Always on
The track strips, knobs, device section and transport work the same in every mode. Learn them once.
- Track strips: select, activator, solo, arm, A|B
- Knobs and devices: rings, device banks, undo, the beat display
- Transport and tempo: tap, nudge, tempo and bars on the pads
- Peek at your faders: the volumes and the meters on the grid
- Little messages: what the pads say when nothing else can
Track strips
| Control | What the buttons do |
|---|---|
| Track Select 1–8 | Select the track (hold: its name scrolls) |
| Arm | Arm the track (Shift: the other exclusive-arm way) |
| Solo | Solo (Shift: the other exclusive-solo way) |
| Activator | Mute / unmute: lit while the track plays |
| A|B | Crossfade: off → A (yellow) → B (orange) |
| Master | Select the master track |
Hold a Track Select button: the track's name scrolls over the pads in the track's colour until you let go.
The 2 Activator is lit while the track plays and dark when it's muted.
Shift+Sends puts the return tracks on the strips after your last track, and hides them again.
Knobs and devices
The eight track knobs follow the knob mode (Pan, Sends or User); the eight device knobs always play the selected device. The rings around them show the values.
The device section
1 Device ◀ ▶: the previous or next device on the track. 2 Bank ◀ ▶: which eight parameters the knobs play.
3 Dev On/Off switches the device, Dev Lock keeps the knobs on it wherever you go; hold Dev Lock and the device's name scrolls over the pads.
Clip/Dev View and 4 Detail View switch Live's views. With Shift they are undo and redo.
Turn the metronome on and press Play: the device buttons' lights count the beats (the picture shows beat 2). Shift+Metronome turns that off and on.
Transport and tempo
1 Play; Shift+Play stops.
2 Record into the Arrangement; Shift+Record = Capture MIDI.
3 Session record. 4 Metronome.
5 Tap Tempo. Nudge − / + with Shift: nudge the tempo while held.
6 The Tempo knob, one BPM a click.
The tempo on the pads
Turn the Tempo knob or tap the tempo and the pads show it, one digit per place like a clock: nothing slides, only the digits that change are redrawn. It goes about half a second after the last click.
Bars on the pads
Shift+Tempo moves the song position a bar per click and shows the bar number, green / white / green.
Peek at your faders
Hold Shift and move any volume fader: the grid shows all eight volumes, the scene buttons the master.
1 Each column fills from the bottom in 15 steps; the top pad turns red above 0 dB. A white pad marks where your fader physically is.
Move the fader to the white pad: when they meet, the white pad goes and the volume follows the fader. Nothing jumps.
VU meters
Shift+Bank turns the grid into level meters, one column per strip, the master on the scene buttons. A tap keeps them, a longer hold shows them only while you hold; Shift+Bank again, Pan, Sends or User take you back.
Little messages
Some buttons change things you can't see on the unit. Those flash a short message over the pads for a moment, the pads keep working underneath.
Notes, scales and sends
In the melodic layouts Up / Down show the lowest note and Left / Right the scale; Sends again shows which send the knobs are on.
Live's status bar (bottom left of Live's window) says the same in words: Encoders: Send B, Scale: D Dorian, Page follow: on.