User manual ABLETON LIVE 6

1 Live Version 6.0 for Windows and Mac OS Created by Bernd Roggendorf, Gerhard Behles, Robert Henke, Awi, Reiner Rudolph, Stefan Haller, Stefan Franke, Frank Hoffmann, Andreas Zapf, Ralf Suckow, Gregor Klinke, Matthias Mayrock, Friedemann Schautz, Ingo Koehne, Jakob Rang, Pablo Sara, Nicholas Allen, Henrik Lafrenz, Jan Buchholz, Kevin Haywood, Dominik Wilms, Christian Kleine, Amaury Groc, Daniel Buettner, Alex Koch, Henrik Hahn, Simon Frontzek, Torsten Wendland, Torsten Slama, Eduard Mueller, Jeremy Bernstein, Bernard Chavonnet. Reference Manual by Kevin Haywood, Rose Knudsen, Gerhard Behles, Jakob Rang, Robert Henke, Torsten Slama. Essential Instrument Collection created by SONiVOX. Web: www.sonivoxrocks.com Drum samples provided by Big Fish Audio. Copyright 2006 Ableton AG. All rights reserved. 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. Ableton is a trademark of Ableton AG. Mac, the Mac logo, Mac OS, Macintosh and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. The Audio Units logo and GarageBand are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Windows and DirectX are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. SONiVOX is the brand name trademark of Sonic Network, Inc. VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. ASIO is a trademark and software 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. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. 1 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 now1 , or choose the Check for Updates command 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 know2 . Your Ableton Team. 1 http://www.ableton.com/downloads 2 contact@ableton.com CHAPTER 1. WELCOME TO LIVE 2 1.2 1.2.1 What's New in Live 6? Movie Import Improvise, compose and warp music to picture 1.2.2 Live Effects and Instruments Sampler optional add-on instrument Dynamic Tube effect EQ Four upgrades to EQ Eight Note Length MIDI effect Enhancements for Operator, Saturator and Utility Instrument and Effect Racks enable custom groupings of devices along with a simpli ed set of controls for tweaking the sound 1.2.3 Mixing and Routing Pro Session Mixer features Pre-effects, post-effects and post-mixer routing options for more exible mix setups 1.2.4 Warping Tempo Master setting for warped audio and video clips in the Arrangement Multi-clip warping CHAPTER 1. WELCOME TO LIVE 3 1.2.5 ReWire and Remote Control ReWire master access to Live's instruments Instant mappings for many popular control surfaces Improved MIDI and key mapping 1.2.6 File Management and Browsing New le management tools Better browsing 1.2.7 Processor Maximization Multiplied audio processing power with multicore and multiprocessor support Deep Freeze keeps most editing functions available while tracks are frozen 4 Chapter 2 First Steps When you install Live and run it for the rst time, you will be presented with a dialog asking for your Live serial number. Please see the chapter on unlocking Live should you have questions or concerns during the authorization process. If you do not (yet) own Live, you can close the dialog 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. 2.1 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 CHAPTER 2. FIRST STEPS 5 experienced users. The remaining chapters of this manual serve as in-depth reference for the material introduced in Live Concepts. 2.1.1 Using the Info View and Index Live's Info View tells you the name and function of whatever you place the mouse over. The Info View and its Show/Hide Button. 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 window is where you can nd various settings that determine how Live looks, behaves and interfaces with the outside world. This window is accessed from the Options menu's (Windows)/Live menu's (Mac OS X) Preferences command, or with the Ctrl , (PC) / , (Mac) shortcut. Live's Preferences are distributed over several tabs: CHAPTER 2. FIRST STEPS 6 In the Look/Feel tab, you can make various settings, including the language used for text display and the color scheme, or skin, for the Live user interface. 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, use the Lessons Table of Contents command 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 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. Syncing the program with an external sequencer or drum machine, either as a master or a slave. Please see the Synchronizing via MIDI chapter for details. The File/Folder Preferences pertain to Live's le management and the location of plug-in devices. The Record/Warp/Launch Preferences allow customizing the default state for new Live Sets and their components, as well as selecting options for new recordings. The CPU Preferences include options for managing the processing load, including multicore/multiprocessor support. The Products Preferences are used to manage licensing and installation of the Live platform, and add-on components like the Operator instrument and Live Packs. 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, and each view manages a speci c aspect of your Live Set. Since screen space is CHAPTER 2. FIRST STEPS 7 usually limited, the Live views can't all be displayed at the same time. Each one of the selector buttons at the screen borders calls up a speci c view; clicking this one, for instance, accesses the Live devices: The Device Browser 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 the Full Screen command 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 F11 . (Note: On Mac OS X, this key is assigned by default to Exposé, and will not toggle Full Screen Mode unless Exposé has been deactivated or assigned to a different key in OS X's System Preferences.) You can adjust the main window's horizontal split by dragging. Adjusting the Main Window Split. 8 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 our customers. 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. CHAPTER 3. UNLOCKING LIVE 9 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 webshop1 to make a purchase. Live's Preferences are available via the Options menu (or the Live menu in Mac OS X). 1 http://www.ableton.com/shop CHAPTER 3. UNLOCKING LIVE 10 Selecting the Unlock Button in the Products Tab. 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 clicking the Unlock button 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 CHAPTER 3. UNLOCKING LIVE 11 technical support to help you get back your serial number if you lose it is via your registration data. Therefore, please register your product2 , 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 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 challenge code. The challenge code is a ngerprint that Live takes of your computer's components. For details, please see the corresponding section. 2 http://www.ableton.com/register CHAPTER 3. UNLOCKING LIVE 12 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 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 interface3 . This is a website with elds for entering your serial number and the challenge code, which you can copy from Live's Unlock dialog. 3 http://www.ableton.com/unlock CHAPTER 3. UNLOCKING LIVE 13 The Live Unlocking Web Site. 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. Manually Enter Your Unlock Key. CHAPTER 3. UNLOCKING LIVE 14 3.3 3.3.1 Copy Protection FAQs Can I Use Live or Other Ableton Products Without a Serial Number? If you do not (yet) own Live, you can work with Live in Demo Mode. Demo Mode offers Live's complete functionality, but saving and exporting are disabled. Live will run in Demo Mode by default if it has not been authorized. You can try out other Ableton products, such as the Operator instrument, by individually switching them to Demo Mode in the Products tab of the Preferences. Demo Mode can also be deactivated on a product-by-product basis in the Product Preferences. If running Live or another product in Demo Mode raises your interest in purchasing it, please select it from the Products Preferences tab and then click the Buy button, or visit the Ableton webshop4 . This site contains information about Ableton's distributor and dealer network. It also offers you the opportunity to buy Ableton products online. Live's Preferences are available via the Options menu (or the Live menu in Mac OS X). Click Here if You Are Interested in Buying Live. 4 http://www.ableton.com/shop CHAPTER 3. UNLOCKING LIVE 15 3.3.2 What if I Change My Computer's Components? If the challenge code of your computer changes for some reason, Live will indeed ask you to unlock the software another time. The challenge code does not change, however, when computer peripherals are replaced (audio or MIDI hardware, printers, modems). The challenge code may change if the motherboard, processor or network card is replaced. On some computers, reformatting a hard drive also changes the challenge code. 3.3.3 Can I Unlock Live More than Once? The standard Live license allows you to use Live on only one computer at a time. However, if you have registered your product5 , the Ableton server will provide you with two unlock keys in good faith that you will use Live on only one machine at a time. Just proceed as described in the corresponding section. You can therefore run Live on both a studio desktop computer and a tour laptop, but not at the same time. Should the Ableton server reject your demand for another unlock key, please contact Ableton's technical support. They can be reached by: E-mail6 ; Telephone: +49 (0)30 - 288 763 151 (available Monday to Friday 11 to 15hrs CET); Fax: +49 (0)30 - 288 763 11. To speed up the process, please: Register your copy of Live7 ; Include a brief explanation of the circumstances. 5 http://www.ableton.com/register 6 support@ableton.com 7 http://www.ableton.com/register CHAPTER 3. UNLOCKING LIVE 16 To use Live on more than one computer at a time, you require a secondary license or a site license. Ableton offers these licenses at special rates. Please contact the sales team8 for details. 3.3.4 Can I Play my Set from a Computer That Is Not Unlocked? In Demo Mode, you can load and perform a Live Set with no time limitation. You cannot, however, save or export your work. When you go on tour, consider taking along your Live program CD and a CD with the last state of your Live Set(s). In case of an emergency, you can install and run Live on any computer available and play your backup Live Set(s). 3.3.5 How Can I Turn Demo Mode Off? If Live is unlocked but other products are set to Demo Mode, Live will also run in Demo Mode, and you will not be allowed to save or export your work. To turn Demo Mode off in this case, activate the Hide option for each additional product in its respective Product Preference page. Click Here to Hide a Product's Features. 8 orders@ableton.com CHAPTER 3. UNLOCKING LIVE 17 You can always choose to show a product again later, and then try out its features by using them in Demo Mode. 3.3.6 What Do I Do About Problems or Questions Regarding Copy Protection? Please contact technical support9 . They are happy to help! 9 support@ableton.com 18 Chapter 4 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 fully exploit Live's potential for your music-making. 4.1 Live Sets The type of document that you create and work on in Live is called a Live Set. Live Sets reside in a Live Project a folder that collects related materials and can be opened either through the File menu's Open command or via the built-in File Browsers. A Live Set in the File Browser.