithertouse
theminanotherDAWortousethemas
backingtracksinadifferentplaybackmodule
likeMainstage,orevenaDATorMiniDisc
machine.Todothis,makeanoteofthetracks
youwanttoexportasfull-lengthstemsand
thenchooseFile>ExportAudio/Video.
01
IntheExportwindow,locatethe
RenderedTrackdropdownmenu.Ifyou
leavethissettoAllTracksitwillexportastereo
mixdown.Ifyouselectoneofthecomponent
tracks,however,thatwillbeexported
separately.Repeattheprocessforeachtrack
youwanttoexport.Youshouldendupwitha
setoffull-lengthbackingtracksasaudiofiles.
02
Back me up
When you are building backing parts, there are a few
helpful hints to get you started. Dont worry too much
about creating lots of complicated flourishes they can
PRO TIP
In Lives Preferences > File
Folder section, you can alter
the apps behaviour. You can
save the current Set as the
default, specify a sample
editor that will be opened if
you need to perform detailed
edits on audio files, as well as
activating external plug-in
availability.
Inthisexample,thedrumshavebeen
groupedtogethersotheyappeartothe
Exportwindowasasinglesource,whenin
facttheyareseveraldistincttracksgrouped
together.Thisisagoodwaytoquicklyexport
morethanonetrackatonce.Youcanof
courseungroupthemtomakethemappear
asseparateexportoptionsonceagain.
03
come later if you decide you like the feel of the track.
Initially, try not to get bogged down in making lots of
detailed edits, or indeed automating effect plug-ins and
the like. Those things are important, but later in the
creative process. Whack some clips or loops together and
see if they inspire you. If something isnt working, delete
or mute the loop and try something different. With so
many audio loops to choose from and Lives ability to
timestretch them automatically, you are free to
experiment with different feels. If necessary, extract the
groove from a drum loop so that it can be applied to your
MIDI parts and everything should match up. If you hit on a
great combination of loops, save the project as a
template so that you can come back to it later, even if you
go on to give this project a different treatment.
Improvising and experimenting in Live is great fun and
by following these techniques you can spend less time
putting things together and more time experimenting
and trying new things.
Sometimesyoumightwanttostream
audioandMIDIbetweenLiveand
anotherReWirecompatibleapplication.You
coulddothistousetheproprietaryplug-ins
fromanotherDAWtoprocessyourLive
tracks,ortotriggerLivesinstrumentsusing
MIDItracksrunninginanotherDAW.Start
Livefirsttorunitasahost,orsecondtorunit
asaslave.
01
HerewearerunningwithCubaseasthe
ReWiremasterandLiveastheslave.In
Live,ifyoushowtheI/Osectionforanaudio
track,youcansetittosenditsaudiotoReWire
Out,andthenfromtheReWiremenuonthe
audiotrack,chooseabustosenditthroughon.
Youllneedtoactivatetherelevantbussesfor
streamingitinCubase.
02
HereinCubasewehavecreatedaMIDI
trackandwhenweclickonitsOutput
Assignmentmenu,youcanseethatMIDI
tracksinLiveareavailableasdestinations.
InthisexampleweareabletosendCubases
MIDItrackthroughtotriggeroneofLives
built-ininstruments,whichisloadedontoa
MIDItrack.
03
| 27
Using automation
for better mixes
Automation is a powerful tool we have at our disposal
for composition and mixing and Live is particularly
good at it, as Hollin Jones explains.
utomationisoneofthemostpowerfultools
wehaveavailableinanyDAWandLiveisa
greatexamplewhenitcomestogivingyou
accesstoalmostanyparameterofanyvirtual
effectorinstrument,aswellasitsownmixer
settings,allofwhichcanbechangedontheflyandin
realtime.Automationistheprocessofchanging
parametersasasongprogressessothattheydonot
remainstatic.Thiscouldbeassimpleasswitchingan
effectonoroff,orascomplexascompletelychanging
thewayasynthgeneratessoundoverthecourseof
severalbars.
Automationisagreatwayofaddingasenseof
movementanddynamicinteresttoatrack.Intheold
daysallthishadtoberecordedasyourecordedthe
partormixedthetrack.Nowadays,thankstomodern
DAWtechnology,everythingiscompletelyeditableatall
timesandcanbetweakedingreatdetail.Wheneveryou
hearatrackthathaspartsthatseemtochangetheir
soundasthetrackplays,thatsprobablyautomation
doingitsthing.
PRO TIP
You can get a better idea of
what automation is going on
across a project by clicking on
the small plus arrows on any
automation lane. This will
expand all automated lanes
for that track and by zooming
in and out you can get an
overview of how automated
parameters are working
together in the context of the
track. Click the small minus
icon to hide any lane.
Getting started
AutomationinLiveismanagedinArrangementviewand
nexttoeachtracksnameyouwillseeasmallarrow
button.Ifyouclickonthisbuttonyouwillrevealthe
automationmenu,andbyclickingonthefirstmenuthat
appearsforanaudiotrack,youcanseemixer
automationparameters. 1
Thisfirstmenugovernswhatappearsinthesecond,
aswewillsee,butformixerparameters,thesecond
menuwilldisplaypanning,volume,crossfadeassign
andAandBReturnparameters,aswellasatrack
active/inactiveoption. 2 Thesearethebasicthings
youcanautomateforanaudiotrack,beforeanyeffects
havebeenadded.Torecordautomation,yousimply
moveparameterswhileRecordisactiveinthemain
transportpanel.Here,forexample,wehavemovedthe
audiotracksPancontrolwhileplayingbackwith
Recordactive,andthatdatahasbeenrecorded. 3
Smallpinkblocksappearnexttotheparameter
nametoshowthatithasautomationdatapresent.Ifwe
gobackoverthesameareaandrecordvolume
automationforexample,thetwosetsofchangeswillbe
performedatthesametime.
Toeditautomationdata,orcreateitmanually,you
usetheautomationlanes.Withtheregularpointer
selected,automationappearsasbreakpoints,orsmall
dotswithlinesbetweenthem.Whenyouperform
automationbyhandusingthemouseoraconnected
MIDIcontroldevice,thechangesyoumakemaybea
littleoff,soyoucangoinandcleanthemup.Itcanhelp
tozoomin,asbreakpointscanbequiteclosetogether.
Byselectingapointyoucanmoveitfreely,orselect
4
3
Simple mixer automation can be used to change a tracks volume, pan and
effect return settings over time. You can also switch a track on or off at
specific points in time, which can be a handy thing to do.
2
28 | Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
focus
On the disc
AutomationWorkshop MTF
Third-party plug-ins
Things are slightly different when it comes to thirdparty plug-ins, as far as parameters appearing is
concerned. With data recorded, the editing process is
the same, but to get data in you may have to take a
couple of extra steps. This varies depending on the
plug-in, and some will report some parameters, but
others none. You might drop an instance of a Native
Instruments plug-in into a set for example and see
nothing appear in the automatable parameters menu.
Never fear, however, for all is not lost, you just need to
understand how it works.
Lets say you want to insert an instance of a plug-in
thats not a part of Live. Here, we have chosen NIs
Massive, which doesnt report anything by default. In
the instruments module at the bottom of the screen,
Plug-in power
Things get even more interesting when you start to add
plug-ins. All of Lives plug-ins report all their parameters
to the software, but this is not the case with all
third-party plug-ins. Lets say you want to drop a Live
effect into this audio track. Go to Lives own effects bin
and drop in an audio effect. Weve chosen the Frequency
Shifter. Click on the first menu and switch from mixer
to frequency shifter. Now when we click on the second
automation selector menu, all the plug-ins parameters
have become available. 6
There are two ways to automate an effects settings.
The first we have mentioned, which is to draw data in;
the second is to move its controls as the track plays. So
here we have moved several controls in the plug-ins
window during playback and they have been recorded,
which we can see thanks to their pink spots. 7 Again,
this data can be edited using the Pen tool in Draw mode.
The same applies to Lives built-in instruments,
which are preconfigured to show all their parameters to
the automation system. Here, we have created an
instance of Operator, which has lots of parameters. We
can see just how many by going to the automation menu
for the device. 8
PRO TIP
You can automate in many
ways in Live, including from
Session view. Moving mixer
parameters or instrument or
effect controls in this window
while record and playback are
activated will place the
changes you make into
automation lanes in the
relevant track in Arrangement
view. To view and edit this data
you will need to switch over to
Arrangement view.
10
9
Lives built-in plug-ins automatically report all their automatable
parameters to the system. In the case of some third party plug-ins you
have to make assignments yourself, though this is quick and easy.
Fully automatic
Much the same rules apply to third-party audio effects.
Again, some plug-ins do not show their parameters
automatically and others do. Here we have loaded an
instance of FabFilters Pro-C compressor, which is
ready to go from the start with everything premapped.
13 Try the same with an instance of Ampeg SVX however,
and it shows nothing until I manually start automating
or click to create some quick controls. 14
There are loads of creative uses for automation of
12
11
14
Automate instruments and effects over time to add interest
and dynamics to your tracks. Most plug-ins have quite a few
things that can be changed using automation.
13
30|AbletonLive8Volume2
focus
On the disc
in Ableton Live 8
CONSOLIDATE,
FREEZE, FLATTEN
Consolidatewhenyou
reachthelimitof
transposingtechniques
tocreateanewaudio
clip.Forbouncing
effectsandprocessing,
selectFreeze,then
chooseFlattenfrom
theEditmenu.
REVERSE (REV)
Simplebut
incrediblyeffectivefor
creatingbuild-upsfrom
asoundthatusually
startsloudandthen
fadesout.Tryleavinga
smallgapbetweenfor
adramaticbreathing
momentattheclimax.
c
b
AUTOMATION
Right-/[Ctrl]-click
(PC/Mac)
(PC/Mac)onatrackand
select
selectAddLaneFor
EachAutomated
Envelopetoseeand
perfectthetimingof
your
yourautomation.
| 31
Clipautomationisrelative,sotogainfull
controloveraparameter,theparameter
itselffirstneedstobeeitherfullyup(sothe
envelopecancontrolthefullvaluesof0100%)
orinthemiddle(forcontrolswithzeroastheir
middlepoint,offering50%eitherway).In
general,envelopeautomationworksbestin
SessionView(astheinformationistiedtothe
playbackofeachclip);trackautomationis
bettersuitedtoArrangementView.
Agoodtrickforreshapingexisting
automationistohighlightitall,then,with
thePointertool(Drawmodeoff),clickandpull
theautomationdownfromthehighestanchor
point.Thisenablesyoutocondensethe
existingshapeyouhavesoyoucanthenpullit
upandre-positionit.Thisishandywhen
drawinginacomplexrhythmusingthefulllow
andhighvaluestomakeiteasytoinput.
Re-shapeitsrangeandfindthesweetspot.
Automationisaverypowerfultoolwhen
combinedwiththefeaturesofLives
clipsandaudiodevices.Trackautomationcan
beusedonlyinArrangementView,whereas
ClipEnvelopescanbeusedinSessionViewas
itispartoftheclipandnotthearrangement
track.Trackautomationisabsolute,meaning
thatthelinedrawnwillhaveabsolutecontrol
overthechosenparameter.
01
Thesametrickcanbeachievedwiththe
Transposebuttonthatappearsinstead
ofPitchBendonaudioclips.Ratherthan
usinggradualincrements,though,switchto
Drawmode(fromtheOptionsmenu).Now
youcanchangethequantizationwidth(from
theOptionsmenu)andclicktodrawa
rhythmicblock.Thisisagoodwayofcreating
computernoise/auto-tune-likeeffects.
04
02
05
Tocreateasimplepitchincreaseforan
instrument(asdiscussedinthemain
text),ensurethattheinstrumentissetto
haveapitchbendrangeof12or24semitones
(onetotwooctaves).PresstheShow/Hide
EnvelopebuttonintheClipViewwindow(an
Einacircle).ThiswillrevealthreeQuickChooserbuttons.PressPitchBend,then
double-clickontheredenvelopelineto
createtwoanchorpoints,oneofwhichyou
candragtothetoptocreateapitchrise.
Trycopyingautomationorenvelope
informationbyclick-draggingto
highlightthepreferredareafirst,thenpress
[Ctrl]/[CMD]+[C](PC/Mac)andselectCopy
Envelope.Thenclickelsewhereandhit[Ctrl]/
[Cmd]+[V]topasteacopy.Ifyouprogramvery
intricateburstsofautomationyoucan
experimentwithwheremultipleplacements
willsoundbestusingthismethod.Transpose,
filtercut-offandothersound-processing
performswellwiththistechnique.
Good oscillations
The second starting point for creating a special effect is
using raw oscillators. If you have Lives Suite package,
both Operator and Analog are good candidates. If you
dont, a lot of third-party synth plug-ins can provide the
basic sounds, from smooth sine-wave tones to sharp
saw waves. A common trick is to assign an LFO to the
pitch of the oscillator and increase its Depth and
Speed to generate synth-wobble effects.
Another way of creating a foundation
for your sound effects is to automate a
simple pitch rise or descent across one to
focus
PRO TIP
Hot-Swapping the audio being
used in a Simpler is as easy as
clicking on the small
Hot-Swap icon in the
bottom- right of the waveform.
The same can also be done for
the audio file being used
within an audio clip. Right/
[Ctrl]-click the audio files
name in the clips sample box
and select Manage Sample
File. The Replace Files window
will appear on the right and the
audio file being used will have
a Hot-Swap button to its left.
03
06
On the move
PRO TIP
Lives Reverb has a Freeze
function that can be useful for
creating texturally rich noises.
Create an audio track to record
the frozen ouput. Set this
tracks Audio From menu to
the track with the Reverb on.
Hit record; when the reverb
reacts to the sound on its
audio track, hit Freeze and
record a few bars. Treat the
recording with the techniques
discussed in this feature.
ThefirsttrickistokeyinsomefastMIDI
notessotheSimplerisconstantlybeing
retriggered.ThisissimilartousingSimplers
loopingfunctionasthesameportionofaudio
willberepeatedveryquickly.Thebonusofthis
approachisthattheloopeffectwillbeinsync
withyourproject.Ifyouwanttogetsomething
abitmoreglitchy-sounding,try32or64thMIDI
notesinstead.
Thefilterenvelopecanofferalotof
texturalchange(asdemonstratedinthe
DVDprojectfile).Fastfiltersweepscancreate
greatsubhitswhenusingalowCutoffsetting
withtheResonancesethigh.Usinglonger
noteswillcreatetonalchangesovertime.
Asitsnamesuggests,Simplerisabasic
sampler(itsmainlimitationbeingthatit
canthavemorethanonesampleloaded
acrossitskeyrange).ButmultipleSimplers
canbeGroupedviatheEditmenuifyouwant
tolayerupsound.Getstartedwithasingle
Simpleranddraginasoundfilecontaininga
combinationofsounds(wevechosena
heavilycompresseddrumloop).Butthis
couldbearecordingofvarioussoundsplayed
backtobackanythinggoeshere.
01
Trysomepitchmodulationbyfirst
turningonthePitchenvelope(theblock
totheleftofthePitchtab).Then,justunder
theReleasecontrol,raiseorlowertheEnv
amounttoapplypositiveornegativepitch
changefromtheenvelopeshape.Playwith
thestrengthofEnvamount,theenvelopes
shapeanddifferentdurationsandpitchof
MIDInotestomakethemostoftheattack
anddecaystagesofpitchchange.
04
02
05
Anotherbonusofthisapproachover
usingtheonboardloopfunctionisthat
everynotere-triggersSimplersADSR
envelopes.Thesecanbeusedtoshape
volume,pitchandfiltermovements.Withthe
Sustainturneddown,theAttackandDecay
controlsontheVolumeenvelopecanshorten
eachtriggerofthesample,whichisgoodfor
rapidtickysounds.
Afinaltrickforgettinginteresting
soundsoutofaSimpleristofollow
steps1and2,thenautomatethestart
positionofsampleplayback.Withfast
MIDI-notetriggeringthisenablesyouto
sweeparoundtheaudio,creatinggranularstyleeffects.Experimentwithchangingthe
pitchoftheMIDInotes(inourexampleweve
smoothedtheeffectwithdelayandreverb).
03
06
| 33
Controlled ambience
Another creative means of controlling a sounds
perceived distance is reverb. By applying reverb as an
insert, all sorts of tricks can be performed by automating
Ifyouwantevenmoredurationtryadding
asecondsimpledelayandchangeits
TimeandDry/Wetvaluestoaddmoretexture.
ThisandtheChoruseffectwillnowalreadybe
creatingaalienwarfare-typeofeffect.Togive
controlledmovementtothesound,tryanAuto
FiltersettoNotch.Thiswillenableyouto
createaphaser-likeeffect,andyoucan
automatethefilterscutofforusetheonboard
LFOandautomateitsRate.
Bydefault,LivesVocoderissettoturn
anysounditsprocessingintonoise.This
canbeusedasalo-fi-soundingreverbifyou
playwithitsDry/Wetcontrol;playingwiththe
Formantcontrolenablesyoutotunethenoise
pitchinawaythatsoundslikere-pitchinga
sample(withallofitsdigital-soundingquality
loss).TryincreasingtheDepthcontrolaswell
togetthatwatery,lowbit-ratedata
compression-likesound.
Livesmodulationeffectscanbeuseful
forcreatingnewsoundswhenusedwith
ashortimpulse-likesound.Trystartingwitha
snaredrumandaddingaChorusdevice.Then
settheFeedbackcontroltofull.Thisaddsa
slighttailtothesound,buttocreatealonger,
sci-fi-liketonetryaddingadelaybeforethe
chorus.SettheFeedbacktofull,engageLink
mode,clickSynctoTimeandreducetheMS
amountuntilthesoundsbecomestones
ratherthandiscernibledelayedrepeats.
01
DistortionisanexcellentfrequencyenrichingtoolandLivehasplentyof
them.Overdriveishandyasitincludesa
bandfilterthatletsyouchoosetheareaand
rangeoffrequenciesthatareaddedtothe
signal.Atthestartofthesignalchainyoucan
controlthegeneralfrequencybalancefrom
yourimpulsesound.Attheenditcanbeused
asaseverefilteringtoolthatdetermineshow
mildormanicyouwantthiseffecttosound.
04
focus
02
05
Formoreobviousmovementyoucan
chooseanyotherfiltertypeorusethe
AutoPandevice.WithitsAmountsetto
aroundhalfwayyoucanaddmovementbut
maintaintheoriginalsound.AtfullAmount
youcangetseveredistortion-likeeffectsat
fastRatesandmovebetweenfastandslow
Rateamountstobuildanddescendthefeel
oftheeffect.
Ringmodulationisaclassicsci-fieffect
andisasecondfunctionofLives
FrequencyShifterdevice.Playwiththe
Frequencytogetthoseclassicradio
tuning-typenoisesorleavethematafixed
ratetoaddtonalwarblingeffects.TheWide
controlforeitherringmodorfrequency
shiftingwillspreadthefrequencychangesto
createastereoeffect.Combiningthiswitha
subtlebalanceofwetsignalisusefulfor
turningamonoeffectintostereo.
03
06
A4_print.indd 3
3/12/12 2:56 PM
Ableton Live
Live has tons of features, and many are hidden just below the surface. Become a Live power
user with our insiders guide to getting the most from the software
01
OVERLOAD EFFECTS
IfyouareusingReturntracks,theirsendcontrolis
disabledbydefault.Ifyouright-clickonitandchooseEnable
Send,youcangetsomeinterestingoverdriveeffectsasthe
channelfeedsbackonitself.Becarefulthough,asthiscan
resultinclipping.Itisuseful,however,whenDJingandusing
delayeffectstocreateasortofoverloadeffectforshort
periodsoftime.
02
INFINITE RACKS
Youcanuseaudioracksinsideotheraudioracksby
expandinganeffectsChainsectionanddraggingfurther
effectsinsideit.Theresultisanear-infinitelevelofflexibility
04
05
06
USE MAPS
MapModeinLivesinstrumentsandeffectsisextremely
powerfulandbyactivatingityoucanaccesstheMacroMap
foranydevice.Right-clickonadevicetochoosetofreely
assignacontroltoanyavailableparameterand,intheMacro
Mappingswindowthatappearsatthetopleftofthescreen,
viewandedityoursettingsindetail.
DUMMY CLIPS
UsedummyMIDIclipswithoutanynotedatathat
containmodulationsettingsthatcanbeusedtocontrol
instrumentandeffectparametersasatrackplays.IntheClip
viewer,gototheEnvelopessectionanddrawinthedata,
usingtheClipControlEnvelopeChoosertoassignthedatato
anyparameteryoulike.Thisdatacanthenbeusedaspartof
yourproject.
03
forprocessingsounds,andbysavingtherackatthetoplevel
youcaninstantlyrecallwholechainsofeffectswithasingle
click.Usethistocreatecomplex,layeredeffects.
focus
03
LAUNCH CONTROL
IfyouselectaclipandgointoClipviewyoucanreveal
09
04
its Launch settings box. Here, use the Follow actions to set
the way a clip behaves. These include stopping it once it has
played, playing it again, playing the next clip or playing other
clips in a group. These occur based on the duration specified
in the Follow Action Time controls. Follow actions help your
music sound less repetitive in terms of its structure.
GROUP TRACKS
By grouping tracks together you can manage complex
projects much more easily. This is especially useful when
performing, as it means less scrolling and navigating. The
small arrow at the top of the Group channel lets you minimise
the component tracks, leaving only the group available. You
can launch clips and change the effects sends and level of
the group, or expand it to change tracks within the group. Its
also possible to work with scenes using groups.
09
USE SHORTCUTS
Assigning shortcuts to parameters by using either the
Key or MIDI learning modes, accessible from the top right of
the toolbar, lets you set up simple or advanced triggers for
clips, sends, faders and other parameters. By doing the
preparation you can make a live performance look effortless
as you trigger clips and scenes with a few clicks. You can set
up different maps for different projects.
07
10
08
11
12
05
10
| 37
13
14
UN-SYNC YOURSELF
Liveisverygoodatkeepingeverythinginsync,but
sometimesthiscanbetheoppositeofwhatyouwant,
especiallywhenitcomestothingslikedelayeffects.Thereis
oftentheoptiontoun-syncatempo-basedeffectfromthe
projecttempo,andtoworkwithitfreelyortosetitstimein
millisecondsandnotdivisionsoftheprojecttempo.Thiscan
bealiberatingwaytoworkwhenplayinglive.
16
17
18
15
focus
19
13
20
EXPORT AS STEMS
Ifyouareexportingstemsformixingelsewhereorfor
DJing,usetheExportdialogueboxtoselectwhichtrackswill
berendered.Ifyouplanonremixingatrackinalivesetting,it
makessensetoexportdifferentgroupsofsoundsasdifferent
trackssaythedrums,percussion,bassandvariouslead
parts.Thisishelpedifyouhavealreadygroupedtracksinthe
Set,astheywillappearasGroupoptionsintheExportmenu.
21
22
23
24
18
21
MULTI FREEZE
Freeze multiple tracks to save CPU by
holding Command (Mac) or Control (PC)
and clicking in the title bars of the tracks
you want to freeze. Then right-click on one
and choose Freeze Tracks. Live will render
them all down temporarily to audio and
free up resources on your system.
Right-click again and the option to unfreeze
the track will become available.
29
25
26
By right-clicking on one or
more clips and choosing Crop
Clips, you can trim the audio
SELECTIVE PREVIEWING
Having the preview button active in the audio file
browser means that every file you select will audition, which
can be annoying. If you deactivate the blue preview button
and then use the arrow keys to move up and down the list of
files, simply press the right arrow when you get to one you
want to audition and it will play. Otherwise, files will not
automatically preview.
27
28
LOCK ENVELOPES
If you have recorded automation its possible to use
the Lock Envelopes button to lock the automation to the
timeline rather than to that clip. This enables you to move or
copy the clip without moving its automation data, or indeed
replace a clip while leaving any automation intact. Separating
clips and their automation gives you much more flexibility
within a project.
30
31
32
33
31
28
| 39
33
39
34
35
40
41
36
42
36
37
38
focus
43
39
41
45
47
EXPORT A VIDEO
Ifyouhaveimportedvideointoaprojectandeditedits
soundorcreatednewsoundforit,whenyouareexporting
youcanchoosetocreateanewvideofile,whichwillcontain
thenew,editedsound.FormtheVideoEncoderdropdown
menu,youcanchoosefromarangeoftargetformatsandfor
eachone,clicktheEncoderSettingsbuttontosetuptheway
thevideowillbecreated.UseQuickTimeMovietomaintain
thehighestsettings,oramorecompressedformatfor
uploadingtotheweb.
47
44
46
48
49
50
50
| 41
Processing techniques
in Ableton Live 8
Dynamic reduction
There are a few rudimentary things you should always
check in a mix, whether as part of an ongoing process as
you write or when mixing a completed composition.
In general, you want the dynamics of a single or
grouped sound either to be naturally dynamic or to
have that dynamic range limited in some way. Lives
Compressor is the only device available for these
ordinary compression requirements. The Limiter device
can also be used, though, either to catch the occasional
Knee
Thisrampsuptothegivenratiosettingasthesignal
approachesthesetthreshold.Thiscanhelpheavy,
limiter-likecompressionseemlessdrastic.
b
d
Sidechain
Thesidechaincanbe
internalorexternaland
variousfiltertypesenable
youshapethiskeyinput.
Withthisyoucanmakethe
compressorreacttojustone
componentinabusysound:
forinstance,justthesnare
druminafulldrumkit.
c
Envelope
Thiscontrolshowthecompressorreactsto
changesattheinput.Peakappliesgainreduction
instantlyforprecisecontrol,RMSusesperceived
loudnessandOptoisalooser,classicsound.
focus
FF1/FF2/FB
Feedforwardanalysestheinput,thenapplies
gainreduction;Feedbackanalysesthesignalatthe
outputaftergainreduction.Theformertendsto
reactquickly,whereasthelatterislessresponsive.
AddaReturntrackandrenameitfrom
theEditmenu:thispreventsthetrack
acquiringthenameofthefirsteffectyoulladd
toit.DraganEQEighttotheReturntrackand
setittoLowCut.Setitsfrequencytoaround
halfwaytostartwith;youcanalwayscome
backtothisafteraddingthenextdevice.
Finally,sendthedesiredsoundtothisReturn
trackbyturninguptheSend(s)fromthe
relevantchannel(s).
Otherdistortions,likeVinyl,Dynamic
Tube,Erosion,OverdriveandRedux,can
alsobeusedforcreativefrequencyfillingbut
tendtocauseaphaseysound.TheVocoder,
however,isanexcellenttoolforcreatingasolid
walloffrequenciestocarvefrom.Addittoa
newreturntrack,settheModulatortoNoise
andtheReleasecontrolwillshapethedecay.
EitherusetheEQEightorthevocodersfilter
banktolimitthefrequenciesused.
Anexcitereffectaddsadditional
harmonicstoasoundandcanbesetup
toeitherpreservethedynamicsofthe
originalsoundorcreateamoreparallel
compressiontypeofsound,butworkingin
justthedesiredfrequencyareas.Ifyoucreate
anycombinationsofdevicesyoulike,dont
forgettohighlightthemall,groupthem
togetherandsavetheAudioEffectRack
presetforusingagaininthefuture.
01
KeepingaloweramountofDrive
enablesyoutoletalargerfrequency
areapassthroughtheEQEightwhile
retainingthetracksdynamics.Asthesends
tothereturntrackarepre-distortion,the
amountofdistortionappliedwillchange,so
setuptheexciterusingaloudsoundinyour
mix(withitssendfullyup)thenset
SaturatorsDrivecontroltothemaximum
levelofdistortionyouwanttoadd.
04
02
05
Next,addadevicetoincreasethe
frequencydensityofthisreturntrack.A
goodgo-toforthisistheSaturator.Placethis
aftertheEQEight,thenincreasetheDrive
controlandthefrequencycontentwillslowly
increase.AhighDrivesettingwillcausealot
ofdistortionandalsoreducethedynamic
range,whichusuallysoundsexcessiveunless
youraisetheLowCutontheEQEightfora
slitheroftopend.
Whateveryouplantouseasafrequency
enhancingtool,makesureyoudoitwith
anelementofrestraint(andalongside
referencematerial).Yourearscansoonget
accustomedtotheblocksofpossiblyharsh
audioyourecreatinghere,andwhatsounds
forwardandaggressivetoyoutodaywill
oftenbewaytoocoarse-soundingtomorrow,
whenyouhavefreshears.Useconstant
referencestokeepyouontrack.
Transient control
There may be times when you want to take a dynamically
limited recording and emphasise its transients. This
might involve, for instance, the initial attack of a guitar
chord, a drum hit or an entire pre-processed loop. By
setting up a gate to initially let just the louder
transients slip through, you can then raise the level of
the gate in its closed state and re-balance the
transients with the main body of sound.
On Lives Gate device, the decibel value below the
Threshold control is the volume of the gate when
closed (referred to as the attenuation level). To start
PRO TIP
The External Audio Effect
enables you to hardwire
outboard into Live. Set Audio
To and From to the relevant
soundcard connections then,
with Dry/Wet at around
halfway, change the Hardware
latency time until any combing
effect is minimised. Now hit
the Save Preset button and
you can create a preset for
each device you have wired up.
03
06
| 43
PRO TIP
You can quickly give any sound
a very distinct sonic signature
by using the Vocoder Device as
a drastic EQ. Set Carrier to
Modulator and reduce the
Band setting to four or eight.
Click and drag on these
frequency bands to shape the
sound. The Range settings
also enable you to limit the
high and lower frequency
boundaries, like a high- or
low-pass filter.
Ifasoundsourceisalreadystereoits
simpletoenhanceitscurrentwidthby
addinganEQEightandsettingittoM/Sviathe
Modemenu.Addawidebellpositivecurveto
thesidechannel(SfromtheEditbox)thena
similarcutinthemidchannel(MintheEdit
box)tocreateagreatersenseofwidth,butyou
needtobeawarethatthisdoesleaveless
focusinthecentre.
Asstereoispurelydifferinginformation
ontheleftandrightchannels,thereare
endlesswaystocreatestereo.Trysettingup
tworeverbReturntracksandpanningonefull
leftandtheothertotheright.Nowsetthe
reverbstodifferentsettings.Pre-Delayisgood
forasimilardelayedwidtheffecttotheHaas.
Chorusisalsobuilt-intothereverbandis
effectivewhenappliedtoonesideformore
left-and-rightdistinction.
Withanytypeofstereoworkitsalways
usefultocheckformonocompatibility.
Themonosumbuttonsfoundonmost
hardwaremixerscanbeeasilyduplicated
withinLive.AddaUtilitydevicetoyour
masterchannel,setthewidthto0%andthen
pressKeyMapModetoassignthedevices
Activatorbutton.Nowkeeppressingthatkey
tocheckyourthatyourmixwillworkinmono
aswellasstereo.
01
YoucancombineelementsoftheMid
andSideEQprocesswiththeHaas
effectbyusingFilterDelay.Afterdisabling
thecentralL+Rdelay,settheseparateLand
RcontrolsfromSynctoTime,withfeedback
at0%.Nowusetheband-passareaforboth
channelstoEQthedelayedsignals.Thisis
alsogreatforgettingamorevintagesoundingslapbackoralongerdelayeffectto
re-createalo-ficharacteristic.
04
focus
02
05
Amonosourcecanbegivenwidthby
usingLivesSimpleDelaysetto0%
feedback.ThistechniqueisknowastheHaas
effectandrequirestheleftandrightdelay
timestobeswitchedfromSynctoTime,so
youcanworkinmilliseconds.Nowreducethe
leftandrighttimestoanywherebetween
150ms.TheDry/Wetcontrolwillbalance
betweenthemidchannel(dry)andtheside
channel(dry).
Presetsshouldntbeoverlooked,asyou
canfindquiteafewinterestingAudio
Racksdesignedforgettingawidersound.
UsetheSearchFieldatthetopoftheLive
BrowserwhenalreadywithintheAudio
EffectsPresetsfolder.TheEQEighthasafew
basedonapositiveandnegativeEQshapes
aspolaroppositesontheleftandright.There
arealsoquiteafewguitarprocessing-based
effectsifyoudontmindgettingyoursounds
dirtyintheprocess.
03
06
Frequency control
Live has three main devices for controlling the frequency
content of a sound the EQ Eight, Auto Filter and EQ
Three. EQ Eight is a brilliant workhorse tool, but its
important to run it in High Quality mode after rightclicking (PC)/[Ctrl]-clicking (Mac) the devices title bar.
This reduces any chance of aliasing artefacts.
An essential soundstage control technique is to
create a medium-size bell curve with large amounts of
additive gain, enabling you to sweep across the sound to
find a frequency area that controls the distance of a
sound in the mix. Once youve found the right area you
can reset the gain, then use additive or subtractive gain
in conjunction with the sounds volume to control its
front-to-back position in the mix. Try this before applying
ambience effects for a dry production sound.
EQ Three and Auto Filter are great for bracketing a
sounds frequency range. The EQ Three is especially
powerful as it offers incredibly steep filter slopes of 24 or
48 decibels per octave. Simply disable the Low (L) or High
Torouteexistinggroupsintoanother
pre(sub)-mastergroup,addanaudio
channelthenchangetheoutputsofthe
requiredchannelstoit.Nowsetthenew
channelsmonitorsectiontoIn,thensetAudio
FromtoNoInput.Ifyoudontdothis,Livewill
letyouraudioinputsbeheardaswell,which
couldincludeyourlaptopsonboard
microphoneoraguitarinputallofwhichwill
addunwantednoise.
Whenworkinginparallel,somesimpleEQ
adjustmenttotheprocessedchannelcan
workwonderstobonditwiththeoriginal.Add
anEQEightaftertheparallelprocessingdevice
andtrysweepingamedium-widthbellcut
untilyouheartheprocessedsoundmoveback
inlinewiththeoriginal.Thisworkswhenyou
wantaricher,newsoundthatdoesntmove
forwardinitsmixposition.
Tricksforamoredistinctsoundcanbe
appliedtoasinglesoundorgroupto
helpgivethemauniquesonicimprintwithin
amix.Theeasiestwaytogroupaudioand
MIDIchannelsistohighlightthemandselect
GroupTracksfromtheEditmenu.Butif
youvecreatedasoundusinggroupsalready,
youcantgroupagroup.
01
Amphasalotofsonicflavourstoitand
doesagreatgain-ridingsound,like
overdrivingthechannelsonadesk.By
playingwithdifferentamptypesandthe
three-bandEQbalanceyoucankeepthe
generalfrequencyrangeoftheoriginalsound
aswell.Butbygroupingthedeviceitselfthen
creatinganewchain,youcanworkinparallel,
whichenablesyoutobalancethedistorted
soundwiththeoriginal.
04
02
05
OverdriveandAmpareafairlyrecent
additiontothedevicelibraryandare
excellentataddingextraharmoniccontentto
asoundorgroup,bringingitforwardwith
eitheramoreaggressiveedgeoradenser,
warmcharacter.Overdrivecanbetuned
usingitsband-passfilter;agoodapproachis
tosetupthedesiredareatodistortfirst,then
balancetheDry/Wetasappropriate.
Anothermethodyoucanusetomerge
thisnewparallelsoundwiththeoriginal
isviaAbletonsmodulationeffects.The
Chorus,PhaserandFlangereffectscanallbe
usedtosmearasound,andwhenapplied
onlytotheparallelsoundwontaffectthe
clarityoftheoriginaltoomuch.Faster
modulationratesworkbestforafixedsoundingtexture,buttheamountappliedhas
tobenexttononeifitstobesubtle.
03
06
| 45
On the disc
Performance controls
for a live show
Session View offers a liberating approach to both song
creation and live performances. Liam OMullane
explores the most simple but expressive tools in Live.
essionViewcanbeusedforthesimplestof
performance-basedtasks,suchasDJing
fromonesongtothenextorthelive
triggeringofmultipleclipsandlive
manipulationofvariousmusicalelements.
InthisWorkshop,welltakealookatwhatwecallthe
powerperformancefunctionsinLive,whichenableyou
tocreateasimple,effectiveperformancewithout
gettingtoocomplicated.Armedwiththesebasicsyou
caneasilycreateasessionreadytoperformforgigs.
Clip art
EveryonewillworkwithclipstosomedegreeinanyLive
performance:theonlysituationwhereyouwouldntisif
youwereusingLivemerelytohostvirtualinstruments
andeffectsthatyouwillthenplaylivefromaMIDI
controller.TheclipscanbeeitherMIDIoraudioto
provideyouraccompanyingsoundseitherstillintheir
constructionelementsorpre-bounceddowntosingle
audioloopsforsimplicity.Therearemanyvariablesfor
bothMIDIandaudioclips,butwewillfocusonthose
thatarefixedbytheuserandignoreanyrandom
functionssuchasfollow-onactionsetc.
Asastart,thereareafewwaysinwhichwecan
interactwithjustasingleaudioloop.Thefirstistouse
theclipsNudgebuttonstomovetheplayposition
forwardsorbackwardswithintheclip.Thesearethe
twoarrowsatthebottomoftheclipwindow,one
pointingleft,theothertotheright. 1
PRO TIP
When using Return channels
for large delays and reverbs, a
Return sub-group can be used
as a performance tool by
assigning its Activate button
or fader so you can instantly
silence effects when they get
too much. First add a new
Return channel, then turn up
the sends for it from all the
other Returns after enabling
them via the right-click/
[Ctrl]+click menu and set
their Audio To menus to Sends
only. Now all Returns are
routed to this last Return and
you can pump the effects with
a fader and create digital
silence as a dynamic tool
within a set.
ThesecanbeassignedtoKeysinKeyMapmodeor
MIDIcontrolsinMIDIMapmodedependingonyour
preference.Bothmodesareengagedbytherelevant
buttonKeyorMIDIlocatedatthetopright-hand
sideofLive.OnceMapmodeisenabled,simplyclickthe
areatobeassignedandthenengagetherelevantkeyor
controller.Theassignmentcanalsoberestrainedto
coverarestrictedareaofaparameter,whichcanbe
narroweddowntofocusonacertainsweetspotinthe
fullplayarea.Thiscanbedoneinthemappingbrowser
totheleftofthescreenundertheMin/Maxcolumns.
Youmustthendisablemapmodetostartcontrolling
yourassignedcontrols. 2
OncetheNudgebuttonsareassigned,the
incrementsofeachmovementmimictheGlobal
Quantizationsetting,soitsworthlearningtheshortcut
keysforchangingthisasyoullwanttinyincrements
whenusingNudgebuttons,butamoreroundedvalue
(likeabarorhalf)whencueingupscenesorloops.
Shortcutscanbeseenfromthedropdownmenu. 3
Youcancreatevariousrhythmiceffectswithamain
beatlooporpercussionpartsusingNudgebuttons,but
becausetheactualplaypositionwithintheloop
becomesdetachedfromthemainprojectsplayback,
youllwanttore-triggertheclipfromthestarttorealign
itspositionwiththerestofyourproject.Thiscanbe
donebyeitherre-triggeringthewholesceneormapping
theclipsplaybuttontoakeyorMIDIbutton.
MIDIkeyrangeassignmentsareanotherquickway
ofinteractingwithaclipandcanbeusedtomelodically
playalooportriggerclipsassingleshots,justlikea
traditionalsampler.Muchlikeassigningthetrigger
button,youenableMIDIMapmodeandclicktheclips
playbutton,butinsteadofassigningasinglebuttonor
key,youholdthelowestandhighestMIDInotesyou
2
The Nudge buttons on a
clip are great for breaking
up the form of a drum beat
or percussive part. As they
use the Global Quantize
setting, its worth learning
the keyboard shortcuts
from the menu.
focus
6
4
5
PRO TIP
Beat Repeat is an excellent
effect for instantly adding
changes to your current live
sounds. When repeat is
enabled and its output mode
is set to Insert, you can just
turn the device on and off to
grab the sound thats playing
at the time and repeat it
indefinitely. Add a filter to turn
on after it and you can sweep
these machine gun-like
stuttered repeats to create
builds,
breakdowns
and new
sections
in general.
and rhythmic parts that will loop while you interact with
other elements. Certain parts will benefit from having
loop disabled so they play just once after launch,
especially accenting tools like cymbals. These will then
launch once with each change of Scene; you can always
re-trigger the Scene if you want them to play again.
By default, navigating and launching Scenes can be
done via the mouse or by using the arrow keys to select
a Scene then hitting the [Return] key to launch it. But
using a MIDI controller will make for a much more
visually interesting live performance!
To map Scene controls you first need to enable MIDI
Map mode, as the relevant keys that we want to use are
normally hidden from view. Then, at the bottom of the
Scene row section, the area below Stop Clips will now
have four assignable buttons. 9
The first is a Scene Launch button, followed by up
and down increment controls that are suitable for those
using buttons. But if you have an endless encoder
available, mapping it to the last button enables you to
scroll up and down the Scene column, then use the first
button to launch the Scene.
Effect sequences
When effects are added to an audio or MIDI channel,
you can control its parameters directly with controllers
or program multiple envelopes and move between them
as part of a performance. But this serves only to effect
the audio clips for that track. Live 8 features a Group
Making a Scene
So far weve looked at using one or more clips in a single
track as a single performance element, but you will also
want to work with clips by triggering Scenes. This is the
most logical way to control collections of sounds as a
whole, and makes sense when thinking about clearly
separating song sections. Each Scene will contain all
the elements relevant for each section, such as melodic
focus Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
| 47
10
Sound fading
A crossfader is another useful tool for an expressive
performance; again, either to control directly or via
programmed patterns. Live has its own crossfader built-
11
12
14
13
Automation enables you to
create different patterns
for duplicates of the same
clip, which you can then
cue as a performance
rather than playing the
parameters live yourself.
focus
www.novationmusic.com/launchpad
Round Up
Microphones
1 SE2200A II
Price 279
Contact Sonic Distribution 0845 500 2 500
Although labelled II, this is actually the third incarnation of
sEs sE2200 condenser. The new model sees the addition of
figure-8 and omni patterns to the stock cardioid. A -20dB
attenuation pad option has been added to the -10dB and 0dB
settings and the bass roll-off switch remains. To facilitate
pattern-switching the sE2200a II has a hand-crafted, 1-inch,
gold-sputtered diaphragm based on the original sE2200a
capsule with a centre tapped rear diaphragm. The sE2200a II
is still a bold sounding microphone with a pleasing degree of
detail, a hint of high-frequency sparkle and just enough
mid-range colouration to provide character.
Web www.seelectronics.com
focus
Price 779
Contact Sonic8 0330 2020 160
Lewitt is a new microphone manufacturer founded by Roman
Perschon, who spent many years as project manager at
microphone giant AKG. The LCT 640 is a multi-pattern,
large-diaphragm condenser with solid-state components and
an electronically balanced output. Three push-buttons
control the 640s settings. The middle button picks the
pattern from a choice of cardioid, omni-directional, figure-8,
broad cardioid and super-cardioid. The right button activates
bass roll-off, with frequency settings of linear, 40Hz, 150Hz
and 300Hz, while the left button selects the attenuation pad
settings of 0dB, -6dB, -12dB and -18dB. Theres a clipping
history display status too, which makes setting the
attenuation level easier, and an automatic attenuation
function when clipping is detected.
Web www.lewitt-audio.com
5 JOSEPHSON C715
3 JZ V12
Price 1,000
Contact Thomann +49 9546 9223 55
The JZ V12 is designed to sound like a vintage
AKG C12. But the JZs approach to
re-creating this classic valve mics tones
involves transformerless, discrete
solid-state circuitry and capsule tuning.
The V12 produces a very similar,
tinselly treble with plenty of detail and
fast transient response. The balance in
the low-frequency range also proved
very well matched. Our only concern was a
slight colouration around the 1.8kHz
region. Other than that the mid-range
sounded relatively neutral. The proximity
effect makes the V12 very easy to tune
through placement, which certainly helps
when recording vocals.
Web www.jzmic.com
Price 3,000
Contact KMR Audio 020 8445 2446
The distinctive grille on the C715 is made from
foamed aluminium, which was invented to
prevent fuel sloshing around in fighter aircraft.
The rigid structure obviates any need for
reflective flat metal rings and it provides some
degree of pop filtering as well as shielding. The
C715 has an internally shock-mounted
single-sided capsule with a five-micron
evaporated gold diaphragm and the onboard
preamp features a Class-A cascade FET circuit
driving a nickel core transformer. Like many of
the worlds finest solid-state condenser
microphones, the C715 has the ability to capture
whatever you happen to be recording with a
disarmingly realistic and natural quality.
Web www.josephson.com
4 BLUE REACTOR
Price 425
Contact KMR Audio 020 8445 2446
Even by the companys own outlandish standards, it
would seem that Blue has outdone itself this time.
There are two ways of looking at the Reactor, because
the lollipop capsule rotates through 90 degrees. If you
place the Reactor with the logo aimed towards the
sound source it looks slim and sleek, and the body may
help to keep singers at an appropriate distance.
Alternatively, swivel the head basket and aim the flat
side of the body towards the sound source. The
capsule itself is a centre-tapped dual diaphragm
design based on the Blue B6 capsule. It feeds a
discrete Class-A preamp with a transformerless
output stage.
Web www.bluemic.com
| 51
6 MXL REVELATION
Price 1,175
Contact MusicTrack 01767 313447
The Revelation contains a Russian-made Electro-Harmonix
EF86 pentode valve as well as transformer-balanced output.
Of even more significance is the fact that the Revelation has
a continuously variable pick-up pattern thanks to a
double-diaphragm six-micron capsule based on Neumanns
K67 design. Rather than employing a nine-position switch,
the pattern knob on the separate power supply sweeps from
omni to cardioid then on to figure-8. Generally we preferred
the Revelation in cardioid mode, where it produced a
pleasing and useable tone, combining a substantial and
enhanced mid-range with a hint of tinsel at the top.
Web www.mxlmics.com
6
8 SENNHEISER MK4
7 RDE NT55
Price 189
Contact Source Distribution
020 8962 5080
The Rde NT55 shares the same
externally biased gold-sputtered
1/2-inch NT45-C cardioid capsule as
the NT5, but also includes an
interchangeable NT45-O omni-directional
capsule. The onboard preamp circuitry of
the NT55 is also a step ahead of the NT5s.
You get a three-position attenuation pad with
0dB, -10dB and -20dB settings that enable the
NT55 to handle a whopping 156dB maximum
SPL. The cardioid capsule has a touch of
colouration, but theres no obvious treble hike or
nasal mid-range. In fact, the omni capsule has a
beautifully clean mid-range, sparkly high-frequency detail
and natural lows.
Web www.rodemic.com
Price 299
Contact Sennheiser 01494 551551
The MK4 is a large-diaphragm
condenser microphone with a 24-carat
gold-sputtered 1-inch capsule based on the
acoustic characteristics of the s965 flagship
handheld vocal mic. The capsule is an AKG-style
edge-terminated capsule, rather than the centre-tapped
design we might have expected from a company so closely
linked to Neumann. Vocal tests revealed a highly detailed
sound with a well-rounded and refined mid-range, clear treble
and a sense of neutrality without blandness. Moving to
acoustic guitar highlighted a slight lift in the upper mid-range
and low trebles, but theres no harshness or edginess.
Web www.sennheiser.com
focus
Price 1,195
Contact Unity Audio 01440 785843
Taking their cue from the legendary ELA-M series
microphones, the designers optimised the circuit layout to
minimise the length of high-impedance runs. So the valve is
inverted to bring the connection pins closer to the capsule.
The valve itself is a selected new old-stock Telefunken
6AK5W (aka EF95 or 5654) mini-pentode. The first thing that
struck us about the Copperhead was its larger-than-life
presence. The beefy colouration is exactly what we would
hope for from a valve mic, without sounding obvious or
contrived. Tonally its closer to the velvety quality of
Neumann-style mics, but with a hint of
upper-frequency glisten.
Web www.telefunkenelektroakustik.com
10
10 SONTRONICS HALO
Price 129
Contact Time+Space 01837 55200
The Shure SM57 has long been the
go-to electric-guitar microphone
despite being primarily designed for
vocals. Sontronics head honcho Trevor
Coley soon became aware that the
Sontronics STC-80 hand-held vocal mic
was being used for guitar and decided
something more visually inspiring was
required. Halo captures detailed, articulate guitar tones with a
subtle presence lift that helps the sound to cut through
without EQ. We also felt that the mid-range was fuller and less
coloured than some industry-standard moving-coils.
Web www.sontronics.com
11 SHINYBOX 46MX4
Price 199
Contact KMR Audio 020 8445 2446
The ShinyBox 46MX is the entry-level model of a family of
microphones, which includes the 46MXC and 46MXL. The 46MXC
features a Cinemag transformer from one of Americas most
respected manufacturers and is described as having a smooth, even and
musical frequency response across the entire frequency range, while the
46MXL is loaded with a transformer from Swedens finest, Lundahl, for an
extended frequency response thats open and accurate. On acoustic guitar
the 46MX is detailed, extremely natural and we were able to get it closer to its
source than usual without encountering too much proximity effect. On vocals
it was more pleasant than a Coles 4040, with far clearer consonants and a
pleasing brightness that cut through the mix.
Web www.shinybox.com
focus Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
| 53
Exploring Lives
MIDI effect plug-ins
On the disc
thatchangesitsrhythmeverycoupleofseconds,theres
agoodchancethatitsbeengeneratednotbysomeone
playingallthosepartsbutbysomeonemanglingthem
upwithplug-ins.Letshavealookathowyoutoocan
useMIDIeffectstocreatemoreinterestingand
dynamictracks
eallloveusingaudioplug-instoprocess
oursoundsinLive,andwealsoknow
thatithassomegreatbuilt-in
instrumentsandcanseethird-party
plug-insinstalledonyourcomputer.
WhatyoumaybelessfamiliarwithareitsMIDIeffect
plug-ins,whichcanbefoundinsidethemainPresets
sectionoftheLibrary.
MIDIeffectsarereallyinterestingbecausetheydont
processthesoundgeneratedbyaninstrument,they
processtheMIDIdatathatisusedtotriggerthat
instrument.Asaresult,theyaremuchmoreCPUfriendlythanplug-insthatmashupthesoundafterits
beenproduced.Theycanbeappliedbothbeforeand
afterrecordingandwillactuallyprocessMIDIasyou
playitbyhand,orfromanimportedorpre-recorded
MIDIpart.
ThegeneralideabehindusingMIDIplug-insisthat
theycanproducefarmorecomplexandintricateparts
thanyoucouldeverplaybyhand,evenifyouwerea
skilledplayer.Whenyouhearafull-ondubsteptrack
PRO TIP
Using automation with all
effects is a great way to add
interest to a mix. Effects dont
have to be static for the
duration of a project so as well
as turning them on or off you
can modify almost any of their
characteristics. In the case of
MIDI effects this can be used
to change patterns and the
feel of parts on the fly.
BeforeyoucanhearaMIDIeffectyouwillofcourse
needsomesortofsoundsource.Here,wehaveadded
aninstanceofNIsBattery,sofirstletsseehowyoucan
getinterestingresultsbyplayingbackthroughaMIDI
effect,beforeyourecordanything. 1
IntheLibrary,gotothePresetssectionandthen
navigatedowntoMIDIEffectsandopentheArpeggiator
folder.Youmightnormallyuseanarpeggiatorwitha
synthsound,butitcanbeusedondrumsaswell.Drag
anddroponeofthepresetsintotheDetailareaatthe
bottomofthewindow.WevechosenonecalledBouncy
Chords.NowifyoupressakeyonyourMIDIkeyboard
youwillhearthatthebeathasbecomearpeggiatedand
thatholdingonenoteactuallytriggersseveraldrumhits
insequence. 2
Holdmorethanonenote,sayafullchord,andthe
beatwillbecomemorevaried.Thepatternthatisplayed
isgovernedbythesettingsintheplug-in.Sincewere
playingdrumhitsandnotnotes,thearpeggiation
creatednotmelodicbutrhythmicsequences.
Tryplayingaroundwiththeplug-inssettingsto
changetheeffectofthearpeggiation.Ifyoualterthe
styleintheStyledropdownmenu,thenthewayLive
interpretsmultipleheldnoteswilldiffer.Changethe
Groovesettingandtheswingoftheplaybackwillalter.
3
MIDI effects work on imported or pre-recorded MIDI parts, as well as in
real time, on any notes that you play from a MIDI keyboard or other device
to trigger a virtual instrument.
focus
MIDIeffectplug-insWorkshop MTF
5
By using effects like arpeggiators, you can play
simple MIDI parts by hand, but after processing by
the effects, the end results are far more complex
and interesting than the notes you actually played.
PRO TIP
The use of arpeggiators in Live
is a clever and easy way to
generate patterns that would
be difficult or impossible to
play by hand. As well as leads
and basses, arpeggiation can
be applied to beats and drum
machines to generate frantic,
complex rhythms. Its a clever
trick that you can use to get
great beats without doing too
much work programming them
by hand.
8
Other interesting MIDI
effects include ones
which can generate
chords from your input,
create new velocities
and even conform notes
to new scales. These are
all highly tweakable for
ultimate control.
Onelastimportantthingto
remember about MIDI plug-ins
isthatyoucanlayerthemup
MIDI plug-ins can also be used to change the
velocity of incoming or recorded parts in real time if you
choose something from the Velocity folder. Of particular
interest here are things like Compression, which evens
out the velocities of MIDI notes to give the effect of
compression, increased dynamic range and Forte to
make things louder, amongst others. 10
One last important thing to remember about MIDI
plug-ins is that you can layer them up, just like you
would do with audio plug-ins. Of course the output of
one plug-in is processed by the next, so you have to
keep in mind that if one is limiting the number of notes,
there will be fewer for the others to process. In terms of
performance and generating parts though, they are a
really good way for everyone from absolute beginners to
seriously accomplished players to create sounds,
melodies, beats and patterns that simply would not be
possible otherwise.
Dig into the MIDI Effects folder today and see how
they can spice up your productions.
10
56|AbletonLive8Volume2
focus
SRH440
SRH840
SRH940
Professional soUnD
froM ear To ear.
Shure Professional Headphones live by a simple rule: What goes in
must come out. Designed to withstand the rigours of everyday use, they
are an excellent choice for music professionals and music obsessives for
SRH1440
SRH1840
www.shure.co.uk
272 MusicTech_SRHeadphones.indd 1
25/01/2012 15:38
Exploring Lives
On the disc
bass instruments
The Rack
LivesRacksystemenablesyoutolayersoundsandeffectstogetherandfor
basses
you might typically find yourself using amp simulation,
bassesyoumighttypicallyfindyourselfusingampsimulation,compressionandEQ.
a
Macro controls
Macrocontrolsforeffects
canbeusedtoquicklyedit
sounds.Eventhird-party
instrumentsandeffectscan
haveMacrosquicklyassignedto
theircontrols.
Third-party effects
Somespecialisedthird-party
effectscanbeexcellentforadding
realisticbasstonetoyourLivetracks.
Here,NIsGuitarRigcanbeseen.
focus
Herewehaveloadedapatchfromthe
LivelibrarycalledKrushedLows.
InitiallyitappearsintheInfoViewasaseries
ofmacros,whichwillbefamiliarasagroupof
shortcutsthathavebeenmappedto
instrumentandeffectparameterswithinthis
instrumentchain.Pushingthetoprowof
controlsuphighwillresultinacrushed
sound;setlowthesoundiscleaner.
01
ClickontheShowChainbuttonandthen
double-clickonthechainsnameto
expanditout.Youwillseethatitisbasedonan
instanceofOperator,soifyouchangethe
settingsofanyofitsfouroscillators,
specificallytheCoarsetuning,youcanadd
harmonicstothesound.Changetheirrelative
levelstoenhancedifferentpartsoftheoutput.
Thewaveformeditorinthecentreiscontextual
andletsyoudrawinwaveformshapesforany
activeoscillator.HereIhavechosenOscAand
withthepen,drawninanewshape,resulting
inamuchmoregritty,mechanicalbasssound.
02
Synth secrets
Moving on to the Synth Bass folder inside the Rack
presets folder you will find some meatier presets, many
of which use Analog as the basis for sound generation
and also the usual suites of effects to liven things up.
Here you can get more involved with tweaking the
PRO TIP
A dedicated bass amp plug-in
can be an excellent way to
achieve more authentic bass
tones. IK Multimedias Ampeg
SVX features not only highly
configurable amp and speaker
settings and virtual mics, but
also a rack of bass-specific
stomp box effects. Its an
interesting one to use not only
on basses but on other sounds
such as beats,
synths or
vocals, as it
can have
unexpectedly
great sounding
results.
Next,clickintheAlgorithmbox,whichis
wherethefoursmallcolouredsquares
are.Thisrevealsamodulationmatrixinthe
centralwindow,whereyoucanassign
parameterstomodulateeachother.One
quickeroptionistoclickonanyofthe
colouredblockcombinationsatthetopof
thiswindow,whichwillquicklycreatenew
routingsbasedonpresets.
03
Inthisexample,wehaveloadedan
instanceofAnalogwiththeBassline
patch.Asitisntyetinarack,itsquiteclean
asthingsstand.MovingtotheAudioEffects
presetfolderinLiveslibrary,gointotheBass
Ampsectionandtryapplyingapreset.Here
wehavechosentheFuzzyChannelpreset.
Youshouldfinditinstantlyaddssomegritto
thesound.
01
Next,expandtheeffectbyshowingits
Chain.ScrolltotheEQsectionandboost
thebassendbydraggingtheEQpointstothe
leftoftheplug-inup.Inthemenutotheright
youcanalsochangethespeakerused,themic
placementandthedry/weteffectoftheEQ.
TryalsotweakingtheCompressortocreate
moreorlesssquashingofthesound,andthe
tubeeffecttovarythecrunch.Someofthese
canbedonefromtheeffectsMacrosection.
02
Nowtryaddingsomethingextratothe
chain.HerewehavegoneintotheAudio
EffectsRack>InstrumentProcessingfolder
anddroppeda303BackupPlanpresetinto
ourexistingrack.Initiallyithassomedelay
whichisabitmessy,sowedeleteit.What
remainshoweverreallyaddsalotofcrunch
andgrittothesound,andyoucanusethe4
polegridtoreallyshapeittoyourliking.
03
| 59
Inthisprojectwehaveloadedupan
instanceofTrilian,whichisadedicated
bassinstrumentfromSpectrasonics.Weload
upapatchandthenrecordabassloopin.
AfterwardswegointotheMIDIeditorand
quantizeitsothatitstimingfitswithour
project.Next,wecanautomatesomeofits
parameterstomakethingsmoreinteresting.
01
ByclickingtheConfigurebuttonon
Triliansinstrumentboxwecanassign
MIDIcontrolsbetweenLiveandtheplug-inby
clickingonelementsofTriliansinterface.
ThesearethenassignedtoMacrosintheInfo
Viewandwillbecomeavailableasautomatable
parametersinTrilianstrackinArrangement
view.Nextletsprogramsomeautomation
02
Taking effect
The instruments are for the most part quite clean as they
are generated, and before effects have been added. This
is because its easy to add crunch and drive to a clean
sound, but less easy to remove those kinds of effects
from a sound that has them already ingrained, perhaps
as part of the samples used to generate them. So its with
effects that you do the majority of your beefing up of
basses in Live.
PRO TIP
Live has some great MIDI
plug-ins and these can be
used with bass parts to
quickly and easily create and
tweak acid, analogue and
other kinds of basslines. Try
dropping an instance of an
Arpeggiator MIDI plug-in from
Lives library into a MIDI track
that is attached to a bass
instrument, and then record a
MIDI part. You dont have to be
an experienced player to
generate some cool sounds.
AsourprojectplaysbackwithRecord
activatedwecanmoveparameterson
Triliantoenterautomationdataintothelane
inArrangementview.Alternatively,usethe
Pentooltodraworeditthisbyhand.The
automationdropdownmenuwillshowyou
whatsavailable,andyoucanclickthetiny
Plusarrowonalanetorevealthenextone.
03
Letssayyouhaveatrackthathasbeen
mixedandarrangedand,before
outputtingit,youwanttomasterittogiveit
thatradio-readysound.SelecttheMaster
channelandthengototheInfoViewareaat
thebottom.StartbydraggingaMultiband
Dynamicsplug-inontotheMastertrack.
01
focus
Increasethelevelofeachofthethree
frequencybands,andexperimentwith
theirwidthssothatyouselectivelycompress
thelows,midsandhighfrequencies
appropriatelyforthetrack.Usecompressionat
thisstagetocreateamoreevensoundwhere
nothingisleapingouttoomuchatthelistener.
02
Now,dropaLimiterplug-inintothe
Mastereffectschainanddrivethe
signaluntilyouareachievingasolid,healthy
levelbutwithoutpumpingthesoundtoo
much.Youmightalsowanttotryusinga
multibandEQatthemasteringstage,to
eitherrolloffunrulybassfrequenciesor
boostlow-endfrequenciesthatmaybe
lackinginweight.
03
Livesownbasseffectsaregreatbut
sometimesyouwantsomethingalittle
heavierandmorespecialisedtotreatyour
basstracks.Here,wehavedroppedan
instanceofIKMultimediasAmpexSVXbass
ampemulationplug-inontooneofourbass
tracks.Thedifferenceisverynoticeable.
01
Youcanchangeampsandspeakercabs
insidetheplug-inaswellasalteringEQ
andamultitudeofothersettingstotweakthe
basssound.Therearesomegreatpresetsas
well,includingsomedesignedspecificallyfor
synths.Trytheseandyouwillfindthattheycan
reallyaddalotofcharactertoyourbasstracks.
02
Other options
If you cant split the sound by module, say for example if
its a single synth with multiple oscillators, you could
use sidechaining on a compressor to selectively
compress the problem frequencies. This could involve
duplicating the bass track, EQing it to isolate the
required bass frequency and then feeding this isolated
signal to the compressor attached to the main bass
PRO TIP
Basses are one of the types of
sound that respond well to
layering of effects. Typically,
this might include some
compression, EQ and maybe
overdrive or tube warmth.
Often these can all be found
grouped together in one of the
Bass Amp Audio Effect Racks
from the Live library. Elements
of the effects chain can be
switched on and off, and
substituted or added to as
you wish.
Ifyouarehappywiththesoundyou
couldleavetheplug-inappliedasan
insertor,ifyouarerunninglowonCPUpower,
youcouldtryfreezingthetrack,whichwill
renderthebasseffectdownalongwithany
othereffectscurrentlyappliedtothetrack.
Youcanunfreezeitlaterifyoudecideyou
wanttoremovetheeffectormakechanges.
03
track. Get it right and the effect should be that the main
track has its compression ratio increased when the
sound drifts into the lower reaches of the frequency
spectrum. Yet another option would be to use a
multiband compressor, which can be found in Lives
Multiband Dynamics preset folder. These have the
advantage of being able to compress different
frequencies using different amounts, while also letting
you set the divisions between those frequencies. This is
perhaps a more elegant way to selectively compress a
bass part that has multiple frequencies, though it does
require a little more judgement on your part when it
comes to isolating the frequencies correctly.
Live has lots of excellent bass sounds and the
onboard effects and Rack systems make it easy to layer
up, morph, tweak and process them to your hearts
content. Theres nothing more satisfying than producing a
track with a weighty solid bottom end that will sound
great when played back on a big system. Explore Lives
synths, samplers and plug-in effects today to see how
you can get more from the bass end of your system.
Understandinghowthebottomendof
yourtrackisbehavingcanhelpyou
identifyproblemsandsqueezeasmuch
weightaspossiblefromitwithoutcausing
distortion.TrydraggingaSpectrumplug-in
fromtheLibrarytotheMastertrackofyour
project,thenexpandingitsoyoucanseeits
displaymoreclearly.
01
TrythesamewithaSpectrumplug-infor
amoredetailedview.Ifyoulook,youwill
seehowthebassisbehavingandwhetheritis
lowerthanitcouldbeintermsofthedecibel
scale,orifthereisroomtopushitalittle
further.Trustyourearsasmuchasyoureyes;
usebothtomakeajudgement.
02
Here,wedecidedthatthebasswasa
littletoofarandcouldhavebeen
overwhelmingonsomesystems,soweused
theMultibandDynamicsplug-inalready
presenttoreininthebottomendalittle.The
changeisreflectedintheSpectrumplug-in.
Rememberthatanalysersdontchangethe
sound,theyjustdisplayitgraphically.
03
| 61
The Bridge
On the disc
The concept
Those who own Serato Scratch Live (SSL) and a full
Ableton Live licence (Normal or Suite) get The Bridge
included in the latest versions of both packages. Live
runs alongside SSL in a similar way to the ReWire
protocol, except that in this case, SSL is always the
master, to which Live acts as a slave.
Once both programs are open and SSL has its Ableton
plug-in enabled, Lives transport can be loaded and
controlled via a virtual deck in SSL or slaved to an audio
track that is already playing. The control you get over
Lives transport via SSLs control vinyl is almost the same
as an audio track, except backwards movements are not
heard, so you cant scratch with it. This is because SSL
controls the transport of Live, not its audio stream. But
you can mix with it, using vinyl control and pitch
adjustments as usual on your turntable.
The audio from Live streams to a chosen output on
your Rane hardware. The routing options will vary for
different interfaces, but you select it via the Ableton
Panel in SSL, underneath the master scene view. 1
PRO TIP
Rane TTM 57SL or Sixty-Eight
mixer owners can now record
their DJ sets as .als files.
These capture the raw audio
output of each deck and
automation used for channel
faders, crossfader, gain
settings, pan and EQ. Select
input source as .als under the
record panel and hit Record to
start, then finish capturing
your set. After naming and
saving it you can open the
project in Live to edit audio
and automation afterwards.
On the beat
Mixing with Live as a track on a turntable is as easy as
pressing Control + F (PC)/Command + F (Mac) in SSL and
typing Ableton to search for the Live transport track
named Ableton Live. Drag that track to a virtual deck and
you can mix with it just like any other track. 5
The only difference is that the visual waveform is
replaced by a grid showing the beats and bar positions of
the Live transport, which you can line up with the
waveform on the other deck if you like to mix visually. 6
focus
4
6
PRO TIP
When editing Beat Grids, hold
[Ctrl]/[Cmd] and click the
main waveform display to
change from the frequencycoloured single
waveform to a
three-band waveform.
This lets you see
individual hi-hat parts
when the lower part of
the spectrum is full of
kick drums and bass.
Its also handy for any
less-than-punchysounding records with
fewer obvious overall
transients to work with.
| 63
10
11
12
You can drag files from the Live Browser into your
SSL library, and SSL library tracks into either
Arrangement or Session View in Live.
13
14
focus
www.novationmusic.com/keyboards
On the disc
ewalkedthroughthebasicprinciplesof
TheBridge,thesystemthatconnects
SeratoScratchLive(SSL)andAbletons
Live8sequencingsoftware,inPartOne
ofthisWorkshop.Wewillnowcontinue
thethemebyshowingyouhowtomakethemostofthis
uniqueDJandDAWcombinationtoenhanceyournext
DJsetandtakeyourliveshowstothenextlevel.
File management
Whereaspreviouslywediscussedthepreparationof
libraryfilesinSSLforusewiththeBridge,herewewill
focusonfileeditinginLiveandmovingyourwork
around.Understandingwhentousewhichofthe
followingmethodstomovefilesbetweenthetwo
applicationsisessentialtogettingoptimalworkflow.
ItsalreadycommonfordigitalDJstousea
sequenceroraudioeditortopreparecustomaudiofiles
foruseinamix.Thiscanbeasimplere-edittoperfectly
alignthearrangementoftwotrackstogetherina
pre-preparedmixormoreintenseeditingtocreate
PRO TIP
Create an audio track, set
Monitor to In and the Audio
From menu to No Input. Next,
set all the other channels
Audio To settings to the new
channel. Drop an audio loop
onto this channel and open the
Envelope editor for the clip.
After clicking the channel
fader, you can draw in a
volume pattern for that fader
and create copies for other
variations to trigger from SSL.
moreofaremix.ItcanalsobeyourownorcustomeditedDJtools,suchassoundeffects,acapellas,drum
loopsorscratchphrasestoenhanceandcustomise
yourmix.
AlthoughalotofthesecanbetriggeredfromLive
itself,havingbothprogramsrunningcanputquitealot
ofstrainonyourcomputer.Bypreparingallcustom
audiotousewithSSLalone,youreducetheriskof
placingtoomuchdemandonyourcomputerandyou
mayalsoprefertostaywithintheclassicvinylcontrol
performanceforaturntablistset,forinstance.
Whenpreparingaudiofilesitisbeneficialtokeep
theminLiveuntiltheyarefinished,beforeexporting
themtoyourDJsetfolder.Althoughyoucanaudition
filesinthecontextofthemixbydraggingtheAbleton
LivetrackinSSLtoavirtualdeck,thiscontrolsonlythe
Livetransportanddoesntallowforactualaudio
manipulation,soscratchDJswillprefertoworkwith
audiofilesinSSLasyoutweakyourcreationinLive.
FilesfromyourSSLlibrarycanbedraggedontoLives
SessionorArrangementViews.Theeasiestwaytoflick
betweenbothprogramsispressingAlt+Tab(PC)/
Command+Tab(Mac)afterleft-clickingandholdingthe
audiofileuntilitsinposition,tothendropitintoLive.
Thisisthequickestwaytostartre-editingatrackinLive,
butmovingfilesfromLivetoSSLisslightlydifferent.
YoucandragfilesfromLivesBrowseracrosstoSSL,
butnotaudioclipsdirectlyfromSessionor
ArrangementViews.SoanyfilesalreadywithinyourLive
projectneedtobedraggedfromtheirsourcelocation
viatheLiveBrowser.Youcaneitherright-click(PC)/
Control-click(Mac)theaudioclipinLiveorthefilename
atthetopoftheClipViewintheSamplebox,then
selectShowinBrowser. 1
focus
TheBridge:Part2Workshop MTF
AbletonLivesre-editing
facilitiescanalsobeapplied
toimportedvideo/picture files
Note that before you move from the Live window to
SSL, its important to move the file with the mouse a bit
so it engages the drag-and-drop mode of your OS.
The advantage of this process is speed, and its best
used when auditioning audio until you perfect it. As
mentioned, you cant just drag a range of audio slices
from Arrangement View in Live, but if you consolidate
them by highlighting all parts on a single audio track
and pressing Control + J you can then select Show in
Browser and drag it to audition in SSL. 2
Live will store these consolidated files in a Temp
folder; when quitting the program it will ask you if you
wish to delete them. Leaving them in place makes it
easy to recall a mix in progress from day to day, but isnt
a good idea in the long term as it is an untidy and risky
way to manage audio files. A good way to collect your
files together is to drag them all from SSL to Live in
Session View. Choose Collect All And Save, then select
the Files From Elsewhere box. All of the files for your set
will be in the imported folder of the project folder for
you to archive correctly.
PRO TIP
SSL doesnt support 32-bit
WAV files, so you must make
sure you are working in either
16-bit or 24-bit at the top of
the Lives Preferences window,
under the Record Warp Launch
tab. Unless you are in a special
situation and have 24-bit
music files to DJ with, it makes
sense to work in 16-bit and
keep all your audio at the
same bit resolution.
Re-edits
Simple re-edits involve extending or cutting sections of
a track; for this, Duplicate Time and Delete Time (from
the Edit menu in Live) are very useful. After expanding
the audio track by clicking on the small triangle symbol
to the left of the track name, click and drag over the
waveform to highlight the area you wish to edit, then
either extend or delete it. 3
Duplicate Time will move all content after the newly
pasted section in Arrangement View, while Delete Time
performs the opposite. More intricate editing are easiest
to perform by zooming in/out, as Lives adaptive grid
offers the most suitable snap option for the current view.
When it comes to editing acapellas, SSLs tempo
detection tends to give much more accurate results than
Warp Detection in Live. So, providing that you have
focus AbletonLive8Volume2 |67
deck in SSL. You can then drag those files across to your
SSL library, using the same file transfer techniques
already discussed. You can also gather a collection of
loops in Session View first, flick between them to pick
the best one, then drag it into SSL from Lives Browser.
The most common loops used to enhance a DJ set
are full drum parts, percussion layers or sound FX.
Although instrument loops can be used, this is more in
the direction of performing your own Live set alongside
your SSL-based mix (the basics of setting this up were
covered in Part One). You can set audio loops to any of
the available warp modes to preserve the pitch of the
loop at all times or choose re-pitch for a more authentic
pitch-based reaction and better sound quality when
playing at different tempos. Warp modes can be used as
a special effect by winding the turntable very slowly
with the motor turned off for timestretch effects.
When using loops with music that doesnt have a
computer-perfect tempo, re-pitch will make the loop
vary in pitch as the tempo drifts around. Although warp
modes will keep the pitch steady, another option is to
slice a loop to MIDI as this maintains audio fidelity and
keeps the pitch steady at the same time. Right-click
(PC)/Control-click (Mac) the audio loop in question and
choose Slice to MIDI Track. 6
Set Create One Slice Per to Transient and the Slicing
Preset to Built-in. Now a new MIDI track with a Drum
Rack will be created; you can trigger it via the provided
MIDI clip to play back the loop in its original form. 7
Youcansetaudio loopstoanyof
theavailablewarpmodesto
preserve the pitch
At slower tempos you may need to add some delay
or reverb to fill the gaps between each slice if they
sound too noticeable.
When creating your own loops to use with The Bridge,
you can use as many layers and techniques as you like. If
you need to export these into your SSL library, highlight
the parts to be included but dont include any clip or
effect tail sections that will go past the end of the last
beat in the loop. If you want the effects tail to be
included as part of the loop, turn on Render as Loop after
choosing Export Audio/Video from the File menu. This
merges effects to the beginning of the exported file. 8
When exporting
loops for use in
SSL, ensure that
you dont include
tails unless you
specifically want
them as part of
your loop.
68|AbletonLive8Volume2
focus
EE S
FR N
T ITIO
GE ED
US AL
PL GIT
DI
Subscribe MTM
Save 50%
Y
L
L
A
M
R
NO
5.99 RS
E
B
I
R
C
S
SUB
99
.
2
T
S
U
PAY J SUE!
AN IS
Subscribe
online at
www.subscribeonline.co.uk/musictech
entering code ABLETON12
Or call
us on
0844 844 0398*
quoting code ABLETON12
| 67
Ableton Live 8
01
02
03
focus
eachtimeyouwanttocreatealongersectiontoaddto,
highlightthepartbyleft-clickingitandpress[Ctrl]+[J]to
consolidate.Thistechniqueisalotfasterandsaves
additionalmousemovements.Anotherapproachisextendit
first,thenconsolidateitsothatyouhaveasinglenew
independentcliptoalterforvariation.
01
04
trysendingtheReturntracktoitself,butmakesurethatyou
turndownyourspeakervolumefirstasthingscangetloud
veryquickly.Smallamountscanextendadelaysmax
feedbacktime;fullamountswillcreateastrongfeedback
loopthatyoucanshapewithfiltersanddistortionwhile
recordingtocreatelotsofsamplematerial.
04
SAMPLE MAGIC
Sometimesitshandytorecordpartsfromanother
audiochanneltocreatenewloopsorsamplematerialtoload
intoinstrumentsorperformallsortsofaudio-manipulation
on.Ratherthansetupanaudiotrackeachtimeyouneedto
dothis,setupadedicatedtrackforrecording,setitsinputto
bethemasterbussandswitchmonitortoofftoavoid
feedback.Nowyoucancaptureanymagicmomentsanduse
themwithinaprojectasaudiostraightawayordragthemto
theLiveBrowserforlateruse.HavingaLooperplug-inonthis
channelwillalsoletyourecordaudiowhenLivestransport
isntactive.Thisisusefulforcapturingelementsofplug-ins
thatbehavedifferentlywhenthetransportisactive.
05
07
08
GROUP STRENGTH
Livehasoneofthesimplestwaystoprocesssoundsin
parallelforaudiotracksorinstrumentstheGroupfunction
intheTrackViewSelectorwindow.Aftercreatingyourfirst
plug-intousealongsidetheoriginalsignal,clicktheShow/
HideChainListbutton(thethirdroundbuttondownonthe
veryleft-handsideoftherack).Allaudioiscurrentlypassing
throughthechannelnamedchain;byright-or[Ctrl]-clicking
underneathityoucancreateanew,cleanchannel.Thiscan
becontinuedifyouwantmorechannelstoadddifferent
processingtreatmentsto.
09
AUXILIARY CANNIBALISM
WhenusingReturntracksforauxiliarysendeffectsyou
canalsoenablethemtosendtoeachotherforCPU-efficient
soniccreativity.Right-or[Ctrl]-clickthegreyed-outauxiliary
sendyouwishtouseonthereturntrackandselectoneorall
tobeenabled.Trysendingadelayreturntoareverbto
defusethoseseparatedelayedparts(orviceversatoadda
moredecipherablerhythmtoareverbeffect).Youcanalso
06
10
05
10
| 71
sounds you can extend the Release time so the noise lasts
longer than the source signal. The Formant control will let you
tune the output; Depth controls how much of the modulator
will shape the carrier signal. Drawing out low and mid
frequencies in the Filter Bank section (central) can add a thin
layer of noise along with the source sound, acting as a
frequency exciter.
MOUSE-FREE EDITING
When youre programming melody or drum parts in MIDI,
its possible to use key commands to create all MIDI notes
after youve created the first one by double-clicking in the
MIDI Editor. You can move the first note up, down, left or right
using the arrow keys. Holding down [Shift] while using the left
or right arrows resizes the note (shorter or longer
respectively). Press [Ctrl]+[D] (PC) or [Cmd]+[D] (Mac) to
duplicate this first note; [Ctrl] or [Cmd] along with the arrow
keys will let you move between notes to manipulate; holding
down [Shift] at the same time will let you highlight
neighbouring notes. [Shift]+up/down lets you move notes by
an octave instead of a semitone.
14
13
15
dictate how soon the clips follow on from each other. Enable
Legato mode to let the play position continue around the
loops as they switch for more variations.
HOT-SWAP FOR AUDIO TRACKS
The Hot-Swap feature in Simpler, Sampler, Impulse and
Drum Racks makes for very quick auditioning with MIDI work.
But if you prefer to work with audio loops in Session View or
sequence audio events in Arrangement View, there is a
hidden way to use Hot-Swap. In Clip View, right- or [Ctrl]-click
the audio files name (just below the top of the Sample box)
and select Manage Sample File. Now the Replace Files
browser will appear on the right and you can click the
Hot-Swap button to the left of the filename to audition
replacement audio.
11
EFFECTIVE PITCHING
When working with audio files you can quickly re-pitch
one or a collection of highlighted audio clips by changing the
Transpose control and Detune for finer tuning. All Warp
modes except Re-pitch keep loops the same length while
changing the pitch. Switching to Re-pitch mode will disable
the use of transpose until you turn off Warp mode, which then
locks pitch and length together in a classic vari-speedbehaviour like most samplers. The Frequency Shifter audio
effect is another option that has a different tone from normal
pitch-shifting algorithms. This can be useful for tuning
elements of drum hits with a balance of the original by
adjusting the dry/wet balance.
12
13
17
18
17
16
focus
19
IMPULSIVE DRUMMING
AfterDrumRacksappearedinLiveitbecamequiteeasy
tooverlooktheoriginalImpulsedrummachine.Although
DrumRacksuseaSimplerineachdrumpadbydefault,itis
possibletocreateImpulseinstancesonanypadsthatyou
wishtouse.ThemainadvantageofthisisthatImpulsecan
time-stretch,soyoucanusetheStretchandOverallTime
controltostretch-outsoundsorshortenthemasan
expressiveaudiotool.IfyoucreateaDrumRackcontaining
ImpulsedevicesoneachdrumpadyoucanthenclickSave
PresetontheDrumRackforrecalllater.Itisalsoworth
assigningcommandssuchasStretchtoaMacroviathe
right-/[Ctrl]-clickmenusoyoucantime-stretchtheentire
drumkitatanymoment.
18
19
DUMMY GROUPS
Grouptracksareasimplewaytorouteacollectionof
tracksorinstrumentsthroughoneaudiochannel,but
manuallysettingupthisroutinghastheadvantageof
allowingfordummyclips.Aftercreatinganaudiotrack,set
MonitortoInandselectNoInputfromtheAudioFrommenu.
NowsetallothertracksAudioTosettingstoroutetothisnew
audiochannel.Nowyoucandraganyaudiolooptothenew
channel;itwontbeheardduetotheChannelMonitor
settings,butyoucanopenuptheclipsEnvelopepropertiesin
SessionViewandusetheaudiocliptocontrolparameters
suchaschannelvolumeforrhythmicvolumepatterns,filter
cutoffsoreffectsends.
22
NEIGHBOUR FRIENDLY
Yourneighbourswilllikethistipandyoumightjust
avoidanynoisepollutionlawsuitsatthesametime...Ifyou
workonanygenresofmusicwithafairlylargeamountof
bassyoucanaddanEQThreetothemasteroutputto
temporarilyremovethebottomendwhenyourenotworking
onbass-essentialsections.UseKeyMapmodetoassignthe
LowOn/Offbuttontoahandykeytoflickthebasscuton/off
whileyouwork.SettheFreqLowdialhighenoughsothatyou
dontfeelthebassthroughthefloororthewallswhen
touchingthemwithyourhand.
23
24
25
ADDITIONAL HARMONICS
Ifyouwanttocreateaccompanyingnotesforamelody
linetomakechordsorharmonies,selectthemallandthen
holddown[Alt]whileyoudragtomakeacopyforahigheror
lowermelodyline.Ifyouwanttheoriginalleadmelodyto
remainprominent,holddown[Ctrl]/[Cmd]whilehoveringthe
mousecursoroveroneofthenewlycreatednotesanddrag
tochangethevelocityofallselectednotes.
20
21
22
| 73
MusicTech.indd 1
17.01.2012 08:37:34
MusicTech.indd 2
17.01.2012 08:37:40
Round Up
Monitors
2
1
Price 5,160
Contact Unity Audio 01440 785843
The Boulder is a sealed-box active design with a cabinet made
from high-quality Baltic birch plywood and a front baffle made
from corian. Two 180mm Elac woofers handle bass duties,
with middle and high frequencies reproduced by a new
dual-coaxial ribbon design, also manufactured by Elac. This
allows the mid-range and tops to be reproduced without
splitting the task between a mid / bass driver and a tweeter.
Hearing the Boulders is an ear-opening experience, as they
sound like no other box speaker weve heard.
Web www.unityaudio.co.uk
focus
3
3 PMC DB1S-AII
Price 1,825
Contact PMC 0870 444 1044
The DB1S-AII is the latest version of the highly regarded
DBS-A, and the most significant change is a power increase.
The original 100-Watt Flying Mole power amps have been
replaced with 200-Watt Class D amps designed by PMC to
provide extra headroom and minimise distortion. The
transmission-line design produces a bass extension that goes
way beyond the capabilities of similar size ported or infinitebaffle cabinets. Roll-off starts at 100Hz, but its extremely
smooth and gradual. The fundamental was still clearly audible
at 20Hz and we couldnt detect any distorted overtones. Given
the size of the cabinet this is nothing short of remarkable.
Web www.pmc-speakers.com
5 EVENT 20/20BAS V3
Web www.eventelectronics.com
4 ADAM A77X
Web www.adam-audio.com
| 77
6 SE MUNRO EGG
Price 1,649
Contact Sonic Distribution 01582 470260
Designed in partnership with acoustics and monitor design
legend Andy Munro, the sE Egg is an innovative new monitor.
Knowing that much of the spectral distortion and colouration
is caused by internal cabinet resonances and diffraction, sE
and Munro set out to design an egg-shaped cabinet with no
internal vibration modes to produce a monitor with absolute
clarity and honesty. The Egg comes with its own external
amplifier with built-in active crossovers, ensuring perfect
phase and transient response.
Web www.seelectronics.com
7
7 FOCAL CMS 40
8 SONODYNE SM100AK
focus
10
10 GENELEC
8260A
Price 3,799
Contact Source
Distribution
020 8962 5080
The 8260A is a three-way speaker featuring Genelecs
innovative MDC (Minimum Diffraction Coaxial) mid / high
driver technology, which is similar to Tannoys dual-concentric
design, but in this case Genelec has aligned the mid-range
and high-frequency drivers for point source to prevent
low-frequency soundwaves from the woofer causing
disruption. Rarely have we heard so clearly inside a mix. Weve
come to associate mid-range and high-end transparency with
the Genelec brand and the 8260As continue the tradition, but
what really blew us away was the bottom end. The system
ships with Genelecs Loudspeaker Manager software, which
manages the DSP functions and enables the 8260As to be
combined with other 8200 Series monitors and 7200 Series
subwoofers.
Web www.genelec.com
11
| 79
focus
Francesco Tristanos upbringing and subsequent career is far from typical. Here the
classically trained pianist Francesco Tristano reveals to MTF how Live is helping him turn
the piano back into an instrument of the future Photography by Ralf Kleinermanns
A classic start
There was a piano in my house so the first steps for me were to try and get some
sounds out of this piece of furniture that was standing there, Francesco recalls of
his childhood. I took piano lessons from the age of five and by 15 I was studying at
the Julliard School in New York. I started out practising classical music but I always
improvised and composed so I guess it took me a while to figure out what I really
wanted to do.
While he was deciding, Francescos career path was altered forever when he
was exposed to more electronic music while on his studies
I had got into electronic music a bit before Julliard, he says, but it was really in
New York that I got more into it. At Julliards they had a great music lab with a lot of
synthesizers waiting to be played as no one really touched them. Electronic music
was my last discovery and now what I do is combine acoustic sounds with those
electronic sounds.
The way he tells it, he makes that sound easy but what Francesco achieves live
is a seemingly effortless combination where the main riffs are played live by him
often at tremendous pace and to great effect while big dance beats often
underpin the whole thing but not always, as the piano often takes centre stage on
its own
focus Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
| 81
YAMAHA CFX
Francesco is recording his
new album with the latest
Yamaha CFX, a legendary grand
piano that he considers the best
in the world. For live duties
Francesco often employs
another Yamaha, this time a
MOTIF keyboard.
MOOG VOYAGER
The Moog Voyager also gets
a live workout with Francesco. He
likes synths with warmth and this
oozes it. It might be monophonic
but with many sounds of a pedigree
based on the original MiniMoog,
you know that each note is going to
sound excellent.
Futuristic qualities
I am not really trying to blend the music, he continues when
asked about the seemingly large gap between classical and
electronic. I love techno music, loops and four on the floor,
but the fact is that I am a pianist so what am I going to do? I
am going to try and use the piano, as it is my instrument. The
piano has futuristic qualities but if we cant perceive them
any more, then I want to combine them with electronics. Also
pianists have a lonely existence, so what I wanted to do was
to have an electronic orchestra around me where I could
focus
Francesco's Kit
HARDWARE
Allen & Heath
XONE:92 MIXER
Dave Smith
Evolver
Genelec 8040
Speakers + 7060
subwoofer
Kurzweil PC88
Yamaha S-4
Grand Piano
Yamaha MPZ MIDI
Piano
Yamaha MOTIF
Rack
SOFTWARE
Ableton Live
Apple Logic
Studio
Arturia Minimoog,
Jupiter 8v2,
ARP2600 v2,
Prophet v2, CS80 v2
Korg Legacy
Collection
Lexicon PSP 42,
PSP 84 reverb
PSP Vintage
Warmer
Sonnox limiter
and EQ
No grand plan
As we conclude the interview Francesco tells us he is off to
Japan to record his next album the next day. And it sounds
like hes going to record it on the best piano in the world
LOOPING
Time for a bit of loop
programming pre show in
Ableton Live. Francesco doesnt
program loops on the fly like
some artists but prefers to get
arrangements and loops in place
before a performance.
MUSICIANSHIP
Francescos real forte
despite all the gear in his live rig
is his playing. And boy can he
play! Check out the YouTube clips
of him playing with Carl Craig to
get a better idea of how his
playing fits in with the Craig
Techno backdrop.
f
c
e
g
c CHAINING
Chaining effects
together is the order of the
day as Ableton Live chugs
away on the laptop.
Francesco modulates
everything to enhance and
add space to his sound and to
help bring him his Piano v2.0.
d EFFECTS
Effects used on the
notes include delay, EQ and
reverb and Francesco is
constantly editing and
working on different
combinations and chains to
push the piano sound as
much as possible.
SYNTHS
e SOFT
And as well as
hardware synths,
Francesco has plenty of
soft synths loaded up too.
They are mostly based on
classic analogue synths
and the Arturia range is a
favourite, as well as Korgs
Legacy collection.
MTF Step-by-Step Francesco reveals his three biggest uses of Ableton Live while on stage
Thefirstisprocessingmyownmain
sound.Iusethebuilt-ineffects,andwill
oftenchainthemtogether.IuseVSTsanda
bunchofplug-ins[liketheSonyOxford
Limitershown].Ibasicallymodulate
non-stopsoIhaveoneMIDIcontrollerjustfor
pianoeffects.
01
SoIllcontroltheeffectswiththemain
masterkeyboard,whichkindofbecomes
themainplayeroftheset.ButIalsocontrol
MIDIclipsandusesomeoftheAbletonsynths,
butmostlythird-partyoneslikethosefrom
Arturia,Korgandafewothers.
02
Ialsouseittosequencesomekindof
audioloopthatIprogrambeforea
performance.Idontdoanysequencingon
stagethatisdonebeforehand.Idontuseit
torecordaudioloopsonstageasmuchasI
wouldliketoitsmostlyaboutsound
processingwhileplayinglive.
03
| 83
Speedy composition
On the disc
and production
Making a scene
PRO TIP
If you are leaving this project
in its arranged form to listen
back to later, export it from
Arrangement View by setting
the main loop marker to the
length of the entire
arrangement. By then putting
all your projects in a folder you
can listen to them back-toback for easier judgement
later on.
In Session
Here we will show you a tried-and-tested approach to
utilising both Session and Arrangement Views to get song
ideas down and arranged fast. The aim is to go from the
start of a track to a full arrangement within hours rather
than days. If you work at this rate you could feasibly
create a track on every spare day you have. You can then
listen to them with fresh ears at a later date and pick out
the stronger tracks to focus your time on.
By taking this approach, not only will you write and
produce a lot more music, you will also be less attached
to each track as youll have spent less time on it. When
trying to non-subjectively judge your own work which at
best is hard to do comparing lots of your own tracks
1
2
3
As soon as you have ideas evolving within your scenes, label and colour
them so they visually make sense to you before key-mapping them.
focus
4
7
PRO TIP
When using parameters for
synths and effects within
scenes in Session View, use
clip envelopes instead of track
automation in Arrangement
View. Track automation is not
tied to a clip and will be lost
when a clip is moved to
Session View. Clip automation
is held within the clip itself
and will transfer between
either views so is better for pre
-arrangement work.
and choose Select All Slots In Scene. Click and hold one
highlighted clip, press the [Tab] key to switch views and
drop the clip at bar one/beat one of its corresponding
arrangement track. 5
Disable all Session clips by pressing [F10] to hear just
the clips now in Arrangement View (or press the Back to
Arrangement button on the main transport in red). 6
Alternatively, if you want to create a new scene from a
combination of manually launched scenes rather than
drag a scene to Arrangement for editing, first doubleclick the transport stop button to reset the arrangement
cursor to position 1.1.1, then press [F9] or click the Global
Record button on the transport to arm recording, which
will start when you launch your first scene. At the end of
the recording press the Stop All Clips button below the
scenes column for a clean, musical ending, then press
stop on the transport to finish.
Now that you have your clips in Arrangement View,
you can start to chop and move sections around as you
wish, which is usually required if you want an interesting
section of four bars or longer. You can highlight sections
of a clip in Arrangement View to move or delete them
without having to expand each track to see the waveform.
Hold [Alt]+[Shift] as you click and drag to move or delete
the desired clip section. 7
Before moving back to Session View, highlight all clips
to the desired length of your new scene by clicking one
corner then [Shift]-clicking the opposite corner. If you
Cut it out
Now lets get these ideas into Arrangement View and do
some personalised editing. If you only want to program
parts from one scene, right-click the scene launch button
focus Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
| 87
10
Clip highlights
Now lets perform the opposite manoeuvre by clicking
and dragging these new clips into a scene in Session
View after pressing [Tab] again while click+holding on the
highlighted clips. 11
If youre getting short on empty scenes, press [Ctrl]/
[Cmd]+[I] to insert a new one. This process of moving to
and from Arrangement View can be used to develop each
section and create alternate edits, which you can develop
after duplicating a scene. Either click the scene launch
button and press [Ctrl]/[Cmd]+[D] or right-click to select
Duplicate. The clips from that duplicated scene can then
be dragged to Arrangement View to be edited before
being dragged back into Session View.
Remember to rename scenes as you go and also drag
them into a more logical order while re-assigning your
Key Mappings to keep the keys and scenes in order.
13
Back in Session View this process
can be repeated until you have
sufficient scenes to record as
your arrangement.
11
12
88 | Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
focus
14
Round Up
Tuition
2 LIVE COURSES
1 SONIC ACADEMY
14
focus
Price 27.99
Contact Focal Press 01865 844640
Print is by no means dead, and sometimes theres no
substitute for working your way through a book in order to
really get under the skin of a piece of software as complicated
as Live 8 and the full Live 8 Suite. This tome, written by Keith
Robinson, uses Live 8s own non linear structure to introduce
readers to the DAW, helping them to learn how to create,
produce and perform. Covering a total of 407 pages, its a
comprehensive, well-written method for perfecting your Live
8 skills. Use this in conjunction with a series of online videos
and youll soon be at the top of your Live 8 game.
Web www.focalprofessional.com
Price POA
Contact Alchemea 020 7359 3986
If you would prefer the intimacy and immediacy that a
full-time or part-time face-to-face course offers over its online
equivalents, then Alchemae in London is a good place to start.
Known for turning out more Pro Tools-qualified students than
any other college in Europe, it also offers Live 8 courses aimed
at all levels of ability. Amazingly, its fully-equipped studios are
manned and available to students 24 hours a day. There are
three Ableton Live 8 courses available at extremely
competitive rates. Its up to you whether you study on a
part-time basis, or you go the whole hog and take up a
full-time student position.
Web www.alchemea.com
Price Free
Contact NA
We all use it, and as the wealth of videos
on YouTube continues to grow its
becoming an increasingly important
learning facility. There are dozens and
dozens of Ableton Live 8-related videos
to check out, from amateur appraisals
of the software to sampler packs of
professionally produced vids aimed to
lure you in to buying a full series worth
checking out even if you dont end up
spending a penny. And once youre done
polishing your Live 8 skills you can
always check out the videos of cats
falling out of trees. Or of drunk squirrels.
Price POA
Contact SAE UK 020 7923 9159
Fancy taking your Live 8 tuition to the extreme? How about
going to learn how to use the software in Byron Bay, Australia,
or New York? SAE International offers music production
courses across the globe for really dedicated students
though, if youd prefer to stay in the UK, it has campuses in
London, Oxford, Liverpool and Glasgow. Studying for either an
Electronic Music Production Certificate or even a BA/BSc in
Audio Production, youll receive the highest levels of academic
tuition, though this will be properly rooted in the real world
check out the SAE website for a list of the world-class
production studios that have taken on graduates from its
colleges. SAE also now offers online audio production courses
for those of you who view your Live 8 use as more of a hobby or
if youre simply too busy holding down the day job to take on a
full-time or even part-time college course.
Web www.sae.edu
Web www.youtube.com
| 91
TherearetwowaysinwhichyoucanuseLivewith
ReWire:asamasterandasaslave.UsingLiveasa
masterprogram,ReasoncansenditsaudioandMIDI
streamsthroughintoLivesmixer,andLivesTransport
controlswillgovernplayback.Inslavemode,the
processworksinreverse,withLivesendingdata
throughintoanotherDAWandthatprograminterfacing
withtheaudiohardware.Reasoncannotactasa
ReWiremaster,onlyaslave,soifyouwanttorunLivein
slavemode,youneedaDAWlikeCubase,LogicorPro
Toolstowhichitcansync.
eWireisPropellerheadsinnovativesystem
forconnectingitsflagshipDAWtoother
musicproductionapplications,andLivefully
supportstheprotocol.ReWirewasinitially
developedbecause,priortoversion6,
Reasondidnotsupporttherecordingofregularaudio
tracksanditstilldoesnotsupportthird-partyaudio
andinstrumentplug-ins.Soanyonewantingtorecord
audioaswellasMIDItrackswouldhavetoexportMIDI
tracksasaudioandimportthemintoanotherDAWor
atleasttheywouldwereitnotforReWire.
ThetechnologymakesitpossibletoconnectLive
andReasoninvisibly,withmultiplechannelsofaudio
andMIDIstreamingbetweenthetwoapplicationsin
perfectsync.Themostcommonusesforthisareeither
touseReasonssynthsinaLiveset,ortostreamaudio
throughfromReasontoberecordedinLive.BothDAWs
havetheirownsetsofinstrumentsandeffectsthat
cantbeseparatedfromtheprograminthewaythat
externalplug-inscanbe,butReWiremakesitpossible
tosharethembetweenthetwo.
Getting started
PRO TIP
When you have two DAWs
ReWired together, you can
perform a final audio mixdown
or a batch audio export in the
master DAW and all the tracks
streaming through from
ReWire will be available to
include in the rendered files.
They will include any effects
that have been applied in
either DAW, so you dont need
to render anything separately
in either one.
TouseLiveasaReWiremaster,youmuststarttheLive
applicationfirstandtheReasonapplicationsecond.Its
alsoessentialthatyoumakesureReasonissettoopen
in32-bitmode,asLiveisnotyetcapableofrunning
ReWirein64-bitmode.Youcandothisbyfindingthe
applicationandperformingGetInfoonitonaMac,or
PropertiesonWindows,andcheckingthe32-bitbox. 1
IfyoulookatthetopofReasonsRackyoushouldsee
thattheHardwareInterfaceisdisplayingthatReasonis
runninginReWireSlaveMode,andpassingitsaudio
outputstoLivesmixer.Letslookatwhyyoumightwant
todothis.
HereinReasonwehaveaREXloopandaThorsynth
part.Letssaywewanttofeedthosethroughintoour
Liveset,withouthavingtorenderthemoutasaudio
filesandimportthemintoLivefirst.Reasondefaultsto
feedingsignalintoitsownmixer,sowehaveto
manuallypatchthecablestotheHardwareInterface.
Pickuptheoutputofeachinstrumentandconnect
themtooutputs1,2,3and4ontheInterface. 2
1
2
3
Live currently only does ReWire in 32-bit mode, so you will need to set any
DAWs you plan to connect to open in this mode too, otherwise ReWire will
not be available.
focus
ReWiringLiveWorkshop MTF
5
6
Set audio channels in Live to read from Reasons
devices when ReWire is active and tracks can be
streamed through to Lives mixer.
Multi-mixing
One thing to remember here is that if you want to
stream a whole mix through from Reason, it makes
sense to use the 1 and 2 outputs as stereo L/R from
Reason into Live. Lets say you had a whole project in
Reason and wanted to play it through on a single stereo
channel. Mix L/R is essentially Reasons master output,
so if you left everything routed normally in Reason and
just patched the master feed through, you would simply
be firing all the sound onto one stereo channel in Live.
Its possible of course to start unpatching things in
Reason and connecting them to their own unique
channels if you like, as we have done in this example. 5
So its as flexible as you want to make it.
Create a second audio track in Live and repeat the
process, this time selecting the Reason 3 and 4 inputs
as the source, and again hitting the Monitor In button.
Now, the Thor part should play through. Lets say you
wanted to apply some of Lives effects to these audio
parts streamed through from Reason. This is as simple
as adding them in the normal way, so if you drag and
drop an effect onto the drum channel for example, you
will hear it applied in real time. 6
If you wanted to record an audio part through from
Reason into Live, this is possible too. Record-arm the
audio track in Live, then press Record and Play, and the
PRO TIP
When Live runs in ReWire slave
mode, some of its audio and
MIDI preferences are disabled
because the ReWire master
DAW makes these decisions.
Essentially, Live just
passes signal
to the master,
which then
controls how it
is passed to
the audio
interface
hardware. In
master mode,
Live makes
these
decisions, and
Reasons
controls are
similarly
unavailable.
9
10
8
Record parts through into Live sets from Reason
as audio, and trigger and automate Reason
devices directly from Live.
ReWire in reverse
If you wanted to use Live as a ReWire slave, say for
example to process its tracks through an effect that
was only available in another DAW, or to record audio
through from Live into another program for detailed
editing, you would start the host first, lets say Cubase,
and Live second. Again you will have to launch the host
in 32-bit mode so that Lives ReWire will work.
Having started Cubase first and Live second, Live
boots as a ReWire slave and in Cubase we can activate
it as a source. 11 Back in Live, if we go to the audio
output selector for an audio track, the ReWire option is
available and we can select from any of the 64 available
channels. Set this up appropriately and the audio will
stream through from Live into Cubase. 12
To apply effects or to record a part through from Live
into Cubase or your DAW of choice you will need to route
11
ReWirecanreallyopenupthe
flexibility and power of Live,
ReasonandotherDAWs
assignment pop-up, you will see all available Live
devices appear as possible destinations. 14 MIDI parts
that you have recorded in Cubase will trigger Lives
instruments and, as before ,youll need to make sure
that theres an audio channel available to receive the
sound into Cubase.
ReWire is a handy tool to know about and it can
really open up the flexibility and power of Live, Reason
and other DAWs simply by enabling them to work
together seamlessly without your having to do any
exporting of audio.
12
13
14
Running as a slave to Cubase, Logic or Pro Tools, Live can send its audio through into
their mixers, and also have its instruments triggered from their MIDI tracks.
94|AbletonLive8Volume2
focus
Round Up
Controllers
1 LIINE LEMUR
Price 34.99
Contact info@liine.net
Lemur is a touch-based controller for iOS devices that
uses an object-based interface to enable you to
control any software via MIDI or TouchOSC. To get up
and running you are provided with a handful of general
functionality-based templates. These are incredibly
easy to map to your software of choice, but with the
Lemur Editor software for Mac OS and Windows you
can build your own. The software lets you build
controllers from a range of objects including faders,
buttons, bouncing balls and step sliders. The software
runs in sync with the app, so you can add and modify
objects on your computer and they automatically
update on your touch device.
Web www.liine.net
1
2 ALESIS QX49
Price 120
Contact Numark Alesis 01252 341400
The QX49 packs a lot of punch. Its eight assignable faders,
four pads and eight rotary encoders combine to give a variety
of hands-on control over your software. As well as supplying
MIDI over USB, the QX49 can be powered from a 9V
transformer and used to control MIDI instruments over
conventional MIDI with two MIDI out ports. The 49-note
keyboard itself feels pretty solid, with little side movement to
the keys. There is no aftertouch, but youd be hard pushed to
find that on any controller at this price point.
Web www.numark.com
| 95
ESI
SI KEYCONTROL 25XT
3 E
Price 89
Contact Time+Space 01837 55200
The KeyControl 25XT from ESI is a compact keyboard with
25 full-size, velocity-sensitive keys, a pitchbend wheel, a
modulation slider, four programmable endless encoders, a
pedal input and octave buttons that can also be used to
transpose the keys up or down in semitones. Its refreshing
to see that this keyboard is constructed from sturdy
aluminium, although it does make it rather heavy for such a
small piece of kit. While there are plenty of much lighter
small keyboards available that wont put such a strain on
your kitbag, we would feel more at ease with this on stage
as its solidly built.
Web www.timespace.com
5 M-AUDIO AXIOM 61
Price 358
Contact M-Audio 01753 659590
The Axiom keyboards come in 25-, 49- and 61-key
versions, the latter two with a full set of tactile
controls thanks to their larger form factor. The piano
keys are semi-weighted and offer a pleasing and
responsive action, heavy enough to get the best from
a good piano patch but light enough to allow runs up
and down the keys for organ playing. On the front
panel theres a range of real-time controllers that can
either be manually assigned or used in DirectLink
mode, which has two main modes: Mixer and
Instrument. In Mixer mode the physical controls are
automatically assigned to mixer parameters such as
level and pan, while in Instrument mode the controls
are assigned to virtual instrument controls for
currently selected plug-ins.
Web www.maudio.co.uk
focus
Price 1,199
Contact Avid 01753 655 999
Derived from the Euphonix MC Mix, the Avid Artist Mix
has eight touch-sensitive rotary encoders, eight
touch-sensitive motorised faders and buttons to
control a host of DAW controls. It communicates with
your DAW over EuCon where possible, or HUI / Mackie
Control for applications which dont support EuCon.
The Artist Mix provides quick and easy access to a
variety of software functions, including plug-in
parameters, panning and fader levels. A footswitch
jack is also included for punch In/Out recording.
Web www.avid.com
Price 59.99
Contact support@folabs.com
Control your DAW using your iPad over Mackies HUI
protocol with ProRemote. The controller works over
WiFi and from the main mixer you can control
channels, inserts, sends and instruments. A flip
option enables you to switch parameters from the
small dials to the channel faders, making it easier to
work with. Other floating windows include a set of
MPC-style pads, X/Y controller, transport controls
and navigation cursors.
7 AKAI MPK88
Web www.folabs.com
Price 600
Contact Numark Alesis 01252 896000
The MPK88 joins its smaller siblings, the MPK25, 49 and 61
units, to round off a family of controllers that combines a MIDI
keyboard with DAW control and multiple real-time knobs,
buttons and sliders. The 88-key version is fairly heavy, thanks
in part to its weighted, hammer-action keyboard. On the front
of the unit are eight Q-Link controls, each consisting of a
button, a fader and a knob. These are assignable to any MIDI
controls and helpfully, current values and controller numbers
are displayed on the keyboards screen whenever you move
one. The MPK88 comes with a number of DAW templates, and
once set up the transport controls provide remote access to
playback and recording, while Q-Link controls map to faders,
panners and synth controls.
Web www.akaipro.com
8 KURZWEIL PC3LE7
Price 1,499
Contact Sound Technology 01462 480000
These days we take for granted the plethora of all-singing-alldancing workstations, but its important to remember that
they all owe something to Kurweils original innovative design.
The Fatar Tp-8 76-note semi-weighted keyboard has a chunky
feel of a more solid, weighted action. The midnight-blue casing
houses a control fascia comprising various assignable
controllers, drum pads, a large rotary data wheel and the 240
x 64 backlit LCD display. Connectivity options are sufficient: in
addition to the left and right 1/4-inch outputs theres an S/
PDIF out, stereo headphone and MIDI In/Out/Thru. The built-in
sound engine provides a range of pianos, electric pianos and
synths as well as an impressive range of drum kits, utilizing
the excellent on-board effects.
Web www.kurzweil.com
| 97
The story of
LIVE
Since arriving on the scene in 2001, Live has gone from strength
to strength. Hollin Jones takes a look back, and forward
T
Expect to see
more hands-on
controllers for
Live, as well as
more automatic
support for
third-party
surfaces in the
software itself.
here are a few applications in the world of music technology that have now been around for
long enough to be considered long running Digital Audio Workstations, or DAWs. Now at
version 8, Ableton Live is arguably well established enough to be considered one of these.
Ableton as a company was founded in 1999 by Gerhard Behles, Robert Henke and Bernd
Roggendorf, with Behles having worked on early granular synthesis technology for some of
Native Instruments first software products.
The first version of Live was released in 2001 and, as the name suggests, its aim was to provide
musicians with a tool that was as well suited to live performance as it was to studio recording.
Remember that a decade ago, using
computers for live performance was
still something of a novelty, not to say
a risky idea, with technology on the
whole much less reliable than it is
today. It was only with the release of
Mac OS X and Windows XP
that operating systems
began the slow but steady transition to being stable enough to trust on stage. At the same
time, laptop computers were starting to become more powerful, though it would be a few
more years until they could rival desktops in terms of power and flexibility.
Rapid development
In mid 2002, Ableton released Live 1.5, which ran on Mac OS 9, Mac OS X and Windows, and
introduced some new features, many of which have formed the core foundations of Live to this
focus
Five star
The year 2005 saw the release of Live 5, which continued to
keep pace with changes in technology. Among the biggest
new features were clip freeze, to save CPU power on
resource-intensive projects, plug-in delay compensation, to
keep everything in sync, launchable arrangement indicators
and support for Mackies Control surfaces. There was also
MP3 support in recognition of the fact that
people were increasingly using MP3-based
music libraries, automatic tempo matching
and new effects like beat repeat.
As the years went on, each version got
bigger and better, with Live 6 coming out in
2006 and adding staples like QuickTime video
support, a library of multisampled
instruments, instrument and effect racks for
Above: Partnering
Live with Serato
Scratch, the Bridge
system creates a
seamless link
between the two.
Right: Live is
currently a 32-bit
application on Mac
and Windows
platforms, but wed
hope to see a
64-bit version in
the not too distant
future.
| 99
Stereo effects:
technique & control
On the disc
iththerecentreleaseoftheStereo
BundlefromVengeanceSoundand
PanstationfromAudioDamage,inthis
Workshopwearegoingtolookat
creating,controllingandenhancingthe
stereofieldofanysoundsourcewiththedevicesyou
alreadyhavewithinLive.Welllookatwaysof
enhancinganexistingstereosourceaswellascreating
astereoeffectfrommono.First,though,letslookata
stereosourceasastartingpoint.
PRO TIP
Frequency Shifter can be set
to create a very dense and
highly mono-compatible
stereo effect. After enabling
the Wide function, hold [Ctrl]/
[Cmd] (PC/Mac) while you
click and drag the Spread dial
above. Try to find an effect that
doesnt distort the sound but
does have a slightly
nausea-inducing stereo spin
to it. Use the Dry/Wet control
to make the effect more subtle
in the mix.
WiththisenabledyoucanaccesseitherEQcurvevia
theEditbutton(M=midandS=sides).Thesimplest
waytoenhancethesideistoraisethemost
perceivablefrequencyrange.Thisiseasilydonewitha
bellEQsetatmediumQ(width)andwithlotsof
additivegain. 2
Asyousweeparoundyouwillbeabletoidentifythe
areathatmakesthesoundseemwider.Tryoffsetting
thiswithanegativecutinthesameareatothemidEQ
curvetomakethesoundwiderstill(becareful,though,
asthiscancomeatthecostoflosingdefinitioninthe
centreofthesound). 3
Youcanalsoexperimentwiththepositionofthe
areabeingcutbythemidcurve.Trythemidrange
frequencyareatopushthemidimagebackandadda
high,airyboosttothesides.
AnotheruseforEQEightcanbetosimplycutout
frequenciesbelowacertainpointfromthesidesignal.
Thisdoesntaffectthemidimageinanyway,butitcan
helpasoundseemalottighterandmuchbetter
defined.SelectalowcutEQonthesidecurve,then
sweepthefrequencyuntilyounoticethesound
becomingmoredefined. 4
Splitting it up
LivesUtilitydeviceisoftenoverlooked,butitoffersalot
ofstereocontrol.Wealwayshaveoneplacedacrossour
masterbusswithitsWidthsetto0%soitmakesthe
masterbussmono. 5
Wethenassignthedeviceactivatorbuttontoakey
onthecomputerkeyboardusingEditKeyMapfromthe
Optionsmenu.Thisenablesustopressthiskeyatany
givenmomenttocheckmonocompatibilityinamix.
1
3
focus
StereoeffectsWorkshop MTF
4
6
5
TheHAAS effectinvolves
creatingtimingdifferencesbetween
theleft and right channels
In general use, the Width control can be used to
balance the mid and side elements of any stereo
source, with 200% allowing only the side signals
through. So, two Utility devices can be used to separate
the mid and side elements and process them
separately once youve created your own mid and side
processing rack.
First add a Utility and set it to 0% Width. Now select
Group from the Edit menu after selecting the Utility
device so its highlighted. This has created your mid
channel. Next, expand the Show/Hide Chain List (the
third icon down on the left). 6
Drag another Utility device to the space below the
first Chain. This will create a parallel audio path. Set
this new Utility device to 200% Width (this is your side
channel). Any type of processing can be added to either
the mid or sides or both. A common technique is to add
a Compressor to the side signal. Notice how the stereo
image gets much bigger as you even out and raise the
level of the side channel.
Compression can be added to the mid signal as well
this provides you with much more control than a
single compressor over the whole stereo signal. Try
some heavy compression on the sides for a squashed
stereo image, but maintain a dynamic centre by going
easy on the mid channel compression (or vice versa).
HAAS widening
PRO TIP
Auto Pan is another way to
create a sense of stereo. The
Rate control allows anything
from slow automation like pan
movements to fast, flickering
changes. Experiment with the
Rate and Shape controls,
with Amount set fully up
at first, then back off the
Amount control for a less
obvious effect.
12
10
11
8
Youll notice that sounds suddenly become very wide
after moving one side by a millisecond or more behind.
The signal also becomes a lot less mono-compatible
due to the comb filtering thats a result of combining it
with a delayed signal. The consequence is that a sound
can lose a lot of frequency content during mono
playback, which could mean that a vocal or lead line
almost disappears from the mix.
The millisecond-only option is one of Lives
weaknesses, as a value of audio samples offers a finer
degree of control, but there is a workaround: use audio
tracks instead. Audio tracks can be delayed using audio
sample values. This involves using one track for the
left-hand side and creating another for the right.
Select your existing audio track and choose Insert
New Audio Track from the Create menu to create your
second channel. Now select the original audio track from
the Audio From menu on this new channel, then select
Post FX from the menu below and set Monitor to In. 9
This will route the signal to the new track, so you can
now pan the original version to the left and the new
track to the right. 10
Underneath the tracks you should see a Track Delay
value of zero in milliseconds (ms). If not, the show/hide
button for these is a D icon on the right-hand side of the
screen (to the right of the master channel fader). 11
Press the ms symbol on the right-hand track. Click
and drag the amount of delay upwards to create a HAAS
effect that will be much more mono-compatible as you
can work to much shorter delay times. 12
Going to extremes
For more extreme stereo effects, try more obvioussounding processors, such as Saturator, Dynamic Tube
and Redux. Once you have a different distortion effect
on either side you will start to create a wall-of-guitarstype sound. This can be taken further by adding a third
Chain in your group for a signal left in the centre, which
can be treated with yet another device. 14
The demo project on the DVD includes all of the
techniques applied across various instruments to give
you an idea of how you can use them, 15 but
experimentation is key to achieving a mix with an
engaging sense of stereo and depth.
13
14
focus
15
RG_Alchemea_A4_Ad_V4.indd 2
15/03/2012 15:26
The legendary hip hop producer Kutmasta Kurt is usually quite reticent on the gear he
uses but here he reveals to MTF one or two of his Live secrets
focus
A certain sound
Some producers have a certain sound, Kurt says. Maybe
they use the same drum kits. I think I use a little of those
signature things but Ive heard from other hip hop producers
that they like the way I put my stuff together and arrange it
and that its influenced them. Im not sure its gained me any
work though! So maybe thats my signature: the way I put my
stuff together. I think there are certain ways I program and
arrange to make my stuff unique.
Kurt became increasingly busy, coming to the attention of
the Beastie Boys label Grand Royal and working on many
remixes for them. I was kind of the in-house remixer and I did
a remix for the Beastie Boys and also Buffalo Daughter, a
Japanese band, Luscious Jackson and more.
But it was the collaborations with Keith that Kurt would
return to again and again
I have particular fondness for the stuff Ive done with Kool
Keith, says Kurt. There were other rappers that I was into at
the time but I always thought there was something special
about him. Even though Ive worked with bigger artists, like
Linkin Park and so on, that has always been my achievement.
So even though Ive worked with multi-platinum artists, just
for my own personal satisfaction Ive had my most enjoyment
(and headaches!) from working with Keith.
"IntheDrumRacksyoucancreatea
presetsoIhavedifferentpresetsfor
differenttypesofthingsthatImdoing,soit
savesmetimesettingitupeachtime.Ittook
meamonthortwotofigureoutthatitcould
doitandnowitsavesmetimeeverytime.
ThisscreenshowshowKurthasDrumRacks
setupwitharollloopsample.
01
ThisshotshowssomeoftheEQsettings
Kurthas.SoIhaveonepresetfor
drums,hetellsus,oneforloopsorsamples,
oneforvoicesandotherkindsofthings.Idrop
itinanditalreadyhasthepresetssotheEQon
eachpadmightbesetforthekicksandsnares
soyoujustdropthesoundsininsteadof
startingfromscratch.
02
KutmastaKurtissuchafanofDrum
RacksinLivethathehasproducedhis
ownpackforit,whichwillbecomingout
soon.Heresasneakpreview
03
| 105
SUBSCRIBE TO
MTM Subscribe
ABLETON12
8 n
3 n
7 n
1 n
8 n
1
n
1NameandaddressofyourBankorBuildingSociety
TotheManagerBank/BuildingSociety
Address
Postcode
2Nameofaccountholder(s)
nn nn nn
nnnnnnnnn
3Branchsortcode
4 Accountnumber
5InstructiontoyourBank/BuildingSocietyPleasepayAnthemPublishingDirect
DebitsfromtheaccountdetailedinthisinstructionsubjecttothesafeguardsassuredbytheDirect
DebitGuarantee.IunderstandthatthisinstructionmayremainwithAnthemPublishingandifso,
detailswillbepassedelectronicallytomyBankorBuildingSociety.
Signature(s)Date
YOUR DETAILS
TitleForenameSurname
Emailaddress**
Address
PostcodeCountry
Mobile**
PostcodeCountry
Mastercard n
Maestro n
American Express
Card no n n n n
Valid from
Signature(s)
Date
*Sorry,thisofferisavailabletoUKDirectDebitordersonly.Yoursubscriptionwillstart
withthenextavailableissue.
**PleaseenterthisinformationsothatAnthemPublishingLtdcankeepyouinformed
ofnewsletters,specialoffersandpromotionsviaemailorfreetextmessages.Youmay
unsubscribefromthesemessagesatanytime.
AnthemPublishingLtd,publisherofMusicTechMagazine,maycontactyouwithdetails
ofourservicesortoundertakeresearch.Pleasetickhereifyouprefernottoreceivesuch
informationbypostnphonenWeoccasionallypassyourdetailsontocarefully
selectedcompanieswhoseproductsandserviceswefeelmaybeofinteresttoyou.
Pleasetickhereifyouprefernottoreceivesuchinformationbypostnphonen
|January2
magazine
We firmly believe that these Music Tech Focus editions are the finest
single-topic guides in the world - and now youve read this Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
edition were confident youll agree. Theres a new edition every other
month, so sign up now for just 35 every 6 issues*.
ORDER ONLINE
8
www.subscribeonline.
co.uk/focus
%
08448560642
OR CALL
L er
IA off
ECtion
SPcrip
bs
su
SAVE 35%
Sound-on-sound
recording in Looper
On the disc
lthoughLivehasbeenusedinvariousways
forsound-on-soundperformancessinceits
earlydays,theLooperdevice(introducedin
version8)makessettingupthesetypesof
performancesmoreofadrag-and-drop
affairratherthanthecomplexaudioandMIDIrouting
thatwaspreviouslyrequired.Herewewilltakeyou
throughtheinsandoutsofworkingwithoneinstanceof
Looper,thendelveintomoreflexiblesetupsthatyou
canuseinaperformance.So,ifyouliketheloopingbasedperformancesofartistssuchasImogenHeap,Ed
Sheeran,BeardyManandTimExile,thisWorkshopwill
getyouonthepathtoloopingbliss.
PRO TIP
If you are intending to use
various internal and external
sound sources for your
performance you can make
things easy to manage by
assigning each tracks Record
Arm buttons to a controller.
This will mean that one
controller can easily control
various instruments and live
external sources can be heard
only when needed.
OncetheLooperisinplaceyouneedtorouteyour
othertrackstoit.SettheAudioFrommenutoNoInput
sothatexternalsourcesarenotunintentionallywired
directlytotheLoopertrack,thensimplysettheoutput
oftheotheraudioorMIDItracksyouwanttousetothe
nameofyourLooperaudiotrack.Afterwardsyoucan
settheLoopertracksMonitormodetoIn,whichwilllet
yourvarioustrackspassthroughtotheLooper. 1
ThefirstofLooperscontrolswereinterestedinis
thelargesquaretotheleftcalledtheMulti-Purpose
TransportButton(MPTB). 2
AslongasLivesmaintransportisnotplaying,one
clickonthiswilltriggerrecording;clickitagainanditwill
determinetheendofyourfirstrecordedlayer.Thelength
andtempooftheaudiowillbeassessedandLives
transportwilllaunchautomaticallyatthesametempo.
InmostcasesLivedoesagoodjobofcalculatingthe
tempo,butifyouwantittobemorepredictableyoucan
usetheRecordmenutotherightoftheMPTBand
changeitfromXbarstosomethingpre-determined.This
canavoiddouble-orhalf-timemistakesintempo,which
wontmattertoomuchifyoureusingonlytheLooper,
butwillbeaproblemifyouintendtorunotheraudio/
MIDIclipsinyoursession.Italldependsonhow
freeformyouwanttheloopingexperiencetobe. 3
Theorangeplusicontotherightofthismenu
meansthatafterpressingtheMPTBasecondtimeto
finishyourfirstrecordingpassyouareinstantlyin
overdubmode.Recordingdoesntstopuntilyoupress
theMPTBagain.AfterthefirstrecordingtheMPTBwill
togglebetweenoverdubandplayback.
Ifyouclickonthebuttonyoucansetitinplayback
modeinstead,whichwerecommendasitgivesyoutime
tobreathebetweentakes.Wealsofindthatrecordinga
1
3
The orange plus icon to the right of the Record menu means that after
pressing the MPTB a second time to finish your first recording pass
you are instantly in overdub mode.
focus
Sound-on-soundWorkshop MTF
Fourfunctionsareall you
needtoperformafullloop-based
performancefrom start to finish
second layer immediately after the first makes it hard
to get that second layer perfect first time around. Using
playback mode instead lets you play the next part to be
recorded, but you can hit the MPTB when youre ready
to actually commit your performance into Looper. This
usually results in a cleaner loop and performance.
Another option available to you at this stage is to use
Lives tempo and click track to give you a solid tempo
bed to work from. This requires you to route the Cue
output of Live to a different output on your soundcard,
which you can then monitor through headphones. This
is useful if you have pre-rehearsed material and want
the tempo to be pre-determined. 4
Going back
Better control
Now that weve covered the basics of Looper, you will
need to start thinking about how you intend to control
the device in a performance scenario. Unless you plan on
playing a keyboard, drum pad or perform vocal parts, its
unlikely that youll have a spare hand to control what
Looper is doing, so a MIDI footswitch is essential for
keeping your hands free. You can assign the MPTB (plus
a few other handy controls) to this pedal by clicking on
the MIDI icon in the top right-hand corner to enable MIDI
Map mode. Simply click the parameter on Looper
followed by the desired footswitch to control it. 5
A good way of working with sound-on-sound looping
in general is much like the approach to sequencing
loops: as you add layers, increase
the loop length. You could beat-box
a bar as your first recording and it
will sound quite solid as its a short,
repeated part. As mentioned before,
try to record your parts after youve
played them once as youll get better
start and end points.
The Double Length button (the x2 in
yellow) is handy for building up the overall loop length
as you add more layers. 6
PRO TIP
When you want to just play
something live over your
looped musical bed a fun trick
is to apply long delay times to,
lets say, a vocal part so that
you can speak a phrase and
then have it repeated. Here
weve set up two delays for a
two-bar delay set to fully wet,
which then goes through Lives
Vocoder (set to pitch tracking).
This creates a vocoded repeat
of two bars for a call-andresponse effect.
Looping in numbers
Although weve covered only a handful of features so far,
they are sufficient to create a multi-song performance
alone, but there are two main drawbacks that stem
from the same restriction. Once your layers are
recorded in Looper they are merged into a single audio
file (apart from the last one, which you can undo). This
therefore limits the degree of control you have
10
To record and access
a potentially
unlimited number of
layers simply create
as many Loopers as
your footswitch can
control and use
grouping to create a
single Effects Rack.
11
14
12
13
focus
performance
SCENE
LAUNCHING
Eachrowacross
SessionViewiscalleda
Sceneandcanbe
launchedfromtheplay
buttonsinthemaster
track.Makesurethat
yourenamethesevia
theEditmenusotheyll
makesenseintheheat
ofaliveperformance.
On the disc
Play it safe
For anyone who hasnt used Live before or those who
only dabble with it for the odd task the two screens
youll spend most time in are Arrangement View (which
functions like other linear DAWs) and Session View. The
latter flips tracks to run horizontally on the screen like a
mixing desk. The difference is that these horizontal
c
b
STOP BUTTONS
Launchedclipscanbestoppedbypressingthemasterstopbuttonatthebottomof
thetrack.TheStopClipsbuttononthemastertrackwillstopallplayingclips.
| 111
Torouteeachtrackfromyourprojectto
thecorrectGrouptrack,switchtoSession
View(bypressingthe[Tab]key).Next,setthe
AudioTomenuoneachtracktotheappropriate
Grouptrack.Record-armeachGrouptrackso
thatpressingLivesmainrecordbuttonwill
recordyourstems.Hitrecordafterresetting
playbacktobar1beat1(double-clickthestop
buttononLivestransport).Hitstopafterthe
trackends.
Clickinthefartop-leftclipslotandselect
Paste.Yourfirsttrackisnowimported
andreadytoplayinyourset.Youcanchooseto
eitherseteachcliptoloopfromtheClipView
windoworsetthemalltolaunchtheclipbelow
afteraspecifiedamountofplaybacktime.
AfterhighlightingthemallintheLaunch
window,settheleft-handFollowActionmenu
toNextClip.Setthebarcountaboveittothe
cliplength,inourcasethisis16bars.
Startingwithafullylaid-outsong
project,thenextstepistofunnelyour
hightrackcountintoamoremanageable48
Grouptracks.Youcanthenrecordthese
groupstocreatestemstouseinyour
performanceset.ButinsteadofusingGroup
tracks,whichcantrecordaudio,createaudio
tracksviatheCreatemenu.Nameeachnew
track(wevegoneforkick,drums,perc,bass,
melodicandotherinourexample).
01
InArrangementView,highlightalogical
portionofthetracktocutintoeven
sectionsbyselectingSplitfromtheEdit
menu(16-barchunksusuallyworkbest).
Continuetodothisuntilyourstemsaresplit
intoequalsections.Nowhighlightthemall
andselectCut,fromtheEditmenu.Flick
backtoSessionViewtopasteinyoursplit
stemtracks.
04
02
05
Highlightyournewstemtracksand
chooseCopyfromtheEditmenu.This
willcopytheaudiointomemorysoyoucan
closethecurrentprojectandstartanewone
foryourperformanceset.Create12new
audiotracksinthissetandnamethemasthe
Grouptracksyounamedbefore,butthistime
yourecreatingtwolotsforaleftandrightDJ
setup.Clickonthestartofthefirsttrackin
ArrangementViewandselectPaste.
Youcannowrepeatthisprocessfor
otherfinishedtracksandimportthem
ontoalternatingsides.Beawarethatifyou
saveeachsongprojectafterrecordingthe
stems,theaudiowillbestoredinthatLive
setsprojectfolder.However,ifyouchooseto
CollectAllAndSavefromtheFilemenuinthe
performanceset,Livewillmakenewcopies
ofthestemsandstoretheminthe
performancesetsownfolder.
focus
PRO TIP
Live is very flexible when it
comes to syncing with other
tech. The MIDI tab in
Preferences lets you use MTC
(MIDI Time Code) or MIDI clock
to output to other slave devices
while Live is the master.
Alternatively, use the MIDI
input to make Live the slave
from another device. This can
be two or more laptops running
Live, a laptop and drum
machine or anything else that
can sync via MIDI.
03
06
Talking stems
Djing with stems is the next level of mixing from a DJs
perspective Loopmasters Mix Tools series is testament
to this. These Mix Tools are full tracks provided in their
core elements: drums, bass, melodies and so on. For DJs
this gives a much deeper level of control in terms of
manipulation and arrangements, but this approach can
also be applied to your own musical material.
By preparing audio stems for the core elements of
your own work you can drag them into a single live DJ set
and work with them. If you stick to a clear stem formula
when preparing your tracks you can create a left and
right set of blank tracks to accommodate them and mix
between. The walkthrough above covers the main
On the scene
Another option is to work in a much more fundamental
way, using just a handful of clips per scene. Each scene
represents a full musical idea, and by using your mixer
and effects you can introduce elements, process them
and jam around a musical section before cueing clips
from another scene as a musical transition.
PRO TIP
When creating chains of
effects make use of the Group
function from the Edit menu,
then you can right-click (PC)/
[Ctrl]-click (Mac) and assign
any parameter to one of the
racks eight macro dials. This
makes it easy to control one or
more parameters at once with
a MIDI controller.
Mix it up
When it comes to the mixer, the most effective controls to
use are channel volume, channel mute and send levels
for effects such as reverb and delay. Faders are useful for
chopping sounds rhythmically, while mutes can be used
Havingalltheelementsyouneedona
singlesceneforeachsongsection
enablesyoutousetheminaclassicdub-remix
style,witheachclipconstantlyplayingina
loop.Trytocreatesoundsthatdontneed
anythingaddingtothemfromaproduction
standpoint.Themorethatstherethebetter,as
youcanthenusevariouseffectstocarveaway
fromthesebigsounds.Insertsorauxiliary
sendscanbothbeexploredforthispurpose.
Youcanalsopreviewideasusingavirtual
instrument,eitherperformingthemfully
livewithaMIDIcontrollerorbyrecordingthem
liveunderpreviewtothenintroduceonce
recordedandperfected.Ifyouplantodothis,
wesuggestenablingrecordquantisationso
youautomaticallyhaveatightened-up
recordingafterthetakeisdone.Youcan
choosethemostappropriatequantisation
measurefromtheEditmenu.
Therearemanywaystoimproviseina
performance.Itsperfectlypossibleto
startwithacompletelyblanksetandthen
bringinelementsasyougo,butmostpeople
willpreparecorebuildingblockstoworkfrom.
Trygatheringafewcomplete-sounding
scenes.Thismeanstheyhaveallthe
elementsneededtocreateacomplete
sectionusually,drums,bass,pads,SFXand
melody,whetheritsaleadlineorvocals.
01
Formoreimprovisationideas,Livecan
beconfiguredtoletyoupreviewideas
throughheadphones(wiredtoaseparate
outputfromyourmainoutputs).Youllneed
atleastfouroutputsonyouraudiointerface
toassignatthebottomofthemastertrack.
Selectonestereopairfortheheadphonecue
outputandtheotherforthemaster.TheSolo
buttonbelowcanbeclickedtochangeto
cue.Channelswillnowdisplayaheadphone
iconwhilemuted.
04
02
05
Trytostickwithstem-likesoundgroups
ratherthanhavingtoomanyclipsto
handleitsyourmixerandeffectsthatwill
createthearrangementanddynamicsforthe
performance.Apowerfulwaytocontrolloops
rhythmicallyisbyusingtheSliceToNewMIDI
Trackoptionfromtheright-click(PC)/
[Ctrl]-click(Mac)menu.Thenyoucanassign
theglobalADSRcontrolsforallslicesatonce
toacontroller.
Continuingwiththisrecord-and-play
approach,tryrunninganinstruments
audiooutputintoanotheraudiotrack.AsLive
doesntletyourecordparameterautomation
intosessionclips,theworkaroundistorecord
anycontrollerperformancesasaudioinstead.
Createanaudiotrackandsettheoutputof
theinstrumenttracktoit.Record-armthe
audiotrackandstartrecording.
03
06
| 113
Thetwobuttonstotherightofthetempo
BPMboxcanmomentarilynudge
playbackbackandforthtoalignthebeatof
Livewithothermusicians.Assigningthese
alongwiththeBPMamounttoaMIDI
controllerletsyourideLivelikeaturntable.
Usenudgetocorrecttheplaybackandraiseor
lowertheBPMasnecessary.
Nowclickonthetitlebarofjustonetrack
sotheyrenolongerallhighlighted.Set
thelowerAudioFrommenutotherelevant
soundcardinputforeachsignal.Itmakes
sensetorenameeachtrackatthispointso
theymakesenseataglance.Thequickestway
todothisisbypressing[Ctrl]+(PC)/[Cmd]+
(Mac)[R]afterclickingeachtrackstitlebar.
InordertouseLiveasamixerand
processingtoolforothersources,youll
benefitfromkeepingitsinternaltempoin
syncwithothermusicians.Ifyouhavea
digitalsourceyoucanuseMIDIsync,butto
workwithhumanperformersyoullneedto
ridethetempo.FourtapsoftheTapTempo
buttonwillworkasacount-in.Livewilljoinin
onthefifthtap.Oncetheprojectisrunning
youllneedtokeepeverythingintime.
01
Nextwellcreateamixerprojecttohost
allinputchannels,whichcanthenhave
effectsaddedtothem.Addasmanyaudio
tracksasyouwillneedusingtheCreate
menu.Highlightthemallbyclickingonthe
titlebarofonetrackandthenpressing[Ctrl]/
[Cmd]+[A].YoucanthenuseoneIOsettingfor
changingMonitortoInforthemallatonce.If
youcantseethem,pressthesmall,roundIO
symboltothebottomrightofthemaster
channeltorevealthem.
04
focus
02
05
TouseLiveasamixeryoullneedthe
appropriateinputstobeassignedand
beabletorunatincrediblylowlatencyfor
minimaldelay.UndertheAudiotabin
Preferences,presstheInputConfigbutton
andenabletherelevantinputs.Clickand
dragtheBufferSizenumberunderLatencyto
itslowestvalue.IfyouthenenabletheTest
Tone,youcanquicklyjudgeifyourcomputer
canhandlethistypeoflatencysetting.
Allaudioshouldnowbepassing
throughLiveandisthenmergedtoone
outputthroughthemasterchannel.From
hereyoucanaddeffectstoanychannel;wed
suggeststartingwithanEQEightoneachto
removeunwantedlowendandaLimiterat
theendofalleffectschainstoreducethe
chanceofanyunwantedleapsinlevel.Any
time-basedeffectsyouusewillsoundvery
professionalasyoukeepLivestempointime
withtheperformance.
03
06
kmraudio.com
KMR Audio Ltd - 1375 High Rd, London, N20 9LN. sales@kmraudio.com. Unrivalled demo facilities, support, advice & pricing. Open Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm.
Whether youre a keen newcomer thirsting for more knowledge about digital audio
production or youre already an experienced producer needing inspiration or a skills
refresher, our guides will help you to get the most out of your studio set-up.
VOLUME 16:
MIXING
Your complete
guide to mixing
and remixing
VOLUME 17:
LOGIC PRO 9 VOL 2
The in-depth Guide
for Mac musicians
and producers
VOLUME 19:
PLUG-INS
VOLUME 18:
RECORDING
VOLUME 21:
NATIVE
INSTRUMENTS
VOLUME 20:
MASTERING
VOL 3
VOLUME 22:
MIXING 2012
VOLUME 23:
SYNTHESIS 2012
With a new album under his belt and a choice of star recording studios to work in,
Phon.o looks well set to hit the big time this year. Here he offers MTF a unique insight into
how Ableton Live is shaping Berlins underground.
Switching to Live
This was when Phon.o switched to Live, simply to help him work better with Chris
We needed to have a working setup for both of us, he explains, and we needed
to be flexible with the MIDI-controllers and their mapping. We also combined a
Jitter-based video patch with Live and this was perfectly synced to the music.
When Modeselektor launched their own label, Phon.o was invited to record an
album, which is now ready for release. Because of Phon.os many connections he
now finds himself in a best of three worlds situation when it comes to a studio
focus
| 119
MTF Step-by-Step Here Phon:o explains how he sets up a MIDI plug-in chain
Ifyouhavealookatthescreenshotsof
mysimpleexampleyoucanseehowI
canmakeamorecomplexarpeggiatedand
chordedmelodyoutofasinglenotemelody.
Thefirstscreenshowsjustasimpleexample
melody.
01
IusetheChordertogetthreenotesout
ofonechord.TheArpisusingthenew
notesandplaysupanddownbetweenthis
eventandgeneratessinglenotesagainwitha
1/6thquantisationandswing.TheNoteLength
plug-incontrolsthelengthsofthegenerated
notes.AfterthatfollowsanotherChorder,
whichmakesnewchordsoutofmoresingle
notesandcanchangethemoodofthemelody
line(eg,switchbetweenminorandmajor).
02
focus
Phon.o's Kit
HARDWARE
Apple MacBook
Pro 15"
Genelec 1031
Genelec 1038
NI Traktor Audio2
RME Fireface
Studer Mixing
Desk
Yamaha NS-10
Headphones:
AKG 140 Studio,
AKG 240 Studio,
Technics
RPDJ1200
Controllers:
AKAI APC40,
Doepfer PK88
MIDI-Keyboard,
NI Maschine and
Traktor Control1
SOFTWARE
Ableton Live 8
Max For Live
Newsonicarts
Granite
NI Komplete 7
Sonic Charge Syn
Plant
Sonic Charge
Tonic
Steinberg Cubase
5.5
Wusik EVE
and extra
Patches for
Reaktor and
MAX/MSP
Allparameterscouldbemappedtoa
MIDIcontrollerandyoucouldeasily
changethemoodandbehaviourofyour
melody.FinallyIcreatedanewMIDIchannel
andchangedtheMIDIinputsettingsto
recordtheeffectedMIDIplug-inchainto
showtheresultandgetaccesstoeditmy
newlycreatednotes.
03
SINGLE T
US
COPIES JOR
5.99 IBE
SUBSCRUST
FROM J 9
20.9
Extreme effects
in Ableton Live 8
Employing just a few extreme effects can turn an
ordinary sounding track into a great sounding one,
as Hollin Jones explains.
ackinthebadolddaysbeforeDAWswere
themostcommontoolthatpeopleusedto
makemusic,achievingextremesounding
effectsinyourproductionsgenerallymeant
routingsoundsthroughvarioustypesof
physicalhardware,suchasguitarpedals,amplifiers
andspeakersandevensometimesemployingreally
inventivetrickslikerecordingasoundtoacassette
tape,playingitbackandrecordingthespeakerwitha
mictogetalo-fisound.Allthatkindofstuffisstill
possibleandsomepeopledostilldoitbutplug-ins
havemadethesekindsoftechniquesoptionalrather
thannecessary.
Whenwetalkaboutextremeeffects,wedontjust
meandistortionanddirtyingupthesound,although
thatisoneformofextremeeffect.Wealsomean
mashingsoundsup,andthisissomethingthatwasnt
soeasyinthedaysbeforedigitalaudiocouldbeso
heavilymanipulated.Backthen,tapehadtobesliced
upandstuckbacktogether,whichwastimeconsuming,
andevendigitalsamplersrequiredyoutoputsome
effortinbeforeyoucouldmangleonesoundandturnit
intosomethingelse.Plug-ins,ontheotherhand,take
mostoftheworkoutofmashingthingsup,andthe
popularityofthiskindofeffectisevidentfromlistening
toallkindsofelectronicmusic.
Dirty beats
PRO TIP
As well as Lives built-in
effects you can of course use
third-party effects to achieve
extreme sounds. There are
plug-ins from many
developers, including Sugar
Bytes and iZotope, that can
make easy work of mashing
up, mangling and destroying
your sounds. Others, like NIs
Absynth, can also work as
effects in addition to being
instruments, and you can take
advantage of their audio
processing capabilities.
BeforewestartlookingatLivesextremeeffects,you
willneedsomesortofasoundsourceforthemtowork
on.Thiscouldbeanaudioinput,likeavocalorguitar,
butitwillbeeasierifyouhavesomethingrecordedand
playingonaloopsoyoucanexperimentwiththeeffects
properlyandgivethemyourfullattention.
Eitherrecordorloadupaloop,oraMIDItriggered
partifyouprefer,sothatsomesoundplaysbackona
loop.Then,gointoLiveseffectsfolder.Youcouldstart
anywhereyouwantbutweregoingtogothroughthelist
inabroadlyalphabeticalway.Rememberthatyoucan
layerupmoreorlessasmanyeffectsasyourhardware
canhandle.
Here,wehavestartedwithaBoostandCrunch
effect,whichprovidesampandspeakeremulation. 1
Youcanswitchbetweenstylesusingthebuttonsunder
theampdisplay,andeachwillofferadifferentkindof
distortion.Thiseffectworksreallywellonelectronic
beats,synthesizerandleadbassesand,ofcourse,any
kindofguitars.Ifyouareapplyingtheeffecttoastereo
sound,youwillprobablywanttoswitchitsoutputto
Dual,sothatthesoundisntforcedintomonomode.
Thefilteringeffectoftheampalsoworksdifferently
dependingonthepreset.TheRockandLeadpresets,
forexample,canmakethesamedrumloopsoundvery
different.Thisisagreateffecttouseforheavytechno
drums.ManyoftheothereffectsintheAmpeffects
focus
On the disc
ExtremeeffectsWorkshop MTF
PRO TIP
Live makes it easy to chain
effects together, but
remember that the way a
sound is processed by one will
change the way it is received
by the next. So if you arent
getting the results you
expected, start muting effects
from the far end of the chain
until you come to the plug-in
that may be doing something
thats causing a problem. You
can then re-order or tweak the
effects until they behave as
you want them to.
Heavily delayed
The Filter Delay folder contains some excellent extreme
effects and you can make these even more
Stuck on repeat
Next lets try something different: the Beat Repeater.
This folder contains a number of presets for this
excellent plug-in. We have chosen the Chopping Block
preset. 3 As you might expect, these work better on
rhythmic parts since they analyse and re-sequence
beats in real time based on transients. Its great fun to
play with, as has an uncanny ability to create cool new
variations while keeping everything in sync. If you move
the Interval dial, you can change how often the effect
captures new material and starts repeating it. A lower
setting will create a more stuttered beat. 4
The Grid dial sets the length of each slice that is
sampled by the plug-in, so a shorter grid value will
mean more slices and that they will be closer together,
for a sort of drum roll effect. An interesting companion
is the Variation dial, which can be used to introduce
randomisation to the Grid Size parameter. Set higher,
this means that your beats are considerably less
predictable, which is often a good thing.
To the right there is a filter which lets you control the
behaviour of the filtered repetitions. Underneath, the
Output Mode controls enable you to hear the original
and repeated signal, to mute the original signal when
focus AbletonLive8Volume2 |123
7
8
10
11
124|AbletonLive8Volume2
focus
12
Programming live
sounding drums
c
a
d
ARTICULATE
Differentarticulations
areavailableinBFDand
SuperiorDrummer,withthe
mostforsnareandhi-hat
sounds.Herewereusing
variousstagesofthehi-hat,
fromclosedtofullyopen;the
snarealsohasvarious
variationsavailable.
TEMPO CHANGE
Movingthefeelofthe
beataroundtobeearlyorlate
canbedonewithtempo
mappingor,inthiscase,by
slightlydelayingthebeginning
ofthenextbar.Areal
drummersemphasisofthe
beatwillalwaysslidearound
toacertainextent.
IMPERFECTION
Notwonotesshouldbe
exactlythesame,asthisisnt
realistic.Bystaggeringthem
slightlywiththegridturned
offyouwillgetclosertoa
live-soundingperformance.
| 125
MTF Step-by-Step Setting up BFD for multi-track recording and processing in Live
SelectExportabovethisnewwindowand
youwillbepresentedwiththeBounce
options.Selectthedestinationfolder,file
prefixanddesiredbit-depth.Youcanalso
record-enableallchannelshereiftheyreallin
useormanuallyselecteachrelevantchannel
inthemainmixer.SetExportModetoHost,
pressExportandplaythroughthedrumtrack.
Afterpressingstop,theexportis complete.
Nowyouneedtoinsertenoughaudio
tracksinLivetopassthesenewoutputs
fromBFDthroughtoLivesmixer.OtherDAWs
mayautomaticallyhavetheseoutputsrouted,
butthishastobedonemanuallyinLive.Set
eachnewtracksMonitoroptiontoIn,then
choosetheBFDchannelfromthefirstAudio
Frommenu.Selectthecorrectoutputfromthe
secondmenu.
TheHumanizefunctionsinBFDare
greatforgettingeasyvariation,evenif
itsonlyslight,butitsalwaysagoodideato
recordthisvirtualdrummersoyouare
dealingwithconsistentaudioatmixdown.
BFDsinternalbouncefunctioncanbeused
afterclickingUtilitydowntheleft-hand
verticalstripofthepage.Thisopensanew
windowtothelowerright.
01
Nowchangetheoutputatthebottomof
eachchanneltoauniquemonooutput
forallmics,andstereooutputsforambient
pairs.Theremaybetoomanyelementstorun
separately.Tosubmixthese,routemultiple
microphonechannelstothesameoutput.
Alternatively,tokeeplevelsundercontrol,you
canaddanewauxchannelfromthe
left-handstripandsendmicstothemfirst.
04
02
05
Nowimportalltheaudiofilesintoyour
DAWandtreatthemasnormal
multi-trackdrumrecordings.Otherpeople
mayprefertohavethismultitrackprocessing
availableintheirDAWastheycreatetheir
drumpatterns;todothis,youwillneedto
assignadifferentoutputchannelpermic
channelintheMixerPage.Tostartwitha
cleanmixer,gotoLoadinthetopright,
chooseLoadMixerandthenEverythingOff.
Althoughthistakesawhiletodo,once
youhavethisroutingsetupyoucan
highlightallofthetracksandselectGroup
fromtheEditmenu.Thendragthegroupto
thebrowserwindowtostoreitasa.alsfile,
whichcanthenbedraggedintoanyfuture
Liveproject.Yourenowreadytoaddextra
processingtothesechannelsthen,atthe
pointofmixdown,armthetrackstorecord
audioanddisableBFDtoreducetheburden
onyourCPU.
focus
PRO TIP
Although Superior Drummer
already has many
articulations spread over
different MIDI notes, a simple
way to work when recording
parts in with a
controller is to
use MIDI CCs
to sweep
through them
all as you
trigger a single
MIDI note.
Hi-hats can be
controlled
either via CC1
(the mod
wheel) or CC4
(used for
virtual drum kit
pedals). Snares
use CC16.
03
06
Beat it
As a starting example, lets look at a straight
4/4 time signature with a kick on the first and
third beats and the snare in between. A running
hi-hat part playing 8ths would, in most cases,
have its velocity emphasised in unison with the
main kick and snare drum beats. This will
enforce the beat being dictated by the kick and
snare and the velocity ranges to use are as
drastic as you see fit for the given style of
Grooving out
As far as a drummers timing goes, the first move on
from robotic drums can be made by working with
groove tools for a quick, more human feel. The
PRO TIP
Remember the anatomy and
limitations of a drummer: two
arms, two legs and nothing
more. A drummer can in theory
play any part of the kit at arm
height in any order, but the
time to get from one side to
the other must be considered.
The hi-hat can also be played
wholly or partly with the foot,
leaving the arms free to play
other parts, or two feet can
strike the kick drums.
MTF Step-by-Step Copying the sound of a drum break with Superior Drummer and Live
Afterloadinginakittogetstarted,focus
ononesoundatatimewiththegrid
turnedoff,andplacetheMIDInotesintheright
placealongsidethebreak.Ifyouzoomin
enoughbothhorizontallyandverticallyyoucan
increasetheresolutionformovingMIDInotes
withthearrowkeysandyoucanalignthem
withthetransientsinthewaveformvisually.
ThePitchsectiontothebottomrightof
thedrumkitviewenablesyoutore-pitch
anydrumyouvehighlighted.Weneedtotune
upthesnareandtunedownthehi-hatslightly.
TwistingthePitchdialwillmakeacrude
re-pitchtogetthesettingsyouwant,butyou
thenneedtoselectFixnexttoitsotheaudiois
re-sampledatfullfidelitytothenewpitch.
Loadinthedrumbreakyouwantto
emulateandturnWarpmodeoffsoit
playswithoutanychangefromtheoriginal
file.Weretryingtoemulatetheopeningdrum
breakfromWhen The Levee BreaksbyLed
Zeppelin.Figureoutthelengthoftheloop
andthensettheloopbraceinArrangement
Viewtothecorrectlengthandplaywiththe
tempountiltheloopfitsinthebraceandit
loopsseamlessly.
01
Youcantryswappingoutdifferent
drumsforothersatthisstageby
selectingfromthedropdownmenusbelow
eachdrum.Forourbreak,thekick,snareand
hi-hatarealreadythebestoptions,butthey
needre-tuningtomirrorthedrumkitonthe
break.TheToolSettingmenuabovethekit
letsyoutryoutdifferentkickbeaters,
brushes,rodsorfeltmalletsifyoureneeding
amorelightlyplayedkit.
04
02
05
Nowexplorethedifferentpresetdrum
kitsfromtheLoad/Savemenuatthe
topofthewindow.Forthisbreakwevefound
theclosestpresettotheproductionstyleis
Combinedpreset/Toontrack/BulletSquash,
butafewofthedrumsoundsneedchanging.
Whenloadinginthepresetsyoucanloadin
justpartialchangesorfull,andwewanttotry
theentiredrumkitpresets.
Onthemixerpageyoucanaddinserts
toanydrumsoundswelikethe
transientdesignerforolder-soundingdrum
breakssowecansoftentheattackstageof
eachdrumandalsousethereleasefora
morecompressedsound.TheBullitambient
micworksgreathere,buttoengageother
ambientmicsyoullneedtopressEditonthe
channel,SelectAll,thenhighlightallthe
bleedmics.
03
06
| 127
Performance timing
As weve seen, groove tools are handy to get a feel for
different drum performances, and looking at them can be
very educational, especially when you see just how off
the grid lines hits can be throughout a part.
Even if its a super-simple drum pattern with little
variation, the MIDI notes shouldnt be hitting in exactly
the same place from one bar to the next. The easiest way
to approach this is by drawing out the first groove
segment with the grid turned off. Use the grid lines as
guides, but dont have snap enabled. Then repeat the part
and move the hits a few pixels to either side in the new
copy to create a more natural fluctuation in timing.
This can then be enhanced further by creating some
overall tempo variation. Tempo changes of even just a few
BPM at different musical sections of a track can mimic
that natural push and pull you will experience with a real
drum performance. For instance, the verse could be
80BPM and the chorus 82BPM. You could ramp up the
tempo to that point from the start, or more realistically
choose the last few bars and do it there, replicating
what happens when a drummer gets excited when
building towards the next song section.
A more time-consuming, but even more authentic,
method is to draw in each drum hit note by note, working
from left to right (and resisting the temptation to use
copy/paste functions). Be careful to also pay attention to
the velocity of each new hit, as they will default to 100 at
the beginning and will copy the previous notes velocity
values to the next.
As weve seen, there are various ways you can make
your programmed drums sound more lifelike. As a rule of
thumb, the more time youre willing to put in, the more
youre likely to end up with an authentic-sounding drum
track that sounds great but doesnt suffer from being
that little bit too perfect.
Youcandouble-clickanygroovetoaddit
tothepoolordraganddropittoyour
MIDIclip(s).Ifyouhavemultipleclipsinyour
songthatyouwanttofollowagroove,first
selectalltheclips,thendragthegrooveover
oneoftheclipsGroovemenu(tothe
bottom-leftoftheClipViewwindow).
Alternatively,ifthegrooveisalreadyloaded
intothepoolyoucanhighlighttheclipsand
selectitfromthemenuitself.
Groovefileswithquantizeinthename
enableyoutoapplydifferentstrengthsof
quantizationtolooselytimedparts.Thiscanbe
agoodapproachtogettingalive-soundingpart
afterrecordinginaliveMIDIperformance.You
cantidyupyourperformanceenoughusing
thisQuantizeamounttomakeitsoundmore
accuratebutnottooperfect.Recordinginfrom
acontrollerwillmakeitaloteasiertovary
velocityinformation.
TheeasiestwaytoopentheGroove
Libraryistoexpandthegroovepoolby
clickingthedoublewavylineiconbelowthe
LiveBrowser.Thenright-clickinthepool
andselectBrowseGrooveLibrary.This
containsvariousgroovepatternsfor
differentstylesincludingrock;italso
containsthemostreveredclassicdrum
machineandsequencergrooves.
01
Therearevariablecontrolspergroove.
Baseisaquantize-likefunction,
determininghowmanydivisionstherhythmic
pointsinaclipwillbemovedtowards.
Quantizeisasnormalandisappliedbefore
thegroovemovements.Timingcontrolshow
muchgrooveadjustmentisapplied;Random
isaHumanizationeffectfortiming;Velocity
appliesthevelocityinformationofthegroove
ontotheclip.
04
focus
02
05
Wefinditsbesttoloadinanygroove,
assignittotherelevantclips,thenuse
theHot-Swapfunctioninthegroovepoolto
auditionfromthegroovelibraryinthe
contextofyourprojectduringplayback.The
Hot-Swapbuttonistotherightofthefloppy
disksymbolonanygrooveloadedintothe
pool.Usethearrowkeystomovearoundthe
libraryandhit[Return]toauditionagroove,
thenpress[Escape]toloaditpermanently.
Tempovariationcanbeveryeffective.
MakefractionalBPMchangeswithina
bar(orfromonebartothenext)oruselarger
increasesovertimetoaidthearrangement.It
canbeviewedbyright-clicking/[Ctrl]-clicking
(PC/Mac)thetemposettinginthetop
left-handside.OntheMasterchannelyou
candouble-clickwiththecursorforanchor
points,oruseDrawmodefromtheOptions
menutodrawinsteppedchanges.
03
06
100% PURE
RECORDING VOL 2
MACPROVIDEO
TheMPVteamexplorepitchmanipulation
andLFOtechniquesusingtheSimplersampler,
quantisationandgroovepoolsettings,plus
howtoprogramkeyandvelocityzonesinto
yourownracks.
GROOVE3
WehavearangeofvideosfromGroove3
includingsynthesistechniquesusingthe
Operatorsynth,borrowinggrooves,chromatic
sampling,MIDImanglingandarrangement
techniquesformakingDJ-friendlytracks.
01
LIVECOURSES.COM
Youllfindbothbeginnerandadvanced
chaptersfromLiveCourses.com,withtopics
includinggeneralsetup,programmingdrums
withImpulse,clipenvelopes,drawing
automation,andusingFollowActions.
04
focus
02
05
SONICACADEMY
WevegotsixvideostakenfromSonic
AcademysHowToMakeDutchHouse
course.Learnhowtostackupchordsto
createabigsynthsound,programdrum
patternsandbasslines,andcreateapitched
leadusingLennarDigitalsSylenth.
03
06
MTF DVD 24
Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
PROMOTIONAL
VIDEOS
SOFTWARE DEMOS
SAMPLES
Royalty-free samples
from Loopmasters and
Prime Loops; Whoosh
Machine from Sonic
Faction, a free Live Pack
built to cater for FX,
packed with analogue
white noise samples. Plus
Ableton Operator,
Vanguard and Z2TA+
from Loopmasters and
Sounds To Sample.
From cutting-edge
effects processors to
innovative new drum
machines and synths,
weve rounded up a range
of demo and freeware
plug-ins for you to try out.
Youll find plenty of EQs,
compressors, limiters,
amp simulators, audio
analysers, reverbs, and
saturation plug-ins to
help craft your tracks.
USING OUR
WORKSHOPS
MTF DVD 24
Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
COPYRIGHT ANTHEM PUBLISHING 2012
FAULTY DISC?
Check www.musictechmag.co.uk for known issues
Return to: Anthem Publishing (disc returns),
Suite 6, Piccadilly House, London Road,
Bath BA1 6PL, UK
On the disc
ZIP FILES
To maximise the amount of content we can bring you on
each DVD, the video, Workshop and samples files are
supplied compressed (zipped). Mac users should be
able to decompress zip files simply by double-clicking on
them; PC users may need to download a utility such as
WinZip (www.winzip.com).
WORKSHOP FILES
The software Workshops that feature in each issue of
MTF are almost always accompanied by files and audio
so you can work through them on your system. These files
are zipped to reduce the space they occupy on the DVD.
WHAT IS ROYALTY-FREE?
DEFECTIVE DISCS
If your disc is missing, contact us at editorial@anthempublishing.com with your full postal address and the
issue number.
| 131
Discover
Max for Live opens up a world of artist and community designed instruments, effects, hacks
and comes with 100 included devices. Learn more here: www.ableton.com/maxforlive
Get Inspired
Build your own Ableton Live devices and share your inventions.
Free device library: www.maxforlive.com