Setting up an External Sound Card in Ableton Live

Recording Audio in Ableton Live

In this module, we're going to be looking at how we can record audio within Ableton Live. We'll cover:

• Setting up our system to record external audio
• Creating new parts, clips, and recordings

You can only get so far using loops and pre-made clips. Let's expand the palette with our own recording.

Setup Overview

To do this, there are a few things we need to set up and learn:

1. Set up your external audio interface
2. Routing the ins and outs within Live
3. Arming tracks and monitoring
4. Global record, recording, and playback
5. Metronome, multi-tracking, and editing recordings

External Audio Interface

An external audio interface or sound card allows you to connect microphones, instruments, and other external sounds to your computer, and in turn, to Ableton Live.

Important Note: You don't need an external audio interface, but you will be limiting your sound quality and ability to record external sounds if you don't.

External interfaces typically use USB or FireWire to connect to your computer.

Steps for Connecting Your Audio Device

Let's look at connecting your audio device within Ableton Live. This Ableton Live set goes through all the different necessary steps to prepare your audio interface.

Setting Up Your Sound Card

1. Connect Your Interface
   Here I am connecting my MOTU sound card to my computer via USB.

2. Open Preferences

   • Go to: Options > Preferences (or File > Preferences on Mac).

3. Choose Your Audio Driver

   • Main driver type:
     • ASIO for PC
     • Core Audio for Mac
   • MME DirectX is for the onboard sound card.

   If I set it to this, I can choose my headphones or speakers. Note that you can only select one thing at a time in this setting.

4. Select ASIO or Core Audio
   When using ASIO or Core Audio, you can pick the device, which can have multiple inputs and outputs.

   • Example: I would select the MOTU interface.

5. Input Choices

   • You can look at your inputs; my device has several options, and you can choose either mono or stereo.
   • I typically only use these.

6. Output Settings

   • I also have several output options, but I usually only need two channels in stereo.
   • You can turn inputs and outputs on and off by clicking them.

By following these setup steps, you'll be able to effectively record audio within Ableton Live, expanding your creative capabilities!