Music Tech Focus - Ableton Live 8 Volume 2

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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
MTF24: Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
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
Written & compiled by Music Techs Ableton Live 8 experts
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Welcome MTF
Welcome
At NAMM, back in January 2012, I was having a conversation with a

show-goer about DAWs. Turned out he was an absolute advocate for
Abletons Live 8 software (he had the full Suite version). He poo-pooed
my penchant for Logic; its too complex, I was told. No, Live 8 enables you
to express yourself musically, without being encumbered by a plethora
of plug-ins and a need for an almost encyclopedic knowledge of your
DAW of choice. If you want to simply get up and go, produce music for the
love of it, then Live 8 was is the software you need to be turning to.
He made a good case, for sure, especially after the third (or was it fourth?) bottle of Sam Adams. Did I
mention we were in a bar?
In this latest iteration of Music Tech
Focus the sister magazine to the
monthly Music Tech Magazine we
again take an in-depth journey into
Live 8, an amazing piece of software
that has captivated many, many
thousands of you (and my pal in
Anaheim). Of course, the mainstay of our content is the Workshops and Walkthroughs you know and love,
helping you to understand the intricacies of the software and all that its capable of. But there is a lot more.
Our writers have delved deep to come up with tricks of the trade that would take you years of use to
discover, were it not for this magazine, and theyve opened up to tell us what makes Live 8 so special for
them, and for other people who use the software for a living.
I really hope you enjoy the issue, and if you can find the time,
do please make the effort to let me know what you think: your
comments help shape the magazine.
Tricks of the trade that would

take you years of use to discover,
were it not for this magazine
Paul Pettengale Editorial Director

paul.pettengale@anthem-publishing.com
Contributors
Mike Hillier, Hollin Jones, Liam OMullane
MUSIC TECH FOCUS MAGAZINE
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focus Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
| 03
MTF Contents
Issue 24
Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
ALL NEW
WORKSHOPS
& TUTORIALS
132 pages of pure Ableton Live 8 know-how for 2012,

written and compiled by Music Tech Magazines Live experts.
Including Workshops, Walkthroughs, round-ups, pro tips & tricks
The in-depth guide for the creative musician.
Technique
Feature
Adding hardware p11

Pro Tips series
The story of
LIVE
The past and the future p98

MTF Interviews
50 Power user tips
for Ableton Live p36

Plus 25 more Live tips
starting on p70
King Britt
Francesco Tristano
Kutmaster Kurt
and Phon.o
All exclusive Pages 20, 80, 104, 118

4 | Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
focus
Contents MTF
Gear Round Ups

p50
MTF Issue 24 Full listings

Microphones, Monitors,
Tuition, Controllers
006 | Workshop
Understanding Lives audio editor
p92
011 | Technique Power up Live

hardware controllers
016 | Workshop
Drum sounds and devices
020 | Interview King Britt
024 | Walkthrough Making a
backing track using loops
p104
p95
028 | Workshop Using automation

for better mixes
031 | Walkthrough
Making special effects
036 | 50 Power User Tips
p76
042 | Walkthrough
Processing techniques
046 | Workshop Performance
controls for a live show
050 | Round Up Microphones
12 Live Workshops
Clockwise from top left: Automation,

ReWiring, Extreme Effects,
Lives Audio Editor
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
070 | 25 Pro Tips

076 | Round Up Monitors
080 | Interview Francesco Tristano
p122
086 | Workshop Speedy

composition and production
090 | Round Up Tuition
092 | Workshop ReWiring Live
and Reason 6 / Cubase 6
095 | Round Up Controllers
098 | Feature The Story of Live
6 Live Step-by-Steps
Clockwise from left: Special Effects,

Backing Tracks with Loops,
Bass Instruments
p24
100 | Workshop Stereo effects:

technique and control
104 | Interview Kutmasta Kurt
108 | Workshop Sound-on-sound
recording in Looper
111 | Walkthrough
Tools for a live performance
118 | Interview Phon.o
122 | Workshop Extreme effects
p31
p58
125 | Walkthrough
Programming live sounding
drums
129 | Next issue Recording Vol 2
130 | Your MTF DVD
|5
MTF Workshop Lives audio editor
Ableton Live 8 Workshop
Understanding
Lives audio editor
On the disc
Taking full control of your audio clips in Live is a vital

part of making tracks. Hollin Jones gives you the
lowdown on the process.
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
Lives audio clip editor is powerful

enough to accomplish the tasks
you need to perform every day
1
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
Set loop points within a clip and move these on the

fly, or reset zero to change the way a clip behaves in
its slot in Session view.
There are further settingsinthe

Warpareayoucanusetogetbetter
controloveryour warped parts
other modes you have at your disposal. Remember that
warping a clip is not a permanent process, and if a
setting isnt working you can simply choose another, as
well as actually deactivating warping altogether if you
have to.
There are further settings in the Warp area that you
can use to get better control over your warped parts.
The two buttons under the BPM readout enable you to
double or halve the speed of the loop, which is a useful
timesaver. Underneath that, theres a Preserve menu
that lets you set the way in which a loop is warped in
terms of its divisions. 3
Transients is the most typical setting here, as it
analyses a clip based on its waveform and so offers you
the most accurate warping. It is possible, however, to
change the setting to divisions of beats if you want the
clip to warp perhaps in a more unusual way, ignoring
certain transients. At the bottom you can set the
Transient Loop mode, which governs how the transients
are triggered.
The Start section, to the right of the Warp box,
enables you to manually set the start and end points of
a clip, as well as define the position of the loop markers.
4 The Set buttons can be triggered on the fly to change
the length of loops during playback. Interestingly, if you
map these buttons to controls on your MIDI device, this
becomes a good way to mash up and change clips
during a live performance.
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.
switched on, this provides a good way to loop up

different areas of a clip on the fly, much like a DJ might
want to do.
If you right-click on the waveform with an area
selected, you will reveal a contextual menu with many
functions. The most obvious one you will want to use is
to choose to loop the selection, which you can also do
by pressing [Command] (Mac) or [Control] (PC) and L. 6
Another option enables you to set 1.1.1 from the
playheads current position, which has the effect of
resetting the start of the clip so that when its triggered
in Session view it has the new start point. This is a
nondestructive action, though if you wish theres also
the option of cropping the sample to the currently
selected area. 7
If the warping hasnt worked exactly as you wanted,
or if you want to make changes to a clip that dont
involve warping to a preset grid, you can double-click in
the warp marker area between the waveform and the
ruler to add a warp marker manually. 8
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
MTF Workshop Livesaudioeditor
Samples can be looped and cropped, and warp markers added and
manipulated in real time to create variations and mashed up samples.
This will stretch the audio to the next snap point,

while leaving audio before the previous warp marker
intact. Using this technique you can easily make
individual beats or sections of a clip longer or shorter
without affecting the rest of the clip. This can be really
good for creating variations and other things, like
effectively removing a beat or a note from a loop by
stretching it out so that it basically disappears. Bear in
mind that you also have the option from the right-click
contextual menu to insert, delete or reset the transients
in a warped clip. 9
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
Save the settings for a clip and, when it is

loaded in any future sets, all the warping
and other settings you made will
automatically be called up.
8|AbletonLive8Volume2
11
focus
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Get it all.
Video tutorials by certied instructors, pro mixers, producers and power users
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Power up Live Technique MTF
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....
Ableton Live, as the name

might suggest, has always had a
focus on live performance
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
| 11
MTF Technique Power up Live
same functions as a DAW, but they are excellent

control devices when paired with a full-blown music
production package running on a laptop or other
computer. At the other end of the scale of course there
are countless more conventional MIDI devices that can
be used to trigger Live, and audio interfaces and other
devices used to record into it. Lets have a look at the
categories of hardware and add-ons you can use with
Live, and how they work, beginning with the most basic.
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.
MTF Pro Technique Exploring TouchAble

TouchAble is among the most accomplished of the iOS
controllers available for Live at present, and meshes so
well with the software that it could almost have been
written by the guys at Ableton. The main screen is laid
out in a similar way to Lives Session interface, with clip
slots, faders and master transport controls, amongst
other things, easily accessible. You can access Loop and
Beat Jump modes, enabling you to perform and cut up
loops on the fly, and theres a really clever X/Y grid
system for intuitively controlling effects in real time. Add
to this access to a virtual MIDI keyboard, drum pads and
your mixer and devices and its an amazing way to take
control of your projects. Its available on the App Store for
iPad only and costs 17.49, which is a little higher than
some controller apps, but is well worth the investment
when you see what kind of power it puts in your hands.
A good
USB audio
interface, such
as Focusrites
Saffire 6 USB, will
give you excellent
recording quality
at low latencies.
Lets have a look at the

categories of hardware and
add-ons you can use with Live
a vocal, into a mic and hearing it back through your speakers
or headphones. When you are trying to record in time to a
click or a beat, which is pretty much all the time, any delay in
monitoring is infuriating and makes a good performance all
but impossible. With a good interface and a decent
computer you can set Lives audio buffers quite low
(somewhere in the range of 128-384 samples) to eliminate
any delay. Some interfaces have direct monitoring, which
plays the signal back to you instantly, rather than passing it
to Live first. The result is a more accurate recording, even
when your computer is under load.
TouchAble is a highly advanced,

customisable Live controller for the iPad.
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
FireWire is present on some laptops,

most notably Apples MacBook Pros (though not
the MacBook Air) and the rest of the Mac line-up. Most
new Macs now have a Thunderbolt port, which is extremely
fast, but there are only a few compatible peripherals so far.
Windows laptops may have a FireWire port, and if you have a
desktop PC its easy to fit a FireWire card. Most people,
however, end up with a USB2 interface a format which,
while technically slower and less capable than FireWire 800,
is still more than enough for most peoples needs.
The reason you need a dedicated interface is to get
sound in and out of Live at the lowest possible latency, and
this means a quality interface with well written drivers.
Latency is the gap between playing a sound, like a guitar or
You will also need to think

about how many inputs and
outputs you need. For many
people, two or four inputs and
two outputs are sufficient, since
this gives you the ability to
record two stereo or four mono
sources at the same time and
monitor in stereo. Many people
only record one thing at a time, like
a guitar, a bass or a vocal. The number of outputs becomes
important if you intend to mix externally by routing channels
out of Live to a hardware mixer. If you are mixing in the box,
stereo master outs are usually enough. DJs who perform
with Live will of course need cue channels, and there are a
number of dedicated DJ interfaces from companies like
Rane, Native Instruments and Allen & Heath that cater to
the specialised needs of DJs. Live 8 is often bundled in one
of its different versions with an audio interface, a DJ
interface or a MIDI controller, and this can be a great way to
get into the world of music production.
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.
AKAIs APC20 was

developed in
collaboration with
Ableton and is
designed specifically
to control your Live
projects. The APC40
is AKAIs larger Live
controller, and adds a
crossfader, endless
rotary encoders and
more to the faders
and clip buttons
found on the APC20.
generally speaking, the more

real-time controllers it will have.
This category of hardware is
muddied still further by the
existence of devices that are
both audio and MIDI interfaces
and MIDI controllers. Some,
like Novations Xiosynth, is all
of these things and a hardware
synthesizer as well, sending
everything down a single USB cable. Obviously, this
kind of all-in-one device can be very useful if you have
a limited budget or limited space, or simply like to work
on the move. A small, multi-purpose device can fit into
your backpack next to your laptop and provide all the
connectivity you need. USB powering is common and
saves yet more clutter as you dont need to carry an
external power supply for the keyboard.
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.
MTF Step-by-Step Set up MIDI mapping
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
MTF Technique Power up Live
Click on the MIDI button and anything that can

be assigned to a MIDI controller will be outlined
in blue. If you select a clip slot, fader, panner or
instrument control and then move a MIDI
hardware control or press a note, they will be
linked. Remember that for this to work, you
must have gone into the MIDI preferences and
specified that your device not only to be sent to Tracks
but also work as a Remote device. Any assignments
you make are saved with the Set, so its a good idea to
create a template file. Interestingly, theres a second
controller mapping menu just to the left of the MIDI
box called Key. If you click this, assignable parameters
are shown in orange and will respond to key presses
from your computer keyboard. The tiny keyboard icon
next to this, when lit, means that computer keys can
be used to play notes in the currently selected
instrument. This is useful when you are working
without any MIDI input devices, perhaps on a train, so
you can still play beats and melodies by hand.
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.
Rane combines its

Serato Scratch
system with Live
using the Bridge
system, letting you
seamlessly combine
your Live and scratch
systems.
Akai also makes two Live controllers.

The APC20 has a multi-colour 8x5-button
Session View Matrix, nine high-quality
faders and two-way communication with
the software. As well as launching clips and
navigating a session using the buttons, the
faders let you control levels more intuitively
on the fly and can also be switched to set
pans or sends in a Set. By using the
additional User banks you can even set them
up to control tempo, effect wet / dry, global tempo and
other parameters. Note Mode lets you use the buttons to
play notes, which means you can compose as well as
controlling a project directly from the device. The Akai
APC40 has the features of the APC20 and more. Track
selection and device control encoders map automatically to
effects and virtual instruments, with the eight endless
dials and four control buttons making tweaking simple.
Live can be used on its own

but almost everyone will want to
add some extras
There are Transport and Global buttons, Track Control dials,
Tap Tempo and Nudge Left / Right buttons that help you stay
in sync with turntables or a live band. It also has a
replaceable manual crossfader which, as well as performing
A/B crossfading, can also work with effect, volume and
modulation curves. You can even add an APC20 to an APC40
to further extend the scope of your controller system.
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
MTF Step-by-Step Set up audio I/O
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
MTF Buyers Guide MIDI keyboards

M-AUDIO AXIOM 25 Price 121
Highly portable and has 25 semi-weighted,
velocity sensitive keys plus eight trigger pads,
eight rotary encoders, one mixer-style slider, six
transport buttons and six edit buttons. The
addition of the drum pads means programming
beats is much more intuitive than if you played
them using the keyboard. Its class compliant so
requires no drivers, and powers over USB.
Web www.avid.com
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.
NOVATION IMPULSE 25 Price 149

With 25 semi-weighted keys, eight rotary
encoders, full transport control, nine
assignable buttons and one 55mm fader, this
is a portable production powerhouse. The
drum pads can be used to trigger clips in Lives
Session view as well as operating in different
modes, including arpeggiator and step
sequencer. It also comes with Novations
Automap software, which creates templates
to map your hardware controls to any
third-party plug-in instrument or effect.
Web www.novationmusic.com
Web www.akaipro.com
extensive set-up to more expensive but more capable apps

with far less technical knowledge required. Among the most
advanced is touchAble, which uses specialised libraries to
give you unparalleled control over your Live projects from your
iPad. With its clever interface you can control almost any
aspect of a Set from your iPad. Theres also DAW Remote for
iPad and iPhone, which uses the Mackie Control protocol to
communicate over Wi-Fi with your Mac or PC, and
LiveRemote, a dedicated iOS control surface that lets you
control faders, launch clips, monitor levels and navigate
sessions. It even automaps the controls of selected
instruments. Other apps, such as TouchOSC, are more
complex to set up, though perhaps also more powerful. Most
musicians will opt for one of the more user-friendly apps.
One final way to power up Live is with third-party
plug-ins. Though the software comes with some great
instruments and effects of its own, there are instances in
which you need a specialised tool. There are hundreds of
plug-ins available, ranging from free to high-end. For a PC
they will need to be in VST format, for a Mac it can be

VST or Audio Units to be read by Live.
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
MTF Step-by-Step Using DAW Remote
Download and install the DAW Remote

app, start it up, then set it up as a device
on your computer. On a Mac this means going
to Audio MIDI Setup, clicking the Network
MIDI source and adding the iOS device by
starting a new session. On Windows you can
download an app called rtpMIDI to enable the
same wireless functionality.
01
Now go into Lives Preferences and find

the MIDI tab. Choose a Mackie Control
from the control surface menu, and then in the
input and output menus, choose the session
you created in the previous step. At this point
the app should make the computer available
as a MIDI destination and beep to let you know
it has worked.
02
You should find that the app now

controls your Live set and you can
control playback, track selection, solo, mute
and record modes for tracks, markers and
punch recording. Theres even a handy
battery indicator to tell you how your device
is holding up without you having to come out
of the app.
03
| 15
MTF Workshop Drum sounds and devices
Drum sounds
On the disc
and devices
Understanding Drum Racks is a must for all Live

users, but there are certain elements that get better
results, faster. Liam OMullane shares some tricks.
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.
Up to six Drum Rack return

channels can be created and you
can send any element to them
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
At the heart of every Drum Rack is the

humble-looking Simpler. This can be
tweaked to shape transients, decays
and frequency content of each sample.
Samples can then be easily swapped
out, while your processing stays intact.
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.
youll hear the triggered MIDI parts and another trigger

each time you click on or move through your library,
which you wont want. 4
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.
MTF Workshop Drum sounds and devices
Various processing can take place

within a Drum Rack, including
time-stretching and the
sub-mixing of groups for
sidechaining. Lives simple
drag-and-drop system also
enables your processed sounds to
be easily turned into new samples.
The filter on the left is handy for broad frequency

control. A high-pass can be used to remove bass; a
band-pass can restrict the overall frequency range of a
sound so it cuts through a mix. Increased resonance is
especially useful for this. Pitch is another form of
frequency control this is called Transp, working in
semitones; Detune works in cents. 5
The quickest way to create additional layers is by
dragging an audio file or preset to below the existing
chain. Be careful, though, as too many layers can be
counter-productive and lose definition. 6
Timestretching can help create unique drum sounds.
Impulse is the best tool to use for this, so use the title
bar Hot-Swap to switch to Impulse from Simpler. Then
adjust the Stretch value for the first pad used. Its a
real-time parameter, so it can be easily automated to
create more complex sounds. 7
If you have audio effects in a drum pads chain, drag
the pad to an empty track area in Session View and the
pad with its MIDI will be separated. This means you can
create large sounds using effects with massive decays,
but then right-click/[Ctrl]-click the track, choose Freeze
Track, then choose Flatten and drag the new audio file
to a pad and make use of choke effects. 8
When looking at a Rack in Session View you can
expand it to see all of the chains. Then it is easy to
highlight a few and press [Ctrl]+[G] (PC)/[Cmd]+[G]
10
Time-stretching can help create

unique drum sounds. Impulse is
the best tool to use for this
(Mac) to pre-group elements before they leave the
Racks main output. Here weve pre-grouped the kick
and snare, then grouped all other elements. 9
Now add a compressor to all but the kick and snare,
expand its sidechain input on the left-hand side and
select Drum Rack from the first menu, then the kick and
snare group. The kick and snare will now dip the volume
of other sounds when they play. 10 1 1
For rhythmic textures, a good trick is to right-click/
[Ctrl]-click any random audio dragged into Live and
select Slice to New MIDI Track. In this instance, select a
clean grid value: 1/16 is a good place to start (indeed,
this is the built-in slicing preset). 12
Now you can re-order the new MIDI part created for
the sliced-up audio to work with your drums or integrate
them into your main Drum Rack by dragging the drum
pads over.
These are all great ways to get some well-crafted,
but also unique-sounding drum sounds into your future
Live projects.
Sidechaining in Live can take place pre/

post effects or after the mixer channel
entirely. Slicing any audio to a Drum Rack
is a good source of texture for rhythms.
12
11
focus
MTF Interview King Britt
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
ake just a short time to cast your eyes down Philadelphia-based

producer King Britts CV and youll see that there really is very little that
the 44-year-old hasnt done. Hes produced music for cutting-edge labels
like Strictly Rhythm alongside Josh Wink. He started the label Ovum
recordings, on which he sold half a million copies of the hit album When
The Funk Hits The Fan (under the name Sylk130). Back in 2001 he released his own
tribute album to his early heroes from the 80s called Re-Members Only, which
featured the likes of Alison Moyet and Martin Fry. De La Soul appeared on that and
on Britts Adventures In Lo-Fi album in 2003. Since then hes had music featured on
the film Miami Vice, he has toured the world DJ'ing and even won The Pew
Fellowship In The Arts Award for composition. Thats one long and varied list
Music is my life, he explains looking back over this career. I approach it with
the highest respect. I am channelling all of it from the Divine Heavens and I have a
responsibility to spread love. I do this by exploring all genres and bringing all types
of races, colours and creeds together for one purpose: to celebrate life! This goes
into the music I write, the music I play and the music I listen to. This doesn't mean
everything is happy music; dark music has an important role as well in celebrating.
And this philosophical approach extends to his views on the commercial and
critical reception that he has enjoyed over the years
Success is all relative. I was successful when I dove into the music world and
never looked back no regrets ever. I don't measure it financially or media wise, I
just love what I do. When you love what you do, thats success.
First Live experiences

King Britt first discovered Live a decade ago but it took him a while to get hooked
on the software
In 2002 I was in Berlin hanging with Jazzanova, he recalls, and I remember
them discussing a new program coming out that they said would blow my
mind. They explained that it treated audio like its a rubber band, stretching it as far
as you want. In 2003 I then got a copy, I used it a bit, more as a time-stretching tool,
as I was sponsored by Logic for years and that was my platform. But in 2008,
everything changed as the Akai APC40 made the whole program much more
intuitive for me and physical! Since then I have never ever looked back.
focus
King Britt Interview MTF
| 21
MTF Interview King Britt
MTF StudioEye King Britts Favourite Live Tools

GETTING
MAXD UP
Max To Live brings a
whole range of new
tools from the Max
community to Live.
I love being able to use
Max patches within the
Ableton environment,
says King Britt. My fave
is the MLR AES
Alphanerd plug-in.
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.
So it was Akais hardware controller that opened Britts

eyes to Live and he couldnt be more enthusiastic about the
software now
Its just so intuitive and you can structure the
environment to fit your vision, flow and needs, he says. Its
kind of like building things with Lego! Its very modular and
now, with Max For Live, its limitless to what is possible. Other
programs are cool but Ableton makes the most sense in every
way possible.
Live and studio

In fact, the software has become so integral to King Britts
set-up that he uses it both in the studio and for DJ-ing. He
explains why
OK, in the studio I have all my analogue synths running
into the Yamaha 03D. I then bus things into Ableton which is
my central control brain. From it I can run everything. I have
created a production template that is beyond my wildest
dreams. I can grab any analogue synth. I can then loop it,
stretch it, resample it, run it into the Monome which I use
for everything run it back into Live, control my synths using
the Moog MP201 pedal (cv/gate), and all the while sitting in
one place!
As for the live shows and DJ'ing, yes I do my DJ'ing with
Ableton Live now. I have set up an environment where it
simulates three turntables, with loopers, kill switches, filters,
etc. Then I have a channel with Maschine, so I can remix on
the fly. Then there are two additional channels with VSTs
running with The Swartzanator to allow quick chords to be
played and improvised.
This environment for DJ'ing has really opened up a whole
new world, he continues. I have around 500 songs in all
genres at one time. Each month I switch out many of them, to
keep it fresh. I also use a lot of loops and stems from my
sessions, to add much flavour to the mix.
For both live and studio, though, Live has changed the way
Britt works forever.
Oh my God, he exclaims, my flow is unstoppable! I get
things done ten times faster than I ever imagined! I also can
build a library of my own things super fast
More tools please

King is a huge fan of using Max For Live plug-ins (see box) and
is keen to see some specific tools developed.
I would love to see a plug-in where it simulated the pitch
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
King Britt's Kit

SYNTHS
ARP String
Ensemble
Korg Mono/Poly,
MS20, SQ10
Moog Minimoog
D, Sonic Six
Novation
Supernova 2
Rhodes 73
Roland SH-101,
Roland JX-3P (w/
PG-200), MKS-50
(w/ PG 300),
Roland JD-800,
JV-1080, JV-990
DRUM MACHINES
Akai MPC2000XL,
MPC3000
Boss DR-110
Casio RZ-1
E-mu Drumulator,
Planet Earth
Nintendo DS
running Glitch DS
Roland TR-707
control on a turntable or CDJ, he says, when queried on the

subject of other improvements he would like to see made to
the software. This would be awesome for mixing into other
DJ sets. As it is now, you can use tap tempo and adjust it, but
its, like, two unnecessary steps. It would be great to have a
+10/-10 parameter to work with and have the slider
assignable as with all Live things.
I would also like to see more video interaction, he adds.
My good friend Michael Todd in Portland is actually building
an amazing environment, which I want to link him with
Ableton to for a future release.
And talking of future releases, what does the future have
in store for King Britt?
I just did an EP for Hyperdub which Im very excited
about, he replies. I respect the label tremendously. I also just
did a few remixes, one for Jimpster's Freerange label, and one
for a singer Yuna, that is produced by Pharrell. My Meredith
Monk remix is out now, as well as Saul Williams.
The really big news, though, he reveals, is that I have just
started working on my new album, which is going to be
released for the fall this year. Its going to be a very important
step for me in my growth process. Im really very excited about
the future! MTF
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
Just remember that Live is a tool, says King Britt. It is an amazing

environment for you to do anything you want. So really think about your
dream set up (virtually) and draw it out or write it down. Then sit in front
of Ableton and build it. Also, think about your controller and how you
can get the most out of mapping. Its like the APC for me I altered
many of the parameters to fit my needs in the live arena.
MTF Walkthrough Backing tracks with loops
Ableton Live 8 Step-by-Step
Make a backing track
On the disc
using loops in Live 8
Ableton Live makes everything easy for you when it

comes to putting together backing parts quickly, as
Hollin Jones reveals.
here are many ways to approach composition,

and few people start out in Live with a definite
idea of how a song is going to end up. More
often, we tend to play around with loops,
beats, basslines and melodies and
experiment with ideas until something works. Live is
particularly good at this thanks to its loop-based Session
view, where audio and MIDI parts can be quickly created,
edited, mixed and matched without having to go into
Arrangement view. When you decide you do want to
record a sequence, its as simple as hitting Record and
the parts are placed onto sequencer tracks. The term
backing tracks might make you think of cheesy karaoke
(which you could make if you wanted) but were talking
about it more in terms of inspiring you to improvise,
practise your playing or to compose.
One of the most enjoyable ways of making music in
Live is to put together some backing parts and then
either improvise over the top of them or change their
playback order to create song structures. By using
Put together some backing

parts and improvise over them or
change their playback order
Getting started
Recording or importing MIDI loops is a quick and easy
way to start to put some backing together in Live, and you
will probably want to start with a beat. As we will see, you
can combine MIDI triggering and audio loops, but well
get to that in the next section. The simplest way to begin
is to load up a rhythmic instrument, whether its one of
MTF Navigation Negotiating the basics
Scenes you can easily toggle between different sets of

clips and so DJ with a project, which is of course one of
the things that Live is best known for.
And its timestretching abilities mean that bringing in
loops from external sample collections or other sources
isnt a problem they can be made to sync to your project
and will also follow any tempo changes that you make.
MIDI parts of course are highly flexible as well, and you
can spice everything up using MIDI and audio plug-ins to
introduce beats and other kinds of patterns into your
backing parts.
Arrange clips
ByarrangingclipsinSessionviewinrowsratherthancolumnsyoucan
createScenesthatcanbelaunchedwithasingleclickintheMastercolumn.
Drag and drop

Fromthebrowseryoucandrag
anddropaudioloops,andMIDIand
audioeffects.UsingMIDIeffectson
MIDIpartsisagoodwaytoquickly
generateorrandomisepatternsfor
moreinterest.
Modify clips
Clipscanbemodifiedpostrecordingorimport,sotheresno
limittowhatyoucanachievein
termsofcreatingvariationsand
layeringtogetherbackingparts.
Record and import

Recordorimportloopstoclip
slotsinSessionviewandtheywill
timestretchtofityourprojecttempo.
YoucanthenDJlivewiththemand
improviseoverthetop.
focus
Backing tracks with loops Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Audio loops
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
Lives own or a third-party plug-in, and set your project

tempo. Then activate the metronome and the count-in,
and record a part in Session view into a clip slot. Do any
quantisation or groove quantisation that you feel is
necessary and loop up the part. To create a variation on
the MIDI clip you can duplicate it to the next slot down in
Session view by holding the Alt key as you drag, and then
double-clicking the part to open it in the MIDI editor. This
is an easy way to try out different beats without playing in
lots of clips by hand, though of course that is an option as
well. Also consider applying different groove quantisation
settings to the beats to get a different feel. These can be
found in the Groove Pool and freely applied having the
same part played back straight or with lots of swing can
give it a completely different feel, for example.
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
MTF Step-by-Step Recording a MIDI part
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
MTF Walkthrough Backing tracks with loops
MTF Step-by-Step Arranging in the sequencer
WithsomeclipsinSessionview,press
playandrecordinthemaintitlebarand
useeithertheplaybuttonsontheclips
themselvestotriggerclipsindividuallyorthe
Mastercolumnsplaybuttontotriggerentire
rowsatonce.Theassignmentsyoumakewill
berecordedasdatainthemainsequencer,
andyoucanfliptoArrangementviewtosee
thisafterrecording.
01
InArrangeviewyoucanseethe
recordingsthatweremade.Eachblockof
datacorrespondstoanaudioorMIDIclipthat
hasbeentriggeredforaspecificlengthoftime.
Clickonanyoftheseandyoucaneditit
post-recording.Youcanalsodeleteclipshere,
andifyouholdtheAltkeywhiledraggingaclip
youcanduplicateitonthetimeline.
02
basic, its still playable as it originally sounded by clicking

the play button on its clip slot. If you double-click on the
clip slot however, you will see that it has essentially been
turned into a REX loop and so the notes that make up the
part can be easily manipulated to create variations. The
loops slices will also now be playable from your MIDI
keyboard, to all intents and purposes turning any audio
loop into a sort of pad-based sampler. Obviously this
works most effectively with drum and other rhythmic
samples, but its a quick way to create parts.
Of course, thanks to Lives Session view, you dont
actually have to record any data into the sequencer in
order to play around with sounds, loops and on-the-fly
arrangement, and this is what makes it quite different to
other DAWs. By layering up loops and clips in Clip slots in
Session view, you are free to trigger them as you go along,
either by clicking on their play buttons or using a
connected hardware device like the dedicated Novation
or AKAI units that have clip buttons. And youre also able
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
MTF Step-by-Step Importing a MIDI clip
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
Backing tracks with loops Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Export backing tracks as stems
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
well as intros, verses and choruses based on the physical

layout of the clips.
If you prefer to work in Arrangement view more of the
time, its possible to drag and drop audio loops and longer
files directly from the browser into the Arrange window to
have them placed on new tracks. If you do this they will
be automatically warped and stretched to fit the project
tempo and so as long as the loops are accurately cut with
proper start and end points, it should work perfectly. In
fact, if you like, you can ignore Session view completely
when building up backing parts and just drag in audio
loops or virtual instruments to Arrangement view and
arrange them in the case of audio loops, or play, record
then arrange them in the case of MIDI triggered parts.
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.
MTF Step-by-Step Using ReWire
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
MTF Workshop Automation
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.
Automation is the process of

changing parameters so that they
do not remain static
1
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
focus
On the disc
AutomationWorkshop MTF
Automation is edited using breakpoints and the

Pen tool. These can be drawn in, moved around or
deleted at will. Breakpoints obey the snap settings
which is often useful, though you can deactivate
snapping to draw freehand.
Lets say you want toinsert

aninstanceofaplug-inthatsnot
a part of Live
The more complex a plug-in, the more automatable

parameters it will have. If its getting crowded go to the
bottom of the parameter menu for any plug-in and
choose to view only automated parameters. This can
make things easier to follow if youre not using 95 per
cent of a devices controls.
multiple points and drag them to move them all by the

same amount. 4 To delete automation, just select the
points and press backspace.
If you enter Draw mode and use the Pen tool, you can
redraw the data, or draw it from scratch without having
recorded it first. Remember that breakpoints drawn in
this way or edited post-recording will obey the snap
settings, and you can quickly change these by rightclicking and choosing a new setting. 5 If you want to
draw freehand you can disable snapping while
recording or editing automation, or simply use ramps to
transition smoothly between two settings. With
snapping on you tend to get a stepped effect, which
can sometimes be helpful and other times not.
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.
MTF Workshop Automation
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.
click on the Unfold Device Parameters arrow and then

click the Configure button. 9 Now if you click on any
control in Massives interface, they will appear in the
box outlined in green. This means that the parameter
has been linked between the plug-in and Live. 10
This has two big benefits. The first is that when you
deactivate Configure mode to make the controls usable,
the synths parameters can be tweaked straight from
this box without your having to open its interface. The
second is that the knobs, sliders and buttons you just
clicked to assign will now appear in the automatable
parameters menu for the synths track in the
Arrangement view. 11
Of course, there is yet another way to achieve this,
and thats to use the quick automation method of
simply moving the synths knobs with record and
playback activated. This will both record data into the
relevant automation lane and create quick links in the
instruments box at the bottom of the screen. 12
Even more conventional

instruments,suchasbeatboxes,
canbenefit from automation
mixes, instruments and effects. Automating the mixer
can make tracks feel more dynamic by introducing pans
and sweeps, volume changes and other tricks.
Instruments are great to automate too because they
often have many parameters, especially synthesizers.
Morphing sounds over time, changing waveforms and
filters are all commonly practised techniques for
making more interesting sounding music. Even more
conventional instruments, such as beatboxes, can
benefit from automation, say for example to swap pad
sounds as a track plays.
Effects are also fun to automate, and perhaps the
most common automation methods are to increase or
decrease the wet / dry level of an effect over time, or
change the size of a reverb, the length of a delay that
kind of thing. These are all good production tips and
ones that are widely used by everyone, from absolute
beginners to seasoned hit makers.
Ableton Live is fully geared up for automation and
makes the entire process a breeze and, of course,
introducing some automation to your tracks will make
them feel more dynamic, natural-sounding, interesting
and varied.
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
focus
Special effects Walkthrough MTF
Making special effects
On the disc
in Ableton Live 8
Live is a fast and creative environment for audio

tracking and this is also the case when it comes
to sound design too. Liam OMullane shows you how.
ound FX have their place in a lot of production

work. They can be designed and used to
enhance a songs arrangement in the form of
ascend/descend sounds, as standalone
hooks within a track, or as background
decoration for variation and excitement. And lets not
forget the extensive use of sound effects in computer
games, as well. Whatever you need them for, in this
article well show you how to make the most of Lives
features and start creating your own sounds, rather than
relying on samples packs.
The two primary building blocks for constructing
special effects are MIDI instruments and audio clips.
Both can both be used in either Arrangement or Session
Views. First, lets explore whats possible with audio clips.
Creating sound effects in Live

is a fun experience that doesnt
have to be time-consuming
of audio is capable of. If you reach the boundaries of
Lives extremes (5999 BPM), you can select Consolidate
from the Edit menu to render the audio as a new file and
continue to change its pitch even further.
Taking any type of sound to incredibly low playback
speeds can yield some great rumble or drone-like
effects that can be looped up for longer playback.
Working with existing sounds

Before we look at using oscillators as the initial building
blocks of a special effect, consider the extreme
re-pitching of an existing audio sample, which can
MTF Navigation Essential sound-design tools
produce some very interesting starting points. As long as

an audio clips Warp mode is set to Re-Pitch, clicking on
the Tempo Halve or Double buttons gives you instant
access to some extreme effects.
A drum loop played back at five or six times its original
tempo can sound like a laser gun, as the rhythm is so fast
it starts to be perceived as a tone. At lower tempos
three of four times less than the original single
elements of a loop can become dramatic explosions. A
couple of clicks on the Tempo button is an incredibly
quick way of gauging what kind of sonic scope any piece
HALVE AND DOUBLE TEMPO BUTTONS (:2 *2)

QuicklyauditiontheextremesofseverepitchchangeswithRe-Pitchmodeor
arp
time-stretchandcondenseinallotherWarpmodes.
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
MTF Walkthrough Special effects
MTF Step-by-Step Envelope and automation tips
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.
However, at these lower extremes you may need to

judiciously apply a bit of EQ to remove any unpleasant
frequencies generated as a result of the original sound
being pitched down so much. In general, a low-pass
filter can work quite well in these situations, quickly
removing unwanted higher frequencies. Tuning the
Cutoff and Resonance can emphasise the presence of
rumbling noises.
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
two octaves using a saw wave. Weve included an

example of this on the DVD so you can judge how
effective it is for yourself.
Audio files can be used as oscillation sources too, and
this approach can create the most texturally rich starting
points, which are also quick to achieve as well. Starting
with an audio clip, make an incredibly short loop within it,
so, like the fast drum loop mentioned earlier, the sound is
perceived as a constant pitch. The trick here is to first
create the smallest loop size possible within the audio
clip, then use the Halve Tempo button to speed up the
playback, thereby making the loop even shorter. Now you
can move the loop around to find the most interesting
tone available in the clip.
Another technique is to make use of other Warp
modes and find extreme pitch settings to
work between. Much like the pitch change
of an octave or more with a synth, you can
use the Transpose Clip envelope to change
the pitch over time. Some Warp modes will
create an easy-to-hear pitch change;
Special effects Walkthrough MTF
others, like Beat mode, will create a much more

granular-sounding effect. The audio that you started with
to create the sound effect so far can also be HotSwapped out, which is a technique thats always worth
experimenting with. Check the first Pro Tip to see how
you can do this with an audio clip.
So far, you have the means to create a good range of
unique tones using just a couple of simple techniques.
Next well look at a few go-to features in Live that can be
used to give movement to the sound.
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.
Establishing basic tones is all very well, but in many

cases youll want to inject further interest into your
sounds, which is often achieved through movement.
Experimenting with amplitude is the simplest way to
move your sound around.
Although changes in amplitude can be achieved via
automation of the volume control in Lives mixer, youll
find that working with either the clips volume control or
the Gain control of a Utility device will enable you to

reserve the mixer to change the effects level in the mix
while keeping the individual volume changes that form
the shape of the sound in their own place.
Fading sounds in and out can help a sound to arrive
and disappear again. Multiple smooth changes in volume
are good for creating pulse-like effects; extreme and
jagged changes can add character to your source sound.
Remember that when youre programming rhythmicstyle changes in volume, its easier to use the Auto Pan
device, with the Phase control set to zero degrees so that
the left and right volume changes are unified. You can
always experiment with the Phase control if you want to
add stereo movement to the sound, though.
Pan is equally as simple, yet still very powerful. When
combined with volume fades in and out it can be used to
create a basic fly-by sound. To achieve this, start with the
sound panned to one side, then increase its volume and
swing the Pan control to the other side as the volume
gets to its most intense.
MTF Step-by-Step Using Simpler to create new sounds
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
MTF Walkthrough Special effects
The Utility devices Width control is also a good way of

controlling a stereo sources stereo spread. This is the
first controllable aspect for perceived size. Try going from
zero per cent for a mono width when a sound starts,
moving to around 100120 per cent when the sound is at
full presence to make it appear larger. You can pull it back
to mono as it disappears again.
The perception of a sounds distance can be
controlled by removing a certain amount of higher
frequencies. This is a basic re-creation of the way in
which high-end frequencies are lost from sounds as they
get further away in the real world, so try using Auto Filter
to low-pass the sound. Just a slight reduction in the top
end is required to keep it sounding natural; extreme
low-pass filtering will things sound more synthetic.
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
the dry/wet control. Start by setting the dry/wet balance

mostly (or all) wet. Set the decay time quite high so that
the reverb is obvious and dense, then automate
movement to the decay to shorten it, creating a synthetic
stop to the ambience. Moving the Size control can also
give extra movement to this ghostly effect.
Experiments with sound

Although the general principles covered here can be
achieved in all DAWs, the speed and interchangability
when working in Live makes creating sound effects a fun
experience that doesnt have to be time-consuming and
gives you huge scope to experiment.
Remember that there are no rules to making sound
effects, and the more processing you add the more likely
it is that youll create something new and uniquesounding. However, remember to render CPU-heavy
processing down to new audio so you can free up
resources, and treat the effect like any other piece of
audio, giving scope for further processing.
MTF Step-by-Step Live Device tips and tricks
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.
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A4_print.indd 3
3/12/12 2:56 PM
MTF 50 Power User Tips
Power user tips for
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
USE SENDS AND RETURNS

DroponeormoreeffectsintooneofLivesReturntracks
andyoucanusetheSenddialonanaudiochanneltoroute
thatsoundtotheeffects.ThisisgoodforsavingCPUwhere
youwanttouseproject-wideeffectslikereverbor
compressionwithouthavingtoloadoneinstancepertrack.
YoucanaddmorethanthestandardtwoReturntracksfor
greaterflexibility.
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
50 Power User Tips MTF
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
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SAMPLES

When you have an audio clip in a slot you can doubleclick to open it in Clip view mode. Then, go to its Sample box
and you will see several controls. You can transpose the clip,
set its level, detune it, click to edit it in an external wave
editor, and also click the Rev button to reverse it. Also use the
Hi-Q button to toggle high-quality sample rate conversion
and the RAM button to force Live to load the clip into memory
and play it back from there, which can be faster.
10
By grouping tracks together

you can manage complex
projects much more easily
MANAGE YOUR PROJECTS
Right-click on a Live preset in Lives browser and for the
bundled plug-ins you can choose to manage the files. This
reveals a menu to the right that allows you to access all files
referenced by the preset as well as replacing them if you like.
This will also show you if there are any missing files
associated with the preset and if it uses any external files.
This is handy when sharing Sets or presets with others.
08
USE AUTO FADES

In Lives preferences theres an option in the Record tab
called Create Fades on Clip Edges. When this is activated it
adds a short fade in at the start of every recorded clip and a
fade out at its end. The result is that you avoid the clips and
clicks that can sometimes happen when a clip is looped at a
point that does not have a zero crossing. This preference is on
by default.
11
AUTOMATE PROJECT TEMPO

If you right-click on Lives tempicapo display you will
reveal a menu that lets you show the automation channel for
the projects tempo. A tempo automation lane appears in
Arrangement view and you can draw data in to change speed
over time. In the automation type submenu you can choose
other parameters, including the ability to automate the global
groove amount.
12
05
10
| 37
CONTROL SCENE PROPERTIES

Ifyoumovethemousetoaslotinthe
Scenecolumnandright-click,youcanset
boththelaunchtempoandtimesignatureof
thatscenebyusingtherelevantEdit
command.ThisletsyouhaveScenesof
differentspeedsandwithdifferentfeels
withinthesameSet,makingforamore
dynamicliveperformanceifyousetthese
thingsinadvance.
13
DRAG WITH PRECISION

Whereveryouseearotarycontrolin
Live,beitinthemixeroronaninstrumentor
effect,holdingtheAltkeydownwhile
draggingthemouseupordownonthat
controlwillhavetheeffectofchanging
valuesmuchmoreslowlythanbydragging
themnormally.Thiscomesinhandyfor
makingsmallerandmoreaccuratechanges,
especiallywhenyoureperformingparameter
automation.
14
THE POWER OF VELOCITY

15 HARNESS
Whenyouhaveseveralsynthsorasynthwithdifferent
presetsloadedintoaninstrumentrack,youcanusevelocity
switchingtomovebetweenthemeitherviayourMIDIinputor
usingrandomisation.Intheracksection,expandtheChain
ListsectionandthenactivatetheVel(velocity)button.This
revealsthevelocityeditorandyoucanseteachinstrumentin
theracktorespondtodifferentvelocities.
UN-SYNC YOURSELF
Liveisverygoodatkeepingeverythinginsync,but
sometimesthiscanbetheoppositeofwhatyouwant,
especiallywhenitcomestothingslikedelayeffects.Thereis
oftentheoptiontoun-syncatempo-basedeffectfromthe
projecttempo,andtoworkwithitfreelyortosetitstimein
millisecondsandnotdivisionsoftheprojecttempo.Thiscan
bealiberatingwaytoworkwhenplayinglive.
16
MASTER YOUR AUTOMATION

WhenyourecordautomationinLiveitcanbeeasyto
accidentallyrecordmorethanyouneed,sinceeverything
thatgetsmovedisrecordedasautomation.Toquickly
removealotofautomationatonce,right-clickonthetitle
barofthetrackinArrangementviewandchoosetheClear
Envelopecommand.Youcanalsoclearallenvelopesrelated
tothateffectorinstrument,orchooseClearAllEnvelopesto
deletealltheautomationassociatedwiththeentiretrack.
17
CONTROL THIRD-PARTY PLUG-INS

Notallthird-partyplug-insreportalltheirparameters
toLiveforthepurposesofautomation.Infact,somereport
noneatall.Toquicklyremedythis,selectthedeviceinthe
InfoviewerandclickConfigure,whereuponitsparameters
willappearoutlinedingreen.Youcanthenclickon
parametersintheplug-inswindowandtheywillbecome
knowntoLive,appearingbothasquickcontrolsintheInfo
viewandalsoasautomationoptionsinthetracks
automationsubmenus.
18
15
focus
USE AUTO QUANTIZE

IntheEdit>RecordQuantizationmenu
youcanconfigureLivetoautomatically
quantizeMIDIasitisplayedin,usinganyofa
rangeofpossiblequantizationvalues.Thisisa
greattimesaverifyourplayingisnotthebest,
orevenjustifyoudontwanttohavetogoand
manuallyquantizeeverythingpost-recording.
Datathatsbeenquantizedinthiswaycanstill
bere-quantizedafterwards.
19
13
EXTRACT THE GROOVE

Right-clickonanaudioorMIDIclip,
eitherinitsclipslotorintheInfoviewerat
thebottom,andyoucanchoosetoextractthe
groovefromtheclip.Thiswillthenappearin
theGroovePoolandcanbeappliedtoany
otherclip,aswellasbeingrenamedtomake
thingseasiertofollow.Sayyouhaveonegreat
things
sampledbeatbytakingthegroovefromitinthiswayyou
sampled
beat
couldmatchotheraudioandMIDIpartstoiteffortlessly.
could
match
20
EXPORT AS STEMS
Ifyouareexportingstemsformixingelsewhereorfor
DJing,usetheExportdialogueboxtoselectwhichtrackswill
berendered.Ifyouplanonremixingatrackinalivesetting,it
makessensetoexportdifferentgroupsofsoundsasdifferent
trackssaythedrums,percussion,bassandvariouslead
parts.Thisishelpedifyouhavealreadygroupedtracksinthe
Set,astheywillappearasGroupoptionsintheExportmenu.
21
MESS WITH MARKERS

WhenLiveanalysesanaudiofile,itcreateswarp
markersbasedonthesettingsthatyouspecify.Theseare
freelymoveablebytheuser,andcanbepickeduptomangle,
mashupandotherwisemessaboutwithaloop.Warping
makestheaudioelastic,sotheoveralllengthoftheclipisnot
changed,justthewaythetransientsbehavewithinit.
22
CROP YOUR CLIPS

Ifyouhavedraggedlongerclipsintoclipslotsandthen
usedtheeditorsectiontodefineregionsofthemtousefor
looping,thatsallwellandfine.Butifyouthenwanttosend
thatprojecttosomeoneovertheinternetforcollaboration,all
thatextraaudiodatawillstillbethereandifyoureworking
withuncompressedaudio,thatcanmeanalotoffilesize.By
right-clickingononeormoreclipsandchoosingCropClips,
youcantrimtheaudiodowntoonlythatrequiredfor
playback,savingspace.
23
QUANTIZE A LITTLE LESS

Quantizingisgreatasitcanhelptocorrect
performancesthatarealittleoff.Butsometimes,itcango
24
18
too far and make your parts sound mechanical,

sucking the life out of them. In the quantize
options box you will see the option to vary the
amount of quantization prior to applying it. By
choosing a value of 50 to 80 per cent you can
make sure the part sounds pretty tight but
without over-quantizing it and making it sound
mechanical.
USE FILTERS FOR PUMPING
Theres a well known technique of using a
sidechained compressor to pull down a bass
track when a kick drum sounds, for the infamous
pumping effect beloved of electronic musicians.
Another way to achieve this is to use an Auto
Filter with a bass rolloff setting in place of a
compressor, similarly sidechained so that when
the kick drum sounds, the bass part has its
bottom end cut off. Its an interesting alternative
to sidechaining compression.
record. Then record arm the target track

and a clip slot, and press Record. The MIDI
or audio will be captured as a new audio
clip. This has the effect of converting MIDI
to audio or rendering down any effects on
the original track.
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
A/B FOR COMPARISON

You can A/B your mixes or masters easily in Live by
simply loading a reference track up into an audio track and
then having your stereo mixdown loaded into another. Mute
one track and then the other as they play back to hear the
difference. Alt-drag a track to duplicate it then tweak the
effect settings on the duplicated track and compare the two.
Audition different mastering treatments using this trick..
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
BOUNCE DOWN YOUR CLIPS

You can easily record the output of one track into
another track in Live. In Session view, set the input of a new
audio track to read from the output of the track you want to
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
ROUTE AUDIO EXTERNALLY

If you have an audio interface with lots of outputs you
can monitor Lives tracks individually through external
channels. Go into the preferences and make sure that as
many outputs as you need are activated. Then, in Session
view, reveal the I/O section and, in the Audio To menu, choose
the relevant output. It makes sense to set up a template
project with the routings all set up, so you wont have to do
this setup more than once.
31
UNDERSTAND YOUR PROJECT DATA

Choose View > File Manager and you can see three
options: to manage this Set, the master project and Lives
library. Click on the Project option and you will be able to see
how much data is contained within the project, how many
files are missing or not in use by the project, and also a link to
package the Set for sharing. Theres also an Export to Library
option that makes all the files in the project available for use
in any project.
32
USE MASTER EFFECTS

When performing, it can be good to have a master rack
of effects set up, perhaps containing some cool sounding
breakdowns or extreme effects. A good trick is to map a key
or MIDI command to the activator button of this rack
33
31
28
| 39
keyboard or lead part, and then assigning the part to a drum

instrument on the new track. You might find that it produces
some surprisingly good, unexpected rhythms, which will be in
time with the MIDI part that is still playing the original
instrument. MIDI data will trigger beats rather than notes, so
this can be a good way to generate parts.
33
LOVE THE LOOPER

If you have sampled audio into an instance of Looper,
look for the Drag Me button at the right side of its window.
This lets you export the audio from Looper either as a clip if
dropped into the browser, or directly into a track. You can use
the expanded waveform view this produces to get more in
depth with the file, or export it for use elsewhere.
39
so that it can be switched on or off very quickly. This would

make it easy to momentarily pass every track in Live through
the effects and then punch them off again.
QUICK ZOOM
In audio or MIDI edit view in the Clip viewer, if you click
and hold the mouse in the bar number area at the top above
the display, you can drag up to quickly zoom out, or down to
quickly zoom in. This is a much quicker way of going about
things in everyday usage than using key commands. A small
display at the bottom-right corner will tell you what
resolution you are zoomed in to.
34
AUDITION VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS

In the piano roll editor when you are working with a MIDI
part, clicking the tiny headphone icon at the top left of the
onscreen keyboard will enable two things to happen. First,
clicking the mouse on any of the onscreen piano keys will
audition your instrument. Second, dragging notes around in
the grid will result in them playing the pitch of the note you
are dragging them to. This makes it easier to hear what the
result will be.
35
MANGLE YOUR AUDIO

When you have an audio clip in a slot, experiment with
dragging parts of its waveform to make them longer using
warp markers. This is especially effective with rhythmic loops
and can be used to turn a conventional sounding beat into
something more avant garde and electronic sounding. If you
perform extreme stretches on short sections of audio you can
sometimes get a robotic effect, which can be desirable in
some cases.
40
If Live is struggling to warp

your audio accurately, go into the
Preferences > Warp section
USE QUICK ROUTING
In the Analog synth module, you will see a number of
quick routing icons at the left of the central section of the
synths interface. These provide a speedy way to alter the
routing between the synths oscillators, filters and amps. For
any given preset, each of these four will sound different so if
a sound isnt doing it for you, select an alternative quick
routing preset to instantly create a variation.
41
36
EDIT SAMPLE ZONES

If you are using an instance of Sampler, click on the
Zone tab above the instruments window in Info view. This
reveals the Zone editor and you can alter the way the samples
are mapped across the keyboard. You also have the option of
soloing specific samples or muting them, so you can
customise the behaviour of an instrument.
42
EXPLORE KEP MAPS

Instrument racks are really powerful
and if you drag more than one instrument
into one, you can activate the Key button to
view key mappings. This is how you split and
layer sounds. When your instruments are set to
use the same key ranges, a note will trigger them all. When
you divide the key ranges, you can split them for example, a
bass instrument in the left and a layered synth and strings in
the right.
36
SWAP OUT SYNTHS

To quickly replace the instrument that is being triggered
by a MIDI clip, make sure that the track is selected and then
go to the browser and double-click the instrument
you want to replace it with. Be
careful not to do this if that isnt
your intended outcome. To create a
new instance of an instrument,
drag and drop it from the browser
rather than double-clicking on it.
37
MIX UP YOUR MIDI CLIPS

Try duplicating a MIDI clip
from a melodic track, say maybe a
38
focus
DEACTIVATE AUTO WARPING

If you find that Live is struggling to warp your audio
parts accurately or youre not happy with the results, you can
go into the Preferences > Warp section and deactivate auto
warping for both short and long samples. You then have the
option to warp your clips manually, if you feel this offers
better results. In this section you can also choose the default
warp mode, depending on what kind of material you usually
work with.
43
39
41
USE DJ STYLE FILTERS

IfyouareDJingwithLive,youmightwanttosetupa
keycommandtoinstantlydropallthehighorlowendoutof
yoursound,whichissomethingDJsusuallydowithafilter.In
Live,setuphighand/orlowpassfiltersonthetracksyou
wanttoaffect,andthenassignakeycommandoraMIDI
controlbuttontothem.Ifyouhaveahardwarecontrol
surfacewithknobs,assignaknobtothecutoffamounttoget
thatclassicDJeffect.
REARRANGE TRACKS LIVE

YoucanrearrangesongsontheflyinLive.Importa
stereofileofasong,thenmakesureitisaccuratelywarped.
DuplicatethetrackinSessionviewsothatasecondcopy
exists,theninthistrackmovethestartmarkerorcreate
differentlooppoints.Selectdifferentpartsofthetrackto
playindifferentclipsandrepeatthisprocessasoftenas
necessaryuntilyouhavedifferentsectionsofyoursongable
tobetriggeredindifferentslots.Byperformingusingthese
differentareasofthesongindifferentslots,youcan
rearrangeitasyougo.
45
Alter the wobble effect by

automating the rate and depth
of that LFO modulation
47
EXPORT A VIDEO
Ifyouhaveimportedvideointoaprojectandeditedits
soundorcreatednewsoundforit,whenyouareexporting
youcanchoosetocreateanewvideofile,whichwillcontain
thenew,editedsound.FormtheVideoEncoderdropdown
menu,youcanchoosefromarangeoftargetformatsandfor
eachone,clicktheEncoderSettingsbuttontosetuptheway
thevideowillbecreated.UseQuickTimeMovietomaintain
thehighestsettings,oramorecompressedformatfor
uploadingtotheweb.
47
44
GET DUBSTEP WOBBLE

Livessynthscanbesetuptoproducedubstepbass
effects.ThetricktothisistoassignanLFOtomodulatethe
filtercutoffamountforanactivefilteronthatsynth.Theway
toalterthewobbleeffectistoautomatetherateanddepthof
thatLFOmodulationsothatitchangessayfrom1/8to1/16
andsoon.Keepsnappingonasyouautomateandthe
changesshouldsyncupwiththetempoofyourproject.
46
MULTIPLE SELECT MIDI

WhenworkingwithMIDIinthepianorolleditor,youcan
selectmultiplenotesbydraggingaroundthem,orselect
specificnotesbyholdingtheShiftkeyasyouclick.Youare
thenabletomoveallthenotesatthesametime,orshorten
orlengthenthemallbyexactlythesameamountbydragging
leftorright.
48
UNDERSTAND LAUNCH MODES

LaunchModesforclipsareimportanttounderstand
andifyouviewaclipinInfoviewyoucanseeitsLaunch
propertiesbox.Triggeristhedefaultmodebutothermodes
offermoreperformingflexibility.Gatemodetriggersaclipon
mousedownbutstopsitonmouseup.Togglemeansmouse
downstopsandstartsaclip,andRepeatmeansthatholding
themousedownrepeatedlytriggersitbasedonits
quantizationinterval.
49
SELECT A CROSSFADE TYPE

IfyouchoosetoshowtheCrossfadersection,youwill
seethatundertheMastertrackyouareabletosetaglobal
crossfadecurvemodebyright-clickingonthefaderarea.
Thesecanbeusedtochangethewaythattracksfadetoand
fromoneanotherwhenyouareusingcrossfaderassignments
inaSet.Somearemoreconstantandotherscanbeusedto
achievefastertransitioneffects.MTF
50
50
| 41
MTF Walkthrough Processing techniques
Processing techniques
in Ableton Live 8
From compressors to vocoders, Live has a great range

of tools for creating, enhancing or controlling sounds
in a mix. Liam OMullane picks out his favourites.
nless you own the full Live Suite, you may

feel the instrument side of things is a bit
lacking in Live and Live Intro. Luckily,
though, there is a large range of audio
effects for all packages that are not only
functional, but also useful for creating unique sonic
signatures for sounds within your mix. Here well show
you our favourite uses for them and how to get some
effective and unique-sounding results.
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
stray peak or, alternatively, if you can crank up its gain, to

slam the dynamics out of a sound this can work well on
aggressive vocals.
If youre dealing with rhythmic material, the Peak
envelope setting is usually the tool to use as it follows the
input level at any moment in time. More musical
information can benefit from RMS or Opto envelopes,
which work in less aggressively reactive ways; this will
also contribute towards a less surgical sound.
When you want a fast attack and release reaction,
FF1 and FF2 models will respond quickly, whereas FB is
less accurate. Again, this is best for a less surgical, more
musical sound, not for taming rhythmic transients.
If youre dealing with rhythmic

material, the Peak envelope
setting is usually the tool to use
Sidechaining is commonplace in most contemporary
productions these days, whether its as a useful dynamic
tool to gently push one instrument out of the way of
another when present, or merely as a means of getting
the kind of volume that modern production requires.
MTF Navigation Lives Compressor
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.
Processing techniques Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Making your own exciter effects
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.
A good trick for getting a lead part to sing over

background parts is to group the background parts, add
a compressor to the group and set up the sidechain to
listen to the lead channel. Then set the compressor to
reduce the backing group by around two to four decibels
when the lead plays. This will clear out the mix a touch
and allow the lead to shine, whether its a vocal, synth or
guitar part.
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
with, this should be set to -inf dB, making the gate

completely silent so you can concentrate on the transient
portion of the sound. Now set the threshold value so it
sits just above the main body of the sound, while being
low enough that the transients you want to emphasise
are opening the gate and are therefore being heard.
Now you need to use the Attack, Hold and Release
controls to determine how long the gate will stay open
(Hold), the slope at which it opens (Attack) and the slope
as it fades (Release). A low attack, low hold and higher
release setting will create a natural transient shape. Low
attack, medium hold and low release settings will sound
more on and off, giving you that typical 1980s gated
sound. The final stage is to raise the attenuation level to
restore the body of the sound to a level that works for
your mix.
This technique also works well on drum mics, as it
allows you to control the balance of direct drum sound
against the background bleed and rumble. This controls
the tightness of the kit sound without having any drastic
effect on the drum sound overall.
| 43
MTF Walkthrough Processing techniques
The world of parallels

Live has one of the easiest approaches to parallel
processing, called groups. For parallel compression you
can get started by adding a compressor to the desired
channel, then smashing it to bits with high ratio and low
threshold settings. Once you have your compressed
effect, highlight the Compressor and select Group from
the Edit menu. Then add a dry audio channel within that
group (Live refers to these groups as chains). See the
Single and grouped sound processing box on the next
page for more on how to do this.
Parallel compression is usually seen as a solution for
preserving the dynamics of a sound while getting more
energy and volume. You can also, however, use the same
technique to bond two or more elements together. A good
example of an application for this is on the backbone
section of drums and bass.
One way to achieve this bonding technique is by
inserting a Return Track via the Create menu and then
adding a Compressor to it. You can then use the sends
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.
from the relevant channels to create the parallel signal.

Using Return tracks in this way is actually quite common,
especially if you have a wide range of more colourfulsounding compressors in plug-in or hardware form to
use. Then you can easily send and trial any element of
your mix to these tonal Return tracks to help create an
energetic-sounding mix.
The only downside of this approach is that you cant
add any further treatments to the original and parallel
signals as a whole before they reach the master buss. As
a side note, you can theoretically do this in Live by routing
a Return channel back into a group or audio channel, but
this introduces a slight delay which causes a combfiltered and washed-out sound.
The other option is to route the original signals to a
group channel. This is simple to do by highlighting the
relevant tracks and selecting Group Tracks from the Edit
menu. Then you can use the device grouping technique
already discussed to process this group in parallel and,
finally, add any other treatment to the combined signal.
MTF Step-by-Step Stereo tools for going wide
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
Processing techniques Walkthrough MTF
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
(H) buttons and then adjust the relevant cut-off

frequency below it. Using low and high enables you to
narrow down a sound to help it cut through a mix. It
works wonders on distorted guitars or vocals.
Another trick with EQ Three is to automate the low cut
as a means of enhancing the arrangement of a track. This
could be the low area of any instrument, which you cut
back on in one section and then allow through on
another. This can help a chorus have more impact and
doesnt have to be as drastic a change as you may think.
But drastic movements as automation before a heavy
section are excellent for lightening the dominance of a
sound just a moment before the next section. Its also
good practice to roll off the bass as appropriate on any
full or parallel signals that have a stereo widening effect,
in order to keep the low end focused overall.
We have only scratched the surface of whats possible
with Lives audio tools here, but we hope you now have
some new uses for certain devices that you may have
previously overlooked.
MTF Step-by-Step Single and grouped sound processing
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
MTF Workshop Session View
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
Session View Workshop MTF
6
4
5
When it comes to sampler-style

performances, a clip can instantly
transform into a multi-pitch sampler
with a few quick adjustments. This is
excellent for experimenting with loops
and pitch very quickly.
want to assign at the same time. Now the Transpose

parameter within the clip will respond to the different
MIDI notes at the point that each clip is triggered. 4
You can alter the Launch properties of this clip for a
more instrument-like response, with note on and off
behaviour. Launch behaviours can be changed to the
right of the Clip box and Trigger or Gate modes are the
most useful here. 5
Trigger is the default Launch mode and starts the
clip looping (or just play through once, if looping is
disabled). Gate is momentary, so is good for stutterstyle effects. Both modes will respond either to the
global quantization settings or can be given unique
Launch settings from the clips Quantization menu. 6
More than one

Going beyond using just a single clip, the use of multiple
audio clips on the same channel can be the basis of
creating a performance. By enabling the Legato switch
on all of the clips, you can then move between them and
the relative playback position will continue, rather than
each trigger of a clip starting the playback at the start
again. Try this on drum loops and have the clips set to
their own Launch setting of 16ths. Use a Map mode to
assign the Launch buttons for each clip, as well as an
empty stop button below. Now you can instantly
perform a drum pattern made from various loops. 7
You can also control effect parameters by spanning
them over a key range, using a similar mapping
technique as before. A good example is to set up for
performing a rhythmic filter pattern. In the Mapping
Browser you can assign your chosen minimum and
maximum filter values to two neighbouring keys and
then toggle between them quickly in time to the beat. 8
You can spread a parameter over as large a key span
as you like. The larger the range, the more increments
you have for expression.
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
| 47
MTF Workshop Session View
10
Legato mode enables you to switch between

multiple clips without disturbing the flow of the
beat. Parameters can be assigned across a key
range for a more rhythmic way of moving
around an effect.
function that will group tracks together and enable you

to apply a filter or other effect to multiple tracks at
once; however, this will be a real-time effect only ie, it
cannot have automation applied to it. There is a way
around this, which is to create a new audio track that
will function effectively as a Group. This can contain
clips, which although silent can contain automation
information that will apply across the assigned tracks.
To start, create a new audio track and set the
monitor section to In, then change the Audio From menu
above to No Input. Now set the Audio To menus of the
other tracks you want to process to the name of this
new Group track. 10
Next, after adding the effects you want to use on this
Group, decide on the parameter to automate. Click it
and when you open the Envelope View by clicking the E
symbol at the bottom of the Clip View window youll be
shown the envelope for that parameter. 11
Set up a first clip with the effect off, so you have a
clean clip to jump back to. How you do this will differ
per effect: it might a setting on the dry/wet control, if
featured, or a parameter in a position where it doesnt
affect the audio either one extreme or in its default
middle position. Then you can create other clips and
make use of Draw Mode from the Options menu or
double-click to create anchor points.
in to the mixer, but this is assigned to one task for the

duration of a performance. If you build your own
crossfader you can create multiple instances, assign
them to faders and either fade between dry/wet signals
for a sound or group, or between two different effect
chains for a sound.
The dry/wet setup is created by starting with your
wet chain of effects, then highlighting them all and
selecting Group from the Edit menu. This will create an
Audio Rack. Each path of audio within a Rack is called a
Chain; well need another Chain for our dry signal path.
Expand the Chain List by clicking on the second button
down from the device activator switch (it looks like a list
of bullet points). Now you will see the existing Chain List
and can right-click/[Ctrl]+click (PC/Mac) below the
Chain to create another. 12
The Chain button is located above this area and
enables you to view the Chain Editor, which well use to
create the fade between the two signals. Click and drag
the right-hand side of these chain zones so they span
the full length of the editor. Next, drag the small
rectangle above each zone to make the fade so their
ramps are in opposing directions. 13
The small orange vertical line above these zones is
called the Chain Ruler. Right-click/[Ctrl]+click this and
set it to an unassigned macro control. 14
Moving the macro control will now fade the sound
from one Chain to the other, and this can now be
assigned to a controller. To create two Chains with
effects, just drag and drop effects onto the dry Chain
and then fade between both signals.
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
Playing Live is so much more than just launching clips.

Find out how 64 buttons can put Ableton completely at your fingertips, visit:
www.novationmusic.com/launchpad
MTF Round Up Microphones
Round Up
Microphones
A well-stocked microphone cupboard isnt usually within

the budget of many project studios, but with one or two well
chosen mics you can ensure that you always capture great
sounding recordings. A large diaphragm condenser is a
good first choice, being most engineers go-to mics for
vocals and an excellent option on most other
sources. You can then expand from here
with some choice small-diaphragm
condensers and dynamics.
2 LEWITT LCT 640
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
Microphones Round Up MTF
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
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
MTF Round Up Microphones
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
Microphones Round Up MTF
9 TELEFUNKEN CU29 COPPERHEAD
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
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
| 53
MTF Workshop MIDI effect plug-ins
Exploring Lives
MIDI effect plug-ins
On the disc
Even beginners can make amazing beats and

melodies with a few simple key presses with Lives
built-in MIDI effects. Hollin Jones shows you how.
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
First things first
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.
Lets have a look at how you can

use MIDI effects to create more
interesting and dynamic tracks
1
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.
Try playing around withthe

plug-inssettingstochangethe
effectof the arpeggiation
The Straight setting is a little dry, though useful for
some kinds of music, and 8, 16 or 32 Swing all have a
really nice bounce to them. 3 Note that if you press the
Hold button while the notes are being held you can
release the notes and the pattern will continue to play.
Moving down, the Sync button will synchronize the
arpeggiation with the project tempo, and the Rate knob
will determine the resolution of the notes, with the Gate
control determining their length. Much of the time you
will want to keep Sync switched on because it ensures
that everything stays perfectly in time. Deactivate it
however, and you are free to set the speed in
milliseconds. This is useful for more experimental,
freeform effects. The Retrigger options are used to
control when the pattern resets itself and this can be
set to Beat for more consistent and in-time playback, or
to Note for stuttering effects.
Great beats, minimum effort
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.
from the Library. This enables us to play complex jazz

and other chords in quick succession using only one
finger, which is particularly effective on keyboard
sounds. Each of the notes thats being played by the
effect is relative to the note or notes that you press on
your keyboard and you can view and edit them in the
plug-ins window. 6
Clicking on the orange arrow above a note will
deactivate it, and moving the dial left or right will
change the pitch of that note. By turning notes on or off
you can make the chord more or less complex as you
wish, and also use the Velocity box underneath each
one to set the velocity of the generated note relative to
the velocity of the note that you actually play. Using the
Chord plug-in is an excellent way to create fast,
complex chord-based parts while only recording or
playing some simple held notes. Again, recording a part
with this effect active will sound complex while the
MIDI data remains simple.
There are some other handy effects, such as Pitch,
which will alter the pitch of the selected part by a
user-defined amount. You can use this together with
If you go into Arrangement view, you can record a MIDI

part through the effect. The reason this is handy is that
by just playing a few simple notes on a keyboard you
can generate really quite interesting drum parts and
come up with beats that you might never otherwise
have thought of. Try recording a part and you should find
that even though you only held a few notes the
interpretations still being made by the arpeggiator
make the playback sound great. 4
This will be the case as long as the plug-in is active
and of course it remains editable, so you can tweak it to
alter your beats in real time. In fact if you reveal the
tracks Automation Lane and activate some parameters,
its possible to use simple automation to modify beats
and patterns as a track plays back, for near infinite
variations. 5 This works for any MIDI part including
leads and basses, and any MIDI plug-in, though the
effect is most obvious with the arpeggiator.
Back in Session view we have now created an
instance of Electric and added a Chord MIDI plug-in
MTF Workshop MIDIeffectplug-ins
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.
automation to change the pitch of a MIDI track

repeatedly as a track plays without actually having to
edit any of the original MIDI data. 7
The Random folder contains some interesting
curiosities, like the Jazz Again preset. Dropped into an
instruments track, this lets you play jazzy parts just by
repeating one or two keys. The more notes you play, the
more variation is introduced. The Chance dial governs
how likely it is that a played note will be changed, so it
might be that only every third or fourth note is changed.
The Choices dial, meanwhile, increases the number of
potential notes that will be triggered. Set low, its fewer
notes and set high, more notes. Finally the Scale dial
sets how far up or down the octaves the randomised
notes can go. 8 Again this can be used to make you
sound like a much more accomplished player than you
really are.
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.
Scaling the heights

The Scale plug-ins are also well worth knowing about,
since they are able to remap incoming MIDI notes to a
specific scale. This is great if you have played or
recorded a part but need to transpose it accurately.
Transposing parts using the Transpose command might
not get all the notes exactly right because of variations
in the way notes are laid out in different scales. By using
a Scale plug-in you can set a base scale and then alter
the part in real time to any scale, including pentatonic
or whole tones, as well as making a part conform to a
minor, major, harmonic or melodic scale. 9
10
Live comes with loads

of great MIDI plug-in
presets, and you can
of course save your
own and use the MIDI
effect rack to layer up
MIDI effects and store
them in an instantly
recallable chain.
focus
2012 Shure Incorporated
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mastering and critical listening.
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272 MusicTech_SRHeadphones.indd 1
25/01/2012 15:38
MTF Walkthrough Bass instruments
Exploring Lives
On the disc
bass instruments
Getting a great bottom can make the difference

between a decent producing track and a great one
Hollin Jones explores Lives bass options.
he bottom end of a track is where most of its

energy is, and a big but focused bass end can
make a decent track sound great. This is true
of all kinds of music but especially of
electronica, which Live is used extensively for.
So its vital to understand how to get the best out of the
instruments and effects when it comes to production.
Remember that a good bass sound doesnt necessarily
mean the biggest one you can achieve, this is something
that people often get wrong. Bass end that obscures the
rest of the mix is just as bad as a bass thats small and
underpowered. The trick is to use tones and processing
that produce a fat bass thats also controlled. Partly this
is in patch selection and tweaking, and partly its also a
result of how you EQ and compress your bass parts. The
good news is that by trusting your ears and following a
few rules, its not as tough as you might have thought.
Live comes with some great bass instruments, split
over the different instrument categories, and several
inside the Instrument Rack preset folder. Basses are a
great category of sounds to use racks for, as they almost

always need some effects, even if only compression, and
can also benefit from the layering of different modules,
say for example one low sub bass and another more
distorted bass sound with lots of top end. The result is a
more interesting and complex tone, and by triggering the
rack from a single MIDI track, you keep everything nice
and simple. You can use any third-party bass plug-ins
you like as well of course, and we have got great results
with Spectrasonics Trilian and NIs Kontakt bass
instruments in particular. There are some excellent bass
Bass end that obscures the rest

of the mix is just as bad as a bass
thats small and underpowered
amp emulations as well, not least NIs Guitar Rig and IK
Multimedias Ampeg SVX. Here though well be focusing
on Lives own plug-ins.
One of the easiest places to start when looking for
bass instruments is in the Instrument Rack folder inside
Lives preset library. Here there are two main folders for
bass, called String and Synth. The String folder contains
MTF Navigation Finding your way around the bass
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.
Bass amp modules

Specialisedbassampmodules
arefoundbothinLiveandinother,
third-partyeffectssuites.Youcanuse
themonanysoundsource,itdoesnt
havetobeonbasssounds.
focus
Bass instruments Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Tweaking a bass patch in Live
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
racks based loosely on string-based sounds, featuring

modules from Tension, Sampler and other of Lives
instruments. They are also frequently paired with effects
to enhance the character of the sound. Not all of the
sounds in this folder are earth shattering, however, if
were being honest at least not as they are by default.
The application of some effects can really spice things up
though, especially crunch or distortion, octavers or even
chord plug-ins to add depth and weight.
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
sounds, to tailor the basses to suit your track. Down in

the Info view you will see the instrument appear and you
can click on its Show/Hide Chain List button to reveal the
chain. Click on the instruments name in the list and you
will often see that what you have loaded is a chain within
a chain. The instrument shows up as a single chain but
its actually constructed of one or more instruments
together with several effects.
In order to start effecting the sound at its source you
can open the synth instrument, whichever one it happens
to be, and start to play around with the settings. One
way to change the bass is to change the settings
and relative levels of the oscillators in use. If only
one is being used, activate the second. Try pitching
one of them up or down by a fifth or an octave to
create a richer and more harmonic sound.
MTF Step-by-Step Dirty up a synth bass
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
MTF Walkthrough Bass instruments
MTF Step-by-Step Using third-party bass instruments
Inthisprojectwehaveloadedupan
instanceofTrilian,whichisadedicated
bassinstrumentfromSpectrasonics.Weload
upapatchandthenrecordabassloopin.
AfterwardswegointotheMIDIeditorand
quantizeitsothatitstimingfitswithour
project.Next,wecanautomatesomeofits
parameterstomakethingsmoreinteresting.
01
ByclickingtheConfigurebuttonon
Triliansinstrumentboxwecanassign
MIDIcontrolsbetweenLiveandtheplug-inby
clickingonelementsofTriliansinterface.
ThesearethenassignedtoMacrosintheInfo
Viewandwillbecomeavailableasautomatable
parametersinTrilianstrackinArrangement
view.Nextletsprogramsomeautomation
02
Analogs Quick Routing section is another good place

to try sound variation. Each of the four setups changes
the way the oscillators, filters and amp sections are
routed, and this often has dramatic effects on the end
result. The filters are crucial as well of course, and
dragging the breakpoints in their graphical displays lets
you quickly emphasise or de-emphasise any part of the
frequency of the output. The Amp section is also handy
for controlling the aggression of the sound: push it harder
for a more gritty, edgy and slightly overdriven sound, or
back it off for a cleaner and less upfront effect.
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
Again you have a choice of layering up single effects

from the various category folders or using preconstructed effects racks. If you are looking at adding
character to a synthesized bass sound, you could try
using the bass amp or cabinet effects. On the whole
these tend to create more mid and a little more top, and
not necessarily add a lot of bottom end. In fact, in the
case of synth basses, they can sometimes actually
restrict the bottom end a little. The flip side is that they
can bring some more presence to especially subby bass
patches, which could otherwise get a little lost on
playback systems with poor bass response.
Any bass end lost through the use of amp or speaker
simulation can often be restored by judicious use of an
EQ plug-in as part of the chain, simply boosting the right
parts of the spectrum to bring back some of the weight.
Over compression of bass tracks is another thing to
watch out for, as this can restrict the punch of a low end
part. Compression of bass is a tricky one to get right,
since it depends very much on the kind of bass sound you
are using. A bass with a lot of middle and top for example
MTF Step-by-Step Mastering for big bass
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
Bass instruments Walkthrough MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Using Ampex SVX
Livesownbasseffectsaregreatbut
sometimesyouwantsomethingalittle
heavierandmorespecialisedtotreatyour
basstracks.Here,wehavedroppedan
instanceofIKMultimediasAmpexSVXbass
ampemulationplug-inontooneofourbass
tracks.Thedifferenceisverynoticeable.
01
Youcanchangeampsandspeakercabs
insidetheplug-inaswellasalteringEQ
andamultitudeofothersettingstotweakthe
basssound.Therearesomegreatpresetsas
well,includingsomedesignedspecificallyfor
synths.Trytheseandyouwillfindthattheycan
reallyaddalotofcharactertoyourbasstracks.
02
may need less compression, though when it strays low, it

might need more. The size and width of the patch are also
crucial, so a more treble-heavy 303 style sound, for
example, would need less compression than a low end
sub bass. Often a patch might have both of these
characteristics, either because its a layered sound made
of several instruments, or because the oscillators are
differently pitched, making for a sound that has both high
and low parts at the same time. In these cases, you can
take advantage of the instrument rack system to add
different compressors and compression settings to each
of the instruments if its a multi-layered module.
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.
MTF Step-by-Step Analysing your tracks
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
MTF Workshop The Bridge: Part 1
The Bridge
On the disc
Part 1: The basics
The divide between DJ and producer has finally been

Bridged thanks to a pioneering recent release...
Liam OMullane helps get you started.
ince the arrival of The Bridge, some people

have been amazed by its open-ended
potential while others are bemused by its lack
of a clearly defined use. Here we will demystify
how the software works and look at what you
need to do to prepare for a successful DJ set.
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.
Many of the Session View controls can be accessed

from this panel to give you most Live controls for
performing in the one program view. You can control
these via MIDI controller assignments in SSL, but we
recommend that you map your controllers directly in Live,
using MIDI Map mode or the correct control surface
settings in Lives MIDI Sync Preferences. Those who have
used controllers with Live will already be familiar with the
control surface protocol, as its the only way to get
Session mode working with controllers like the APC40 or
Launchpad. A device overview can be used here. Its
located to the right of the Ableton Control Panel, but is
limited to eight controls at a time. By grouping an effect
in Live you can then go on to define what its eight macro
controls are assigned to. To start, right-click the devices
title bar and select Group. 2
Next, click the Show/Hide Macros button to the left of
the device, just below the device activator (power) button
with the Live logo on it. Now, right-click (PC)/Control-click
(Mac) each parameter you want to see in the SSL device
overview and select a macro number for each. 3
Finally, right-click/Control-click the device group title
bar and select Rename to give it a suitable title in SSL. 4
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
The Ableton Panel in SSL is a

mirror of the Session View in
Live. Using Groups to house
devices in Live enables you
to define your preferred
controls to view in SSL.
focus
The Bridge: Part 1 Workshop MTF
4
6
Moving the clips from a scene to an arrangement

can temporarily liberate them from their looped
form so you can add more interesting edits.
Every audio track in your SSL

library must have Beat Grids
aligned to work in Sync mode
If mixing with Live on one deck and a music track on
the other is the most you ever plan to do with The Bridge,
you can skip the rest of this section and jump to Working
between the two. But The Bridge really comes into its
own when you use the sync options from the top of the
Ableton Panel. These can be used to make Live a slave to
one virtual SSL deck while it is playing (when you mix to
the other deck you can then either re-sync Live to that or
leave it running at the same tempo).
Every audio track used in your SSL library must have
the correct Beat Grids aligned to work in Sync mode (in
much the same way as warp markers are essential in
Live). If they are correct, Live will be in perfect beat-forbeat sync with the track; if they are wrong, Live might be
slightly out in beat placement, have problems with tempo
drift, or even completely lose the plot with music of
varying tempo. The grid doesnt just need to stay at the
correct beat with the audio, it also needs to be aligned to
the start of a bar. This instance has a two-beat drum fill
before it starts, which will need to be accounted for
manually by moving the beat grid. 7
Now press Grid Edit (to the right-hand side of the
track title bar) or press Alt +Space. This will enable Grid
Edit mode, so you can toggle between the two decks to
edit them. Use the turntable to move within the track to
the correct place for the first bar, then press X so that the
marker snaps to the nearest transient. Notice that the
red line and first bar marker have moved. 8
Now you can play through the track and check to see
if the subsequent markers are lining up with the correct
transients. By selecting Lives audio to play through
another channel on your mixer and turning on the
metronome, you can hear if things are in sync or not and
have instant control over the volume of both elements.
If the music track you are editing is solid in tempo
(from a digital source), then skip to the end of the track
and hold down Alt to click and drag a marker to nail down
the exact tempo for the Beat Grid. Press Enter to save
this to the track and exit Grid Edit mode. 9
You can drop a Live

track onto a virtual
deck to get mixing
Live with your SSL
library moments
after you first boot
up. The beats and
bars indicator is
there for those who
like to mix with a
visual guide.
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.
If the song is recorded from vinyl or has a live

performance-based tempo, look for the last well-placed
bar marker before the tempo starts to drift and lock it by
double-clicking while holding down Alt. This will turn red
to show its now locked and will keep all previous Beat
Grid placements from moving as you determine the next
tempo needed to keep in sync with the song. With slight
tempo drift it may be quite a few bars until you need to do
this lock-and-adjust technique again; with live music
containing a lot of bar-to-bar tempo fluctuations you
may need to add a locked marker every bar or so. Either
way, the simplest way to add markers is by hitting X as
the track plays; if it snaps to the wrong transient, just
grab the control vinyl, wind back to the correct position
and press X again to correct it. 10
If you get completely lost, press Shift +Backspace to
completely remove the Beat Grid and then press X to set
bar one again near the start of the track.
| 63
If you are familiar

with warpmarking full songs
in Live, the SSL
Beat Grid system
is almost identical
to work with.
Using an overall
grid and locked
markers, you can
map songs with a
rigid or loose
tempo to keep
everything in sync.
10
Live can be used as an

auditioning tool, previewing your
loop collection in sync with SSL
Another tip is to generalise the odd irregular time
signature, as the beat grid in SSL is 4/4-based. For
instance, if youre grid-marking a rock track that has
extra two-beat fills every now and then, you can simply
stretch out a bar so that it ends when the next clean bar
starts again. This will result in your Live metronome or
drum work switching to an interesting cross rhythm that
can still sound musical and keep a generally clean and
on-the-beat grid placement. Notice the different lengths
of bars 20 and 21 of this Metallica track. 11
The main advantage of programming Beat Grids in
SSL for tracks with a loose tempo is to retain their
character and sound quality. Many people will import a
track into Live, warp-marker all transients and then force
it to be rigid in time. But by slaving Live to an original funk
track, for instance, you can add loops and sounds from
Live while the sound quality and timing-based funk that
make the track so popular are also retained.
We have included four tracks on the DVD for you to
practise with. These feature, respectively: a slight tempo
drift like recordings from vinyl; time signature changes; a
complete tempo change; tempo drift of the kind you can
expect during a live performance.
11
If you want Live to run alongside two virtual decks

without setting up Beat Grids for all your tracks, the
Internal button allows you to control Live from SSLs
Ableton Panel using nudge, tempo and start/stop
buttons. 12 (We dont recommend this, though, as
everything else needs to be made to stay in sync
manually, in which case The Bridge is just a glorified way
to route Lives audio through your SSL hardware.)
Working between the two

Now that you have both programs running in time, you
need to think about what function Live is going to perform
in your mix. It can be used as a preparation and
auditioning tool by previewing your loop collection in sync
with SSL as you flick through the Live Browser. You can
drag the file from the Browser into Live by hitting Alt + Tab
(PC)/Command + Tab (Mac) while you keep the mouse
button depressed to drop it into your SSL library. 13
The other option is to use Session mode to launch
these loops in a performance either from the Ableton
Panel within SSL or by using a MIDI controller mapped to
Live. This must be used with caution, as running both
programs has a huge impact on CPU resources, so dont
attempt it for the first time in a live setting! You can also
drag files from your SSL library into Live, edit them
however you see fit, then export them back out again to
DJ with them in SSL. 14
Now that you know how both programs interact and
how to prepare your files, in Part 2 we will explore
performing with the two in more depth.
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
SL MkII - Professional keyboard controller

Total of 56 assignable controls (including back-lit & touch sense controls)
The most powerful control software available - Automap (now on version 4)
Italian-made semi-weighted keyboard mechanisim
Huge onboard LCD screen displaying control information
www.novationmusic.com/keyboards
The Bridge Part 2:

Enhancing a DJ set
On the disc
Preparing a DJ set with customised audio is now

a seamless and beat-perfect process thanks to
The Bridge. Liam OMullane makes the connections.
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.
Its common for digital DJs to

use a sequencer or audio editor
to prepare custom audio files
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
Consolidate your parts on a single audio track; you

can then select Show in Browser and drag them to
audition in SSL.
focus
TheBridge:Part2Workshop MTF
SSLs tempo detection tends to give

much more accurate results than
Warp Detection in Live.
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.
analysed your library in SSL already, look at the BPM

column in SSL and input it directly into the clips
Properties box in Clip View. 4
You can also transpose the key of an acapella after
choosing a suitable warp mode from the Clip View
window. Use the transpose setting to the left of it to
force the acapella into the right key within your mix. 5
Lives re-editing facilities can also be applied to
imported video/picture files (owners of Video SL can
take full advantage of this). The main difference when
working with video is that you cannot consolidate clips.
This restricts you to the slower process of selecting
Export Audio/Video from the File menu after
highlighting the portion you want to export. The
variables in video formats are beyond the scope of this
Workshop, so ensure that you read the Video SL library
to see which formats/codecs are currently supported.
Working with loops

If you want to use loops directly within SSL, using the
Live Browser to first audition them offers the benefit of
working in tempo when Live is in-sync with a virtual
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
MTF Workshop TheBridge:Part2
Although warp modes

will keep the pitch
steady, another option
is to slice a loop to MIDI.
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
Go forth and experiment

The tips in this Workshop will give you the power to use
Live however you want, with an efficient workflow and
clear understanding of how the two programs work at
their best with each other. The power of The Bridge
should not be overlooked, and we hope you find new
ways to benefit from it as the terms DJ and producer
become ever harder to clearly define.
When exporting
loops for use in
SSL, ensure that
you dont include
tails unless you
specifically want
them as part of
your loop.
focus
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magazine January 2011
| 67
MTF 25 Pro Tips Ableton Live 8
Pro tips for
Ableton Live 8
An open-format DAW, Live is easily set up for use as both

a live performance and studio tool. Liam OMullane
shares various working tips for his DAW of choice.
SAVE FOR THE FUTURE

Ifyourecreatingsoundstouseinfutureprojectsthere
aretwowaystomakethemeasytofullyrecall.Tosavethe
instrumentanditsassociatedaudioplug-ins,highlightallof
thedevicesandselectGroupfromtheright-click(PC)or
[Ctrl]-click(Mac)menu.NowclicktheSavePreseticoninthe
bottomleftofthenewInstrumentRacktosavetheelements
asone.Ifyouwanttosaveeverythingforachannel,including
MIDIpartsoraudioloops,left-clickanddragthetopofthe
channelinSessionViewtotheLiveBrowser;itwillbesaved
inalocationofyourchoice.ThiswillcreateaLive.alsfilefor
MIDItracksandafolderforaudiotrackstoholdthecopied
audio.Simplydragthisintoanyopenprojectinthefuture.
01
INSTANT FAVOURITE SETTINGS

AsyouspendmoretimeusingLivesplug-insyoullfind
thatthefirst3060secondsafterloadingeachonearespent
settingitup.EQEightisagoodexampleofthis:youmayfind
thefirsttwoEQsarebettersettoalowthanhighcutforthe
obligatoryinitialhouse-keepingwork.Tosavetime,setupa
plug-inasyouprefer,right-or[Ctrl]-clickthedevicetitlebar
andselectSaveAsDefaultPreset.EQEightalsodefaultstoa
lower-qualitysetting,soafterselectingHiQualityfromthe
samemenu,re-savethedefaultpreset.
02
CLEVER MIDI CLIP EXTENSION

ExtendingaMIDIclipwillexposemoreloopeddataby
default,abehaviourthatmayormaynotsuityourpreferred
methodofworking.InsteadofturningoffloopinClipView
03
focus
eachtimeyouwanttocreatealongersectiontoaddto,
highlightthepartbyleft-clickingitandpress[Ctrl]+[J]to
consolidate.Thistechniqueisalotfasterandsaves
additionalmousemovements.Anotherapproachisextendit
first,thenconsolidateitsothatyouhaveasinglenew
independentcliptoalterforvariation.
01
Ableton Live 8 25 Pro Tips MTF
04
trysendingtheReturntracktoitself,butmakesurethatyou
turndownyourspeakervolumefirstasthingscangetloud
veryquickly.Smallamountscanextendadelaysmax
feedbacktime;fullamountswillcreateastrongfeedback
loopthatyoucanshapewithfiltersanddistortionwhile
recordingtocreatelotsofsamplematerial.
DRUM AUDITIONING IN CONTEXT

IfyouareworkingwithDrumRackswithprogrammed
MIDIpartsandSimplerssetupasyoulikethemforshaping
thesound,usetheHot-SwapbuttonontheSimpler
waveforminthebottomrightcornerinsteadofonthedrum
padorSimplertitlebartoretainyourADSR,filter,pitch
settingsandsoon.Thisletsyouauditionnewdrumsoundsin
thecontextofyourexistingsettings.
04
You can capture magic

moments and use them in a
project as audio straight away
SAMPLE MAGIC
Sometimesitshandytorecordpartsfromanother
audiochanneltocreatenewloopsorsamplematerialtoload
intoinstrumentsorperformallsortsofaudio-manipulation
on.Ratherthansetupanaudiotrackeachtimeyouneedto
dothis,setupadedicatedtrackforrecording,setitsinputto
bethemasterbussandswitchmonitortoofftoavoid
feedback.Nowyoucancaptureanymagicmomentsanduse
themwithinaprojectasaudiostraightawayordragthemto
theLiveBrowserforlateruse.HavingaLooperplug-inonthis
channelwillalsoletyourecordaudiowhenLivestransport
isntactive.Thisisusefulforcapturingelementsofplug-ins
thatbehavedifferentlywhenthetransportisactive.
05
HEAVY IN THE MIDDLE, LIGHT ON THE SIDES

LivesEQcanworkineitherstereo,independentleftand
rightormidandsidemodes.BysettingModetoM/Sthe
buttontotherightwillnowletyouflickbetweenmidandside
EQsettings.Tomakeastereosoundmorefocusedinthemix
tryrollingoffthelowtomidsfromthesidesignalsothe
stereoelementisleftonlyinthehigherfrequencyrange.This
isalsousefultobe100%sureyoudonthaveanylow-end
phaseinthestereofield.Toheareitherthemidorthesidein
soloaddaUtilityplug-inandsettheWidthsettingto200%
forjustsideand0%formid.
07
START AS YOU MEAN TO GO ON

Aswitheffectdefaultsettings,youcancreatea
personalisedstartingpointbysettingupatemplatethis
couldcontainDrumRackswithyourfavouritedrumsamples
alreadyloaded,acollectionofReturntrackssettothetypes
ofambienceyoualwaysuseinyourworkandmore.Onceyou
haveyourprojectsetup,openLivesPreferencesbypressing
[Ctrl]+[,](PC)or[Cmd]+[,](Mac)thenclickontheFileFolder
tab.Atthetoppresstostorethetemplateasthedefault
projectwhenopeningLive.Ifthereareanyaudiofilesusedin
thetemplatetheywillstillbelocatedintheiroriginalplaceso
makesurethatyouknowwheretheyaresoyoudont
accidentallydeletetheminthefuture.
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
TIME FOR ACTION

Theresnothinglikerandomnesstohelpyououtofa
creativerutFollowActionsareusefulforthis.Sliceupa
pieceofaudioalreadyinyourprojectorgrabrandomloops
fromtheLiveBrowseranddropthemintoasingletrackin
SessionView.HighlightalltheloopsandopentheLaunch
buttoninthebottomleft-handsideoftheClipViewwindow
(itsanLinasmallcircle).Nowselecttheleft-handdropdown
menuunderFollowActionandselectAny.Thiswillnow
randomlyplayanyclipsinthetrack;reducingtheTime
ControlvaluesdirectlyunderFollowActionwillletyou
10
| 71
MTF 25 Pro Tips Ableton Live 8
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
SLICE AND DICE

Although Slice To New MIDI Track from the right-/
[Ctrl]-click menu is an incredibly fast way to program or take
slices from drum loops, its function and available presets can
be used over any audio as an experimental tool. Try slicing
instrument melodies or vocal parts and experiment with the
Create One Slice Per settings for transients or lots of small
slices such as 1/16 notes. Then you can apply MIDI effects
like Random or Arpeggiator to create re-ordering of these
slices for instant mashed-up audio. With Random it may be
worth recording the output of the device so any happy
randomness can be captured and re-used.
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
FROM EXCITER TO REVERB

The Vocoder effect makes an excellent noise-shaping
tool when added to a Return track. With the carrier set to
noise, a noise-based imprint of any sounds being sent to it
is created. For more reverb-like
13
PLAY YOUR PARAMETERS

Live has one of the easiest click-and-assign tools of all
DAWs, which makes it very easy to instantly control anything
with a MIDI controller or computer keyboard. MIDI Map
mode (the MIDI symbol in the top right of the screen) also
lets you spread a selected parameter range over MIDI notes
on a keyboard by clicking the parameter then pressing the
notes you want it spread over. You can then define the range
17
18
17
DRAG, DROP AND PREPARE

You can change how files will lay out when importing
multiple files from the Live Browser or another window.
Holding down [Ctrl] (PC) or [Cmd] (Mac) before you let go of
them into Live will make them stack vertically in Arrangement
View (or vice versa in Session View). If you have any particular
plans for this audio its worth setting their preferences in Clip
View while they are all still highlighted (dont double-click
them to get Clip View as this un-highlights them; press
[Shift]+[Tab] to flick between Clip and Track View instead).
Now you can play with Tranpose/Warp modes as well as
colour-coding them and re-naming them.
16
focus
Ableton Live 8 25 Pro Tips MTF
19
Warp modes can prove to be

superb sound-mangling tools
when pushed to extremes
ofthecontrolviatheMIDIMappingboxtotheleft.This
couldbeforLFOspeedsorfiltercutoff;byusingitwith
notesinsteadoffadersordialsyouwillgetstepped,
repeatableresults.
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
STRETCHED BEYOND RECOGNITION

Warpmodesenableyoutopreserveoptimumaudio
fidelitywhendealingwithtime-stretchandcompression,but
theycanalsoprovetobesuperbsound-manglingtoolswhen
pushedtoextremes.IfyouuseanyWarpmode(barRe-Pitch)
youcanexploretheDoubleOriginalTempobuttonabovethe
Warpmenutotherighttostretchoutaudio.Hereyoucantype
inhighernumbers(to999BPM).Ifyouwanttostretchfurther
youcanclickontheaudioclipitselfandselectConsolidate
fromtheright-/[Ctrl]-clickmenuandrepeattheprocess.
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
LARGE AND QUICK INSTRUMENT SOUNDS

Ifyouwanttocreatemassive-soundingleadorbass
synthesizerparts,InstrumentRackswillhelpyoutoachieve
themveryquickly.Afteryouhavecreatedyourfirstsynth
sound,clickonitstitlebartoselectitandchooseGroupfrom
theEditmenu.Next,clickontheShow/HideChainList
button(thisisthethirdroundbuttondownonthevery
left-handsideoftherack)anddragyournextinstrumentto
theemptyspaceunderneaththeexistinginstrument.Now
dragaPitchMIDIeffecttothisinstrumentsothatyoucan
experimentwiththebestoctavetousethisnextinstrument
in.Youcancontinuetorepeatthisprocesstostackupsynths
tofilloutvariousfrequencyareasandthencontrolthemin
unisonbydraggingfilterandothereffectstotheendofthe
Rackchain.
24
GRID AND AUTOMATION TRICKS

Theautomation/envelopetoolsinLivearearguably
relativelysimplebycomparisontosuper-DAWssuchas
Cubaseandthelike,buttheycertainlyhaveastrengthin
termsoftheirsimplicity.ThePencil/Pointerinputmodecan
bequicklyswitchedbetweenbyusingthe[Ctrl]+[B](PC)or
[Cmd]+[B](Mac)keycommand.InPointermode,double-click
toaddorremovepointsorclickonalineanddragtoraiseor
loweritsposition.UsingPencilmoderelatesdirectlytothe
quantizegrid;using[Ctrl]/[Cmd]+[1]or[2]letsyouquickly
re-sizethecurrentgridsize,makingitveryquicktomake
steppedautomationparts.
stepped
p
25
ADDITIONAL HARMONICS
Ifyouwanttocreateaccompanyingnotesforamelody
linetomakechordsorharmonies,selectthemallandthen
holddown[Alt]whileyoudragtomakeacopyforahigheror
lowermelodyline.Ifyouwanttheoriginalleadmelodyto
remainprominent,holddown[Ctrl]/[Cmd]whilehoveringthe
mousecursoroveroneofthenewlycreatednotesanddrag
tochangethevelocityofallselectednotes.
20
QUANTIZE AND NOTE CONTROL

AlthoughRecordQuantizationisavailablefromtheEdit
menulettingyouhaveyourperformancescleanedupas
theygetrecordedintoaMIDItrackitdoesntcaterforthe
endpositionsofeachnote.QuantizeSettings(fromtheEdit
menu)enablesyoutochoosehowthemanualQuantize
commandwillbehave;hereyoucanspecifyquantizingend
points.Ifyouwantallofthenotestobethesamelength,the
simplestwaytodoitistohighlightthemallanddragthe
longestnotetoitssmallestpossiblesize.Whenyouexpand
them,theywillallbethesamelength.
21
22
| 73
MusicTech.indd 1
17.01.2012 08:37:34
MusicTech.indd 2
17.01.2012 08:37:40
MTF Round Up Monitors
Round Up
Monitors
Studio monitors come in all shapes and sizes, and all

manner of prices. As a rule, the more you pay the better the
monitors will be. Youll get better low-end reproduction,
faster transient response, greater volume without distortion
and a more honest, less coloured sound.
2
1
1 MONKEY BANANA TURBO 5
Price 458 a pair

Contact Monkey Banana +49 7635 429476
The non-regular, hexagon shape enclosure of the Monkey
Banana Turbo 5 prohibits them from being used on their side,
but is effective in minimising standing waves. The enclosure is
made from MDF, with a bass reflex design chosen for
efficiency and optimal bass extension below 60Hz. The MDF
dampens vibrations from the drive units which can cause
distortion while the internal surfaces are lined with
3cm-thick wool for extra damping. Hi-hats, cymbals and
acoustic guitar transients display plenty of crispness and
definition, while vocals have presence, without sibilance.
Web www.monkey-banana.de
2 UNITY AUDIO THE BOULDER
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
Monitors Round Up MTF
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
Price 379 each

Contact Source Distribution 020 8962 5080
The 20/20BAS V3 retains many of the best features of
the original 20/20 monitors, such as the original drive
units, to maintain the best 20/20 characteristics, albeit
with a tad more air and clarity. Technology from the
Opal range has been incorporated into the new models
to provide control electronics, low distortion,
protection networks and low noise. If you need a set of
monitors that can vibe-up a control room the V3s
certainly fit the bill. You can crank these things for
some serious volume without losing clarity, low-end
composure or your sanity.
Web www.eventelectronics.com
4 ADAM A77X
Price 1,949 a pair

Contact Adam Audio 01992 525 670
The A77X features Adams exclusive X-ART (Accelerating
Ribbon Technology) tweeter, which has been developed to
extend high-frequency response to 50kHz with higher
efficiency and higher maximum SPLs. The two 7-inch woofers
are identical to those in the A7X, but they dont cover identical
frequency bands one handles the mid-range; the other joins
in below 400Hz. Listening tests revealed a bottom end with
tremendous energy and a nice degree of slam. Kick drums
sounded extremely well defined, with differences in the
intensity of pedal strikes easy to discern.
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
Price 250 each

Contact SCV London 020 8418 1470
The CMS 40 is particularly suited for small rooms and the
design allows for positioning anywhere between 40cm and
three metres from the listener, even in close proximity to
reverberating surfaces. The CMS 40s might be small, but they
sound huge. Even set flat, the bass feels remarkably even and
deep for the size of cabinet and we hardly noticed any
boominess or hype. The most remarkable feature has to be
the imaging, because the CMS 40s are razor sharp all the
mix elements are located with absolute precision within the
stereo picture.
Web www.focalprofessional.com
8 SONODYNE SM100AK
Price 539 each

Contact Synthax 01727 829750
The Sonodyne SM100Ak displays exceptional linearity
throughout the spectrum, showing up any and all flaws in your
mix with little in the way of flattery. The 6.5-inch Kevlar cone
woofer provides a flat unhyped low end down to 60Hz, while
the 1-inch silk dome tweeter maintains that linearity all the
way up to 22kHz. The SM100Ak can produce SPLs up to 108dB
with a wide sweet spot, making it ideal for larger mix rooms
and multi-channel audio systems.
Web www.sonodyne.com
focus
9 BAREFOOT SOUND MICROMAIN 35
10
Price 4,935 a pair

The era of studio control rooms built around soffit-mounted
main monitor speakers is virtually over. So, Barefoot Sound
set out to design compact nearfield speakers with the
loudness, accuracy and full frequency response of traditional
main monitors. The MM35s proved a joy. Deficiencies and
mistakes in balance we had previously been happy with
suddenly became glaringly obvious. Having the opportunity to
experience products of this calibre can be a mixed blessing,
however. The downside is that once youve experienced the
best, youll forever be painfully aware of the shortcomings of a
mic, preamp or set of monitors that youd previously
considered more than adequate.
Web www.barefootsound.com
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
11 SAMSON AUDIO STUDIO GT4
Price 235 a pair

Contact Korg 01908 857100
The Studio GT4s are part active monitors, part USB audio
interface and part desktop audio controller. Whats more, the
system can connect two conventional microphones to your
computer via USB, and it can be used as a DI interface for
guitar, bass or keyboard. A mix control allows you to set
relative levels of the computer audio and the analogue inputs.
But the biggest surprise for us was the sound quality. These
arent expensive speakers, but without doubt the Studio GT
system provides very clear and usable monitoring.
Web www.samsontech.com
| 79
MTF Interview Francesco Tristano
focus
Francesco Tristano Interview MTF
Ableton is laid out in

such a nice and easy
way, I just play around
and use it like an
instrument
The MTF Interview Francesco Tristano
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
ike many of todays greatest classical musicians, Francesco Tristano

showed incredible talents at a very early age and his subsequent
upbringing saw him trained at the very best establishments to become
one of the finest musicians of his generation. The story could have
mapped out to a conclusion of classical recordings and concerts
around the world and, while that scenario has played out to some extent, an
exposure to electronic music has seen the gifted musician explore more dramatic
and unique pastures
He has since collaborated with techno legends like Carl Craig, lending his piano
playing to more dance-orientated performances, and now he strives to update the
piano sound into what he calls Piano 2.0 and to bring it back to what it should be:
an instrument of the future and not the romantic, classical beast that so many of
us believe it to be
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
| 81
MTF Interview Francesco Tristano
MTF StudioEye Francesco's recipe for success
What I found is that what makes people dance the most

is the sound of the piano not the kick drum. So does he see
this combination of piano and techno music as something
that is unique?
If I can do something just a little bit original then I am
pleased to be part of this electronic music movement, as it is
the last one that man invented, he replies. But the piano has
always been an instrument of the future too. The way we think
of the piano now is anachronistic as opposed to when it was
invented. Back then it was a crazy, massive instrument and
composers didnt dare work with it at first. But then it became
the most popular instrument as it had the largest range of
timbres and dynamics. You could play any instrument part on
it, basically entire orchestra scores with no problem.
So, back then it was considered new, yet now we think of
it as old. My idea is not provocative. I just like the essence of
the piano, which is that it has crazy analogue technology. I do
fight against the idea that it is just a classical or a romantic
instrument. I like to call it Piano 2.0, which is some kind of
combination of the piano sound with real-time electronics, so
giving the piano sound a more contemporary feel.
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
The sound of the

acoustic piano is
not enough any
more I need the
spatialisation
control a whole bunch of instruments via MIDI so I am not so
alone. When I am playing my own music whether on stage or
in a club I want to be controlling more than the piano.
Fortunately, Ableton Live gives Francesco access to the
electronic orchestra that he has been striving for, although
when he first came across the software he was simply using
it for syncing
I didnt discover Live until 2007 or 2008, he says. It was
Carl Craig who introduced me to it. We were playing a gig in
Austria. We needed a way to sync our stations together, so
thats how I got into it. I had used Cubase and Logic at the lab
but realised they were more studio tools, whereas Ableton, for
me, has always been a live tool.
The thing that was very different to me, compared with
other sequencers, is the way its laid out in the track view. The
way I can play tracks, import clips and use it as a live
sequencer without all the hassle. Its just such a simple and
friendly layout. So what it really allows me to do, whether I am
alone or playing with other people, is to have a super
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
user-friendly environment where I can control a lot of stuff

tracks, clips and instruments and even be synced with
other people.
And as well as enabling him to control more, it also
enables him to take the piano sound to version 2
I said my dream was to have a kind of electronic sound
around me but the sound of the acoustic piano is not enough
any more I need the spatialisation of the sound; I need the
reverb, to be able to play with the reverb and the delays or the
modulations. Maybe its because I am a curious person and I
am just interested in how far I can push the piano sound.
Francesco uses Live occasionally in the studio but still
uses Logic to arrange and sequence. Because Ableton is laid
out in such a nice and easy way I just like to play around with
it and basically use it like an instrument, he says. When I
compose in Logic I start with a very clear concept of what I
want to do and the arrangement has got to be that. With an
Ableton session I just play around and it is basically a very
hands-on and easy way of getting very different results and
ideas which you can then choose from. I like the mixer view, to
play around with clips and effects and maybe those ideas will
be kept and rewired [to Logic].
So what are some of his other favourite features?
I like some of the Ableton effects a lot, he says. I was into
the Reverb, now I use the Filter Delay a lot, often with the Ping
Pong delay. I think the Auto-Filter sounds really great and Im
thinking of using that on my next classical piano album and I
want to use it on a few tracks.
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
Francesco Tristano Interview MTF
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.
Im really thrilled about it because I am a piano geek and I

think Yamaha make the best pianos in the world, he explains.
I love their philosophy as they are constantly trying to
advance their pianos. Their CF Concert Grand series is
legendary and the latest model is the CFX and Ill be
recording on that so its really exciting to be recording on a
piano which will not let me down in any way in terms of sound
and mechanics.
Finally, Francesco admits to having no grand plan when it
comes to his career Im just lucky that I can perform and
record music, he says. But he does have certain ambitions,
although hed rather let the music do the talking
I want to connect with the people, he says. You get

composers who say they dont care but that is not adequate
for me I need to see a response. Theres this idea of
minimalism but that is also emotional. I like to have some
emotional content and for that the piano is a great help. There
are a few synthesizers that have emotional sounds but
nothing is stronger than the piano sound, so I can just easily
throw it in there.
But having said all that, the music should speak for itself
and I rarely talk about my music as that takes away from the
power of the music. As soon as you put words on it, it loses
some of the magic. MTF
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
MTF Workshop Speedy composition
Speedy composition
On the disc
and production
Session and Arrangement View are useful tools for

getting quick yet creative results. Liam OMullane
explains his approach to speedy composition.
ne of Lives major strengths is how userdefinable it is when it comes to creating

music. Session View is fast, flexible and easy
to experiment with, while Arrangement View
caters for the more traditional, linear
approach, familiar to those who previously used other
DAWs. Although its possible to start and finish a project
entirely in Arrangement View, this can be an
unnecessarily time-consuming process by comparison
to the other methods available to a Live user. Another
deterrent to the traditional approach is that Arrangement
View is quite tricky to use for making major changes to
song sections after everything is laid out, due to Lives
relatively basic range of editing tools.
alongside each other makes it a lot easier to judge what

truly has potential and what really isnt that good on a
second listen.
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
Start your search for a new musical idea using whatever

you have to hand it could be drums, a melody or just
general sound exploration. By starting in Session View
you can make use of the scenes to accommodate any
potential ideas you can think of. A scene is a row of clips,
which can be triggered from the Scene Launch button to
the very right of the scene (under the Master Track Title
Bar column; the launch buttons are the little play icons to
the left of that column). Make sure youre in Session View
by pressing the [Tab] key or the Session View button at
the top right-hand side of the Live interface (it has three
vertical lines on it). 1
As its speedy workflow were aiming for, try as many
variations as possible. Its a lot easier to delete bad ideas
when youve heard some better ones alongside them.
Throughout this stage you should use instruments,
drums, loops and processing to get as much of a
professional-sounding mix as possible while these ideas
are short and manageable. The less you leave to the
imagination as regards how it should sound the better, as
a professional sound adds to the vibe.
Launch clips from different scenes to trial and
explore sound combinations that you may not normally
think of. If you find something you like, press [Ctrl]/
[Cmd]+Shift+[I] to capture all currently launched clips
and copy them to a newly created scene. This technique
can be used as a fresh starting point in a new project by
dragging as many loops as you like into Session View and
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
Speedy composition Workshop MTF
4
7
Experiment with the playing

order to get a sense of what might
work for the arranged track
launching various combinations until you find something
that sounds good. Afterwards, simply capture the scene
to get your project started. 2
When you have a few good ideas down, rename each
scene by clicking its name/number on the launch button,
then pressing [Ctrl]/[Cmd]+[R] or right-click and select
Rename. Choose something that is descriptive and
makes sense to you. You can also colour-code each
scene from the same menu when right-clicking. We have
chosen to colour each main idea in red and leave any
scenes intended for variation use, such as fills and
builds, in grey. 3
As each idea might have a drastically different
soundscape or sonic density from the others, experiment
with the playing order to get a sense of what might work
for the arranged track. You can do this by launching each
scene with the mouse or assigning them to a keyboard
key for instant control and a more intuitive feel. Press
[Ctrl]/[Cmd]+[K] or use the Key button in the upper
right-hand side of the Live interface to assign keys. 4
Ensure that Caps Lock is off mappings are
case-sensitive and that Computer MIDI Keyboard is
disabled by pressing [Ctrl]/[Cmd]+[Shift]+[K] or by
clicking the small keyboard icon to the left of the Key
Map Mode Switch. At this stage you might have
a good running order of short
scenes that you are manually
launching to make a song section,
or longer ideas that can be
repeated a few times before their
repetition starts to become boring.
Either way, these sections could
probably do with some
programming for variation.
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.
Moving the clips from a scene to an arrangement

can temporarily liberate them from their looped
form so you can add more interesting edits.
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
| 87
MTF Workshop Speedy composition
After consolidating the clips to

the correct length they can be
looped in preparation to move
back into your current Session.
10
want intermittent parts to loop this new scene length

(such as 8, 16 or 32 bars), make sure that you highlight to
that length, regardless of the actual clip length in
Arrangement View. 8
Now press [Ctrl]/[Cmd]+[J] or right-click to select
Consolidate. This creates new audio and MIDI parts to the
length of the highlighted area. 9
Every time you render new scene parts like this, you
will have to manually enable loop mode by clicking Loop
in the Clip View window while your new clips are
highlighted. This can be done only for either multiple
audio or MIDI clips at once, not a mix of the two. 10
Keeping your track simple gives

you complete freedom as you edit
and adapt your scenes
Keeping your track simple at this stage gives you
complete arrangement freedom as you edit and adapt
your scenes. When you have a running order for your song
sections, follow the same process mentioned previously
to record from Session to Arrangement View. 12
Make sure the arrangement Loop Switch is disabled
to avoid any recording problems as you launch scenes by
pressing [Ctrl]/[Cmd]+[L] or clicking the small yellow
loop symbol to the right of the transport. 13
Now you will either have a very basic or reasonably
varied song arrangement with your best-sounding
production skills applied. 14
From here you can leave this project until another day,
or listen through and start to add more variation to the
arrangement through parameter and effects automation
or further clip editing. At this point you can also add more
occasional sounds for variation and accenting sections
of your song. Either way, you have done the bulk of
production and composition work within a short time
frame. Having a working arrangement that you know you
can move forward with at this stage means your next visit
to the project will be to add the icing to the track rather
than reinvent it.
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
focus
14
MTF Round Up Tuition
Round Up
Tuition
Want to be a real master of Live 8? There are

lots of courses, online training, video tuition
and other aides that will develop your
knowledge of Abletons platform and give your
performances and studio recordings the edge.
2 LIVE COURSES
Price 149 (Basic/Intermediate level)

Contact via website
If you dont have the time to engage in a face-to-face,
college-based Ableton Live 8 course, then why not consider an
online alternative? Live Courses offers both Beginner/
Intermediate and Advanced courses that you can follow online
at your leisure. The level of tuition is extremely accomplished.
It will take you from a complete standing start right through to
being able to perform Live 8 sets in a live environment with
confidence. Included in the price comes a collection of 750MB
of samples worth 50 and more.
Web www.live-courses.com
1 SONIC ACADEMY
Price From 29.99

Contact Sonic Academy
customerservice@sonicacademy.com
Sonic Academy is the worlds leading online web portal for
anyone who wants to learn how to make electronic dance
music. It doesnt just teach you how to use the software, it
shows you how to make music from the start. Designed for
DJs, producers, musicians, students and teachers of all
levels, it helps you produce and record your ideas, then share
them with the world. Whether you want to learn about mixing
or production techniques, or how to get the best out of a
particular software package, youll find what you need here.
Web www.sonicacademy.com
3 ABLETON LIVE 8 AND SUITE 8
14
4 EDITORS KEYS ABLETON LIVE 8 KEYBOARD
Price 59.99 each

Contact Editors Keys 0161 838 5724
Keyboard shortcuts are essential for getting around your Live
8 software, especially when youre editing or performing at
pace. Unfortunately, learning and memorising dozens of
shortcuts takes patience and a cool head, especially under
pressure when playing a live set. Editors Keys offer a simple
solution: dedicated keyboards with keyboard shortcuts
written on the keys themselves. An elegant, simple solution
that will help you get the very best out of your Ableton Live 8
(or other) software.
Web www.editorskeys.com
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
Tuition Round Up MTF
5 ALCHEMEA AUDIO COURSES
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
7 YOU TUBE VIDEOS
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.
6 SAE INTERNATIONAL ABLETON

LIVE 8 COURSES
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
MTF Workshop ReWiring Live
ReWiring Live and

Reason 6/Cubase 6
On the disc
Linking Ableton Live to other DAWs using ReWire

enables you to unlock even more of the programs
potential, as Hollin Jones explains.
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.
There are two ways in which

you can use Live with ReWire
as a master and as a slave
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.
It makes sense tousethe

1and2outputsasstereoL/R
fromReason into Live
Now go to Live and create or locate an empty audio
track. From its Input Selector menu either in Session or
Arrangement view, select Reason as the input source. 3
Then, from the Input Channel menu beneath, click and
you will see that there are 64 audio channels available
to stream either in stereo pairs or as mono channels.
Select the first pair of outputs, to which we have
connected our Dr Octo REX in Reason. 4 If you press
the Monitor In button on the audio track and press play
in Live, you should see and hear the REX loop coming
through into 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.
part will be captured between the left and right

markers. 7 The Live effect you added remains an insert,
and can be muted or changed as it is not captured as
part of the recording. After recording, be sure that you
set the tracks Monitor button to Off, so that you are not
playing the ReWired part and the captured audio at the
same time.
You can also play Reasons instruments directly from
Live. Create a MIDI track in Live and select Reason from
its Output Type list. Then in the menu beneath, click and
you will see all available devices in Reasons Rack,
including effect devices, since they can be automated
using Lives MIDI tracks as well. 8
MTF Workshop ReWiringLive
9
10
8
Record parts through into Live sets from Reason
as audio, and trigger and automate Reason
devices directly from Live.
Its important that you first create a new audio track

and route the synth that you are triggering through from
Reason to it, otherwise you wont be able to hear
anything. Live needs an audio feed from the synth to be
able to play it back. Repeat the previous trick to select
the correct input, and make sure monitoring is set to In.
9 Now, record-arm the track and play a part, and you
will see the MIDI recorded in Live but triggered in
Reason. The part is not recorded as MIDI in Reason, just
in Live. 10 So now your synth is being triggered by Live,
generated in Reason and played back through 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
the ReWire tracks to an audio track in the target DAW.

Here, we can do it by creating a new Group track and
then setting the output of the desired ReWire channel
to feed to the Group track, and the input of our audio
channel to read from the same Group track. The result is
that audio can be recorded from, say, a MIDI instrument
in Live into an audio track in Cubase. 13
MIDI can be sent from a MIDI track in Cubase
through to Live to trigger instruments as well, and if you
create a MIDI track in Cubase and click on its
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.
focus
Round Up
Controllers
Whether you are using Live to compose, mix or edit your

tracks, a physical controller can help you work faster and
get so much more from the software. Even the simple
touchscreen of an iPad can be put to good use with apps
designed specifically for controlling DAWs.
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
4 AVID ARTIST MIX
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
6 FAR OUT LABS PRO REMOTE
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
MTF Feature The story of Live
MTF Feature From strength to strength
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.
Live quickly found favour with

studio musicians and producers
as well as live performers
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
MTF Feature Major developments in the history of Live

In 2007, Ableton announced that it was working with Cycling 74, the
developers behind Max MSP, a powerful music software development
environment. This resulted in the release in 2009 of Max for Live,
effectively opening up the Live platform to those who wanted to
develop and edit their own instrument and effect devices. This was
unique amongst DAWs. Max MSP could let you save projects as
applications and plug-ins, but you couldnt actually develop them
inside a DAW, they were always add-ons. That changed with Max for
Live which, even if you didnt want to develop for yourself, provided
some extra plug-ins that worked seamlessly inside the DAW. These
included the Step Sequencer, Buffer Shuffler, Loop Shifter, Pluggo
and access to the official Live API.
focus
In 2010, the company partnered

again, this time with Serato, to come
up with The Bridge, a link between
Live and Seratos Scratch Live system.
This gave DJs turntable-style control
of their own multitrack productions, letting them
drag an Ableton Live Set onto one of the decks in Scratch Live or ITCH
and use their turntables, CDJ or ITCH controller to control the
transport. You could also perform mixes in Serato Scratch Live and
save them as a Live Set. This integration has proved to be extremely
popular with DJs, and its something we would expect to see
expanded in the future.
The story of Live Feature MTF
day. ReWire was

introduced, which
meant that Live could
be connected to
Cubase, Logic, Reason
or Digital Performer
and would work as a
MIDI sync master or
client with external
hardware. Support for
external MIDI controllers was added too, and a new software
reverb, which at the time was a big deal.
Live quickly found favour with studio musicians and
producers as well as live performers for its fresh and
alternative new interface and approach to making music. It
wasnt until version 2, released in 2002, however that it
started to gain some really DAW-like features. For a start,
version 2 supported multitrack audio recording and editing,
so that performances could be captured. It also introduced
what Ableton at the time called Elastic Audio, the
timestretching algorithms that would form a key part of the
softwares appeal in years to come. Loops and audio parts
could be tempo-stretched automatically and on the fly,
something that other DAWs took many more years to fully
embrace, and even then they didnt do it in the same way as
Ableton. Among the other important features added with
this release was DJ-style crossfading, advanced
automation, track launch buttons and the ability to save and
recall effects presets.
Version 2.1 of Live was an incremental update and
followed in 2003, adding support for Pro Tools, Digidesign
hardware and ReWire on Mac OS X. Version 3 followed later
that year and one of its biggest new features was clip
envelopes, enabling changes in volume, pitch, pan, effects
controls and more to be drawn onto any section of a sample.
The result was that samples were no longer static, and
could be made to sound more dynamic and to change over
time. Version 4, which appeared in 2004, was a bigger step
forward, introducing support for MIDI tracks, effects and
instruments. This took Live from being simply an audio
program to a more all-round DAW. The Simpler sampling
instrument was also debuted, as well as Impulse and
support for AU plug-ins on the Mac, in addition to existing
support for VST format plug-ins. MIDI clips and recording
were of course supported, as well as improvements to swing
and groove tools.
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.
grouping and layering sounds and

effects, multicore and
multiprocessor support and a bunch
of new effects.
With version 7 in 2007, Live was
given a big under-the-hood
shake-up, gaining 64-bit mix
summing, better sample rate
conversion and sidechaining
capabilities as well as better
memory management and a host of
other improvements. Live 8, released
in 2009, was perhaps the biggest
update the software had ever had,
with the new Suite edition bundling
all the instruments and sounds into
one package. The software got a new groove engine, new
warping engine, the Looper for creative sound looping,
multiple new effects and many workflow enhancements.
Many of the instruments were also overhauled and,
around this time, third-party companies such as Novation
and AKAI began collaborating with Ableton to produce
dedicated hardware Live controllers like the Launchpad and
the APC20 and 40. Most recently we have seen a range of
Live controllers for Apples iOS devices start to emerge,
which free you from the computer and the mouse in entirely
new ways.
Its hard to guess what might appear in Live 9, since
developers never reveal their plans. Its clear to see from
Lives history, though, that each release has contained more
and bigger changes than the last, so this is something that
seems set to continue and perhaps explains the increasing
gaps between the release of major new versions. It would
also make sense for Ableton to release an iOS app for Live,
which other DAW developers are slowly starting to do for
their own software. Whatever the future holds for Live, its
sure to be good news for musicians. MTF
MTF Feature What does the future hold?

Developers understandably dont want to give much away, since the time
taken to develop and refine features means that leaked details could be a real
problem. So any attempt to guess the future is an educated guess. Changes
under the hood are likely to play a big part, and 64-bit support for Mac and
Windows would have to be one of the most requested new features. Currently,
Live is 32-bit on both platforms, meaning it can only address up to 4GB of
RAM, and ReWire will only work when the other ReWire app is booted into
32-bit mode. There are now more cores than ever in modern music computers,
and this is something Live will have to keep up with if it is to remain efficient.
Its pretty unlikely that we would see Lives interface change fundamentally,
since this has been quite consistent over the years and is one of the things
users like about it. However, there are bound to be workflow enhancements,
new instruments and effects and tools added to the next version. Who knows,
perhaps even musical scoring! Accessories are likely to be a growth area in
future too, and we can probably expect to see more
dedicated control surfaces like Novations Launchpad and
AKAIs APC20 and APC40, as well as enhanced support for
more generic MIDI control devices in Live. Mobile technology
is changing rapidly, and iOS apps like TouchAble are really
taking off, putting control of Live in your hands with a touch
interface. Ableton might even release its own controller app,
as developers like Native Instruments and Steinberg are
gradually starting to do.
| 99
MTF Workshop Stereo effects
Stereo effects:
technique & control
On the disc
The stereo plane is a powerful and important factor in

creating a dynamic and sonically rich-sounding mix.
Liam OMullane shows you the tools for the job.
iththerecentreleaseoftheStereo
BundlefromVengeanceSoundand
PanstationfromAudioDamage,inthis
Workshopwearegoingtolookat
creating,controllingandenhancingthe
stereofieldofanysoundsourcewiththedevicesyou
alreadyhavewithinLive.Welllookatwaysof
enhancinganexistingstereosourceaswellascreating
astereoeffectfrommono.First,though,letslookata
stereosourceasastartingpoint.
Quick stereo control

Forasignaltobestereotherehastobeindependent
informationinboththeleftandrightchannels,which
couldbedrasticallyorjustveryslightlydifferent.Any
partofthesignalthatisidenticalonboththeleftand
rightchannelswillappeartobeinthemiddlethisis
wherethetwodefinitionsofmidandsidecomefrom.In
Livewecanchoosetoprocesstheseindependently
fromeachother,givingcontroloverthecentral
definitionandhowmuchofthesidesignalwemay
wanttoperceive.
EQEightismuchmorethanasimpleEQasitcan
workinthreedifferentmodesandisveryusefulfor
stereomanipulation.Inthefirstmodeitfunctionsasa
normalstereoEQ;thesecondallowsforindependent
settingsfortheleftandrightsignals.Thethirdletsyou
EQthemidsignalandsideelementsseparatelythisis
howwellstart.SwitchtheModemenutoM/S. 1
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
The EQ Eight device is incredibly versatile and well-featured. Its three

modes of processing offer a lot of control over a stereo source.
focus
StereoeffectsWorkshop MTF
4
6
5
The Utility device gives you

instant control of the mid and
side balance with a stereo
source. Using it with audio
racks (created with the Group
function) enables you to add
independent processing to the
mid and side or both.
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).
Shape and Decay Time to their minimum values. This

will minimise any spatial overhang after the sound,
which gives you the perception of distance. Once these
parameters are set, opt for a mostly Wet setting and
shape a wide sound using Size, Diffuse and Stereo.
Then use Dry/Wet to get the best balance of mono/
stereo and give general focus to the sound. We find that
selecting the Eco option from Global Quality also helps
to keep the reverb at its tightest. 7
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.
The HAAS effect involves creating a timing difference

between the left and right channels, but the time of
these delays needs to be below around 40ms to be
perceived as a single sound. Even though you think that
you are hearing only one sound, the minute timing
differences force the brain to perceive the sound as
being wider than it actually is.
The most convenient device to use for this technique
is a Simple Delay, set to fully Wet. After clicking both
Sync buttons you can set their time by milliseconds
instead of tempo-based values. 8
Mono to stereo conversion

There are multiple ways of creating differing left and
right information from a mono source, but reverb is
possibly the simplest and most commonly used tool for
this task. The downside is that the reverb effect also
increases the distance of a sound from the listener.
Luckily, Lives Reverb has a few specific parameters
which can add some stereo width while minimising any
loss in perceived distance. Start by disabling any high
or low cuts for Input Processing and Diffusion Network
to maintain the original frequency range. Disable the
Spin and Chorus stages as well. Then set Predelay,
MTF Workshop Stereo effects
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
To achieve the HAAS effect use a Simple Delay, set to

fully Wet. After clicking both Sync buttons you can set
their time in milliseconds rather than using
tempo-based values.
Adapting the techniques outlined for processing mid

and sides, set up a Group around any Live device to
create separate left and right channels. Once youve
created a Group, right-click to create a new, blank Chain
underneath the first. Pan one Chain to the left and the
other to the right. 13
You are now able to add independent processing to
one side or possibly both, depending on how far you
want to transform the character of the sound in order to
make it sound wide. Try adding a Reverb to one side and
using the parameters already mentioned to create
different sounds for either side (or try one on the left
and one on the right so you can set them differently for
a greater difference between the left and right). Also
play with Predelay, as it can be used for HAAS-style
effects; different Size settings can be very effective too.
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
You can create

as many
parallel audio
paths as you
want using
Chains in an
audio rack.
Experiment
with slight
panning for a
more engaging
stereo spread.
14
focus
15
RG_Alchemea_A4_Ad_V4.indd 2
15/03/2012 15:26
MTF Interview Kutmasta Kurt
The plug-ins are cool...

The compressors are
awesome, the EQs are
good... it does what I
need it to do.
The MTF Interview Kutmasta Kurt
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
utmasta Kurt is one of hip hops most famous

producers having worked with Ultramagnetic
founder member Kool Keith and remixed artists on
the influential Grand Royal label, including the
Beastie Boys. His reputation among both
production peers and artists is second to none and he has
been in demand for both his beats and arrangement skills.
Kurt has had experience of all sorts of production setups but
now he uses Live for 99 per cent of everything. But before we
get to ahead of ourselves
It all came from DJing, Kurt tells us. I was doing a radio
show in my teenage years and they had a little production
room in there and Id make tape loops by cutting tape there
wasnt much in the way of sampling back then! The first
sampler I got was a DOD guitar pedal with two seconds of
sampling. I made a lot of stuff using that and a four track.
In the early 90s Kurt started submitting demos to various
labels through his radio station contacts and one remix won
him massive exposure almost instantly.
One of the first things I did was for a guy called Tongue
Twister (later just known as Twister) and hed won this
Guinness Book Of World Records contest for being the fastest
rapper. He got a record deal and the guy at the label asked me
to do a remix and the next thing I knew the remix was on MTV
every day. I was pretty surprised how far that went!
Kutmasta Kurt moved up to a Tascam 388 recorder/mixer
as his success grew but a chance meeting would start the
beginning of a great partnership
I met Kool Keith at the New Music Seminar in New York.
He was at a rap battle with Ultramagnetic MCs. He had
something different about him and I got talking to him. He
came out to the West Coast with the Ultramagnetic MCs and I
took those guys round to radio stations and we just hung out.
Eventually I was out in New York in around 1993. I had a group
focus
I was working with on a demo deal. I got hold of Keith and we

recorded one song and he liked it and came out to the Bay
area and we recorded seven songs. I took the demo to a few
labels and Capital Records signed Keith to a solo deal. We
both moved to LA and that was the start of my thing with him.
Kurt helped Keith produce the album Dr Octagonecologyst
under Keiths alias, Dr Octagon. The album was a huge
success, with particular attention paid to Kurt and Dan The
Automator Nakamuras production
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.
Photo courtesy of Scotty Z
Kutmasta Kurt Interview MTF
Kutmasta Kurts relationship with Live, however, got off on

the wrong foot before blossoming
I found out about Ableton Live in 2005, he explains. A guy
who interviewed us for a magazine was going to work for
Ableton and he was like, Check out this new program! He got
me a demo and asked me for feedback but I told him, I cant
see myself using it right now because it doesnt do this, this
and this, but if it did on the future, let me know
A couple of years later another buddy told me about the
new Drum Racks feature in Live and told me to check it out.
So I called up Ableton and they said they were just about to
get in touch because some of these new features were down
to the original feedback that me and others had given them.
The Drum Racks feature made the software into what I
needed. I was looking for an all-in-one solution for years and
there are many people who have tried it but Ableton got it
right and Drum Racks is the main thing that I use. I also like
their libraries of sounds. They just released an analogue set

of sounds and I like the orchestra set too. Some of the
plug-ins are very cool. The compressors are awesome, the
EQs are good and it all does what I need it to do.
Kurt is not really using the software live but in the studio
its Live all the way
Im using it as my main thing. I have an MPC that I havent
turned on for quite a while now. And I havent seen anything
else thats come out that makes me feel I need to get it.
He doesnt like to reveal too much about the kit that he
uses (I want people to find their own thing and at the end of
the day I still believe that its not what you use its how you use
it.) but when pushed for his kit list for he admits that it is not
much more than Live itself
I would definitely say that Ableton Live has made my life
easier and has given me a production solution that I was
looking for, so was a perfect fit for me. MTF
MTF Step-by-Step Kutmasta Kurts Live Drum Racks tips
"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
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MTF Workshop Sound-on-sound
Sound-on-sound
recording in Looper
On the disc
Sound-on-sound performances are fairly

commonplace these days. Liam OMullane shows you
the best approach to exploring this artform within Live.
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.
Simple sound on sound

Togetstarted,allyoullneedisaLivesessionanda
singleaudiotrack,ontowhichyoulldragaLooper
device.Theothertracksrequiredwillhostthesound
sourcesyouintendtorecordintoLooper,whichcanbe
internalsynths,drummachinesorexternalinstruments
andmicrophones.
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.
Setting up these types of

performances doesnt require
complex audio and MIDI routing
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
You can assign the

MPTB (plus a few
other handy
controls) to your
pedal by clicking on
the MIDI icon in the
top right-hand
corner to enable
MIDI Map mode.
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
One press of this button (from your footswitch) will

double the current loop in length. For example, you
could record one bar of a kick sound then double that to
add a snare pattern, then a four-bar hi-hat pattern and
so on. When you get up to eight bars or more you can
add a musical element so it becomes long enough to be
interesting to listen to.
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.
For control over your last recording layer, the Undo

button enables you to stop while recording a take to try
again (handy if you mess up) or disable/re-enable the
last recorded take. A good trick with this is to record a
chorus-based part last, which you can undo for verses
and bring back again when needed. 7
The Clear button will clear your recording, and if the
option to Start & Stop Song is selected from the Song
Control menu to the right, Lives transport will also stop.
This means that the MPTB, Double Length, Undo and
Clear functions are all you need to perform a full
loop-based performance from start to finish. At the end
of each song just press Clear and you can record the
starting loop of your next performance.
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
MTF Workshop Sound-on-sound
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.
over individual layers. The other restriction is when

using the Drag Me function from Looper. This lets you
drag the area with rectangular shapes to an audio track
to use as an audio clip, but you still get only a single,
merged file. 8
However, it is possible 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, tidy Effects Rack for the job.
Start as normal with a single Looper, then select
Group from the Edit menu after highlighting it. 9
Now that this Looper is within an Effects Rack we
can create additional channels inside it called Chains,
which will all feed from the same input to the Rack (your
performance audio). To view the Chains list press the
middle show/hide button to the left of the Rack. 10
Right-/[Ctrl]-click (PC/Mac) below the current Chain
and select Create Chain. Using [Ctrl]/[Cmd]+[R], rename
this new Chain Thru (well use this for your live audio to
pass through, not the Loopers). This is because by
default Looper passes live audio from its input to the
output alongside audio already recorded. If you leave
this unchanged, multiple instances of Looper will
amplify the input signal passing through; this increased
level will be slightly reduced when you start muting
each Looper to control the layers in your performance.
Now rename the first Looper Chain as Looper 1 to
make things visually clear. Set the Loopers Input
Output menu to Never so that it plays only recorded
sound and stops passing your live audio. 11
11
This first Looper can be used to record your first

layer; if you now right-/[Ctrl]-click the Looper 1 Chain
you can select Duplicate to create more Loopers for
more layers. Make sure that you rename them
sequentially for visual clarity. 12
If done correctly you should see input audio on all
Chains, but see output activity only from the Thru Chain.
The final step is to assign your controls and a pedal to
each Loopers MPTB. Wed also recommend assigning
the same pedal to each Looper devices title bar as this
will put the Looper you are recording with in view. 13
To gain control over which layers play in your set,
assign another footswitch to the Mute button on each
Loopers Chain. Now you can bring parts in and out as
part of an arrangement for more song dynamics. 14
Food for thought

You should now be able to confidently jam with either
one or more Looper devices and enjoy the instant
rewards when either performing, jamming or just trying
out ideas. The multi-Looper setup is a lot more practical
for the latter as you can now drag each layer from the
Looper into your projects.
To enhance what weve already covered, add some
effects to your source tracks to give them a more
polished sound. Also, adding devices like Beat Repeat
and Auto Filter to the output of your Looper(s) will
enable you to manipulate your recordings and create
fills for variation. Experiment with Lives effects and see
how it makes your looping sound unique.
14
12
Assign another footswitch to

the Mute button on each
Loopers Chain. Now you can
bring parts in and out as part
of an arrangement for more
song dynamics.
13
focus
MTF Walkthrough Live performance
Tools for a live
performance
Live is simple to use, but due to its open format

you have to plan ahead just how you intend to use it.
Liam OMullane explores some performance options.
erforming an electronic-based live show in an

age of in-the-box production would seem to be
a logical next step in these technological
times. Indeed, more and more people are
DJing using software and laptops, so the
boundaries that used to separate DJing and live
performance are increasingly blurred. In this Workshop,
therefore, well be looking at ways in which you can take
your own musical ideas onto the stage.
The first approach is similar to creating a song in a
linear-based sequencer window. The second technique
takes a more DJ-like approach; the third is a live jam in
front of an audience. All of these can cross over to some
degree, but the main thing to take away from this
Workshop is an understanding of the various tools you
can use to create your own performances.
Many people already use Live as a production tool
and will already have song projects they can draw on to
create their performance-based set. Others, who
perhaps primarily work in another DAW for music
MTF Navigation Session View essentials

BACK TO
ARRANGEMENT
Thiswillturnredwhen
anyclipsarelaunched
inSessionView.
Clickingitwillreturnto
playingclipslaidoutin
ArrangementView.
SCENE
LAUNCHING
Eachrowacross
SessionViewiscalleda
Sceneandcanbe
launchedfromtheplay
buttonsinthemaster
track.Makesurethat
yourenamethesevia
theEditmenusotheyll
makesenseintheheat
ofaliveperformance.
On the disc
production, will need to export their material out as audio

stems. For an idea on how to divide the stems, follow the
walkthrough opposite.
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
The boundaries that separated

DJing and live performance are
increasingly blurred
tracks can also host audio or MIDI clips. The relationship
between the two screens is that Live will play from
Arrangement View by default. Here you can import,
record and edit audio/MIDI parts like any other
sequencer. Some people will use it to lay out an entire set
from start to finish and use Session View only for the
elements they wish to perform live. To see Session View
MIDI AND KEY ASSIGNMENT

MIDIcontrolscanbeassignedtoanyareathatilluminatesbluewhenMIDI
Mapmodeisenabled.KeyMapmodeletsyouassigncomputerkeys,butthis
can
be risky as you might accidentally hit the Space Bar, which will stop the set.
canberiskyasyoumightaccidentallyhittheSpaceBar,whichwillstoptheset.
c
b
STOP BUTTONS
Launchedclipscanbestoppedbypressingthemasterstopbuttonatthebottomof
thetrack.TheStopClipsbuttononthemastertrackwillstopallplayingclips.
| 111
MTF Walkthrough Live perfomance
MTF Step-by-Step Preparing stems for DJing
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.
press the Tab key. If you drag in audio or MIDI

clips,Session View wont become active until you launch
a clip (by hitting its play icon) or launch the entire row
(these are referred to as Scenes).
Any clip played from Session View will override the
playback of clips in Arrangement View, so if you intend to
have the core backing parts running from Arrangement
View, live elements are best kept on their own tracks in
Session View. This means that elements in Arrangement
View will continue to play back without disruption.
Elements to launch from Session View could be
one-shot samples such as sound effects or accenting
sounds. They could also be a collection of loops on one
track that you want to manually launch and move
between during the set. If you want a more fluid
transition between clips, try enabling Legato mode for
each one. This will make the playback position continue
to move forward, regardless of when you decide to
launch each clip. It sounds great when moving between
drum loops, giving contrasting content for a dramatic,
choppy effect.
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
Legato mode can be found in the Launch window of

any clip in the lower half of the screen. If you have a
pre-planned arrangement you can move away from it
using Session View then click the Back To Arrangement
button to stop all session clips from playing and revert
back to the arrangement.
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
Live performance Walkthrough MTF
process of preparation and explains how to split them

into phrase sections. You can then improvise with
arrangement and duration on the fly.
If you look at Step 6 you can see how the divided track
stems are side by side but not parallel with each other.
This is so that you can easily cue full song sections when
the track is playing alone using scene launches. Then,
when you want to start mixing into the next track, you can
cue clips from their individual launch buttons. When you
want the next track to play alone you can simply launch a
scene; all other clips in the session will stop, giving a
clean transition.
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.
The walkthrough below gives you some setup ideas for

improvising, but using the cue function is essential if you
intend to play instruments in an improvisational way
firstly, because you need to check that your chosen
sounds will work in the context of your mix; secondly, you
can try out a riff idea and then play it out through the mix
when you have it rehearsed enough to perform.
Try slicing up loops to play back via MIDI for dramatic
control over the intensity and size of drum loops.
Assigning the sustain level of the drum racks global
ADSR to a controller means you can go from a fullsounding drum beat with the sustain up high to a pokey,
tight-sounding rhythm as each slices duration is reduced
when sustain is lowered.
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
MTF Step-by-Step Preparing to improvise
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
MTF Walkthrough Live perfomance
to control the amount of musical content heard at any

given moment. When you assign effects sends, a good
trick is to assign them to MIDI buttons or pads rather
than faders. This lets you add very fast and accurate
flashes of effects to audio, brilliant for momentarily
sending audio to long reverbs or delays to create new
sounds in the mix. If your MIDI controller supports it, use
a momentary button behaviour so you have to hold it
down only as long as needed.
Cause and effect

Live has many effects, but there are some tried-andtested basics that most people will use on either single
tracks, groups or the master output. Low- or high-pass
filters are a common choice, but they need to be set up
correctly to retain a constant level of energy in the mix.
Try adding an Auto Filter with a Compressor
afterwards and group the two from the Edit menu. You
can then set the filter cut-off to a macro along with the
compressors threshold. Use Map mode to make the
threshold go lower as you get to a weaker-sounding

signal. A good example of this would be using a high-pass
filter with the threshold lowering as the cut-off increases.
This is how you can go about getting a more bitey
sounding edge as the sound gets thinner and loses its
lower body frequencies.
Beat Repeat is also a popular choice for easy glitch
edits as you go, but use it with restraint as its been used
so much already that it sounds at its most engaging
when used sparingly. Another choice are filters,
particularly when placed at the end of send effects. If you
set up a very long delay time and assign a band-pass
filter after it, you can musically play with the delayed
signal as it sustains over the mix by controlling the
cut-off frequency for that classic dub delay sound.
There are too many effects in Live to fully cover here,
but experimentation is key to finding your own voice for
expressive control. As a final note, ensure you always add
a Limiter to the end of your master channel. This will
avoid volume accidents and protect delicate ears.
MTF Step-by-Step Using Live as a performance mixer
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
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MTF Interview Phon.o
In the studio I use Live

just in the Clip Mode to
draw together my
ideas and sketches
for a song
The MTF Interview Phon.o
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.
he discography of Phon.o changes pretty quickly, says Phon.os

website. Phon.o was born in East Germany in 1978. In the 90s he was
immersed in DJing and warehouse parties, largely with his friend
Sascha Ring, aka Apparat. This is a man who has thrown himself into
one of the world's creative cities, met some of its leading lights,
collaborated with many more, and now finds himself with a new album on the point
of release and some of the biggest names in the city as his support network.
In 1997 we moved to Berlin and spent all our money building up a studio, he
recalls. We played some live shows and then I met Kit Clayton and released music
under my moniker Phon.o on Cytrax records. Phon.o soon became part of Berlins
laptop laptronica scene. I got the MAX/MSP-based loop patch from Kit Clayton
which allowed you to play live with a laptop. Apparat pimped up the patch a lot and
at the end it got the name Dshihad.
After a stint studying graphic design Phon.o met T. Raumschmiere and Daniel
Meteo and released EPs and an album on the influential Shitkatapult label. It was
also a time when I got in touch with Modeselektor and the guys from Pfadfinderei.
In 2005 we had a huge Shitkatapult label showcase at Sonar it was a lot of fun.
Now Phon.o was exploring all sorts of styles, options, beats and live options, but
still using MAX/MSP. With my friend Bernhard Moosbauer, aka Exsample, I started
a project called The Bareback Show where we played with at least four turntables
and just locked grooves. In 2006 I played as the support live act at Funkstrungs
record release party, he continues. So that was the time when I met Chris de Luca
and we decided to make music together as CLP and released an album and an EP
on Shitkatapult and an EP on Boys Noize Records.
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
Phon.o Interview MTF
| 119
MTF Interview Phon.o
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
I have a pretty simple studio at home, he admits, but I

can also use Apparat and Modeselektors studios. I need to
keep it simple, because I do music on the road. I also sold all
of my outboard, as I did not use it any more. For me its really
important that I can save projects and come back to them.
Sometimes I use the nice outboard gear in Apparats studio
but, for me, monitoring is more important. So at home I have
mid-size Genelecs and in the studios I use the biggest you
can get thats what I need most.
Live times three

When Phon.o first started using Live it was for its rock solid
stability and low CPU usage controlling his live setup. Now,
though, Phon.o also uses Live in the studio and for DJing, so
thats three for the price of one, if you like
The main advantages are that I can play every song I want
(tempo- and pitch-wise), I can play loops, I can create loops
on the fly, I can create effects racks and I can add a drum
machine or whatever. And I could do that way before other DJ
software could do it. In fact other DJ software is still copying
much of the traditional way of DJing. When I am playing live I
use the Akai APC40, NI Traktor Kontrol X1 and sometimes NI
Maschine. I arrange audio loops and mangle them on the fly,
but I always try to improve my setup and will keep changing it.
I am waiting for the new generation of MIDI controllers which
have RGB LEDs so that I can map the clip colours to the pads.
I think this is the biggest failing of the APC: you still have to
look at the screen to make sure you trigger the right clips.
Moving back to the studio and we see Phon.o using Live in
a more traditional setup
In the studio I use Live just in the Clip Mode to draw my
ideas for a song and test arrangement combinations. I then
do the final arrangement in Cubase, simply because I grew up
with it and feel more comfortable arranging with it.
The biggest advantage of Live aside from the fact that
you can get ideas together quickly is its flexible routing of
audio and MIDI. So I build weird chains of all of the MIDI
plug-ins in Live and get interesting results. I can also build
weird effect and instrument chains thats helpful as well.
Live has had a huge impact in the way I start and creating
songs, Phon.o concludes. Because its so flexible and fast to
set up and test things, I can really experiment with the
musical structure of a song. So I love to combine different
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
clips in certain combinations to check out what I can do in the

final arrangement. The MIDI plug-in section helps me find
new notes and variations and I also like the fact that I can
save the racks with certain set-ups.
And Phon.os dream inclusion for the next version of Live?
I would like to have even more experimental MIDI
plug-ins, he replies. I know and use a lot of weird Max for
Live effects, but I guess it might be more handy if they came
directly from Ableton.
I also would like to have the ability to enable a simple
waveform view in the clip mode (on top of every clip). For that
the clip would have to be at least double the height it is now,
but it would helpful for playing live because you could see, for
example, eight waveforms at once.
Phon.os new album, Black Boulder, will come out on
50weapons at the end of May and he is planning to support it
with a new live set. MTF
MTF Pro Technique The Phon.o Philosophy

Oncomposition:Idontwantto
makejusttracks.Evenifthey
areforclubsIwantthemto
haveasongstructurewith
melodicandemotional
elements.Ialsodontliketo
makesupercleanandperfect
sounds.Ilovetolayerallmy
soundstogetaspecialpatinaandsoundaesthetic.
sounds
to get a special
Andforplayinglive?Itsmoreimportanttomakea
nicearrangementandstructuredlivesetthan
programmingbeatsandsynthlinesonthefly.Inever
couldprogramaproperweirddrumlineinrealtime.I
thinkitsimportantformyliveshowtoentertainwiththe
musicitselfandnotwithatechnicalperformance.Ineed
togetlostinmyownsoundduringmysetandIthinkthat
iswhattheaudiencewillnotice.
And,finally,DJingIneverwasinterestedin
turntableismculture.SowhenI'mDJingIdontwantto
over-effectmyset.Formeitsimportanttofindtheright
orderoftunesandmixitwithlongertransitions.Thatis
helpingmetoachievespecialmoments.AllmyDJheroes
didandarestilldoingitthisway.
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MTF Workshop Extreme effects
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.
Plug-ins take the work out of

mashing up and the popularity of
this type of effect is evident
1
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
Adding amp and speaker effects to digitally recorded or generated sounds

has the result of lending them a harder and more authentic tone. Often,
mixing guitar effects with synths and drums can sound great.
focus
On the disc
ExtremeeffectsWorkshop MTF
Lives Beat Repeater plug-in is amazing for cutting

up and adding to loops on the fly. It works best with
rhythmic loops, but its a very quick way to make a
regular beat sound cool and interesting.
Chorus is not often considered

anextremeeffectbutthereare
some interesting presets
folder have similar results, albeit each with slightly
different characters.
You might want to add more effects after this one to
chain them together, but were going to delete each one
so that its clearer what they do and so that each effect
is not masked by others in the chain. Next, try a Swirl
filter from the Auto Filter folder. This has user-definable
envelope, attack and release controls as well as the
ability to synchronise the movement of the filter to the
beat in different resolutions using the Quantize Beat
section. 2 With dance beats, dropping the Rate control
on this effect down very low will have the effect of
creating a very subby, low end bass to the beat.
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.
repetitions play, or to only hear the repetitions. 5 This

final one is called Gate Mode, which is good when youre
using this effect on a return track.
Chorus is not often considered an extreme effect,
but if you look in the Chorus folder you will see a few
interesting presets, like Yo Man!. Load this onto your
loop and play with the Modulation X/Y controller and
you will find it gives you a really robotic effect. 6
From the Corpus folder, try out the Hollow Loop
preset. This uses modulation and filters to really change
the sounds that are played through it. By selecting a
resonance type, you can change the character of the
effect, making it more or less metallic. Try throwing the
X/Y controller all the way up to the right-hand corner to
get some extreme sound mangling. 7
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
MTF Workshop Extremeeffects
7
8
Modulation and delay plug-ins can be used

to add character to sounds and also to
generate new notes and patterns based on
your input. Layer them together to make
things even more extreme.
interesting by layering up more than one, just as you can

with any effects in Live. Try placing a filter delay plug-in
on a beat and playing with the filter controls as well as
the delay time settings. If you have a drum loop you
should find that almost any kind of beat can be turned
from something that sounds fairly ordinary into a high
energy electronic pattern by applying one of these
effects. If the source is stereo, the plug-in processes
left, right and L&R signals separately and gives you
control over them. 8
The power of Pan

By changing the Pan settings for each one you can make
things more lively, and if you deactivate sync for any of
the three channels, you can get a much more freeform
effect. In many cases where you are working with beats,
you would probably keep sync switched on.
The Grain Delay folder is another source of excellent
extreme effects and if you drop, for example, a
Quartertones effect into a track, youll hear that it
creates some excellent sounding granular delays.
Select from the parameters running along the sides of
the X/Y window to change spray, frequency, pitch,
feedback and dry/wet levels, and use the yellow dot to
alter settings intuitively with the mouse. Dragged to the
right, it produces some really intense delays. 9
The remaining folders contain a few gems as well,
such as the Reduc folder and its Kaputt preset, which
has a variable bit reduction control so you can make a
sound more and more lo-fi. 10
10
The Resonators are also excellent for adding a

slightly delayed, warm, gritty effect to any part. 11
Last but by no means least theres the Vocoder
folder vocoder effects can of course be applied to any
kind of source, not just to vocals. As usual theres an X/Y
control as well as bands, depth, attack and formant
controls, amongst other things, and you can draw data
in with a pen tool if you want to change the vocoders
bands settings. 12
You should find that almostany

kindofbeatcanbeturnedintoa
highenergy electronic pattern
As well as chaining extreme effects together to
make something really heavy, say an amp simulator
paired with a beat repeater or a grain delay unit, you can
also automate many of the parameters on these effects.
This takes things to the next level, since not only are you
mangling sounds, you can also change the way the
effects behave over time. This is an excellent way to
make your tracks sound more dynamic and interesting,
by bringing effects in and out as well as gradually
increasing or decreasing the amount of effect applied.
However you use Lives extreme effects, theyre sure to
add punch and weight to your tracks.
11
Bit reducers and vocoders are more unusual

effects but they can be employed to create
atmospheres and change regular sounds into
much more ethereal and other-worldy ones.
focus
12
Live sounding drums Walkthrough MTF
Programming live
sounding drums
Want your programmed drums to sound more lifelike?

Liam OMullane shows you how to make a realisticsounding drum track using multi-sampled plug-ins.
o identify what makes a drum track sound

real, it can be easier to instead focus on what
makes one sound robotic and fake. A track
with a rigid and fixed tempo can hold back the
dynamics of the arrangement. Within that
tempo, the timing of the hits in each bar will affect the
feel of the track. If this is rigid and too perfect, this is also
a dead giveaway that the drum track is a forgery.
Here, were going to focus on avoiding these pitfalls,
using Ableton Live with either Toontracks Superior
Drummer 2.0 or FXpansions BFD2. These are the two
leading multi-sampled drum plug-ins, both offering an
incredible level of detail. They include a large amount of
samples that are recorded at different intensities and
then mapped to their relevant velocity values for MIDI
triggering. Although BFD includes a sequencer, well
focus on using them as drum modules to be programmed
using Live MIDI clips. This keeps all of our sequencing in
one place, and means that those with other drum
plug-ins can also learn something from this Workshop.
Before the recent in-depth multi-sampled

instruments became available, getting a more realisticsounding drum part would involve a handful of velocity
mapped samples and other bits of trickery.
Think about the physics of a drum skin. Hit lightly, it
will bend slightly on impact and then resonate after the
drumstick has left the skins surface. Harder hits will
bend the skin even further, and this moment of the attack
stage will be bent higher in pitch before returning to the
resonating pitch afterwards, when the skin is no longer
being bent. This can be emulated by setting a pitch
In the real world, a professional

drummer will have a very slight
variation in dynamics
envelopes depth to respond to velocity, so pitch-bend for
a sample gets stronger with louder hits. This is useful for
adding a real-world effect to synthetic-sounding drums.
Another trick is to have a low-pass filter set to slightly
raise its cut-off position via velocity change. With its
cut-off already set almost fully up, it will reveal more top
end, making the sound slightly brighter with higher
MTF Navigation The grid in detail

DISCRETE CHANGE
High-endmulti-sample
drummachineswillhave
differentsamplesmappedto
variousvelocityvalues,
enablingyoutoprogrameven
theslightestvelocitychanges
forthatsonicdifference.
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 Walkthrough Live sounding drums
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.
velocities. Other tricks, such as having slight, random

pitch changes, can also be used to fake the variations of
a real drum, even from one or a few samples. Thats an
option if you plan to use a more basic drum sampler, but
learning about the effective use of velocity tracking is
still useful for anyone.
In the real world, a professional drummers playing
will contain very slight variations in dynamics a human
simply cant be as consistent as a robot. Along with these
slight nuances, there will also be intended dynamic
changes. MIDI velocity has a range of increments from
1127. Within that range, to create a fairly consistent
snare hit, for example, if you have a hit around 100 you
should vary it on every hit. A range of five or so steps
either way is a good starting point, though this will differ
from one plug-in to the next. You are after very slight
tonal change but a reasonable level of consistency in
power and volume.
The Humanize functions can be used on both SD and
BFD. When used to a create a small amount of variation,
they can save you having to randomise so many
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
individual MIDI notes. The downside of this is they

continue to be random on each playback until you flatten
or record the drum audio down.
Variation might need to be more severe on elements
like cymbals, which will tend to have more natural
fluctuations depending on how hard theyre hit. But
remember: so far this is just to mimic those times when a
drummer is trying to remain consistent; next,
we have deliberate accenting for parts in a
pattern to think about.
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
Live sounding drums Walkthrough MTF
music. Alternatively, your other drum patterns might use

the hi-hat as the leading pattern, with plenty of accenting
in places when it plays alone. In this case, the kick and
snare are there to either emphasise the simple beats in
the bar, like the previous example, or create a less
straightforward rhythm around the hi-hat. Weve used
the hi-hat because its the most common accenting tool;
it can, however, be another cymbal or in fact any other
drum or percussion part, too.
Remember that no matter how consistent a drummer
is at hitting a drum, in most cases, the sound we know is
also created from the processing of the whole drum group
or individual elements. So its also worth investigating
the type of processing used for the sound youre after
so you can also emulate the overall, finished sound.
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.
downside of this solution is that these last only a bar or

two, so are more realistic for looped sections than as
tools for full track variation. But they are still very
effective tools nonetheless.
Superior Drummer has a Groove page from where you
can audition a library of patterns, each of which has its
own unique groove. You can then drag these out of the
plug-in window and place them on your MIDI track. To
achieve similar results, BFD has its Groove engine, which
stores multiple pattern presets to trigger by notes; these
can also be dragged and dropped into Live. This is also a
quick source for well-played drum patterns and there
is enough variation to cater for quite a few styles. Its
worth having a look at any patterns you find that are
close to what youre after, so you can see the types of
sounds being triggered, the amount of velocity
variation and the note positions relative to the grid.
But as we already mentioned, a real groove isnt a
short, repeated one-off feeling: it will vary throughout
a track, due to the fact that a human can never play a
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
MTF Walkthrough Live sounding drums
part in exactly the same way twice at least not in a

mathematically identical way. So to achieve a realsounding drum performance, you need to get off the grid!
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.
MTF Step-by-Step Using Grooves and Tempo lanes in Live
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
Next Issue MTF
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On Your DVD MTF
MTF Your Disc
For PC & Mac
MTF DVD 24 Ableton Live 8 Volume 2
MTF DVD 24
PROMOTIONAL
VIDEOS
COPYRIGHT ANTHEM PUBLISHING 2012

FAULTY DISC?
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Return to: Anthem Publishing (disc returns),
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Over 1GB of videos of the

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MTF DVD 24
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On the disc
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To maximise the amount of content we can bring you on
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Music Tech Focus - Ableton Live 8 Volume 2

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MTF24: Ableton Live 8 Volume 2

Written & compiled by Music Techs Ableton Live 8 experts

LEARN TO MAKE MUSIC ONLINE @ SONIC ACADEMY

CHOOSE FROM OVER 100 COURSES BASED ON THE

*oer valid until November 5 2012

At NAMM, back in January 2012, I was having a conversation with a

Tricks of the trade that would

Paul Pettengale Editorial Director

Art Director Jenny Cook

Editorial Director Paul Pettengale

Licensing enquiries Jon Bickley

Operations Editor Jon Palmer

Advertising Director Simon Lewis

Printed by Benham Goodhead Print

Subscriptions to Music Tech Magazine

focus Ableton Live 8 Volume 2

Ableton Live 8 Volume 2

132 pages of pure Ableton Live 8 know-how for 2012,

Adding hardware p11

The past and the future p98

50 Power user tips

for Ableton Live p36

All exclusive Pages 20, 80, 104, 118

Gear Round Ups

MTF Issue 24 Full listings

011 | Technique Power up Live

028 | Workshop Using automation

Clockwise from top left: Automation,

070 | 25 Pro Tips

086 | Workshop Speedy

Clockwise from left: Special Effects,

100 | Workshop Stereo effects:

focus Ableton Live 8 Volume 2

MTF Workshop Lives audio editor

Ableton Live 8 Workshop

Taking full control of your audio clips in Live is a vital

Lives audio clip editor is powerful

6 | Ableton Live 8 Volume 2

Set loop points within a clip and move these on the

There are further settingsinthe

switched on, this provides a good way to loop up

MTF Workshop Livesaudioeditor

This will stretch the audio to the next snap point,

Save the settings for a clip and, when it is

The ALL NEW Ableton Live Compatible keyboards

Ultra thin design

also available from editorskeys.com...

Power up Live Technique MTF

Ableton Live, as the name

MTF Technique Power up Live

same functions as a DAW, but they are excellent

MTF Pro Technique Exploring TouchAble

Lets have a look at the

TouchAble is a highly advanced,

12 | Ableton Live 8 Volume 2

FireWire is present on some laptops,

Power up Live Technique MTF

You will also need to think

AKAIs APC20 was

generally speaking, the more

MTF Step-by-Step Set up MIDI mapping

focus Ableton Live 8 Volume 2