Let’s talk about ABLETON LIVE 11 by Gaty Lopez.
We receive and we publish:
“We are LIVE !!!
Let me introduce myself. I am Gaty Lopez DJ, certified Ableton producer and instructor since 2009.
I was born as a DJ. I bought my first record player when I was 13 years old with the first gifts from my grandparents and I immediately started DJing, first at private parties, then at small clubs, and finally at large discos.
Yes, the big discos, although now it seems so far away because we are experiencing the pandemic of our generation, COVID-19.
Even the simplest things, after almost a year, seem difficult and distant. DJing in front of so many people or just a hug has now become almost impossible.
This is the negative side, but the positive side of this movie that we are living, this adventure, is the rediscovery; the rediscovery of time, the rediscovery of going slower.
I always ran but now I have personally rediscovered the simple talks, just to tell how you’re doing, not to invite people to the disco or to listen to this new album. NO. We have the opportunity to find time, reflect, understand, love each other, and choose our priorities.
Continuing with my presentation, as we all know, the world changes continuously and thus, from the turntables we go to the CD then to the USB and to the software that allows you to play live such as ABLETON LIVE, although nothing can change the feeling of the hands the vinyl …
Towards the beginning of the 2000s I began to discover the world of record production and here a fantastic world opened, having the opportunity to make my musical ideas come true.
I went to various recording studios and tried Acid, Reason, Logic, and Cubase, and started doing my first recording projects.
Parallel to DJ work. Yes, because it is a job and it is a wonderful job that of the DJ, I was contacted by the first DJ school in my city to teach this profession to the youngest, transmitting the love and passion for this world to the new generations.
And also a lot of radio, which has always accompanied me from the beginning.
The turning point in my life comes when I first came across ABLETON LIVE on the road, as a love story, discovering that it is the software of my life because it has everything I need. So after years of practice and projects, in 2009 I became certified as Certified Instructors and day by day I experience the evolution of this software that accompanies me in life today and causes me a great desire to learn and understand all its functionalities.
After this exciting preface for me, I am very proud to welcome version 11 of ABLETON LIVE.
Ableton Live 11 with its two wonderful working windows (Session and Arrangement) adjusts your graphics and colors.
I am using the BETA version and at the moment I have not noticed BUGS or problems that can occur in that version.
We listed below some of the new features in Ableton Live 11 and also the ones that I personally liked the most.
With the COMPING function you have the possibility of recording the same part in sequence in audio and / or in MIDI, creating new tracks by activating the INSERT TAKE TRACK function.
This function allows you to record the same part multiple times and then choose the best channel (the best recording) or the best part of each individual channel and then compose the perfect sequence.
Very useful for musicians and singers and also for us producers, because it allows us to record until we find the right notes for the new track.
Of course, I remind you that you can edit all the parts to your liking.
Imagine a drummer playing for a certain time a sequence that creates, for example, 10 tracks and then you, as a producer, go and select the prettiest or best part within each track, you would say: How cool!
Now I want to focus on a novelty, probably my favorite: RANDOMIZE VELOCITY and RANDOMIZE PROBABILITY.
I think these two functions are very useful for producers because of their simplicity.
Imagine creating a classic version of HiHat MIDI and then trying all the possible variations with the Randomize Velocity button, which allows us to create infinite velocity variations, this allows you with a lot of imagination to try and find various options for your groove for your track.
While with Randomize Probability you have the possibility to select one or more MIDI notes, through the Randomize Probability button you will have the possibility to listen, randomly or not, to some chords of notes that transform bass turns that take imaginative shape. Obviously, even in this case you will create infinite possibilities of variations for the rhythm or the idea of your project, this is a SUPER novelty. (Figure n.2)
TEMPO FOLLOW, epochal turning point, yes, that’s what I mean when I think of this exceptional new news from Ableton Live 11.
Imagine having to follow a drummer or an external electronic drum set.
Yes, this is now possible with the tempo tracking function (TEMPO FOLLOW).
Select in the preferences the switch Follow (Follow-Time) time follower.
On the LIVE control bar, a tempo follower toggle button will appear.
Select the instrument you want to follow, which could also be a microphone connected to an electronic drum set, activate Follow in the control bar and that’s it.
For example, when playing back an Ableton Live project, the project will follow the tempo of the signal,
that comes from outside. Fantastic.
Another big news from Ableton Live 11 is the 16 MACRO.
We are given the possibility of using up to 16 macros.
We can use from 1 to 16 macros and by mapping the parameters, using the randomize button, we will have infinite possibilities of randomness.
Finally, we will have the possibility to establish different macro variations. (Figure n.3)
Continuing the many innovations in Ableton Live 11, we focused on the four new devices HYBRID REVERB, SPECTRAL RESONATOR, SPECTRAL TIME, PITCHLOOP 89, each with its own quirks:
HYBRID REVERB is a fantastic device that positions sounds in any space and with many parameters, combines different reverbs.
The send knob allows you to create more variations.
Very interesting freeze mode. A good view of the equalizer gives you the possibility of more precise work.
Tested in series or in parallel, it is a great device for sound design.
On the right side of the device, the stereo knob swings up to 200% which took it from a 0% mono signal to a stereo pan of around 100%.
The Vintage Selector lets you emulate low frequencies, with 4 options that achieve results similar to classic digital reverbs.
In the roundup of the new devices as anticipated above, we will focus on the
Spectral Resonator, which allows us to divide the spectrum of an incoming audio signal, in part.
Sidechain MIDI lets you process material in the same key and even play the device as if it were a polyphonic instrument.
Let’s try applying Spectral Resonator to a sound and try changing Dry / Wet + frequency to get amazing results.
Spectral Time changes the sound in a frequency-based delay, producing frequency-shifting effects, echoes, and reverb.
Excellent for use with modulators, such as LFOs, and mapping parameters.
Pitchloop89 is a device that adds character to sounds, in the studio or for experimentation on stage, creates effects like vibrato, etc. It’s really a sound buster.
There are many new features in ABLETON LIVE 11, such as the 16 MACRO, that will no doubt be used a lot with ABLETON LIVE’s native SUPER CONTROLLER, PUSH 2.
Personally I believe that DJs, PRODUCERS and MUSICIANS will benefit enormously from ABLETON LIVE 11, because the new features introduced will cover all the needs that they have directly or indirectly expressed to the trainers or to the parent company.
An ABLETON LIVE instrument probably a bit neglected or perhaps little used in recent times was ELECTRIC.
In this new version of ABLETON LIVE 11, Electric is reviewed, in addition to the captivating and modern graphics, the feeling is that it sounds better. (Offers the) Opportunity to test this fantastic instrument that emulates piano and keyboards.
In ABLETON LIVE 11 we also talk about utility.
Among the main utilities we find the view of the CPU load, in the single channel, and the view of the CPU load in the control bar.
Obviously, a channel with a high CPU load consumes more resources.
A large CPU load is mainly due to excessive use of instruments and effects.
With this function we can see the channel that uses the most CPU and eventually freeze the track with the FREEZE function.
In the summary of the great news of ABLETON LIVE 11 we find Follow-up actions (FOLLOW ACTION) also in the master channel.
Follow Actions (FOLLOW ACTION) can now also be linked to clip duration, speeding up the creation of truly unique clip sequences.
By working on the scenes, you can create amazing arrangements.
We enter the Clip, activate the FOLLOW ACTION function and choose between the various options we have to decide what the clip that is playing will do, which clip will play next, etc. I highly recommend trying this feature.
Before concluding this review on some new features of ABLETON LIVE 11, I would like to mention MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression).
For compatible devices, this way of using MIDI allows you to control various parameters of each note in real time.
With MPE, by connecting your compatible controller, you can add incredible curves and variations for every note in a chord.
With very small variations of expression when transforming chords you can create ever-changing flows.
On the selected MIDI clip, the new SCALE function allows you to set a scale using the selectors to the right and the relative root note, on the piano roll, and consequently all notes belonging to the selected scale will be highlighted on the piano roll. .
Moving over the piano roll we will notice another SCALE button, activating this button will immediately hide all the lines of the notes that do not belong to the selected scale.
With this latest news we conclude this review on some of the many new features in ABLETON LIVE 11.
I would like to point out to all users that beta versions may continually undergo changes to optimize the software to the highest levels before the official release.
In the hope that I have inspired aspiring professionals and professionals to try their luck in this wonderful world of ABLETON LIVE, I conclude by saying that for DJs, producers and musicians, ABLETON LIVE allows you to unleash all the imagination in you.
This period will end sooner or later and we will resume our wonderful life that we had and perhaps did not know. Love and music
ABLETON LIVE follows me in everyday life.
I really believe that it is a unique software in the world, complete.
Suitable for all levels, it is really intuitive.
It changed my life, I hope it changes YOURS too.“
