Ableton Forum

So I'm trying to learn sound design on my own, but I need a little help. I was wondering if it's possible to buy instruments, or sounds, for me to play different notes on. I know you can buy loops and effects on sites like loopmasters, but I was wondering if there is a way to buy synths, basses, etc and play different notes with those sounds. I don't want to just buy loops.

Any help is much appreciated.

I have Ableton Suite 8, Massive, FM8, and Absynth 4

Puremagnetik, and Covert Operators both sell Ableton instrument patches you can play.

Thanks. Any other sites?

Are Ableton live presets and packs instruments I can play? Or are they just loops?

kerbelda wrote:Thanks. Any other sites?

Are Ableton live presets and packs instruments I can play? Or are they just loops?

Yes you can play them. They are presets and "set ups" for Live's built-in instruments.

kerbelda wrote:
I have Ableton Suite 8, Massive, FM8, and Absynth 4

Suite 8 comes with a bunch of ableton instruments (ex Operator).
Sounds like you're already in pretty deep. Learn what you have before getting more shit. Take the time to digest.

Thanks guys.

And actually, most of these I got for free from a friend who quit producing.

Really start to get to know your gear, because you have everything and more than that's needed to make every kind of music you want!
Ableton suite is packed with different sounds and soundgenerators, plus those other packets you have also have a lot to work with.

If you're still only using loops, seriously dig in on some ableton lessons and find out how this stuff works!

check out the ableton partner instruments (on the main ableton site)

or better yet; make your own

We have quite a few free Live packs, compatible with Live 7+. They are now all Live Ready for easy installation.

Togeo Studios Downloads

...just saying

kerbelda wrote:So I'm trying to learn sound design on my own, but I need a little help.

ShelLuser wrote:A design doesn't start with a preset IMO, it starts with grabbing an instrument like Analog or Operator and then tweaking it. When you have some basis its time to think about filters and effects and after that you're actually well on your way.

You don't need more gear, you need more effort IMO. And while playing can get you well on your way, it also helps to check up on the manual every now and then; the PDF is but one mouse click away after all...

I read it that he wants to reverse engineer the provided presets so he can "learn" what goes into good sound design!

Reverse engineering was part of it, but really I'm just a little impatient and want to make music ASAP.

You guys are right though, I DO need to start playing around with what I have. By the way, have you guys heard of the book "Ableton Live 8 Power"? Just wondering if it's a wise decision to get it.

kerbelda wrote:By the way, have you guys heard of the book "Ableton Live 8 Power"? Just wondering if it's a wise decision to get it.

I have heard great things about the Live Version 6 and Live version 7 of this book series. Given your evident lack of background (no previous DAW, no earlier prod experience) it seems like a good bet for you.

i also recommend formal musical training, but hey, that's me and my Ph.D. in Music composition speaking: lotsa great talent out there without degrees, . But also lots to learn about sound and music...even a book on auditory perception is a good bet for sound design...i.e: what is 'masking'? Why should I care about it while combining sounds? What is a 'critical bandwidth', and again why should I care? (you should)

'nuff said! go for it! buy da book if you can! go, baby, go!!!!

l&k
j2k
aka
cfb

v0ins315 wrote:Suite 8 comes with a bunch of ableton instruments (ex Operator).
Sounds like you're already in pretty deep. Learn what you have before getting more shit. Take the time to digest.

^^ This!! Holy crap you've got buckets of stuff to play with. If you're looking for instruments to play different notes on, you must have already mastered Massive, FM8, and Absynth 4? If not.. use Massive, FM8, and Absynth 4 to 'play different notes on' - you've got some of the best tools around!

Not sure what else you could possibly be looking for to be honest. If the synths you've got + Live 8 Suite aren't cutting it, I'm not sure what will.

It's not that absynth, massive, fm8, and ableton suite are not enough, it's that I have no idea how to use them and just wanted some premade sounds to play around with.

Bought the book

Cheers to all of you, thanks for the help

kerbelda wrote:It's not that absynth, massive, fm8, and ableton suite are not enough, it's that I have no idea how to use them and just wanted some premade sounds to play around with.

Ahh.. well they all come standard with some pretty impressive preset (premade) sounds. You can usually scroll through them by looking for up or down arrows in the plugins gui.

Here's a little pic: