Ableton Live roll call!!!!

I've got Live 5, but have only really scratched the surface of what it can do.
It's really good for baet machin' and Megamix stuff, I have a couple on my myspace pages.

roll call - nice idea. lets get this thread sticky!!!

here's the full laydown on how to MIDI sync your mpc 1000/2500 with ableton live:

MIDI CONNECTION & SETUP IN THE MPC OS/ABLETON

connect the mpc midi out to the midi in of your interface.
the main outs to your interface's audio input
(not necessesary for syncing, but you'll need it later for finetuning)

go to the SYNC Menu (MODE + PAD 9 then F2)
and set it up like this:

Sync out: A MASTER
Mode: MIDI TIME CLOCK
Framerate: 30
send MMC: ON

your mpc sends out mtc and mmc now

Start Ableton Live and go to
OPTIONS > PREFERENCES > MIDI/SYNC

set the SYNC button of your Midi ports midi input to ON
Set the Type to MIDI TIMECODE
Set the Midi Time code rate to SMPT 30 FPS NON DROP

Activate the EXT button on top, next to the BPM display for setting
Live into External Sync Mode.
Also activate the button with the black and white dot (that's Live's Metronome).

Start your empeecee in Overdub Mode (OVER DUB + PLAY)
The empeecee and Live should now start playing.
If everything is fine, you should hear the two metronomes sound
running

Should you hear the two Metronomes Sounds running not perfectly in Sync,

Try to fine tune that, play around with the MIDI SYNC DELAY until both are in complete Sync. (mine runs at -25.5 ms, for example, but that may differ...)

Another Possibility would be exact setup of your audio latency compensation. there is a lesson in lives help covering correct setup.
do that, if needed.


Congrats, you did it.

Now live is running in sync with your empeecee and you can control Live's
sequencer controls (play, stop, ff,....) with the controls of your mpc.

you can also send midi data from the mpc to virtual instruments loaded up
in live.

All that funky vsti's controlled and sequenced with intuitive"hands on"-style
of the empeecee, isn't this lovely...

From this point on, you might be interested in

CONTROLLING MULTIPLE VSTis IN ABLETON WITH THE MPC

On your mpc, set your TRACK setting from DRUM to MIDI and set your MIDI output from NONE to, e.g. 1A.

I saved a .PGM file where every track uses a different midi channel so i can send 16 (32, if you use your second midi out) channels of midi data.


In Ableton Live, click on the small black button labeled "I.O"
Its next to the Master output fader on the right side.
Now your Input and Output routings appear.

Now, create some midi channels in Live (CTRL+SHIFT+T).
There are four knobs:

MIDI FROM: select the midi interface where you plugged your MPC in.

CHANNEL: select your Desired channel, Either All or 1 to 16

MONITOR:
IN: will playback all the time
AUTO: will playback only if the channel is set to record
OFF: no playback at all

Set your channels correct and then, the mpc will use live as one big rack.
you can push your pads and have the mpc feel and groove, but you will be able to mix down and process nicely in live using plugins & stuff.

have fun with that.


greetz,

satoyo


STAN - feel free to copy & paste this into your upcoming manual.
gotta send him an email tho

Nice job Satoyo, could of done with this a couple of weeks ago but I managed to work it out in the end with help of others.

but bigup anyway LIVE is the shit

Maxim1

P.S canwe see some tips and tricks on WARPING samples

Live 6 is the dopeness, It's the only DAW I use anymore.

damn... good looks Satoyo.

Heres a pretty good warping tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvVBnO2FwMc

WOW, good looking feyz this tutorial was actual created for me. I asked third coast beats who is a memeber of another forum if he would create a tutorial and he did

I used it too as my main app but i think its standard eqs have issues because whatever I do, I always end up with too much muddy bass. I just cant mix the frequencies in Ableton Live. It is very intuitive and kicks ass as a loop station. it is great for sound design, live loooping and live use (on stage) but for production (tracking, mixing, etc), I prefer Logic or Cubase or Pr tools

been a long time live/mpc user, got some tips to share..

if you press apple + m every parameter that can be controlled via midi should light up in blue. This is great for assigning different functions of live to a midi controller or mpc pad. Just simply click the highlighted parameter you want to controll, then hit the mpc pad or twist the controller knob, this should assign that midi controller number to that funcation. ( as long as you have you midi preferences setup right)
An example would be, if you had a load of audio clips in the session view each one could be assigned to a different mpc pad, playing once the pad is hit. Most funcations can be assigned this way: effects controls, faders, fx sends, etc.. giving you total control over live with out a mouse. In Live 6 you can view the MIDI mappings in the browser window where you can set vaules for the things your controlling. Also you can assign the MIDI control messages to more than one thing. Giving you controll over loads of funcations with one knob, fader or pad.

I think one of the best funcations in live is "clip envolpes". here you can control your clips in different ways, like drawing in transpositions or volume automation on the actual clip. this is found by double clicking the clip you want to mess with then clicking the "E" simple to show the envolpes box. Try out the "sample offset" funcation for creating variation on a drum break. (the warp setting for the clip has to be "beats to do this)

for the more DJ minded: if you ctrl click the cross fader you can select different crossfader curves.

I'm totally in love with live.. i kinda use it as a gaint, super poweful sampler and sequnce everything from the mpc for a more musical feel.. (if you know what i mean). My only diss on it would be its mix bussing/summing, cause I dont think it crunches those numbers as well as it should. I get around this by using my next little gem: once youve finished a track dont mix it down to a stereo file in live, instead chose the Rendered track: "All tracks" function then mix in something like tools or on a proper desk.

Indroducing "Racks" into live has made it proper powerful for live use and now the ableton guys have teamed up with Cycling '74.. i'm expecting even more crazy ass functions.

I first messed around with Live version 1 years ago when I was primarily using Logic. Back then it looked weird and I left it alone, more fool me. Then when Live 3 came out I revisited it. Spent more time exploring the possibilities and then had to buy it. Then when Live 4 came out with midi I sold Logic!
I've used all the main DAWs at some point over the years (started with Cubase) and I have to say that Live beats them all for me. I use it with Reason rewired and Guru plus a few soft synths, a microkorg and a Novation Remote SL 61 and an MPD24 for controlling duties.
My biggest Live tip is turn off warp for clips that don't need it. Preserves audio quality and saves CPU. Plus its routing capabilities are second to none. So easy to internally wire the output from a soft synth on a midi channel into an audio channel, record the audio then delete the soft synth and midi channel to save more CPU. I use this feature constantly, especially with Reason.
I think that anyone coming from an MPC background will take to this DAW better than the others IMO because of the instant results and quick workflow. As I've mentioned, using it with Guru is a dream.

Jay_luke, Djconrad some nice tips. keep em comming guys

maxim1,

Tips. I've used Reason and Live a lot in the past. Here goes.

The most important tool in Live is command-E (control-E for PC): the slice tool. Just place the cursor anywhere in Live's arrangement window and hit command-E. Never be afraid to chop and shift around your audio in Live. (Also, don't forget to turn off the grid to get that organic touch arranging your chops/loops).

Every slice you make automatically receives its own set of parameters to adjust in the sample properties window below. Adjusting the stretch type (from beat to tonal to textural) and then the corresponding stretch parameters (essentially the grain-amount), as well as the pitch, will provide you with plenty of square-pusher control. To get cool off-beat effects on the 4th/8th beat, try slicing the last beat of the loop and stretching the sample, utilizing all the different stretch types to suite your fancy.

Don't forget that automation rules. You can set the automation of each effect/stretch/volume/etc. parameter, even within the sample property window. Utilize this feature with your chops. Load a loop and just play around with its level automation to get simple or complex gating effects. Don't forget to turn your snap-to-grid on and off.

Also for your chops, try this:

a very MPC-ish trick is to chop up a melodic loop (in arrangement) that you recorded from Reason and then load up Live's drum sampler. Now, click-and-drag chops of the melody into the drum sampler's slots. You can then play the chops MPC-style. The quality isn't the best, so I don't recommend using lengthy slices. For more quality you can also drag your chops into Live's new "Sampler" and mangle them even further there.

Also, never neglect the use of the reverse button, found in the sample properties window. Reversing samples is probably one of the best ways to produce buildup sounds for transitions. Also, don't forget to mess with Live's tempo and groove settings via the automation track (which can be found in your "main" channel). To mimic more natural progressions and grooves, make sure to fool around with these!

Tom

For some random fun load a bunch of random one-shots and drum hits into one track in session view. Highlight them all (Shift+click), open the launch pane by hitting the L key. In the follow action area, set the time to [0][0][1], and set the follow action A to any or other. Play any one of the clips, and peep the randomness you just created. Route that channel into another channel to record random loops, and twist and warp till your hearts content. Kinda fun, non-constructive sometimes, but fun nonetheless.

Excellent guys keep em comming im like a sponge. lets make this a sticky

maxim1

this september im enrolled in ableton live 6 course at robotspeak in frisco. will report back with some tricks and tips as soon as that happens.

anybody using SAMPLER? I been thinking about picking it up but just cant justify spending 300 on top of 500 I spent for ableton at the moment.