Ableton Live 5 Owner's manual

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Live Version 5.2 for Windows and Mac OS

Created by Bernd Roggendorf, Gerhard Behles, Robert Henke, awi, Reiner Rudolph, Stefan

Haller, Torsten Slama, Eduard Mueller, Stefan Franke, Frank Hoffmann, Andreas Zapf, Hans-

Thomas Mueller, Henrik Hahn, Ralf Suckow, Gregor Klinke, Matthias Mayrock, Friedemann

Schautz, Ingo Koehne.

Reference Manual by Rose Knudsen, Gerhard Behles, Jakob Rang, Robert Henke, Torsten

Slama.

Loops and samples provided by Big Fish Audio.

Web: www.bigshaudio.com

E-mail: info@bigshaudio.com

Address: 11003 Penrose Street, Suite C, Los Angeles, CA 91352

This manual, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with

the terms of such license. The content of this manual is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice and

should not be construed as a commitment by Ableton. Ableton assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies

that may appear in this book.

Except as permitted by such license, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Ableton.

Macintosh, Audio Units and QuickTime are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark

of Microsoft Corporation. VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. ReWire is a trademark of Propellerhead

Software AB. Mackie Control is a trademark of LOUD Technologies Inc. Ogg Vorbis and FLAC are trademarks of Xiph.Org. Ableton

is a trademark of Ableton AG. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective

holders.

Chapter 1

Welcome to Live

1.1 The Ableton Team Says: Thank You

Live is the result of musicians wanting a better way to create, produce and perform music

using a computer. A great deal of effort has been put into making Live easy and fun to

use, yet at the same time capable of helping you create music with unlimited depth and

sophistication. This effort continues even as you read these lines... in fact, a new, improved

Live version might already be available for download! Please check on our website now

1

,

or choose Check for Updates from the Help menu.

We hope you enjoy using Live and that it enhances your creative process. Should you have

suggestions about how we can improve Live, please let us know

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.

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http://www.ableton.com/downloads

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[email protected]

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1.2. WHAT'S NEW IN LIVE 5? 2

Your Ableton Team.

1.2 What's New in Live 5?

1.2.1 Remix Features

Support for MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Ogg FLAC and FLAC compressed audio les

Auto-Warp

Complex Warp Mode for warping music containing beats, tones and textures

Clip scrub, nudge and improved transport controls

1.2.2 Organizational Tools for Files and Sets

File search function

Better browsing for les and folders

Live Clip format for easy storage and retrieval of clip and device settings

Import and export of Live Sets and their components directly from the Browser

Open Recent Set command

1.2.3 Clip and Track Enhancements

Track Freeze for conserving CPU resources and simplifying project sharing

1.2. WHAT'S NEW IN LIVE 5? 3

Track Delay controls to control for human, acoustic and hardware delays

Multi-selection clip editing

Clip deactivation option

1.2.4 Working with Arrangements

Launchable Arrangement Locators

New Arrangement Transport

Track I/O in the Arrangement View

1.2.5 Editing MIDI

Detailed and adaptive MIDI quantization options

Preview in the MIDI Editor

MIDI note deactivation option

1.2.6 MIDI and Key Remote Control

Mackie Control support

Improved mapping for the crossfader

1.2. WHAT'S NEW IN LIVE 5? 4

1.2.7 Resources

Valuable library of clips, device presets and Live Sets

Library expansion and customization with Live Packs

New interactive built-in program lessons

1.2.8 Live Effects and Instruments

Beat Repeat for reorganizing and shredding beats and vocals

Phaser and Flanger

Auto Pan for LFO-driven manipulation of amplitude and panning

Saturator for subtle-to-drastic distortion effects

Arpeggiator

New features for Simpler and Operator

1.2.9 Using Devices

Browser-based device preset management

Device groups for saving multi-effect combinations together with instruments

Device delay compensation for Live and plug-in instruments and effects

Live can receive MIDI messages from plug-ins

VST Plug-ins can be stored in various directories

1.2. WHAT'S NEW IN LIVE 5? 5

1.2.10 Miscellaneous

(PC) /

Ctrl

(Mac) context menus for many commands and settings

Zoom-adaptive or xed grid options

Count-in recording

Monitoring status easily visible when the In/Out section is hidden

Files, Sets and presets can be dragged into Live from the Explorer (Windows) / Finder

(Mac)

Chapter 2

First Steps

When you install Live and run it for the rst time, you will be presented with the Products

Preferences tab.

If you own Live, you can authorize your copy of the software by selecting it from the listed

products and clicking the Unlock button at the bottom of the window. Please see the chapter

on unlocking Live should you have questions or concerns that arise during the unlocking

process.

If you do not (yet) own Live, you can close the Preferences and proceed, as Live will run in

Demo Mode by default. In Demo Mode, you will be able to work with all of Live's features

with the exception of saving and exporting.

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2.1. LEARN ABOUT LIVE 7

2.1 Lear n 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 get familiar with the program very

quickly.

We also recommend that you read the Live Basics chapter, which encapsulates everything

that Live is and can do, and is therefore a worthwhile read for both beginners and expe-

rienced users. The remaining chapters of this manual serve as in-depth reference for the

material introduced in Live Basics.

2.1.1 Using the Info View and Index

Live's Info View tells you the name and function of the user interface element currently under

the mouse.

2.2. SETTING UP PREFERENCES 8

The Info View.

If you require more information on a specic user interface element or topic, please consult

this reference manual. The index, found at the end of the manual, contains the names of all

user interface elements and will lead you to the relevant section.

2.2 Setting up Preferences

Live's Preferences dialog is where you can nd various settings that govern how Live looks,

behaves and interfaces with the outside world. This dialog is accessed with the Options

menu's (Windows) / Live menu's (Mac OS X) Preferences entry.

Live's Preferences are distributed over several tabs:

The Audio Preferences are used to set up Live's audio connections with the outside

world via an audio interface. Please take the time to follow the program's built-in

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, choose

2.3. THE MAIN LIVE SCREEN 9

Lessons Table of Contents from the Help menu.

The MIDI/Sync Preferences are used to help Live recognize MIDI devices for three

separate and distinct purposes:

 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 chapter on

routing.

 Controlling parts of the interface remotely. This subject is covered in detail in the

chapter on remote control.

 Syncing the program with an external sequencer or drum machine, either as a

master or a slave. Please see the manual section on sync for details.

The Plug-In Preferences pertain to the use of plug-in virtual instruments and effects,

as described in the chapter on using plug-ins.

The Default Preferences allow customizing the default state for new projects and their

components, as well as selecting options for new recordings.

The Misc(ellaneous) Preferences include various options. Here, you can select Live's

system language and a color scheme, or skin, for the Live user interface.

The Products Preferences are used to manage licensing and installation of the Live

platform, and add-on components like the Operator instrument and Live Pack library

packages.

2.3 The Main Live Screen

Most of your work in Live happens in the main Live screen. This screen consists of a number

of views. Each view manages a specic aspect of your project. As screen space is limited,

the Live views cannot all be up at the same time.

2.3. THE MAIN LIVE SCREEN 10

Each one of the selector buttons at the screen borders calls up a specic view; click this one,

for instance, to access the Live devices:

A View Selector.

To hide one of Live's views and free up screen space, click on the triangle-shaped button

next to it. To restore the view, click the button again.

A View Show/Hide

Button.

You can run Live in Full Screen Mode by selecting Full Screen from the View menu. To

leave Full Screen Mode, click the button that appears in the lower right corner of the screen.

Full Screen Mode can also be toggled by pressing the F11 key.

You can adjust the main window's horizontal split by dragging.

2.3. THE MAIN LIVE SCREEN 11

Adjusting the Main

Window Split.

Chapter 3

Unlocking Live

Live is protected against illegal use by a copy protection scheme. This scheme has been

designed to meet the highest security standards while avoiding hassles for the customer. If

you nd this procedure to be an inconvenience, please understand that the copy protection

secures your investment: It allows Ableton to provide you with support and to continue

developing Live.

Authorization of Ableton products takes place in the Preferences' Products tab, which will

appear when you start Live for the rst time.

Here you can choose to authorize (unlock) or purchase any Ableton products available to

you, for example the Operator instrument.

Please note that products such as Operator are sold separately from Live but are unlocked

using the same procedure described in the following sections. They can also be individually

set to Demo Mode in the Products tab so that you can try them out.

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13

The Products Tab in the

Preferences.

Clicking on any product listed in the Products tab will give you the option of unlocking or

buying that product. Please click the Unlock button here to complete the unlocking process

in two steps. If you have not yet purchased the product, you can do so online by clicking the

Buy button. You can always return to the Products Preferences tab later or visit the Ableton

webshop

1

to make a purchase. Live's Preferences are available via the Options menu (or

the Live menu in Mac OS X).

Selecting the Unlock

Button in the Products

Tab.

1

http://www.ableton.com/shop

3.1. STEP 1: ENTERING YOUR SERIAL NUMBER 14

3.1 Step 1: Entering Your Serial Number

As an owner of Live, you have received a Serial Number from Ableton, either via e-mail (if

you ordered Live directly from Ableton), or on a card as part of the Live package.

The Fields for Entering

Your Serial Number.

After selecting Unlock in the Products tab, you will be presented with six elds for typing

in your Serial Number. Each eld holds four characters. The Serial Number is composed of

numbers 0..9 and letters A..F. If you accidentally type the wrong string into a eld, the eld

will turn red. When you have successfully entered the Serial Number, click the Ok button

to proceed.

The Serial Number identies your ownership of Live. Because your Serial Number is a

valuable good, you should keep it in a safe place and out of reach of unauthorized hands.

Please be aware that sharing your Serial Number will render it unusable. The only way for

Ableton technical support to help you get back your Serial Number if you lose it is via your

registration data. Therefore, please register your product

2

, as otherwise you might lose

your property!

3.2 Step 2: Unlocking Live

The second step of authorizing Live is called unlocking. Unlocking means associating

your Serial Number with a specic computer. Please be aware that the standard Live license

grants you the right to use Live on only one computer at a time. You can, however, unlock

2

http://www.ableton.com/register

3.2. STEP 2: UNLOCKING LIVE 15

Live with your Serial Number more than once under the legal and technical conditions

described later.

3.2.1 The Unlock Key

For unlocking, you require an Unlock Key that can only be created by the Ableton server.

Unlocking therefore requires access to the Internet. The computer from which you connect

to the Internet does not have to be the same computer for which you wish to unlock Live,

but it does make things easier.

3.2.2 The Challenge Code

The Ableton server creates the Unlock Key from your Serial Number and a so-called Chal-

lenge Code. The Challenge Code is a ngerprint that Live takes of your computer's

components. For details, please see the corresponding section.

3.2.3 Unlocking Online

Unlocking Live Online.

If the computer you want to unlock Live for is connected to the Internet, the only thing you

need to do is press the Unlock Online button. Live will then create a connection to the

Ableton server, send your Serial Number and Challenge Code, and receive the Unlock Key

3.2. STEP 2: UNLOCKING LIVE 16

from the server. No information other than this is exchanged between your computer and

the Ableton server.

3.2.4 Unlocking Ofine

Unlocking Live Ofine.

If the computer you want to unlock Live for is not connected to the Internet, you can use

any other computer to access the Ableton server's web interface

3

. This is a website with

elds for entering your Serial Number and the Challenge Code, which you can copy from

Live's Unlock dialog.

The Live Unlocking Web

Site.

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http://www.ableton.com/unlock

3.2. STEP 2: UNLOCKING LIVE 17

If you have entered your Serial Number and Challenge Code correctly, another website will

appear to provide you with the Unlock Key. There now are two options for transferring the

Unlock Key to the computer that is to be unlocked:

Follow the weblink to download the Unlock Key as a le. Transfer the le to the target

computer via a diskette or CD-ROM. Then, press the Unlock dialog's Load Unlock Key

button to load the Unlock Key le.

The Unlock Key Can Be

Downloaded as a Text

File.

OR it might be more convenient to print the webpage with the Unlock Key on it. On the

target computer, press the Enter Unlock Key button to open a dialog with elds for typing

in the Unlock Key. Typing it in is easier than it rst appears, because the elds will turn red

if you type the wrong string.

3.2. STEP 2: UNLOCKING LIVE 18

Manually Enter Your

Unlock Key.

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