I recently posted a few tips about default presets , this video is a quick refresher about Drum Racks and default presets for those who prefer the videos over the articles. A High Quality version of the video can be downloaded from the Vimeo page.
You're supposed to hear a drum sample in the end, but it got lost when I normalized the audio with my voice. Since its only 2 seconds of the video, it isn't much of a problem.
During the creation of my latest Live Set, I ran into a limitation with the BCR2000. This controller relies on feedback coming back from Live, but it only stores the data for 1 preset. This means that if I switch from preset 1 to preset 2, it will not reflect any of the changes that I may have made in Live while preset 1 was loaded.
Because of this, I decided to write my own BCR driver application. The application collects all the parameter values of every single CC that are assigned to something in Live. The BCR2000 sends out all its values from MIDI Channel 1, but before these values go to Live, they pass thru the application so that I can choose the MIDI Channel for the output.
I never have to change the BCR preset. I have a knob that goes from 1 to 16 to select the MIDI Channel that is used to send messages to Ableton Live. When I choose a MIDI Channel, the GUI of this application will show all the labels for the knobs and buttons that are assigned to Live on that specific channel.
The development of this application is still in the very early stages,but its already good enough for my needs. However, I will continue todevelop this application because other people may have different needs.Currently it functions according to what I needed for my set, butit'll eventually be an alternative driver for the BCR2000.
Ah, there is nothing like a good consistent heat wave to completely kill my productivity. But the weather in western Europe is back to its crappy self, so its time for some action.
During the past few weeks, I've kept on testing my new controller setup which at the moment consists out of a BCR2000 and a custom application.
The application is stable and almost fool proof. I'm very happy with the results.
The Covert Operators have created a subscription service that provides access to unique in-depth video tutorials every month.
Subscribers will be given guides to ALL the Ableton Devices, as well as beginner to advanced levels of tips and tricks. Also on the way are video guides that cover the dark arts such as sound design, composition and mixing, putting *you* back in charge of the session!
Authors
Renowned Ableton Live experts Andreas Wetterberg (a.k.a. Machinate)and Bjorn Vayner (a.k.a. Hoffman2k), have shared their expertise teaching awide variety of musicians, composers, djs and engineers over the years.
Producing these videos, relevant for Live 6 and up, is their way of sharing that expertise with as many people as possible.
The monthly service is just 5 euros/month and will give you lifetime access to your subscription months - greatly improving the way you work with Ableton Live.
Sign up for a full year at a time and you will save a further 15 euros, while getting unrestricted access to all tutorials for the year. You will get premium High Def downloadable videos to play anywhere and everywhere - every week!
Here's a free video preview to get you started on some cool noises - and remember that all our videos are available in 720p HD!
• The Velocity Plugin:The Velocity Plugin can do a lot to change the dynamics of a MIDI Sequence. In this tutorial we will take a look at all its features.
• The Chord Plugin:This video covers the functions of the Chord Plugin. It is a simple yet versatile little plugin.
• Storing Live Clips:This video explains how to store Audio and MIDI Live Clips and how to manage the samples you may be using.
• Racks - The Key Zone Editor: This video is the first in a series about Racks. It features all you
need to know about the Key Zone Editor which is used for things such as
splitting the keyboard for multiple instruments or for making more
complex sounds.
Last months featured videos
• The ADSR Envelope: A beginner tutorial that explains the functions of the Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release parameters that can be found on the envelopes of most synthesizers, including Simpler, Sampler and Operator.
• Operator Looping Envelopes: An intermediate tutorial that takes a look at the unique envelope looping functions that Operator offers.
• The Scale Device: A complete guide to understanding how to use and how to program the Scale MIDI plugin.
• MIDI Stretching: A short video that takes a look at the MIDI Stretch feature that got added to the latest versions of Live 6.
A storm is brewing! Though not so much in the climatological sense.
I have ignored a lot of problems so far during the creation of my current Live Set and the time has come to process some of the problems and thoughts that are cluttering my mind.
After completing my first goals, it is time to set some new goals. My new goal is to make a playable mini set with 2 songs triggered from one scene each. I already have my first playable song and I will aim to be able to control the second song in an identical way.
You'll be able to find many things on the internet, but there is no such a thing as a guide to building a Live Set. A few example Live Sets can be found for Ableton Live, but that doesn't teach you anything about the reasoning behind some decisions that performers make when crafting their set.
In most of our recent packs, you'll find racks that look like a maze. Racks with a lot of devices, sometimes for a single purpose. These purposes can be summarized in a collection of tricks and techniques.
In the past few years I've written many times about Dummy Clips. Every time a new version of Live arrives, it gets a little bit easier to use them. We have done a small collection of videos that will highlight many of the uses for Dummy Clips, starting with the basics and working our way up.
New York Style compression adds extra punch and presence. On the Ableton Forum there has been some debate as to how best to implement the approach in Ableton Live. Here's one take on it - as always go through the links by the video to get to the tasty HD on vimeo :)
And don't forget NOT to blink... this one is QUICK!
I have always loved the sound of a howling tape delay, and when I first got Live (version 3 at the time) it didn't take me long to start to build some of these routing structures I had previously worked with in hardware, using so called "dub mixing" techniques to send audio to delays and then manipulate the sounds within an effects feedback loop.
^^^ wow, that was a long sentence!
Anyways, I have been rigging my machine to do HD video captures, and I think I finally nailed it. Please add any requests for future videos or comments on the quality/lack thereof, hehe. Click the first link below the video to go to vimeo if you need the HD version - cheers.
Here's another one of those things that settled with me over the last couple of years. Originally I did this with audio samples, repitching and pendulum looping on an Akai s-950 (yes, I'm old, so what?)
HD version at vimeo - although the message does come across in this smudgy version ;-)
Lets say you want a note to never end. You could either make an absurdly long clip with a note that is longer then your song. Or play with the attack and release of the instrument to make it sound like a smooth loop.
Neither of these methods really achieves the task we wish to do. Luckily there is a feature in Live just for this reason.
Make the note a bit longer then the loop. And let the loop have a lead-in.
For example: The note starts 1.1.1, Make the loop start at 1.3.1 and let the loop end at 2.1.1. The note ends at 2.1.2, past the end of the loop.
This is a brief, wordless walkthrough of one of the ways I zone in on
pitched sounds in seemingly unpitched source material. Hope you find
this useful!
for DjViral and the Ableton Live forum.
- oh, and sorry about the clipping. Twas a quickie.
Ableton added a cool feature to Live 7, it allows us to determine our own personal default settings for Abletons Devices. I made a list of 10 Tips that explain how this feature works.
Since Live Clips have been introduced in Live 5, there hasn't been an easy way to store samples that are attached to the Live Clips you wish to store. This has improved in Live 7, but it isn't perfect yet.
But at least its possible. In this video I'll explain how you store samples and Live Clips in Live 7. You'll also see where your samples end up and I will explain why they end up in different folders of your Live Library. A High Quality version of this video can be downloaded from the Vimeo page.
White noise is one of those things we often shy away from in studio production, so I decided to demonstrate a few things that make it useful.There's some beginner, intermediate AND advanced uses in this video, so pay attention! ;-)
I don't do this often, and most of the time I just wonder why, and then move on with my life; I don't put up my music anymore, for some reason? Well, things are gonna change, dagnabbit!
This one is a weird one, a small piece in 7/4 time, augmented by 7/4 and 4/4 percussion.
The main theme was done with a particularly convoluted patch on a modular, shown in blurnessness above.
Very moody, but with prog 80s undertones... perhaps.
One of the most common thing I want to add in my tracks is that little touch of drop bass, or a straight sine wave to double up the bass line or kick. It's remarkably easy to do, and you don't even need a synth to do it in Ableton Live... what? No synth?
You want a swoopy sweep, or a synth crash, or just a simple hihat. Where would you turn? Many samplers have white noise samples, but they're just that: Very short samples that need to be looped, which makes them sound fake and periodic.
- done properly. By politely asking an expensive synth to produce it. You can easily plop this sample in everywhere you need white noise, and it should fit the bill.
