NAMM 2012: Livid CNTRL-R
Designed with Richie Hawtin, this step sequencer and controller is an Abletonators dream!
CNTRL:R is a contemporary MIDI performance instrument for creative music production. Housed in a lightweight aluminum body, this controller is ideal for live performance and studio production. Create rhythms, sequence and perform drums, launch clips, mix tracks, and have complete control over your performance with CNTRL:R’s advanced set of features. High quality faders, push button encoders, rotary knobs, expression pedal inputs, and keypads backed with RGB lights give you all the controls you need for an interactive performance. With scripts available for Ableton Live and NI Traktor, the CNTRL:R meets the needs of anyone looking to perform electronic music.
CNTRL:R was designed over a one and a half year period with electronic music pioneer Richie Hawtin and the artists on m_nus records. The controller is designed to provide a high quality controller sized small enough to fit into a backpack, but large enough for extensive hands-on control. The instrument has all of the essential controls for music creation and can be adapted to many different software and styles. The “sequencer” section of the controller can be set to create sequences and grooves, or control cue points and triggers. The central 4×4 keypad can launch clips, play drums, and control functions. The fader and knobs are ideal for channel strip controls, device control, EQ, and effects. The CNTRL:R is totally programmable and adaptable to any software that supports MIDI.
Hitler learns about Bitwig Studio
To Ableton with love I guess hehe
Hitler learn about bitwig studio – info on the new DAW we reported on yesterday:
Bitwig Studio is a multi-platform music-creation system for production, performance and DJing, with a focus on flexible editing tools and a super-fast workflow.
New free Ableton Live Pack – Snake Drum Synth
This is a little jam with a couple of instances of an Ableton Live Instrument created with samples of a snake drum. The original snake drum had 6 notes. This instrument is spread across the entire keyboard, with some interesting artifacts in the lower and higher extremes. Some interesting macro knob mappings make this an extremely versatile little virtual instrument!
Download it here: http://bit.ly/freesynth42
Background info:
My good friend Mike, singer/guitarist of NY rock band My Summer, has this cool percussive instrument that I believe is called a snake drum (at least that’s what it says on the bottom of it). Basically, it’s a hollow wooden box with little cuts in the wood. These cuts in the wood are struck with a mallet creating a musical tone. It’s a pretty simple idea that has probably been around for thousands of years and winds up sounding a lot like a marimba or wooden xylophone. It is severely limited in that it only has six notes, but it has a sound that transports you into some kind of ancient tribal ceremony. Mike asked me to show him how I go about building my own Ableton Live instruments, so we decided to sample this snake drum.
We mic’d it up with his brand new RE20 and went to town. The final instrument you hear is made up of all six tones layered on top of each other, which really thickens it out, and all of those layers really bring out the sound of the room we were in.
Once inside Ableton, I added some effects and controls that gave this instrument as much versatility as possible. The first two controls affect the FM Modulation. These allow you to seriously alter the timbre to all sorts of sonic extremes. Next I added a Redux, which at its most extreme setting, miraculously transforms this ancient instrument into something reminiscent of the the arcade in your average bowling alley in 1985. I’ve added reverb and a spread control for creating space and special effects. By playing with the pitch envelope macro knob, you can change the attack sound of the instrument from sounds similar to a steel drum all the way to bass drums and electronic disco tom toms. Finally, I placed a Ping-Pong Delay, set to repitch mode, for anyone who loves those warping stretch sounds of old analog delays.
Now because of the limited range of the original instrument, some interesting things start happening when you play the virtual instrument in the extreme high and low octaves. Drop down a few octaves and you have an incredibly heavy bass sound, similar to my Tuned 808 Ableton Pack, but with a certain organic character. Try playing around with the pitch envelop and you can achieve some awesome bass drum sounds. When you crank up to the highest octaves, these interesting insect like sounds start happening. I found some really far out sounds by simultaneously playing around with the FM Oscillator controls.
This is the real beauty of sound design. Such a simple instrument can be digitally mangled into something completely unrecognizable and out of this world. Mike and I spent sometime fooling around with the controls, and recorded the crazy noises we made and then resampled those into a drum rack. I’ve included this drum rack and called it “Snake Bites.” These are just some insane glitchy bits that were created with this instrument in a matter of minutes. You can see me play around with those in the video, as I trigger them with my Launchpad (which is painted red). Check out the video, all the sounds you hear are made with this instrument. I included the clips I created in the download so you can mess around with them for yourself.
The MatriX 1.0 for Ableton Live
Official Page: http://designthemedia.com/thematrix
This is a real-time sequencer machine for Ableton Live / Max for Live.
This sequencer is based on probabilities and double-triggering concept designed especially for this device.
Features
– based on probabilities
– double triggering
– from 1 to 32 steps
– sync to Ableton Live transport
– autonomous rate for each secondary triggers layer
– many helpers to generate easily and quickly MatriX presets
– gorgeous presets engine (32 slots available)
– 14 pages documentation
Sneak preview – The MatriX sequencer for Ableton Live
This is only the teaser of a coming new sequencer for Ableton Live & Max for Live.
It provides a totally new way to make sequences directly inside Ableton Live.
It is poly & iso rhytmic.
It can trigger anything responding to standard MIDI Notes.
Stay tuned to our channels:
http://designthemedia.com/newsletter
http://twitter.com/designthemedia
http://facebook.com/designthemedia
Ableton Tutorial – Producing Dummy Clips
In this Ableton Live Tutorial, we take a look at using Dummy Clips .
Dummy clips are essentially silent audio clips that contain automation for modulating the parameters of devices or the mixer inside Ableton Live. There are many ways to use Dummy Clips but in this tutorial we look at creating DJ style volume cuts and jamming in some ideas ready to record into the arrange page.
This Ableton Live tutorial is suitable for both production and performance.
Electronic fundamentals
Ableton Live Operator Tutorial: Techno Fundamentals Pt 1 – More Than A Bassline w/ John Selway
Read an article by John Selway and find out more here: http://bit.ly/qWWZjl
In the first installment of Techno Fundamentals, electronic musician and Dubspot Instructor John Selway explains and shows you how to create interesting, deep, and lush bass sounds with Ableton Live’s versatile software instrument Operator.
Ableton Live – QuNeo Speaks
First performance with QuNeo controlling sounds in Abelton Live. Pressure is mapped to repeat rate and X and Y control Filter and a Bit Crusher. Lotsa fun – we were fighting over who gets to go next.
Check out our KickStarter Page for more information: http://kck.st/taqBsn
QuNeo is a different species of pad controller for electronic musicians, DJs, VJs and DIY hackers. While it covers all of the functionality of other pad controllers, QuNeo adds the power of touch recognition in other dimensions.
Trigger Pads
16 square pads provide 127 levels of Velocity response. And X-Y location. And continuous pressure. For each pad. Times sixteen.
Rotary Sensors
2 rotary sensors allow you to scrub, trigger, stretch, pinch and play phrases and sound files, manipulate continuous controllers and more . Each rotary sensor measures angle, pressure and distance from the center.
Multi-touch Sliders
9 touch sensitive sliders can be mapped to fader and effects controls. LEDs within each slider act as VU meters or remind you where you were. Multi-touch lets you select a length between two fingers to set stereo locations or filter resonances. Tapping a slider can mute or toggle any track or function.
Switches
The switches are located in smart groupings to select samples, fader banks, and transport controls. Each of the switches can scan up and down through files at speeds variable with your touch. Great for quickly locating that perfect fill or telling your looper you really meant it.
AUTOPAN – Ableton Live, Audio Effect Tutorial
Ableton Autopan device – multiple ways you can use it in your music
Mark Mosher and AfroDJMac Zebra Attack Ableton Rack 2
Free Ableton Live Pack from AfroDJMac and Mark Mosher. u-He’s Zebra was programmed by Mark Mosher and the sampled waveform he created was used by AfroDJMac to build this Rad Ableton Live Device. Combined with some interesting effects and a layer of Ableton’s Operator, this instrument makes sounds from soft and gentle to fierce and violent!
Download the Instrument at: http://bit.ly/freesynth40
This week’s Free Ableton Live Rack is part two of my collaboration with sound designer and producer extraordinaire Mark Mosher. Using the same sample from the original Zebra Attack Rack, I’ve set this one up to be a bit less random and offer you more control over the different sounds. What permits the wavetable to be played as a melodic instrument is the very short loop of the sample. I’ve set up a control that allows you to alter the starting point of the sample, which lets you to severely alter the timbre and harmonic structure of the sample. There’s another macro knob that controls which portion of Mark’s wavetable you will be hearing. I’ve added a bit crusher, chorus and flanger, which can be added to taste. Finally I’ve stacked this synth with Ableton’s Operator. The device allows you to control the Operator’s waveform as well as volume. This will allow you to mix in another layer of sound until you achieve your desired sound. The resulting instrument is one that is dramatically different from the original Zebra Attack Rack, and is also one that can yield an extremely wide array of sounds. At one time soft and mellow and at other times, harsh and biting, I think you’ll find the Zebra Attack Rack II an exciting instrument to play with! Enjoy!
DATAMASKIN
