Let’s start with the reminder – Meet up #1 is coming up this Sunday! 6:30 – The Walnut Room.

Ableton-Land:

Looking for a job, relocation, and a new language? How about working for Ableton?

Public Profile is coming soon on the Ableton site. Just noticed that element at https://www.ableton.com/account.

This comes from Native Instruments but has a lot of generic “how to” tips for Vista (same tips different version) – If you use Vista / Windows you should go through this.

Akai is sponsoring Tresor Award contest (with Numark – the sister company with Alesis and others…). Editor note : I smoked the crossfader in a Numark mixer in 10 days. The contest seems to be “kid” orientated. The contest states “Open to 18-22 year old…”.

File under cool or fun?

Side Note:

I am sure everyone heard that Propeller Head’s Record is live (out of beta / need to pay for it now). Here is a post I bumped into on Synthtopia. For the record Record is “an electronic system designed to record, edit and play back digital audio”. Okay, movin’ on…

Synths and Gear: I am a synth head, more physical and less virtual.  As much as this site is Ableton, synths really do make the world go ’round.

Free VST Synth here! Windows only, sorry folks.

Mellotron IS BACK! via Gear Junkies

File under “how did this escape my radar?” http://www.vintageking.com/

Add to the I want list: http://www.schippmann-music.com/ebbeundflut.html

Via Wire To The Ear Love thy Doepfer!

Doepfer Sneak Peek from niamhguckian on Vimeo.

Wavedrum or Otto? Here is some more information on the re-creation of the wavedrum from Korg. Answer : Both?

Portable Analog Groove Box – I think I like this!

New idea on control surface for reason (these ideas are important to watch evolve):

Hey elder statesmen, remember the SH 101? Here is a SH-ish virtual via Synthtopia

So freakin’ sexy: The article.

Tech:

Either this will blow your freaking mind or you already know! The idea is simple – use images to synthesize sounds / music.  I first ran into this through a friend of a friend here. (should we call him into Denver to demo some sick shit?) It was this Synthopia article that pointed me to http://photosounder.com/ and the flashback ensued.

Mix Cloud – the YouTube of Radio – did you know? Mark from Modulate This did! (They need to work on UI imho – took 5 clicks for a dumb user to get any results (youtube = 1 click) and buffering is not programmed correctly – no play while loading without click -GREAT START how ever!)

Mashine gets some vital updates.

The 64 bit stuff is coming in for the Mac world such as the  Gear Junkies report. Now remember, Windows was WAY ahead on the 64 bit curve.  The problem was simple – few companies would write for XP 64 (with good reason) or for Vista 64 (with good reason).  Keep your fingers crossed that Microsoft is not going to FAIL on version 7.  I am seriously considering a move to Mc for all my mastering in studio  (tracking os moving to Linux).

Faderpro.com is getting into re-mixing instruction.

And DNA has been ALL OVER the net this week, worth the mention because it really is amazing! DNA is Direct Note Access – allowing you to edit single notes in polyphonic recordings – sound like a dream, not any more. Info

Gearjunkies reports that the Voxengo Polysquasher version 2.1 update is now available for download here.

The end is near? DJ Hero? I have never played any of the *hero games (not my thing) – In fact, I jumped on Call of Duty on Friday to “Kill some Nazi’s” and only lasted 5 minutes before I decided to practice Ableton. So, here is a brightly colored Daft Punk DJ Hero spot!

If you are in Seattle Sept 24+ go see The Decible Festival.

I had 2 days of meetings making a post very difficult this week, I aim for a Monday review of the past week, so I am a little late! We did get out meet up begun!

NEWS and EVENTS:

Our FIRST meet up is announced: Sunday September 27 2009 at the Walnut Room (Denver) 6:30-9:00 pm FREE EVENT 21+
Here is a link to the event post on our site and a link meetup.org

Thanks for your support – go confirm if you have not already!

The New Deal is making 3 stops in Colorado.  TND is a killer 3 piece House band – 90% improv and on top of my inspiration list. For information goto the band site. The stops are 9/24/2009 @ FT COLLINS, HODI’S HALFNOTE, 9/25/2009 @ BOULDER, FOX THEATRE and 9/26/2009  DENVER, GOTHIC THEATRE.

Friday the 18th – Boulder – Bring your support! VibeSquaD “Joyful Noise” CD Release Party @ The Fox Theater w/ EPROM & S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Tickets

Hope the Monolith Festival was fun for anyone who went.   There were a few acts that seemed like a blast.

CONTENT:

This is cool, possibly only because there are blinking lights! (Arduino based) Stribe 1 Kit + shield + ableton live test from Mudo de Nacimiento on Vimeo. (Note – FFox was having Vimeo issues for me)

Here is a totally off topic article showing the stribe in use for non-musical needs.

Any Brian Eno Fans out there? Here is a Synthopia article with Brian Eno discussing composing.  There are some other great links if you are into this sort of thing.

New video for the Wacom Nextbeat on YouTube.This looks cool, but the video did not sit well with me.  Not my music possibly?

FREE STUFF

Reason Free-ness : For those who have Reason already and just purchased Record, the Record + Reason FX -  a collection (download page) of insert and send effect patches, such as Auto Panning, Vocoder Effects, EQ Sweeps and many other desirable effects not obtainable in Record alone.

Free NOISE.SOFT Industrial VST plugin YouTube Video (sound only). The download is on the home page of NOISE.SOFT.

Baaba Maal Remix competition – we love native tracks.

UPDATES AND UPGRADES

Max For Live Buffer Shuffler video - Cool stuff, moves rather fast.

GEAR WATCH:

I am a Leslie freak (I have a 122 that is mod’ed with speed control (custom UI – shocker I know) using a restored Fender Bassman head (1969).  Now for all you synth-heads out there who have NOT run your favorite analogue synth through a (real) Leslie – it is bliss! So, check out this doo-dad the popped up in from Sweetwater. (approximately 24″ cube that weights 92 lb – ouch)

Heard of Ardour? Well you should.  Floss Weekly gave it an episode. In brief Ardour is Linux based (and OSX)  DAW software.  Yeah, I am part Linux geek.

So I use a TC Electronic Konnect for my rig but this new Focusrite USB break out box looks rather tasty. Also of note is the OctoPre

I just bumped into the genoQs Nemo, a rather interesting sequencing and MIDI device. The genoQs product page shows the product line. This Synthopia article gets to the point rather quickly.

New Novation controller announced : The Nocturn.  I would love to get some feedback on the biuld quality of the unit.  Anyone seen it yet? There are 25 and 49 key versions.  How will this compare to the MPK series? Synthopia post.

This is interesting (via Sweetwater originally) – The Mackie Onyx-i series is taking some steps forward.  This board really changed the landscape on DAW interfacing.  I was really close to getting one, and still might.  Oh, by the way, Mackie is reporting M-Powered compatibility, go to CDM for details

This was the week of Korg announcements.  I have had a bunch of Korg gear over the years and I have always enjoyed the product line.  Here are a few highlights of the new gear:

Korg microSampler : iPod ready (is this good or bad?) KAOSS+ effects included (read the articles for details).  Seems to be a step forward for Korg (like some other releases), check it out, this looks like some fun!
Synthopia article with un-boxing video.

This also looks super cool, thanks Gear Junkies! The next generation of Korg WAVEDRUM is on the way! January 2010 is the delivery date.  Watch this item!

SHOUT OUT:

DJ Shiftee is World DMC DJ Champion.

OFF TOPIC:

The Synth Glove – a modd’ed Nintendo Power Glove.  I get confused watching the video.  I don’t exactly like the music, but i *think* I like the potential.

Well, that is is for now. See you soon and keep tweaking your warp markers.

Sunday September 27 2009 at The Walnut Room (Denver) 6:30-9:00 pm FREE EVENT 21+

The Walnut Room is located at 3131 Walnut St, Denver, CO 80205 in Denver’s NoDo region Google Map Link
Walnut is the continuation of Market St from downtown.  At Broadway Market turns into Walnut.

Schedule:

6:30-7:00 : Meet fellow Ableton Users
7:00-7:15 : Introductions and welcome
7:15-7:30 : Mark Mosher from ModulateThis! presents the Ableton Vocoder
7:30-7:45 : Chris Lawhead speaking on  live performance and looping hardware with Ableton
7:45-8:00 : Wrap up and some trivia, Free Stuff anyone?
8:00+ Performance by Mark Mosher and/or Chris Lawhead. Don’t forget to drink.

Since this is Denver / Colorado meet up number one for Ableton the focus is on community.  Who else is using, teaching, or looking to Ableton will be the theme. Both of our presenters, Mark Mosher and Chris Lawhead, are teachers and performers.

Mark Mosher of Modulate This! has 2 decades of experience in synthesis, programming, MIDI, and sampling.  His site Modulate This! has been providing information and tutorials for over 4 years now and he is an excellent resource for Ableton and electronic music in general.  You can check out some great Ableton instruction on his YouTube channel.

Chris Lawhead is a teacher and performer in the Denver Colorado area.  Last summer he rebuilt his rig and went on tour across the country.  This recent experience as a solo artist using Ableton is an important accomplishment of this skilled multi-instrumentalist, band leader, teacher, producer, and professional musician.  For more information on Chris go to his site at http://lawheadmusic.com/

The Walnut Room was built for sonic perfection.  From the ground up they invested time and money in the room.  With a maximum capacity around 200 people or seating room for 100 the Walnut Room is absolutely one of the premier venues in Colorado. We greatly appreciate their participation with the Denver Ableton User Group and the support of the music scene in general.  To find out more about The Walnut Room, including booking or the rental of practice space visit the website.

There will be food and drink from the bar and kitchen.  They make some killer pizza so bring your appetite!

Press Material

Week of Labor Day 2009

Update: Meet Up – I am trying very hard (too hard IMHO) to get my date solid.  Emails and phone calls are not being returned by my venue of choice.  I am open to suggestions and moving ahead with to talk to a new club opening up in central Denver where I also have friends.  The last Thursday of Sept is my date.  I am sure many many people out there have dealt with clubs and club owners – it is like the exact inverse of a used car sales person (or put into mathematical terms : 1/(used car sales person))

Enough math.

# Some shows:

• Vendetta Festival Sept 25-7 for the Gothic/Industrial inclined.  The link. Some locally orientated acts such as Blackcell and Torso will be performing as well as nationals.  Check out the line up, this is a 3 day festival at 3 different clubs.  If I can make it I would love to see The Horrist at the Bar Standard. The Horrist (aka Oliver Chesler runs the Wire to the Ear blog)
• BASSLAB 003 is this Friday (11sept) at Beta – local and otherwise will be thumpin’ – ( Future Simple Project, Fresh 2 Death, S.P.E.C.T.R.E., Project aspect, movax on visuals ++). For details here is the Facebook page.
• The show of shows is happening, again in NYC the AES Conference. For music geeks this is the holy grail (yeah NAMM is cool but this is much smarter while NAMM is flashy). So if you are in NY October 9-12 2009 go check it out. In fact – Sweetwater is (was) giving away free admission.

# ABLETON

• New Max for Live Screen Cast – the long awaited is closer http://www.extendlive.com/?p=110 (site was crashing for me)
• Extendlive.com also has a free Operator download available at http://www.extendlive.com/?p=96 (site still crashing)  “free give-away from the Presentation I held at the Ableton Live User Group in Berlin”

# Free Stuff

• Line 6 if giving away the farm, the POD Farm that is.  Go here and download a ton of plugins. Offer ends September 30, 2009.
• Reason 4 is on the way and if you want $129 worth of free piano sounds go here (gotta get Reason 4 however).

# Content

• Gear Junkies [article link] pointed out this cache of techno samples / loops from Click Produce – there are several different packs available to suite your style.
• Need to get your Ableton Synthesis up to par (or synthesis in general)? Go here – tons of great videos.  We have a lot of instructors in the Ableton group if you want some hands on time or geek talk.  I am one of many synthesis people, drop a note.

# Gear Watch

• Akai MPD18’s are hitting the street at $99.  This is USB and MIDI (yeah) pad controller.  What a great way to add a few more (velocity sensitive) pads. Check it out at Akai.  The info out there is a little vague on the MIDI (5 pin) – but it appears to be real.  I have been watching this item for a few months and I have almost 100% confirmation on the MIDI as well as MIDI over USB.
• Also – Allen and Heath are shipping the Xone:22 – a 2(x2) Battle mixer at $299 street.  Here is a Future Music link because the Xone site is not as good a resource (link). Here is what I like : 2 channel battle style mixer that allows you to flip phono inputs into line inputs making this a 2×2(x1), there are XLR outs (OMFG!), a real FX loop (OMFG again), and it looks like the unit will be InnoFader ready. (I have a support ticket into A&H on that item). The last ship date was 16Sept, that has been pushed back to middle October according to a phone call this morning.*

# Of note

• In keeping with current technology as it happens, BPM magazine reviewed the APC40 http://www.bpmmagazine.net/2009/08/akai-apc40-ableton-live-controller/ – I am a little grumpy right now so I will refrain from discussing the article. At least  I know what is “happening”.
• Joe at Home Studio Corner pointed out Drop Box here here.  Dropbox is a file sharing site located at http://getdropbox.com where you start off with 2gb of room to share / trade your files (sound familiar?).
• How Good Monitor Mixing Enhances a Performance article link : http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mixing-mastering/how-good-monitor-mixing-enhances-a-performance/. Pretty basic stuff but a good reference point of monitor mixing and live band considerations for the hybrid performers.
• Hey everybody – did you know that The Walnut Room is coming to south Broadway?  That’s right – the old Freaky’s on Ellsworth and Broadway (1 block south of 1st Ave) finally went up in smoke (literally) and The Walnut room is moving in – eta is Fall 2009. This has been going on for a while, but last week I went over and peeked the windows.  Looking really nice! Map Link
• And finally – the LAREST CONTROL SURFACE EVER! CDM got this to my digital doorstep : http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/09/02/gps-beatmap-ford-ltd-salt-flats-locative-driving-control-surface/. In summary – beats and sounds are overlapping and mapped via GPS.  So you drive around the and mix is created.  If you don’t get it – watch the video.  This is a revolutionary idea for music and mixing.  A living, breathing radio remix.  This could prove to be very fun and interesting when you tie in your iPhone / similar device and have massive participation.  Imagine directing a Flash Mob using this technology?

As always, if you know or see something let me know.  Local Ableton, electronic music, and shows welcome!

Post script – did you upgrade to Snow Leopard yet?

* I am NOT a DJ, but I do use DJ Mixers in my rig (some are circuit bent).  The DJ Mixer can add amazing real time control to Ableton – when you hot rod a little harder you can explore entirely new ideas.