Ableton Live Manual

535 Pages·2009·11.96 MB·English

Ableton Reference Manual Version 8
LiveVersion8.0.5forWindowsandMacOS
September,2009
CreatedbyBerndRoggendorf,GerhardBehles,RobertHenke,Awi,ReinerRudolph,StefanHaller,StefanFranke,
FrankHoffmann,AndreasZapf,RalfSuckow,GregorKlinke,MatthiasMayrock,FriedemannSchautz,IngoKoehne,
JakobRang,PabloSara,NicholasAllen,HenrikLafrenz,JanBuchholz,KevinHaywood,DominikWilms,Christian
Kleine,AmauryGroc,DanielB(cid:252)ttner,AlexKoch,HenrikHahn,SimonFrontzek,TorstenWendland,TorstenSlama,
EduardM(cid:252)ller,JeremyBernstein,BernardChavonnet,CarlSeleborg,ClaesJohanson,BernhardBockelbrink,Nico
Starke, J(cid:246)rg Klu(cid:255)mann, Stefan Brunner, Tobias Hahn, Stefan von der Mark, Carsten Hen(cid:255)inger, Stephan Diehl,
DavidTalbot,RobertFeldbinder,DiezRoggisch,JustineLera,DennisDeSantis,IanGallagher,PhilippGries,Marie
Hoffmann,MarianKalus,StephanKrohn,MichaelD(cid:252)hr,DennisFischer.
ReferenceManualbyDennisDeSantis,IanGallagher,KevinHaywood,RoseKnudsen,GerhardBehles,JakobRang,
RobertHenke,TorstenSlama.
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holders.
1
Chapter 1
Welcome to Live
1.1 The Ableton Team Says: Thank You
Live is the result of musicians wanting a better way to create, produce and perform music
using a computer. A great deal of effort has been put into making Live easy and fun to
use, yet at the same time capable of helping you create music with unlimited depth and
sophistication. Thiseffortcontinuesevenasyoureadtheselines... infact,anew,improved
Live version might already be available for download! Please check on our website now1,
orchoosetheCheckforUpdatescommandfromtheHelpmenu.
WehopeyouenjoyusingLiveandthatitenhancesyourcreativeprocess. Shouldyouhave
suggestionsabouthowwecanimproveLive,pleaseletusknow2.
YourAbletonTeam.
1http://www.ableton.com/downloads
[email protected]
CHAPTER1. WELCOMETOLIVE 2
1.2 What’s New in Live 8?
1.2.1 New Warping Engine
(cid:136) Live’swarpingenginehasbeendramaticallyoverhauled,withmoreaccuratetransient
detection and a redesigned interface that allows you to drag the waveform along a
(cid:28)xedtimeline.
(cid:136) New transient loop and envelope controls in Beats Mode allow for higher quality
warping,especiallyatslowertempos.
(cid:136) NewComplexProModeforevenhigherqualitywarping.
(cid:136) YoucannowquantizeaudioclipsusingtheEditmenu’sQuantizecommand.
1.2.2 New Groove Functionality
(cid:136) Groove patterns can now modify the timing and volume of audio and MIDI clips in
real-time. A large library of grooves is provided, and grooves can be extracted from
clipsandthenreappliedtootherclips.
1.2.3 Work(cid:29)ow Enhancements
(cid:136) CrossfadesarenowavailableforadjacentclipsinArrangementView.
(cid:136) The MIDI Editor has been reworked, and editing MIDI is now similar to editing in
the Arrangement. An insert mark sets the precise location for clipboard operations,
allowing notes or time to be copied, pasted, inserted and deleted anywhere in the
clip. Enhancedkeyboardcommandsalsoimprovetheeditingwork(cid:29)ow.
(cid:136) Asa resultof thenewnavigation possibilities inthe MIDIEditor, it isnowpossible to
steprecordMIDInotes.
(cid:136) AudioandMIDItrackscanbegroupedintoasummingGroupTrack. GroupTrackscan
befoldedorunfoldedtohelporganizeyourwork(cid:29)owinbothSessionandArrangement
View.
CHAPTER1. WELCOMETOLIVE 3
(cid:136) Live’sinterfacecanbemagni(cid:28)edtomaximizevisibilityviatheZoomDisplayslider.
(cid:136) APreviewTabintheBrowserprovidesavisualoverviewofthepreviewed(cid:28)le’scontents,
andallowsyoutoscrubinthewaveformorMIDIdisplay.
(cid:136) Whenmultipletracksareselected,adjustingoneoftheirmixerorroutingparameters
willadjustthesameparameterintheotherselectedtracks.
1.2.4 Ableton Effects and Instruments
(cid:136) Operator has been dramatically overhauled with a variety of new (cid:28)lter types, an ex-
panded set of modulation routings and additive wavetable synthesis with drawable
partials.
(cid:136) Collisionoptionaladd-oninstrument
(cid:136) Corpusoptionaladd-oneffect
(cid:136) LatinPercussionoptionaladd-onsamplelibrary
(cid:136) Looper provides classic tape-loop style overdubbing, with drag-and-drop export to
clips,MIDI-mappablecontrolsoptimizedforusewithfootpedalsandmore.
(cid:136) Vocodercombinesthebestofclassicanalogvocoderswithpowerfulnewfeatures.
(cid:136) Limiterprovidesatrue(cid:16)brickwall(cid:17)limiter,idealformasteringapplications.
(cid:136) The Multiband Dynamics device allows for upward or downward compression or ex-
pansionofuptothreeseparatefrequencybands.
(cid:136) OverdriveisapowerfuladditiontoLive’sarsenalofdistortiontools.
(cid:136) FrequencyShiftercombinesfrequencyshiftingandringmodulationeffectsinasingle
device.
1.2.5 New Library
(cid:136) Live’s Library is now stocked with a large collection of new creative tools including
numerousdevicepresets,loopsandsamples,constructionkitsandtemplateSets.
CHAPTER1. WELCOMETOLIVE 4
1.2.6 Online Collaboration Tools
(cid:136) ShareLiveSetswithotherusersviaasharedwebareaatableton.com.
1.2.7 Controllers
(cid:136) Support for the APC40 (Ableton Performance Controller), a dedicated controller for
AbletonLive.
1.2.8 More Improvements
(cid:136) MacroControlsnowautomaticallyshowthenameandunitsoftheirmappedparameter
wheneverpossible.
(cid:136) aHigh-QualitymodehasbeenaddedtotheFlangereffect.
(cid:136) Third-partyplug-insupporthasbeenimprovedtoallowaccesstoanarbitrarynumber
ofparameters.
(cid:136) itisnowpossibletoslicebasedonthetransientsoftheaudio(cid:28)le.
(cid:136) the Ping Pong Delay and Simple Delay effects now have three user-selectable delay
transitionmodes.
(cid:136) Sampler’swaveshapernowoffersafourthcurvetype: (cid:16)4bit.(cid:17)
(cid:136) Multiple Live Packs can be uninstalled simultaneously, and the Browser can now sort
contentbytheLivePackthatinstalledit.
5
Chapter 2
First Steps
WhenyouinstallLiveandrunitforthe(cid:28)rsttime,youwillbepresentedwithanauthorization
dialog. Please see the chapter on authorizing Live should you have questions or concerns
duringtheauthorizationprocess.
Ifyoudonot(yet)ownLive,youcanstilltryoutallofLive’sfeatures,butyouwillnotbeable
tosaveorexportyourwork.
2.1 Learn About Live
Livecomeswithasetofinteractivelessonstotakeyoustepbystepthroughthekeyfeatures
of the program. The lessons are organized in a table of contents, which can be opened
directly in the program via the Help menu. We highly recommend following the lessons.
Many users have told us that the lessons helped them become familiar with the program
veryquickly.
We also recommend that you read the Live Concepts chapter, which encapsulates every-
thing that Live is and can do, and is therefore a worthwhile read for both beginners and
experienced users. The remaining chapters of this manual serve as in-depth reference for
thematerialintroducedinLiveConcepts.
CHAPTER2. FIRSTSTEPS 6
2.1.1 Using the Info View and Index
Live’sInfoViewtellsyouthenameandfunctionofwhateveryouplacethemouseover. For
certainitems,youcancreateyourowntextanditwillappearinthiswindow.
TheInfoViewandits
Show/HideButton.
Ifyourequiremoreinformationonaspeci(cid:28)cuserinterfaceelementortopic,pleaseconsult
thisreferencemanual. Theindex,foundattheendofthemanual,containsthenamesofall
userinterfaceelementsandwillleadyoutotherelevantsection.
2.2 Setting up Preferences
Live’s Preferences window is where you can (cid:28)nd various settings that determine how Live
looks, behaves and interfaces with the outside world. This window is accessed from the
Preferences command, which in Windows is available in the Options menu and in OS X
is available in the Live menu. Preferences can also be accessed with the Ctrl , (PC) /
, (Mac)shortcut.
Live’sPreferencesaredistributedoverseveraltabs:
(cid:136) IntheLook/Feeltab,youcanmodifyvarioussettings,includingthelanguageusedfor
CHAPTER2. FIRSTSTEPS 7
text display and the color scheme, or (cid:16)skin,(cid:17) for the Live user interface. This is also
where you can adjust the size of objects displayed on the screen: the Zoom Display
sliderallowsyoutozoomLive’sscreentoanypercentagebetween50%and200%of
thestandardinterfacesize.
(cid:136) The Audio Preferences are used to set up Live’s audio connections with the outside
world via an audio interface. Please take the time to follow the program’s built-in
(cid:16)Setting up Audio I/O(cid:17) lesson, which will walk you through all the steps required to
set up and optimize the settings for any given system. To access the lesson, use the
HelpViewcommandfromtheHelpmenu.
(cid:136) The MIDI/Sync Preferences are used to help Live recognize MIDI devices for three
separateanddistinctpurposes:
(cid:21) Playing MIDI notes. To learn how to route an external device into Live for MIDI
input,orhowtosendMIDItoanexternaldevice,pleaseseetheRoutingandI/O
chapter.
(cid:21) Controllingpartsoftheinterfaceremotely. Thissubjectiscoveredindetailinthe
MIDIandKeyRemoteControlchapter.
(cid:21) Syncing the program with an external sequencer or drum machine, either as a
masteroraslave. PleaseseetheSynchronizingviaMIDIchapterfordetails.
(cid:136) The File/Folder Preferences pertain to Live’s (cid:28)le management and the location of
plug-indevices.
(cid:136) TheRecord/Warp/LaunchPreferencesallowcustomizingthedefaultstatefornewLive
Setsandtheircomponents,aswellasselectingoptionsfornewrecordings.
(cid:136) The CPU Preferences include options for managing the processing load, including
multicore/multiprocessorsupport.
(cid:136) TheUserAccount/LicensesPreferencesareusedtomanagelicensingandinstallation
oftheLiveplatform,andadd-oncomponentsliketheOperatorinstrument.
(cid:136) TheLibraryPreferencesallowyoutospecifythelocationofLive’sLibraryandmanage
currentlyinstalledLivePacks.
CHAPTER2. FIRSTSTEPS 8
2.3 The Main Live Screen
MostofyourworkinLivehappensinthemainLivescreen. Thisscreenconsistsofanumber
of views, and each view manages a speci(cid:28)c aspect of your Live Set, which is the type of
document that you create and work on in Live. Since screen space is usually limited, the
Liveviewscan’tallbedisplayedatthesametime.
Eachoneoftheselectorbuttonsatthescreenborderscallsupaspeci(cid:28)cview;clickingthis
one,forinstance,opensLive’sDeviceBrowser:
TheDeviceBrowser
Selector.
To hide one of Live’s views and free up screen space, click on the triangle-shaped button
nexttoit. Torestoretheview,clickthebuttonagain.
AViewShow/Hide
Button.
YoucanrunLiveinFullScreenModebyselectingtheFullScreencommandfromtheView
menu. ToleaveFullScreenMode,clickthebuttonthatappearsinthelowerrightcornerof
thescreen. FullScreenModecanalsobetoggledbypressing F11 . (Note: OnMacOS
X, this key is assigned by default to ExposØ, and will not toggle Full Screen Mode unless
ExposØhasbeendeactivatedorassignedtoadifferentkeyinOSX’sSystemPreferences.)
If one of the browser views is open, you can adjust the main window’s horizontal split by
dragging.