Max for Live for DJs - DJ Tech Tools Dives In "Max For Live has democratized the world of Ableton Live like never before," says DJ Tech Tools' Mad Zach. In looking at the wealth of user-created Max for Live devices, Zach cherry-picks five of his favorites (plus some honorable mentions) for DJing, which you can learn more about in this ...
Hip-Hop Drums Explored - New Video Tutorial from The Loop Loft Ableton's latest Partner Instrument, Hip Hop Drums by The Loop Loft, features the classic sounds of live hip-hop breaks, packaged with Effects Racks and Drum Racks mappings that make things immediately usable in Live. In this video tutorial (the first in a series), The Loop Loft's Ryan Gruss takes a ...
Tutorials Free Tutorials and eBook from DJ Vespers Ableton Certified Trainer DJ Vespers has a whole treasure-trove of tutorials and downloads on his website and YouTube channel. Whether it's proper warping of an a capella, remixing a whole track, or making fat-sounding drums, Vespers' tutorials are an essential resource for any producer. Vespers also offers a free eBook, ...
Back to Bits: Commodore 64 Drum Rack from AfroDjMac & Tomislav AfroDjMac and collaborator Tomislav go retro with this free Live Rack - back to the Commodore 64. You might remember playing Pac Man on one, but the SID sound chip in the C64 can also generate some pretty impressive sounds. Get familiar with the crunch:
The Qin: Classic Chinese Instrument in a Rack from AbletonOp AbletonOp released this unusual free Rack, featuring the sound of a classic Chinese instrument. According to AbletonOp: "This one comes to you from China, and includes 16 high-quality samples of Li Xiangting playing the Guqin instrument, a Chinese type of zither. Trust me, you’ll recognize it when you hear it." ...
Artists Monolake: Ghosts in the Machine On the heels of the release of Ghosts, his latest album as Monolake, we spoke to Robert Henke about his recording process, unique approaches to instruments, designing virtual space and more.
Max for Live Devices by Peter McCulloch Composer Peter McCulloch makes some very unique and musically stunning Max for Live devices. Read on about a couple of our favorites, and head to maxforlive.com to see all of them. Analog Kick, like the title implies, is a synthesizer for generating kick drum sounds. With fast frequency enveloping, this ...
A Deeper Look at ProjectSAM Orchestral Ensemble Essentials - New Tutorial from Patrick Cupo ProjectSAM Orchestral Ensemble Essentials puts the power of an orchestra inside Live. In a new video, Dubspot instructor Patrick Cupo looks at how to get the most out of OEE. Covering installation, composition, and how to "humanize" MIDI sequences, this is an excellent look at how to make Live into ...
Tutorials Melody Layers with Skiddaw Stones - New Point Blank Tutorial Sampling an instrument that dates back to 1840, Soniccouture Skiddaw Stones is one of the oldest sounds available for Ableton Live. In a new tutorial, Point Blank instructor puts a modern twist on Skiddaw Stones, using its sounds to make melodic house inspired by John Talabot. Check out the video: ...
Crossfadr on Ableton Live While a relatively new blog, Crossfadr has caught our attention as a resource for DJs and producers, focused on electronic dance music. Check out DJ Lumo's review of Ableton Live, which provides a great look at the program from a DJ and live performance perspective.
Christopher Willits Remix Competition Winners Announced - Plus Free Compilation Congratulations to .mute on winning the remix competition for Christopher Willits album, Tiger Flower Circle Sun! You can hear .mute's winning entry, along with a whopping 50 of Christopher's favorite remixes, at Overlap.org. The compilation is available as a download for your preferred price - including free, if you'd like.
New Update - Live 8.3 We’ve released Live 8.3, a new update introducing greater stability, automatic updating, and direct SoundCloud upload from within Live. The update is free for all Live 8, Suite 8, Live Intro and Live Lite 8 owners. Download the Update
Get Your Music Heard with SoundCloud - Free Gift for Live 8 Users We’ve teamed up with our friends at SoundCloud to offer a new free gift for the Ableton community! If you own Live 8 or Suite 8, go here to claim your free 5-month SoundCloud Pro account. Learn more about SoundCloud.
"Heaven" Broken Down - New Tutorial from Ski Oakenfull Ever wondered how some of the most popular tracks were constructed? In an ongoing series, Point Blank instructor Ski Oakenfull has been breaking down and recreating tracks in Ableton Live. For the latest, it's the chords from Emeli Sande's "Heaven": Got a track you'd like to see Ski take on? ...
Francis Prève's Workflow and Free Sounds You might know Francis Prève for his label, Academik Records, for his blog, or for his Ableton Live Racks. In a feature with Create Digital Music, Francis expands on his workflow - sending to and receiving from hardware with Live - plus provides some extra production advice. Lastly, don't miss ...
Using Sends in Drum Racks - Tutorial from Rob Jones For the third and final part to his tutorial series on Drum Racks in Live, Producertech instructor Rob Jones looks at sends and returns. Using sends and return tracks within a Drum Rack, Rob shows how to apply effects and parallel New York-style compression to make things really pump:
