Ableton Live v2 - 'December'

algorhythm · Post by **algorhythm** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 7:17 am

Dear Ableton friends,

Here's a brief update on the most recent developments of
our software, Live.

=============================================
Content

1. Live 2.0 available in December!
2. New Features for Live 2.0
3. Live 2.0 Pricing, Availability and Upgrading

=============================================

1. Live 2.0 available in December

After a long period of concentrated development and optimisation we are
releasing the long awaited Live 2.0, a major upgrade of Live 1.5 for Mac
OS9, Mac OSX, and Windows. Thanks to all of you who have been motivating our
development team by sending great comments, encouraging emails, and
contributing to our forum! Live 2.0 will be available as of mid-December
2002. There will be news updates on our website http://www.ableton.com soon.

2. New Features for Live 2.0

In developing Live 2.0, we have taken into account all the excellent
comments and feature requests. Nevertheless, there is still much to do and
we will continue working on Live to make it even more powerful and keep it
easy to use.

Live 2.0 enhances the performance and jamming features of the original
software and also adds multi-track recording and editing with "Elastic
Audio". Version 2.0 turns Live into a comprehensive studio recording and
editing tool.

Totally "Elastic Audio"

- Tap tempo during recording and playback; incorporate long samples by
tapping beat info
- Record tempo changes, then edit them graphically
- Selectable stretching modes provide clean time-stretching of all types of
audio as well as more possibilities for creative sound design
- Ability to bypass the timestretch for individual clips or recordings

New Comprehensive Studio Tool

- Easy, tape-style multitrack recording with punch in / out and metronome
functions
- Super-fast arranger navigation
- Better handling of non-looping clips
- Improved automation handling and editing for fast parameter access
- Enhanced file management: rename/delete files in the browser, auto-detect
obsolete files, keep all related files within a Project folder

Smarter Jamming

- Relative Session Mapping provides assignable scene advance and track
launch buttons via computer keyboard and MIDI
- DJ-mixer-like crossfading between tracks
- Full screen mode allowing more space to Live and less optical irritations
- Improved Prelisten / Solo functionality

Effects

- Presets can now save and recall effect settings
- Loads of ready-to-go presets for all Live effects
- New Gate and Redux effects

And lots more...

- New Bus View with input gains and mono/stereo selectors
- Improved mixer UI - makes more tracks visible on screen
- Dedicated Input Monitoring / Recording buttons in each track
- Map Tempo and Transport controls to MIDI or keyboard
- Reception of MIDI from multiple ports
- Bug Fixes and performance optimisation

3. Live 2.0 Pricing, Availability and Upgrading

Live 2.0 will be available online from http://www.ableton.com and from Ableton
dealers worldwide in December 2002 for a MSRP of 399 Euro (US$ 399).
Upgrades from LIVE 1.5 will be available online at http://www.ableton.com for 89
Euro (US$ 89) for a boxed version and for 69 Euro (US$ 69) for an
downloadable version.

Users that buy or unlock LIVE 1.5 or 1.0 for the first time after November
1, 2002 will be eligible to receive a free downloadable upgrade to LIVE 2.0
from http://www.ableton.com as it becomes available.
________________________________

my comments - all of those features sound wonderful to me! and they *aren't* adding VSTi!!! forget the rambling masses! I thought that VSTi/MIDI sequencing would compromise the whole point of Live, but everybody seems to want to bog it down . . . .

"Map Tempo to MIDI or keyboard"
this is dangerous. yes. hehehe.

_________________
algorhythm get free algo-loops @ tapegerm

[ This Message was edited by: algorhythm on 2002-11-01 07:22 ]

Spirit · Post by **Spirit** » Sun Nov 03, 2002 8:28 am

Algo,
Since you enthuse about this so much I thought I'd check it out. I've just downloaded the demo and am about to have a good poke around. Must say it does look interesting, especially to an avid Acid user like me.

Have you written a review of this anywhere ? I wondering how you actually work with this and where it fits into the chain.

For example, is it for writing the absolute foundation-level "starter" loops, like basic drums and such, or is it better to make loops elsewhere and import into Abelton ?

Do you manually play Pulsar gear into Ableton and record it in real-time as chunks of audio ? And what's the split between arranging audio into a defined song structure versus just jamming around with loops and such looking to get a feel happening ?

I hope you can share some of your experiences

algorhythm · Post by **algorhythm** » Sun Nov 03, 2002 4:16 pm

Have you written a review of this anywhere ?
no review - there are plenty of good ones online. I will be making a 'tips n tricks' for it. I was going to write a review, but I will write one when v2 instead.

I wondering how you actually work with this and where it fits into the chain. For example, is it for writing the absolute foundation-level "starter" loops, like basic drums and such, or is it better to make loops elsewhere and import into Abelton?
Well, Ableton Live is basically a tricked-up sampler/ and 'high-level' sequencer. Definitely don't program drums in it (as you will quickly see). Knock out drum loops in fruity or Mod2, or sync up your MIDI sequencer and record the pulsar audio directly into Ableton. I tend to make foundation-level loops elsewhere (Sound Forge, AudioMulch, Pulsar, etc) and then sequence them in Live And of course, it is *great* for remixing.

Do you manually play Pulsar gear into Ableton and record it in real-time as chunks of audio ? yes. the pulsar synths sound great, but the polyphony sucks and I HATE working with MIDI all the time. I never have MIDI stuff running until mixdown. I am basically a samplist.

I record in the pulsar parts (saving projects/presets/midi sequences to go back just in case) and then offload the dsp and do something else with the dsp.

And what's the split between arranging audio into a defined song structure versus just jamming around with loops and such looking to get a feel happening ? well, I tend to start in the Session window to jam around for awhile, then record the jam, and then edit the result a bit in the Arrange window.

hope some of that helps.

why not remix 'immanence' from my tapegerm loops in order to learn the program?

ernest@303.nu · Post by **ernest@303.nu** » Mon Nov 04, 2002 8:07 am

Elastic Audio?

[ This Message was edited by: ernest@303.nu on 2002-11-04 08:16 ]

Spirit · Post by **Spirit** » Mon Nov 04, 2002 10:05 am

Thanks for the info Algo.

After playing with the demo for several hours I can see why you're so keen on this. It's bloody amazing

and just the thing for limited DSPers. The way you can perfectly slide in a few bars of a Pulsar arpeg or bpm-rated lfo line and get it grooving along, looped and effected immediately is amazing.

So fast and easy

The only negatives I had were that it seemed to have a lot of trouble finding my VST effects and even then many of them didn't seem to work

.

But all up this feels a generation ahead of anything else I've tried. Still got to explore a few must-do features I want, but it's looking like the new Acid for me

edit: just one other question - Can you render a single horizontal jamming channel as a new loop ? I was getting a great feel happening in a couple of slots and can see myself just wanting to render those before actually constructing a song . . .

Is it heavy on the CPU ?

[ This Message was edited by: Spirit on 2002-11-04 10:26 ]

algorhythm · Post by **algorhythm** » Mon Nov 04, 2002 11:24 am

Can you render a single horizontal jamming channel as a new loop ?
um, not getting your terminology, but I'll answer this: Can you record a clip in the session window with effects as a new loop? Yes. in the I/O part of the session window, for the record-input, set it to "master-out" - set the quantize-resolution to "bar", start playing the loop back, then start recording. Make sure that you only have the loop you want to record playing lest you get a mixdown instead of a single loop. oh, and of course, you never have to stop playback to do any of this. . .

There is also the render "ctrl r" that renders your selection from the arrange window (the more sequencer-looking interface).

marcuspocus · Post by **marcuspocus** » Wed Nov 06, 2002 10:17 am

Hi Algo! I started playing with this application last week, and i must say that i love it, totaly.... One thing, one very important thing to me is missing though. An IO module. Like in Logic for example, we have a module that can be put into insert of any channel, like an effect, but it is only an IO module. The thing that it provide is to send the channel audio thru an asio channel and back... That feature only provide a way of inserting a SFP effect into any LIVE channels, PRE or POST recording... POST specificaly. So you can record a loop without any effect, but apply it after and changing it.... It think it would be very simple to do that, unless there is a VST effect that you could use that do this.

This ONE thing would make me buy the thing. Really, i loved the way it works. My friend has it, and i'm having so much fun with it! I don't know if you have 'connection'

algorhythm · Post by **algorhythm** » Wed Nov 06, 2002 3:06 pm

no connection with ableton. just a good product.

regarding your I/O "problem" - why aren't you using like a 16 I / 16 O ASIO setup with the 16 ASIO Outs going to an SFP mixer with effects inserts, and then direct mixer outs to ASIO ins? isn't that what you are talking about? works great for me . . .

marcuspocus · Post by **marcuspocus** » Wed Nov 06, 2002 3:22 pm

The goal is to mix in only one place, and also saving the DSP... I use mixer only for mastering.

Automating would also be easy that way...

BTW, i'm already using Asio2-32 64 source and destination.... I often have more than 32 asio channels....

All send&return are already working like this in Ableton live...Why not just make the little extra more and provide the IO module that you could drag in a channel effect slot, like others native LIVE effects or VST... Would be the cherry on top!