Ableton Forum

Here's the real problem with this... Yes vocal comping is painful, but the workarounds are still at least somewhat doable if it's only a few tracks. But try tracking drums with no comping feature. Imagine creating 12 new tracks, 1 for each mic, every time you wanted a new take. 10 takes would result in 120 different tracks, JUST TO COMP. This truly is a nightmare for any Ableton users who record multi-mic setups.

crosari3 wrote:Here's the real problem with this... Yes vocal comping is painful, but the workarounds are still at least somewhat doable if it's only a few tracks. But try tracking drums with no comping feature. Imagine creating 12 new tracks, 1 for each mic, every time you wanted a new take. 10 takes would result in 120 different tracks, JUST TO COMP. This truly is a nightmare for any Ableton users who record multi-mic setups.

Why would you create a new track, when all you need to do is create a new session clip? After all, clip following is one way to make comping work as it is.

The key to Ableton Live is to work with the DAW, not against. This necessitates accepting it for what it is now, rather than what you wish it was, but isn't.

Just saw that 10 was going to be released. Got super excited, and did a thorough look through the new features for some kind of comping... nothing. ;_;

Some of the new audio editing tools do look sweet though. Perhaps comping will be in a 10.X update? One can only hope. Meanwhile, with the Black Friday discount, Studio One is cheaper than my upgrade to Live 10.

Stromkraft wrote:...The key to Ableton Live is to work with the DAW, not against. This necessitates accepting it for what it is now, rather than what you wish it was, but isn't.

very well put Stormy - although I think some users struggle with "creating" work-arounds, while at the same time creating music
It seems to add trees that stand in front of the forest

Mister Natural wrote: very well put Stormy - although I think some users struggle with "creating" work-arounds, while at the same time creating music
It seems to add trees that stand in front of the forest

Well, sometimes the workarounds — I'd rather see these as technology or methodology extensions — are indeed necessary. I use PXT Live to route around how I feel about the sequencer mode for instance (among other reasons).

I similarly embraced the Live mixer by extracting all my drum chains to their own tracks, which I view more as an existing possibility that I explored than a workaround, though it's also a way to get around the fact that different drums parts sound better with different grooves, not the same. Which only works with unique clips per drum part.

I think the dead ends come from wishing Live would work like another existing DAW. Whereas I'd rather Live had similar useful functionality in a way that would make sense within the existing environment. Not that Live always make sense as it is, but I think this is the ideal.

To get back on the subject, as I've said before, comping seem like a too useful concept to not be implemented somewhat soon. Please.

Me too was hoping for comping in Live 10 as well as Ableton's own take on pitch correction (it would have improved my worflow a lot since I find it confusing to switch to Melodynes interface with other gestures for editing and moving around, zooming etc).

Now that it won't happen, is there anyone who could summarize a decent workflow for recording takes and comping in Live? (I searched this forum, but did not really find anything cohesive.)

Thanks,
Sven

SvenH wrote: Now that it won't happen, is there anyone who could summarize a decent workflow for recording takes and comping in Live? (I searched this forum, but did not really find anything cohesive.)

Meanwhile, who are using this overdub technique for comping audio or MIDI?: "How To Comp Vocals in Ableton Live. Getting that perfect vocal take" (Ill Factor on youtube, about 3 minutes in)

Stromkraft wrote:

SvenH wrote: Now that it won't happen, is there anyone who could summarize a decent workflow for recording takes and comping in Live? (I searched this forum, but did not really find anything cohesive.)

Meanwhile, who are using this overdub technique for comping audio or MIDI?: "How To Comp Vocals in Ableton Live. Getting that perfect vocal take" (Ill Factor on youtube, about 3 minutes in)

Didn't know it's possible to work that way, looks like a decent workaround! Thanks a lot for the link!

Stromkraft wrote:Meanwhile, who are using this overdub technique for comping audio or MIDI?: "How To Comp Vocals in Ableton Live. Getting that perfect vocal take" (Ill Factor on youtube, about 3 minutes in)

this is great for working out all parts from vox to perc (besides comping), play/sing forever then compile the best bits

thank you!!

Stromkraft wrote:

SvenH wrote: Now that it won't happen, is there anyone who could summarize a decent workflow for recording takes and comping in Live? (I searched this forum, but did not really find anything cohesive.)

Meanwhile, who are using this overdub technique for comping audio or MIDI?: "How To Comp Vocals in Ableton Live. Getting that perfect vocal take" (Ill Factor on youtube, about 3 minutes in)

Ah you beat me to it, but with an actual youtube example, nice!

But yes, I am surprised that there are so many people saying you can't record multiple takes on the fly in Live - I guess they missed this basic tool of recording multiple takes in Live? For those wanting more info, please check out the Manual: 16.3.1 Recording Into the Arrangement, to also learn about loop recording (point 6) and punch in (point 4) / punch out (point 5) tools - useful stuff as well!

Of course I agree that there is no special tool for choosing the takes you want to keep after the recording process that keeps it all within one track, but really I find using a couple of tracks per instrument to cut together the takes I want more than enough. So I am a bit puzzled why it's such an outrage that we don't have a "dedicated comp tool", but maybe I am missing something? What more would a comp tool do?

Da hand wrote:What more would a comp tool do?

I think being able to handle multiple tracks at the same time, think multi-mic settings.

Da hand wrote:What more would a comp tool do?

All DAW's can do what is shown in the video, in their Arrangement/Linear View.

But as the strong suit in Live is the Session View, this is where I would want to do the comping...both midi and audio... automatic recording into the next slot at each completed clip for a given instrument.

Or perhaps this is something I have yet to figure out.

Oh brother.. and we can't pre-define audio clip lengths in Session View!

Meanwhile, who are using this overdub technique for comping audio or MIDI?: "How To Comp Vocals in Ableton Live. Getting that perfect vocal take"
thats a good work round for me some may be left wanting more
tip make sure takes are good delete all that are naff
less to edit in the first place
thanks stromkraft

allanaceflyer wrote:Meanwhile, who are using this overdub technique for comping audio or MIDI?: "How To Comp Vocals in Ableton Live. Getting that perfect vocal take"

great stuff! ill Factor has a lot of other awesome production and Ableton videos on his YouTube channel