New on the Blog
Ableton Live Tutorials
Before You Update Live Packs to Ableton Live 12
Ableton Live 12 was released yesterday, so if you have purchased the upgrade, you likely will or already have installed Live 12. In the browser,
Ableton Live Insider Tips: Advanced Key Mapping
Between the two mapping modes, excluding Macro Mapping, the Key Mapping mode is less frequently used. However, it can be quite useful for making music or playing live. I share a little known trick and some tips to avoid pitfalls.
4 Ways to Add Text Notes to Ableton Live Sets
Do you want to add text notes to your Ableton Live Set for documentation, ideas, or to-dos? This video presents four options for jotting down text notes, including hacks and free devices.
How to Play Melodies with One Drum Pad in Ableton Live
This tutorial covers two methods for setting up a drum pad in a Drum Rack to play a melody, such as a bass line, alongside beats. This tip is especially helpful for those using Ableton Live with an electronic drum kit or as a controllerist using Push or a similar MIDI controller. However, this approach can also be used creatively in music productions.
Freebies
Free Ableton Live 10 Themes Mega Pack (65 Themes)
This free mega pack with 65 individual themes covers a huge variety of looks, ranging from light to medium to extremely dark. Some are more retro in style, some are neutral greys with pops of colour, and still others have very bold hues.
Free Ableton Live 11 Themes Mega Pack (55 Themes)
Since Live 11 came out I’ve created 11 individual themes sets consisting of five themes for Ableton Live 11 each. Since there is ample interest in all of them, I thought I’d combine them all together into one mega pack for you. So it’s easier to download them all.
Drift Live Pack – Freebie & Premium Versions Out Now
Over the last month or so I’ve carefully designed lots of presets for the new Drift synth included in Live 11.3. The result is a
Free Ableton Live Themes Set #24 for Live 11
This set concludes the recreations of all my Ableton Live skins. It contains the following themes in order of appearance in the image: Marine, Nimbus,
Max for Live
Macro Map Anything in the Live Set with Ableton’s Shaper
We’re going to use Ableton’s Shaper (or LFO) to give us the possibility to macro map any parameter in the whole Live Set within a rack, or actually even up to 8 parameters all to one macro.
More Expressive Push: Free Push 2 Pedal Expression by Max for Cats
Push 2 Pedal Expression was created by Ableton developer Ralf Suckow. It allows you to calibrate one or two passive analog expression pedals plugged into Push 2, and use various MIDI control changes to control parameters in your Live Set.
3 Free & Creative Step Sequencers – With a Little Help from Max for Live
This time within the With a Little Help from Max for Live video series I have found three quite unique and cool Max for Live
Add Spookiness with Bones by Max for Cats – With a Little Help from Max for Live
Halloween is just around the corner and Max for Cats has created the perfect freebie for you to create eerie sounds. Bones is a Max
Music Production Tips
Sound Design with Time-Stretching in Impulse
Introduced in Ableton Live 4 as a companion device to Simpler for drums and percussion, Impulse has time-stretching capabilities that can be harnessed for
Alternating Instruments Playing Melody/Chords in Ableton Live (Hocket / Klangfarbenmelodie)
This time we’re going to look at how to achieve what is commonly known as hocketing. This is a technique where different sounds take turns
5 Ways to Create Round Robins (Alternating Samples) in Ableton Live
Someone recently asked in an Ableton Live Facebook group if round robins were possible, and most of the answers said no or only in Live
Generative Music in Ableton Live Pt. 4 & Free MIDI Effect Racks/Live Set
In this video tutorial we’ll examine how to generate basslines, melodies, and chords all at once while making them sound harmonious. Free MIDI effect racks and generative Live Set included.
News
Drift Live Pack – Freebie & Premium Versions Out Now
Over the last month or so I’ve carefully designed lots of presets for the new Drift synth included in Live 11.3. The result is a
Ableton Push 3 Review – What It Did & Didn’t Get
Ableton users have been waiting and speculating about it forever, and it’s been a long time since the last version. Now it’s finally here. Push
SynthieCat by Max for Cats Out Now & New Website Live
SynthieCat by Max for Cats was inspired by the EMS Synthi A model, an amazing synth released in 1971 with three oscillators and a unique patch system. The Max for Live Pack is available for Live 11 Suite.
Your Fave Posts in 2022 & A Sneak Peek into 2023
2022 is almost over. People here are already setting off some firework crackers. So let’s first have a look at what your favourite posts here
Apps, Controllers & Plugins
Control Surface Studio by Remotify: Make Your Own Control Surfaces for Ableton Live 9-11
So far you could use the freemium web app by Remotify to create MIDI remote scripts aka Control Surfaces for Ableton Live 9 and 10.
Reveal: Ableton Live Touchscreen Control for Windows
I often get complains when I post about anything that is only for Mac users. Reveal, a touch app designed to efficiently control Ableton Live,
Loop4Live: MIDI Foot Controller for Live Looping in Ableton Live
Loop4Live is a MIDI foot controller dedicated to Ableton Live developed by computer engineer and guitarist Aurélien Benoit, particularly created for any instrumentalist looking to
Mixed in Key – Key Detection Software Now as a Plugin
Particularly if you’re DJing with Ableton Live or other software you might know or even use Mixed in Key already. The key detection software is