How To Use - Ableton Live 12 Beginner Level 2 / 1822

[ForeverSeason]

Hey @Paul_L ,

Just wanted to say thanks for the absolutely brilliant courses! I’d been avoiding learning Ableton for a while, but after taking the Level 1 and Level 2 courses you have made, I’ve totally fallen in love with this DAW. This will absolutely be my DAW of choice going forward—I finally understand why it’s so loved and treasured. Thank you for the amazing work!

Here’s what really made your course work for me:

Beyond YouTube Basics
You managed to cover things that YouTube tutorials just don’t, or can’t, without rushing through. You took the time to really dig into each element, and it made such a difference.

Effortlessly Easy
You somehow made even all parts of Ableton feel approachable. You explained everything as you went along and I found myself not just learning how to use a DAW, but also I learned about compression, limiters and chorus. The way you structured each lesson made it easy to follow and actually absorb everything. Also you explained everything as you went along

Calm and Collected Teaching
Your calm, patient style was a breath of fresh air. You didn’t rush, and that gave me space to really understand each concept. The whole course felt more like a relaxed conversation than a ‘must finish’ lesson.

No Gimmicks, Just Solid Instruction
I loved that this wasn’t one of those “learn Ableton in 10 minutes” deals. You took your time, and because of that, I came away feeling genuinely confident in what I’d learned.

Building Block Approach
The building-block method you used was perfect. Each section made sense on its own, but it also set me up for the next part in a way that didn’t feel overwhelming. I could actually see the progress as I went along.

Overall, I think you’re an amazing instructor. Your depth of knowledge and clear, structured approach really clicked with me. Thanks for putting so much care and detail into this course—it made a huge difference!

Looking forward to more courses from you!

P.S - A big thanks for introducing me to Compressy the elf.

Best,

Forever

[Tekalight]

Welcome aboard on the forums @ForeverSeason and thanks for your comment & feedback !

[ForeverSeason]

It’s an honour and pleasure!

@Tekalight

[Paul_L]

Hey @ForeverSeason , thanks for the kind words on the course! It is genuinely nice to hear that my approach to teaching connected with you, and you are diving into your Ableton Live journey. Best of luck moving forward with your music, and please do spread the word about the course. I’m looking forward to putting out some more tutorials on Sonic Academy soon!

[ForeverSeason]

BOOM! Amazing Stuff!

Looking forward to more tutorials

Thank you! Thank you!

@Paul_L

[heggahegga]

Really good course, thank you. As was the previous level. P-LASK is an excellent teacher, very thorough in his explanations, and covers a wide range of topics.

[DavidAlvarezRestrepo]

great course!

[h18385]

Awesome course!!!

[Lanatheme]

Thank you!! Amazing class, I learned a lot

[Besty]

fantastic follow on from level 1, took what I already thought was banging and just polished the hell out of it, really interesting and useful stuff, thanks!

[DaemeoNation]

Ahh. It’s P-Lask. I’m glad I clicked on this. I like his teaching style.

[dj_ajna]

These beginner courses were awesome, thanks so much! The production beast is feeling a lot less scary now.

[nereob1]

I’m an FL user and just getting started with Ableton. I learned so much through both of the courses you put together. You made the experience really enjoyable with a lot of great information about Ableton. The time and effort you put into making these courses is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!!

[phil_johnston]

Glad it was useful… welcome to the community.

We also have a discord if you want to chat with Sonic tutors or other users

Join the Sonic Academy Discord Server!

[Roarshark]

Great tutorial, both volumes. Clear explanations, excellent pacing.

[Anatta_Field]

Brilliant thanks. I was losing hope in being able to make music after watching other tutorials but yours is really clear and easy to understand while actually making musing instead of twiddling knobs. Thanks

[Abasil]

I am really happy to learn that DAW

[bassrider]

Hey @Paul_L . After finishing this tutorial, I’m now working through your older tutorials and trying to figure out how to translate the vol/vel parameter change in Simpler for v12. In your older tutorials when you’re using the earlier versions of Ableton, the parameter is Vel > Vol and defaults to 25%. In v12 the parameter is now Vol < Vel and defaults to 45%. As I read the parameter, it’s the same for both, velocity is greater than volume by the percentage, however when I’m using v12 and I import the samples in the earlier tutorials, my levels are lower than what I’m seeing you are getting in the tutorial.

[Tekalight]

Not sure which older course you’re watching ( might help to get a course name, video title and time frame as a reference ) but as the Info Text mentions inside Live :

Volume < Vel

Simpler’s volume can be modulated by the velocity of incoming MIDI notes. This determines the depth of modulation.

So when different than 0% → Midi Notes velocity will modulate the volume ( So at 0% there’s no Velocity Response at all and you’ll get the same output level whatever your Midi Notes Velocity values are ( i.e : 75 or 127 ), the max output level from Simpler is based on the Volume and also the Sample Gain value you’ve set inside Simpler. And at 100% it will fully respond to Midi Notes Velocity ( i.e with a Midi note at full velocity 127 you’ll get the maximum output level from Simpler, again based on the Volume and sample gain values ).

So you may want to check the Velocity values for the Midi notes triggering Simpler in the course you’re watching.

[bassrider]

Appreciate the response. In the HTM Deep House 2018 with P-Lask tutorial 4 at 8:50 is when he brings up checking the Vel>Vol parameter and that’s when I noticed that it has been changed for Ableton v12 compared to the version he is using in the video. Since they reworded the name of the parameter in the new version and changed the default values, I wasn’t sure if adjustments were being applied the same between the different versions. Thank you for explaining how this parameter works.

I now see that the discrepancy in levels between my build of the track vs Paul’s is due to the output volume on Simpler. When he opens a new instance of drum rack and loads the samples, the output volume appears to default to -6db. When I open an instance of drum rack in v12 and load the samples, the output volume is -12 db.