THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO

contents
67 CREATIVE
06 THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE SIDECHAINING
TO ABLETON LIVE There’s more to sidechaining than just controlling the
If you’re a Live newbie, start here; and if you’re an dynamics of one signal with another, as our in-depth
experienced user, our massive step-by-step guide tutorial reveals
makes for a great refresher course

08 Live’s Session and Arrangement views at a glance

10 Preparing Live for first-time use with the Preferences menu 73 MAX FOR LIVE
11 Sequencing your first beat with a MIDI track ESSENTIALS
13 Warping audio clips Even if you never build anything of your own in Max
15 Managing sounds and projects For Live, its Essentials bundle of prefab instruments
16 Editing in the Arrangement view and effects make it well worth investigating
17 Tightening tracks with quantisation
18 Turning audio into MIDI
19
21
Audio slicing and creating custom Library content
Using Live’s Session view
78 GET EXPERIMENTAL!
Sometimes, getting your crazy on is the only way to
22 Freezing and flattening tracks break out of that creative rut. Here, we present a range
23 The Track Mixer of conceptually adventurous ideas over the course of
26 Automating parameters producing a complete track
27 The Groove Pool
28 Sends and returns
29 Audio Effects
33 Instruments 90 HAT TRICKS
37 MIDI Effects Turn lacklustre hi-hat lines into rhythmic and sonic
38 Getting to grips with Operator gold with these ten detailed video tips – your drum
40 Sound design with Sampler loops will thank you for it!
42 Working with grouped tracks
42 Tempo and time signature changes
43 MIDI and key mapping
43
94 SMOOTH OPERATOR
Setting locators
44 Racks and chains
45 DJing with Live Live’s awesome hybrid synth is capable of far more
than just FM-style tones. We show you how to press
47 Sidechain routing
it into service for kick drums, faux analogue bass,
ambient pads and more

49 THE CM GUIDE TO 100 MASTER BUS FX

ABLETON PUSH
Get to grips with Akai and Ableton’s definitive Live
performance controller, from building beats and recording
melodic parts, to mixing and automation
Cunning processing of the master output is the key
to successful breakdowns, builds and DJ-style FX.
Catch the bus right here!

55 DRUM ’N’ BASS TRACK 107 ESSENTIAL

BUILDER TRANSITIONS
We walk you through the full process of constructing a Moving seamlessly and musically from one section
DnB roller, from start to finish, using nothing but Live of a track to another can be a challenge – unless
and free plugins! you’ve got our ten video tips to hand, that is

60 GOING LIVE DOWNLOAD VIDEOS, FILES AND PLUGINS

So you’re ready to take your Live tracks to the stage, but
what kind of preparation do you need to carry out in order
to convert those studio projects into ‘playable’ performance
pieces? We’ve got all the answers
To download the tutorial files and videos that accompany
most of the tutorials in Ableton Live: The Ultimate Guide, as
well as the CM Studio suite of software instruments and
effects, visit the Vault. vault.computermusic.co.uk