In this tutorial I show how to send midi signal from Ableton Live to Modul8 on the Mac via the IAC Driver.  This is a great way to create cross-fades between random scenes of videos or images loaded into Modul8.  You can also control any other perimeter from Ableton Live that you would from any other midi controller.  It opens up limitless possibilities in the realms of VJing and DJing combined.  Watch the video below and download the companion Ableton Live 8 template.

(note: For some reason the audio wasn’t working for the first 15 seconds or so.)

Controlling Modul8 with Ableton Live

Jacob | MySpace Video

One of the secrets of progressive house is to use a sidechain compressor. What you do is put it on a dirty bass track or whatever else you want to create a ducking effect whenever the kick drum hits. Basically, the way this is done is to put a copy of your kick drum on a separate track, and then you run that as the signal into the sidechain compressor. Whatever track the sidechain compression is on will start pumping with the beat. You hear this kind of sound a lot in progressive house tracks. I personally love the effect, and use it a lot. The reason I like it so much is because of the fact that if you put it on a phat bassline, it will duck whenever the kick drum hits, which let’s more low end bass from the kick come through.

Here is a video tutorial I made showing exactly how to use a sidechain compressor to create progressive/electro house in Ableton Live:

Ableton Live is a great program for music producers and djs alike. It offers great tools for creating music in the moment or doing more linear recordings. I’m going to walk you through how to make smooth dj mix transitions with live the way I do it. I’ve put one three channel eq on each track and set it up so that the numbers on my computer keyboard control the bass frequency kills on each one. I also open all the tracks I want to use in advance and set the warp markers for each song so that I know when I start it that it will be perfectly beatmatched. Keep in mind you have unlimited routing possibilities that allow you to control many perimeters in Live with Midi controllers or your computer’s keyboard.

1. Get your bass kills setup using EQ Three on each track (I use the numbers on my keyboard as controllers) To do this activate the Key button on the top right then select the L on the EQ for low end and press the key you would like to set as the controller. If you are using a midi controller then select Midi on the top right instead of Key.

2. Make sure the 1 marker lines up with beat 1 in the track, and the tempo has to be correct or else you’ll have to add markers throughout the track manually. If you know the tempo is consistent throughout the track but the tempo is not set correctly then line up the one marker on beat 1 and then go to beat 8 or so and line that one up without double clicking to the corresponding beat. This should change the tempo automatically to match.

3. Press play on track 1

4. Let it get into a groove and eventually bring in track 2 with the bass killed

5. When you want swap the basses out so the track 1 bass is cut and track 2 is bumpin’

6. Fade or cut out track 1 volume

7. Bump it!

8. It’s all about timing

9. You can press start on track 2 within four beats before the 1st beat you want to start on and live will automatically start on beat

10. Keep the beats bangin’ when people are dancing (many people don’t like it when a groove goes into some long break right when they were feelin’ it.)

If you have any questions of how to do any of this stuff then feel free to contact me and I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

We take a look at building up a basic Psytrance groove using Ableton Live, then show you how this powerful program can help you work you psytrance loops into basic track ideas. We’ve used Nuborn’s Psytrance Samples Vol 2 pack as a fast way to build our groove, since it contains all the samples and MIDI we’ll need in one place. If you have problems loading the video player below try refreshing your page and hitting the play button again, you can also view this in full screen mode.

We’ve started off by setting our tempo to a suitable 145 BPM then chosen the psytrance drum loop that Nuborn use in their demo track. As you can see one of the beauties of Live is it’s instant and accurate time stretching abilities – simply drag and drop your audio loop into the clip view window, it’ll even create a new track for you if there isn’t a spare track handy.

Next we add in a kick drum, using a Simpler, Live’s basic sampler, recording in a 4/4 kick pattern using our MIDI keyboard. Live will automatically quantize our playing to the setting in the record quantization menu. You can change this easily by choosing Edit Menu -> Record Quantize.

We continue to build up our groove using one of the psytrance basslines from the Nuborn pack, however you could easily edit in your own pattern using the MIDI note editor. As with audio to import a MIDI file all you need to do is drag and drop from Live’s browser window, then assign an instrument to the MIDI track. You could choose any VSTi you have, but we’ve opted for a bass preset from Simpler ‘Monobass’. Notice we tweak the envelope of the sampler to get that tight ‘Psy’ bass sound.

We then add a crash cymbal to our groove and continue to add in an acid stab, again using Simpler and recording in our pattern using our MIDI keyboard. We then add some delay FX to the acid stab to give that spacey feel. Next a standard TR-909 style Hi-Hat finishes our basic groove.

Moving on we need a melodic part to finish our psytrance loop so we skip through some of the MIDI’s in the pack. Choosing a suitable sequence we tune it to the key of our track then flick through the Synth Stab section and choose one we like the sound of. Adding the stab to simpler we tune it to the key of our track.

Next its time for some Psy filter fun. We add Live’s Auto Filter to the synth stab track and choose a preset at random. We then sync the filter’s LFO to Live’s tempo, tweak our settings and there you have it – a twisting psychedelic synth groove.

Now its time for a little arrangement fun! We’re using lives ‘Scenes’ (the lines that run horizontally along the clip view) to create different scenes that we can flick through at will. This is a great way to build up sequences to play live in clubs since you can flick between any of these easily, one over-riding the next. You can see how we build up each ’scene’ with the elements that we’d like it to contain then use the scene play buttons on the far right of the screen to flick through each to create a ‘live’ psytrance track. As with all controls in Live it’s possible to assign pretty much any control that you can see on the screen to a MIDI keyboard, knob, slider or keyboard press, so triggering samples and sequences is a doddle.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what you can do with Ableton Live, and if all this sounds like alien gibberish we suggest that you download the demo version and take a leaf through the excellent built in tutorials that come with Live, they take a few minutes each and will really show you how powerful this software can be, especially for performance orientated musicians.

Mark is a passionate DJ who loves to remix and make tracks with various synth sounds and producer packs. Mark works for DMS in the UK who sell various DJ music sample packs. Click for more information, here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Spacey

1. Computer

The computer that you choose to operate with is very important. Recording software can take its toll on just any ordinary computer, so there are some performances issues that we need to keep in mind.

Its true that your computer will require a good amount of RAM, but this isn’t the only big thing. The CPU is also very important. In my opinion, I believe that anything above 3GBs of RAM is overkill. I also believe that anything above a Dual Core Processor is overkill. My personal preference at this moment in time is to work with a computer that has 3GB of RAM and a Dual Core processor. That combination working in unison is outstanding. When it comes to processors, both AMD Athlon and Intel make exceptional processors. However, their is a sort of mini war that goes on between those who use either processor. It is very comparable to being a Mac guy or a Windows fiend. The truth is that you can’t go wrong with either of them.

A computer that contains these simple features, and a decent amount of Hard drive space will run you five to six hundred dollars, and when you think about all the bang that you’re getting for your buck – its really not that bad in terms of price.

As a side note, computer maintenance is very important. On my personal recording system, I have no other programs running other than recording related programs. I keep this computer very clean, and I keep the files that I am working with named properly, so that I can find them on down the road.

2. External Hard Drive

This isn’t mandatory, but considering that anyone can pick up a relatively affordable external hard drive, you might want to consider doing this. Now, raw audio files eat up a lot of space, so if you do decide to do this, make sure to get a hard drive that holds at least 250GBs on it. LaCie makes excellent external hard drives.

The most important reason for having an external hard drive is the preservation of your work. My old computer crashed over and over again, and had it not been for the fact that I had all of my audio files on an external hard drive, I would have lost them forever.

3. Audio Interface

You can think of the interface as a sort of digital mixer. Its a little different though, as it doesn’t actually have any physical mixing knobs. Instead, it acts primarily as a gate way for your recording devices. An interface usually comes with several XLR, or mic ports, as well as patch ports for guitar or bass. It also will generally feature a headphone input, along with a corresponding volume knob, and numerous other volume knobs. These other volume knobs are generally for mic inputs, 1/4 patch inputs, and monitors.

The interface will connect directly to your computer either by way of a USB cable or Firewire. An interface also tends to come with some nice software, that will help with pre-EQ-ing, or general tones and sounds.

There are two excellent and affordable choices for audio interfaces.

a) The M-Audio FireWire Solo Audio Interface
b) The Line 6 USX2 TonePort

Both are firewire, and both have excellent features. My recommendation is the TonePort, because it comes fully loaded with guitar and bass amp emulators, that span four decades. It also features cabinet emulators, EQ, effect pedals, and a lot of other settings, as well as settings for mics. Both of these choices run around two hundred dollars, and in some cases much less.

The best part about these audio interfaces is the fact that you can directly record into your recording software, and then work from their.

4. Monitors

You don’t need to spend a lot of money on studio monitors to get an honest clarification of your music. In all reality you can purchase a set of monitors that are very nice for between 150 and 300 dollars. A good place to start if you are just getting into recording, would be the Samson 50A, Samson MediaOne 5A, M-Audio BX5a, or the M-Audio Studiophile AV40. All of these monitors fit within the price range of 150-300 bucks.

5. Head Phones

Headphones are really important when it comes to the actual recording process. Depending on what you get, you can receive a very clear sound when you are laying down that track. Still yet, you don’t need to blow hundreds of dollars on a nice set of head phones. Samson makes a good set of starting headphones like the RH100s, but I highly recommend starting out with the NADY QH460s. These will cost you about thirty dollars, but they are totally worth it.

6. Software

This is always the big topic. What recording software should I actually get? Well, this always comes down to a point of preference, but in all honesty, you can’t go wrong with either Ableton Live or Reason Propellor head. Both of these programs run in the three to four hundred dollar range, and both are jam packed with enough features to keep you busy for years. There is also Steinberg Cubase and Pro Tools, which make outstanding software for the home recording enthusiast. I am personally a die hard Ableton user, but the best thing to do is to try and address what kind of recording you plan on doing, and how you need this software to function for you. Then do a little studying up on all of the programs, watch some YouTube videos to see if you think you might enjoy it, and pick people’s brains on recording forums.

7. MIDI Controller

You don’t need a MIDI Controller to get started, but it does certainly help. When it comes to a controller, you can’t go wrong with a sure thing. M-Audio makes phenomenal MIDI Controllers, and again, they are all reasonably priced.

Conclusion

Anything beyond this is up to you, but a word of advice. Get your computer, get the software, get the interface and then acquire a pair of headphones. You can be recording in no time with this small amount of equipment. Don’t feel pressured, because you can add the other stuff as you go along.

Another point that I would like to make is the matter of changing out equipment over time. Make sure that you keep every bit of documentation and packaging with anything you purchase. If you take good care of your stuff, you can sell it on eBay and take that money and put it back into expanding your home studio. If you sell a pair of monitors for three hundred, and you put two-fifty of your own money with that three hundred, then you can upgrade your monitors to something better. If you go about it in this manner, then pretty soon you’ll have a multi thousand dollar studio to work with.

Also, be sure to educate yourself. There is a lot of free recording knowledge out their, just waiting for you to take hold of. Happy jammin’!

Tennyson Williams has been studying guitar for eight years, sixteen hours a day, and has studied every style of music imaginable. He has played in bands, that encompassed a wide range of music. It wasn’t until after eight years of piano lessons, that he made the decision to become a self-taught musician, but the journey has been well worth it for the guitarist. His sole passion is to share with others, his endless knowledge of music, in order to make their musical dreams a reality. He has recently written a guitar instructional book called The Essential Guide To Guitar Virtuosity that can be found at GuitarSpeedSecret.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tennyson_Williams

When it comes to making beats in Ableton Live, or any other software for that matter, people often struggle to get the really heavy thud that you tend to hear in professionally produced music.

This can be a combination of a few things but usually it comes down to lack of knowledge when it comes to preparing your sounds and giving them space in the mix.

It is often worth remembering that it is harder to get really crisp and fat bass thuds using software as opposed to using a decent drum machine but that does not mean it cannot be done.

So what should you consider when making your kick and how do you go about getting a sound that makes your body shake on a big sound system?

First thing to think about is whether you want the kick drum or your bassline to carry the bulk of the low end energy. To get the results you want you really need to start thinking about each part of your track’s position in the mix.

This is sorted out by using EQ’s to give space in the mix for each part of the track. This type of thing scares a lot of people because it is thought of as being very technical but it doesn’t have to be as long as you have a good ear and work methodically. We’ll talk more about EQ’ing in another article. For now we’ll concentrate on the actual kick drum itself.

Lets assume for this example that your kick will be providing the low end energy.

Now with the drumkits you get with Ableton Live, drum plugins and easy to find samples there is a lot of different approaches you can take.

You do need to consider the fact that all these types of things have been played to death and making your kick sound original can be hard. So here’s what I would do…

I highly recommend you start to create your own kick sound by layering 2 or more different kicks with another high end noise to give the snap.

To do this on Ableton, open up a drum rack and select your first kick sample. Seeing as the kick will have the low end I would recommend grabbing an 808 kick sample as they are very deep and have solid low ends.

Next grab an auto filter and use a low pass filter to take away the mid and top end sound. This will leave you with a nice strong low end to your new kick.

Next grab another kick drum but this time look for one that has a nice mid range sound through it. (Possibly a live kick drum or whatever else you can find.

Again use one of Ableton’s auto filters but this time use a band pass filter. Band pass filters allow you to cut away the low and high end frequencies at the same time. Make sure you take away the low end as the previous 808 sample will carry this for you.

Leave as much of the high as you want, this part is up to you. It can be tweaked later to hone the sound of your kick but do take away some of the high end. You will fill this gap in a minute.

Finally you want to grab something with a sharp high end. You can use a snare, a hi hat, a clap, pretty much anything that has high frequency in it.

Again stick a filter on it and this time use a high pass filter to just leave the high end “snap”

Now you just need to play all three of these samples at the same time and just start tweaking the filters till you get a sound that you like. This ensures that you will have an original sound.

It is important when creating your kick that you use the filters to give each of the three samples their own place in the mix. You don’t want to have them crossing over too much. Remember that you are simply creating one kick out of the three separate samples.

When using a drum rack within Ableton Live, each individual sample in the rack is stored inside a simpler so you can do further tweaks to each of the three samples individually.

I highly recommend going into each sound and tweaking the filter frequency and resonance using the control knobs within simpler. You can change the sounds beyond recognition and really get creative.

Remember your kick drum will be playing throughout most of the song so the more time you spend here the better. Do your track justice and put the time in where it counts!

I understand that it is hard to follow when just reading from a written document and that is why we created a brand new website for all lovers of Ableton Live. Over there we have video tutorials in HD quality for you to watch and follow. Plus if you go there now we have also created a DJ Effects Rack for Ableton and have made it available for free download.

Visit http://www.Ableton-Live-Tutorial.com just now and if you can’t find what you’re looking for just leave a message and we’ll look at making videos for your specific problems!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Clark