Recording - June 2010 - 45

a conventional DAW aren’t likely to want another full flagship package... so what are the alternatives? In the past, there was Live LE, which was still pretty costly, and a number of interfaces and controllers still come bundled with free Lite versions of Live that are extremely featurelimited. But with Live Intro, Ableton has finally created a perfect entry-level version of Live that comes as a download for only $99 or boxed for $139 (less if you shop around). Because Live Intro is ReWire-capable, it’s easy to get it to sync up and share audio with almost any other DAW out there... and it’s now possible to experiment with Live’s unique workflow without a major cash commitment. Under the hood This article hasn’t said much about Live Intro’s performance in the studio because there isn’t much to say. After two months of steady work with Live Intro on composition, arranging, remixing, and sound design— essentially replacing my copy of Suite 8 in all my music work—I found its performance rock-solid, just as you’d expect from Live... it’s just missing a few things. And what it’s missing seems trivial when you consider the price difference! Perhaps most significantly, Live Intro is limited to two stereo inputs and two stereo outputs (a master mix and a cue mix). You can have up to 64 stereo audio tracks per

Project, and within a Project you’re limited on how many effects and virtual instruments you can instantiate: twelve of Live’s built-in effects and eight of its software instruments, plus eight VST or AU effects and four instruments from third parties. Almost all of the content/function limitations are on the newest and/or highest-end features of Live 8. The very best Warp Modes for time-aligning audio to a Project’s tempo aren’t included, nor is POW-R dithering, track grouping, or video import/export, and six of the most powerful Ableton effects (like the Looper and Vocoder) aren’t included. You do get a large number of Instrument and Drum Racks (preconfigured sampleplayback instruments with effects and easyto-use Macro controls), especially in the boxed version, but you can’t edit them. Now, compare that with what you do get. Live Intro uses the same audio engine as Live—supporting up to 32-bit/192 kHz audio, if you can supply it!—and fully supporting multiple cores/processors. Audio recording, editing, automation, delay compensation, sidechaining, control mapping, sync—all work exactly as in the big program, with exactly the same sound quality. There are 23 audio effects included, lots of MIDI processing options, and two virtual instruments— the Simpler sampler/sample player and the Impulse drum-map player, which are the basis for the supplied Instrument and Drum Racks.

Live Intro comes with the full set of built-in tutorials and the full manual in PDF form. And, as I mentioned before, there’s ReWire, so you can sync Live to your DAW and easily route your creations into audio tracks for further editing in your workspace of choice. Live a little You can get the download version of Live Intro with all of the functions I mentioned, or the boxed-DVD version that includes about 7 GB of content—loops, beats, and Instrument and Drum Racks, some from the Suite and some made especially for Live Intro. The boxed content is excellent and widely useful across many genres, and I strongly recommend shelling out the small extra amount to get it. But you don’t need the boxed version to give Live Intro a try; Ableton provides free downloads for 30 days so you can see if Live Intro (or the full version!) works for you. If you find it a fun way to compose and quickly rearrange ideas and themes to build up songs—and I think a fair number of you will— Live Intro now lets you get into the Live groove without busting your software budget. There’s no reason not to check it out any longer... now, even if you’re heavily invested in another DAW, you can afford to love Live. Prices: $99 download, $139 boxed More from: Ableton, www.ableton.com.

http://www.ableton.com http://www.mojaveaudio.com

Recording - June 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - June 2010