Ableton Shortcuts Hotkeys and Tips

Have you ever seen a seasoned producer or engineer rip apart a DAW without hardly touching the mouse?  If you haven't it's something to be enjoyed before you pass this part of the universe on.  However, instead of watching someone else, you could always just teach yourself.  With a bit of good old fashioned brain memory fueled by the right study material you too can be a hot key champion.  Below is a list of shortcuts pulled from a post over at the Ableton Forums authored by the user autogen.  I thought they would be useful to all of you as there is also quite a bit of other tips aside from just the hotkeys.  Check them out, I'm willing to bet they will make your workflow quite a bit more efficient once memorized.

Free Ableton Live Clinic

If you live in the Los Angeles area you might want to think about heading over to West LA Music for their FREE Ableton Live Clinic next week.  This specific class is for advanced Ableton users looking to further expand their knowledge of the revolutinary software.  The class will be taught by certified Ableton Live trainer Taylor Martyr and will cover subjects including but not limited to; producing, live perfomance, controllerism, Ableton tips & tricks plus Max for Live.  The class takes place on Tuesday July 26th (next week) from 5PM to 7PM.  The clinic can be registered for online by following this link to West LA Music's Website.  Thanks for reading & happy geeking!

All the best,

Nick

Madeon Mashup with Novation Launchpad

I first heard of Madeon after one of my partners at the EasyLove Music Blog featured some of his work in a post, I was Immediately taken back by what I can only call extremely enjoyable house music.  Madeon must take cues from fellow Frenchmen Daft Punk because their styles are remarkably similar. That is, Daft Punk & Madeon both seem to invoke similar emotions, for me at least.  Madeon has managed to add his own flair however and it is no doubt the key ingredient that has helped launch him into the spotlight.  He's currently the undisputed champion of young guns in the dance music world and the video that you're about to see below will only add to his credibility within this ever changing scene.  Madeon's Pop Culture mashup video already has over a million views on youtube and it's steadily climbing the hit ladder towards two million.  The video is a single shot of Madeon jamming out to 39 separate samples using his Novation Launchpad and Zero MkII to control and organize the madness.  The end result is a spectacular dance music mashup that must be seen and heard to be believed.  Enjoy! Thanks for reading & happy geeking!



All the best,

Nick

Ableton Live Quick Tip from Nick's Tutorials Ableton Automation Tutorial

If you guys remember I did a post on Nick and his Ableton tutorial's site aptly named NicksTutorials.com back in March.  His tutorials aren't your average run of the mill tutorials, all of them (even the free ones) do a fantastic job of digging deeply into Ableton Live and getting down to the nitty girtty, covering areas of the program other tutorial makers often neglect. All of his tutorials avoid useless info and when you hit play on any of Nick's videos you're off and learning within 10 seconds. This one isn't quite as in depth as some of the other videos he's made but it's still incredibly important. Automation has the ability to transform a lifeless track into a track with; varying dynamics, structure, and stereo spread if it's used correctly. In this quick tutorial from Nick on Ableton Automation, Nick goes over; Drawing, Recording, & Editing Automation.  As with all of Nick's Tutorials this one gets right down to the "need to know" info right off the bat.  This is certainly on the basic side of his tutorials but I'm willing to bet even you Ableton Savages might learn something new, he goes over lots of shortcuts that can save everyone a lot of time when working with automation.  Check out the automation tutorial from Nick right here and be sure to visit his homepage at NicksTutorials.com to investigate everything else this Ableton Guru has to offer!

Best,

Nick

Ableton and Serato Have Finally Released The Bridge

We've all heard the rumors and seen the epic Rane Mixer but it's hard to be stoked on something until it's really here and in front of your face. Well my friends, The Bridge is finally here! Ableton and Serato got together to smash up the best of both worlds when it comes to live electronic music performance, and I must say, I think they've hit the mark.

The Bridge was released on Septemeber 22nd and is available for Ableton Suite & Live users. Since it's so new to the market a lot of infromation isn't available yet but will surely trickle onto the net as more users put The Bridge to work. In order to use The Bridge you need to have Ableton Live/Suite 8.2 or above and Serato Scratch Live 2.1.1 or above. Support for Serato's Itch is also in the works and will no doubt be available here in the near future.

Essentially The Bridge gives your Ableton productions DJ Turntable style control with Serato and your CDJ's. You can drag clips from Ableton into a deck inside of Serato and have all of the typical "DJ" tools and tricks at your disposal for your Ableton clips.  Looping on the fly efficiently and EQing two tracks at once is nearly impossible with Ableton so The Bridge will be a much needed god send for those old school DJ's who now use Ableton to perform.  Basically, if you can do it in Serato you can now do it with Ableton and if you can do it in Ableton you can now do it with Serato.  I hope that makes sense if not think of it like this...  The Ableton Session View now lives inside of Serato.  You can also record you Serato mix sets directly into Ableton. With this feature you can use plug-ins available in Ableton to tweak and perfect your recorded live DJ mixes.  The programs accomplish their respective tasks seamlessly together and unlike ReWire it doesn't matter which program you open first. You don't need an interface either, Ableton and Serato have perfected the routing so that all the audio is being routed inside of the box. And yes all your Ableton Midi Hardware will also work with the Bridge. An APC 40 ripping Ableton clips to shreads next to a set of CDJ's mashing up bangers... if that doesn't stimulate creativity I don't know what can.

Scope this video to learn more about The Bridge and for even more info on The Bridge be sure to visit Ableton's site.  They have done a fantastic job introducing the world to the The Bride and you can even try the demo for free!  After all, actually using the software and putting it to work with your personal work flow is the best way to learn.

Native Instruments Traktor's 12! Traktor Pro's EFX Now Available in Your DAW!

I'm a Traktor Gate whore.  In fact I've used and abused her so many times during live sets I was beginning to wonder if our relationship was ever going to turn into something more.  Well with the introduction of Native Instruments Traktor's 12 this relationship does indeed now have the beautiful potential to blossom into something much more serious.  Native Insturments just released Traktor's 12, you can purchase it as a stand alone plug-in for your DAW by itself for $79.00 and it also comes bundled with Native Instruments Komplete 7.  Traktor's 12 basically took 12 of the most popular effects used in Traktor and turned them into DAW plug-ings for use inside of their free Guitar Rig 4 Player.  Wondering how to get those crazy DJ style breakdown efx into your production.  Wonder no more, Traktor's 12 is here for you with some of the most well known DJ style efx bundled into a nice package that can run right inside of any DAW.

The effects that come with Traktor's 12 are as follows: Traktor Delay, Traktor Reverb, Digital LoFi, Mullholland Drive, Ring Modulator, Format Filter, Peak Filter, Beatmasher, GATER!!!, Reverse Grain, Transpose Stretch, Beat Slicer.  Traktor's 12 also has 120 multi-effect rack presets from standard presets perfect for basic processing and remix tools to complex and dense crazy nuts madness preset effects. Since Traktor's 12 runs in the free Guitar Rig 4 Player, the Guitar Rig Factory Selection of 22 tools and effects also comes included.

As you can see nothing is different about the effects we all know and love, they still feature the same 4 knob control that Traktor features and look identical minus some color changes.  I wasn't able to find any info about how these actually sound, quality wise inside of your DAW but I am on the hunt.  I just asked on GearSlutz for a little review of Traktor's 12 from a guy who just got Komplete 7 so hopefully I'll have more to share with you all once he gets back to me.  There is however a few sound examples on Native's website and the efx don't seem to sound half bad, very digital without any "true" character or feeling at all but what can you expect.  If they are anything like the on board effects in Traktor Pro be careful because it is very easy to over do it with these, hopefully this next sentence sums that warning up for you.  Long story short, the efx can be very unique, but, if you push them to hard this uniqueness turns to sound poo, bottom line.  And although while in your studio you won't be in a live situation it's just a good thing to keep in mind so you don't feel discouraged when you are going crazy hard to the walls and end up with sound poo.  The Traktor Pro Gate will always sound dope though, just don't over do the "noise" knob.

Beyond that there isn't too much to say about Traktor's 12.  It's just a bunch of DJ effects from Traktor that now work inside of your DAW for use with productions.  No more bouncing stems from your productions out and loading them into Traktor to re-record them using Traktor's efx.  They can now all be neatly stored in your DAW's Plugin Menu, for more information on Traktor's 12 visit Native Instruments Website.

Here's a quick little video showing what the efx in Traktor's 12 can do:

The Only Software EQ You'll Ever Need: DMG Audio EQuality EQ

So I am most certainly a fan and avid user of the Sonnox Oxford EQ plug-in.  Maybe I got sucked in by the hype... who knows, all I know is that I just discovered the God EQ.  I was doing some stumbling over at the GearSlutz Forum (The place I learn basically everything) when I noticed more than a few engineers were hyping a plug-in I'd never heard of as if it were Higgs Boson.  They were specifically saying that it made their Sonnox Oxford EQ sound like garbage.

I admit at first I thought... nooo, what??? That's my baby... no... it can't suck.  Needless to say I had to download the demo of this EQuality EQ from DMG Audio they were all speaking so highly of.  That way I could A/B it and the Oxford side by side to settle this battle.  I loaded up two identical tracks one with Oxford & the other with EQuality.  Before I even made any adjusts what so ever with both eq's flat, just having EQuality on and in the signal path made it's track sound better. (nice, even slight low end bump mainly, right around 70-130hz)  This might bother some, but if you're working with bass driven material this little bit of initial character will do wonders to your music.  I was immediately intrigued so I started tweaking each and it wasn't even a contest.  EQuality is far superior and much clearer the the Oxford EQ and a lot of other EQ's I've ever used for that matter. It maintains a level of clarity that I've never heard, and Sonnox can't match, while still adding a tad bit of it's own character to your material.  There is a feature that allows you the ability to switch digital processing options.  Basically meaning this EQ can be as a precise and clear mastering tool and also act as a sonically rich warm character driven analog EQ.   The GUI is understated, pleasant and quite functional when you're in the mix with it.  Some large multi-band EQ's can look quite daunting and almost scary when they're first opened.

EQuality doesn't scare you, instead she greets you with her warmth and supple bosom.  I can't show you how much better it is, you'll have to see for yourself.  Download a demo copy of EQuality from DMG Audio's website and put it up against your favorite EQ.  See how things turn out, you just might have a new special lady in the plug-in menu.  I haven't had the time to fully investigate this beast but I will, you can count on that. I think I'll even do a EQ Tutorial/EQuality Tutorial video to go with a more detailed review.  There is a host of features that will come in quite handy whether your mixing, recording, or mastering so I think this would be a useful video tutorial for the production/engineering world.  I'll get to know this EQ and get back to all of you with a full review and rundown of EQuality.  A full license of EQuality Retails for: $149.00 and is available at DMG Audio's Website.

Livid Instruments

The digital audio market is flooded with cheap MIDI crap built in China at a fraction of the cost we end up paying for it as consumers. Trust me, I've bought plenty of it. It's not all bleak though! There is one company creating products that aren't made overseas from cheap plastic, with limp faders, chunky knobs, and sticky buttons.

Livid Instruments is a section of the Livid family based in Austin, Texas that invents and manufactures hardware and software for digital musicians and performers. All of their products are manufactured here in the United States from quality materials that are assembled by passionate craftsman and artists. When's the last time you've seen a midi controller with a powder coated aluminum top case and wooden sides??? Not to mention, high quality faders, knobs, and buttons. This is what Livid does, and they do it well! Think of them as the Moog of software controllers. Robert Moog decided a long time ago synthesizers should be built with the same care, craftsmanship, and attention to detail as violins and custom guitars. Thus; Moog was born, and the synthesizer market has never been the same. Moog set the standard by which all other synthesizers are judged. Livid is doing that same thing today except; instead of creating analog audio products they are creating high quality software controllers that give the user fantastic control over any software that supports MIDI communication.

I had the opportunity to chat with Jay Smith; the founder of Livid Instruments. I could've wasted his and your time by asking him a bunch of pointless questions about the current state of Livid. Fact is, all of that info is available on the internet at Livid's Website. I was most curious about what Livid had planned for the future. Can you blame me though... I'm trying to get some fresh new, never before seen material for Ze Sound Suite & my readers! Before we find out what's coming, let's see what Livid has to offer us right now!

Hardware Controllers:

Ohm64: A beautifully designed all in one software controller featuring bi-directional MIDI communication. The Ohm64 has been designed to be truly adaptable to each end users own ideas and creative ways of expression through digital music and media. As Livid says "the quality can be felt down to your fingertips" their not lying. The Ohm64 (as well as all of Livid's other hardware products) was conceived, designed, and manufactured at the Livid Industries shop in Austin, Texas. The faceplate of the Ohm64 is cut from aluminum and then powder coated, the body is surrounded by beautiful hand-finished wood. The Ohm is also available unfinished for those of you who want to add your own personal touch. Speaking of customization, the software that allows control of the MIDI Messages and lighting known as; Ohm64 Editor is open source, and Livid actually encourages changes and modifications to the original software design. The Ohm64 also comes ready to control any number of Livid's other open source programs which include; an FM Synth, Monome Bridge, Step Sequencer, and Sampler. The Ohm64 features a 64 button matrix perfect for controlling video mixing software, vst's, Ableton and any other application that accepts MIDI data. It also has 8 high quality dual-rail faders and an ultra sensitive DJ style crossfader. Throw in 16 precision knobs as well as a few other miscellaneous buttons and you have yourself an Ohm64. Oh yeah... the whole thing is USB bus powered!

Block: Cut from the same cloth as the Ohm64, the Block is a more compact MIDI controller for users out there who are mainly concerned with having the 64 button matrix as part of their hardware setup. (Monome guys, take note of Livid and what they're doing.) The Block features all the high quality design elements and open source software as the Ohm64, the Block simply has less faders and knobs. However, you still have 2 high quality dual-rail faders, 8 knobs, and 7 extra buttons for your tweaking pleasure.

DIY Builder Kits: Tired of having the same controller as everyone else? Can't find a MIDI controller on the market that will help to satisfy your creative needs. Then Livid's line of DIY Builder Kits is for you! Livid's BYOB (Build Your Own Board) Series is a collection of circuit boards sold in pieces so you can create your own custom controller. Livid has done all the geeky work for you and with little technical knowledge you can create your own custom MIDI slaying machine! Livid has not only designed the kits to be simple to build, they have also released a series of tutorials to help you out as you build your own MIDI controlling masterpiece!

Livid's Software:

Cell: Cell is Livid's introductory VJing software application. Livid designed the software to be easy to use and simple to manipulate on the fly for live VJing performances. An intuitive drag and drop interface makes it easy to load up video clips and images on the fly. Cell's built in effects will help you to be as creative as you wish and add that little personal touch to any project. All of Cell is easily controllable with any MIDI controller, may I recommend the Block. :)

Cell DNA: As Livid puts it, is Cell's bigger sister. The same easy to use design idea was implemented in the creation of Cell DNA. With Cell DNA you simply have more features and effects to further manipulate your live visual production. Cell DNA can even be run over a network so multiple computers can work together to create even more radical visual displays.

Livid Looper: This little bit of software genius was developed in Max/MSP and is completely open source and free to use!!! Drop some audio loops in Livid's Looper and go crazy! With Looper you have the ability to transform any loop of audio into something quite insane. Use on board or VST effects to tweak and sculpt audio loops. Chop up the loop however you would like or use Looper's auto-segmenting feature to break the loop down. All of the actions are quantized, and pitch control will prevent any tempo issues from occurring. Try it out... What do you have to loose? It's FREE!

Livid also has a host of free open source software designed to be used with their controllers. An FM Synth, Step Sequencer, Sampler, Monome Bridge, and Max/MSP patches can all be downloaded from Livid's Download Page for free!

Livid has done an excellent job providing all the information you could ever want on any of their products at their website. What I've wrote here on Ze Sound Suite is merely a broken down version of what's available at Livid Website. Take a look, I can guarantee you're going to be impressed with this company. I sure as hell am!

The Future at Livid Instruments

As I said before I had the opportunity to speak with Jay Smith; the founder of Livid Instruments. I really wanted to know what Livid had planned for the future. I find their isn't too much of this information available to the public from most companies. So I figured I'd do some asking and see what he would tell me. Jay was more than helpful even after finding out Ze Sound Suite was a new blog with a small audience at present time. Keep in mind Jay is the founder and one of the three that run and own Livid Instruments so, for him to take the time to talk with me was quite respectable. Thanks again Jay, and I'm sure all my readers appreciate your help as well! I hope I've done a good job of representing your company and dreams on Ze Sound Suite! =)

While I understand they don't want to completely let the cat of the bag, Jay let me in on a few things Livid is working on right now that will be available for their customers in the future. First and foremost he told me that Livid was currently working on expanding their controller line to add even more controls and features to their already impressive hardware lineup. This should be quite exciting considering their current controller line is something for all the other controller manufactures to take note of. Jay also told me they were working on expanding their DIY builder kits to make it even easier for users to design and build their own software controller. Monome DIY guys... You really should check out Livid's DIY Kits. On the software side of things... Livid's Step Sequencer will be available in the future as a stand-alone version and, they are also working on Max 4 Live objects to easily integrate VJing into Ableton Live as well as even more open source software for their controllers!

Livid Instruments is a truly amazing company with a vision that is sure to change the digital audio market as we know it in the very near future. Livid isn't cutting costs and taking shortcuts to maximize profits, they're centralizing their precision manufacturing process to save you the end user, lots of money while still offering a quality product. This is something that must be recognized by all of us in the music and visual performance industries. If we can support quality gear assembled and designed by passionate designers and artists, we will change the entire market place. Start this change by showing Livid Instruments some love. After all, it was love that created everything.

Sound on Sound's Tutorial Archive

If you don't know what Sound on Sound is, find out now... Sound on Sound Good, now you know SOS is a bitching publication offering intelligent reads for professionals and amateurs in the sound industry. Now, trip on this. SOS has archived all of their tutorials on the internet for free! You need a subscription to read the latest tutorials online but, all of the old ones are available and they will keep you plenty busy while waiting for the new articles. If you see something you have to read right away, get a subscription, you'll be glad you did. I personally go buy mine at a newsstand every month. I'm still not sure why, I waste a ton of money but, I like going out to buy my sound nerd magazines every month. Anyways, here is the link to SOS's Techniques Section. There is tons of tutorials on everything audio, as well as archived tutorials on all of the leading DAW's including; Pro Tools, Ableton, Digital Performer, Logic, Cubase, Sonar & Reason. Search SOS a bit, there is tons of articles on everything for the audiophile. Enjoy!