Ableton Forum

Some good tips here.... Thanks

I'm going to change a few of my stubborn ways.
I like the idea of concentrating my bursts of time to one particular part of the Song i.e Build a kick ass Drum sequence And Render it to file.

This way i'm adhering to a finished part each time. and not tempted to go back over anything. This is at the expense of being able to Alter a Mix later on.......

Usually i'l put all all parts of the song together across one of Lives Scenes!!!! So i have a basic hook and do nothing else...... Ahhh the joys of my own ignorance.

Nicknackerski wrote:This way i'm adhering to a finished part each time. and not tempted to go back over anything. This is at the expense of being able to Alter a Mix later on.......

i think for things like that it really doesnt matter, getting something done wins everytime. BUT, if you remember to save the live set you were using to make the beat then you can always go back and open that up.

unsuprisingly I have a folder to keep all my beat making sets in

MDK

Sweet, ths is going to be a major plus point for Live 8's Share feature i guess.

i imagine there are loads of people out there like me who could get a new lease of life from a few tips like these
thanks.

Nicknackerski wrote:I was wondering are there any people here Starting and finishing whole tracks in Ableton Live?

Yes, also did that in Digital Performer and Logic. Live is where my heads at now though.

I'm Definitely suffering from Writers block and am struggling to decide what is the Culprit....Is it me? Do i need to purchase yet more Gear? Should i sell everything and do something else?

The only reason to sell everything etc. is if you realize you like the melodies you're coming up with, but not the sound of the instruments you're using. It's why I bought a bunch of analog gear over the last couple years. I like the sound of analog better, though I still use digital etc.

I usually have a great song which i've created/jammed out with an acoustic guitar and put together over a few days.

I decide how i want it to sound (i.e listened to a massive attack tune earlier in the day at work, loved a particular use of arrangement, heard a boards of canada tune loved the Used of Sampled Synths and soundscapes etc.....)


So i move on to Logic or Ableton:
I create a track over the period of an hour, but the trouble i've been through fighting the computer to create it means ive listened to the song for an hour as well and am now sick to death of it.
It is usually saved and archived probably never to be opened again.

Why is this? It sounded Great on Acoustic guitar and still does the day after?
Also, i still feel the song could be good if i could only get it to sound like it does in my thoughts

Simple answer is you're not coming up with interesting sounds and counter melodies for the guitar part, or you aren't that great of a drum or bass programmer.
Complex answer and the the more obvious one is an hour isn't long enough to create a song, and if you can't stand the song after just an hour of listening to it, I really don't know what to say? I spend probably 40 hours on a song before the singer and drummer hear it at all. Think about how many times the Rolling Stones have played Satisfaction????

Well, i was wondering if anybody else on here has had these problems and would like to share their experiences in over coming this.

Yeah everybody goes through a period of writing only beginnings and never seeming to finish anything. Happens. Keep archiving, and remember to listen to your archive once a week or at least every two. Throw out the ones that don't have any meaning to you two weeks later, and see if the others don't have similarities. I've definitely fit two ideas I've had together before, it's pretty fun when that happens.
Biggest one is getting to know a few pieces of software you like the sound of and using the rest for color. It's just one way of getting something going.

What controllers do you use?

What Software plugins do you use?

I use a fuck ton of shit, at one point I had serious GAS, though honestly I don't regret it. Only problem is I don't want to sell anything, and the economy is in the dump etc.
Mainly I use Live, an old Memorymoog, some analog gear I might have to sell (Poly Evolver, Oberheim Xpander, Wretch Machine) , Zebra 2, Komplete 5 (mainly Guitar Rig, Absynth, Massive, Kontakt, Reactor), and my Les Paul. Novation Remote SL, and RME Fireface for controller and audio card.

And most importantly where is you music used?
Dj-ing,
Live gigs alongside guitars Drums etc...
Tv Music, Scoring etc.

Live gigs, alongside singer and drummer, I play guitar and keys etc. It's best described as industrial, though compared to what's going on now, I would say it's Aggrotech Experimental Death Rock.

Please be honest and put my mind at rest, if you've had commercial success with an ableton track please shout up! If

Steve.

I don't expect commercial success, but I'm pretty dammed sure we'll do OK in the underground. When a girl with SUICIDAL tattooed across her neck tells you your music scary shit, you know commercial success isn't really gonna be about you on MTV chatting with some idiot who's trying desperately to act hip and 'with it'.
To answer your concern here though, EVERY group I admire that uses electronics at all is seriously hooked on Live. It's not Live here that's the issue. It's your confidence and ability to finish a track.

On that line all I can suggest is after laying down the guitar part, try to listen to the other parts you are writing in contrast more than letting your brain get worn out on listening to the guitar part.

I'm going to write a Max patch for that.

"Are you really making Great music?"

Oh God I wish I knew =)

Live is a fantastic compositional tool, better than standard DAW in my opinion. It's good enough to make superb music because you can make fantastic music on a 4 track tape playing Portastudio. I doubt I will ever reach the stage where Ableton is the limiting factor instead of my ability.


S

Simbosan wrote:" I doubt I will ever reach the stage where Ableton is the limiting factor instead of my ability.

everyone joining the forum should have to agree to this statement!

YES

OP - Firstly - the creative spark is within YOU. No amount of software will generate that for you. Even people who have no musical talent and just use loop packs can make stuff which sounds inspirational to some people, and for that crowd, Live gives you a lot of tools for mangling, clip envelopes, slicing and the like to take it further.

Basically I totally agree with Machinate's advice.

I have made 3 electronic albums in the recent past, the first one in 2007 using Live 6, in which I recorded 11 of the 12 tracks and the 12th, I had recorded in Cubase but vastly vamped it up using Live in rewire mode with Cubase. The second album's 8 tracks all recorded and mixed in Live 6 and 7. The most recent album, 8 tracks, all composed in Live 7, 6 mixed in Live, 2 in Cubase (due to CPU issues on a ridiculous number of tracks and plugins, I had to export 2 tracks and mix in Cubase on my ageing laptop). I also recorded an alternative rock album last year, of which 8 out of 11 tracks were recorded in Live (1 in Reason 2.5 and then rewired to Cubase, 2 in Cubase, which I had started recording in Cubase before I owned Live).

There is a misconception that Live only suits nerdy techno types, people who like to play with MIDI controller knobs and DJs. While Live is certainly a tool very well suited for electronic music, you can do a lot with it recording guitar based music or most other genres too. Enhanced even further in Live 8 with crossfades, group tracks and the dynamics tools.

adventurepants_ wrote:

Simbosan wrote:" I doubt I will ever reach the stage where Ableton is the limiting factor instead of my ability.

everyone joining the forum should have to agree to this statement!

+1

Writer's block blows. I'm embarrassed to even think about how long it's been since writing a song.

my only advice is to stop watching tv and moog-prog-solo-demos on youtube, also stop reading forums, blogs and gear reviews. instead start making music with other people and just spend time living, cook, take a walk, read psychology, low key stuff .... and have fun!

I'm a legend in my living room.............does that answer your question ? .

....

I contacted beatport last year, i was kind of anoyed about the fact that
they won't take on an independant artist's music, and considering some of the
dirt that i can find on beatport, not including the good stuff of course..
It pissed me off soo much that they would even put some of the crap on their
site, the main thing about it for me is, i could make a better attempt at it,
than a lot of the cheap crap i found on beat port, not saying im a pro but
i guess my friends would say different

Beatport guy got back to me saying they stopped taking music directly
from the artists, soo many requests, not including the big names..
And if i wanted to get my music on beatport i'd have to go through a
dostriibutors or what he called "Digital Aggregator.
I had allready made some friends with staff in a music distrobutors in germany
Mainly because i wanted to start an online record store for local djs,
I never got that going, but later i contacted him about getting my own music
pressed on vinyl, that was when he introduced me to the digital distribution
side of their company in germany and if i had any good work that would be
tha place to send it, just after christmas they released my first track to
many of theor partners - download portals including beatport lol

So the point was proven to myself... it can be done,
And after this happened i looked through all their partners on their site,
Beatport was the only one in their listings that wont accept music directly
from the independant artists, so basically i could release my own music
to all their partners, example, itunes, digitaldeejay and so on...

What was the question?

Oh yea..
I dont think i can make music professionaly god knows the tune i got
released went unknown, and it was far from professionally made,
But i know a good sound when i hear one and it was at that stage for me
so i just went with it and it got released digitally,
Im actualyl on here now looking for a new midi controler or something
Because i have a lot of fun producing on the fly with ableton.
I've allways mixed my music with decks, but now im getting a new buzz
from mixing with software also so i feel the ned for knobs and masters.. etc

Made in ableton

I'd like to recommend the book "the artist's way" by Jane Cameron I think is her name. it's designed to help you deal with exactly what you're dealing with. I got my copy on half.com for $4 including shipping.

go now. do it.

go


GO!