Ableton Live Tutorial for Producers Used To Hardware Sequencing

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I’m a hardware guy at heart…

It took me many years to move over to software.

Reason being, most of it just didn’t “flow” like I wanted.

The instruments and plugins have been high quality for a while, but I hadn’t found a sequencer good enuff to replace my mpc.

An environment to bring all my production together in a way that works for me.

My boy Pierre had been using ableton for years, and kept telling me about it, but I never got down.

Until I actually tried it, and he showed me the layout…then it made sense.

This video shows how I understand ableton as a user raised on and comfortable with hardware.

I truly feel that when you see this, if you’re a hardware dude…you’ll be like me and feel ableton is the only daw that works how you think.

let me know what you think, and let me know if you have any questions.

No this isn’t the only way to use ableton, it’s the way that makes the most sense to me…and when I share it with others like me, the hardware dudes…they finally “get it”.

So let me know what you think.

29 Comments

  1. Thanks for that tutorial. Just last night I was testing my DAW’s out and could not make a beat with Samplitude, sonar, or Cubase. I started with Reason but I wanted verity so I bought Sample Tank, and Sonik Synth I going to try Ableton now.

    Reply
  2. Wow. Thanks for the vid. I will give Ableton another shot. My Motif is my main sequencer. Nothing has a sequencer like it. It lets you create patterns with each track a different loop length. It also lets you create a beat with different sections. I see that Ableton is EXACTLY like that. I see why peeps are jumping on that Ableton controller too. That’s dope man.

    Reply
  3. Man, I was wondering how to use ableton as a sequencer. I use it in the other view with the horizontal tracks to record live music and program beats. I need to watch more of the tutorials like this. I am clueless outside of Reason when it comes to sequencing.

    Reply
  4. Ableton Live 8 seems like a cool program but staring at a computer screen all day just doesn’t cut it for me, sometimes having all too many options is not good especially with production.The MPC is still faster and easier to me and the overall workflow is still better in my MPC4000 by far.Just my two cents

    Reply
    • I feel ya fam. I was the same way, nothing was taking me away from my 4k…but I can’t deny it any longer. I don’t like to be limited, some say it’s good, I say it’s not, I like to be able to do whatever I want quickly.

      Even with NI Maschine I work way faster than I ever did on my 4k, sampling, chopping, changing pitch, fx all that…it’s so much quicker with software.

      Ableton is the only one I really liked and really worked how I wanted, just get out the way and let me make music. all the other daws I tried felt like programming instead of playing music.

      mpc is still king if you want to controll an entire room full of gear, but it def doesn’t give me all the options I have to work quickly like ableton live or ni maschine.

      I don’t spend all day making music, so when I get time, i just want to bang out as much as I can as quick as I can with no loading, memory limits, etc.

      but it’s all good lol..like I said, I used to say the same stuff for years up until this year, nothing I had tried worked how I did…until now.

      4k is still a sexy monster though lol

      Reply
      • The only thing that has me even considering a switch from the MPC is the Openlabs joints, which after a hands on experience I was impressed and really considering a Dbeat or XXL.I have the demo for ableton 8 ands I like alot of the features and I think its similar to the workflow but as you know the transition from the MPC to software is difficult.Im hoping the Dbeat has the same hands on feel of the MPC but if I do make the transition its going to be Live 8.

        Reply
        • Bro I feel you man, trust me, it was a Loooooooooooooooooooong road for me to switch to software, live was the only daw that made me comfortable. I didn’t get maschine until after that, so I agree with you fully.

          I still would like to get my hands on an openlabs joint so I can have my studio in a box. Dbeat looks amazing, I’m not a fan of the xxl, I don’t like how it looks lol, I know I know, but it’s true. I like the Neko lxd, and even the miko, I don’t like the keyboard built into the xxl I think the others look sleeker.

          But, I’m really considering the dbeat since I can take it anywhere pretty much, and I can use my own controller. I really don’t know, we’ll see when the time comes.

          Let me know what you get. As for Live, it’s the truth, period. Workflow is sick.

          Reply
  5. I’ve only been making beats since the Reason/Pentium 4 era, and always on software.
    The ironic thing is, I’m an older head, so even never owning an SP, ASR or MPC that style of working is what’s guided all my software purchases and workflow habits. Of course after 5 years I could have bought 2 MPC’s for what I’ve poured into software and MIDI joints etc.(lol). But for real, Live is THE software for all the MPC staple workflow stuff, and it definitely is faster and Live 7 and 8’s Drum Racks are just crazy. It seems Joe is like me and uses Live in a straight foward simple way but gets mad work done easily. That’s what I love best about Live, you can use like 25% of the program and still be in awe of how much is right at your fingertips. I hate latency (2.7-6ms average and I still can’t deal) so I’m
    gonna pick up a MPC2500, but I’ll definitely be tracking those 8 outs to Ableton.

    Reply
    • yeah man, Live was the only one that gave me that flow man. I don’t get any latency at all, make sure you have asio4all drivers for your interface or soundcard. My sound comes immediate, but I’m gonna keep the 4k and I may pull it out and try to mess with it in ableton.

      but ableton is DOPE period lol, I haven’t dove deep into it, I just use it simply to make tracks and it’s great for that. I’ll prolly try to explore more of it and do some videos on what I find, of course I’ll show my workflow a bit more too.

      but it’s the truth man lol, Live is the illest

      Reply
  6. Hey brother, nice tutorial. I just starting using abelton with and MPD(24). Wondering if you are using pads(mpc or whatever) to trigger sounds into ableton. Basically wondering about the workflow.

    thanks and keep the tutorial coming. one!

    Reply
  7. YOYOYO

    thanks for the vid, it helped me alot.
    now my mpc can retire 😉
    Maybe you could do a vid showing how to get the same swing as the MPC? And a vid showing how to track all the lanes into the arrangement view?
    Keep the tutorials coming!

    PZ BANG AMSTERDAM!

    Reply
  8. I love this tutorial but how can I put all these patterns into a song. I really don’t want to change the scenes in real time. Is there a way to draw them? Sort of like the way you would on the MPC? Thanks.

    Reply
  9. Great vid man!!! but can u explain what you guys are talking about as far as the track length? Someone said you can’t change your pattern length on other DAWS but I do that on FL studio all the time…I understand that LIVE is your cup of tea but, I just wanted 2 let you know that I can change the length of my patterns on Fl…hit back if you can…thx BTW, my wife bought me a MASCHINE for my birthday on the 28th…and it was CRAZY tryin 2 figure out the scenes mode until I seen one of your vids 2day…thanks bro…

    Reply

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