Free Ableton Live Resources
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A Collection Of Free Live Resources!
Here is a collection of free resources available for users of the unique music recording and performance software program Ableton Live. There are instruments, effects Max for Live patches and more that have are available. Additionally, there are some very good tutorials on using various features of Ableton Live.
Free Sounds for Ableton Live
- Ableton - Downloads
- Ableton has a whole series of Live Packs available to download for free. Some are just sounds and some are for Live instruments. Also, the packs are arranged by the Live version number, however, many (if not all) of the Live packs for older versions work with the latest version of Live.
- Ableton offers 10 free Live Packs in honor of their tenth anniversary
- To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Ableton is offering 10 free Live packs. Each Pack is has been created by a different Ableton artist.
- Pure Magnenetik
- In addition to their paid offerings, Pure Magnetic has a series of free samople packs available for Ableton Live. To download, you must register for a free account. Then look at the "Freebies" page or the "Artist Kits" page. The majorite pf these smaple kite are drums, drum kits and beats, but there are a few other things available (including a collection of 35 advanced Audio Effect Racks for Ableton Live).
- Waveforming Free Download
- A free reduced version of Mesa+'s Waveforming. This is a Synth sound package for Ableton Live 7 or higher. Waveforming Free contains 10 waveforms that act as oscillators for Live's Simpler. This package includes 40 instrument racks that reproduce timbres ranging from analog synths to additive.
- Togeo Studios
- Togeo Studios has a whole series of free sound Loops for Ableton Live. Dreamscapes and SST are Sound Packs that use the Live Simpler Instrument. SST Gen and Buhya Bass contain just samples. And there are several others. Take a look.
- Free Moog drum machine
- This is a drum machine sample set made entirely with the Minimoog Voyager. The entire kit is wrapped into a drum rack for Ableton 8.
- Free Live Pack from electronica artists Swayzak
- This is a set of electronica audio loops for use in Live. The entire pack loads into live as a set with some processing assigned.
- Fine Objects Free Live Pack
- Artists Amon Tobin and Eskmo have released a free live pack of sounds used in creating their single "Fine Objects". Sounds were originally recorded around the house, yard, studio, and other remote locations. These sounds were then mixed and processed to create a "lumbering alien bass and intentionally dry, off-kilter percussion" among other sounds. The Live Pack is free, but requires you provide an email address.
Free Ableton Live Effects
- Time Designer
- Time Designer is a free Live Pack of 50 advanced multitap delays for Live 8 and a 10-step tutorial for creating and customizing your own delays using only Live's built-in devices.
- Audio Slicer
- This effect uses 16 simplers grouped in 4 groups of 4 to slice up audio files into small percussive snippets. There is a demonstration video available on the website.
Free Instruments And Operators For Ableton Live
- The Covert Operators Free Downloads
- The Covert Operators have several free downloads on this page. These downloads include "The Covert Seq" - a MIDI controllable step sequencer which they claim is probably the most complex MIDI effect Rack ever made - 1 download of operator plugins, a live pack for Ableton's Slicer, and a package of presets for the Chord Plugin and the Scale plugin.
- Sounds From A Distant Outpost
- Electronic musician Mark Mosher has created this free Ableton Live pack of 12 instrument racks. These racks were designed to be "deep and expressive instrument racks that will transport you to a dark and distant outpost." They are dynamic instruments which can be controlled with velocity, aftertouch and modulation wheel MIDI data. The download includes separate files of the original source sound samples that were used.
- Free NY Style Compression Ableton Live FX Rack
- This Free Ableton Live FX rack is a parallel compression setup. There are 2 chains through this rack - 1 dry and 1 compressed. This technique works especially well to beef up drums and bass.
Free Max For Live Devices
Here are free devices that are becoming available for those using Ableton Live along with Max For Live.
- Modal Tapped Delay
- This is a MIDI delay. It has eight delay lines, and can transpose the input and constrain the output to diatonic pitches.
- Mav For Live Devices by Robert Henke
- Robert Henke has mad a variety of his Max For Live devices available for free download on his website. Included in this selection are a Step Sequencer, a Modulation Sequencer, a Distance Simulator, a Circular Doppler Effect, and several others.
- Free Generative Music Modules for Ableton Live and Max For Live
- Richard Garrett has made available these free Generative Music modules for Ableton Live and Max For Live. There are six modules that can be used together to make wholly generated pieces whose output varies each time the Live Set is played, or in combination with conventional MIDI clips or instruments to add random textures to a recording or performance. They can even generate interesting and unusual solos.
The modules include an Event Generator, (generates MIDI events based on rules) a Scale Module (modifies incoming MIDI pitches to place them in a specified scale), Dynamics module (modifies MIDI velocities), Chord Sender (to send the root note of a MIDI chord), and s Control mudules (to shape the MIDI stream). - FlexibleGrid Device
- Generates MIDI notes in 22 different modes on a grid can be any size. You can do things like rotate the grid, or drop notes down the grid. This site has a nice video that demonstrates this devices operation.
- sbx 2049
- sbx 2049 is a free drum machine for Max for Live. It is a six voice synthesis based drum machine. It has an integrated pattern based sequencer.
Free Ableton Live Tutorials
- Demystifying Ableton Live's Session View
- Ableton Live's session view is the most unique part of this package. At first glance, however, the session view is not entirely clear or obvious. Laura Escude, a performer and Ableton Certified Trainer, provides the best introduction to the session view I have seen. This tutorial will have you understand how to navigate the session view and create music with it.
- Getting Started With Ableton Live
- Like the title states, a nice introduction to using Ableton Live. This was originally written for Live v. 4, but the information still applies.
- Ableton Live Tips and Tricks
- Links to numerous tutorials and tips on using Ableton Live. As you move further down the page the links get more general, but the top 5 sections are all about Live.
- Basic Synthesis and Sound Design with Ableton Live
- Here are a series of free tutorials (video and text) that use Ableton Live to explain the main elements of synthesis. The Main Topics covered are
- Waveforms
- Additive Synthesis
- Oscillators
- Envelopes
- Subtractive Synthesis
- FM Synthesis
- Other forms of Synthesis
A very nice introduction! - Programming beats in Ableton Live
- A very good tutorial on programming Ableton's Impulse (an included drum sampler) for drum beats. Includes a link to free drum samples.
APC Step Sequencer Tutorial
Marc Egloff guides you through the steps to turn your APC40 or 20 into a traditional step sequenced drum machine using his software. The software is a free Max For Ableton patch available at the Ableton website.
curated content from YouTube
Tips And Tricks
- Tips and Tricks
- Tips from Ableton themself!
- Tips and News
- Ableton Live Tips and News from the "Wire To The Ear" blog.
Acid House Tutorial - Roland TB303 Sound in Ableton Live
A fantastic tutorial on creating the popular Acid House Sound. This sound was originally created and made famous with the Roland TB303 synth. This video show some great techniques for creating this sound in Ableton Live. If you go to the Vimeo site you can find quite a few additional Ableton Live tutorials by Point Blank (the folks that created this one).
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Additional Things for Ableton Live
- Ableton Live Skins
- A library of free skins for Ableton Live
- Build a foot controller for Ableton Live
- From the Ableton Forum, here is all the information you need to make a foot controller for Ableton Live.
- Ableton Live scripts for the Korg nanoPAD and nanoKONTROL
- These free set of MIDI Remote Scripts and Kontrol Editor templates provide a series of default mappings for these two controllers.
- Jethroe DJ FX
- This is a free effect rack for Ableton Live 8. It is the effect rack that is used in the APC40 video.
Get A Copy Of Ableton Live
by JosephFosco
Joseph Fosco is a Composer and Sound Designer based in Chicago. He has designed sound and music for over 200 theatrical productions. Joseph... more »
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