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Live 12
Reference Manual
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Ableton Live 12 Reference Manual

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Page 1

Ableton Live 12 Manual

for Windows and Mac

Reference Manual by Michelle Hughes, Sara Riegel, Ania Kuźbik, Chandler Tipton, Timothy Beutler, Dennis DeSantis, Ian Gallagher, Kevin Haywood, Rose Knudsen, Gerhard Behles, Jakob Rang, Robert Henke, Torsten Slama.
Schönhauser Allee 6-7 | 10119 Berlin, Germany
Contact Support: www.ableton.com/support/contact
Page 2

Contents

1. Welcome to Live
1.1 The Ableton Team Says: Thank You
2. First Steps
2.1 Installation and Authorization
2.2 Learn About Live
2.2.1 Using the Info View
2.3 Live’s Settings
2.3.1 Display & Input
2.3.2 Theme & Colors
2.3.3 Audio
2.3.4 Link, Tempo & MIDI
2.3.5 File & Folder
2.3.6 Library
2.3.7 Plug-Ins
2.3.8 Record, Warp & Launch
2.3.9 Licenses & Updates
3. Live Concepts
3.1 The Control Bar
3.2 The Status Bar
3.3 The Browser
3.4 Sound Similarity
3.5 Live Sets
3.6 Arrangement and Session
3.7 Tracks
3.8 Audio and MIDI
3.9 Audio Clips and Samples
3.10 MIDI Clips and MIDI Files
3.11 Devices
3.12 Clip and Device View
3.13 Scale Awareness
3.14 The Mixer
3.15 Presets and Racks
3.16 Routing
3.17 Recording New Clips
3.18 Automation Envelopes
3.19 Clip Envelopes
3.20 Undo History
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3.21 MIDI and Key Remote
3.22 Saving and Exporting
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4. Working with the Browser
4.1 Content Pane
4.2 Search Bar
4.2.1 Saving Search Results as Custom Labels
4.3 Browser History
4.4 Filters and Tags
4.4.1 Filter Groups
4.4.2 Tags
4.4.3 Tag Editor
4.4.4 Quick Tags
4.5 Collections
4.6 Library
4.7 Places
4.7.1 Downloading and Installing Packs in the Browser
4.7.2 Splice
4.7.3 Using Ableton Cloud
4.7.4 Transferring Files from Push 3 in Standalone Mode
4.7.5 User Library
4.7.6 Current Project
4.7.7 User Folders
4.8 Navigating in the Browser
4.9 Previewing Files
4.10 Hot-Swap Mode
4.11 Adding Content from the Browser to a Live Set
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5. Managing Files and Sets
5.1 Sample Files
5.1.1 The Decoding Cache
5.1.2 Analysis Files (.asd)
5.1.3 Exporting Audio and Video
5.2 MIDI Files
5.2.1 Exporting MIDI Files
5.3 Live Clips
5.4 Live Sets
5.4.1 Creating, Opening and Saving Sets
5.4.2 Merging Sets
5.4.3 Exporting Session Clips as New Sets
5.4.4 Template Sets
5.4.5 Viewing and Changing a Live Set’s File References
5.5 Live Projects
5.5.1 Projects and Live Sets
5.5.2 Projects and Presets
5.5.3 Managing Files in a Project
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5.6 Locating Missing Files
5.6.1 Manual Repair
5.6.2 Automatic Repair
5.7 Collecting External Files
5.7.1 Collect Files on Export
5.8 Aggregated Locating and Collecting
5.9 Finding Unused Files
5.10 Packing Projects into Packs
5.11 File Management FAQs
5.11.1 How Do I Create a Project?
5.11.2 How Can I Save Presets Into My Current Project?
5.11.3 Can I Work On Multiple Versions of a Set?
5.11.4 Where Should I Save My Live Sets?
5.11.5 Can I Use My Own Folder Structure Within a Project Folder?
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6. Arrangement View
6.1 Layout
6.2 Navigation and Zooming
6.3 Transport and Playback
6.4 Launching the Arrangement with Locators
6.5 Time Signature Changes
6.6 The Arrangement Loop
6.7 Moving and Resizing Clips
6.8 Audio Clip Fades and Crossfades
6.9 Selecting Clips and Time
6.10 Using the Editing Grid
6.11 Using the …Time Commands
6.12 Splitting Clips
6.13 Consolidating Clips
6.14 Linked-Track Editing
6.14.1 Linking and Unlinking Tracks
6.14.2 Editing Linked Tracks
6.15 The Mixer in Arrangement View
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7. Session View
7.1 Session View Clips
7.2 Tracks and Scenes
7.2.1 Editing Scene Tempo and Time Signature Values
7.2.2 Scene View
7.3 The Track Status Fields
7.4 Setting Up the Session View Grid
7.4.1 Select on Launch
7.4.2 Removing Clip Stop Buttons
7.4.3 Editing Scenes
7.5 Recording Sessions into the Arrangement
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8. Clip View
8.1 Clip View Layout
8.1.1 Clip Title Bar
8.1.2 Clip Panels
8.1.3 Editor View Modes
8.2 Main Clip Properties Panel
8.2.1 Clip and Loop Region Settings
8.2.2 Clip Time Signature
8.2.3 Clip Groove
8.2.4 Clip Scale
8.3 Extended Clip Properties
8.3.1 Follow Action and Launch Controls
8.3.2 MIDI Clip Bank and Program Change Controls
8.4 Audio Utilities Panel
8.4.1 Warp Controls
8.4.2 Reversing Samples
8.4.3 Destructive Sample Editing
8.4.4 Clip Start and End Fades
8.4.5 Clip RAM Mode
8.4.6 High Quality Interpolation
8.4.7 Clip Gain and Pitch
8.5 Pitch and Time Utilities Panel
8.5.1 Pitch Tools
8.5.2 Time Tools
8.6 Transform and Generate Panels
8.7 Zooming and Scrolling in the Clip View’s Editor
8.8 Playing and Scrubbing Clips
8.9 Looping Clips
8.10 Clip View Sample Details
8.11 Cropping Clips
8.12 Replacing and Editing the Sample
8.13 Editing Clip Properties for Multiple Clips
8.14 Clip Defaults and Update Rate
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9. Audio Clips, Tempo, and Warping
9.1 Tempo
9.1.1 Setting the Tempo
9.1.2 Tapping the Tempo
9.1.3 Nudging the Tempo
9.1.4 Clip Tempo Followers and Leaders
9.2 Warping
9.2.1 Warping Options in Settings
9.2.2 Importing Samples
9.2.3 Warp Markers
9.2.4 Warping Short Samples
9.2.5 Auto-Warping Long Samples
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9.2.6 Manipulating Grooves
9.2.7 Quantizing Audio
9.3 Warp Modes
9.3.1 Beats Mode
9.3.2 Tones Mode
9.3.3 Texture Mode
9.3.4 Re-Pitch Mode
9.3.5 Complex and Complex Pro Mode
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10. Editing MIDI
10.1 The MIDI Note Editor Layout
10.2 Zooming and Navigating in the MIDI Note Editor
10.2.1 Grid Snapping
10.2.2 Playback Options
10.3 Creating a MIDI Clip
10.4 Adding MIDI Notes
10.4.1 Draw Mode
10.4.2 Previewing Notes
10.5 Editing MIDI Notes
10.5.1 Non-Destructive Editing
10.5.2 Selecting Notes and Timespan
10.5.3 Find and Select Notes
10.5.4 Moving Notes
10.5.5 Changing Note Length
10.5.6 MIDI Note Stretch
10.5.7 Deactivating Notes
10.5.8 Note Operations
10.5.9 Pitch and Time Utilities
10.5.10 MIDI Tools
10.5.11 Quantizing Notes
10.5.12 Editing Velocities
10.5.13 Editing Probabilities
10.6 Folding and Scales
10.7 Editing MIDI Clips
10.7.1 Cropping MIDI Clips
10.7.2 The …Time Commands in the MIDI Note Editor
10.7.3 Looping
10.8 Multi-Clip Editing
10.8.1 Focus Mode
10.8.2 Multi-Clip Editing in the Session View
10.8.3 Multi-Clip Editing in the Arrangement View
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11. MIDI Tools
11.1 Using MIDI Tools
11.2 Transformation Tools
11.2.1 Arpeggiate
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11.2.2 Chop
11.2.3 Connect
11.2.4 Glissando
11.2.5 LFO
11.2.6 Ornament
11.2.7 Quantize
11.2.8 Recombine
11.2.9 Span
11.2.10 Strum
11.2.11 Time Warp
11.2.12 Velocity Shaper
11.3 Generative Tools
11.3.1 Rhythm
11.3.2 Seed
11.3.3 Shape
11.3.4 Stacks
11.3.5 Euclidean
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12. Editing MPE
12.1 Viewing MPE Data
12.2 Editing MPE Data
12.3 Drawing Envelopes
12.4 MPE in Live’s Devices and on Push 2
12.5 MPE in External Plug-ins
12.6 MPE/Multi-channel Settings
12.6.1 Accessing the MPE/Multi-channel Settings Dialog
12.6.2 The MPE/Multi-Channel Settings Dialog
13. Converting Audio to MIDI
13.1 Slice to New MIDI Track
13.1.1 Resequencing Slices
13.1.2 Using Effects on Slices
13.2 Convert Harmony to New MIDI Track
13.3 Convert Melody to New MIDI Track
13.4 Convert Drums to New MIDI Track
13.5 Optimizing for Better Conversion Quality
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14. Using Grooves
14.1 Groove Pool
14.1.1 Adjusting Groove Parameters
14.1.2 Committing Grooves
14.2 Editing Grooves
14.2.1 Extracting Grooves
14.3 Groove Tips
14.3.1 Grooving a Single Voice
14.3.2 Non-Destructive Quantization
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14.3.3 Creating Texture With Randomization
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15. Using Tuning Systems
15.1 Loading a Tuning System
15.2 The Tuning Section
15.3 MIDI Track Options for Tuning Systems
15.3.1 Bypass Tuning
15.3.2 MIDI Controller Layouts
15.4 Learn More About Tuning Systems
16. Launching Clips
16.1 The Launch Controls
16.2 Launch Modes
16.3 Legato Mode
16.4 Clip Launch Quantization
16.5 Velocity
16.6 Clip Offset and Nudging
16.7 Follow Actions
16.7.1 Looping Parts of a Clip
16.7.2 Creating Cycles
16.7.3 Temporarily Looping Clips
16.7.4 Adding Variations in Sync
16.7.5 Mixing up Melodies and Beats
16.7.6 Creating Nonrepetitive Structures
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17. Routing and I/O
17.1 Monitoring
17.2 External Audio In/Out
17.2.1 Mono/Stereo Conversions
17.3 External MIDI In/Out
17.3.1 MIDI Port Inputs and Outputs
17.3.2 Playing MIDI With the Computer Keyboard
17.3.3 Connecting External Synthesizers
17.3.4 MIDI In/Out Indicators
17.4 Resampling
17.5 Internal Routings
17.5.1 Internal Routing Points
17.5.2 Making Use of Internal Routing
18. Mixing
18.1 The Live Mixer
18.1.1 Additional Mixer Features
18.2 Audio and MIDI Tracks
18.3 Group Tracks
18.4 Return Tracks and the Main track
18.5 Using Live’s Crossfader
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18.6 Soloing and Cueing
18.7 Track Delays
18.8 Keep Monitoring Latency in Recording Track Toggles
18.9 Performance Impact Track Indicators
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19. Recording New Clips
19.1 Choosing an Input
19.2 Arming (Record-Enabling) Tracks
19.3 Recording
19.3.1 Recording Into the Arrangement
19.3.2 Recording Into Session Slots
19.3.3 Overdub Recording MIDI Patterns
19.3.4 MIDI Step Recording
19.4 Recording in Sync
19.4.1 Metronome Settings
19.5 Recording Quantized MIDI Notes
19.6 Recording with Count-in
19.7 Setting up File Types
19.8 Where are the Recorded Samples?
19.9 Using Remote Control for Recording
19.10 Capturing MIDI
19.10.1 Starting a New Live Set
19.10.2 Adding Material to an Existing Live Set
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20. Bounce to Audio
20.1 Bouncing Individual Tracks
20.2 Bouncing Group Tracks
20.3 Pasting Bounced Audio
21. Comping
21.1 Take Lanes
21.2 Inserting and Managing Take Lanes
21.3 Recording Takes
21.4 Inserting Samples
21.5 Auditioning Take Lanes
21.6 Creating a Comp
21.7 Source Highlights
22. Stem Separation
22.1 How Stem Separation Works in Live
22.2 Separating Audio Files and Clips
22.2.1 Separation Speed vs.Quality
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23. Working with Instruments and Effects
23.1 Using the Live Devices
23.1.1 Live Device Presets
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23.2 Using Plug-Ins
23.2.1 Plug-Ins in the Device View
23.2.2 Sidechain Parameters
23.3 VST Plug-Ins
23.3.1 The VST Plug-In Folder
23.3.2 VST Presets and Banks
23.4 Audio Units Plug-Ins
23.5 Device Delay Compensation
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24. Instrument, Drum and Effect Racks
24.1 An Overview of Racks
24.1.1 Signal Flow and Parallel Device Chains
24.1.2 Macro Controls
24.2 Creating Racks
24.3 Looking at Racks
24.4 Chain List
24.4.1 Auto Select
24.5 Zones
24.5.1 Signal Flow through Zones
24.5.2 Key Zones
24.5.3 Velocity Zones
24.5.4 Chain Select Zones
24.6 Drum Racks
24.6.1 Pad View
24.7 Using the Macro Controls
24.7.1 Map Mode
24.7.2 Randomizing Macro Controls
24.7.3 Macro Control Variations
24.8 Mixing With Racks
24.8.1 Extracting Chains
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25. Automation and Editing Envelopes
25.1 Recording Automation in Arrangement View
25.2 Recording Automation in Session View
25.2.1 Session Automation Recording Modes
25.3 Deleting Automation
25.4 Overriding Automation
25.5 Drawing and Editing Automation
25.5.1 Drawing Envelopes
25.5.2 Editing Breakpoints
25.5.3 Stretching and Skewing Envelopes
25.5.4 Simplifying Envelopes
25.5.5 Inserting Automation Shapes
25.5.6 Locking Envelopes
25.5.7 Edit Menu Commands
25.5.8 Editing the Tempo Automation
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26. Clip Envelopes
26.1 The Clip Envelope Editor
26.2 Audio Clip Envelopes
26.2.1 Clip Envelopes are Non-Destructive
26.2.2 Changing Pitch and Tuning per Note
26.2.3 Muting or Attenuating Notes in a Sample
26.2.4 Scrambling Beats
26.2.5 Using Clips as Templates
26.3 Mixer and Device Clip Envelopes
26.3.1 Modulating Mixer Volumes and Sends
26.3.2 Modulating Pan
26.3.3 Modulating Device Controls
26.4 MIDI Controller Clip Envelopes
26.5 Unlinking Clip Envelopes From Clips
26.5.1 Programming a Fade-Out for a Live Set
26.5.2 Creating Long Loops from Short Loops
26.5.3 Imposing Rhythm Patterns onto Samples
26.5.4 Clip Envelopes as LFOs
26.5.5 Warping Linked Envelopes
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27. Working with Video
27.1 Importing Video
27.2 The Appearance of Video in Live
27.2.1 Video Clips in the Arrangement View
27.2.2 The Video Window
27.2.3 Clip View
27.3 Matching Sound to Video
27.4 Video Trimming Tricks
28. Live Audio Effect Reference
28.1 Amp
28.1.1 Amp Tips
28.2 Auto Filter
28.3 Auto Pan-Tremolo
28.4 Auto Shift
28.4.1 Input Section
28.4.2 Quantizer Tab
28.4.3 MIDI Tab
28.4.4 LFO Tab
28.4.5 Pitch Section
28.4.6 Vibrato Section
28.5 Beat Repeat
28.6 Cabinet
28.6.1 Cabinet Tips
28.7 Channel EQ
28.7.1 Channel EQ Tips
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28.8 Chorus-Ensemble
28.8.1 Chorus-Ensemble Tips
28.9 Compressor
28.9.1 Sidechain Parameters
28.9.2 Compressor Tips
28.10 Corpus
28.10.1 Resonator Parameters
28.10.2 LFO Section
28.10.3 Filter Section
28.10.4 Global Parameters
28.10.5 Sidechain Parameters
28.11 Delay
28.11.1 Delay Tips
28.12 Drum Buss
28.13 Dynamic Tube
28.14 Echo
28.14.1 Echo Tab
28.14.2 Modulation Tab
28.14.3 Character Tab
28.14.4 Global Controls
28.15 EQ Eight
28.16 EQ Three
28.17 Erosion
28.18 External Audio Effect
28.19 Filter Delay
28.20 Gate
28.21 Glue Compressor
28.21.1 Sidechain Parameters
28.22 Grain Delay
28.23 Hybrid Reverb
28.23.1 Signal Flow
28.23.2 Input Section
28.23.3 Convolution Reverb Engine
28.23.4 Algorithmic Reverb Engine
28.23.5 EQ Section
28.23.6 Output Section
28.24 Limiter
28.25 Looper
28.25.1 Feedback Routing
28.26 Multiband Dynamics
28.26.1 Dynamics Processing Theory
28.26.2 Interface and Controls
28.26.3 Sidechain Parameters
28.26.4 Multiband Dynamics Tips
28.27 Overdrive
28.28 Pedal
28.28.1 Pedal Tips
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28.29 Phaser-Flanger
28.30 Redux
28.30.1 Downsampling
28.30.2 Bit Reduction
28.31 Resonators
28.32 Reverb
28.32.1 Input Filter
28.32.2 Early Reections
28.32.3 Diffusion Network
28.32.4 Chorus
28.32.5 Global Settings
28.32.6 Output
28.33 Roar
28.33.1 Input Section
28.33.2 Gain Stage Section
28.33.3 Modulation Section
28.33.4 Feedback Section
28.33.5 Global Section
28.34 Saturator
28.35 Shifter
28.35.1 Tuning and Delay Section
28.35.2 LFO Section
28.35.3 Envelope Follower Section
28.35.4 Shifter Mode Section
28.35.5 Sidechain Parameters
28.35.6 Shifter Tips
28.36 Spectral Resonator
28.36.1 Spectral Resonator Tips
28.37 Spectral Time
28.37.1 Freezer Section
28.37.2 Delay Section
28.37.3 Resolution Section
28.37.4 Global Controls
28.38 Spectrum
28.39 Tuner
28.39.1 View Switches
28.39.2 Classic View
28.39.3 Histogram View
28.39.4 Note Spellings
28.39.5 Reference Slider
28.40 Utility
28.41 Vinyl Distortion
28.42 Vocoder
28.42.1 Vocoder Tips
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29. Live MIDI Effect Reference
29.1 Arpeggiator
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29.2 CC Control
29.3 Chord
29.4 Note Length
29.5 Pitch
29.6 Random
29.7 Scale
29.8 Velocity
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30. Live Instrument Reference
30.1 Analog
30.1.1 Architecture and Interface
30.1.2 Oscillators
30.1.3 Noise Generator
30.1.4 Filters
30.1.5 Ampliers
30.1.6 Envelopes
30.1.7 LFOs
30.1.8 Global Parameters
30.1.9 MPE Sources
30.2 Collision
30.2.1 Architecture and Interface
30.2.2 Mallet Section
30.2.3 Noise Section
30.2.4 Resonator Tabs
30.2.5 LFO Tab
30.2.6 MIDI/MPE Tab
30.2.7 Sound Design Tips
30.3 Drift
30.3.1 Subtractive Synthesis
30.3.2 Oscillator Section
30.3.3 Filter Section
30.3.4 Envelopes Section
30.3.5 LFO Section
30.3.6 Mod Section
30.3.7 Global Section
30.4 Drum Sampler
30.4.1 Sample Controls Section
30.4.2 Playback Effects Section
30.4.3 Filter Section
30.4.4 Global Section
30.4.5 Context Menu Options for Drum Sampler
30.5 Electric
30.5.1 Architecture and Interface
30.5.2 Hammer Section
30.5.3 Fork Section
30.5.4 Damper/Pickup Section
30.5.5 Global Section
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30.6 External Instrument
30.7 Impulse
30.7.1 Sample Slots
30.7.2 Start, Transpose and Stretch
30.7.3 Filter
30.7.4 Saturator and Envelope
30.7.5 Pan and Volume
30.7.6 Global Controls
30.7.7 Individual Outputs
30.8 Meld
30.8.1 General Overview
30.8.2 Oscillators
30.8.3 Oscillator Macros
30.8.4 Envelopes Tab
30.8.5 LFOs Tab
30.8.6 Matrix Tab
30.8.7 MIDI and MPE Tabs
30.8.8 Settings Tab
30.8.9 Filters
30.8.10 Mix Section
30.8.11 Global Controls
30.9 Operator
30.9.1 General Overview
30.9.2 Oscillator Section
30.9.3 LFO Section
30.9.4 Envelopes
30.9.5 Filter Section
30.9.6 Global Controls
30.9.7 Glide and Spread
30.9.8 Strategies for Saving CPU Power
30.9.9 Finally…
30.9.10 The Complete Parameter List
30.10 Sampler
30.10.1 Getting Started with Sampler
30.10.2 Multisampling
30.10.3 Title Bar Options
30.10.4 Sampler’s Tabs
30.10.5 The Zone Tab
30.10.6 The Sample Tab
30.10.7 The Pitch/Osc Tab
30.10.8 The Filter/Global Tab
30.10.9 The Modulation Tab
30.10.10 The MIDI Tab
30.10.11 Importing Third-Party Multisamples
30.11 Simpler
30.11.1 Playback Modes
30.11.2 Warp Controls
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30.11.3 Filter
30.11.4 Envelopes
30.11.5 LFO
30.11.6 Global Parameters
30.11.7 Context Menu Options for Simpler
30.11.8 Strategies for Saving CPU Power
30.12 Tension
30.12.1 Architecture and Interface
30.12.2 String Tab
30.12.3 Filter/Global Tab
30.12.4 Sound Design Tips
30.13 Wavetable
30.13.1 Wavetable Synthesis
30.13.2 Oscillators
30.13.3 Sub Oscillator
30.13.4 Filters
30.13.5 Matrix Tab
30.13.6 Mod Sources Tab
30.13.7 MIDI Tab
30.13.8 Global and Unison Controls
30.13.9 Hi-Quality Mode
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31. Max for Live
31.1 Setting Up Max for Live
31.2 Using Max for Live Devices
31.3 Editing Max for Live Devices
31.4 Building Max for Live MIDI Tools
31.5 Max Dependencies
31.6 Learning Max Programming
32. Max for Live Devices
32.1 Max for Live Instruments
32.1.1 DS Clang
32.1.2 DS Clap
32.1.3 DS Cymbal
32.1.4 DS FM
32.1.5 DS HH
32.1.6 DS Kick
32.1.7 DS Sampler
32.1.8 DS Snare
32.1.9 DS Tom
32.2 Max for Live Audio Effects
32.2.1 Align Delay
32.2.2 Envelope Follower
32.2.3 LFO
32.2.4 Shaper
752
752 753 753 755
757
757
758
758 758 759 760
761 762 763 764 765 766 767 767 768 769 770
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32.3 Max for Live MIDI Effects
32.3.1 Envelope MIDI
32.3.2 Expression Control
32.3.3 Expression Control Legacy
32.3.4 MIDI Monitor
32.3.5 MPE Control
32.3.6 Note Echo
32.3.7 Shaper MIDI
32.4 Max for Live MIDI Tools
771
771 772
774 775 776 782 783 784
33. MIDI and Key Remote Control
33.1 MIDI Remote Control
33.1.1 Natively Supported Control Surfaces
33.1.2 Manual Control Surface Setup
33.1.3 Takeover Mode
33.2 The Mapping Browser
33.2.1 Assigning MIDI Remote Control
33.2.2 Mapping to MIDI Notes
33.2.3 Mapping to Absolute MIDI Controllers
33.2.4 Mapping to Relative MIDI Controllers
33.2.5 Computer Keyboard Remote Control
34. Using Push 1
34.1 Setup
34.2 Browsing and Loading Sounds
34.3 Playing and Programming Beats
34.3.1 Loop Selector
34.3.2 16 Velocities Mode
34.3.3 64-Pad Mode
34.3.4 Loading Individual Drums
34.3.5 Step Sequencing Beats
34.3.6 Real-time Recording
34.3.7 Fixed Length Recording
34.4 Additional Recording Options
34.4.1 Recording with Repeat
34.4.2 Quantizing
34.5 Playing Melodies and Harmonies
34.5.1 Playing in Other Keys
34.6 Step Sequencing Melodies and Harmonies
34.6.1 Adjusting the Loop Length
34.7 Melodic Sequencer + 32 Notes
34.7.1 32 Notes
34.7.2 Sequencer
34.8 Navigating in Note Mode
34.9 Controlling Live’s Instruments and Effects
34.10 Mixing with Push 1
785
785 786 787 788 789 790 790 790
791 793
794
794 795 796 796 798 798 798 799 801
803 804 804 805 806 808 809
811 812 812 813 813 814 815
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34.11 Recording Automation
34.12 Step Sequencing Automation
34.12.1 Note-Specic Parameters
34.12.2 Per-Step Automation
34.13 Controlling Live’s Session View
34.13.1 Session Overview
34.14 Setting User Preferences
34.15 Push 1 Control Reference
817
818 818
819 819
820
821
823
35. Using Push 2
35.1 Setup
35.2 Browsing and Loading Sounds
35.3 Playing and Programming Beats
35.3.1 Loop Selector
35.3.2 16 Velocities Mode
35.3.3 64-Pad Mode
35.3.4 Loading Individual Drums
35.3.5 Step Sequencing Beats
35.3.6 Real-time Recording
35.3.7 Fixed Length Recording
35.4 Additional Recording Options
35.4.1 Recording with Repeat
35.4.2 Quantizing
35.4.3 Arrangement Recording
35.5 Playing Melodies and Harmonies
35.5.1 Playing in Other Keys
35.6 Step Sequencing Melodies and Harmonies
35.6.1 Adjusting the Loop Length
35.7 Melodic Sequencer + 32 Notes
35.7.1 32 Notes
35.7.2 Sequencer
35.8 Working with Samples
35.8.1 Classic Playback Mode
35.8.2 One-Shot Mode
35.8.3 Slicing Mode
35.9 Navigating in Note Mode
35.10 Working With Instruments and Effects
35.10.1 Adding, Deleting, and Reordering Devices
35.10.2 Working with Racks
35.11 Track Control And Mixing
35.11.1 Rack and Group Track Mixing
35.12 Recording Automation
35.13 Step Sequencing Automation
35.14 Clip Mode
35.14.1 Using MIDI Tracks in Clip Mode
35.14.2 Real-Time Playing Layouts
35.14.3 Sequencing Layouts
834
835
835 838 838 840 840
841
844
847
849
850
850
851 852 852 855 856 858 859
860 860
862
863 864 866 868 869
871 872
874
876 877 878 879
881
881
881
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35.14.4 Note-Specic Parameters
35.15 Controlling Live’s Session View
35.15.1 Session Overview
35.16 Setup Menu
35.17 Push 2 Control Reference
883 883
885
886
887
36. Synchronizing with Link, Tempo Follower, and MIDI
36.1 Synchronizing via Link
36.1.1 Setting up Link
36.1.2 Using Link
36.2 Synchronizing via Tempo Follower
36.2.1 Setting Up Tempo Follower
36.3 Synchronizing via MIDI
36.3.1 Synchronizing External MIDI Devices to Live
36.3.2 Synchronizing Live to External MIDI Devices
36.3.3 Sync Delay
37. Computer Audio Resources and Strategies
37.1 Managing the CPU Load
37.1.1 The CPU Load Meter
37.1.2 CPU Load from Multichannel Audio
37.1.3 CPU Load from Tracks and Devices
37.1.4 Track Freeze
37.2 Managing the Disk Load
893
893 893 894 895 895 896 897 897 898
899
899 899
901 901
902 903
38. Audio Fact Sheet
38.1 Testing and Methodology
38.2 Neutral Operations
38.2.1 Undithered Rendering
38.2.2 Matching Sample Rate/No Transposition
38.2.3 Unstretched Beats/Tones/Texture/Re-Pitch Warping
38.2.4 Summing at Single Mix Points
38.2.5 Recording External Signals (Bit Depth >/= A/D Converter)
38.2.6 Recording Internal Sources at 32 Bit
38.2.7 Freezing Tracks
38.2.8 Bypassed Effects
38.2.9 Routing
38.2.10 Splitting Clips
38.3 Non-Neutral Operations
38.3.1 Playback in Complex and Complex Pro Mode
38.3.2 Sample Rate Conversion/Transposition
38.3.3 Volume Automation
38.3.4 Dithering
38.3.5 Recording External Signals (Bit Depth < A/D Converter)
38.3.6 Recording Internal Sources Below 32 Bit
38.3.7 Consolidate
905
905 905 906 906 906
907 907 907
908 908 909 909 909 909
910
910
910
910
911 911
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38.3.8 Clip Fades
38.3.9 Panning
38.3.10 Grooves
38.4 Tips for Achieving Optimal Sound Quality in Live
38.5 Conclusion
911 911 911 912 912
39. MIDI Fact Sheet
39.1 Ideal MIDI Behavior
39.2 MIDI Timing Problems
39.3 Live’s MIDI Solutions
39.4 Variables Outside of Live’s Control
39.5 Tips for Achieving Optimal MIDI Performance
39.6 Summary and Conclusions
40. Accessibility and Keyboard Navigation
40.1 Menu and Keyboard Navigation Settings
40.1.1 Using Tab for Navigation
40.1.2 Settings Menu
40.1.3 Options Menu
40.1.4 Speak Help Text
40.2 Audio Setup
40.3 Connecting MIDI Devices
40.4 Navigating in Live
40.4.1 Navigate Menu
40.5 Editing Automation and Modulation Envelopes
40.5.1 Navigating Between Breakpoints
40.5.2 Selecting and Editing Breakpoints
40.5.3 Switching Between Automation Envelopes in Arrangement View
913
913 914 914 915 917 917
919
919 919
920
921
921
921
921 922 922 927 927 928 929
41. Live Keyboard Shortcuts
41.1 Showing and Hiding Views
41.2 Keyboard Focus and Navigation
41.3 Working with Sets and the Program
41.4 Working with Devices and Plug-Ins
41.5 Editing
41.6 Adjusting Values
41.7 Commands for Breakpoint Envelopes
41.8 Loop Brace and Start/End Markers
41.9 Zooming, Display and Selections
41.10 Clip View Editor View Modes
41.11 Clip View Sample Editor
41.12 Clip View MIDI Note Editor
41.13 Grid Snapping and Drawing
41.14 Global Quantization
41.15 Session View
41.16 Arrangement View
930
930
931 932 933 933 934 935 936 936 937 938 938
941
941 942 943
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41.17 Comping
41.18 Bounce to Audio
41.19 Commands for Tracks
41.20 Transport
41.21 Audio Engine
41.22 Browser
41.23 Similar Sample Swapping
41.24 Key/MIDI Map Mode and the Computer MIDI Keyboard
41.25 Momentary Latching Shortcuts
41.26 General Keyboard Navigation and Workow
41.26.1 Using Tab for Navigation
41.26.2 Navigating Between Controls in the Settings Menu
41.27 Editing Automation and Modulation Envelopes with the Keyboard
41.28 Accessing Menus
41.29 Using Live’s Context Menu
945 945 946 947 948 948 949 949 950 950
951
951 952 952 952
42. Credits
953
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1. Welcome to Live

1.1 The Ableton Team Says: Thank You

Live is the result of musicians wanting a better way to create, produce and perform music using a computer. A great deal of effort has been put into making Live easy and fun to use, yet at the same time capable of helping you create music with unlimited depth and sophistication. You can use this manual as a reference to get familiar with all of Live’s features and workows.
We hope you enjoy using Live and that it enhances your creative process.
Your Ableton Team.
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2. First Steps

2.1 Installation and Authorization

Before getting started with Live, make sure you have the latest version of the software installed and authorized. You can download the Live installer from your ableton.com User Account and then launch it to install the software. Once installed, you can authorize Live. Note that each Live license comes with two authorizations, so you can use the software on up to two computers, providing that you only use one computer at a time.

2.2 Learn About Live

Live comes with a set of interactive lessons to take you step by step through the key features of the program. The lessons are organized in a table of contents, which can be opened directly in the program via the Help menu. We highly recommend following the lessons. Many users have told us that the lessons helped them become familiar with the program very quickly.
We also recommend that you read the Live Concepts chapter, which encapsulates everything that Live is and can do, and is therefore a worthwhile read for both beginners and experienced users. The remaining chapters of this manual serve as in-depth reference for the material introduced in Live Concepts.

2.2.1 Using the Info View

Live’s Info View displays the name and function of whatever you place the mouse over.
You can show or hide Info View by using the view control toggle in the bottom left corner of Live’s window or by using the ? key.
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The Info View and its Show/Hide Button.
You can also create your own text notes for tracks, clips, devices and more, by selecting “Edit Info Text” in the context menu for the corresponding item. You can then type text into the Info View, which will be saved and displayed in your Live Set.

2.3 Live’s Settings

The Settings window is where you can customize various settings for Live. Settings can be found in the Options menu on Windows and in the Live menu on macOS. You can also open the Settings window using the shortcut
Live’s Settings are distributed over several tabs, which are described below.
Ctrl ,
(Win) /

2.3.1 Display & Input

Cmd ,
(Mac).
The Display & Input Settings contain options for language and zoom settings, as well as keyboard navigation and other application settings.
The Display section lets you select your preferred language for Live’s UI, as well as set the zoom
• amount for Live’s main window (as well a second window, if open).
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In Display Options, you can enable “Outline View in Focus” so that a border is drawn around
• whatever view is currently selected. You can also choose how scroll bars are displayed, set the Follow behavior for Arrangement View and clips, and show or hide user interface labels. You can enable various keyboard workow options in the Navigation and Keyboard section,
• such as using the
Tab
key to move keyboard focus, having the
Tab
key navigate in a section continuously, and using the arrow keys to move clips. Mouse and Pen Input lets you enable Pen Tablet Mode, as well as permanent scrub areas.
• You can restore any “Don’t Show Again” warning dialogs that you previously switched off in
• the Application Options section.

2.3.2 Theme & Colors

In the Theme & Color Settings, you can determine the overall look of Live’s appearance.
You can choose a color scheme from the Theme section, or have Live follow the light/dark
• mode settings from your OS. You can also set a warm, cool, or neutral tone to the color palette, and enable high contrast if needed. The Customization tab lets you determine the opacity of the grid lines in the UI, adjust the
• brightness level, and set the color intensity and hue. You can switch auto-assigning track colors on or off in the Track and Clip Colors section, or
• choose a default color for all tracks. The Clip Color toggle can be set to generate random colors or use the track’s color for new clips.

2.3.3 Audio

The Audio Settings options can be used to set up Live’s audio connections with the outside world via an audio interface. This includes access to individual input/output devices, sample rate and latency settings, and a testing section for audio interface calibration.
On macOS, you can use the Use System Device option in the audio output chooser to have the output device in Live match what is selected in the macOS Sound System Settings. This way, you can automatically use the same device for both Live and your operating system.
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The Use System Device Option on macOS.
We suggest taking the time to follow the program’s built-in Setting up Audio I/O lesson, which will walk you through all the steps required to set up and optimize the settings for any given system. To access the lesson, use the Help View command from the Help menu.

2.3.4 Link, Tempo & MIDI

The Link, Tempo & MIDI Settings are used to help Live recognize external devices for three separate and distinct purposes:
Syncing the program with external devices, either via Ableton Link, Tempo Follower, or MIDI.
• Please see the Synchronizing with Link, Tempo Follower, and MIDI chapter for details. Playing MIDI notes. To learn how to route an external device into Live for MIDI input, or how to
• send MIDI to an external device, please see the Routing and I/O chapter. Controlling parts of the interface remotely. This subject is covered in detail in the MIDI and Key
•
Remote Control chapter.

2.3.5 File & Folder

The File & Folder Settings are used to congure settings related to data handling, custom Max for Live
paths, and Live’s decoding cache.

2.3.6 Library

The Library Settings allow you to specify a default location for various types of installed les, including Packs and your User Library, as well as whether or not samples and other les are self-contained when saving Sets. You can also choose to show or hide synchronization options for Ableton Cloud and Push in Live’s Places.
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2.3.7 Plug-Ins

The Plug-Ins Settings allow you to set the location of plug-in folders, specify which folders you want Live to use, and modify the display behavior of plug-in windows.

2.3.8 Record, Warp & Launch

The Record, Warp & Launch Settings allow customizing the default state for new Live Sets and their components, as well as selecting options for new recordings.

2.3.9 Licenses & Updates

The Licenses & Updates Settings are used to manage authorization, automatic updates, and usage data.
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3. Live Concepts

This chapter introduces the essential concepts of Live. We advise you to read this chapter early in your Live career, as a solid understanding of the program’s basic principles will help you make full use of Live’s potential for your music-making.

3.1 The Control Bar

The Control Bar is where you’ll nd Live’s transport and tempo controls, as well as other useful controls to customize Live’s scale and MIDI settings, monitor CPU usage, and toggle between the Session and Arrangement View.
The Control Bar.
The Control Bar is grouped into nine sections:
Browser Options - This section contains the Show/Hide Browser toggle, which lets you show or hide Live’s browser, and the Browser Cong Menu, which includes the options to expand the browser to full height and display the Tuning and Groove Pool sections.
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Tempo Settings and Metronome - In this section, you will nd controls for activating Link, setting your Set’s tempo and time signature, customizing the metronome, and toggling Tempo Follower on or off.
Scale Settings - This section reects the scale settings of the currently selected clip. Changes made to scale settings in this section are applied to the currently selected clip/clip slot and to any subsequently created clips or selected clip slots.
Follow and Arrangement Position - In this section, you can turn Follow on or off, as well as view and adjust the current Arrangement position.
Transport Controls - This section contains controls for starting or stopping playback, and for starting Arrangement recording.
Automation and Capture MIDI - This section contains controls for customizing MIDI overdub settings, arming automation, re-enabling automation for currently overriden parameters, capturing MIDI, and starting Session recording.
Arrangement Loop Settings - This section lets you activate and congure the Arrangement loop and the recording punch-in and punch-out points.
MIDI and CPU Settings - This section lets you activate Draw Mode, enable the Computer MIDI
Keyboard, turn Key and MIDI map modes on or off, change the project sample rate, and monitor
CPU usage.
View Selector - This section contains a toggle that lets you switch between the Session and Arrangement View.

3.2 The Status Bar

The Status Bar displays useful information like error messages or updates about available releases (when Automatic Updates are enabled in the Licenses & Updates Settings).
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The Status Bar.
When working in the MIDI Note Editor, the Status Bar also provides helpful details about a selected note’s location, pitch, velocity, and probability. When hovering over an insert marker in the Session or Arrangement View, the Status Bar displays the marker’s precise location.

3.3 The Browser

Live’s browser is the place where you interact with your library of musical assets: the Core Library of sounds that are installed with the program, any additional sounds you’ve installed via Live Packs, presets and samples you’ve saved, built-in and third-party devices, your Sets saved in Ableton Cloud, your les stored on Push, and any folders that you’ve added manually.
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The Browser.
You can show or hide the browser using the dedicated Show/Hide Browser toggle in the Control Bar or by using the shortcut options in the Browser Cong Menu to display additional sections or expand the browser to full height.
Ctrl Alt 5
(Win) /
Cmd Option 5
(Mac). You can also use the

3.4 Sound Similarity

Live comes with sound similarity recognition which is used in two features: Similarity Search and Similar Sample Swapping. Similarity Search helps you nd sounds similar to a reference le by comparing the reference to the items in the Core Library and the User Library. Similarity Search works with samples up to 60 seconds long, instrument presets, and drum presets. It can also be used in conjunction with Live’s Similar Sample Swapping feature to replace sample les with other similar sounds in Drum Rack, Simpler, or Drum Sampler.
A Show Similar Files icon is displayed next to compatible les that have been selected in the browser.
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The Show Similar Files Icon Next to a Sample.
Clicking on the icon will bring up a list of sounds similar to the reference le. You can also right-click an item and select Show Similar Files or use the
Ctrl Shift F
(Win) /
Cmd Shift 5F
(Mac) shortcut to view this list. The reference le will be shown in the search eld and all relevant similar sounding items will be listed below it, ordered from most to least similar.
Similarity Search Results.
When saving custom User Labels based on a list of Similarity Search results, the sound le that the search was based on is automatically shown at the top of the list.
Sound content needs to be analyzed in order for sound similarity features to work. The sound analysis is performed in the background whenever Live discovers new user audio les. The status of Live’s similarity sound analysis is displayed in the Status Bar when background scanning and analysis are in progress, and a Pause button next to the analysis state can be used to stop this process at any time. Note that the Core Library content is pre-analyzed.
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3.5 Live Sets

The type of document that you create and work on in Live is called a Live Set. A Live Set resides in a Live Project — a folder that collects related materials. Once the Project folder is saved, the Set can be opened again using the File menu’s Open command.
A Live Set in the Browser.
The Live Project folder and related les belonging to the currently open Live Set are also accessible via the Current Project label in Live’s Places.

3.6 Arrangement and Session

The basic musical building blocks of Live are called clips. A clip is a piece of musical material: a melody, a drum pattern, a bassline or a complete song. Live allows you to record and alter clips, and to create larger musical structures from them: songs, scores, remixes, DJ sets or stage shows.
You can work with clips in two views: the Arrangement, which is a layout of clips along a musical and linear timeline; and the Session, which is a real-time-oriented “launching base” for clips. Every
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Session clip has its own play button that allows launching the clip at any time and in any order. Each clip’s behavior upon launch can be precisely specied through a number of settings.
Clips in the Arrangement View (Left) and in the Session View (Right).
The Arrangement is accessed via the Arrangement View and the Session via the Session View.
If you’re using Live in a single window, you can toggle between the two views using the computer’s
Tab
key or their respective view controls in the top right corner of Live’s window. If you’re using two windows, pressing that if the ‘Use Tab Key to Navigate’ option is enabled in the Display & Input Settings, pressing
Tab
will swap the Session and Arrangement from one window to the other. Note
Tab
will not switch between Arrangement and Session View. However, you can switch between the views using the shortcuts
Option 2
(Mac) for Arrangement View. You can also switch between the views at any time using
Alt 1
(Win) /
Option 1
(Mac) for Session View and
Alt 2
(Win) /
their Navigate menu entries.
The Arrangement and Session View Controls.
Because the two views have distinct applications, they each hold individual collections of clips. However, it is important to understand that when you switch between the views during playback or recording, only the UI is affected and not the currently playing clips.
The Arrangement View and the Session View interact in useful ways. One can, for instance, improvise with Session clips and record a log of the improvisation into the Arrangement for further renement. This works because Arrangement and Session are connected via tracks.
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3.7 Tracks

Tracks host clips and also manage the ow of signals, as well as the creation of new clips through recording, sound synthesis, effects processing and mixing.
A Track in the Arrangement View.
The Session and Arrangement share the same set of tracks. In the Session View, the tracks are laid out in columns, while in the Arrangement View they are stacked vertically, with time moving from left to right.
A track can only play one clip at a time. Therefore, one usually places clips that should play alternatively in the same Session View column, and spreads out clips that should play together across tracks in rows, or what we call scenes.
A Scene in the Session View.
At any one time, a track can be playing either a Session clip or an Arrangement clip, but never both. Session clips take precedence. When a Session clip is launched, the currently playing clip stops in favor of playing the newly-launched clip. In particular, if an Arrangement clip is playing on the track, it will stop so that the Session clip can be played instead — even as the other tracks continue to play Arrangement clips. The Arrangement clips in the track where the Session clip was launched will not resume playback until you manually restart it using the Back to Arrangement button.
The Back to Arrangement button can be found in the Main track in the Session View and at the top­right of the scrub area in the Arrangement View. This button lights up to indicate that one or more tracks are currently not playing the Arrangement, but are playing a clip from the Session instead.
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The Back to Arrangement Button in the Session View.
The Back to Arrangement Button in the Arrangement View.
You can click this button to make all tracks go back to playing the Arrangement. Each track in the Arrangement View also has its own Back to Arrangement button, allowing you to resume Arrangement playback of only certain tracks.
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A Single Track’s Back to Arrangement Button.
It is also possible to capture the current Session state into the Arrangement by activating the
Arrangement Record button from the Session View.
The Arrangement Record Button.
Recording into the Arrangement tracks allows you to create multiple takes for a clip and then put them together into a composite track.
You can also link tracks together to perform the same operations on multiple tracks simultaneously.
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Creating a Fade in Two Linked Tracks.

3.8 Audio and MIDI

Live deals with two types of signals: audio and MIDI. In the digital world, an audio signal is a series of numbers that approximates a continuous waveform. The signal can originate from various sources, including audio from a microphone, a sound synthesized or sampled through software, or a signal delivered to a loudspeaker. A MIDI signal is a sequence of commands, such as “now play a C4 at mezzo piano.“ MIDI is a symbolic representation of musical material, one that is closer to a written score than to an audio recording. MIDI signals are generated by hardware input devices such as MIDI or USB keyboards or software devices.
It takes an instrument to convert MIDI signals into audio signals that can actually be heard. Some instruments, such as Live’s Simpler, are for chromatic playing of one sound via the keyboard. Other instruments, such as Live’s Impulse, have a different percussion sound assigned to each keyboard key.
Audio signals are recorded and played back using audio tracks, and MIDI signals are recorded and played back using MIDI tracks. The two track types have their own corresponding clip types. Audio clips cannot be added to MIDI tracks and vice versa.
You can nd more information about inserting, reordering, and deleting audio and MIDI tracks in the
Audio and MIDI Tracks section of the Mixing chapter.
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3.9 Audio Clips and Samples

An audio clip contains a reference to a sample (also known as a “sound le“ or “audio le“) or a compressed sample (such as an MP3 le). The clip contains information that instructs Live where on
the computer’s drives to nd the sample, what part of the sample to play and how to play it.
When a sample is dragged in from Live’s built-in browser, Live automatically creates a clip to play that sample. Prior to dragging in a sample, one can audition or preview it directly in the browser. When the Browser File Preview button with the headphones icon is toggled on, the preview starts automatically once the sample is selected.
A Selected Sample with Audio Preview in the Browser.
Live offers many options for playing samples in exciting new ways, allowing you to create an abundance of new sounds without actually changing the original sample — all the changes are computed in real time, while the sample is played. The respective settings can be found in the Clip
View, which opens when a clip is double-clicked.
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An Audio Clip’s Properties as Displayed in the Clip View.
Many powerful manipulations arise from Live’s warping capabilities. Warping means changing the speed of sample playback independently from the pitch so as to match the song tempo. The tempo can be adjusted on the y in the Control Bar’s Tempo eld.
The Control Bar’s Tempo Field.
The most elementary use of this technique, and one that usually requires no manual setup, is synchronizing sample loops to the chosen tempo. Live’s Auto-Warp algorithm actually makes it easy to line up any sample with the song tempo, such as a recording of a drunken jazz band’s performance. It is also possible to radically change the sonic signature of a sound using extreme warp settings.

3.10 MIDI Clips and MIDI Files

A MIDI clip contains musical material in the form of MIDI notes and controller envelopes. When MIDI is imported from a MIDI le, the data gets incorporated into the Live Set, and the original le is not referenced thereafter. In Live’s browser, a MIDI le appears with a special icon, and with the .mid le extension.
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A MIDI File in the Browser.
A MIDI clip’s contents can be accessed and edited via the Clip View, for instance to change a melody or create a drum pattern.
A MIDI Clip’s Properties as Displayed in the Clip View.
Aside from recording incoming MIDI signals from external devices, Live also allows you to add MIDI notes to clips through Draw Mode, MIDI Tools or audio-to-MIDI converters.

3.11 Devices

A track can contain not only clips but also a chain of devices for processing signals. Double-clicking a track’s title bar brings up the Device View, which shows the track’s device chain.
The Device View Displaying a MIDI Track’s Device Chain.
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Devices that receive and deliver audio signals are called audio effects. Audio effects are the only type of device that ts in an audio track or a return track. However, two more types of devices are available for use in MIDI tracks: MIDI effects and instruments.
Live’s built-in audio effects, MIDI effects, and instruments are available from the browser. You can add devices to tracks by dragging them from the browser into the Device View, or dragging them onto a Session or Arrangement track. You can also load instruments and effects into a track by selecting them in the browser and pressing
Enter
.
Live’s Built-in Devices Are Available from the Browser.
You can also use plug-in devices in Live. VST and Audio Units (macOS only) plug-ins are available from the browser’s Plug-Ins label.
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Plug-In Devices Are Available from the Browser’s Plug-Ins Label.

3.12 Clip and Device View

The Clip View is where you can set and adjust clip properties such as start or end points, looping, or scale settings. When in the Session View, you can also access extended clip properties such as follow
actions.
The Clip View
When working with audio clips, the Clip View allows you to access warping controls and audio
transformation tools.
When working with MIDI clips, the Clip View includes pitch and time utilities, as well as MIDI
Transformation and Generative tools.
The Device View shows a list of the devices currently loaded on a selected track. MIDI tracks can have MIDI effects, instruments, and audio effects loaded. Audio, group, and return tracks can have audio effects loaded.
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The Device View.
The Clip View and Device View can be stacked, which lets you view them at the same time. To do this, use the triangle toggles next to the Clip View and Device View Selectors located to the left of the Mixer View toggle in the bottom-right corner of Live. You can also use the keyboard shortcuts
Alt 3
Cmd Option 4
/
(Win) /
Cmd Option 3
(Mac) for showing the Clip View and
(Mac) for showing the Device View.
Ctrl Alt 4
Ctrl
(Win)
Stacked Clip and Device View.

3.13 Scale Awareness

Live’s scale options let you set any clip to a scale of your choice, and can also be used to apply scales across Live’s effects and devices. Once you activate Scale Mode for a given clip, effect, or device, it becomes scale aware.
Scale awareness for clips can be enabled via the Scale Mode toggle in the Control Bar or directly within the Clip View. A root key and scale type can be selected using the Root Note and Scale Name choosers next to the Scale Mode toggle. Scale settings apply to a selected clip or, if no clip is selected, to any subsequently created clips.
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The Scale Mode Toggle and Scale Choosers in the Clip View.
The Scale Mode controls in the Control Bar reect the current scale settings of any selected clip. These controls can also be used to turn Scale Mode on/off or to set the same scale for multiple selected clips.
Scale Options in the Control Bar.
In the Clip View, when Scale Mode is enabled, the Fold to Scale and Highlight Scale options will appear in the MIDI Note Editor. When Fold to Scale is on, only the key tracks that belong to notes of the scale will be displayed in the editor. When Highlight Scale is enabled, the key tracks that belong to notes of the scale will be highlighted in purple, which is the color that signies scale awareness across Live.
When a scale is active, any pitch-related parameters in MIDI Tools and the Pitch and Time Utilities panel will also use the selected scale.
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Live’s Arpeggiator, Chord, Pitch, Random, and Scale MIDI effects include the Use Current Scale toggle in their device title bars. When switched on, a clip’s current scale will be applied and pitch­based device parameters will be adjustable in scale degrees rather than in semitones.
Scale awareness can also be enabled for Auto Shift’s Quantizer and for Meld’s oscillators and lters.

3.14 The Mixer

Consider an audio clip playing in an audio track. The audio signal from the clip reaches the leftmost device in the chain. This device processes (changes) the signal and feeds the result into the next device, and so on. The number of devices per track is theoretically unlimited. In practice, the computer’s processing power imposes a limit on the number of devices you can use at the same time, a topic that deserves separate discussion. Note that the signal connections between audio devices are always stereo, but the software’s inputs and outputs can be congured to be mono in the Audio Settings.
When the signal has passed through the device chain, it ends up in Live’s mixer. As the Session and Arrangement share the same set of tracks, they also share the mixer. The mixer can be shown in both views for convenience.
The Live Mixer in the Arrangement View.
To optimize the screen layout, the individual mixer sections can be shown or hidden using the Mixer Controls entries in the View menu or the options in the Mixer Cong Menu in the bottom right corner of Live’s window.
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The Mixer Cong Menu Options.
The mixer has controls for volume, pan position and sends, which determine how much of a track’s output feeds the associated return track’s input. Return tracks only contain effects, and not clips. Via their sends, all tracks can feed a part of their signal into a return track and share its effects.
The mixer also includes a crossfader, which can create smooth transitions between clips playing on different tracks. Live’s crossfader works like a typical DJ mixer crossfader, with the exception that it allows crossfading not just two but any number of tracks — including the returns.
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The Crossfader and Track Crossfader Assign Buttons.
Consider a MIDI track playing a clip. The MIDI signal from the clip is fed into the track’s device chain. There, it is rst processed by any number of MIDI effects. A MIDI effect receives and delivers MIDI signals. The last MIDI effect in the chain is followed by an instrument, which receives MIDI and outputs audio. Following the instrument, there can be any number of audio effects — as in an audio track.
A MIDI Effect, an Instrument and Some Audio Effects in a MIDI Track.
If a MIDI track has no instrument (and no audio effects), then the track’s output is a plain MIDI signal, which has to be sent somewhere else to be converted into audio. In this case, the track’s mix and send controls disappear from the mixer.
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The Mixer for a MIDI Track without an Instrument.

3.15 Presets and Racks

Every Live device can store and retrieve particular sets of parameter values as presets. As presets are stored independently from Live Sets, new presets become part of your User Library that any project can draw from.
Live’s Instrument, Drum and Effect Racks allow saving combinations of devices and their settings as a single preset. This feature makes it possible to put together powerful multi-device creations, effectively adding all the capabilities of Live’s MIDI and audio effects to the built-in instruments.

3.16 Routing

All tracks deliver signals, either audio or MIDI. The targets for these signals are set up in the mixer’s In/Out section, which contains signal source and destination choosers for every track. The In/Out
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section, accessible via the In/Out option in the Mixer Controls submenu of the View menu, is Live’s “patchbay.“ Its routing options enable valuable creative and technical methods such as resampling, submixing, layering of synths, complex effects setups, and more.
Track Routing Is Set up Using the In/Out Section.
Signals from the tracks can be sent out of Live via the computer’s audio and MIDI interfaces, to different programs that are connected to tracks or devices within Live. Tracks can also be combined into a group track which serves as a submixer for the selected tracks.
Likewise, a track can be set up to receive an input signal to be played through the track’s devices. Again, tracks can receive their input from outside of Live or from another track or device in Live. The monitoring controls regulate the conditions under which the input signal is heard through the track.
It is also possible to route signals to external hardware devices from within a track’s device chain, by using the External Audio Effect and External Instrument devices.

3.17 Recording New Clips

Audio tracks and MIDI tracks can record their input signal and thereby create new clips. Recording is enabled on a track by pressing its Arm button. With multiple tracks selected, pressing any of their Arm buttons will arm all of them. You can also hold down the clicking the Arm buttons to arm several tracks at once. If the Exclusive Arm option is enabled in the
Record, Warp & Launch Settings, inserting an instrument into a new or empty MIDI track will
automatically arm the track. When the Control Bar’s Arrangement Record button is on, every armed track records its input signal into the Arrangement. Every take yields a new clip per track.
Ctrl
(Win) /
Cmd
(Mac) modier when
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Track Arm Buttons.
It is also possible to record into Session View slots on the y. This technique is very useful for the jamming musician, as Session recording does not require stopping the music. Clicking the Session Record button records a new clip in the selected Session scene in all armed tracks.
The Control Bar’s Session Record Button.
Clicking the Session Record button again stops the recording and launches the new clips. As these actions are subject to real-time launch quantization, the resulting clips can be automatically cut to the beat.
The Control Bar’s Quantization Chooser.
Session recording in conjunction with overdubbing and Record Quantization is the method of choice for creating drum patterns, which are built up by successively adding notes to the pattern while it plays in a loop. It only takes a MIDI keyboard (or the computer keyboard) and a MIDI track with Live’s Impulse percussion instrument to do this.
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3.18 Automation Envelopes

Often, when working with Live’s mixer and effects, you will want the adjustments made to the controls’ values to become part of the Set. The changes to a control’s value that happen across the Arrangement timeline or Session clip are called automation; a control whose value changes over time is automated. Automation is represented by breakpoint envelopes, which can be drawn, edited and recorded in real-time.
Automated Parameters in the Arrangement View.
Practically all mixer and effect controls in Live can be automated, even the song tempo. Recording automation is straightforward: all changes of a control that occur while the Control Bar’s Automation Arm and Arrangement Record buttons are on become automation in the Arrangement View. Automation is recorded to Session View clips if controls are adjusted while recording with the Automation Arm button enabled.
Changing an automated control’s value while not recording is similar to launching a Session clip while the Arrangement is playing: It deactivates the control’s automation (in favor of the new control setting). The control will stop tracking its automation and continue using the new value until the Re-Enable Automation button is pressed or a Session clip that contains automation is launched.

3.19 Clip Envelopes

Envelopes can be found in both tracks and clips. Clip envelopes are used to automate or modulate device and mixer controls. Audio clips have additional clip envelopes to inuence the clip’s pitch, volume and more; these can be used to change the melody and rhythm of recorded audio. MIDI clips have extra clip envelopes to represent MIDI controller data. Clip envelopes can be unlinked from the clip to give them independent loop settings, so that larger movements (like fade-outs) or smaller gestures (like an arpeggio) can be superimposed onto the clip’s material.
An Envelope for Clip Transposition.
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3.20 Undo History

Undo History displays a list of actions taken since opening a Set and lets you revert or reapply them as needed. Actions are listed from newest at the top to oldest at the bottom, and each one can be reverted when deselected or reapplied when selected.
To open the list, select Undo History from the View menu or use
Option Z
(Mac).
Ctrl Alt Z
(Win) /
Cmd
Undo History.
To restore an action, click on an entry in the list or select an entry with your keyboard and press Enter. When an action is selected, all of the actions that followed it (i.e.those listed above the selected action in the Undo History view) are greyed out, indicating that they have been undone. All of the actions that precede the selected action (i.e.those listed below it in the view) remain active, indicating that their changes still apply. This workow makes it easy to reverse or recover multiple actions at once instead of undoing or redoing each step individually.
Note that the Undo History view is cleared whenever you open a Set, be it a new Set when opening Live or an existing saved Set. Creating or opening a Set is treated as the rst action in the Undo History view and cannot be undone.
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3.21 MIDI and Key Remote

To liberate the musician from the mouse, most of Live’s controls can be remote-controlled via an external MIDI controller. Remote mappings are established in MIDI Map Mode, which is engaged by pressing the MIDI switch in the Control Bar.
In this mode, you can click on any mixer or effect control, and then assign it to a controller simply by sending the desired MIDI message (for example, by turning a knob on your MIDI control box). Your assignments take effect immediately after you leave MIDI Map Mode. Session clips can be mapped to a MIDI key or even a keyboard range for chromatic playing.
MIDI keys and controllers that have been mapped to Live’s controls are not available for recording via MIDI tracks. These messages are ltered out before the incoming MIDI is passed on to the MIDI tracks.
The Key/MIDI Map Controls.
Session clips, switches, buttons and radio buttons can be mapped to computer keyboard keys as well. This happens in Key Map Mode, which works just like MIDI Map Mode.
Live offers, in addition to this general purpose mapping technique, dedicated support for Ableton Push
1, Push 2, and Push 3.

3.22 Saving and Exporting

Saving a Live Set saves everything it contains, including all clips, their positions and settings, and settings for devices and controls. An audio clip can, however, lose the reference to its corresponding sample if the sample is moved or deleted from disk. The links between samples and their clips can be preserved with a special command, Collect All and Save, which makes a copy of each sample and stores it in a project folder along with the Live Set.
A separate Save button in the Clip Title Bar of an audio clip can be used to save a set of default clip
settings along with the sample, so that each time the sample is dragged into the program, it will be
automatically loaded with these settings. This is especially useful if you have specic warp settings for a clip that you want to use in multiple Live Sets.
Exporting audio from Live can be done from both the Session and Arrangement Views by selecting ‘Export Audio/Video’ from the File menu or by using the shortcut
Ctrl Shift R
(Win) /
Cmd
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Shift R
(Mac). By default, Live will export the audio coming through on the Main output as an
audio le of your specications via the Export Audio/Video dialog options.
Live can also export individual MIDI clips as MIDI les.
Exporting and saving material for later use in Live can be done very conveniently with the Live Clip format. Session View clips can be dragged back out of a Live Set to the User Library, and thereby exported to the disk as Live Clips.
A Live Clip in the Browser.
Live Clips are a very powerful way of storing ideas, as they save not only the clip’s Clip View settings,
but also the corresponding track’s instruments and effects chain. Live Clips in the browser can be previewed and added to any open Live Set just like sample les. Once loaded in a Live Set, they are restored with the original envelope and device settings.
Using Live Clips, you can build your own personalized library of:
MIDI sequences with matching instruments and effects, e.g., a MIDI drum pattern with the
• associated Impulse and effects settings; Different regions or loops referencing the same source le;
• Variations of a sample loop created by applying Warp Markers, clip envelopes and effects;
• Ideas that may not t your current project but could be useful in the future.
•
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4. Working with the Browser

Live’s browser is the place where you interact with your library of musical assets: the Core Library of sounds included with the program, any additional sounds you’ve installed via Live Packs, presets, samples you’ve saved, built-in and third-party devices, and any folders on your hard drive that contain samples, tracks, etc. Additionally, you can access les from Ableton Cloud and Push in Standalone Mode via the browser’s Places section.
The browser contains several sections and controls for searching, ltering, browsing, and previewing content. These include the search bar, sidebar, lters, content pane, and other tools.
The Browser’s Layout.
The browser’s sidebar contains the Collections, Library, and Places sections and their
1. associated labels.
The Browse Back and Browse Forward buttons can be used to access the browser’s previous
2. search or navigation states.
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The search eld helps you nd browser items and tagged content.
3.
The Show/Hide Filter toggle can be used to show or hide the browser’s lters, while the Filter
4. View menu can be used to specify which lter groups are visible in the Filter View, and to toggle the Tag Editor, Quick Tags, and Auto Tags.
The Filter View contains a set of lter groups with associated tags which you can use to search
5. for items in your library.
The Results bar appears when searching or ltering. It includes the Add Label button which you
6. can use to save the results in a custom label. When ltering, the bar indicates how many lters are currently applied.
The content pane displays the items in whatever label is selected in the browser, or the results of
7. searching and ltering.
The Preview tab displays a waveform for samples and clips, and plays back the sound when the
8. Preview toggle is activated.
You can adjust how the width is split between the left and right panels of the browser by dragging the middle divider line horizontally. You can also expand the overall size of the browser by dragging its right edge to the right or its bottom edge to the bottom of Live’s window. Note that dragging the browser’s bottom edge will automatically close the Info View, as well the Clip View or Device View (whichever happens to be open).
It is also possible to set the browser to take up the full height of the application’s window by selecting the Full-Height Browser option from the View menu. When you select this option, the browser expands to the bottom of Live’s window, but the Info View, as well as the Clip View or Device View (whichever is currently active) remain open.
Working in the browser involves choosing one of the labels from the Collections, Library or Places sections in the sidebar, and then ltering or selecting the items that appear in the content pane. You can also use the search bar to look for specic items or tags.
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4.1 Content Pane

The Content Pane.
The content pane contains a list of items in a given label or the results of a search or ltering. The Name column is always visible, but you can also show additional columns by selecting them from the Content Options menu.
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The Content Options Menu.
Once you select additional columns to be displayed, you can manually reorder them by clicking on a column name and dragging it to the desired position.
You can sort the items in the content pane in ascending or descending order in any column by clicking on the column name. Note that right-clicking on a column name also opens the Content Options menu.
The Content Options menu also includes the option to show or hide le extensions for the browser items.

4.2 Search Bar

To nd browser content, type your desired search term(s) into the search bar. The results will include les that match all search terms, as opposed to any. For example, if you search for “electric bass” any items containing both “electric” and “bass” in their lenames will be displayed.
To search across all Library locations, select the All label or press (Mac) to automatically switch to the All label; this shortcut also places a cursor in the search eld.
Ctrl F
(Win) /
Cmd F
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The Browser’s Search Field.
You can further rene your search by selecting tags from various lter groups to narrow the results. For example, if you want to nd string sounds, you can type “strings” into the search eld and then click on any tags in the Filters view to display results matching only those tag descriptions.
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You Can Search for Content Using Search Terms and Narrow the Results Using Tags.
It is also possible to search for content via tags by typing # into the search bar followed by the tag name, e.g., #Drums. Auto-complete suggestions for tag names will appear as you start typing after the hashtag.
You Can Also Find Tagged Content by Searching For Tag Names.
You can click the x button in the search bar to clear any search terms. Note that this does not reset the Filters view. You can use the Clear button in the Results bar to remove any selected tags as well as entered search terms.
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Use the Clear Button to Remove All Selected Tags.
For mouse-free searching, we suggest the following sequence of keyboard actions:
1.
Ctrl F
(Win) /
Cmd F
(Mac) to place a cursor in the search eld and switch browser focus to the All label; Type your search terms or tag names;
2. Down arrow key to jump to the search results;
3. Up and down arrow keys to scroll the search results;
4.
Esc
5.
to clear the search eld and show all items in the All label again. Any selected tags will
be cleared as well.

4.2.1 Saving Search Results as Custom Labels

If you like the results of a particular search and want to quickly access them again in the future, you can create a custom user label containing those search results by clicking the Add Label button to the right of the Clear button.
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Use the Add Label Button to Save Search Results.
Once saved, you can access the label and its contents like any other label in the Library.
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A Saved Custom User Label.
You can also use custom labels to store specic items in one place for easy access — similar to using the Collections labels — by tagging content with your own custom tags and then saving the search results into a new label.
If you no longer need a custom label you previously added, you can quickly remove it via its right­click context menu.
You can use a label’s context menu to rename both factory and custom labels. You can also select a different icon for any label via the context menu, which allows you to further customize your browser.
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Context Menu Options for a Custom User Label.

4.3 Browser History

The arrow buttons to the left of the search bar can be used to go forward or backwards in the browser’s history.
Use the Arrow Buttons to Access the Browser History.
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You can also use the following keyboard shortcuts:
Go forward in the browser’s history:
• Go back in the browser’s history:
•
Ctrl ]
Ctrl [
(Win) /
(Win) /
Cmd ]
Cmd [
(Mac)
(Mac)
The history includes past searches as well as previous navigation states.

4.4 Filters and Tags

The browser includes a set of lters which can be used to search specic content using descriptive tags.
The Browser’s Filter View.
The Filter View section consists of lter groups and their associated tags. You can hide the section by pressing the Show/Hide Filter View toggle, or use the Filter View menu next to the toggle to customize which lter groups are visible.
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4.4.1 Filter Groups

Each lter group contains a set of tags that you can click on to narrow the results that appear in the content pane. To select multiple tags in one group, use the clicking on tags.
Ctrl
(Win) /
Cmd
(Mac) modier when
The Sounds Filter Group and its Associated Tags.
The set of available lter groups is unique to each label, and the state of enabled lters is saved and recalled when moving between Library labels. This means you can customize exactly which groups are shown for every label as needed.
To show additional or all lter groups and their tags, use the Filter View menu.
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You Can Choose Which Filters are Displayed for Each Label.
You can also right-click on individual lter group names in the Filter View section to hide those groups in a given label. Use the Filter View menu’s Reset Filter Groups to Default option to restore the label to its default set of visible lter groups.
The Results bar shows how many lters are applied at any given time. To reset the Filter View and remove any selected tags and search terms, click the Clear button in the Results bar.
You can save the ltered results in a custom user label by clicking the Add Label button to the right of the Clear button.

4.4.2 Tags

Tags are useful for quickly locating or organizing the browser content, especially if you create your own custom tags. Tags can also be a good way to discover content that you are not familiar with yet — simply select one of the tags in the Filter View and browse items associated with the tag.
All of Live’s factory content (i.e., content from the Core Library and Live Packs that come with each Live edition) is tagged with a set of descriptive tags. Content from the third-party Packs available in the Ableton webshop is tagged with the tags contained within the “Sounds” lter group.
It is not possible to remove the default tags from the factory items; however, you can assign other tags to those items and even add your own custom tags using the Tag Editor.
Live periodically runs a sound analysis, and as a part of this process assigns tags to user samples that are up to 60 seconds long. The tag assigned is one that best matches the sound of the sample as per the sound analysis.
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Auto tags can be toggled using the Enable Auto Tags option in the Filter View menu, and can be removed or changed to user tags in the Tag Editor.
Live also assigns tags based on VST3 meta data to VST3 plug-ins in cases where the plug-ins use a VST Sub Category that maps to one of Live’s categories.

4.4.3 Tag Editor

The Tag Editor allows you to create and assign tags to any items in the browser. You can also create your own tag groups to further organize your tags library.
To open the Tag Editor, select the dedicated option from the Filter View menu.
Open the Tag Editor from the Filter View Menu.
Once opened, you will see which tags are currently assigned to the selected browser item from the set of default lter groups.
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The Tag Editor.
You can fold and unfold the groups by clicking on the arrows next to a group’s name. When a group containing an assigned tag is folded, the arrow is indicated with a bolder background.
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A Folded Group Containing Assigned Tags.
To add or remove a tag, check or uncheck the box next to the relevant tag. You can apply multiple tags to the same browser item by checking multiple boxes. To tag several items at once, hold
Shift
and select multiple les in the browser before applying the desired tags.
You can add custom tags to any lter group using the Add Tag… option at the end each group.
Use the Add Tag… Option to Create Custom Tags.
You can also create your own groups using the Add Group… option at the bottom of the Tag Editor.
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Use the Add Group… Option to Create Custom Filter Groups.
Once a new lter group is created you can add custom tags for that group. As soon as you assign a tag from the group to a browser item, the group will appear in the Filter View, as well as in the Filter View menu. This is a good way to organize browser items for specic uses, such as tagging all of your eld recordings or vocal samples in their own unique groups for easy access later.
You can rename or delete custom tags and lter groups via their right-click context menus. Note that it is not possible to edit or remove any of the default lter groups or their associated tags.
To close the Tag Editor, press the X button in the upper right corner of the editor or select the relevant option from the Filter View menu.

4.4.4 Quick Tags

You can quickly view the tags assigned to a selected browser item or assign other tags to it using the Quick Tags section.
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The Quick Tags Section.
The Quick Tags section shows any tags assigned to the selected item. You can assign additional tags by clicking Add… and then typing the name of a tag. As you start typing, auto-complete suggestions for tags will appear. Once you assign a tag, it will be added to the Quick Tags section in alphabetical order alongside the factory tags.
To remove a tag you assigned to an item, use the X next to the tag’s name. Note that it is not possible to remove the default tags assigned to items.
You can assign tags to or remove them from multiple items in the same way as when working with a single item. When multiple items are selected, the Quick Tags section shows all of the tags assigned to any of the items in the selection. Any tags that are not shared between all of the items are marked with an asterisk.
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Tags Marked with an Asterisk.
When you select a tag name in the Quick Tags section, the Status Bar displays the lter group in which the tag is located.
The Quick Tags section is visible by default, but you can hide it via the dedicated Open Quick Tags entry in the Filter View menu.
The Open Quick Tags Entry in the Filter View Menu.
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4.5 Collections

The Collections labels each have their own assignable color, which you can use to group different browser items together (including folders) in one place. These labels enable you to quickly organize and access particular browser items (for example, your favorite or most-used items).
You can assign Collections labels via a selected item’s context menu, or by using the number key shortcuts 1 through to 7. Use 0 to reset color assignments.
Note that Collections labels can also be assigned to multiple browser items within a selection. Additionally, it is possible to assign a color label to different item types. For example, you can assign the same color label to a drum sound, a MIDI effect, and a plug-in.
Clicking on a Collections label in the sidebar shows all items tagged with that color. Folders that appear in the Collections labels can be unfolded to show their contents.
In the content pane, square icons indicate the respective color(s) assigned to each item. Note that although multiple colors can be assigned to an item, no more than three of those colors will be shown in the content pane.
Browser Items and Their Assigned Colors in the Content Pane.
Each Collection label can be renamed via its context menu, or by pressing
R
(Mac).
You can choose which labels are visible in the browser by clicking the Edit button, which will appear when hovering the mouse to the right of the Collections header, and checking the Show/Hide Label option next to each label.
Ctrl R
(Win) /
Cmd
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The Collections Edit Button in the Browser.
Editing Shown and Hidden Collections in the Browser.
To exit Edit Mode, click the Done button.
Note that when a hidden unassigned color becomes assigned to a browser item, the Collections label for that color will be shown in the sidebar automatically. However, visible color labels are not automatically hidden if all their assignments are removed.
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4.6 Library

The Library section consists of various labels that contain different browser items organized by type. You can use the search bar or lters to nd and explore all of the available instruments and sounds in your library. The Library section is organized as follows:
All — all items from every label of the browser in a single list with devices at the start and le
• types after. Sounds — all of your Instrument Racks and instrument presets, as well as any instrument preset
• tagged with a tag from the Sounds lter group. Drums — all of your drum presets. This includes default drum devices, drum presets (full Drum
• Racks and single drum hits), and drum samples (loops and one shots). In addition, any item tagged with the Drums. Instruments — default Live instruments and their presets, as well as all of your Instrument Racks.
• These are organized by device rather than by the type of sound. Audio Effects — default Live audio effect devices and their presets, as well as all of your Audio
• Effect Racks, organized by device. MIDI Effects — default Live MIDI effect devices and their presets, as well as all of your MIDI
• Effect Racks, organized by device. Modulators — default Live modulator devices, as well as any devices tagged with the
• Modulator tag from the Devices lter group. Max for Live — all of your Max for Live devices and presets, as well as any Racks that are built
• with those devices. Plug-Ins — your third-party VST and/or Audio Units plug-ins.
• Clips — all of your Live Clips.
• Samples — all of your raw audio samples.
• Grooves — all of your grooves.
• Templates — all of your template Live Sets.
• Tunings — all tuning systems in the Core Library and user-saved .ascl or .scl les.
•
By default, all of the Library labels are visible in the browser. You can customize which labels are shown by clicking the Edit button that appears when hovering to the right of the Library header and then selecting or deselecting labels.
The Library Edit Button in the Browser.
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Editing Shown and Hidden Labels in the Browser.
When you are nished, click the Done button to exit Edit Mode.

4.7 Places

The Places labels contain your Live Packs, User Library, Current Project folder, and any external folders that you’ve added to the browser. Additionally, you can enable the Splice, Cloud, or Push labels in Places via the corresponding Library Settings options to access the Splice sample library, les from Ableton Cloud, or les from your standalone Push in Live.
The actual contents of the Places section will vary depending on how you’ve congured your library. Available labels include:
Packs — contains Live’s Core Library, any additional Packs that you’ve installed yourself, and
• available Pack updates and downloads. Splice — displays the Splice sample catalog, from which you can drag samples into Live.
• Cloud — displays synced Sets from Note and Move when Ableton Cloud is enabled in Live.
• Push — shows all les from Push 3 when connected in Standalone Mode.
•
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User Library — contains items you’ve saved yourself, such as default presets, grooves,
• personalized Rack and device presets, samples, Live Clips, etc. Current Project — shows all les that belong to the currently open Project.
• User Folder — shows specic folders from any of your hard drives that you’ve added to Live’s
• browser. Add Folder… — opens a window where you can choose a folder from any of your hard drives
• to add to Places.

4.7.1 Downloading and Installing Packs in the Browser

The Packs label in the browser shows all Packs that come pre-installed with Live, any Packs that you’ve installed yourself, and available Pack updates and downloads.
Installed Packs appear as a folder in the content pane, which can be unfolded to reveal the included Pack contents. Presets, samples, and Live Clips installed by Packs will also appear in the appropriate Library labels.
Installed Packs in the Browser.
To check for existing updates for your installed Packs, navigate to the Packs label and expand the Updates section.
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Available Updates for Installed Packs in the Browser.
You can also view Packs that you own, but have not installed. These uninstalled Packs appear in the Available Packs section.
Downloadable Packs in the Browser.
You can download any available Packs or updates by clicking the download icon to the right of the Pack name.
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Press the Download Icon to Download a Pack.
While the Pack is downloading, the download icon changes to a pause icon that also indicates the progress of the Pack’s download.
The Download Progress Is Indicated in Yellow.
Should you need to, you can pause Pack downloads and resume them at a later point. To pause a download, click the pause icon. When a download is paused, the paused icon changes back to a download icon. To resume a paused download, click the download icon again.
Note that you can also download a Pack, pause, resume or cancel a download, or install a Pack by choosing the appropriate command in that Pack’s context menu.
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Context Menu Options for a Pack.
You can download several Packs at once by selecting them in the Available Packs list and then clicking one of the download icons. You can also pause and resume downloading multiple selected Packs using one of their pause icons.
When the download is complete, you can install a Pack by pressing the Install button.
Press the Install Button to Install a Pack.
Upon pressing the Install button, Live will display a progress bar in a pop-up dialog that indicates the status of the process.
It can be useful to know the size of a Pack before you download and install it. For example, you may have limited space on your hard drive. You can congure the browser to show the size of all Packs that appear in the Updates and Available Packs sections by selecting the relevant option from the Content Options menu.
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Show or Hide the Size of Packs in the Browser.
You can delete an installed Pack via its context menu or by selecting it in the browser and pressing the
Delete
key. Note that deleted Packs will appear once again in your list of Available Packs.
By default, updates and downloadable Packs are shown in the Packs label, however, it is possible to hide the Updates and Available Packs sections. To do so, use the Show Downloadable Packs toggle in the Library Settings.
Show or Hide Downloadable Packs in the Browser.

4.7.2 Splice

Splice is a royalty-free sample library that you can explore to discover new sounds, which can help enhance your music production. Live’s integration with Splice makes it possible for you to access the sample library via the Splice label in the browser.
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The Splice Label.
When you click on the Splice label, you will see the Home page, which contains the navigation bar, search bar, Search with Sound drop area, and four sample category buttons that you can use to start browsing the Splice library. You can use the arrows in the navigation bar to step backwards and forwards through all the actions you have taken within the Splice label.
You will also nd the options to log in with or create a free Splice account at the top of the content pane in the label.
The Splice label appears in the sidebar by default, but you can also hide it by right-clicking on the label and selecting “Hide from Sidebar”, or by setting the “Show Splice” option in Live’s Library Settings to Off.
The Show Splice Option in Live’s Settings.
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Note that an active internet connection is required in order to view the content in the Splice label.
4.7.2.1 Logging Into Splice
While you can browse and preview samples as soon as you open the label, you will need to log in with your Splice account to add samples to a Set, save samples to your Splice library, or use the Search with Sound functionality. To log in, click Login at the top of the content pane, or, if you do not have a Splice account yet, click on the Try free button instead. Both options will automatically open the default web browser on your OS and redirect you to Splice’s website, where a device conrmation code will be displayed. The same device conrmation code should be simultaneously displayed in the Splice label in Live. Check that the two codes are the same and press Conrm in the web browser.
The Device Conrmation Code Displayed in the Splice Label.
Once you conrm the device, a login page will load in your web browser and you will be able to enter your existing Splice account details or sign up for a new account.
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Splice’s Login Page.
When you are logged in with your Splice account, the Home page for the label looks slightly different: the Library icon in the navigation bar is no longer grayed out and can be used to access your library of Splice sounds, the sample categories buttons are replaced with different browsing buttons and moved to the top of the page, while the Search with Sound drop area is moved to the bottom of the page.
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The Splice Label UI When Logged In.
4.7.2.2 Searching for Splice Samples
You can search for samples directly using the search bar. Once you select it, popular search categories are displayed, and you can select one of these suggestions or start typing to search by the term of your choosing. Further suggestions are displayed as you start typing.
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The Suggestions Displayed After Typing In a Search Term.
Click on one of the suggestions or press
Enter
to view the results. Then, choose the “Samples” or “Packs” option at the top of the results to view a list of individual samples or sample packs that contain the search term.
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A List of Individual Samples in the Search Results.
You can further rene the search results using the lters and tags above the results. You can lter by instrument type, music genre, key, tempo, and sample type (one-shot or loop). The tags listed under the lters change depending on the search term and sample category; you can press the three dots button on the right of the list to expand the tag list.
The results can be sorted by most popular, relevant, or recent samples, or you can randomize the list by selecting the “Random” option from the drop-down menu or pressing the shufe button.
Note that if you are using a free Splice account (or are not logged in), the results will be narrowed down to the samples included with that account; this is indicated by the Included lter at the top of the search results and the “included” tag listed with individual samples. Free Splice accounts come with a library of around 2,500 samples.
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Search Results Displayed for a Free Account.
Apart from using the search bar, you can also search for samples using the browsing buttons on the Home page. There are three buttons: Instruments, Genres, and Cinematic FX. Each button opens a view of different sample categories, and each category comes with its own subcategories, of which you can select one to narrow down your search. In the Instruments and Cinematic FX, you can also view all the samples in a given category without selecting one of the subcategories.
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Sample Categories and Subcategories.
You can also use Splice’s Search with Sound feature to nd samples that complement your existing clips. To do so, simply drag a clip from your Set onto the Search with Sound area in the Home page, or make a time selection and click inside the Search with Sound area to capture the selection. The audio will be processed and Splice will return a list of 50 compatible samples. The results page also allows you to replay the sound reference, drag another clip or capture a new selection, and delete the current sound reference.
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Search with Sound Results.
4.7.2.3 Working with Splice Samples
When you enter a search term, select a sample category, or use the Search with Sound feature, a list of corresponding samples is displayed in the content pane.
The search bar is updated to reect whichever sample category you are viewing, which means that only the samples within the selected category will be searched when you enter a term into the search bar.
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The Search Bar Updates When Viewing a Sample Category.
Each of the sample entries in the list contains an image of the pack it belongs to (which you can click to view the entire pack), an icon that indicates whether the sample is a one-shot or loop, the sample name, the tags assigned to the sample, and a context menu that allows you to add the sample to Likes or Collections in your library, or view the sample’s pack.
When you hover over a sample, you will see the sample type icon change to the Play button; click the button to preview the sample. Clicking the sample name automatically starts the preview.
By default, samples are previewed on a loop, regardless of whether they are one-shots or loops. You can change this behavior and other preview settings using the options at the bottom of the content pane. For example, loops are synced to your Set’s tempo by default, but you can click on the 1x BPM option and switch off the Timestretch toggle to play the loop at its original tempo. In one-shot samples, you can click on the 1 BAR option to switch off the looped preview.
The preview settings also include an option to transpose samples to a selected key, as well as the option to sync to Live’s scale settings. You can also adjust the loudness of the preview.
When you hover over or select a sample, a heart icon appears next to the sample’s name, which you can click to quickly add the sample to Likes in your library.
You can expand the content pane to view even more information about the samples at a glance, as the following columns appear: Time, Key, and BPM.
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Additional Columns Are Visible When the Content Pane is Expanded.
Once you nd a sample you like, you can drag it onto an audio or MIDI track in your Set. When working in the Session View, you can also load samples by double-clicking on them or pressing
Enter
. You can also drag samples directly into devices such as Sampler, Simpler, Drum Rack, or
Impulse.
Note that clips that use Splice samples have their Warp Mode automatically set to Complex, regardless of the default mode set in the Record, Warp & Launch Settings. This ensures the sample sounds the same as it does when previewing it within the Splice label.
When you load samples into your Set, they are automatically licensed and saved to your Splice library.
By default, samples downloaded from Splice are saved to the User Library in the Splice sub-folder in the Samples folder, but you can select a custom location for Splice samples in the Library Settings. The following options are available:
User Library — saves the samples to User Library/Samples/Splice.
• Current Project — saves the samples to Current Project/Samples/Splice.
• Custom Folder — saves the samples to any location of your choosing.
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Set the Download Folder for Splice Samples.
4.7.2.4 Splice Library
The Library contains Likes and Collections, as well as any samples you loaded into your Sets in the past, i.e., the samples that have been downloaded to the location you specied in the Library Settings.
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Splice Library Page.
You can create a custom sample collection from the Collections page or from the menu in the sample entry. Click on an existing collection to view the samples you have added to it or to edit the collection’s name or description, make the collection private, share a link to it, or delete it.
4.7.2.5 Splice Settings
The Settings page contains options for managing your Splice subscription plan, changing your display settings, and downloading usage logs. The page also includes information about generating certied licenses for the samples you use, a link to Splice’s knowledge base, and an option to share feedback with Splice.
If you are not logged in, the page will also include a Login button.
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Splice Settings.

4.7.3 Using Ableton Cloud

Ableton Cloud is a service that lets you store up to eight Sets from Move and Note, which you can access across all Ableton products. When Cloud is enabled in Live, synced Sets appear in the Places section of the browser.
To enable Cloud functionality in Live, select the Cloud label in the browser sidebar. Selecting it displays a message prompting you to sign in to ableton.com to authorize the service. Click the Sign In button to open a web browser and log into your ableton.com user account.
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Sign In to Enable Ableton Cloud in Live.
After Cloud is activated, your synced Sets will appear within the Cloud label.
Synced Sets in the Browser.
Note that all factory and imported samples used in synced Sets are stored in the User Library, which must be set and accessible when opening those Sets in Live. If you open a synced Set and see that samples are missing, check whether your User Library is set to a custom location, such as an external hard drive. To relink the samples, make sure the custom User Library location is connected and accessible.
Since Sets can be synced from Move or Note to Live but not the other way around, we recommend using the Collect All and Save command from the File menu when saving synced Sets you’ve developed further in Live. This gathers all samples used in the Set into a single Project folder, which you can then save to a specic location on your computer.
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Note that the Cloud label is shown in the browser sidebar by default, but you can also hide the label by setting the “Show Cloud” option in Live’s Library Settings to Off.
The Show Cloud Option in Live’s Settings.

4.7.4 Transferring Files from Push 3 in Standalone Mode

You can develop songs continuously between Push and Live: any Set you make in Standalone Mode on Push can be opened on or transferred to your computer. You can also transfer Sets back to Push to continue your work away from your studio, as long as you use native devices, freeze any tracks containing plug-ins, and collect all of your samples into the Project folder.
To access les from Push in Live, make sure that Push is in Standalone Mode and connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your computer. Then, click the Push label in Places. Your Push will appear within the browser’s content pane along with its unique device name. If there are other Push units within range, they will also be shown. If you have several units, you can nd the specic “Push xxx­xxx” name in the Status Tab of Push’s Setup menu to conrm which one you want to pair with Live. Click the Connect button to proceed.
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Connect Push to Transfer Files.
On Push, a six-digit code will be displayed; enter this code in the dialog window that appears in Live, and then press OK to continue the pairing process.
Once you’ve successfully paired Push with Live, all of your saved Project folders from Standalone Mode and Push’s User Library will appear in Live’s browser.
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