Like most DAWs, Ableton Live contains a selection of effects processors to twist and manipulate your sounds. However, as you’ve probably come to expect by now, Live does things a little differently. In addition to the usual array of compressors, distortion boxes, and phasers, there are a few DJ-friendly units [...]
The Warp engine at the heart of Ableton Live is designed to let you drop in audio files, and instantly sync them to the master tempo of your project. This works with anything from single drum hits to loops and samples, or even full tracks. It’s what makes Ableton different [...]
Ableton's "Live" software package has always been an unusual feature on the DAW landscape. Intended, as the name suggests, for Live audio manipulation., it does things a little differently than its studio-bound equivalents. Some of its unique features are ideal for DJing; there is an integrated beat detector that keeps [...]
Over the past five or six years, the arrival of Web 2.0 has captured many column inches. It describes a shift in the focus and interactivity of websites. You'll notice the ubiquitous comments field at the bottom of this article as an indication of this, along with the Twitter shortcuts [...]
If you try to mix all the different elements of a track using only the volume faders on your mixer, you’ll find that everything quickly descends into woolly, distorted mess. Your speakers are only capable of producing so many frequencies at once, so if you try to feed them, kick, [...]
If you use your computer to record live instruments or sample from turntables, you’ll soon find that the 3.5mm mini jacks on your computer’s soundcard lacking in terms of quality. An audio interface converts the signal from your instruments into a high-fidelity data stream that can be captured by your [...]
When DJs first approach the production of their own tracks, they often use a loop-based model. Sections of an existing song, in time with the original beat, are cut from a track and programmed to loop in exactly the right rhythm. This can be a great way to create a [...]
Every manufacture that produces a DAW application claims that theirs is the only one you’ll ever need. But what if you disagree? One package might contain your favourite synth plug-ins, but you may feel you can get the best results from another application’s mixing and mastering effects. You can move [...]
The late 60s saw the arrival of some of music’s great innovators. Hendrix, The Beatles, and Zappa all used dramatic new effects to manipulate their traditional instruments. Newly available electronic devices from Electro Harmonix, Jim Dunlop and MXR allowed them to create weird new textures and evolving environments. These original [...]
Every one of us has been to club night or a live show where the sound wasn’t up to scratch. Piercing snares and muffled kicks can rob a great set of much of its dynamics and drama. People don’t dance to music that sounds bad. Instead of the writhing sweaty [...]