Ableton Forum

Hi all,

I'd like to be able to record a loop into a clip slot without it being audible in a live performance, while still keeping the previous clip playing. My goal is to layer up the first section of a song in a row, and then to discreetly record the next row while the first part continues to repeat so I can have all instruments switch when I trigger the second section row. I don't want to use a second column for this, I know that is possible but I want to keep all of my stuff in the first 8 tracks and would quickly run out of room.

So, say I record drums, bass, keyboards, some synth and rhythm guitar into row one. What I want is a way to populate row two without the audience hearing it so when the time comes I can switch them all to row 2 and have the feel of an entire band changing sections. I also don't want to stop the currently playing clips while I record the next row. I'm adamant about not using any pre-recorded loops to achieve this, I want to be able to improvise entire songs live in this manner. I would also like, if possible, to be able to hear the 'discreet' recordings through the headphones, to avoid surprises if I make a mistake.

I tried cloning my first 8 columns into 8 more columns, setting each to A and B channels and cross-fading to switch, but this has proven ineffective as there are times I don't want all instruments to switch, for example I may want to keep the same drum beat going as I switch bass/keyboard/guitar into a new key. Using the crossfade method, everything switches when I flip over the crossfader. It also becomes cumbersome to move the APC grid over 8 columns and I'd like to do this in the simplest method possible. I have an FCB foot controller that I can use to trigger new recordings while my hands are tied up in whatever instrument I'm playing. I use the footswitches like a loop station and then use the APC for arranging and 'DJing' my performance in real time.

Well, it can't work exactly like that, since only one clip can be active at a time in a given track.

I think your idea of crossfading between tracks and duplicates has a lot of promise, although like you said it's always going to be a bit awkward. This has the advantage of letting you use the headphone cueing to preview your new work in whatever tracks aren't currently audible due to the crossfader. I haven't thought of a way to gracefully handle keeping some parts going while other parts are faded though - maybe you can map the A/B switches to some MIDI controller? The downside of course is that you'd probably have to add another controller.

Thanks for the reply, Bob

I've been looking around the forums and coming to pretty much the same conclusion. I wonder if there is just a way to have every clip I record automatically get cloned 8 tracks over, so that track 1 clips would already exist in track 9 for example. Then I could overwrite the ones I want to change in the "B" channel, tracks 9-16, and already have the other parts there. That would help, but I also want to find a way to map the track left/right buttons on my APC to move in 8 tracks at a time so it's only a click away. This could get really complicated though, as I would then have to work it out so my footwsitches moved over 8 tracks as well...I've also been trying to figure out how to have a button to instantly copy a clip down one row, so I can add to a clip but have the first take available, say to record kick/snare in row 1, clone to row 2 and add other drums, then have simple kick/snare still available to go back to during a bass solo or something. I also just realized pre-cloning the clips in the B side columns restricts my ability to make them different lengths. It all gets so complicated so quick!

I guess the best route would be to look into quick cloning options, to clone clip down one row or over eight rows on the fly. Does anyone know a good method for that? I'm not sure how to pull off relative mappings on my APC and FCB.

Thanks