Novation Launchpad w/ Drum Racks - One of the BEST Production Tools Ever (not for clip launching)

The Novation Launchpad is a versatile midi controller that can serve many purposes other than just clip launching in a live set. Most people really only use it for this function, but in production, it can be one of the most handy devices ever. My track making process has become a breeze due to this thing.

What we are going to talk about today is using the Launchpad in conjunction with the drum rack inside ableton to help you organize your samples and have them ready for use at any second during the production process.

When you make a track by intertwining abletons session view and compose view, it can be very handy in creating the backbone to a track. Launch loops in scenes, sequencing sweeps and melodies, etc etc. But, once you have put together a nice backbone, you are missing the some of the MOST important elements...the random stabs or other quick noted instruments. They are what take a track from sounding loopy and repetitive, to atmospheric and musical.

One other problem that faces many producers, is that, if you are like me, you have an addiction to sample collection and creating. You enjoy having as many as possible. I have over 500 gigs of one shot samples, and it can get really confusing as to which ones to choose, and where to find them (considering a lot have abstract names having nothing to do with the sample within).

By using the drum racks, and saving them for later use, you can save time, and have a lot more options right at your fingertips during production.

The Novation Launchpad at 64 buttons for one shots at your disposal. It may not be as trigger friendly when compared to a regular drum pad, but in production, you will most likely be quantizing and adding effects to your one shots anyway, so this is not a big deal.

Its also handy that all you have to do to use the launchpad as a drum pad, is click the USER1 button, and its already mapped out to C1 - Dsharp6.

Lets start with how to organize your samples.

I like to set up a bunch of audio tracks within ableton at first, so I can drag my clips into them (you can just drag them into your drum rack, but i'll explain why I do this in a minute).

When surfing your samples, you will finds tons of different genres of samples you may like to use in production. Therefor, I name each audio track that I have created, based off a certain genre of sample. (ex. stabs, chords, guitars, ethnic hits, organic percussion, etc etc)

Then, just start surfing your samples, and dragging them into the appropriate audio track.


Another helpful tip for finding nice one shots amongst a mass amount of unorganized samples is to search by SIZE within the browser. Just right click the top of the title bar within the browser, and select the size option. Then, organize by the SMALLEST to Largest. This way, small one hit samples, anywhere from 4kb - 100kb, with show up first. These are smaller files and more likely to be one hits than longer samples.

Dont be afraid drag TONS of samples. You have 64 buttons to use in connection with the launchpad, so you can make tons of racks to be used later. (I made about 45 racks just today).

Once you have selected all your samples and moved them into audio tracks, the next little personal tip I will give you is to MIX THEM UP within the audio track. If you are using downloaded samples, there is a good reason for this. You may have put whole groups of samples from your browser into your audio track, and because they were all good and you MAY or MAY NOT want to use them...and you would rather have them then not, mixing them up really help to mix up sounds so the are not all totally similar within one rack. Randomization can be your best friend when making and electronic track, and the ability to record just by tapping on buttons can make for some nice combinations. Another good reason to do this, again, if you are using downloaded samples, is so that, if you do decide to use a few samples from one rack rhythmically, you arent using them all from the same maker. Mixing up different manufactures samples make it less possible that other producers will notice you using the same sample CD that they have.

I wouldnt go as far as to mix up different elements (like guitars with horns, or percussion with vocals)...but if there is a certain combination you would like to use, then by all means do it. This is just my preference. I usually have a sound I am going for, and then it gets changed a little bit by my choice of samples, but I still like to have a general genre of sample to look for. If you love just random making, mix it ALL up.

Now you have them just they way you want to put them into your drum rack. Your scene may get super high (mine were up to 500 scenes of samples within one track).

Now you need to make a midi track, and insert a blank drum rack. The bottom of the the rack view should conveniently already be at C1, which is the first note of your launchpad.

Go to your audio track that you want to move the samples from, and make sure it starts from scene one. Use the shift key, and select the samples within that track 1-64 (cause you have 64 buttons on your launchpad). Drag them over to your midi track, and put your mouse over C1. This will set all your 64 samples within your rack (C1 - Dsharp6). Now your samples are in your drum rack.


Now, you need to save it. Click the little icon in the drum racks top right corner that looks like a disc. This will prompt you to save it within your drum racks in your browser. Name it to your liking, and press enter. It is now saved for later use.

To repeat this process, just drag a blank drum rack over top of the old one, and it will be fresh again. Drag clips from your audio tracks into, name it, repeat.

It also helps to delete the samples from the audio track when you finish moving them just so you can remember things more easily. Also, it helps to then drag up the samples back to scene 1, unless you wanna do the division of 64, 128, etc, math every time. If you drag them back to the top, when you reselect them, you are always selection scenes 1-64. This can be a lot easier when making many racks at one time.

When you finish making your racks, make nice folders for them within your browser so you can find them easily later. Mine looks like this...so many racks!!!!


Now, anytime you want a certain sound when producing, just make a midi track, and drag your rack from the browser into the midi track...and WALAH, there is your rack. Much better than manually surfing through all your samples and testing them out like audio clips, and you can use your rhythmic side of drumming to sequence them.

By understanding chains and zones, you can even record a sequence of your rack, and apply certain effects to different samples you pressed. You can change the key of each, velocity, etc etc within the sample editor of each sample too.

A few tips about this method -

Samples will all have different volume levels. This is bad for improving, but not a big deal if you are producing because you can change the volume to suit the track, which you would be doing anyway. If you want to do a little bit of extra work, you can go within each sample in your drum track and change the volume of each so they are all the same. Just move the volume parameter on the right side of the sample, and watch the meter beside it. When its reaching around 0db, it should be fine.

Also, I dont usually like to put my highhats & snares into drum pads. There is a reason for this. I like to separate my elemental parts (kicks, snares, HH, etc) into a different section of my set. The reason for this, is 100% of the time, I need to change the frequency and tone to match the track I am making, so I like a frequency shifter (and usually an EQ8) to be sitting within the those particular tracks. You could however put one right after your rack, but I actually like to work with those samples via audio, not midi. Its nice when slicing them on the fly, or applying beat repeat. But this is just my preference, many producers loving using midi to make beats.

Also, when using one shots, its best to have all your samples on an external HD so you dont waste up space on your computer. When I make tracks, I always plug it in. When I go out to play, I manage my set and save the samples I want to use live to my computers HD. The reason for this is, I dont want to lug extra gear around...and also, if you are using a firewire 800 HD like I am, there are some issues when using a firewire sound card and a firewire HD at the same time since they are on the same bus. That is for another blog all together.

Well, thats it for drum racks. I can honestly say, the launchpad is my essential tool in the track making process. For finding samples, testing samples, and organizing samples. Its more than just a clip launcher. In conjunction the with VCM 600 for mixing...it doesnt get much better than this!

Have fun, and keep making them funky ass tracks!

Peace!

FroBot

NOTES FOR 3.12.2010

Todays Session Above

Another nice Friday off. Started a new track today. A little more funky that the past few deep style songs I was working on. Still in my same "noted bass" style. Notes for today -

Using the same saturator effect I was talking about in my "electro bass" tutorial on synthetic horns makes them sound really nasty too. They really stand out more with a ripping saw wave sound. It will definitely make the girls wanna take their panties off after hearing it.

If you automate a sweeps pitch to extremes, like -30st to + 36st, and then only let it play for a small part, it can make for some nice quick, rolling, stab sounds. I was using a few sweep samples today, but just edited the start point of the sample within my drum rack to the point where the sweep goes "over the hill". Then used that as a stab. Nice and spacey stabs. Also, use the same sweep stab, and alternate between 2 notes for a more melodic stab approach.

Compressors are a bitch. I was trying to use the arpeggiator and a side chain compressor on a melody. It took forever to get the compressor just right so as not to hear small peaks at the beginning of the kick (routed). I wanted the release not up so high so I could really get a pumping effect, but without putting the release up, the small clips were there. After almost an hour of using an EQ 8 and toying with the compressor, I finally got a sound I liked....but I didnt like it 100%. I had to remove certain high frequencies I wanted in it to remove the clip and still keep the pump. I really gotta study that compressor more.

Be care when using pre-made samples that contain high hats. If you have another high hat track running, the chances are, their frequencies are different. If you plan to change the frequency of the pre-made sample, you will also change the other elements of the sample. Pay attention to your hats. Either cut the sample up to remove the hats from it, and then toss on a reverb so you cant hear the samples volume cutting so drastically....or, as I would like to in the future, just stay away from pre-made samples.

I need to study how to make more explosive hits. Anyone?

Stay away from audio pitch converters whenever possible. They just sound like shit! Try to actually transpose it within ableton, because ableton just does a better job at it. I was using the pitchwheel vst, but I might as well throw that shit in the virtual garbage. It sucks!

I may have said this before, but its crucial to figure out where your delays are ending. Its easy to not notice them as new elements come in. Check their endings by soloing the track.

Double your snares. One with not a a lot of attack, and one with a hard attack.

I really need to get the hang of abletons groove. I understand it and all, but I want more swing....but I always get to much. I need to listen to some other peoples tracks and load them into ableton and sample the groove.

Well, thats it for today. Rob is coming over, and I think we will go to the park and play drums and didge. Organic music time!

Peace!

FroBot

NOTES FOR 3.11.2009 - Sending to Mastering

Todays Session Above

Well, put the finishing touches on a track today and am uploading to the Vancouver Mastering Company as we speak. Few notes about cleaning up things before sending to get it mastered.

Listen to each track individually to make sure there are no mistakes or clips.

Be careful to check all reverb sizes to get them just right. You dont want room space sitting over a track where it is not needed. Bring that reverb size down to just the right amount for each track.

Make sure all your delays end exactly where you want them too. Solo the track and watch the bar meter, or listen to it with just the kick. May not be so noticeable now, but will be in the club.

Make sure all db levels of each track are below 0db to avoid clipping.

Make sure the master track is at least 3db below 0 avoid clips on the master track.

When exporting all individual tracks, make sure to use at least 24bit encoding. Also, wav files are better than aif...all mastering facilities work with wav.

When sending to a mastering company, to save time (and your money), makes sure to add a notes section about important things you want. Especially if they are going to be mixing and doing individual track equing. Also, toss in a couple of sample tracks from past songs or other artists tracks so they can get a good idea of what sound you are going for.

Be sure to notify them that this is going to be used in the club mostly so they know to listen to it LOUD when mixing and mastering. They also need to take care of frequencies at lower ranges like 50db since it will be played out of club speakers. If it was just for home listening, these ranges are not as important.

Zip all the files and send it off.

Here is what my NOTES section looks like that i sent to them -

NOTES FOR FROBOT - BE AFRAID

Side chain kick & bass please. Not a ton, but for a nice sound.

At the beginning, sample called GLITCH PING PONG has a raising reverb effect that may sound weird....i like it though. It was the effect i was going for.

All hits on track "BIG HIT" Should be loud and powerful

All high hats should be sitting at the right frequency. You can shift then if they are not and I didnt hear something right.

Please pan hats to a nice sound after eqed.

Synth that starts at 2:23 is a main melody, and should REALLY stand out at its own frequency

The other track called HIGH SYNTH that is played at the same time as this synth should only accent the other synth.

The sample called HARD DRUM that comes in at 3:15 should be nice and powerful and low.

The crazy dropping out effect of all the tracks at 4:11 really needs to have its general levels checked because it gets louder do to the effects im using. Be careful here. Its really crazy, and goes into an all out of tune part. Just make sure levels are ok here.

The vocals starting at around 5:06 are very important and should stand out like a melody.


REMEMBER, if the bass isnt working, and you cant get it to sound right....let me know. I can hear the problems with it, but i would really like to get it to work. Its just where it bounces that it distorts a smidge. If you can clean that up somehow, it would be great.

USE YOUR ARTISTIC brain when working with this, i dont complain about a lot, and love it when changes are made.

As it is, levels are ALL messed up, cause I tried to drop everything so it wasnt clipping. Mix it to what sounds best. Remember that high hats are heard louder than everything due to their frequency, and can be brought way down. My speakers suck, and I had them up kind of loud i think.

Thanks!

Trip



Well thats it for today!

Peace!

FroBot

Saturator Ideas in Ableton - Adding a little bit of electro dirt to a bass track

This is not a tutorial, only some notes I am taking about using the saturator in ableton. Its a crazy little tool that is one of my last to really try to understand. After reading the manual over like 10 times times today...and playing around here are some notes.

This applies to electro mostly...to make a nice round bass sound really raunchy. But this technique can be good for tons of other things because using the wave shaper within it very subtly can at a tiny bit of dirt if thats all you are looking for.

First, double your bass track. Make one that is playing the normal round bass. The 2nd is a duplicate with a saturator on it like this. -

Waveshaper is chosen because it is the only option with the 6 other parameters open (lin, depth, curve, etc). Put the drive up a bit to get it going.

(ALSO make sure the smaller drive option in the bottom right corner up all the way to start)

Toss on the color options, which is basically 2 kinds of filters. The base is controlling the bottom frequencies. Drop that puppy down a little bit to toy around with the low/mid frequencies to make raunch to a bass. You can move it up a bit if you are looking to just add high frequency raunch since it will just be accenting the other bass anyway.

Now alter the frequency knob, which acts like an EQ for controlling higher frequencies. You use this to almost find the note/frequency to match your bass. Its also the experimental & artistic element of this technique.

Also toy around with the depth and width. Depth is strong at this point. Listen to the 2 basses together to get a nice rauchy sound.

Anything above 0 on the depth will really start to make it sound nasty.

Use the lin to dictate a little bit of the bass end of it. (this can be different though depending on curve and depth settings) It works with the curve and depth parameters to shape the linear portion or the curve.

VERY IMPORTANT ELEMENT - Fine tune with the CURVE parameter. Too much of that will will over raunch it. There is a very small range you can find depending on your other setting to get that nice little touch of raunch to the sound...instead of it sounding very independently dirty. In my case here, its sitting around 22% and is tossing on a nice little tad of electro raunch.



Just play around with those parameters to get a nice little nasty extra sound to your bass. Sounds very electro.

Again, these are just notes. There are a million other ways to add dirt to your sound, this is just a nice way to do it with a round bass sample when you dont have many options to work with like you do within a synthesizer.

Peace!

FroBot

Organic Jam Chicken Fillet

This blog is about organic jams. With Hanami around the corner, its time to make the outside world feel the vibrations of organic jam. No computers, no speakers, just people, instruments, & whatever substance you plan to use to induce it! Here I am going to talk about important elements of a good organic jam.

A Jam is like a Chicken Fillet -

In a drum circle, you never know who is going to show up. It may be the most talented of musicians, the hippiest of hippies, the drunkest of drunks, or that totally musically illiterate. When having a jam session with random folks, you cannot get down when things dont sound just right, just remember that everyones energy is flowing, and do your best to take care of the jam.

I like to think of a jam or drum circle like cooking a difficult culinary dish...like a chicken fillet.

There are certain things that need to be there in order for it to taste (or sound) just right. But sometimes, its the little things like spices (small sounds) that will make all the difference. Lets take a meat dish for example. The drums are like the raw meat. You need them to have a nice rhythm and bass. Without them its simply not jam, or a dish. Obviously, the more expensive meat (or better drums & drummers) is going to taste and sound better. If you are really hungry, or have to feed an army, you are going to need a big slab of meat. Think of this like the bass drum at the jam. If you really want to get a big group of people dancing and feeling the vibes, you gotta have that big pounding bass. It may not be the most glorious of jobs in a jam, but damn is it important. And where is your chicken breast fillet going to be without the chicken. Do we want to go vegetarian....nah, not when you wanna make something SUPER delicious.

Next, you need your vegetables to accent your meat. This could be any melodic instrument like a didge, flute, violin....anything noted really. This sound is REALLY going to stand out more than anything else in the jam because it has tones and unique frequencies. Just like some peppers would make the whole chicken fillet nice and spicy. Now hopefully, you didnt shop at the cheap supermarket for your peppers, and the musician knows how to rock out in key with drummers. A main melodic instrument must be able to determine the key of the largest & deepest drum...and stay in key from there. That bass drum stands out more than anything, and you gotta stay right in line with that.

Now we need our onions & garlic. Think of these like all the other drummers jamming in the jam. They really make a big difference to the dish, and without them, it simply doesnt taste the same....yet it doesnt really have to have it in the dish if you dont really want it...but it can make all the difference in a good jam. But, with these elements, you must be careful, because too much can really over do it. And, theres nothing worse than getting a bad onion in the dish, cause it can ruin the whole thing...but even when you make a dish with a bad onion, you still eat the dish, because its better than nothing. You try to not taste it, or pick it out. I think you get what I mean by this.

Now, we have a great gourmet plate serving up....but what chef cooks without salt and pepper. These are used in such small amounts, but can add so much flavor to a meal. Think of salt and pepper as the wood blocks, chimes, bells, sticks, and light percussion in a jam. If you have just the right amount, they can accent the sound of the jam incredibly. These sounds sit at different tones and frequencies that the drums, and can be heard much louder than the lower sounds. Just like salt and pepper can really be tasted in a meal, but they dont really stand out on their own. They need the other elements of the dish to really be appreciated.

Last, we need to add some white wine. Think of this as the people chanting, or that beautiful female voice singing away in the jam. You dont HAVE to have it, but boy o' boy does it sound JUST RIGHT when its there. It can add so much soulful energy to a session, and make it much more memorable. As with wine in a dish, it probably means you have left over wine to drink. This represents all the people who will then let out the vocal insides to the spiritual experience. When more people sing & chant, it makes it so much more memorable.

After slowly taking in that chicken fillet, savoring it, thinking about the time and energy you put into it, there is such a great feeling of satisfaction. Hopefully you didnt drink too much off the wine, and are still able to comprehend all of it....but even if you cant...it still felt great.

That is an Organic Jam Chicken Fillet.

Peace!

FroBot

Using Audacity & Soundflower to Record Youtube & Other Streaming Audio

I love sampling. Especially really unique samples....and youtube has some of the most unique people & clips to sample. If you want to record very high quality audio, and you have mac, there are 2 free programs which you can use to do this. One is Cycling 74's SOUNDFLOWER, and AUDACITY. Links here -

SOUNDFLOWER

Audacity

Basically, just download both programs, and install them. Give your computer a nice restart to make sure they are loaded correctly. Now, a few things you will want to do to makes sure its set up. First start up audacity.

Go up to the preferences tab, and then click devices. Under recording, click - Device - Soundflower (2ch). Channels - 2 channel. Like this -
Now you have your recording set up. Now, the key is to tell your computer to send its output to soundflower so you can record whatever is streaming on your computer.

Everytime you want to record something, you must do the following process. During the recording process, you will not be able to hear the audio you are recording because we will be switching the output from your normal output to soundflower. REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING PROCESS -

1. Go within your mac system preferences and click AUDIO.
2. Click the SOUNDFLOWER 2ch option. Now your audio is routed to soundflower.

3. Open up audacity and just press record. Now go to youtube (or wherever you want to record streaming audio) and click play. Go back to audacity, and you should see the waveform being created. Record for as long as you like, and press stop when finished.

4. Go back to your system preferences and click audio, and reselect your normal output (mine is the edirol one). This is so you can now HEAR what you recorded.


5. Press play on audacity to to make sure it sounds right.

6. Within audacity, go to FILE, EXPORT. Export it to where you want it, and you now have a high quality audio file of streaming audio.

Just repeat this process when you want to record something.

A FEW TIPS for youtube in particular.

1. Make sure the volume on the youtube player is up to the max to get a louder sound. Since you are routing the output, the volume there is affected in audacity.

2. When you are recording something from youtube, be careful to listen for BUZZ or other audio problems that the uploader may have not taken into consideration. Think about if you will be able to EQ that sound out effectively if you want to use it within an ableton track. A high buzz sitting in a certain frequency can easily be removed, but a general low buzz is much harder to remove without destroying the dynamics of the sample.

3. Also be careful about the legality of recording youtube. Pretty much, once someone uploads something to youtube, they lose a lot of rights to it unless its a track or something. Some people upload things they do not hold copyrights to also, so just be smart about it. Email the user, ask for permission. 99% of the time, they are much obliged and excited to know someone is using their audio in a track. Keeps the online community together.

Well thats it for recording streaming audio. Sample away!

Peace!

FroBot

NOTES FOR 3.9.2010

Todays Session Above

Today I was working on a different track from last week. SUPER DEEP & JAZZY! Notes for today -

Use a frequency shifter on a snare, then use the envelope to bring to frequency up during a breakdown for a nice effect. The snare gets higher and higher, then comes back to its original form after the build up finishes.

Use side chain compression on a nice pad with the threshold all the way down to make it pump. Then modulate the LFO in Tremolo mode. Use the envelope to switch between LFO rates back and forth. Almost makes a dubstep style sound (usually applied to bass) on a pad. Does not sound like dubstep at all, just the same principles. Makes a really unique sound to your pad. Makes it bounce. Have the attack set low so it really fluctuates.

If you want your own style of delay, rather than the effects built within ableton (especially good on a vocal loop fadeout), just crop the sample, and re-paste it in the delay form you want, then use your own effects to make it sound nice. I used a low pass filter modulated by a changing LFO rate, and a small simple delay, and volume. All using envelopes.

Make sure, if someone else is going to be mixing and mastering your track, that your bass has all the elements you want. Especially if it has some high frequencies that you want. If they simply ARENT THERE, mixing is not MAGIC. You can always remove things, but you cannot add things. So if use your EQ and lift the high frequencies to the max and make sure they are even there. If not, you need to add another track overtop the bass to add the frequencies you want. Its better to have TOO MUCH than not enough. You can always remove, but you cannot add.

Using my CHORD & SCALE technique, its really easy to make JAZZ solos. You set to a nice key, and a nice jazzy key synth, and rock out any keys on the controller. Go back and quantize it, and BAM, you got a JAZZ solo....even if you are not a jazz musician. Since you cannot his wrong notes, you sound like a pro.

Oh yea, and BUDDY HOLLY kicks ass! Sampled him today...he's so fuckin chill!

Well, thats it for the session today. With no shows coming up for the next few weeks (THANK GOD!!!!) I can really work on some of the tracks I put together last week.

Peace!

FroBot