Max4Live - APC40...... Featured on createdigitalmusic.com

[S4racen]

5.9.2 Release Notes:

Firstly it's named after the prolific Negotiator, you'll find some of his effects within the return tracks as i've built them into the racks already found there, this guy can do some amazing things with just the native effects and some excellent mapping….

I've continued the theme of making things slimmer with the result that the devices in the 4 tracker have slimmed from 41.6MB for version 4.3 (the last one that was available on max4live.com to 15MB for the latest version, considerably reducing CPU and RAM use….



In the GUI underneath the returns heading (remember you can hold down metronome and click on the returns button in the scene launch buttons to bring up a floating window of the macros of the last Return track to receive audio, these are then controlled with the knobs of the Send A bank) there are three new buttons….

1: ON/OFF - this controls the automatic follow action, you can change it by clicking or by holding down record quantize and clip stop 7

2: Again/Below - this controls the behaviour of the follow action and does what it says on the tin, you can change it again by clicking or by holding down record quantise and clip stop 8

3: 1/8's / 1/4's - this is the divisions of the slicer on scene three, therefore each button can represent a beat or half beat, 2 bars or one bar… This is currently only changeable by clicking but means you can have different settings for each track….


Still to do:

More work on the looper, i need it within a rack on a return to reduce the overall cpu so it has a reverse utility track, the play/rec/overdub functions are not mappable in a rack to macros but M4L looks like it'll be able to do it in time through the State parameter. For the moment i'll continue to use the aka.keyboard external but this adds 3GB to the master device so alternative suggestions are welcomed.

In a previous save the smart maps for the Sm4rt control became overwritten with the same graph for every setting, i'll come back and reconfigure these at a later date as currently the Sm4rt feature is still a big drain on CPU and is generally only safe to use when just two tracks are playing…. I'll try some other things i've learnt recently and this may be a point update in the future...

As ever the template is available by clicking the banner below which takes you to my blog....

Cheers
D

[S4racen]

Of to buy a copy of Future Music!

Yay....

Cheers
D

[S4racen]

Just working on version 5.9.3....

Got a few kinks to iron out based on some excellent feedback i got this evening but i've added....

On the fist scene you can now stab a tracks audio to a return track or turn the clip stop button into a toggle control by holding down the stop all clips button when releasing, that way you give yourself another hand free to mess with the parameters on the return track...

With this in mind thanks to the effects wizard Negotiator and utilising the excellent WillJMarshalls frequency splitting trick i've replaced the first couple of return tracks devices with a new set of effects that sound really good and allow you to only effect whichever frequency range you feel best suits your style of music....

Cheers
D

[S4racen]

5.9.3

Return Track One contains the first of many Negotiator Effects, it's using a technique described first by WillJMarshall, i'm using Keith Mills of Quantize Courses.com slant on it as i need it with as little phasing as possible whilst sitting on a return track….

To make the most of this rack i've changed the Stop All Clips button on the fist scene to act as a hold button, press down Clip Stop One Button, press down Stop All Clips Button, release Clip Stop One Button, release Stop All Clips Button…. Voila momentary control has switched to toggle control….

Negotiator has also revised each of the effects racks within the whole template shaving precious percentage points off of the CPU.

Ive extended the number of tracks controlled to 6, and in 7 and 8 you'll find the noise gate effect, slam the crossfader to the left and trigger one of the white noise clips, then play with the faders on the APC40 for track 7 and 8…. Instant Scratch style effect….! (again props to Negotiator for this…!)

Bug Fixes

Returning to the looping i've made it so that you can't set a loop outside of the end of the original clip length, this is only possible if the clip has first or at some point during it's playback been set to have looping turned off…

The lights of the Activator/Solo/Rec buttons should now sync up correctly…

The Gater effect has returned to Scene Three on the Slave Devices (it was stuck on brake!)

Feedback needed….

There a test knob on the slave device that's mapped to the speed of the speed button in the 4th Scene (Glitch) is it worthwhile investing the time in getting some access to changing this variable or is there a preferred speed to fix it at?

The audio content of the next version is likely to be supplied by Loopmasters!!

Watch this space!!

Cheers
D

[S4racen]

One of the biggest changes i'd like to see made to Ableton is the ability to have a follow action at clip end.... With my first Isotonik modular device a simple affair called F0llow this is achieved....

As i was developing the device it struck me thanks to a reminder with WillJMarshall's DJ Template Redux that it's been a while since i toyed with dummy clips, again i dropped these in the past because i couldn't quite achieve what i wanted with them e.g. momentary control, i wanted clips set to gate that would effect the signal as long as they were pressed but when released all effects should return to zero. There is a cool workaround if you just want to turn an effect on and off but if you wanted more complicated patterns this became impossible without some midi loopback business occuring...

The brief video linked below demonstrates how the new feature works solving both problems...

http://darrencowley.blogspot.com/2010/0 ... ntary.html

The device is available to all members of the Isotonik dropbox, membership of which is a simple click of the paypal buy now button to the right...

Cheers
D

[S4racen]

Hi All,

Next in my mission of Modular Isotonik devices was my frustration with Dummy Clips not being able to be placed on Return Tracks, my previous workaround of a complicated routing structure would lend itself to latency in the audio signal that gave unpleasant artifacts....

To solve this i've come up with a device and made a modification to my Isotonik Master....

With the Master device i've now got the ability in the 5th Scene (Fist) to stab audio from a track into a return, the clip stop buttons act as momentary controls initially. But when you hold down a clip stop button, press the stop all clips button, and then release the clip stop button.... Now your Clip Stop Button acts as a toggle and the gui changes to show a red button whilst the light on the APC40 remains lit....

Now that you've got audio permanently routed to the send you can use effectively the knobs of the Send A bank that will be mapped to the return tracks first device....

But further to this a combination of the F0llow device and my new R3turn device means that you can write your own dummy clips for the return tracks devices and modulate them without having to route the audio back into the main tracks therefore avoiding all latency....

I've got some drawing to do with the dummy clips but the video linked below details how this works in realtime and some of the effects you can acheive, as with everything in the Isotonik template though everything is replaceable with your own racks and effects....

http://darrencowley.blogspot.com/2010/0 ... n-102.html

As usual further information on getting hold of a copy at my blog http://thestudiosessions.co.uk

Cheers
D

[S4racen]

Isotonik 6 is nearly done, along with the huge manual to explain all the functionality....


I'll post a video up when i'm done with creating the slave but this update is the biggest yet, with dynamic control over the tracks in the red box so not limiting to just eight for those of you using the APC for recreating your own material!

Cheers
D

[S4racen]

Heads up, currently my Isotonik device on Maxforlive.com is two rewrites old, as such internally it's a mess so doesn't present much opportunity to learn and it's fixed to a pretty rigid template setup....

As a result i've made the decision to remove it for download at the weekend so i can concentrate on the latest version, which'll be finished tonight as long as i get internet in my hotel......

If you want a copy of the free version, grab it now whilst you can....

Cheers
D

[S4racen]

And now the full walkthrough video is on line!

Http://thestudiosessions.co.uk

Cheers
D