Cuing question

JohnDP · Post by **JohnDP** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:28 am

Hi there

i have a question (i did search the forum...)

I would like to mix on Ableton Live 5 using my UC-33 Controller. I have assigned the line faders to the faders on the software and the 3 knobs above for the EQ's. What i am having problems with are the levels of the single tracks to be played in.

For instance if i am playing track A and would like to play in track B i cannot know if track B is louder or more silent than track A until i have reached the end of the fader curve.

NOTE: i do not have a external soundcard so i cannot cue!

I tried to activate the crossfader to have it on Deck A and to at least visually see if deck B is louder or not but when i have the crossfader on deck A and launch deck B the volume meter on deck B is not visible, i.e. seems muted, how come?

Please help me as otherwise i cannot make a mixtape before i get back to my home country in late December...

Thanks

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:48 am

I balance the levels on all of my tracks before I bring them into Live. Then I know without even needing to cue that the levels will match.

Another trick is to put George Yohng's W1 limiter (freeware) across your outputs. It really helps to balance output levels.

Hope that helps!

JohnDP · Post by **JohnDP** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:24 pm

so you level the tracks when you warp them with the volume meter and then hit SAVE?

Chris J · Post by **Chris J** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:00 pm

no I guess he means before in an audio editor, but yeah you can do that in live and press save

DJ Release · Post by **DJ Release** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:12 pm

can i just throw in a related question please......

when cuing (with a soundcard with 2 outs - ie echo indigo) how do you cue clips prior to putting them in a mix? I know you can cue samples in the folder section at the side, but can you cue them once they are dragged into a clip?

Cheers

Release

Chris J · Post by **Chris J** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:16 pm

press solo button far right , it turns into cue button, each track has a cue button after that, I wish we could have both

DJ Release · Post by **DJ Release** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 7:54 am

Nice one Chris - yeh remember reading it now!

It would appear to make sense to have both (although i havn't tried it out as is yet)

Thanks again

Release

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:14 am

I have no need to cue. Every track and sample is volume-matched and warped to beatmatch.

I remaster each track in Live with an Audio Effects Group made up of a Saturator (just a tad), 2 EQ4s (1 to warm things up, a hi-pass at the end to retrieve the hi-end the limiter sometimes strips away), and 2 compressors (1 functioning as a limiter).

I set up all of the MIDI controls on an Ozonic (Lemur soon with a few more bookings!) preset, and tweak knobs and buttons without looking at the screen or touching a mouse until it sounds right, sometimes I find even closing my eyes helps! I even have MIDI buttons to toggle back and forth between the mastered and unmastered tracks, and between two pairs of monitors for comparison. Obviously, more recent brickwalled tracks need less work than the older Motown/disco/etc stuff. Then a quick render, now drag the newly rendered straight track back in for warping. I can do a track is under 2 minutes after doing over 500!

I do this before warping, and the resulting punchier track often autowarps a whole lot better. I don't know if the 5.0.2b7 autowarp engine has been improved, or I'm just getting better at using it, but it now works on virtually every track for me.

It really sounds good to toggle track to track at random and find that they all 'sit' together nicely.