Every now and then you’ll bump into the problem that you can’t have a Group track within a Group track (the way you can nest Racks within each other). For example, you might want to group a set of keyboard parts together, but one of the parts is made up of two tracks you’ve layered […]
DRUM EDITING WORKFLOW
In the previous tip I mentioned that I extract the drum rack chains once I’ve got a basic arrangement laid out. There’s another piece to my workflow, though: I usually do one pass of drum editing before extracting the chains. After the arrangement is laid out, I find spots to create additional variations – such […]
EXTRACT CHAINS
I’m a big fan of Drum Racks. Every track I do has its main beat programmed using one. There are lots of reasons for this, but a big one is the Extract Chains command, which is accessed by right-clicking in the Chain List: In the above example, this command will remove the chain called OB-Hat […]
ARPEGGIATOR: MIDI DELAY, pt. 2
To make the Arpeggiator behave a bit more like a conventional delay, you have to engage the Hold switch: By default, Hold takes any note you input and repeats it indefinitely. However, by turning up the Repeat knob, you can specify a specific number of repeats: (tip continued below) ~*~*~*~*~*~ THANKS FOR SUPPORTING LIVE TIPS! […]
PRINT THE RETURN
Now that I’ve added some satisfying junk to my drum sound, I’m going to render the processed signal to an audio file. (I’ll discuss why in a moment.) Remember that all of the processing from the prior tips is happening in Return A: To Print Return A to an audio file, open up the Export […]
THE JUNKY BUS, IN SPACE!
In the prior tips, I mentioned using Dual mode to preserve the stereo image of the drum group. In fact, what I ended up doing was exaggerating the stereo image using a Simple Delay after Cabinet: (tip continues below) ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Hot Tip: Visiting the Shop supports this website. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ If you’re not familiar with this […]
AMP & CABINET ON THE JUNKY BUS, pt. 2
My junky drum bus already sounds pretty cool, but it needs a little Amp for grit. It’s placed after the Rough Rider (and before Cabinet): I settled on the Rock model by ear and turned the Bass and Treble all the way down – the aggression I’m looking for is all in the midrange. Like […]
AMP & CABINET ON THE JUNKY BUS
I like the drums I’ve programmed for this remix I’m working on, but they just sound too polite. One of my favorite ways to add some nasty to the drums is with a little amp and cabinet action. In the past, I’ve used actual re-amping and NI Guitar Rig to handle this chore. Today, it’s […]
AMP & CABINET!
Stop the presses! Ableton 8.2 is out, and Amp & Cabinet have been added to the effects roster: I’m a big fan of guitar amp modelers. Ever since I first owned my Ensoniq ASR-10 (which had a built-in amp emulation effect), I’ve gotten a huge kick out of running just about everything through them – […]
THE MASTER FX RACK
While I do the majority of my live effects processing within individual tracks, I also have a few effects that I keep in the Master track. These tend to be dramatic effects used for breakdowns, building tension, etc. There are a few different configurations that I’ve used, but the common element is that I like […]
