This mix was put together for my friends as a part of their podcast on abrooklynlife.com way back on (Friday!) October 13, 2006 and originally appeared here. This was one of a handful of digital mixes I created in Ableton Live. I’d say it is one of my favorites I’ve done. I still enjoy it from time to time.
Tracklist:
Drexciya – 700 Million Light Years from Earth – Clone
Lab Rat XL – Lab Rat 3 – Clone
Professor X – Reconstruktx – Clone
Der Zyklus – Mxyzptik – Gigolo
Der Zyklus – Elgenface (Loop)
The Other People Place – Let Me Be Me – Warp
Roger 23 – Ain’t No Dirty Games – Playhouse
Japanese Telecom – Mounting Yoko – Gigolo
Kraftwerk – Computer World (Edit)
Magda – Black Leather Wonder (Loop)
M.A.N.D.Y. & Booka Shade – Body Language (Sterac Electronics Remix) – Get Physical
Mark Houle – Thirds in Trees – Minus
Unknownmix – The Siren (Losoul’s Hot Edit) – Playhouse
Japanese Telecom – Nipponse Robot (Loop)
Toby Tobias – A Close Shave (Loop)
Freeform Five – Electromagnetic (Lindstrom Remix) – Four Music
Ministry – The Angel (Edit)
Sterac Electronics – Legacy of a Lost World – Interpersonal
Drexciya – Sighting in the Abyss – UR
Magda – Black Leather Wonder – Minus
Front 242 – Headhunter – Wax Trax
Toby Tobias – A Close Shave (Prins Thomas Remix) – Rekids
Antena – Camino Del Sol (Joakim Remix) – Permanent Vacation
Rhythm & Sound – Poor People Must Work (Carl Craig Remix) – Basic Channel
The iPhone does make a handy MIDI controller fo sho. Combined with TouchOSC and OSCulator, the iPhone becomes a customizable physical interface to control endless plug-in parameters for the DAW of your choice.
Here is a set of templates for my favorite combination of software right now that will hopefully get you going quickly. The idea to do this was originally inspired by and derived from chromedecay’s video tutorial on vimeo.
First actual full song I’ve ever completed. I don’t love it, but it’s not too bad. The real goal is to get over that hump of coming up with a half-baked idea and then abandoning it, which is what I did most of last year as I learned the ins and outs of Ableton.
Take 1:
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Notes:
Used Analog Warmth rack on master track
Too much low end
Sounds way too muddy, basically unlistenable
Take 2:
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Notes:
Removed Analog Warmth rack
Sounds better, but still too bassy
Take 3:
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Notes:
Improved low end
Snares and hats too loud
Take 4:
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Notes:
Additional EQ on kick, bassline
Lowered volume on snares, hats
Added “mix gel” compression to master track
Sounds good, sparkly sound sounds a bit too processed
Takeaways:
Don’t love the bassline, doesn’t totally fit
Song is a bit boring, could’ve messed with velocity of snares to keep it interesting
Transitions are dull, if not totally absent
Effects applied on the master will impact the song when bounced in ways that may not be obvious at first
A goal I’ve set for myself for 2010 is to create a song per month, I’m already a bit behind, but I aim to catch up and get on with it. I decided to keep track of this project on my new and improved website/journal/blog. So here goes nothing…
Here’s a preset and Ableton Live user remote script I made for the Akai LPD8 MIDI Controller. These two files work together nicely and allow you to map the LPD8 pads to Ableton’s drum rack interface. When you mouse through the drum rack pad overview the LPD8 pads will be mapped to the highlighted bottom two rows of drum rack pads.
1. Download and unzip LPD8-user-remote-script. Once unzipped you should end up with a directory named LPD8 that contains a file called “UserConfiguration.txt.”
2. Place the folder and file in ~user/Library/Preferences/Ableton/Live8.1.3/User Remote Scripts/ for Mac (not sure about Windows, sorry).
LPD8 User Configuration txt File Placement
3. When you start Ableton Live, open the Preferences panel and go to the MIDI tab. You should now be able to select LPD8 as a control surface and set the corresponding Input/Output values at right. You can also specify MIDI Ports/Track/Sync/Remote values for the device based on your requirements.
Ableton Live Preferences Pane with LPD8 Settings
4. Download LPD8-preset-ableton-drumrack preset and save it where you like. I chose to save it in the default Presets directory of the Akai LPD8 Editor Application directory (Download the LPD8 Editor if you haven’t done so yet, you’ll need it in order to use this preset).
5. Open the LPD8 Editor application. Click the “Load Preset” button and select the preset txt file that you downloaded in the previous step. Then click the “Commit – Upload” button. You should get the Upload Successful message. If so, you’re all set! If not, make sure your LPD8 controller is connected to your computer and lit up.
LPD8 Editor, Load & Commit Buttons Highlighted
This preset currently only maps the pads of the controller to the bottom two rows of pads in Ableton’s drumrack. This can be reversed if you prefer that it highlight the top two rows. This is a matter of personal preference. Also, I haven’t mapped the knobs. This is up to you if you like. Enjoy!
