HenderSounds

Visit earsmack.com/ for more info

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2010/04/22/midipad-in-action/

midiPad in action from kai on Vimeo.

This looks really useful.   You can map up to 16 pages!  Check it out!

Katapult Demonstration from Mark Qvist on Vimeo.

Feature overview

Map up to 16 pages of different layouts to the Launchpad.

Katapult supports bi-directional communication. Twist a knob in your software, and the corresponding control on the Launchpad is updated like 21st century motorised faders.

Want one controller to update another? Katapult lets you chain controllers together. Endless cross-updating fun!

Customise the colors of any control.

http://www.midikatapult.com/

Check out the video below.  The iPad music app flood is coming!

This is a screenshot of SoundTrends Looptastic for the Apple iPad.

Demo video here (.mov).

Here’s Cache Flowe’s presentation for the Ableton Denver Meetup.

For more info and links from the presentation check out Ableton Denver.

Part 1

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Here’s Mark Mosher’s Percussa Audio Cubes presentation from the Ableton Denver Meetup last night!

Nice job Mark! You rocked it!!!

Part One:

Part Two:

Brandon Murphy has a great post on finger drumming with a MPC here.

Check out the video here:

How to do mpc pad finger drumming from Brandon Murphy on Vimeo.

Found this over on the Monome community.

Cool way to mlr on an APC!

If you're only familiar with Christopher Willits as the man behind our XLR8R TV series What You Talkin' Bout Willits?, you should also know he puts those same Ableton, Max/MSP, and other live-electronics skills to excellent use as a solo producer signed to the illustrious Ghostly International label.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

This Ableton Live tutorial, by danny bonnici,  takes a look at how to use sidechaining.

SoundCloud is a platform to host your audio and then share it across your networks wherever they may be. If you’re a musician the ability to share your tracks across all the different places where your fans engage and interact with you is essential. SoundCloud is here to help make that happen.

Recently MySpace launched their redesigned profile layouts, letting you have further choice of the content you are publishing and the form in which others experience this. Additions to their pages include a left-hand navigation, a new focus on the MySpace “Stream” where users can see recent activity, and recent comments, while sharing content. Users can also follow their friends’ Twitter, Facebook and other social networking site profiles right from the site with a new follow option.

For SoundCloud users, another addition is that they’ve simplified the process allowing you to embed other media players to your profile. So why not use your SoundCloud player?

The advantages of embedding SoundCloud players to your profile are that you can:
- get all your stats back within your SoundCloud account from your newly embedded player
- let people share your audio content back across their own networks
- choose from a range of players, including our rather aesthetically pleasing artwork players.
- add your own buy links from any place where you want to sell your music and merch from
- keep your tracks on MySpace automatically updated by embedding your SoundCloud ‘profile’ player

The process is simple, here are the steps to make this happen.

With the iPad available now and more touch-enabled devices likely coming soon, we finally have hardware that can be both display and controller, visual feedback and input device. While tactile control will maintain its place, these devices can augment performance controls, acting as compositional brains, and can serve as studio creation tools.

Yesterday, we got a glimpse of something called “MB Control,” a custom Ableton Live controller that got a number of people excited for its eminently-practical control layouts. It’s based on the popular, promising, and open source Live Control project, one we’re watching closely, but with its own twists. Today, I have more details on that project from co-creator Bjorn, who has long been a maker of wonderful tutorials and devices for Ableton at The Covert Operators and works here with Uruguay’s International Feel. The bad news is, for now, this isn’t something you’ll be able to get your hands on – it’s not for sale because it’s so particular to the needs of its creators. But the good news is, it demonstrates a number of useful techniques, and at least some devices are on their way. (It’s also further evidence that a runtime for Max for Live could set this community on fire, if Ableton and Cycling ’74 were to decide to go in that direction.)

The project is powered by TouchOSC, the iPad’s apparent killer-app OSC touch controller, and Max for Live.

Bjorn writes:

This project is a customized Ableton Live studio controller made with Max For Live devices for Mark from International Feel Recordings.

http://soundcloud.com/international-feel/

After trying various control solutions ranging from Lemur Clip Launchers to ST8′s LiveControl, there still was a need for a customizable studio controller solution. Most of the solutions currently available are focused on Live Performance. There’s isn’t really anything out there to jam an arrangement with that works in a practical musical sense for studio heads.

In Mark’s case, he was looking for a Clip Launcher that could display 1 Scene of 40 Tracks wide. A change like that isn’t so easily made to a python script.
He also wanted 3 types of sequencers. That would definitely get tricky with python scripts and 3rd party MIDI drivers. So the project ended up being a customized version of ST8′s LiveControl, but entirely built in Max For Live.

MB Control Features:

• A Drum Sequencer that can be dropped onto any MIDI Track in Live. Up to 8 instances are supported which can be selected and controlled from the iPad. It has all the features of a basic X0X sequencer (and more besides). You can change the Rate/Range/Direction/Length/Velocity/Pitch of any sequencer lane individually, you can control all the lanes at once and you can even control all the sequencers at once. There is a randomization feature that allows you to specify the density of a randomized pattern.
• A Melodic Sequencer. Its almost identical to the Drum Sequencer. It also supports up to 8 instances and it has a feature to lock the pitches of all the lanes to the transposition features of the Bouncer Sequencer. It also allows various melodic scales to be selected.
• A Bouncer Sequencer like people know from on the tenori-on. Its supports 2 times 8 notes with 16 steps. There are a few extra buttons to transpose the sequence to a different pitch. The Melodic Sequencers have a Transpose Lock buttons that allows them to follow the transposition of this sequencer.
• 48 Track Clip Launcher of 1 Scene deep. A very useful Clip Launcher if you have lots of tracks and want to control all clips on a scene individually. Has a feature that shows how many clips are in any given track. It also supports group tracks and allows folding/unfolding on the clip slot of the group track. A button underneath each Clip Slot allows control over Arm/Solo/Mute and Stop Clip.
• A Mixer with control over the Volume/Pan/Send A/Send B/Arm/Solo/Mute. The Mixer follows whatever Clip was triggered last. If you trigger a clip on track 9, the Mixer will display track 9 to 18 automatically.
• Device Controller. Its like Automap with 16 Sliders. You can select any device and control all of its parameters. Devices can also be hidden if required.
• 16 Macros Device. Its like Macros in a Rack but there are 16 of them. And they can be assigned to any device regardless of which track they’re in. This device is integrated in the Device Controller page as a simple switch and allows users to personally tailor their multi device control onto one screen, thus keeping it in line with the ‘arrangement jamming’ principle.
• XY Controller. 5 XY Pads to control multiple device parameters.
• Drum Pads. A MIDI Device that can be dropped on any MIDI Track you wish to play on.
• Keys. A Keyboard that can be dropped on any MIDI Track you wish to play on, with velocity, Octave buttons, modwheel and Pitch Bend.
• Arturia Moog Editor. A custom controller layout for the [Arturia Moog emulation] VST. It is a device that converts the incoming OSC to CC data that the VST accepts.
• Most pages have global controls like Overdub/Record/Transport and switching MIDI Quantization between Off and 1/16ths.

This project is finished as far as Mark is concerned. He has the controller he wished for and it works entirely to his specifications. It’s all running very smooth in Max For Live and the response on the iPad is great. TouchOSC keeps improving so that means that eventually we’ll have more than 7 colors to work with and lots of cool little features surely to come. The day this project was finished, TouchOSC 1.6 came out with the ability to change colors and hide objects. Something that’ll be off great use for making customizable interfaces.

MB Control (in it’s current form), is not for sale.

It is far too personalized to be useful to everybody. I will release some of the devices individually soon. As for the core ‘brain’ patch that controls everything, I will keep improving on that until I’ve got a device that supports Clip Launchers of all sizes. Regardless of how many tracks/scenes you want to display. All you should need is ANY OSC controller, configure it to your liking, type in your IP somewhere and never have to set it up again.

Once a M4L runtime is available then we will definitely consider making this (and possibly different versions of it) available commerically.

Thanks to Bjorn for all this great info.

By way of comparison, below is a video of the LiveControl project, which now has a new homepage:
http://livecontrol.q3f.org/livecontrol/

As you can see, there are a variety of approaches to how to make the controller – software setup useful for music.

LiveControl for the iPad/iPod from ST8 on Vimeo.

The term has been floating around XLR8R HQ for a good while now, but maybe the forthcoming Future Bass compilation will solidify the genre title across the board. On September 27, the UK's Soul Jazz label will drop a 13-track release that investigates the wide spectrum of electronic music primarily focused on beats and bass.

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Ableton Live is a DAW that’s not only good at producing music, but it’s also useful when you’re playing live. It’s available for both PCs and Macs, so just about anyone can use the software.

One of Live’s unique features is its session view. This is a non-linear grid for recording and playing your music ideas in any order.

The program can deal with MIDI and audio, supports VST instruments, and has great looping features. It is flexible for musicians, and loved by DJs.

The program was first released in 2001, and version 8 came out in April of this year. An LE version is also available.

This article was previously published on the AudioJungle blog. We’ll be bringing you an article from the archives each week.

Last week’s article covered Live’s history and features. This week we learn how to use it. Here are 17 tutorials coming from Ableton, Youtube and Audiotuts+. Most cover the current version of Live, but a few cover version 7 where the same techniques still apply.

1. Ableton Inc’s Channel

Ableton have their own Youtube channel of useful tutorials. They don’t allow us to embed the tutorials here (though a few sneak in below), but you can see them for yourself here.

2. Make Music with Ableton Live

“Ableton Live is about making music. When you’re writing and composing, Live is quick and responsive. When you want to record and develop your ideas, Live has the depth and toolset for intricate production. It’s got the features to take your DJ skills to the next level and it’s stable and flexible on stage, whether you’re playing in front of 10 or 10,000 people. However and wherever you make music, whatever music you make, Live will inspire you.”

3. Making Electro House Music in Ableton Live

This video show you how Timofey works with Ableton Live to make electro house music.

4. Ableton Live 8: Quantizing Audio

“Berkleemusic instructor Loudon Stearns covers the usage of warp markers, transient detection, and quantizing of audio new in Ableton Live 8.”

5. Recording Guitar in Ableton Live 7

“Huston Singletary takes you through the process of recording guitar tracks within the Live 7 Arrangement View.”

6. Sidechain Compression in Ableton Live 8

“Huston Singletary explains and demonstrates the popular “pumping and breathing” effect used on countless electronic and dance tracks. Live 8′s intuitive Compressor-Sidechain effect is explained and a custom preset is created in the studio showing the characteristics of this classic audio effect.”

7. Ableton Live Tutorial – The Reverse Vocal Effect

“In this tutorial we show you how pull of a neat vocal technique used in the industry time and time again – and it sounds great! This can be used in many genres of music, maybe as a lead into the chorus, or in a breakdown, and is also used in movie soundtracks…nice!”

8. Ableton Live 8: Looper

“Huston Singletary talks about the “Looper” included in Ableton Live 8 at Winter NAMM 2009.”

9. Understanding Ableton Live 8’s New Groove Engine

Jun 11th in Ableton Live, Production by Mo Volans

Ableton has introduced a huge list of new features into the latest version of Live. Amongst some of the highlights are new instruments, new warp algorithms and even several new effects plug-ins.

All these features are impressive (and some of them definitely deserve their own tutorials), but one of the most important updates for many users is the introduction of a brand new groove engine, so let’s get stuck in and see how it works.

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10. How to Use Ableton’s Beat Repeat Effect for Live Performance

Feb 27th in Ableton Live, Mixing & Mastering by Mo Volans

It’s not exactly news that a lot of people see Ableton Live as one of the best pieces of software for live performance. After relying on Live and a laptop for loads of gigs around the globe, I can fully recommend it as a tool capable of delivering the results. The interface is clear and luckily it hasn’t crashed on me yet.

With so many effects to choose from I’ve decided to cover one that has seemed to remain a constant crowd pleaser throughout my live career and that’s the extremely usable ‘Beat repeat’ effect. I’ll walk through how to map its key parameters to a control surface and then show some quick examples of how it can be tweaked with only a few knobs for maximum impact when playing live.

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11. Warping Tunes for Live Sets with Ableton Live

Dec 17th in Ableton Live, Mixing & Mastering by Mo Volans

Ableton is fast becoming the tool of choice for the digital DJ and has just about every tool you could ask for when putting together a live show or DJ set. One of the most important parts of getting things right on the night is syncing individual beats or entire tracks and if you want to get things 100% locked down the best strategy is to warp your files before the show.

Warp markers are small flags that Ableton uses to cut audio into small portions, these portions can then be shifted back and forth as the tempo of your project is changed. This basically means that the audio takes on an elastic nature and can be played back at any tempo without suffering from the degradation and anomalies related to traditional time stretching.

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12. How to Add the Experimental to Electronica, Part 1

Nov 10th in Ableton Live, Composition by Paul Taylor

It’s a bit of a shame that the abstract electronica genre isn’t thriving commercially the way it used to be. The heyday of labels like Warp Records and Planet Mu has long gone, and very few experimental electronica producers are making a living from their music.

That said, there’s a great wealth of absolutely amazing free electronica out there. I’d recommend any fan of electronic music to take a listen to the brilliant Bleepshow podcast for many fantastic examples. It’s a highly creative area, and one which needs a constant supply of fresh talent, so it’s a good time to get started!

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13. How to DJ with Ableton Live

Oct 2nd in Ableton Live, Djing by Solaremusic

Ever wanted to DJ with Ableton Live? Here’s how! While it’s true that you can produce a complete live show with Ableton Live, bringing your studio production to stage, some would just like to mix their favorite tracks “a la DJ.”

The most basic principle of DJing is to have a set of tunes playing continuously — no jumps, no cuts, no funny transitions, just as if all the pieces in the playlist were one. A long tune of an hour or more.

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14. Create Generative Ambient Music in Ableton Live

Aug 11th in Ableton Live, Composition by Ray Chemo

In this tutorial we are going to use Ableton Live’s innovative follow actions to create generative music in the form of some electronic wind chimes. When writing generative music we look at composition from a different angle. Instead of composing melodies and writing arrangements, we define a number of fixed parameters and let the music write itself! Wind chimes are prehaps the most common example of generative music—a term coined by ambient pioneer Brain Eno.

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15. Producing and Mastering a DJ Set

May 22nd in Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Mixing & Mastering by Mo Volans

So you have your beat mixing down to a fine art and you have a great collection of tunes. You have recorded your latest live show or have put the finishing touches on a promotional set in the studio. The question is what do you do now?

To turn the recording into a really listenable product it’s a good idea to apply some basic mastering and ensure that it’s in the right format. It’s also important to be able to insert track markers if you intend to burn to CD. Here are a few tips to get you going.

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16. How to Make an Insane ‘Plucky’ Trance Lead

Aug 8th in Ableton Live, Production by Paul Taylor

The lead sound is the key to any track: pick a clichéd or dull-sounding lead and you’ll multiply the amount of work you need to do in order to create a memorable record. Obviously, your own creativity is vital when creating an original lead, but it certainly pays to know the territory before you embark….

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17. Make and Mix a Running 16th-note Bassline

Jul 4th in Ableton Live, Production by Paul Taylor

In this tutorial, we’re going to learn how to make and mix a “running” 16th-note bassline. You’ll hear this in countless dance genres such as techno and even breaks, but it’s become synonymous with trance over the years.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

iPhone Music Software: This video, via PalmSounds, compares iPhone guitar interfaces, looking at how they sound clean and with the amp modeling software that is provided with the interface.

The iPhone guitar interfaces include:

• PRS GuitarBud
• Griffin Guitar Connect
• iRig
• AmpKit LiNk
• GuitarJack

They liked the AmpKit LInk with AmpKit+ the best.  If you’ve used any of these interfaces, with guitar or other gear, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Today’s Ableton tutorial is all about finding or creating inspiration on those days when writer’s block is kicking your ass.  Anyone that writes music on a regular basis is going to run into this problem once in a while, but for working professionals, simply choosing not to write isn’t always an option.

If you have a looming deadline for writing a little theme song or doing a small piece of sound design, it’s easy to forget that (for better or for worse) modern digital music production tools can even start our songs for us.

If you use Ableton Live, there are some handy tools to do just that, and today I want to cover some extremely basic yet effective uses for two of them:  Randomizer and Scale.

I know some people are going to object passionately to the idea of using a tool to generate melodic ideas out of thin air.  However, I have no desire to turn this into an exhaustive, academic discussion about whether the machines have indeed taken over ala “Terminator”, so please keep your comments on track with creative or technical suggestions.

In the following video, I show you how to turn a simple rhythm that never deviates from a single pitch into multiple melodic ideas as well as recording this randomness so that you can further revise the resulting MIDI phrases:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Keith McMillen Instruments has introduced StringPort MIDI Out, a $595 system that converts audio from hexaphonic guitar pickups into accurate MIDI data, with low latency.

StringPort MIDI Out contains a hardware interface and software application that integrates with industry-standard hexaphonic pickups (such as Roland GK, Graph Tek, Zeta and RMC models) through high speed USB2.

“We listened to hexaphonic guitar players who were asking for a product that would reveal the most accurate and intimate representation of their guitar playing in order to drive their internal synthesizers and outboard MIDI sound modules,” says KMI founder Keith McMillen. “We believe that StringPort MIDI Out is now the best in class product for the 13-pin guitar world.”

This MIDI data can drive sequencers such as Logic, Digital Performer, or Cubase, digital audio workstations such as Pro Tools and Ableton Live, virtual synthesizers, samplers, and any external MIDI sound module or keyboard.

StringPort MIDI Out can be upgraded to the full StringPort software suite.

via SonicState

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sunday Synth Jam: The creators of MorphWiz, Kevin Chartier and Jordan Rudess, along with chief technical guru Richard Lainhart, jam at Richard’s studio, in a rare in person meeting.

MorphWiz (App Store link) is a multitouch synthesizer application for the iPad and iPhone/iPod touch.

via JCRUDESS

So where do you go now? You had a song. You recorded all the parts. You even added in some additional overdubs and vocal harmonies. Now all your tracks sit there in your software program waiting for your next move.

You managed to record all your tracks pretty decently and they really sound good, each in their own right. But when everything is playing back all at once, it just really seems overwhelming. All your tracks competing for the same space. Some instruments are louder than others and they all seem to standing in the same place shouting for your attention. It’s time to start mixing.

But where do you start? Where do you go? Where does everything belong? In the following Basix tutorial I’m going to go into the absolute basics of mixing a song. Nothing fancy, just the building blocks of mix engineering.

Let’s do some construction analogy. If you want to build a house, you don’t start with the fancy chandeliers and swanky kitchen interior. You start digging out for a foundation. If you are an architect you you probably don’t start off by designing the Sagrada Famila, you start off by designing simple houses and structures (and if you actually are an architect I welcome you to your new hobby…). Similarly, with mixing, we don’t start off with fancy reverb mixing tricks or complex side-chain triggering. We start off with the Basix.

Pareto’s principle is as follows: 20% of the work results in 80% of the outcome. Sounds pretty nice doesn’t it? What this means is that if we use just a few simple mixing guidelines, and given that the tracks were recorded well, we end up with almost a perfect mix without having to resort to complex modulation effects and automation.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t familiarize and understand the more advanced mixing techniques out there, but for the purpose of starting a mix we don’t want to think about that. It’s like when you have too much on your to do list and because you don’t know which task you should start on you end up doing none of them. So by starting with an idea of where you want to go, it’ll be easier to get there. Begin with the end in mind, follow a path instead of getting lost in the woods.

And What Are the Basics Actually?