Live 9 Suite. Overview of Suite. Software Instruments. Analog

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1 Overview of Suite Live 9 Suite is Ableton s flagship XL software package that includes the fullfeatured Live 9, a large compliment of software and sample-based instrument collections, advanced audio effects, and Max for Live. Instruments included are Analog, Collision, Electric, Operator, and Sampler. Suite also bolsters 11 additional packs not included in the other versions of Live 9. This enormously expanded collection of sound libraries, clips, instruments, Construction Kits, and Lessons provides thousands of customized presets created by top sound designers, such as Zero-G, Cycling 74, SoneArte, and Purmagnetik, just to name a few. That s just the instrument and sound library side of Suite. You also get Amp, Cabinet, Corpus Audio Effects and Max for Live with another 14 effect devices. To sum it all up, if you have the extra money saved up, Suite is well worth it. If you ve already purchased Live 9 Intro or Standard, for an additional cost you can upgrade to Suite. Alternatively, you can purchase individual packs from the Ableton website to enhance your experience with Live 9. In the following sections we ll cover a general overview of the instruments and effects included in Suite, which, when purchased, appear in the Live Browser just like the instruments that came with your version of Live 9. Understand that this Scene does not cover every aspect of each Suite device. For additional information, consult the Live 9 manual. Now that you are salivating at all the excitement packed in Suite, go download the free trial version while it s still available and have a taste of some of these fantastic devices ( Software Instruments Analog Analog is a fully integrated virtual analog software synthesizer that emulates the classic analog synthesizers using physical modeling synthesis technique. Physical 15

2 Appendix 2 Modeling is an advanced type of synthesis where, through mathematical analysis, it is possible to emulate the physical properties of an analog circuit or acoustic behavior, and, more specifically, emulate the way a real-world instrument behaves and responds to the way it is played. Analog is not limited to the reproduction of vintage analog synths and it is fully customizable for new, rich, warm-sounding synth creations and a variety of percussives, keys, pad, leads, and effects. Figure A2.1 Analog. Analog is what an analog synthesizer should be: powerful and robust with lots of control at your fingertips. There are no hidden and confusing menu pages or windows to navigate through. It efficiently offers editable features right in the front panel for almost every knob and slider. The user interface consists of two parts: the shell and the display. The shell is made up of two main oscillators, a noise generator, two filters, two amplifiers, two lowfrequency oscillators (LFOs), and global controls. These take up the outer lying areas of the interface that surrounds the display. Each has dedicated selectable parameters. In the center area of the interface is the instrument parameter display, which shows currently selected shell parameter settings, and updates as different shell parameters are selected. For example, when Analog s Osc1 section is selected, its parameters will be visible in the display. Click on an individual shell section to bring up its parameters at any time. As with analog synthesizers, these parameters are routable to Analog s filter Figure A2.2 Analog Display. 16

3 section and other parameters including the amplifier, providing many soundshaping options. It is also possible to route its oscillator signal or signals in series or in parallel, allowing you to create big sounding instruments that will inspire further interest into the sound-shaping world of synthesis. The individual shell s window will turn from gray to white when selected. You can see what we mean by clicking on the various shell sections located around the outside of the central display area found in the middle. Figure A2.3 Analog Oscillator shell section. Each oscillator can be used independently or in conjunction with the other. Analog also has an incredible amount of routing flexibility in regards to both the balance and filtering of the oscillator s sound. You ll find a shape chooser window that displays Analog s four oscillator waveform types: Sine, Sawtooth, Rectangular, and Noise. Part of Analog s implementation is designed around what Ableton calls routing schemes. These routing parameter schemes are preset, ready to load, and are specific to the oscillator, filter, and amp. They can be found in the display area by clicking on the global volume shell on the far right side of the interface. The onboard filters, LFOs, pitch/filter envelopes, and multiple tuning parameters make sound design and patch creation a lot of fun and addictive once you get the hang of it all. Using Device Racks, you can create multiple Analog device chains, which can result in new and gratifying timbres. Try retuning, panning, and layering them in a Rack Device and you ll find that the sonic possibilities are yours for the making! Collision Collision is a software synth designed to reproduce acoustic mallet-based percussion instruments through physical modeling. This includes wooden and metallic instru - ments, such as xylophones, marimbas, and glockenspiels. Of course, it is also capable of creating plenty of custom instruments. The overall concept and design of Collision is quite powerful. Through physical modeling it can simulate a mallet striking a surface, meaning that it models the resonant characteristics and properties of the way in which various objects resonate. Its sound is generated by two oscillators that create its initial attack sound (acting as mallets), which then feeds two unique resonators that create the character of the overall sound. We ll come back to this in a moment. 17

4 Appendix 2 The user interface consists of six tabs: Excitator, LFO, MIDI, Resonator 1, Resonator 2, and Link. Each tab accesses different parameters of the instrument except Link, which allows you to address both resonator parameters at the same time. At the far righthand side of Collision s interface is the Global Section. Figure A2.4 Collision. Figure A2.5 Collision Excitator Tab. The Excitator tab handles the parameters for the Mallet and Noise (oscillators) sections, which determine the characteristic of the initial attack of the instrument, creating a physical model of the Mallet. Note that the Noise section also generates white noise as part of its characteristic. You can use either Excitator or both Excitators as the initial attack sound source to be fed into the resonator(s), resulting in Collision s characteristic sound. Figure A2.6 Collision Resonator 1 Tab. 18

5 The Resonator tabs handle the parameters of each resonator, and determine what object is used as the physical model (the strike surface) for the instrument s spectral characteristics. There are several resonator objects available for each Resonator located in the Resonance Type chooser window (just below and to the left of the Resonator 2 tab). Each of these resonant objects beam, marimba, string, plate, pipe, and tube possess a distinct sonic quality that can dramatically alter the Mallet and/or Noise Excitator being used as the initial attack. Once you start to adjust the variable resonator parameters harmonics, tuning, decay, and velocity this will become very obvious. In addition, each resonator has an independent X Y controller and a mixer section. The Resonator Mixer contains Volume, Bleed (dry/wet mix), and Pan knobs. The LFO tab provides access to the routing and parameters for two low-frequency oscillators. These are used to modulate various parameters of the Excitators and resonators, or are used to modulate each other. Routings are assigned by choosing a listed parameter in the Destination chooser. Figure A2.7 Collision LFO Tab. The MIDI tab is for internally assigning Pitch Bend, Mod Wheel, and Aftertouch data to Collisions parameters. Collision naturally works well with MIDI-assigned control parameters, adding a real-time flexibility to the process of creating sound design elements. Figure A2.8 Collision MIDI Tab. 19

6 Appendix 2 The Global section handles overall behavior and performance parameters for the instrument. For example, you can use Resonator Structure to control how signal flows through the resonators by setting it to either Serial mode or Parallel mode. In Serial mode, each Excitator signal is sent to Resonator 1; its mixed output is then sent to Resonator 2 and to its own mixer. In Parallel mode, each Excitator is mixed first, then sent to both resonators at the same time. Note! Corpus is a standalone audio effect integrated into Suite that originates from Collision, adapting its resonator section to create Corpus. Corpus come bundled with Collision, which can be purchased separately if you don t own Suite. For more on Corpus, launch to. Figure A2.9 Corpus. Electric Electric is a software synth designed to emulate the classic Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos using physical modeling. By modeling all of the distinct traits and mechanics of these electric pianos (all phases of their sound generation), including their mallet strike, tone fork, damper, and the pickup, Electric is able to produce some very unique and flexible signature timbres. The Electric interface is designed around the four principle characteristics of the modeled sound and their related parameters. These are sectioned off within the interface starting from left to right: Mallet, Fork, Damper, and Pickup. The Mallet section handles the parameters of the modeled mallet. From there you can control how hard the simulated striking surface is (Stiffness) and the intensity of the impact made by the mallet on the surface (Force). The Fork section handles the resonating 20

7 Figure A2.10 Electric. characteristics of simulating a mallet striking a fork. Here you can control Tine, the portion that is struck, and Tone, the subsequent resonance of the Fork s simulated tone bar. The Damper section handles the modeled characteristics of an electric piano s dampers, how dampers create their own noise when they are applied and released when responding to the action of a piano key. The Pickup section acts as a virtual pickup similar to an electric guitar s coil pickup. Adjusting the different parameters within this section changes the sound dramatically as the various knobs allow changes for distance, input amount, symmetry, and pickup types. The pickup types modeled are electro-dynamic-r and electro-static-w. Figure A2.10 Electric Pickup Section. Each one of Electric s sections ultimately feed into the Global section, which controls overall instrument functions, such as tuning, pitch bend, and volume. Try experimenting with Electric and some of Live s audio effects to enhance Electric s classic sound and characteristic. It s dying to be tweaked! Electric can be purchased separately for those of you who do not own Suite. 21

8 Appendix 2 Operator Operator legendary synthesizer has been part of the Live legacy for a long time. It is a user definable FM (frequency modulation) and subtractive software synth inspired by the classic digital FM hardware synthesizers. Operator combines traditional FM synthesis (the amplitude of one signal modulating the frequency of another signal) with Additive synthesis (combining partials/sine waves) and Subtractive synthesis techniques (the filtering out of frequencies/harmonics) to create easy-to-use customizable synths. Operator contains four oscillators that can be mixed together along with a large number of included waveforms, which are multiplied together to create unique sounds. The interface is confined to one screen separated into two areas: the shell (on the left and right) and the display in the middle. To the left is a bank of four multiwaveform oscillators, which are labeled and color-coded. They can be routed with 1 of 11 algorithms for connecting oscillators to other oscillators so they can modulate in various ways. The display area is where the currently selected shell s parameters are listed and they can be edited when selected. This interactive display can also be toggled between an Envelope and Oscillator view when the associated orange outlined box is selected from within the display. Oscillator view allows for creating customized user-based waveforms by manually drawing them into the Waveform Editor using the mouse pointer. By doing this you can adjust the amplitude of an oscillator s partials. Figure A2.12 Operator. On the right hand side is the LFO shell, an expansive Filter shell with 14 preset filter types, Pitch shell (Pitch envelope), and Global shell. With Suite you can select from dozens of Instrument Rack presets featuring Operator, designed by top-notch sound designers. Load it up and try it out. The full version of Operator can be purchased separately for those who do not own Suite. 22

9 Figure A2.13 Operator: Oscillator Waveform Editor. Sampler Figure A2.14 Sampler. Sampler has already been discussed at length in details.. Launch there for more Tension Tension is a fully integrated software synth designed to emulate stringed instruments using physical modeling. The concept is based on emulating the physical characteristics that influence the timbre of a stringed instrument. These 23

10 Appendix 2 characteristics or components are considered by Ableton to be bowing technique, dampening, finger, pick-up, and body. Tension includes four Excitator types and models of a string, finger/fret interaction, damper, and various soundboards. It also includes a multimode filter and envelope, LFO, and global controls that integrate performance features. Figure A2.15 Tension. The user interface is laid out in two tab views. The String Tab manages the parameters relating to the string s physical characteristics. This includes a section for Excitator, String, Damper, Vibrato, Termination, Pickup, and Body. Here is a brief rundown of these sections. The Excitator section is where one of the four excitators Bow, Hammer, Hammer bouncing, and Plectrum is selected to play the string, thus generating various instruments and styles of playing. Excitator may be deactivated using the switch located next to its name in the upper left. If Off, damper will need to be active in order for sound to be made. The String section handles the simulation of the resonating string and parameters that affect its theoretical vibrations. Damping controls the presence of highfrequency content. Inharm affects the intonation of the string s upper partials. The Vibrato section generates a vibrato effect on the string (a pulsing wave-like effect). Adjust the Rate to set the speed of the vibrato and Amount to set the amplitude of the effect. Use Delay to delay the onset of vibrato when a note is played. The Damper section handles the parameters for simulating the effects of a string being stopped from vibrating in a similar way in which a real-world instrument would behave when a key is released or muted with a finger, pad, or other type of damper. Each parameter in this section creates some very believable results. For example, by using Damping to control the amount and resistance of the damper and Position to establish where on the string the damper comes in contact, you 24

11 can achieve some very realistic harmonic sounds that resemble a finger muting a guitar string to generate harmonics. The Termination section emulates the relationship of the finger, fret, and string with parameters relating to the force applied by the finger onto the string and the stiffness of the finger and fret. Each one of these parameters can be adjusted. The Pickup section is designed to model an electric guitar or electric piano s pickup, which can be positioned relative to the string using the provided slider. The Body section handles the parameters for simulating the effect that the body or soundboard of a string instrument has on the frequency content, and how the string s vibrations resonate. Settings for Body type, Decay, Low/High Cut, and String/Body balance all contribute to the realistic modeling of this physical property. The Filter/Global Tab includes a filter section for sound shaping which contains Filter, Filter Envelope, LFO, and global controls with sections relating to MIDI and performance parameters. These parameters include Keyboard (tuning, polyphony, pitch bend, etc.), Unison Mode (stacking voices for a chorus-like effect), Portamento, and Volume knob. Figure A2.16 Tension: Filter/ Global Tab Tension is not only limited to creating traditional string sounds; rather, it can be very useful at sound design too. To get a handle on Tension and all of its possibilities, explore its presets and try experimenting with your own sounds in similar ways. Tension can be purchased separately for those who do not own Suite. 25

12 Appendix 2 Audio Effects Amp Amp is a collaboration between Ableton and Softube designed for simulating various types and styles of guitar amplifiers. Since an amplifier (head unit) is a guitarist s best friend, it is only expected that Live would include an amplifier plugin. Obviously nothing can replace a real analog amplifier; but sometimes recording direct or imposing non-guitar recordings through an amp is more feasible and efficient when done in the box in the DAW. If you don t have Suite, you can purchase Amp separately as a pack from the Ableton website. Amp offers seven emulated guitar amplifier models using physical modeling technology. Choose which classic amp model directly from the interface. All of the amp models have the same host of parameter controls, similar to those on real amplifiers. These include Gain, tone controls Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence. In addition, you can control the overall volume and Dry/Wet amount. Notice that there is an option to operate Amp in Mono or Dual (stereo) mode. To get the most out of the Amp effect, consider adding Cabinet directly after Amp to the signal chain. In the real world, amps (heads) and cabinets (speaker cabs) are used together, so if you are a purist or going for the most authentic sound possible, you should consider this combination. Cabinet comes with Suite or when you install the Amp Pack. Max for Live If you ve ever wanted to create your own devices in Live, you re in luck. Max for Live is an add-on for Live that allows you to build and share your own devices from the ground up. Based on the graphical object-oriented programming language Max 6 by Cycling 74, Max for Live provides Live users the opportunity to create, modify, and share new and existing Max for Live devices. This means that you can create instruments, effects, and extensions that exceed the commonplace everyday instrument designs and even reinvent your hardware controllers, converting them into unique tools for creating, producing, performing. You even have the ability to hack into Live s inner workings and modify just about anything in the interface and engine, as well as hardware device interaction. This is a programmer s dream all made possible by the limitless programming tools of the Max programming environment. The only limits are your imagination and your knowledge of the Max language. You will find that many of these imaginative devices have already been realized and are accessible as presets installed with the Core Library of Suite. 26

13 Figure A2.17 Max for Live. What Is Max? Figure A2.18 Max 6. Max 6 is an object-oriented programming language for multimedia. Many new users make the mistake of asking: What does Max do? or What does Max sound like? The answer is, quite simply, nothing. Max doesn t do anything until you tell it to do something. In the truest sense, it is a programming language. Fortunately, Max has a large and active community. Many people have already told Max what to do and are willing to share their hard work for free. Max excels at incorporating audio, MIDI, and video into a high-level programming language. It allows you to build complex programs with unique user interfaces. What you create is entirely up to you. 27

14 Appendix 2 Overview of Max 6 When you open Max, you are presented with a blank patcher. Think of this as a new document in MS Word waiting for your literary masterpiece. But instead of words, you create your patcher connecting objects. Objects are the building blocks of Max, each with a unique function. Some objects are very simple, like a number object, while others can be quite complex. Objects are connected to each other using patchcords. To illustrate the way a patcher works, consider a guitar player setting up before a show with a guitar plugged into a series of effects pedals, then into an amplifier. Think of the guitar pedals placed on one pedal board as one big signal processer effects chain. This represents a Max patcher. Sound goes in one side, gets manipulated, and comes out the other side. Inside this giant Max patch there are smaller subpatchers (a patcher within the main patcher). The distortion pedal represents a subpatcher. It includes all the internal circuitry that processes the signal (MSP objects) but also contains a set of control knobs: tone, level, gain, etc. The knobs represent Max objects. The signal then exits the distortion pedal and a similar process takes place in the compression pedal. Objects can be of three types: 1. Max: these are the control objects, such as a basic knob or fader. These objects handle data. 2. MSP: these are the signal generators and processors. They function at the sample rate of your project for example, 44.1 khz. 3. Jitter: these are video objects. These handle video playback and manipulation. Getting Started with Max for Live There are two basic ways to approach Max for Live. The first is as an end-user. There are plenty of pre-built patchers (presets) that you can access and use in Live in the same way that you use any other Device. In fact, Max for Live is seamlessly integrated in Live, so you can simply ignore Max altogether. Load up a Max device and off you go. Tweak the knobs until you get the sound you re looking for. This is obviously the quickest way to get started and has the fewest obstacles. When creativity strikes, this is the way to get your musical ideas down as quickly as possible. The other route is to create your own unique patchers (Max Devices). This is ultimately the most rewarding; but for those without a background in computer music it can seem a bit daunting. When making your way through this sizable learning curve you should divide your time between two things. The first approach should be done using the Max 6 tutorials from Cycling 74 in the Max 6 28

15 Help menu. Learn the theories behind what you re creating. Second, experiment and don t break your creative flow. Max is an instrument. Think of the first part as practicing musical scales and arpeggios, and the second part as playing in a jam session. Max Devices Max Devices are divided into three categories: Max Audio Effect, Max Instrument, and Max MIDI Effect. Included with Suite, you will find the Max Device itself, which is for building your own custom instruments or effect and presets that are ready to be used. If you re not feeling adventurous or a programmer, there are more packs for Max for Live available at the Ableton website. In the meantime, let s highlight just a few of the included device presets. The rest you can experiment with on your own. Buffer Shuffler 2.0 Buffer Shuffler is a very interesting audio effect for manipulating audio signals with various processers in a step sequence patter, such as stutter, gate, pitch, shift, etc. Using buffers (blocks of memory to store data) the audio can be affected on a per step basis by capturing the incoming audio and playing it back in place of the original audio as short loops from the buffer. This works great for drum loops that you want to stutter, glitch, shift, and/or reverse in real-time. Figure A2.19 Max for Live: Buffer Shuffler 2.0. Convolution Reverb One of the greatest breakthroughs in reverb plug-ins is the concept of convolution. Convolution is the process imposing one audio signal upon another, resulting in a fusion or synergy of the two. Using impulse responses (IRs), this concept is applied for reverb. In this situation, IRs are audio recordings of ambient spaces, various objects, and objects that, when imposed upon another audio signal, create the sound or perception in which the IR was recorded. Using this technology helps to 29

16 Appendix 2 create more organic or authentic reverb effects or crazy morphed effect for the DAW, as opposed to the synthesized reverbs of the past. They both have their place, but convolution reverbs are a must for any DAW. Thanks to Max for Live, Live now has its own: Convolution Reverb and Convolution Reverb Pro. Load Convolution Reverb/Pro on a Track or in a Device Chain and off you go. You can add your own IRs or use those included in the presets. Figure A2.20 Max for Live: Convolution Reverb Pro. Multi Map Multi Map is fun little Max for Live effect. Although it is currently located under Max Audio Effect (this could change), its main function is to consolidate the mappings of multiple parameter controls, such as volume, frequency, pan, send amount, etc., to one single knob called Input. With that one knob you can control up to eight parameters at once and, of course, that one knob can be MIDI mapped. Now it s up to your imagination as to what you want to control. Figure A2.21 Max for Live: MultiMap. 30

17 XY Pad XY is not a new concept to Live, but there has never been a standalone XY device that you could map to any parameter. Now it s possible with the Max Audio Effect XY Pad, although not really an audio effect per se. Simply click Map and then immediately click or move a parameter you wish to control via the XY window. This is a great tool for the manipulation of multiple parameters at the same time one mapped to the X axis and the other mapped to the Y access via the device XY window or from an external MIDI controller. Nothing like a little geometry in the music world. If you ve made it this far, it s now time to try out all of the other Max for Live Audio/MIDI effects and Instruments. Also, check the Ableton website for new free Max Devices. Figure A2.22 Max for Live: XY. 31