If you’ve played with the Frequency Shifter at all, you’ve probably gotten the impression that it’s one of the more aggressive sound mangling devices that comes with Live. Well, that’s true. However, I’ve recently become a fan of using it like a chorus to produce stereo modulation effects. Try setting it up something like this: […]
IN THE MIX
Over the last weeks, we’ve done a lot of sound design stuff so today I want to remind everyone (myself included) that the best way to tweak a sound to perfection is in the mix. In other words, sometimes you have to listen to a sound in isolation, but once you’ve got it in the […]
DJ EQ
If you’re designing a Live set that needs EQ on a few tracks, the obvious thing to do is to use the EQ 3, Live’s DJ-style EQ. The problem with this device (without getting into any issues regarding sound quality) has to do with how it works with a controller. Simply stated, the problem is […]
BOOST THE CUT
The next step in building the custom DJ EQ we started yesterday is to put the EQ 8 into a Rack, and map the Gain of each band to a Macro, so it looks like this: (If you’re new to building Racks, take a look at One Knob, Multiple Functions) The problem with this EQ […]
CUT THE BOOST
Yesterday we left off having created a custom DJ EQ with +/-30dB on each band. Today we’ll modify it so there’s 30dB of cut but only 15dB of boost. The trick lies in the technique I demonstrated in Adding Auto-Bypass. The first thing you’ll want to do is rename the second EQ 8 – otherwise […]
VOLUME AUTOMATION: UNSPEAKABLY EVIL
OK, a bit of an exaggeration perhaps. But here’s the thing: sometimes, as you’re producing a track there are spots where it’s important to automate the volume (fading parts in and out for example). The problem is that later on when it comes time to do a final mix, adjusting the level of tracks with […]
EXPAND THE MIXER
When finishing a track, I’m working almost entirely in the Arrangement view, but there’s one reason I regularly return to the Session view: to check levels in the mix. Float your mouse over the top boundary of the Session view’s Mixer section. It will turn into a splitter tool. Click and drag upwards to expand […]
WAVESHAPIN’
Lately, I’ve been making a lot of aggressive bass sounds with lots of high end buzz and fuzz. For some saturation insanity in your basses, Live’s Saturator used in Waveshaper mode is pretty awesome. What scares folks away from the Waveshaper tends to be the 6 boxes in the lower right that come to life […]
THE BEST FREE COMPRESSOR
One of my absolute favorite plug-ins is free, and you’re just plain crazy if you don’t have it. The Rough Rider, brought to you by Audio Damage: If you’ve got a small plug-in collection (or even a big one), you’ll find that this sucker is a fantastic compliment to Live’s built-in compressor. While Live’s Compressor […]
RACK THAT FUZZ!
When I get crazy with the Saturator, I usually don’t even bother trying to get the wet/dry balance right. Instead, I set the Saturator to 100% wet, and use a wet/dry rack instead. This makes it much easier to get the levels right in my experience. It also offers more sophisticated sound shaping capabilities. For […]
