A touch controller for Ableton Live that runs in a web browser. It controls Live on the Mac: loading instruments and effects, recording and launching clips, and mixing. The videos show an iPad and Live side by side.
There's no app to install and nothing from the App Store. Vamp is a web page that runs on the Mac alongside Live; you open its address in a browser over Wi-Fi or a USB-C cable. It's laid out for an iPad in landscape, but it isn't tied to one: a browser on the Mac works too.
A five-minute walkthrough
One song built from an empty Live set.
Overall layout
What each part of the screen is for.
The screen
Six areas, all on one screen.
LeftBrowser.
TopEffects.
MiddleCentral view: the controls for the instrument, clip or effect you selected.
BelowClip slots, one column per track.
BottomTracks.
RightLoop, groove quantize, scenes and key.
Browser
Load instruments, loops and samples from Live's library. Each Place in Live's browser sidebar has a button.
Loading
The switch at the top chooses what a tap loads. Everything loads on a new track.
TapA Place, then a folder.
TapInstrument, then a preset: an instrument, a kit or an effect rack.
TapClip, then a loop: an audio clip on a new audio track, warped to the song tempo.
TapSimpler, then a sample: Simpler on a new MIDI track, ready to play.
FX
A tile for each effect, across the top of the screen.
Adding an effect
Dragging a tile inserts the effect on the selected track and sets two of its controls. Tapping the tile opens all of its controls.
DragReverb: x axis is decay, y axis is how much.
DragEcho: x axis is delay time, y axis is feedback.
TapA tile to open the effect's view: Shimmer, or Pedal's Fuzz.
Tracks
One column per track, with clip slots above the track's controls.
Using a track
Launches and recordings start on the next bar.
TapThe top of a track: select it and open its clip.
TapThe middle: open its instrument.
TapThe bottom: open Permute.
DragUp or down on a track: volume.
TapThe name: mute or unmute.
TapA clip's button: stop or launch it.
TapAn empty slot, then its dot, to record. Tap again to close the loop.
Record to Simpler
Record what a track plays and turn it into an instrument. The Vamp Recorder device on Return A does the recording.
TapA track, then REC in its clip view.
TapREC again to stop. The recording loads into Simpler on a new MIDI track.
PlayThe new track from a keyboard.
Clip tools
Hold a clip to show its tools in the central view. Changes apply to the clip's notes in Live.
TapDup Clip: copy the clip into the next slot.
Tap+12 / −12: transpose by an octave.
DragChance: the probability that each note plays.
DragThe loop brace on the right: which part of the clip plays.
DragTemp: random pitch variation. On drums, notes move to other pads.
TapThe pencil: open the note editor (below).
Note editor
The pencil in the clip tools switches the central view to the clip's notes. Edits appear in Live's clip view as you make them.
DragA note: move it in time or pitch.
DragA note's end: change its length.
TapDraw mode: tap to add a note, tap a note to delete it.
DragSelect mode: drag a box to select notes.
TapDuplicate, Quantize or Delete for the selected notes.
DragThe velocity lane: how hard each note plays.
TapFold to show only the pitches the clip plays; the grid button sets the snap.
Central views
Each instrument and effect has its own view in the middle of the screen.
Instruments
Tap the instrument icon on a track.
SimplerA sampled piano
SamplerFilter, oscillator, gain
Drum RackDrum Sampler kit
Drum RackSampler kit
Drum RackA kit with macros
DriftFilter, shape, envelope
ElectricHammer and Fork
OperatorFM feedback and tone
WavetableTwo oscillators
MeldMacros, filter, envelope
CollisionResonator
Effects
Drag an effect tile to add the effect, then tap the tile.
ReverbHall, then Shimmer
EchoFeedback and mix
Auto FilterHigh-pass and LFO
PedalFuzz and drive
Drum BussBoom and crunch
ChorusSmudge and phaser
Beat RepeatEighth-note repeats
Glue CompressorThreshold and output
Permute
A step sequencer on each track. It transposes and mutes the playing clip without changing its notes.
Two lanes
Pitch and mute. Each lane has its own length and rate.
TapThe bottom of a track: open Permute.
TapA step: turn it on or off.
DragLength and Rate: steps per cycle and step speed.
Groove
Apply a groove from Live's groove pool to a clip.
Choosing a groove
Each tile shows a groove's timing. The clip keeps its Quantize and Amount settings when you change groove.
HoldA clip to focus it.
TouchQ: set Quantize and open the groove view.
TapA tile: choose a groove.
DragAmount: how much of the groove is applied.
Choose which grooves appear in Settings → Grooves.
Main track and settings
Song settings and screen layout.
Main track
The main track is to the right of the tracks. It shows the master meter; drag it to set the master volume. Tap it to open its view.
DragBPM and Time: tempo and time signature.
TapLaunch Q: launch quantization.
TapClick: metronome.
TapHeader, FX, Clips, Solo: show or hide these sections.
TapThe gear: open Settings.
Key Follow
After each recording, Vamp detects the key of the playing clips and sets Live's key and scale.
AutoAutomatic. Turn it on or off with Follow Key in the main track's view.