Can someone tell me about LIVE 4s midi editing?

[Aff]

I've run the demo, pretty chaotic getting your head round it afer years of cubase but certainly seems worthy of effort to learn it all. whether to drop cubase i'm left unconvinced. so far...

so can someone explain to me about midi editing. i spend alot of time in cubases key editor. the little key editor in live4 seems more like a step sequencer.

is there any way to do some serious stuff in there.

i'm probably just disorientated but without my little right click toolbox i'm lost. totally. i can do a simple drum pattern with simpler but i feel i'm not able to breeze about like i'm used to (obvious really). and all my inputs are set the same. i want to re-size some, i want to do this and that, aaargh!!!!

are there any restrictions in comparison to the cubase way or is it all there and i just have to understand the ableton method?

by the way, great program from what i can get my head round, but that's the main problem. i have cubase linear recording etched solidly in my head.

[Joxer the Mighty]

Have you worked through the lessons? You can learn the basics of midi editing there. Also, it sounds like you've only worked in the Session window. Try working in the Arrange window, you can create midi clips of any size there, and should be more like what you're used to doing in Cubase.

[meister eder]

The basic stuff is there:

• grab the deviderline between editor and session/arrange, and drag upwards to resize the editor
• disable view of the 'sample' and 'envelopes' boxes to get even more screenspace

• command-click & drag up/down on notes to change velocity
• double-click on empty space to create notes
• double-click on notes to delete them
• drag left or right corner of notes to change length
• command 1 and command 2 to change grid resolution (quantisation)
• command drag note to move unquantized

• use Draw Mode (pencil) only to edit in "drum pattern style"


What's missing (compared to Logic, don't have Cubase):

• Logical Editor / Transform
• flexible Selection commands
• flexible Copy/Repeat commands
• commands like "Delete Duplicates", "Remove Overlaps", "Note Force Legato", "De-Quantize"*, etc.
• Mute Notes
• Devide Notes
• Play Note when clicked
• Step Input mode
...and all those things.

*Important to know maybe: Quantization is destructive in Live, hence irreversible.

[Beardedone]

So far I find Live's midi editor quite good. Takes a bit t get used to after Sonar and Fruity's piano roll goodness but has the real advantage of being truely "live" I can edit on the fly with no glitches. Excellent!

[Aff]

well i did use the arrange page (alot at first). i did the demos and then proceeded to do my own stuff and then got a bit lost again. didn't have time to redo the demos.

however, one thing, i couldn't draw in chords of differing lengths in the key editor. it kept coming up as little bits instead of long ones. i just wanted to click and draw and release when it was long enough. what's the score there then?

wackler, i certainly do miss some of those things you mention. i would hope as it's Lives first venture into midi they will incorporate more features and most definately a quantize undo without making it complicated or less fluid as it seems it is now (or hopefully will be for me).

I don't know how other people feel about vst support though as it could change the face of Live and possibly make it less reliable. and isn't that what Live is all about, a stable environment when playing live.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

[DELETED]

[meister eder]

however, one thing, i couldn't draw in chords of differing lengths in the key editor. it kept coming up as little bits instead of long ones. i just wanted to click and draw and release when it was long enough. what's the score there then?

Just do not use the pencil (i.e. draw mode), because this is the special "drum like editing" (which can be very powerfull as well. However, you would have to switch between different grid sizes all the time to enter notes of different lenghts).

So switch draw mode off (the pen symbol in the upper toolbar) and proceed with the commands that I described in my previous post, like
• double-click on empty space to create notes
• double-click on notes to delete them
• drag left or right corner of notes to change length.
You can also double-click to create a note and without releasing the mouse drag the note lenght instantly. The same as it would be with the pencil in Logic (and I assume Cubase, too), just that you don't have to switch the tool all the time.

wackler, i certainly do miss some of those things you mention. i would hope as it's Lives first venture into midi they will incorporate more features

You can bet they will! But most probably in a different way again and most probably in a very usefull and intuitive way. I already love the 'Velocity' plugin for example, although the same can be done in Logic's sequence parameter box.

and most definately a quantize undo without making it complicated or less fluid as it seems it is now (or hopefully will be for me).

I mean, you do have full featured multiple undo of course. Just, it is for the whole program and thus different from a non-destructive quantize function.

I don't know how other people feel about vst support though as it could change the face of Live and possibly make it less reliable. and isn't that what Live is all about, a stable environment when playing live.

If I felt that Live was not stable enough for live use, I could still use Live3 which is remains fully authorized on my harddisk, or I would just take the offending VST instruments out of the folder or not use MIDI at all. You have all options, it's up to you.