Learn to Produce Minimal Tech in Ableton Live
March 3, 2010
However you want to describe it, as minimal or tech house or minimal techno or whatever, it is a sound that has taken dance floors across the globe by storm and is unlikely to be leaving us anytime soon. There are countless amazing producers and DJs that have taken the Minimal and Tech House sub-genres to new levels and to greater heights, with the likes of Dubfire, Ritchie Hawtin and Loco Dice consistently pushing the sound beyond any limits.
We at Point Blank Music School are extremely happy to be able to offer a genre specific course for producing Minimal and Tech House tracks with Ableton Live. As a tool for working with Minimal, Ableton has always been considered top-quality due to its endless ability to be manipulated to the working methods of the user and due to the fact that Ableton is a fantastic DJ tool. The genres of Minimal and Tech House have always welcomed new technology, whereas other artists in other genres may cling to the traditional, purist methods of DJing purely with vinyl, when a Minimal artist plays your more than likely to catch a glimpse of the latest hardware controller or brand new digital DJ software.
So to get back to the course, whats on offer is the ability to Learn how to produce Minimal and Tech House tracks to release quality. Using Ableton Live you will create your own authentic drum sounds, synth patches, textures and effects under the guidance of a pro music producer. Essential tips, tricks and techniques to give your tracks that professional sound. Upload your music each week for expert analysis and feedback on your work.
It’s this final feature, the ability to upload you music and get feedback, that I’m most excited about due to the fact that this is the only online course of its kind in which students receive personal guidance on their work. The way in which this feature works is that each week you upload your Ableton track/project so far and your pro producer tutor will examine and analyse the track in Ableton and produce a video of him going through it advising on what might be improved and how to go about doing so. So what you effectively get is a 1-2-1 personalised video explaining how your individual project can be changed/tweaked/developed in order to achieve the sound that you’re looking for!
In addition to this 1-2-1 personalised video feedback, you also receive a whole host of other course materials, including; Over 50 video tutorials on Ableton Live, Extensive course notes, Over 20 Ableton projects to download, Exclusive samples & audio resources, Weekly web chat with a pro producer and a Student forum to post your questions & discussion topics.
You can check out the full details of the course here. Also take a look at the video below for a taster of what you can expect from the personal video feedback:
Chopping Samples Manually in Ableton Live & Assign to Drum Rack
February 12, 2010
During the post-NAMM period which we are currently in there is often a lack of adequate music production technology news as everyone is busy playing with all the toys showcased at the event. However, I recently came across this pretty interesting demonstration of a technique in Ableton that has a great deal of potential and is not often used to a great extent.
Ableton Live has constantly been noted for its extreme versatility and its ability to be manipulated to the user’s way of working, due to this we often find new displays of ways to utilise this software and new techniques within the platform- regular readers may remember a previous post on Ski Beatz using Ableton in a unique way.
This quick video demonstrates how to manually chop samples in Ableton and then assign them to a drum rack, thus giving you a pretty quick way to slice samples and still have control over your sections. There is also another video which demonstrates how to automate chopping and to thus use Ableton to chop samples like and Akai MPC, check out that vid here.
So this video demonstrates how to have more control over your chops before you slice and assign them to the drum rack. So by utilising this technique you’ve got your very own MPC built into Ableton and ready to go loaded up with your samples!
New Meat Katie Sample Pack
December 9, 2009
Loopmasters officially launched early in 2003 with the aim of producing flexible sample libraries for producers and musicians who required top quality samples and software from seasoned professionals to integrate into and inspire their music. The company have a great artist series which feature sample packs that have been personally selected by top industry producers and are tailored to suit an individual genre need, the series has so far seen samples selected by the likes of The Rogue Element, The Tidy Boys, Deekline & Solo and Mistabishi.
The latest instalment of the highly rated artist series is delivered from the Electro-Breaks king himself: Meat Katie. The co-owner of the extremely influential Lot49 label has had a long and successful history with dance music, he is an amazing DJ, has produced loads of big tunes and has remixed/collaborated with some of the best in the business. Now Meat Katie has teemed up with Loopmasters to create a sample pack that every producer is sure to put to good use.
The new title is labelled as being geared towards those who produce Tech-Funk sounding beats, however the scope of use for the sample pack seems to stretch to a variety of different genres, including Breaks, Electro, Techno, Tech-House and Minimal. The pack contains over 800MB of royalty free Tech Funk samples and every sound has been carefully processed to provide maximum inspiration every time. You will be more than happy to find over 400 samples and 300 Loops along with 13 ready to play patches for all the main soft samplers.
Loaded with more than 35 Bass Loops, 78 Drum Loops, 17 FX loops, 33 Hats only top loops, 52 Percussion Loops, 43 Original Synth Riffs, 14 Stab Loops, 30 Original Vocal Loops, 112 Single Drum Sounds and 10 Stabs – this collection covers all areas and leaves no stone unturned in the quest to satisfy any hungry producer.
It seems that Meat Katie has gone back to the days when searching out loops in dusty basements and secondhand record stores, lifting kicks & snare, bassloops & Hooks, bits of vocals from films etc…was seen as part of the creative process, finding a 4 bar loop that would inspire a whole track. He has made it easier for you by allowing you to get a taste of what can be achieved and how far you can diversify with his loops that move effortlessly through the techy genres.
M-Audio Oxygen USB MIDI Controllers
December 7, 2009
A leader in the innovation of music technology, M-Audio have recently launched a new range of USB MIDI controllers which deliver a level of next-generation functionality in mobile music technology. The controllers come in a range of either 25, 49 or 61 keys and all feature eight assignable knobs, with the bigger models also featuring nine assignable sliders, plus dedicated transport and track select buttons. DirectLink mode automatically maps these controls to common DAW functions including transport, mixer, track pan and plug-in parameters. Built-in factory presets offer support for popular virtual instruments right out of the box, so no complicated set-up is required. Velocity-sensitive keys and a sleek, compact design round out a portable keyboard that’s perfect for both production and performance.
The great benefit of using such a controller is the fact that you are able to be fully immersed and have complete control of the session, you are able to be completely engaged in the flow and creativity of the session without the need for interruption caused by switching between a laptop keyboard and an external MIDI controller. In fact, you might be pretty hard pressed to find a USB MIDI controller with a similar array of functions at this price.
How To Produce Minimal Techno In Ableton Live
November 25, 2009
If you are a fan of producers like Luciano, Richie Hawtin and Dubfire and you already have some production knowledge then you may want to check out Point Blank Online Music Production School. They have recently developed an Online Course specifically tailored to the production of Minimal Techno. When undertaking the course, an experienced pro producer will guide you through the techniques in Ableton Live required to create the minimal sound that has taken clubland by storm. Using an extensive library of video tutorials and personalised feedback you will learn how to program your unique drum sounds, synth sounds, effects and textures. Microtronic is required for the synth based drum programming lessons.
When checking out the course we thought that it seems extremely extensive and definitely offers a lot for your money. The course materials include; a weekly webchat with an experienced pro producer, personalised project feedback via video, over 50 Quicktime video tutorials, extensive course notes, over 20 Ableton exercises to download and access to student discussion forums.
You can check out a really good behind the scenes look at a past student’s project here:
And if you check out the Point Blank YouTube channel you can find a load more really helpful videos.
Eastenders E20 Remix Competition!!
November 18, 2009
E20 is to be the first ever spin-off from the country’s favourite and longest-running soap. The new show will be broadcast exclusively online and will show life in Ablert Square through the eyes of four teenagers at sixth form, it will involve new story lines and characters while intertwining with some of the soap’s old favourites. E20 has been commissioned as a means of showcasing and developing some of Britain’s up and coming young talent, with all of the cast and writers being newcomers to broadcasting.
However, the main reason for this post is the fact that in order to promote the new show, the BBC have launched a competition in which you can remix that iconic theme tune from the original soap! The winning remix will feature as the new E20 soap’s theme tune to be played with the title sequence of every episode, the winner will also be invited to visit the Eastender’s BBC HQ to work for a day with the soap’s music producer. Regular Fabric DJ Toddla T has even done a little remix as an example of the production work you can get going on, although we reckon there are bound to be some better ones out there!
You can enter the competition via this link
We’ve already downloaded the sample pack so we can have a mess about with the infamous ‘doof doof’ drum roll!
Heston Blumenthal To Make Instrument From A Dead Pig!
November 13, 2009
Heston Blumenthal is set to help musician Matthew Herbert make a woodwind instrument out of the bones of a dead pig for his next album. I don’t know about you but that sounds like the ultimate use of recylcing and re-using…Matthew Herbert is too raise the pig, which is to then be slaughted, eaten, and finally the leftover bones and carcaus will be made into an instrument! No waste whatsoever! Not too sure if I can see the dead pig flute catching on though…Or maybe this is the next step in musical instrument evolution? Have a look at the article and make up your own mind:
http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3928&Itemid=66
His Decks Are On Fire!
November 10, 2009
Maybe you think that you’re DJ sets are bass heavy, hard hittin, monsters that have the ability to set the dancefloor on fire? Well think again! A recent gig from Green Velvet in Berlin saw the act’s Curtis Jones actually caused a CDJ to burst into flames and burn from such a massive amount of bass! Something I’m sure that all Dj’s aspire to do…
Swayzak Give Away Their Ableton Live Pack
October 1, 2009
I’ve always loved the music that Swayzak have put out and their live show is something to behold as well. They have really embraced the Ableton Live technology to create unique and intricate sets. Obviously Ableton themselves have noticed the Scottish duo’s dedication to the ways of Live, recruiting them in for an interview about how they use the software and also to provide 2 exclusive and free live sets for you to download. Go get it!
And make sure you don’t miss them if they are on a lineup near you.
