12 things to try in Ableton Live 12 (by Peter Kern @ CDM)

Here’s a concise summary of Peter Kirn’s 12 quick tips for Ableton Live 12, aimed at getting you started. These tips offer a broad spectrum of creative possibilities to explore in Ableton Live 12, from workflow improvements to sound design innovations.

1. Change the Color: Explore the new color themes, optimized for ease on the eyes, with tone controls and light/dark options under the default theme.
2. Apply and Learn About Tuning: Dive into non-traditional tuning systems, including Arabic and Persian music. Use Scala files for custom tunings and explore tuning.ableton.com for interactive learning and creation.
3. Modify Your Returns: Rearrange and duplicate return tracks as easily as regular tracks.
4. Sound Similarity Search: Use machine learning to find similar sounds in your library by right-clicking a file and selecting “show similar sounds.”
5. Apply Probability to a Group of Notes: Adjust the probability of a group of notes playing in the clip detail view to add variety to your MIDI clips.
6. Try a Euclidean Generator: Implement equally spaced rhythms using the Euclidean generator in the clip detail view, great for creating traditional clave rhythms.
7. Transformers: Experiment with the Time Warp transformer and other transformations for clips, including speeding up or slowing down, available in Max for Live.
8. Feedback in Roar: Explore the feedback mode in Roar for time-synced distortion effects.
9. Robert Henke’s Granulator Upgrade: Check out the two new engines in the upgraded Granulator for different sound possibilities.
10. Capture Variations in the Performance Pack: Use the Performance Pack to capture variations of knob tweaks to aid in arranging and finishing tracks.
11. Save Custom Browser Views: Save frequently used search filters or plugin sets as custom browser views for quick access.
12. Check Out Resonators in Meld: Experiment with the plate and membrane resonators in Meld, which adapt to your active tuning system for unique sounds.

Peter Kirn is an Editor at CDM. You can read his article here and watch the video here.