Ableton preferences
With
John WatsonJohn Watson walks through his Preferences in Ableton Live - setting the audio in and out devices, configuring stereo channels and lowering the buffer size to keep latency down.
What's in the course
14 lessons (2h 26m) · 2 free
01. Getting started & setup
3:21
02. Managing a sample library
Free lesson4:34
03. Ableton preferences
You are here1:14
04. Using samples: Simpler and Sampler devices
7:04
05. Using samples in your track (trim, stretch, tune, EQ)
12:56
06. Adding sampled strings and flutes
7:28
07. Adding sampled rhythm: kicks and snares
25:07
08. Sampling external intsruments - drum machine & synth
12:28
09. Building the parts in Session view
13:55
10. Recording the song into Arrange view
4:34
11. Fine tuning track structure
5:35
12. Mixing the track: effects
21:24
13. Final adjustments
13:14
14. BONUS: Mastering your track & uploading to Soundcloud
Free lesson13:31
Lesson transcript
Preferences Setup in Live
Okay, I'd like to talk a little bit about the preferences that I've got set up in Live under the Preferences menu.
Audio Input and Output
- I've got my sound cards set up:
- Audio Input Device: io2
- Audio Output Device: io2
Channel Configuration
- I want to make sure that my channels are set up correctly to record stereo input from some of my devices that are in stereo.
- For both the left and right channels, I need to ensure that:
- The mono and stereo options have been activated.
- The same goes for the output as well.
Latency Management
- Now, obviously, I want to play the samples without hearing any lag on the keyboard.
- If you have any latency issues, you really need to set your buffer size fairly low to start off with.
- So, I'm going to set it to 256.
This just means that when I'm able to play the keyboard, I'm able to hear the sound straight away.
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
After work experience with Depeche Mode and The Cure producer Dave Allen, John was inspired to study Music Technology in London. His music career took off after a successful signing to CookShop Records, releasing 9 singles and an album in 2007 that received rave reviews from Q, Uncut and Lowdown Magazine, plus radio play from XFM and Radio One.
John began training as an audio engineer at Bonafide studio in 2005, where he refined his talents, and later that year set up Jackdaw Recordings. He has collaborated with many successful artists, and in 2007 began playing for pop musician Patrick Wolf, performing at leading venues here in the UK and internationally - including The Astoria and Shepherds Bush Empire.
Based in his London studio, John now writes music, with two more releases on CookShop, does sound engineering for prominent artists, and creates sound design for TV ads, film, theatre and corporate video.
That rare mix of songwriter, producer and working studio engineer is exactly what John brings to his teaching. In Creative Composition & Production in Ableton Live and Creative Sampling & Production in Ableton Live, he shows you how he turns raw ideas into finished, release-ready tracks - the writing, the sampling, the sound design and the hands-on engineering know-how behind a professional record.
