Ableton Live - The Ultimate Guide

Whether you’re switching to Live 10 or an existing user, we’ll tell you everything you need to know

Since its inception in 2001, Ableton’s Live DAW has become one of the most important audio applications ever made, genuinely changing the way music is produced. Yet as each new version has boosted Live’s power and versatility, so its complexity has increased, to the point now where newcomers to Live 10 can find things more than a little confusing at first.

In this extensive guide, we’ll smooth out some of the more challenging bumps in the learning curve faced by new users of Ableton’s production and performance powerhouse. Whether you’re an experienced user of a different DAW or a complete newbie to computer-based music production, the keys to your Live journey can be found over the next few pages.

Version therapy

Live comes in three main tiers, according to the size of your pocket: Intro, Standard and Suite. There’s also a Lite version that comes bundled with various MIDI controllers, including some by Arturia and Native Instruments, that actually represents an economically sound gateway into the Live universe. If you’re buying the software on its own, however, the Introversion is your cheapest option. Limited to just 16 audio and MIDI tracks, and a maximum of eight Scenes, Live Intro is really just a toe-in-the-water solution to see how well the workflow suits your particular needs, but you do get enough sounds and instruments to whet your appetite. The mid-range Standard version comes next, with unlimited tracks and scenes, and a 10GB library of over 1800 sounds. The range tops out with Live 10 Suite, which has a whopping 70GB sound library, 15 software instruments and 72 audio and MIDI effects, as well as Max for Live, a package that allows advanced users to customise and create their own devices for use in the DAW.

The basics: Sets, Clips, Scenes and Views