It’s time to explore some of the feature in Ableton that are hidden or less obvious. Even if you think you’ve got the hang of Ableton, you’ll find little hidden features that you wish you knew sooner.

A word of caution: there may be several smug people commenting that they already knew these features. Don’t feel put off, there are so many cool tricks and options in a DAW that it takes lots of time to learn it all.

EQ Eight allows selecting and dragging multiple bands

This may not be the most revolutionary in the list, but it is a great feature that isn’t immediately apparent. It is especially useful for finding creative EQ curves – simply make some odd shapes and drag the curve around until it sounds good on your audio.

It also works well for previewing certain EQ automations. Let’s say you are creating a build to a heavy drop, and you want the peaks and notches to sweep up the frequency range, you can preview such sweeps here, before you individually automate them.

SEE ALSO: Ableton 11 to be released soon. Here’s what’s new…

M/S EQing

Speaking of EQ Eight, it has a really cool M/S feature that you might not have tried yet. On the far right, you can select the drop-down mode and select M/S mode to further enhance the Mid/Side processing. It is great for brightening up the stereo width, while still keeping the centre stage tightly controlled

SEE ALSO: What’s the difference between Compressor and Glue Compressor

Warp multiple tracks at once

This is a key feature if you have multiple mics set up or different tracks for each drum.

You can actually warp multiple tracks simultaneously by highlighting them all before you go into the warp setting.

Cymatics have made a fantastic video guide to demonstrate this.

To get this to work you need to ensure all the clips are exactly the same length, but after that, you should be good to go.

Reverb has a quality mode that you NEED to use

This one is possibly the most obvious on the list, yet I regularly see and hear from people that never knew it was under their noses.

The Reverb stock plugin has a truly transformative control in its centre. If you look at the Quality drop-down box, you may find your Reverb plugin has been defaulted to Eco mode.

Switch this to a higher quality mode immediately and save that as the default preset.

The difference is truly insane, turning Reverb from a fairly disgusting effect into one that sounds much more up to scratch with a pro DAW.

SEE ALSO: Ableton EQ Eight, EQ Three, and Channel EQ – what’s the difference?

Utility has a M/S mode

Utility is one of those effects that just continues to be useful throughout the production stages.

While it has a pretty good width knob, it can be a bit problematic with certain sounds.

Enter Mid/Side (M/S) mode. By right-clicking on the Width knob, you can change to M/S mode and use Utility to select out just the middle sounds, or the sounds exclusively in the stereo field.

It can be great for isolating vocals which are set centre, or for further processing of your track.

One great trick with this is to make a group with a Mid chain and a Side chain (don’t confuse with sidechaining).

This allows you to split the signal into two parts (Mid and Side). You can then add a compressor onto each one to compress each individually and bring out the best of the centre and wide spaces of your track.

You can have multiple instruments on one track

Ableton’s instruments can seem like they fall short of other VST synths until you start to use the modular features of racks.

One of the best ways to get more out of your sound design is to chain multiple instruments on a rack.

The benefits of doing this are huge. For example, Operator can generate some killer sounds, but it also doesn’t have a dedicated sub oscillator, so if you want to have all four working oscillators together, you need to add another instrument as a sub.

This is easy to do, simply add it into a group and create a new chain to place whatever instrument you want for the sub.

You can also add samples in another chain to really spice up your sound design.

Quick-fade shortcut

You don’t need to spend ages manually dialling in fades with Ableton. There is a really useful shortcut to do that for you.

Simply highlight the clip for the length of the fade and hit Control + Alt + F (PC) or Command + Alt + F (Mac).

This point is also a reminder to brush up on all the best shortcuts for Ableton.

Groups in groups

If you’ve recently upgraded to Ableton Live 10, your previous workflow may never have allowed for grouping within groups. Now is the time to change that!

This feature, that has been standard in many other DAWs for years allows you to make additional subgroups for certain sounds.

For example, when I’m crafting drums, I have a main drum group and within that, groups for the kick layers, hats, and snares, each with their own processing.

So if you have upgraded to Ableton Live 10 from a previous version and aren’t yet using this feature, it may be time to brush up on all the other new things that you can use!

The beats mode when warping doubles as a transient shaper

One easy feature to miss when warping is the transient feature on the Beats mode. This mode allows you to shape the transient and gating effect of drums when warping them.

Make sure to set the loop mode to “off” before you get started here simply by selecting the arrow drop-down menu and making sure it is a single arrow pointing right.

After doing this, you can change the value next to it to to alter the transient nature of the drum samples.

This effect works with other sounds but the beats mode has its own quirks which may sound pretty rough on any non-drum instrument that has been time-stretched significantly.

Rank your effects and instruments

As a default, Ableton will list the effects and instruments by alphabetical order.

This can be useful when searching for an effect but there is another option that you may like better.

By selecting the drop-down at the top, you can change sorting to a variety of options.

Probably the best option for most will be rank, which sorts your effects based on how much you use them.

What did I miss? Add your cool tricks in the comments below!

The post Ableton features you didn’t know (that you probably should) appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

Ableton have release the upcoming release of Live 11, the latest edition of one of the most popular DAWs on the market today.

With much-needed features such as comping and the addition of several new devices, Live 11 is a welcome update for Ableton users.

Set for release in early 2021, new users can also get a 20% discount on Live 10, complete with a free upgrade to Live 11 when it releases. There really isn’t a better time to jump on the Ableton bus.

SEE ALSO: What’s the difference between Compressor and Glue Compressor

How much is Ableton Live 11?

Download versions of Ableton Live 11 will cost €79/$99 USD for Live Intro, €349 EUR/$449 USD for Live Standard and €599/$749 USD for Live Suite.

Existing Ableton users will be able to log into their account to see upgrade pricing.

Ableton Live 11 NEW FEATURES

Ableton have added a video highlighting the main updates to Live these include comping where you can record multiple takes in lanes – a much needed feature for vocalists and people recording live instruments.

It also includes MPE, which allows you to use your MPE controller and edit MPE data for better hardware integration.

One of the coolest new features will sit well with bands who use Ableton in their sets. Live 11 will be able to follow the tempo of the band and keep up allowing for tighter performances and better creativity options.

One of my favourite features is the ability to store the state of Macros, meaning you can have your own “preset folder” in the Macro itself. You can now also randomise Macro values.

A huge gripe I had with the Macros in Live 10 was the fact that you HAD to have eight of them in view, and you couldn’t have any more. Not in Live 11. With the update you can now configure your Macros to control between one and 16 parameters, simplifying the look if you only want a one-knob control.

For those looking to gain new creative inspiration, you can now set note probabilities, meaning they won’t necessarily play each time, opening you up to new ideas and variations. Velocity probability can also be set in a similar manner.

New sounds are another great reason to consider the upgrade. Ableton has partnered with Spitfire Audio to include a whole wealth of new audio samples in Live 11 – as well as updating existing packs.

New devices in Ableton Live 11

New Instruments in Ableton Live 11

Live 11 will include six new instruments developed by Dillon Bastan, which are inspired by natural and physical processes to generate unique and “playful” sounds.

I am particularly excited about the Tree Tone instrument and the absolutely gorgeous sounds it is making in the demo.

There are also more conventional sounds added: an Upright Piano, Brass Quartet, and String Quartet.

Conclusion

Ableton have added a lot of much-needed improvements to their already smooth-running DAW. These improvements will make producers’ lives easier and allow for more creative freedom.

The added instruments are a welcome inclusion, especially the Inspired By Nature series, which is a really cool idea – if not a bit obscure for some mainstream producers.

MIDI compositions will be a lot more interesting with the new note and velocity probability features, and the streamlined Macros will make mixing and producing even smoother than before.

We recommend the current upgrade offers if you can afford it and love the sound of the new features. If nothing tickles your fancy here though, the upgrade price may be a bit too steep to justify it.

The post Ableton 11 to be released soon. Here’s what’s new… appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

If you are looking at Ableton EQs, you will see three options – EQ Eight, EQ Three, and Channel EQ – each with their own character and function.

The question is, what are the Ableton EQs for and why did they create three different types of what is essentially the same effect?

Once you know the different ways to EQ, and which one you need for each scenario, then you will have a much better time while mixing and performing.

• READ MORE: What’s the difference between Compressor and Glue Compressor
• READ MORE: Ableton shortcuts guide – what are they and when to use?
• READ MORE: Pros and Cons of using Linux for music production

The low-down

Channel EQ – Replication of a console EQ
EQ Eight – Highly detailed EQ for studio work
EQ Three – Great three-channel EQ resembling a DJ mixer EQ

Read more for the full details…

What is Ableton’s Channel EQ

Starting with one of the lesser-discussed EQ, we have Channel EQ. This simple three-band effect is inspired by the EQs on classic mixing desks.

Because of its lower precision than EQ Eight, it is good for later-stage EQing, for example adding small tweaks on a drum bus or the master channel.

In addition to its three main controls, it also has an 80Hz high-pass filter to roll off the low-end rumble, and a Mid frequency control.

The Low control is tuned to 100Hz and is a low-shelf filter with an adaptive gain (+/-15dB) which changes the curve depending on how hard you push or cut the bass.

The Mid control is a +/-12dB bell filter which can be swept across frequencies from 120 Hz to 7.5 kHz using the Mid frequency control.

The High control actually combines two filters. When boosting, it controls the gain of a high shelf filter, up to 15 dB and the shelving filter is combined with a low-pass filter (20 kHz to 8 kHz) when the highs are turned down.

If you are building your own custom MIDI controller, this is perhaps the best of the Ableton EQs for mapping.

What is Ableton’s EQ Eight

EQ Eight can be seen as the main EQ for Ableton. It allows for the most control out of the three types and should be your go-to effect when mixing.

 It features up to eight parametric filters per input channel, with four enabled by default.

Each filter can be selected by checking the box next to the number, and the filter type can be selected via the dropdown.

Clicking the headphone button is a great way to solo a band and hear only the frequencies in that range. It is great for finding the nasty resonances and harsh frequencies so you know exactly where to cut.

The input signal can be processed using one of three modes: Stereo, L/R (left/right) and M/S (mid-side).

Stereo – The main setting, which applies the same curve on both channels.

L/R – Allows independent EQing on each of the left and right channels. The Edit switch indicates the active channel, and is used to toggle between the two curves.

M/S – Allows for Mid/Side processing allowing the EQ to modify the frequencies in the centre and stereo spread independently. The Edit switch indicates the active channel, and is used to toggle between the two curves.

The filter types for each band are:

• 48 or 12 dB/octave Low cut (best when applied to band 1)
• Low shelf
• Bell curve
• Notch
• High shelf
• 12 or 48 dB/octave High cut (best when applied to the last enabled band)

EQ Eight has a Q control for each of the bands which can be controlled via the dedicated knob or by holding Alt while dragging on the EQ curve.

The Adaptive Q control is a great tool to have enabled, it means that the Q increases proportionally to the boosting or cutting of a band meaning it mimics tradition console EQs and allows for a smoother frequency response.

Leave this enabled unless you know what you are doing.

The little arrow button at the top can be clicked to open up a larger version of the EQ view.

What is Ableton’s EQ Three

EQ Three is probably the simplest EQ to use and will be familliar to anyone that has used a DJ mixer.

It splits the sound into Lows, Mids, and Highs, and allows you to turn each band down to -infinity, meaning that it is entirely silent.

This is useful for DJs who may want to entirely remove the bass from a track being mixed in to stop two basslines clashing.

Each band can be turned off completely with the On/Off buttons.

The frequencies can be modified with the Freq Low and Freq High controls. The Low EQ control will cover all frequencies below FreqLow, while the High EQ control will cover all frequencies above the FreqHigh.

The Mid control therefore covers all frequencies in between.

One thing to note is that EQ Three uses crossovers that are not transparent, even when the knobs are at default. It is especially true when the EQ Three effect is set to 48dB Mode. This makes it OK for DJing, but not necessarily for studio work, use one of the other Ableton EQs for working on production.

Learn More

One of the best resources for learning more about Ableton is its manual. Definitely check it out for full details on all the effects.

The post Ableton EQ Eight, EQ Three, and Channel EQ – what’s the difference? appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

Reverse fades are an important tool for producers to create natural-sounding effects in their songs.

They are very simple to do in practice, simply reverse a clip and record the reverb tail, then reverse it again.

It is great for introducing vocals to a track, by having the sound rise up into the first word.

One of the biggest benefits to creating your own fades over using stock risers is that they are totally in key with your sound.

Because it uses a sample of the incoming audio, it has a familiar tonal quality and doesn’t clash.

Check out the example below for an idea of how it can sound:

When to use?

Reverse fades are great for introducing vocals at the start of verses or choruses. They are generally used as an intro tool for bringing a new sound, but can also be used as custom risers for building up to a drop.

If you use short reverbs, it can be a useful effect for drums, eg, before a significant snare clap.

It can be employed both with subtlety and at the forefront of the track.

How to make a reverse fade

The process is the same for whatever instrument you choose to do it on. I will demonstrate on vocals because they tend to have the best effect, but it works great on drums and other sounds.

The post What are reverse fades and when to use them? appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

Here I will be showing you the most important shortcuts in Ableton and what they do.

No matter what your profession is, shortcuts will speed up your workflow and make you more efficient.

One of the key benefits is time saving which not only speeds up your productions, but also means you are less likely to forget an idea as you try to find the right menu option.

The following list are my top shortcuts which I use in every project. I will also explain their benefit and why you should use them

Finer resolution

One of the most annoying thing in any DAW or software with controllable values is the resolution of control.

Ever tried turning a knob or fader trying to get the exact value but it just won’t get to the right number?

Well in Ableton you can increase the resolution of control.

Holding shift while you change a value is great because it means the mouse movement makes smaller value changes.

This works on many things across Ableton, from volume faders to synth controls. It also works on envelopes.

Continue Play from Stop Point

This really shouldn’t be a thing in my opinion. In every other piece of software I use, from DAWs, to video editors, to YouTube, hitting spacebar stops playback at the playhead, then hitting it again continues from where you have left off.

But in Ableton if you pause and hit spacebar to resume, it will resume from the original start point and not where the pause left off.

To just un-pause, you’ll need the shortcut above. It’s a hassle and I wish it was built in that way from the start, but changing now will be at the detriment of long-time Ableton users.

Record

For a quick way to get recording, hit F9. This one doesn’t need much explaining, and it may not be the biggest time-saver, but if you like to do everything from keyboard, it is a good one to know, since you’ll no doubt be recording multiple times per session.

Halve/Double Loop Length

This is one I use a lot for chopping up parts and samples. It is a convenient way to do it and saves fiddling with the mouse to get exactly half/double the length.

One thing to make sure of is that the clip is the exact length to start with. I sometimes have trouble when chopping recorded MIDI clips that may be a half beat too long. This can affect the command.

Rename

This is important as your project grows to keep tab of track names and clips. I recommend you name all your tracks and any clips that are key (e.g naming and numbering fills).

You might not know this, but you can use the emoji keyboard (Windows key & . ) to add emojis to the track names as well. There are emojis for lots of instruments so you can keep your tracks minimised on the side and still see what they are.

Split Clip at Selection

There are many reasons why you may want to split a clip, whether you are cutting out a beat for sampling, or trimming a sample, this is a shortcut, you will use on the daily.

It is also effective on highlighted sections of a clip, where if you use it, it will chop on both sides and not just on the cursor.

Optimise Arrangement Height

As you edit, you will zoom in and out on different areas. Using this shortcut, it will optimise the view to fit everything in better.

Optimise Arrangement Width

Like above, but for width.

Reverse Audio Clip Selection

Depending on your production style, you may not be a frequent user of the clip reverse function. This is actually really useful for reverse fades and chopping samples.

If you are a fan of The Prodigy, you will probably like this feature, as their sampling style used a lot of chops and reverses.

It is also good for converting kicks into rising rumbles and hiding satanic messages in your music.

Insert Audio Track

Simple enough, and needs no explanation, this shortcut adds a new track.

Insert MIDI Track

As above but for MIDI tracks.

The post Ableton shortcuts guide – what are they and when to use? appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

Before you get the wrong impression here, Ableton is my joint-main DAW alongside Reaper. I love it to bits and it is an essential tool in my workflow … but does that make it perfect? No.

I thought I’d dive into a few of the things which drive me mad about it, in the hope that they are resolved or people offer solutions.

It is worth stating that all of these gripes I have should not put you off buying Ableton.

Pretty much all of the issues listed below are presumably the result of the developers making Ableton accessible and easy to use out of the box without need for customisation. But sometimes the KISS rule and choice to make things accessible to the lowest common denominator means that more advanced options are ruled out … here’s what I mean.

Lack of customisation

Coming from a DAW where I was spoilt for choice (I adopted Ableton Live after years of experience with Reaper), the complete lack of customisation was a bit of a shock to me.

Reaper is very much a DAW where you can go (really should go) deep into the customisation of its interface and settings. This is true to the point that you can code your own additional features in Reaper and go deeper than any of my skills allow.

In Ableton Live, you have your keyboard shortcuts set for you and that’s it, no way to adapt it to your workflow, you get what you are given. There is no way to make custom actions (or macros if you can handle the multiple meanings) like you can in Reaper.

READ MORE: How to use Reaper’s Custom Actions

This is why I never fully moved from Reaper to Ableton, and I still use Reaper for editing jobs which require lots of routine edits. Ableton suits me fine for making music, but if I’m editing a podcast or speech package, I really don’t want to be repeating the same five keyboard shortcuts for each change – that can easily be something chained to a single button shortcut.

To put into perspective how powerful this is, I have created a one button action in Reaper that splits a podcast of any length into slices at pauses, deletes silences over a certain length, and brings it all together.

To see some of the potential this could bring to Ableton, check out these useful actions that I miss when using Ableton.

Volume Automation is a nightmare

In Ableton Live, I really hate automating volumes. It is the worst DAW that I have ever worked with for this task and here’s why.

If you automate the normal volume fader and have it set (let’s say with Vocal Track verses 5dB quieter than in the chorus) then want to bring the whole track up by a few dB but keep the automation proportional, it ruins everything.

To get around this, you need to add a Utility plugin and automate that volume instead.

This is stupid and a waste of time. Sure it’s a small workflow change compared to other DAWs, but it is really jarring to the process.

Why is spacebar not the pause button?

Seriously? In every other piece of software I use, from DAWs, to video editors, to YouTube, hitting spacebar stops playback at the playhead, then hitting it again continues from where you have left off.

In Ableton, it takes you right back to the start. To unpause and play from where you left off, you hit Shift+Space.

This would not be an issue for Ableton if it has customisable shortcuts but it doesn’t.

For people used to using Ableton and Ableton only, it’s perhaps not a big gripe, but considering most people in the industry use various creative content editing software (as well as YouTube and other video players), you’d think they’d stick to the trend.

The only place this design choice makes sense is in triggering clips for live performances. If you are in session view then I can accept it. But arrangement mode is just not the place for a de-streamlined shortcut scheme.

Frozen tracks are frozen and you can’t do anything about it

This is a gripe that I’ve not had to worry about since getting a PC that can handle projects without freezing tracks – but for many, freezing a track is essential.

It renders the audio and effects so it doesn’t have to process all the plugins in real time, and saves CPU resources.

Problem is, you can’t add any effects to the frozen track unless you flatten it or unfreeze it.

This is a problem because you might want to make a small tweak to a frozen track but are limited to system resources. If you flatten it, you can’t go back and edit MIDI notes or other previous effect settings.

Why can’t Ableton allow you to add an effect on a frozen track, and should you wish to unfreeze it, simply add that effect on the end of the chain?

You can’t customise waveforms

In many DAWs, there are ways to set the waveforms to show frequencies with colour.

This is one of the most essential tricks for fast editing. I use it extensively in Reaper when editing audio to the point where I can find problems without even listening to the audio.

If the waveform is coloured based on its most prominent frequencies, you can rapidly identify kick drums or hi-hats, find nasty mic pops in vocals, and have a better idea of where you want your edit to be just by looking.

This feature is not a replacement for listening to the track but it is a significant convenience that should be afforded to the users of the software.

Conclusion

I really love Ableton, and making music in Ableton is much faster and streamlined than making it in Reaper and other DAWs I’ve worked with. The interface is shallower than a lot of others which, for better or for worse, makes the process a lot more simple for everyday users.

It doesn’t stop me from thinking Ableton is the best DAW for electronic music, but when you work on more than just in-computer music such as live bands/artists or podcasts, it has these really annoying quirks that mean it has never become my exclusive DAW of choice.

Let me know what your biggest gripes are, and more importantly, if you know of any solutions to my melodramatic complaints, I’d love to hear them!

The post Five things I HATE about Ableton Live appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

ONE of the most important things to consider when sampling sounds and tightening the feel of your track is ensuring that timings are correct.

In this regard, Ableton has one of the best solutions of any DAW: Grooves.

You are able to take a sample and extract a groove from it, this involves the computer calculating the volumes and accents as well as the swing and feel of the sample.

In many live instrument performances, the beats and notes aren’t exactly quantised. Particularly in swung genres, they are ever so slightly delayed or rushed allowing for a groovy feel.

In a lot of electronic music, everything is tightly quantised, and dare I say it, boring. You can really spice up the feel of a dance track by adding grooves and swing to the sounds to really make it stand out.

Future house is a genre that works as a great example for this, whether you like it or not, the feel of it is especially funky.

• READ MORE: How to Build a VST: Compressor
• READ MORE: Can You DJ with a Raspberry Pi?
• READ MORE: Ableton: What is the difference between Dynamic Tube and Overdrive?

Likewise, if you are using a sample with a swung groove and then program in straight, quantised sounds over the top, it will feel like they aren’t playing with each other and suck away the impression that the sounds are working together.

To solve this, you want to extract the groove from the sound you want and apply it to the other main instruments. One key thing here is choosing a feel and sticking with it across your sounds. I have experimented with combining various grooves over each other and it can lead to happy accidents, or more often than not, messy timings.

It is especially important to make sure kick drum tracks (or any featuring the kick) and basslines are quantised to the same groove.

So let’s get started.

Extracting grooves from samples/recordings

The main other way I use grooves is from Ableton’s library of grooves. Many are available in Ableton’s core library under the folder Swing and Groove.

To apply them to sounds, you can just drag and drop them into the timeline onto individual samples or apply it to the whole master track.

For a full overview, there is no better resource than Ableton’s manual … here’s the section on using grooves.

The post Using grooves in Ableton to tighten your mix appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

You may be wondering what the difference is between Dynamic Tube and Overdrive in Ableton, which one works best? What is each for?

Let’s look at the differences to see why these two similar effects are packaged so differently.

The Dynamic Tube effect is a model of tube saturation. This is a very particular sound that was used in old-school amplifiers. Tubes give a really warm effect on the signal. They also respond to dynamics in a smooth way.

In the effect, an “integrated envelope follower” generates dynamic tonal variations related to the level of the input signal.

It offers three modes, A, B, and C, with each modelling a specific type of tube amplification. The Ableton reference manual describes these modes as follows:

Tube A does not produce distortions if Bias is set low, but will kick in whenever the input signal exceeds a certain threshold, creating bright harmonics. Tube C is a very poor tube amp that produces distortions all the time. The qualities of Tube B lie somewhere between these two extremes.

Overdrive, on the other hand, is a model of classic overdrive guitar pedals. It is designed to be driven hard without losing dynamics and so is a great effect for driving percussive or transient sounds such as drums or punchy bass.

It offers less smoothness compared to Dynamic Tube, instead offering more grit and bite to the sound. It also works as an always-on effect with Ableton saying: “Note that 0% [on the drive control] does not mean zero distortion!”

A key feature is the dynamics control, which Ableton describes:

The Dynamics slider allows you to adjust how much compression is applied as the distortion is increased. At low settings, higher distortion amounts result in an increase in internal compression and make-up gain. At higher settings, less compression is applied.

So, which one to use? In my experience, the Dynamic Tube offers a great way to lightly saturate low frequencies and add some warmth. It works really well on the sub-bass and also in low amounts, can glue together a mix.

I have found Dynamic Tube excels best if you don’t push it too hard, in fact, barely audible tweaks are especially useful with this effect. It is a subtlety that Overdrive does not offer.

SEE ALSO: What’s the difference between Compressor and Glue Compressor

To distort heavy synths, my go-to would be Overdrive. This is because it allows much more range and grit, and can be pushed harder.

Having said that, I’m not overly keen on using Overdrive for guitars, it works fine, but it does not match up to dedicated guitar effects. If I am using a guitar track, I will always default to the sounds in Native Instruments Guitar Rig.

But for synths and sound effects, Overdrive works great.

The post Ableton: What is the difference between Dynamic Tube and Overdrive? appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

GETTING a track started in Ableton can be tricky when there are so many possibilities for crafting your sounds.

One of the main pitfalls of getting into a project is losing inspiration as you spend a half-hour on tweaking a setting to get it just right. This guide will offer some ideas to try from the beginning of a project to streamline the ideas stage of music production and help you get your ideas on paper (or in DAW).

Sort out your sends and returns

ONE of the key things that will define your song’s sound is the space it is in. I’m not a huge fan of Ableton’s reverb so the first thing I do is set the return track plugins to something better.

For this, I replace the stock reverb with my go-to plugin – Native Instruments RC48. This is a great reverb plugin with easy controls and presets to get you started quickly.

It’s important to remember that you set the plugin (whatever on you use) to 100% wet because any dry signal will mess with the track volumes. The return track should be exclusively the reverberations.

I also set up my delay effect (100% wet again) on the dedicated delay return track. This gives me another decision as to whether I stick with the stock one or use a different effect. I normally stick to Ableton’s stock delay for the main dealy return track, but sometimes add a third return track with a more creative delay effect for builds and transitions.

• READ MORE: Five features in Serum beginners don’t know about
• READ MORE: The difference between Compressor and Glue Compressor?

Add a Utility to each track

A REALLY great trick here is to add a utility to every track so you can control the signal level going into track effects. Set Ableton up so that every new track has a Utility on it by getting your desired default plugins and right-clicking on the track header. From there, select Save as Default Audio Track, and now you have those effects added automatically every time you make a new track.

Don’t go overboard with this as adding tonnes of plugins will just add load to your CPU. When I first started I had Spectrum and Tuner on every track as default but it is unnecessary and I don’t actually use them enough for the added load.

Dedicate a track to samples

HAVE a track at the bottom reserved for samples if you use them. This should be a clean track that has no effects. In here, you can add all the different sounds you want to chop and combine for the rest of your project.

You can mute out the track normally for when you are working on the song, but then also solo it to hear only the samples that you are working on.

Pick five or six instruments early

THERE is nothing worse than having a great idea vanish as you try and find the perfect synth patch for it.

Start your projects with a few instruments already decided that you feel will reflect the direction you want to go.

They should include your main components e.g. bass and synth leads so when that idea arises, you can jam it out and record it immediately.

Once you have an idea recorded, you can then move on to deciding the nitty-gritty of how the instrument should sound.

Bad at music theory? Add the key signature to the project name

THIS is an important one. If you struggle to remember what key signature your track is in (perhaps you never finished it and re-opened it months later) then adding the key signature to the project name is an easy way to find out.

There is nothing worse than having to write down all the notes you’ve used and comparing them to a chart to figure out the key, so this is well worthwhile.

Add notes to clips

SOMETIMES you don’t have to do all the work at once. When you are in the creative flow, the best thing to do is to get ideas down fast and perfect them later.

This is where one of Ableton’s most useful features comes in handy. Editing info text allows you to quickly write down ideas for a clip so you can work on it at a future moment.

I like to use this on both clips and whole tracks. You can right-click on a track’s tab and add notes as well.

There is also a better option if you get frustrated with Ableton’s info text. This Maxforlive notepad plugin can be downloaded and dragged onto a track.

If you like, you can make it one of the default track plugins in the same way that I mentioned above.

The post Top things to do at the start of every Ableton project appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

ABLETON offers two brilliant compressor effects, Compressor and Glue Compressor, they are both used extensively and look quite different, but what is the difference in their sound?

In brief

Compressor is the default compression plugin in Live 10, it offers a wide range of control and will suit most needs.

Glue Compressor is an emulated classic compressor with a particular focus on “glueing ” the mix together. It has a more limited control set, but is more unique in sound output.

Compressor

Compressor is Ableton’s default compression plugin featuring all of the main controls seen on rival models.

It is used to control the dynamic range of sounds by turning down the loudest parts so the signal has more room to be turned up without the peaks clipping.

Compressor is a very versatile effect which can be used both on individual tracks and as mix bus compression. It is quite transparent and offers advanced sidechain options.

Glue Compressor

Glue Compressor arose from Ableton’s partnership with Cytomic to create an updated version of the ‘The Glue’ compressor plug-in for Live 9.

Glue compressor is an analogue SSL bus compression emulator and is based on the classic bus compressor from a famous 80’s mixing console.

It works to tighten up instruments or to glue elements together in a mix, as opposed to compressing individual tracks – not that you can’t use it for that purpose!

The Threshold knob sets where compression begins. Signals above the threshold are attenuated by an amount specified by the Ratio parameter, which sets the ratio between the input and output signal. Unlike the Compressor, the Glue Compressor does not have a user-adjustable knee. Instead, the knee becomes more sharp as the ratio increases.

Ableton Live 10 manual

One of the reasons it is so good for mix busses is the timing settings. The Glue compressor allows a wide range of dynamic sounds to pass through it “gently” so as not to dampen out the crucial dynamics for a good mix.

The Glue Compressor’s Auto Release actually uses two times – a slow one as a base compression value, and a fast one to react to transients in the signal. Auto Release may be too slow to react to sudden changes in level, but generally is a useful way to tame a wide range of material in a gentle way.

Ableton Live 10 manual

The post What’s the difference between Compressor and Glue Compressor appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

EQ is perhaps the most important effect available. It allows you to make small or large fixes to the frequencies in music and can be an essential tool in cleaning up a mix. For this reason, it is important to have a good grasp of what can go right and wrong, and a few of the more advanced tricks. This guide offers some really cool tips and tricks for you to try immediately to improve your EQ technique.

Always start with a high-pass

It sounds extra picky, and yes, people do keep saying it, but it is true. If you have a bunch of sounds and instrument recording, you can free up a lot of headroom from the low end. 

Try a little experiment. Download a free mixing practice song (this site has hundreds of great options) and check the meter before you start mixing. 

Take note of the loudest peak value. Now add an EQ to every track and high-pass at 20Hz. Below this frequency is sounds we can’t hear.

You may find that when referencing the meters after adding all the high-passes, that there are a good few dB of headroom extra to play with. 

Take note of the options, you have shelf and low-cut options and can determine the steepness in many EQ plugins. Some work better than others. Test for each instrument and you might find that different sounds have different needs.

Start low, work high

Following on from the previous point, this can be a great trick for extensive tidying of a sound. If you are looking for a quick fix of a single frequency, then feel free to skip this step. 

Because the lower frequencies have more weight to them and can take up more headroom, you should tidy them up first. Once you have cut all the extreme lows out, it is a good idea to deal with the mix-killing mud. 

Muddy frequencies are normally around 200-250Hz, but can be lower depending on the particular instrument. 

These frequencies really add up across multiple instruments and clog up the mix with a low-frequency sludge. 

Once you have these fixed, you will have a much cleaner sound. A lot of beginners will hear a muddy take and try and fix it by boosting the highs. If they just narrowed down on the exact problem frequencies, they can have a much more precise fix that doesn’t take up more headroom.

Remember the context

What’s your process with EQing? I bet you select the track, solo it to isolate the sound, then try and fix what is wrong. 

It turns out you might need a workflow fix yourself! One mistake I always made (and often keep making) is to forget the context of a track in the song. 

What I mean by this is that you are mixing a small ingredient of a song to the other ingredients. 

If you solo a track, yes, it is easier to hear the problems. You must realise that you are missing the interactions with the other sounds. Making a track sound perfect when solo’ed is dangerous – some tracks aren’t mean to sound perfect by themselves. 

Think about a rhythm guitar in a track with lots of instruments. You might want to cut a lot of the muddy frequencies out, add a lot of bite for it to cut through, and scoop out some of the mids to make room for the vocalist.

This might actually sound pretty rubbish in isolation, but along with the other elements, it sounds right. 

Don't ignore the power of M/S

Mid-Side (M/S) processing is a really cool feature available on many pro EQ plugins. What it does is divide the sound up into two channels, one which has the middle sounds (in the stereo field) and one with the side frequencies.

It works by looking at what sounds are present in both left and right channels and what sounds are distinct in each channel and instead of processing on an L/R basis, it converts it to M/S. 

The reason we like M/S processing is that it can really enhance the spread of sounds. 

You can have the weight of a sound punching down the middle while the shimmery highs are boosted on the side frequencies. 

It is also a great way to tweak a mixed track. Let’s say you have a nice vocal in the centre and backing vocals panned left and right, you might want to touch up the backing vocals a little bit, or add a bit of warmth to the main vocal. 

Mid/Side processing can allow you to do this (though not perfectly). 

 

Chain position

EQ or Compressor first? Distortion before or after EQ? These are important questions and yes, it does make a difference. 

The easiest way to think about it is that EQ is generally a “fixing” plugin, while effects like reverb or distortion add new characteristics.

There is good reason to have an EQ before an effect: you want the sound to enter that process sounding good, because fixing it afterwards can be difficult. 

Distortions are especially vulnerable to too many low frequencies and so an EQ beforehand can really clean the sound up. 

That said, however, EQs can also be important after the fact. You might want to bring out a character of the distortion or remove some resonances that are highlighted by a reverb effect. 

In this case, you might want to add an EQ after the effect. 

Of course, in some cases, you might simply need to have an EQ before and after the effects chain, but don’t go overboard and place an EQ every other effect as this will just make mixing too complicated.

Automate your EQ

If you want an easy riser in dance music, or want a subtle way to raise the energy, why not automate your EQ. 

Try adding a small boost in the mids, and as the energy rises, automate it to sweep up the frequency range, leading up to the chorus or the drop. 

Perhaps you want to remove the lows to thin out the sounds before a bass heavy drop, just automate it. 

You may even find that at one point your singer gets too close to the mic and the proximity effect kicks in too much. Just automate the fix to that specific section. 

 

The post EQ Tips and Tricks appeared first on Audio Ordeal.