Ableton Forum

I would like to start playing live sets using my own tracks/production elements and I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about doing it.

If I drag a project file into Live, each of its channels open, however I lose the sends/returns and master for each track. This could present an issue as I'd be losing effects, and none of my tracks would be mastered as originally intended.

Do I need to bounce each individual channel of each track to audio, then throw everything into a new live set? At that point, is it best to create scenes for each track and group them?

Any and all help would be very much appreciated!

It's all down to personal preference and style. There is no right or wrong way to do anything and experimentation is the name of the game. Try different things, what works will depend on what kind of music you are making and how you want to perform it. Do you want a continuous DJ like stream of music, or individual songs with pauses in between like a rock band? How many performers are there, is it just you or are there other live musicians?

Personally I record stems of any tracks that won't be manipulated live to save running all the VSTs in real time. The other channels are then assigned midi controls and I and my violinist jam with the backing tracks to develop the song further. Each song stays in a separate file and we cover the silence whilst laoding the next track with an mp3 player loaded with custom made drones and intros. But that's just me I know other people who do things totally differently.

I agree with Sintec. The only way to find what works for you is to dive in and try. I have been playing Live for 4 years and always thought that I would eventually find a way to play live and stick with it, but as Sintec said as technology evolves and styles change so does the live set.

When I write a track in logic I bounce out stems of each part (drums, bass, pad, mel, etc). In live I only use audio and effects and have different sets for different styles. One set is disco. One set is dub step. Hope some of this helps.