I am so happy to add a controller to our next meet up!
Mark Mosher (Modulate This!) will be joining us on Sunday to present Audio Cubes. Click here to read what Mark has to say on the topic.
In my mind, Audio Cubes, from Percussa, are like a 3D reactable table after shedding several thousands of dollars and pounds.
This page will get you in-line pretty fast (great stuff).
And some informative video:
Tell us about how YOU control your electronic music so we can keep the demos coming!
To use the parlance of our current time:
OMG OMG OMG Cache Flowe haz teh ROXXOR!
Yeah, what is the world coming to huh?
In other words – Cache Flowe dropping some mad skills for an A/V set! Do come!
Got your history in order? How about this article outlining the past 120 years of electronic music.
Linux side note – Launchpad getting ported to, you guessed it – LINUX! Here is the article. Relevancy? We got it. Her you go:
I could go on, but I would be geeking out too hard.
FREE STUFF – some live packs on Groove Packs site – click here for a zip file. Get it while the link works!
Mid/Side processing – check out this new unit via Gear Junkies.
How about a good debate on 16 vs 24 bit? Thx to Joe for keeping the thread hot.
The Boulder Laptop Orchestra is performing up in Boulder 13March2010. I am getting more details on this…
More soon!
As promised! Cache Flowe will be joining us for an evening of Live visual processing. This is going to be an amazing evening for all!
Those of you interested in adding a visual element should check out Processing.org, the source for much of the scripting and framework Cache Flowe uses in his live sets. Beyond visual Cache Flowe will be performing music and explaining his set up and approach to a full Live A/V set. A few key topics:
When : March 14, 2010 7pm
Where : The Walnut Room located at 3131 Walnut Street in Denver.
How Much? Not a single penny – FREE! Just the way we like it!!!
Cache FLowe Bio : Mashing up idm, hip hop, funk, drum and bass, trip hop, experimental, jazz, techno, and dubstep, CacheFlowe creates genre-skewing electronic music that has received acclaim from local and international press. Producing with a computer since 1996, he’s honed an original style that’s defined by stuttery, complex breakbeats, deep analog basslines, techno-flavored synths, organic instrumentation and contorted samples. Working on the same Ableton Live set since early 2004, CacheFlowe’s live show is a fast-paced smorgasbord of chopped breakbeats and analog synths on 8 channels of audio. He bobs and weaves through an array of electronic genres and tempos, using nothing but sounds and loops from his own productions. Appearing on official record label releases alongside the likes of Twine, Ladytron, Daedelus, Ulrich Schnauss, Starkey, Machinedrum, ISAN, Submerged, Fog, and sharing the stage with Amon Tobin, edIT, Machinedrum, Dizzee Rascal, Mochipet, Jeff Parker (Tortoise), DJ Olive (MMW, Sonic Youth), Nels Cline (Wilco), and countless local talents, CacheFlowe continues to freak the beat in new and exciting ways.
You can find Cache Flowe at CD Baby, Discogs, MySpace, and via Plastic Sound Supply on YouTube and of course his main site.
Some video for your viewing pleasure!
Media and Press information is located here.
Just say no to forest fires.
The controllerism show is on the horizon! RSVP Now! FaceBook
I missed some emails this weekend as POP email crashed for my provider (I aggregate). So if there was something crazy interesting/important/similar – resend! I will be going backwards through emails.
On other news – we are having fun! I will be releasing a review** of the NIIO Analog Iotine Core in the next week. We teamed up with Chase to get some instructional videos on the unit. We are currently editing.
We got some good tape from Darwin on Max, I am open to ideas on how to get them online. YouTube limits are 10 minutes. The 10+ minute videos are a special feature I just don’t see how to get! Vimeo? Hosting on my server will probably get me some heat (because the bots will trigger mass bandwidth, plus there is not sharing/embed).
I have been spending time with Final Cut and Celemony DNA. Nothing too impressive to talk about in Final Cut, just another software package. But DNA is SICK!
Don’t forget Cache Flowe in March!
As for the summer – thoughts (feed back very welcome!). Our summers in Denver/Colorado/Boulder are some of the best anywhere in the world. I am looking to scale back the meet-ups after April (through the summer) so we can enjoy our evenings. Hell, even I want to ride around town with my wife on our cruisers. Instead of larger formal meet-ups I would like to invest in smaller gatherings all over and include our community in festivals (supporting) and do various levels of out-reach before shows and to similar groups.8
**On the topic of review – the term “review” is not totally correct. As there are a few companies looking to work with Ableton Colorado already, another round of “cleaning the air” is called for…
Our goal is to extend the use, functionality, and overall exposure of gear that is not on the radar (cough***Guitar Center***). There is a certain “departure” from journalistic integrity (if that is still a thing anymore). Our goal is to build community and knowledge in an academic manner with users (producers) and producers (of gear in this instance). The policy is simple:
If it is crap, send it back
Don, in the context of this “review” has a “filter” that is so freaking cool we need to help get the word out (I am using some bass sounds I generated in my standard set). So great.
Helpers wanted!
That is it, more soon.
–M
I contacted Akai for some information on the Crossfader (to build a better one)
Here is the info I got back, hope this helps. I will try and document anything I learn.
Per Akai email:
Details on APC40 crossfader:
Fader
Throw: 45mm
Resistance: 10k
Taper: Linear (B-type)
Connector
Pin1 – Fader Top
Pin 2 – Wiper
Pin 3 – Fader Bottom
Pin 4 – Do Not Connect
Pin 5 – Do Not Connect
Pin 6 – Do Not Connect
Circuit Diagram
1 -/\/\/\/\- 3
^
|
2
If you would like to purchase a replacement of the Crossfader we provide,
You can reach parts at
401-658-3743 ext 1407
Or
There will be hacks! Collaborators welcome!
As many people may know, I write what I can when I can. The longer the interval the more stuff. So, here is some catchup!
Meet Up
Special thanks to everyone who came out this past Sunday. The meet up was really cool. Dawrin Grosse did a wonderful job. Special thanks to him. We do have video, we are working on that…
The next meet up is February 28, 2010 at 7pm at the Walnut Room. This is the a Controllerism special we are calling “The Petting Zoo“. I will have more details out soon, but for now I will drop the short list:
So, pretty good huh? This is definitely a first as far as I know. The intent is to end the evening with a number of small and discrete workstations where each one of these is set up and available for testing and questions after the presentations. So we will NOT be talking at you, instead we will be sharing. Only at NAMM or Messe will you see this many controllers on Ableton!
I think there is more swag available too (no promises, hopefully no one actually hung them self on the lanyards).
March 14 is Cache Flowe as our guest. Here is a collection of the visuals he is working on (flicker). This is gonna be great!
Post NAMM
Not much really. I covered most of the best stuff already. We do have “The Bridge” on the way. On that topic, I am looking for any collaborator/takers on getting a site up for this topic. We own the domains seratoableton.com and serato-ableton.com. All I need is content! Contact me on this (info [at] the site in your URL bar is the email).
Best synths and keyboard article / NAMM round up.
Here is a day 3 review on Synthtopia. Thanks Mark at Modulate This!
http://www.abletonserato.com/ good stuff? Time will tell.
As Seen On My Radar Scope
What is in your DJ bag? I found this informative. (soul)
When Ableton meets Serato is one of the best Q&A’s I have seen. Worth reading if you are interested in “The Bridge”.
Ghetto fab home made controller :
How many know about phase cancellation? As a self declared PWM junkie, this is right up my alley, check out the post at Ableton Tweets. video too!
Off topic a little but good stuff – the 4th amendment in the cloud.
How to make a Vocoder in Ableton:
Video processing device for Max (for Live) from Cycling 74. This is not my strength or a topic I chase, but the article is detailed and informative.
Yet another Bridge video (YABV): There are more on the Vimeo page.
[Live] “Bridge” 2/4 from Masato TSUTSUI on Vimeo.
So, is Pinky cool? This could see me getting Max for Live a little faster. Let me know!
Oliver (Things to Come) chimes in on The Bridge. He likes!
Oh, how I long for you… tube drum machine.
iPad
I want. I think the unit is a total flop in general, but the ability to control Ableton is already there. A full 10″ touch screen interface is so worth $499, even if it is flawed and generally received as iFlop. Sorry to the fanboy crowd, I am reading well over 10 times more “Apple is dumb” articles than praise for the unit.
Regardless, I want one. Here is an article on the implications for the audio engineer.
More soon! Warp your world! –Marc
Those of you who know me will laugh at this post. The iPad is released. The announcement is still going on, but I thought I would get a quick post out there in the interest of $34rch 3ng!n3$.
The facts so far (deemed pretty accurate):
Why is this interesting, what does it have to do with Ableton?
Well, this will make an amazing outsourced screen GUI. No CPU load, only (QoS absent) wifi communication. Time to think about isolated private wireless LANs as an external controller.
This will creep into Ableton. Price not declared yet. I will update with more if there is anything interesting.
–Marc
Watching out for new stuff rolling out. DKO Darren is in the event. As well as other friends. Plus the pesky Twitter and RSS feeds are moving along.
The next months or year will have a distinctive DJ lean in Ableton (I predict). Previously I have commented on how the gap between Ableton and DJ software is rapidly closing. The Serato – Ableton “Bridge” is the first tidal wave.
The guys at DJ Tech tools have a day 1 review of DJ orientated gear on their site here. Thank you!
Music Radar has an article on “The Bridge”, not much added to the discussion yet, but fine coverage nonetheless. They provide great coverage here with a day 2 round up.
The Bride is only one (official) day old and we are about to get a glacial melt of video tutorials and demos. I will be watching this closely and posting all the goodies. (send me links of what you find! – help is appreciated).
On the DJ topic, we (Ableton Denver / Colorado) are in the early planning stages of a DJ Collaboration night where we look at technique and tools available for the (merging) audio types.
Other New Products from NAMM
Tascam is releasing more new stuff. Tascam is a personal favorite with the dry approach, small footprint of the middle-ware, and outstanding driver support for current and legacy hardware. Head over to this Gear Junkie post for a few new product introductions.
This is interesting from Hercules (Gear Junkies coverage):
I look at things like this and wonder “What will this do with Ableton?” More buttons / knobs, you get it!
Another interesting gadget is the Teenage Engineering OP-1. Music Radar has good coverage (including video) here. Keywords – synthesis, gadget, fun.
From the pre-Ableton day, remember the Jam Man (Digitech)?. Well, it is back, again, and here is some more Music Radar coverage on the item.
Well, that seems to sum up the biggies I see right now. If there is anything else today I will post and.or tweet it.
As I prophesied months and months ago, we are now gaining full crossover between Ableton and Serrato.
Here is info from Ableton Central.
The press release:
Ableton and Serato present The Bridge at Winter NAMM 2010
Berlin, Germany, (January 14, 2010) – Ableton and Serato are proud to announce The Bridge at NAMM 2010 in Anaheim, California. The Bridge spans the gap between music production and DJing, creating a natural link between Ableton Live and Serato Scratch Live/ITCH. The Bridge provides a powerful fusion of DJ and production tools, opening a world of opportunities for DJing, remixing and live performance.
The Bridge works in both directions:
Ableton to Serato
The Bridge provides Ableton Transport Control (ATC), giving DJs turntable-style control of their own multitrack productions. DJs can simply drag an Ableton Live Set onto one of the decks in Scratch Live or ITCH and use their turntables, CDJ or ITCH controller to control the transport.
Serato to Ableton
The Bridge provides the ultimate mixtape creation tool. DJs can perform mixes in Serato Scratch Live or ITCH and save them as an Ableton Live Set. This way, the DJ can still perform the mix—better than cut and pasting it together in a DAW—but also has detailed editing options.
Reactions to The Bridge
“For DJs who don’t make beats yet, that turns into ‘Hey, I can make beats in here, too.’ For the guys who are beatmakers already as well as DJs, it’s great because it’s almost like you’re DJing with multitracks. And the mixtape feature was probably the best thing I’ve ever seen. People are going to get really creative, I know my brain is working already, there’s stuff that I’m going to do that I choose not to disclose right now because it’s top secret.” – DJ Jazzy Jeff
“Seeing where Ableton is at this state of technology, and all the stuff that’s in there, and thinking about Ableton and Serato together is mind boggling. I know there’s a lot of stuff that can happen… we’re all producers, we’re all DJs, your mind starts to wonder what’s coming. Everybody’s gonna get excited.”
- Kenny Dope
