PodTip: Live Edit Your Podcast Using a Button Board

Why do it?

Live editing your podcast by using a button board can significantly cut down your post edit time, allow you to grow your speaking skills, and make your show more natural and fluid. And by utilizing free software that comes with many podcast standard equipment, it can be very cost effective (around $99) for the hobbyist and professionals alike.

The concept of live editing stems from live broadcasts for television and radio. If you watched the Emmy’s recently, a producer is all the camera shots and elements live, behind the scenes. Although you don’t need to do your podcast for a live audience, following the same process means you don’t have to scrub back through your entire episode and find the spots to add sound effects, music, or clips. 

Now this does require a little bit more prep on the front end but that only makes for a better show.

The Software: Ableton Live Lite

The Lite version of Ableton Live (now Ableton Live 10 Intro) has all the functionality you need to record your podcast and map audio clips to your keyboard for live playback. They have taken the custom key mapping out of the spreadsheets and straight onto your screen. A serial code for the just the software runs for $99 on Sweetwater.

But I’ve got a better option for you. Ableton Live Lite is included free with the purchase of many Focusrite, Roland, or Novation hardware products. I can personally vouch for the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 ($109.99) as a audio interface or the Novation Launchpad Mini ($89.99) as a button board (more on this soon). If you don’t dig Amazon, you can also find B stock of those two with an Ableton serial code included on Reverb for a bit cheaper. Just double check.

Full disclosure, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases so thank you for your support. It allows me to continue to pursue a dream of podcasting full time.

The Hardware: Your Keyboard OR Novation Launchpad Mini

In the world of digital, it’s really nice to have actual buttons to press for live performances. While Ableton makes it really easy to map any key on your keyboard to an audio clip, the launchpad can save you a few minutes of mapping hassle for new clips each week. It also makes fireworks.

How To Set Ableton Up for Live Edit Podcast

1. Getting Started and Adding Audio Clips
   1. Open Ableton Live Lite
   2. Go to the left hand side and click “Add Folder.” Find your folder with all your audio clips and hit “Ok.”
      1. You can now just add any clips to the selected folder and they will appear in Ableton.
   3. Click and drag an audio clip from this new folder into one of the center channels to create a button.
2. Mapping Buttons to Keyboard
   1. Go to the top right corner, click “KEY.” This highlights in orange anything that can be mapped to our keyboard.
   2. Click the orange highlighted button you just created and then press 1 on our number pad. Press the “KEY” button once again.
   3. Now you can press number pad 1 and your audio clip will play.
3. Mapping Buttons with Novation Launchpad
   1. Plug in your Launchpad via USB.
   2. Open Ableton and add audio clips to channels.
   3. Watch the magic happen.
   4. Press buttons and find joy.
4. Instant Trigger
   1. Do this to make sure the audio clip instantly plays when you press the button.
   2. In the top left corner, click the drop-down button that defaults to “1 Bar.”
   3. Change it to “None.”
5. Looping Clips
   1. Double click the audio clip.
   2. A waveform and control area should appear at the bottom of the window. Click “Warp.” and then click “Loop” to turn them both yellow.
   3. Be aware that “Warp” will adjust the speed of the file so be careful and watch your bpm. 
6. Mic Set Up
   1. Select an empty audio channel and go to the “Audio From” portion in the middle.
   2. In the drop down menu, click “Configure” and select your input device.
   3. Exit the window and choose your correct input on the selected channel.
   4. At the bottom, arm the channel to record and monitor voice.
7. Recording an Episode
   1. Click the master record button near the top center.
   2. While recording, any button you press and your voice will be recorded in time.
   3. Record your episode!
8. Editing & Effects
   1. In the top right corner, click the hamburger instead of the highlighted hotdog.
   2. Click the timeline play button to unmute our channels. Now you’ll be able to edit like many other linear DAWs.
   3. You can find effects and plug ins for mixing and mastering in the left window above your imported folder.
   4. Select your channel and drag-and-drop the effect onto the bottom signal flow. These plug ins can be added to chanels prior to recording.
9. Exporting
   1. The most important option for us is the “Rendered Track.”
      1. Master – One file with everything; mixed and mastered in Ableton and ready for upload to distributor
      2. Separate Channels – Files for each channel; for mixing and mastering in another DAW.
      3. Individual Channels – File of single channel; for touching up voice over elsewhere?

ABLETON LIVE LITE GIVEAWAY?!?

That’s right folks you heard straight from the tall man’s mouth. I’m doing a quick little giveaway. Really because I just have an extra serial code from buying my launchpad. So here’s the rules:

1. Follow me @kalsowkaiser66 on Twitter
2. Tweet at me the best episode from YOUR podcast with the hashtag #Pods4Dave
3. On October 14, 2019, I’ll randomly pick someone who does steps one and two to receive the Live Lite serial code.