Ableton Live 6
Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, BY ASHER FULERO
Some of the uninitiated lump Ableton Live with other DAWs such as Pro Tools, Cubase, Digital Performer or Cakewalk. A growing number of creative types, however, have been discovering Live as a performance tool and a new way of approaching music creation thanks to its unique take on flexible audio and intuitively adaptable workflow. More producers, instrumentalists and DJs across genres are beginning to rely on Live as the link between their ideas, the studio and the stage.
Throughout the program's version history, Ableton has done a great job keeping its customers informed through expansive beta-testing campaigns and heavily active user forums. By maintaining open communication with customers, Ableton has managed to not only improve its software, but also to do so in exactly the ways real users need most. The latest version, Live 6, has so many new improvements, it's hard to know where to start. But thankfully, amidst the mass of new functionality, Ableton kept the interface fluid and intuitive, helping to bring Live to a whole new level of usability and flexibility.
THE A/V CLUB
At long last, version 6 offers video support, specifically QuickTime video. As is usually the case with Ableton, working with it is extremely easy: Simply drag-and-drop a video file (any format natively compatible with Apple QuickTime will do) into the arrangement, and a video screen pops up delivering real-time, full-resolution viewing, which you could move to a second computer monitor. The movie's audio track appears in the arrangement as an audio clip, which can be moved to the appropriate location on the arrangement timeline, edited and warped to fit the global bpm. Alternatively, using the powerful new Warp Master function, the global bpm can itself be driven by warp markers placed inside the movie's audio track for cool video-aligned sound effects. (That function can in fact be enabled for any audio clip — imagine syncing an entire mix to a fluctuating drum track without having to straighten out its feel.) This new functionality will bring Live's strengths to an entirely new field as commercial and video designers are able to harness this new power to creative ends.
Sold as a separate upgrade for $199, Sampler is a full-fledged multisampling virtual instrument with a number of unique and significantly advanced features. Ableton crammed a truly enormous batch of functions and parameters into an interface that is easy to navigate.
Sampler is divided into six basic panels. The first is Zone, which when selected opens a new panel above the effects rack for choosing samples and adjusting mute/solo and key range for each sample in the bank (which could conceivably be infinite in number). The second panel is Sample, the default panel. Here, the sample currently selected in the Zone panel becomes available for more significant tweaking, such as reverse, start/end/loop points, pan, detuning and much more. Panel three is titled Pitch/Osc and contains an oscillator designed for sample modulation and a pitch envelope. The fourth panel, Filter/Global, features a powerful waveform-morphing multimode filter with an envelope, as well as a global volume envelope and main instrument settings such as volume and panning. Modulation is the fifth panel, containing four deeply customizable mod sources (an envelope and three LFOs) with almost endless routing capabilities inside Sampler and complete automation capabilities. The sixth and final panel is MIDI, which allows incoming MIDI commands to be assigned multiple modulation targets to easily create complex hardware-controller setups.
With so much possibility for rich and inventive patch creation, it would be great to see customized Sampler instruments on the market. Sampler's import capabilities greatly expand its power; the ability to read GarageBand and Logic EXS files really gives those Apple Jam Packs a new purpose. Other readable formats include Akai S1000 and S3000 — formatted sample banks, GigaStudio instruments, SoundFonts and nonencrypted Kontakt instruments. Altogether, this could be a huge blessing for many classic sampler holdouts and sample-bank collectors.
There may not be a need, however, because with Live 6, Ableton has introduced its new Essential Instrument Collection (EIC), a massive 15 GB bank of samples organized and prepared for Simpler's new multisample mode (although you can also use it with Sampler). Working together with Sonivox and Big Fish Audio, Ableton's collection isn't quite as thorough as the Reason Library (and requires a separate serial number) but is certainly much higher quality. My poor 1.25 GHz G4 Mac could barely keep its head above water when loading the huge 3.5 GB Acoustic Piano (which is stunning), but the Rhodes MKI was speedy and really nice to play. The strings, woodwinds and horns sounded beautiful. All EIC patches are prepared to work with Simpler, but an easy Simpler-to-Sampler feature makes it easy to upgrade the patch for more detailed customization. There are also a staggering number of Impulse drum-kit patches that come as a core part of Live (not the EIC), and these can be rearranged into new kits.
VIRTUAL-GEAR UPGRADES
Similar in concept to Reason 3's Combinator, Live 6's new Instrument Rack allows you to build hyper-routed device chains of almost limitless complexity within a single savable preset. With the Hot-Swap Preset feature introduced with Live 5, jumping from one massively complicated setup to another is just a click away, without stopping the music or reloading a session. An Instrument Rack is divided into three sections, each with a Hide button for view customization. The Chains section contains volume and mute/solo settings and key/velocity-split controls for each chain of devices (the number of chains is unlimited and can even contain nested Instrument Racks for severe complexity); new devices can be added to existing chains or dropped here to create new chains. The currently selected chain is displayed for tweaking in the Devices section. (New devices can be dropped here, too.) Lastly, the awesome Macro Controls section contains eight knobs that can be custom-named and assigned with value ranges and polarity to multiple destinations anywhere within the Rack. This feature becomes even more powerful when combined with Live 6's new auto-mapping capabilities.
Live 6 comes programmed with the default settings for most of the popular MIDI controllers (more are on the way). Using this info, Ableton created auto-assignment maps for each of the devices and sections; when enabled, Live 6 will migrate your incoming MIDI signal to the currently selected device, allowing you to manipulate it using your controller without having to reassign anything. For even richer controller customization, Live 6 allows you to lock specific MIDI inputs to specific devices while keeping others open for migration. Right off the bat, I easily locked my M-Audio Oxygen 8 to an instance of Sampler while letting my M-Audio Trigger Finger jump around as I worked; its eight knobs automatically assigned themselves to the eight Macro Controls on whichever Instrument Rack I was using. Live 6 also offers soft takeover and controller pickup modes, in which a knob will not adjust the value of the parameter it controls until it physically crosses over that value, helping eliminate jumpy-knob syndrome.
A few of the older devices have also been given upgrades. The EQ Four has become the new EQ Eight, designed with essentially the same parameters and layout. When I opened my first session, all the instances of EQ Four were automatically replaced and my settings assigned to bands 1-4 with bands 5-8 disabled. The Saturator distortion has been updated with a built-in soft clipper, a true-analog saturation curve and a user-definable waveshaper for detailed, subtle or extreme distortion control. Some basic updates to Utility have turned it into a powerful Swiss Army knife, with new sweepable phase control (0 percent is mono, 100 percent is perfect stereo, 200 percent is 180 degrees out of phase) and a DC switch, as well as a new Panorama control, which is great for individual panning of Instrument Rack chains without adjusting the overall track panning. Two new devices have been introduced. The first is Dynamic Tube, which emulates distortions using three classic vacuum-tube curves and even includes an envelope follower for creating distorted compression or expansion effects — a great way to warm up digital recordings and bring them to life in a much less processor-intensive way than VSTs. The new MIDI effect called Note Length uniquely automates note length and other elements of incoming MIDI signals, even generating new notes from incoming notes for emulating complex release behaviors.
ALL THE GEEKY GOODNESS
As we've seen with the Instrument Rack's Macro Controls, Ableton has figured out a solid way to allow redundant mappings using a simple list and value-range control. Thankfully, that isn't limited to the Instrument Rack; Live 6 features full mapping control across the entire program. When you enter Key Map or MIDI Map modes, a new panel opens from the left side with a list of all mappings, their input source, destination and value range (if applicable). This is a feature that will change the way performers use Ableton in a profound way; in fact, that was the single most-requested feature I had heard of from users I know. Until now, in Live each computer key or MIDI note/CC could be assigned to only one destination at a time, meaning one key or knob per parameter. Now, you get multiple key mappings. Within moments, I had a single key on my laptop that simultaneously bumped up the volume on track 1 by 3 dB, turned up its Send A knob by 50 percent, disabled the track's delay and enabled its reverb. Fantastic.
Live's left-hand File Browser received a batch of upgrades as well that add to the overall smoothness of the user experience. While Live has always offered three hard-drive View Locations, like most users, I needed more. Live 6's new Folder Bookmarks speed up the whole process, offering a drop-down menu with a list of all bookmarks and the option to add one for the currently selected folder. Missing external folders are grayed out but reappear when they become available, and each of the three View Locations will remember the last-viewed folder. Ableton added a new Temporary Folder that allows samples in Simpler, Impulse and Sampler to be hot-swapped just like effect presets, and a powerful new Merging function allows entire Live Sets to be dragged from the File Browser directly into an open Live Set. The browser also now recognizes unprotected AAC files, which is great for iTunes users.
For Live 6, Ableton created a new file-management scheme called the Live Project. In a session's Project Folder sits the all-important ALS session file, a folder containing miscellaneous Project Info and a Samples folder divided into three subfolders: Recorded (through an input), Processed (Freeze files and bounces) and Imported (unchanged but copied to the project folder from their old location). This simple arrangement makes keeping track of complicated sessions much easier. Available from the File menu's Manage Files option is a new panel that appears on the main window's right-hand side and offers information about all of the current Project's sets, clips, samples, presets and movies. Unused files may be purged, and any missing or unavailable samples are listed and can be individually replaced. One cool feature is a button that automatically runs a search using a missing sample's File Name from within Live's browser to help automate finding lost clips.
CURTAIN CALL
A mass of other upgrades and expansions have been included in Live 6. For instance, Rewire Master programs can now send MIDI information directly to Live (for example, to use Logic to sequence an instance of Sampler). It also supports multicore and multiprocessor CPUs. When tracks with equal lengths are selected together, adding or changing Warp Markers for one clip will apply identical changes to all for warping multitrack recordings much more quickly. Because I still work on a slightly older Mac PowerBook G4, I definitely appreciated the time saved from freeing up resources thanks to the Deep Freeze function, which allows expanded editing options without unfreezing (including adding mixer automation, most editing functions and even dragging frozen MIDI clips into audio tracks). Also of note is the great new Pro Session Mixer, which allows resizing the mixer in the Session view to any height.
All these improvements and expansions greatly increase the flexibility and power of Live, but what I found really impressive was how Ableton maintained Live's usability and structural simplicity while massively increasing its detailed control. I believe that this shows the ingenuity of Ableton's designers and the company's commitment to the future of its product and its users. Nothing helps bring in new users like the promise of longevity. Keep an eye on Ableton in the years to come; it will continue to shape the face of computer-based music.
ABLETON
LIVE 6 > $599 ($499 FOR THE DOWNLOAD, NOT INCLUDING THE EIC)
Pros: QuickTime video support. New Essential Instrument Collection. Multiple control assignments to single key or MIDI control. Automatic MIDI-controller mapping. Deep Freeze allows editing frozen tracks. Instrument Racks. New effect devices. Improved file browsing and management.
Cons: EIC sounds are not compatible with any other programs.
Contact: www.ableton.com
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Mac: G3 or later (Intel-based included); 512 MB RAM; OS 10.2.8 or later
PC: 600 MHz; 512 MB RAM; Windows 2000/XP
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