SQ-80 Rack for Ableton Live
This Ableton Live rack was created using samples from a SQ-80 synthesizer on the “Hush” preset. The samples are courtesy of Tom from http://www.waveformless.blogspot.com Please check out his site for lots of great information about electronic music and a weekly sample pack download.
Download the Instrument Rack @ http://bit.ly/freesynth26
Today is an exciting day for me, it marks six months of releasing these Ableton Live Racks for your downloading pleasure. I want to thank you for your support and kind words, it means a lot to me and has made this a truly exciting project to work on.
A big reason I do this is to meet new people and share ideas and music with people I would otherwise have no way of reaching; I thought that this 26th Ableton Rack should reflect that.
One great soldier of information in the electronic music community is Tom who writes the blog Waveformless. The motto of the site is a “Freeform discussion of electronic music and the techniques and gear used in making it.” I highly recommend checking it out and exploring the vast information from synthesizer news to free sample Fridays. This weeks Free Ableton Live Rack was created using some of Tom’s free samples. Thanks to Tom for sharing these samples and letting me rack them up for everybody’s enjoyment!
I’m not going to pretend I know anything about the SQ-80, I’ve never touched one in my life, but therein lies the beauty of the internet. Tom supplied us with a bunch of samples from the “Hush” preset, as well as a sample of the synth powering down. From there I have merely thrown the samples into Live’s Sampler and mapped out some choice macro knobs. The result is something that I hope you will find useful. (If nothing else, play around with the notes on the extreme high end of the keyboard. That’s where the samples of the SQ-80 being powered down are, and the sounds I am most excited to use in my own productions. Great call on adding that sample, Tom!)
Free Ableton Live Rack – Glitched Piano
Download the AfroDJMac Glitched Piano Rack @ http://bit.ly/freesynth25
This Ableton Live Rack was created by sampling my piano with the Singing Fingers iPad app and then sampling that into Ableton Live. The result is a glitchy piano pad type sound. Enjoy!
I’ve been experimenting with various apps on the iPad, and one of my favorite ones is a sampling app called Singing Fingers. This app records sound as you draw on the iPad with your finger. You then play the sounds back by tracing over what you have drawn. The sound changes depending on how fast and which direct you move your finger. It’s very easy to use, creates interesting sounds, and is fun. So, I decided to record some notes from my piano (the same piano from my reverse piano rack) into the app, and then I sampled the result into Ableton. By nature, the app has a granular-glitch type sound to it, and this is pretty evident in the sound of the rack I have created, “AfroDJMac’s Glitched Piano.” Have fun with it!
Click to Download the AfroDJMac Glitched Piano
Glitch Out in Ableton Live
Glitch up your sounds in Ableton and resample them to create new sounds. AfroDJMac shows you how to use his glitch effects rack to create interesting glitchy sounds for use in your tracks. This video discusses sampling/resampling, slice to midi track, glitch effects, and even how to get your Novation LaunchPad to light up when you use it to trigger drum rack samples.
Download the Live Set which includes the glitch effects racks, the slice to midi preset, a track you can use to get your LaunchPad lighting up, and a free song by AfroDJMac and SuperKid @ http://bit.ly/freesynth24
Ableton Live Super Glitch Machine
Free Weekly Ableton Live Rack #23: Super Glitch Machine (Part 1). This week AfroDJMac brings you not one, not two, but three Ableton Effect Racks, all designed to mangle, twist, and mutilate your audio. Get your Glitch on people!
Download @ http://bit.ly/freesynth23
Greetings boys and girls, this week I have part one of a two part series on creating glitchy music. As fun as it is to create things, there’s a whole other sense of satisfaction in destroying them. For your downloading pleasure, I’ve constructed three different Ableton Live Effect Racks that are designed to mutilate, mangle, destroy, and crush your tracks up. I built up groups of effects that will take your sounds and twist them into oblivion so that you wind up with something totally new and down right nasty. These are great for individual tracks or entire mixes, experiment with them and take the music you have worked so hard to create and destroy it to your hearts content! Follow the destruction in the video below. Next week in part two, we will take these very racks and go through the steps to take just about any sound and mangle it into a large group of glitchy noises that can then be reused again and again.
AfroDJMac delivers his weekly Live rack called “NuWave Oven Synth”
Not only does the NuWave Oven make delicious meals, it also makes tasty sounds. This weeks Ableton Live Rack is made from a sample of the electronic beep that my NuWave Oven makes. Enjoy and Spread the Word!
Download it @ : http://bit.ly/freesynth22
Background info:
You’re staying up late, way past your bed time, flipping through the channels, watching reruns of “Hey Vern, It’s Ernest.” All of the sudden you find yourself seriously lusting after this “Nu” appliance that will cut your cooking time in half, tastes better than the microwave, reduces the fat content of your Salisbury Steak, and as it turns out, makes for a pretty cool sounding synthesizer.
This weeks free Ableton Live Rack was created by sampling the tiny electronic beep from the info-mercial sensation, NuWave Oven. It’s not an uncommon electronic beep, it sounds like a stop watch, but when dropped into a sampler it becomes a haunting, ghostly pad or an atmospheric and organic electric keyboard. It has quite a bit of character on its own, and I have added some tasteful effects and modulations, as well as introduce some AM Modulation to bring out some nice harmonics. For such a short sample, under one second, this instrument has quite a bit of life. Enjoy it and spread the word 
Free Synth Work Station and FX for Ableton
AfroDJMac here, bringing you another Free Ableton Live Rack. This one is an entire Live Set that I use to play virtual synthesizers live. In the video, I explain how I have set up 7 different synths (all included in download) as well as my OP-1 by Teenage Engineering for live performances. The synths are routed through a multi effects rack, which I control with an Akai MPK49 and Keith McMillen SoftStep. Everything is explained and can be customized to your own personal set up. Designed to be extremely versatile and change quickly from an extremely wide array of sounds. Enjoy!
Background info:
Last fall, I got a call from my friend Chris P Cauley asking if I could fill in on the bass guitar for his band, The Chris P Cauley Collective, at a gig at the Patchogue Theatre here on Long Island. We managed to squeeze in a rehearsal and the show went well. Later that night he asked me if I wanted to set up my computer and play some synthesizers in his band. It definitely took me by surprise because I’ve never played synths in a band, and to this day, don’t play the keyboard well enough to ethically call myself a keyboard player! But, I excepted the challenge and have been doing it since. My set up has evolved like crazy, equipment has been changed and added, settings have been tweaked for weeks to only be thrown out in favor of some other crazy idea. Even as recent as last night things have been changing. But right now I have figured something out that works well for me and the role I am trying to fill in Chris’ music…
For this weeks Free Ableton Live Rack, I am sharing my CPC set and going through the details of how I use it. I am always amazed at how many different ways people use Live, but I haven’t really seen too much information online about how to use Ableton simply as a synth workstation (trust me I looked!). So, I guess this one is most appropriately handled in a video walkthrough and your own experimentation. In the video I discuss routing inside Live, “Dummy” tracks, setting up midi controllers, building effect racks, sending multiple synths through the same effects, morphing synths, using external synths (my beloved Teenage Engineerings OP-1)… So, download the Live Set and use it to play live, load your own sounds, or the effects rack that is inside.
Free Weekly Ableton Live Rack – Guitar Harmonics Synth
The ever so persistent AfroDJMac is yet again here with a new rack for Live:
Using my Fender Mustang electric guitar, I sampled all the harmonics on each string at the 5th, 7th, and 12th frets. From there I brought it into Ableton Live and created a pretty cool sounding instrument. Enjoy!
Download it here: http://bit.ly/freesynth20
I’m very excited to be bringing you the 20th Free Weekly Ableton Live Rack: “The AfroDJMac Guitar Harmonics Synth.” It’s been really great bringing you these racks every week, and today is a special one, not just because #20 is something of a milestone, but also because it happens to be my birthday
So, I’m currently enjoying a visit from my family, including a surprise visit by my two little nephews. The eldest one, Sam, is five and when he got to my house and saw some of my musical instruments, he told me he was “really good at music.” So I took him into the basement studio and after he banged out a beat on the drums, I gave him my Fender Mustang. It was a lot of fun seeing the sense of discovery and innocence in his eyes as he banged away on the guitar, unaware that his left hand not only had to touch the stings, but also press them down on the fretboard. By just placing his hands over the strings, he was actually producing some nice harmonics for a few seconds, and that inspired me to create this rack. (If you are not sure what I mean by “Guitar Harmonics” check out this link).
This weeks rack was created by sampling the harmonics produced by each string at the 5th, 7th, and 12th fret. The instrument comes set up with a macro knob that allows you to switch between the different samples, each of which has its own unique character. This allows for some cool effects, such as holding the sustain pedal and changing the sample while you play, which creates an interesting morphing timbre. There’s a macro knob that reverses the samples, creating a swelling, somewhat glitchy sound, not unlike those from some of my favorite psychedelic Beatles tracks (or my 3rd Ableton Live Rack: Reversed Piano”). I’ve also been experimenting with the Grain Delay plug-in more and more these days, and there are some macro knobs to control that effect. Check it out and have fun! PS. If you are not a Live user, you can still use the samples included in the download.
Free Ableton Live rack based on Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”
Free Ableton Live synth made with a sample of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” and the infamous Big C. These sounds are mushed together and garnished with some Ableton effects, to create this deliciously dreamy synth. [The drum sounds in the video are courtesy of Francis Preve (download them here: http://francispreve.blogspot.com ) ]
Below the hunk in action 
Download it here: http://bit.ly/freesynth19
More info:
For the 19th installment of my free Ableton Live Rack series, I bring you a synth based off of a quick sample of the slide guitar from the Chris Isaak song “Wicked Game.” Man, I love that song It’s been getting some attention recently, thanks to some cool covers that are circulating, including this one from Washed Out. Anyway, I took that sample and mixed it with a sample of the infamous and notorious Big C, and mushed them together with some fun effects to bring you this weeks free synth. Enjoy! (PS in the video I use a drum kit created by Francis Preve, using a Mattel Synsonics. Download it here).
New inspiring free Ableton Rack based on Melodica samples
Here is this week’s free Ableton rack: Ableton Live Rack I created with samples of my Melodica. It’s a great little instrument that I have just begun using in my live performances and made a lot of use of on my Forest Far Album years ago( http://afrodjmac.com/music/ ).
Download it here: http://bit.ly/freesynth18
For many years, my melodica has served me well. It’s easy to play and has, in my opinion, a warm friendly charm. I made a lot of use of it on my Forest Far album, and recently I began using it in my live performances, running it through my Vocal Effect Rack and mangling it to my hearts desire. This week I share it with you in the form of a free Ableton Live Rack / Sample Pack. I’ve racked it up with some useful effects, Morphing Filter with LFO, Vibrato, Grain Delay, Bit Crusher, and Vocoder. It does everything from the traditional Melodica sound to the bizarre and unexpected. Enjoy and Spread the word
Free Ableton Rack – FirecRACKer Rack
So here is this week’s free Ableton live rack featuring the sounds of the 4th of July:
This weeks free Ableton download was made entirely with a recording of fireworks from the 4th of July on Long Island, NY. I put the sample into a granulator synth in Max for Live, and then sampled that with Sampler (and Simpler!) in Ableton. There’s a nice textured pad/keys sound, as well as a dangerously ferocious bass sound. I tried to get something fierce a few weeks ago with the Fender Feedback Rack ( http://bit.ly/freesynth15 ) but the results were unexpectedly (yet pleasingly) mellow and smooth. This time it’s different, this bass sound is ruthless if you ask me.
Download it here: http://bit.ly/freesynth17
Fireworks light up the sky with beautiful colors and patterns for the eyes. But can they do the same for the ears? We are about to find out… This weeks Free Ableton Live Rack, “The AfroDJMac FirecRACKer Synth, “ was made entirely from the sounds of the fireworks screaming through the sky over Long Island, New York on July 4, 2011.
I recorded the sound of neighborhood firecrackers and brought them into The Granulator, a free granulating synthesizer that comes with Max for Live. (I haven’t spent a lot of time with this, but it seems pretty awesome). After messing about, I was able to get some nice grainy sounds and then sampled that sound and brought it into Ableton’s samplers. The result is a nice, textural pad/keyboard sound, as well as a thunderously dirty and fat bass sound. A couple weeks ago I thought I was going to develop a rather ferocious synth using guitar feedback (Free Ableton Synth #15: Fender Feedback Rack), but the results were unexpectedly mellow and smooth. This week is much different. I put this synth together to offer the naturally rich timbre that the fireworks created, but also to give you about as ferocious a sound as I could, given the source material. It seems appropriate to me that a firework, which is essentially an explosive device, should deliver a fierce earth shaking bass. Next time you play one of your tracks for your friends you can nonchalantly brag “that bass was created with explosives.”
DATAMASKIN
