Hi,
I just found this forum and it looks to be excellent!
I've been dabbling with music production for years and not really achieved much until recently.
I have the Ableton 8 Suite and don't really want to spend out much more.
I just wondered if anyone uses Ableton Analog and the other ableton instruments in their tracks and if it is reasonable to expect to get some of those lovely minimal sounds out of it.
It's so easy to chase new VST and plugins in order to get a sound, but I really want to learn what I have and make it work for me.
Also where is a good point to start on this forum with tips and techniques for Minimal production?
Thanks
Getting started in minimal, OK to use Ableton Instruments?
Best advice I can give is to stick with Ableton suite and learn the built in stuff inside and out. It's perfectly capable of doing all the sounds in a given track. Once you know what all the instruments do and how to best use them, you have a good grounding to inform yourself in terms of other purchases, and will only need to spend on things that increase your palette, not simply marketing hyperbole.
Thanks
I really like the interface and work pretty well with it. Analog seems to be a good starting point before I move on to Operator and I love the drum racks.
I have a decent sampler and such too within the suite.
I guess I just hear those lovely Native Instruments demos and hear lovely noises instantly, but learning what i have first would be far more useful I think.
I really like the interface and work pretty well with it. Analog seems to be a good starting point before I move on to Operator and I love the drum racks.
I have a decent sampler and such too within the suite.
I guess I just hear those lovely Native Instruments demos and hear lovely noises instantly, but learning what i have first would be far more useful I think.
hey,
dont let anyone tell you that you 'must' have this and you 'must' have that soft synth ect
Also dont let anyone tell you that Ableton will give you 'thin' mixes or 'weak' productons.
Limitation breeds creativity, and the tools you already have are more than enough to help you create some fantastic music
dont let anyone tell you that you 'must' have this and you 'must' have that soft synth ect
Also dont let anyone tell you that Ableton will give you 'thin' mixes or 'weak' productons.
Limitation breeds creativity, and the tools you already have are more than enough to help you create some fantastic music
different instruments are for different characters.
most synths today are capable to make similar sounds, its the character of the synth and the character of the effects (overdrive for exemple) are those that makes the big difference in the end result.
If your happy with how the bundled instruments sound like, than there is no reason to look elsewhere.
most synths today are capable to make similar sounds, its the character of the synth and the character of the effects (overdrive for exemple) are those that makes the big difference in the end result.
If your happy with how the bundled instruments sound like, than there is no reason to look elsewhere.
I've made about 400 presets or more with just Analog, Simpler and Operator uptill now, and although I'm a bit less actively using them nowadays than say a year ago, I'm still adding new ones on a frequent basis.
Most of these are minimal inspired.
Operator is very powerful, but won't be very untuitive if you're not used to programming synths a lot.
Simpler ia a great "simple" sampler.
I've got Kontakt 4, but sometimes I still prefer Simpler if I only need it for an easy job.
The only one I don't really like is Sampler. They've made it very non-intuitive, and too complex in some ways, while still not including other stuff you would expect from a complex sampler.
Analog especially is a very handy tool.
If you add a few combo's of FX after it, you can get GREAT results with it.
If you want I can send you a few examples.
just send me a PM and I'll send you some.
some quick basic tips :
* many good synth sounds can be made with just ONE single oscillator.
Yes, of course, many are also made with 2 oscillators or more, but it's a common mistake that many make to always use 2 oscillators.
Try making a few with just one oscillator. You'll be amazed with what you can do with just one single oscillator.
* the most important parameters of your envelope are attack and decay.
remember that !!
Your brain tells you what kind of sound patch A or B is by listening to the first 20 milliseconds or so and categorizing it as "bass", "pad", "lead",...
* don't think that all sounds are made with an instant attack. in fact, if you fiddle around a bit with the attack knob, you'll soon see that there's a whole range of sounds that has a little bit slower attack.
Nothing much, of course, but still just a little more than the instant attack many instinctively program.
* not all sounds are made with an LP filter. There are other filters in Analog, use them !
* the filter structure in Analog is flexible, use it that way.
You can do parallel and serial filtering. Or both at the same time.
And don't forget : it's software, so you can add an Autofilter after Analog as a nice extra. Or even 2 autofilters after each other if you want.
I find it very nice to add an extra autofilter after Analog to give your sound some extra power. The effect is especially nice if you have some resonance going on in Analog before it gets to your Autofilter.
*Saturation is your friend. In fact, it's your very best friend when it comes to Analog
Most of these are minimal inspired.
Operator is very powerful, but won't be very untuitive if you're not used to programming synths a lot.
Simpler ia a great "simple" sampler.
I've got Kontakt 4, but sometimes I still prefer Simpler if I only need it for an easy job.
The only one I don't really like is Sampler. They've made it very non-intuitive, and too complex in some ways, while still not including other stuff you would expect from a complex sampler.
Analog especially is a very handy tool.
If you add a few combo's of FX after it, you can get GREAT results with it.
If you want I can send you a few examples.
just send me a PM and I'll send you some.
some quick basic tips :
* many good synth sounds can be made with just ONE single oscillator.
Yes, of course, many are also made with 2 oscillators or more, but it's a common mistake that many make to always use 2 oscillators.
Try making a few with just one oscillator. You'll be amazed with what you can do with just one single oscillator.
* the most important parameters of your envelope are attack and decay.
remember that !!
Your brain tells you what kind of sound patch A or B is by listening to the first 20 milliseconds or so and categorizing it as "bass", "pad", "lead",...
* don't think that all sounds are made with an instant attack. in fact, if you fiddle around a bit with the attack knob, you'll soon see that there's a whole range of sounds that has a little bit slower attack.
Nothing much, of course, but still just a little more than the instant attack many instinctively program.
* not all sounds are made with an LP filter. There are other filters in Analog, use them !
* the filter structure in Analog is flexible, use it that way.
You can do parallel and serial filtering. Or both at the same time.
And don't forget : it's software, so you can add an Autofilter after Analog as a nice extra. Or even 2 autofilters after each other if you want.
I find it very nice to add an extra autofilter after Analog to give your sound some extra power. The effect is especially nice if you have some resonance going on in Analog before it gets to your Autofilter.
*Saturation is your friend. In fact, it's your very best friend when it comes to Analog
don't feel obliged to get NI stuff.
I got NI Komplete here as well but apart from Battery and Kontakt, (and the ocassional FM8 or Massive), I don't use it half as much as Analog or Simpler.
And btw : the presets of the NI softsynths aren't exactly that great for minimal, in my opinion.
(but then again, the presets that come with Analog suck even more unfortunately
)
You'll get a LONG way with just Simpler and Analog if you spend enough time with it.
I've had (and still have) many great hardware synths here, but I still love and use Analog a lot.
I got NI Komplete here as well but apart from Battery and Kontakt, (and the ocassional FM8 or Massive), I don't use it half as much as Analog or Simpler.
And btw : the presets of the NI softsynths aren't exactly that great for minimal, in my opinion.
(but then again, the presets that come with Analog suck even more unfortunately
)You'll get a LONG way with just Simpler and Analog if you spend enough time with it.
I've had (and still have) many great hardware synths here, but I still love and use Analog a lot.