First on any agenda, we have a meet up happening. July 14, 2010 FREE – Lucid Gallery. Serato will be the topic – get ready for the Bridge!
If you figure out how to do that drum rack thing please contact me!
Some rapid tutorial on exporting VSTs outward in Ableton. Another interesting option is Sound Flower – I am still mastering this app in trying to get a “Virtual Audio Cable” instance going. I am close. For now I re-sample using some straight forward routing (for any laptopist) out my SPDIF digital outs back in, yes I have physical cable connecting the two. This is the only reliable fast and easy method to permanently borrow sounds from the web or similar.
I know there are other solutions, but many of them require a total rewrite of audio settings, and this is sometimes an undesirable inconvenience. Debatable none the less.
Numark clones Vestax? I can’t say, I am not watching this closely. From Gear Junkies or more to the point do we give Ean more credit for opening up these ideas? Or more to more to the point will there be little “single” deck versions for goof balls like me who seek scratch.
Text message style sums this up completly: SPL Blog FTW nuff said.
Livid Instruments is talking about aluminium Block and OHM64. Hmm…
Pioneer’s DJ side announced a collaboration with Serato to ensure compatibility of the latest CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900 professional series digital media players with the Scratch Live software. I would call this a golden hint as to things on the way? (**cough bridge)**
How about a time line? “The free Scratch Live Version 2.1 software update compatible with the updated CDJ-2000/900 is scheduled to be released in the third quarter (Q3) of 2010 from Serato Audio Research.” source
A must read for Glitch Mob/Hop / controllerism on EMusician
Livid is 100% stepping up to the plate seeing Max4Live.info drop native Ableton control on to the OHM64. Now for the same treatment for the block. Now we get a SERIOUS UPGRADE for the APC / Launchpad series.
In short, you need to go here, spend your $25, and improve your output. http://www.nativekontrol.com/apC_Series.html. This is some serious controller action going on. The market is growing both in physical possibilities and thorough software advancements. Fantastic.
Closing out – Darren Kramer (Handler of the Lemur and clinician) is dropping a software clinic on July 10, 2010 – the details :
10-11:30am
Everyday Joe’s
144 S. Mason Street
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
Darren Kramer – Ableton Specialist and Electric Trombone Performing Artist www.ElectricTrombone.com All musicians and educators, regardless of age or skill level can benefit immensely from this technology Basic to advanced concepts will be demonstrated via Live Looping w/ Electric Trombone, Synths, Vocoder & Lemur!
Steve Nalepa’s workshop was great (quite inspirational).
Here is a little decompression on the event:
First off I want to mention that Steve, like many others, encourage the exploration of Post-Ableton (PC) processing. Bring your Finalizer, effects processor, hell – get crazy!
One thing you are reminded of immediately when in the classroom environment for Ableton is that there is a lot of stuff to cover. Me, for example, could stand to smooth out my arrangement view use. I am almost never in arrangement view (really) – but I still know how to use it well.
There are also many ways to do the same thing – some faster, some better, some understandable. Using myself as an example - I use Cubase for editing period. Often I will run and re-render samples through Ableton, but Cubase is faster and has more tools (for me) allowing a better workflow and control of results.
Cubase is hardly the solution for everyone, but after using this platform for well over a decade, that program is not going away soon in my studio.
In the beginner realm here are an few areas that need attention:
Insert versus bus/send effects
The how and why behind signal flow
Knowledge of the great hacks available in Ableton
History of signal processing (no really – compressor first, last, both?)
Reverb is may not be your friend, neither is compression when playing live (the house should treat your sound for the room)
How to get your project size reduced (CPU load, file size and complexity)
Steve Nalepa had a focused agenda and he did awesome. But 5, 10, or even 50 hours is not enough! My presentation on the beat-repeat effect is no less than 2 hours!
Steve had a lot of insight on how the various majors are arranging the set and setting up effects. This is sometimes very hard to find, much less someone to share a dialog.
It has become pretty clear that we need to do some kick start courses, and that is just what is planned! It looks like June we will be hosting cost effective classes to jump start APC users to expert status.
And finally – how is my Livid OHM64 doing? After 60 hours of programming and debugging I got it 99% dialed in and just killing it! So I moved the projects and controller to my Mac (from PC) and started integrating all the other controllers (APC40, Stribe Duo, and MIDIFighter). Everything was working awesome! Then – 10 minutes into the set all the settings on the OHM64 blew out. All my work is gone. Yeah, I have backups, but there is something wrong with my unit, so I am getting ready to deal with it through Livid. SO CLOSE! So I pulled the OHM64 and swapped in a MPD24 for a gig. It sucked, it was like losing an arm.
Our next meet up is scheduled for Sunday 23May2010 at the Walnut Room. I will present for a little petting zoo action with my Black Saint OHM 64. As for the main presentation – there are a few options and I am hoping to make it a kick ass version.
But – none of this is absolute, so consider this a friendly warning. More very soon…
iPad
If you really want to see what is cool, this is not the site for you. The dust needs to settle, the Audio/MIDI issues need to be fixed, the wireless is illegal across the pond, and the 3.1.1+ dev agreement is a slap in the face of necessary innovation. Here’s how bad Apple is doing, Thomas referred to a recent app store product pull as a “Dick Move“. That is very strong language from one of the most cool-headed people I know of, really.
So there, wait a bit, thing will get better 3 options:
Apple continues with these policies, people live under the system and jail broke iPads are the standard (personally I would not even think of dropping that device into a real live performance, 100% suicide the way it operates right now).
They adjust
Others take the position Apple is pointed towards (go go go Android?)
Done with that! We will return to the iPad as things get better, I have plenty of channels to complain through, and this is not one of them!
Livid OHM64 Black Saint
Disclaimer : I got like 5 hours in this thing. I am sure I am wrong on some items, this is initial impressions on the unit. So there ARE items I need to learn, things I am wrong on, etc. I will update and correct as I go! I promise!
Thx Ean for this post on cabling and essentially professionalism. Good read!
I have a Black OHM64 on the way! I will bring it to the next meet up (working on it).
Facebook account now set up (as user*) go to: http://www.facebook.com/ableton.colorado and grab a friend request. We will not refuse anyone, but we could ban ya…
* why? So we can post stuff to the account, the user group is “fan” thing and this should have been what I used initially.
Build your own damn “what is that thing called?” using this technology.
I am becoming a rather BIG fan of Livid Instruments. The following post is how (damn) easy it is to build you own (freaking) controller (foot pedal version):
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!
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.
Ableton Denver invites you to join us on November 22, 2009 at the Walnut Room in NoDo (Denver) to go to a special place where Reason flows like wine from the Lake of Ableton. We will make a quick stop in the land of Rewire and focus on cross program collaboration with a focus on Reason under the control of Ableton.
The evening demonstration and discussion will highlight the power of the Ableton sequencer and the sound engine of Reason working in perfect harmony.
Who is James Tobin? Besides sharing his name with a great American economist he is a premier Ableton guru, Reason ninja, electronic musician, and audio artist.
With old school roots in warehouse parties in and around Chicago James is a consummate vinyl connoisseur (with time spent at Wax Trax here in Denver), established DJ, recording technician for film and audio, and currently enjoying work with Alien Logic providing sound design for game development.
James is weeks away from completion of a masters with Berkley Music after already gaining a specialist certificate in Composition and Production in New Media.
Musically James Tobin is 1/2 of Sound Logic Sound Logic, also known as DJ Radioactive, and the man steering Dorje Records since 2003.
Reason (wiki link) is a powerful product for music production produced by Propellerhead that accepts control from external devices as well as other DAW and similar programs. Ableton, as many agree, has taken sequencing to a new level with one of the most amazing MIDI sequencers and editors on the market. With these 2 programs combined you go somewhere special. (enter James)
We have included time for questions and answers from James and a demonstration of the new Novation Launchpad.
Novationformally launched the Launchpad November 4 2009. That very morning, at 10:05am local time I put one on hold. As of this writing I still need to pick it up and learn the sucker. No complaints here! I will do my best to get a grip on the device and provide time for everyone to mess around on this great new device.
There should be quite a bit of shop time after our hour + of talk and demos, so we would love to get everyone trading tips and and cards.
Dr Rex: a loop playback device, which slices prerecorded samples into manageable, bitesize units (parallel variant for Ableton warp markers)
NN-19: a simple sampler, which loads pre-recorded instrumental and vocal sounds
NN-XT: an advanced sampler, which features the option of tweaking the various modulation, oscillation and filter parameters of a preloaded sample or patch
Well, I have returned form my wonderful international travel and other assorted excitement and I am proud to take credit for all 10 of the free Live packs available now at http://www.ableton.com/able10-artist-packs. Like is hinted, I have had nothing to do with these free live packs, but I will take credit.
Regardless of my (temporarily displaced) ethos click on over and get your free packs.
As for meet up #2 – James Tobin will be presenting us with information on using Ableton as a sequencer / controller with reason (via rewire). Reason is NOT my forte, but I will be dropping a formal release on James (who has a great resume and experience and is super knowledgeable) and details.
Also – I will be presenting the Novation Launchpad for all to geek out on. If there is anyone out there who has mastered this unit please contact me, I just got mine on hold yesterday (the day of release) and have a big hill to climb.
I have been in contact with various people who want to collaborate and fin help, so be sure to socialize!
We will also talk about Colorado Music Lab’s (pre) birth – where Ableton Denver will find an official home (OMFG we have an office with a studio, lab, and stage).
Get excited and stand by for more…
And, I am summing up all the week+ news (holy crap I got a lot of feeds to eat up).
Week of 19October2009 “Bring the Cold” Edition : The weather is chilling up out there and that means my tube amps and power supplies will turn into heaters instead of the summer sweat lodge.
Events:
Next Meet Up is 22November2009 at the Walnut Room. Watch for the official Post! Put it on your calender right now!
Friday 23Oct2009 at the D-Note [[[http://dnote.us]]] Darren Kramer is live with Live (Ableton). Darren’s site. Here is a snippet:
“ELECTRIC QUARTET” Latest Release! FEATURING “Electric” Horns and B3 Organ. PERFORMING Original Funk, Jazz & Soul A brand new 4-piece DKO group that primarily features improvisation and the use of high-tech electronics and loops to create innovative sounds and unique textures.
Beta 23Oct2009 : Mochipet @ Beta BPL w Spectre & Ale Fillman – info at Facebook
Via Gear Junkies : At this year’s Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), 365LIVE and Media Satellite present a series of workshops and audiovisual jam sessions, including an introduction to Ableton Max for Live, a fully integrated tool kit for making your own instruments, effects and extensions in Ableton Live 8. More info is available here.
Various
If you are not aware of http://www.remixcomps.com you should be. If you are an infected mushroom fan there is a remix comp going on right now.
2010 Bent festival calling for performers – goto Matrixsynth for information.
Matrix Synth has this link on how to build a synth. I looked over some of this and found it slow moving but interesting. The content is hard to move along without either getting boring or wooshing by too quick. Why do I mention this? Because there are so many people pushing synthesis with no idea of the roots or principles of synthesis (Did you know that a Hammond organ tone wheel is a mechanical synthesizer or additive synthesis)
What is a vocoder? Here is the answer, vocoded of course.
There is a video titled “Mickey Mouse Abuse” I placed here. Well, here is an interview of Kamoni (the artist) on Phuq Radio
Beginning Max Demo (vimeo) “How do you make an application in Max” – Get yourself ready. The Fed’s or duct tape ain’t gonna help you! (Only you can prevent large bears from wearing park ranger hats).
Editors note on Max for Live: There is going to be a lot of fun out of the box stuff available, but I want to say that we are entering a world of programming with this application. Please send me notes on this topic. I am seeing traditional programming ideas in Max more so than any other software packages. I work in this field and I would love to talk more on the topic where it gets deep.
Flame, uhh. Get ready. Well, first off, these are the cats who make the “Talking Synth” (it uses a vocal processing chip instead of a traditional oscillator – way cool). Well, they have some amazing MIDI gear also. Start here the site is harder to navigate than it should be, but there are some real gems.
Live Block control surface (demo) by Livid. Really good stuff! Info via Syntopia.
Is this hardware, hard wear, software, or soft wear? Regardless – This is cool, jump into your own (damn) control surface. . ***Not recommended for anyone with bladder issues***
Music "soft wear" - more here.
New midi controller series from M-Audio. From what I see, this is more like an update of the Oxygen series. I am not too clear on the changes – my use of M-Audio products is almost none. I welcome input or reviews! Send me a message.
Elextro Harmonix has released the Memory Boy “AnalogDelay – 550ms of delay time with Chorus and Vibrato” . Fun stuff. These guys have a warm place in my heart.
Tascam, the steady hitters in the audio interface game have dropped another solid unit – the US-2000
the quote:
TASCAM has announced the US-2000, a new one rackspace 16-input audio interface that’s expected to sell for under $500.
Super major FYI here – Touchprone make a bunch of fringe MIDI and similar items. The ebay store – one handy unit is the In line sync start-stop – here is an auction link . This is somethin every MIDI person should know about. There are several companies out there producing, this is but one option for inline start-stops.
Free SPL attacker plugin (via gear Junkies) “SPL celebrates one year of Analog Code and give away one Attacker per computer.” Direct link.
Free Jazz Guitar pack for Knotakt via Synthopia. Pettinhouse has released WarmJazzFREE, a jazz guitar sample library for Kontakt.
Another case of “show your age” – Remember the Korg M1? In our part of town this keyboard was the total “cat’s meow” for live Latino music in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Well, here is a link for a free sample pack via Synthipoa.
Circuit Bent Sounds library via Synthopia here is the quote:
Loopmasters has introduced Circuit Bent Sounds 2, a collection of bastardized electronics, twisted circuits, rewired technology and warped audio.
Pretty cheap and tons of sounds. Check out this page also.
I do not think I posted this – “The Future of Ableton Live” – interesting twist that came via Synthopia:
Well – I finished my Ableton Rig. This has been going on since February. My goals:
Fit into a “DJ Coffin” amount of space
Push Ableton harder than most – but do much of it in the analog / non-digital / out of Ableton world.
10 minute set up
Minimal wires (about 15 connections split evenly between power / USB – Firewire -MIDI / audio)
Ability to pick up the entire set up and move it on/off stage easily (this gets to be pretty important when playing live)
I have a ton of photos, I will be posting more information soon. This is one of my specialties – I mod gear, cases, controllers, etc and get TIGHT rigs together. My gigging key rig was always a total blast! My Ableton rig is even more killer. Here is a link to a Tumblog I keep regarding audio peripherals and technology. Watch for more links.
Finally – a minor blow to Denver. I am from NY also and aree with Oliver. However, there are a bunch of us whoare pushing the envelope.
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.
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!)
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!
