Mark Mosher Multimedia

I’m a Synthesist, Sound Designer, Electronic Musician, and Multimedia Artist out of Boulder, CO. I perform solo and in multiple ensembles including the Carbon Dioxide Ensemble. I’ve done freelance sound design work for Ableton Berlin working on MPE sounds for Drift, Wavetable, and Sampler. I’m also the founder of the Rocky Mountain Synthesizer Meet and the Synth Patrol.

Overview and Time-Lapse Video of My Ableton Live Laptop Music Rig + Controllers

Mark Mosher

, , , , , , , , ,

2010-MarkMosher-Signals-Rig_01

Over the years I’ve played hundreds of shows as a keyboardist using my trusty Apex column with various hardware synths.  In late 2009 I had a vision to create a new Ableton Live laptop-centric rig using only virtual synths running in Live.

While I wanted to play some keys, I was really excited to add alternative visual, tangible, and spatial controllers and selected Percussa AudioCubes, Tenori-On, a Novation Launchpad. I went with my trusty Remote SL 25 for keys as it also doubles as a controller for Live. In the 11th hour I added a Moog Ehterwave Theremin which was clearly necessary to play “They Walk Among Us” live :^).

I’ve played enough shows to know that you can’t always count on basic lighting and P.A. to be adequate, so I added these elements to my requirements as well – just in case. My goal was to be able to run a room of 80 people if needed with just my rig. My other goal was 4 trips from the car load-in max with a 15 minute setup time or less.

The sketch above shows all this on paper (click the image to see a larger view). After months of slowly building up gear, the reality – sans lighting – is shown in the fun little time-laps video embedded video below.

Here is a list of what's in the rig:

  • Laptop: Windows 7 32-bit, HP DV6t-1200 Pavilion w/Core2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53 GHZ, 3G memory, 7200 RPM Drive (Update I now use an HP Envy 14 I5)
  • Soundcard: Novation NIO 2|4
  • DAW Software: Ableton Live 8 Suite
  • Primary Controllers: Novation Remote SL 25 (updated to MKII), Launchpad | Tenori-On | Percussa AudioCubes
  • Primary Virtual Synthesizers: Tone2 Gladiator 2| Native Instruments Absynth 5 | Camel Audio Alchemy | U-He Zebra 2, ACE | Ableton Sampler, Operator… | SonicCharge Synplant | Lennar Digital Sylenth1 | reFX Vanguard, Slayer2 | Image-Line Harmless, Toxic Biohazard | Cakewalk Dimension Pro | FAW Circle | DCAM: Synth Squad…
  • Hardware Synthesizers: Moog Etherwave Theremin, Waldorf Blofeld (not pictured)
  • PA: Bose L1 Compact
  • Stand: Odyssey ATT2 Table, Odyssey L2 Laptop Stand

Links to lots of the software I use here:
http://atomic-temporary-2487555.wpcomstaging.com/links.html

Mark Mosher
Electronic Musician, Boulder, CO
http://www.modulatethis.com
http://atomic-temporary-2487555.wpcomstaging.com

Welcome to My Blog

Hi, it’s Mark. I’m a Synthesist, Sound Designer, Electronic Musician, and Multimedia Artist out of Boulder, CO. Subscribe if you’d like to receive emails when I post.

Archive

This blog is made up of over 1,000 posts that stretch back to 2005 and is a combination of artist news and Modulate This! articles on synth tech and technique.

Buy Me a Coffee

This blog runs on coffee. If you have found any of my articles inspiring or helpful, consider buying me a cup of coffee to help fuel future posts. You can also support the effort by subscribing, telling your friends, and buying my music or adding music to your playlists.

☕️ Make a one-time donation

Choose an amount

$2.00
$5.00
$10.00

Or enter a custom amount

$

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate

Lastest Single

Enter to win a win a vintage Moog Source signed by Bob Moog

Featured Posts

Recent Posts

Music

Bandcamp

Spooity

Featured Video

Projects

I’m the founder, creative director, and show producer for…

Socials

“Highway 101” - @ableton #Push3 Standalone jam + multimedia. #techno #funk #mpe. Link tor 4K version in bio. I’ll be performing tonight with the Carbon Diablo ensemble opening the @lafayetteelectronicartsfest . Shows at seven Link in bio. I’ll be using some #krell patches I created from a init with @sugarbytesofficial Aparillo Friday, April 19, 7pm – FREE - The Carbon Diablo Ensemble Julia Edith Rigby, Mickey Lenny & Nihil Coil, Diggers opening night of @lafayetteelectronicartsfest Center for Musical Arts (CMA), 200 E Baseline Rd, Lafayette, CO 80026 *** LINK IN BIO *** Here comes the snow! @eldoramtnresort Already had 8” 😲 @percussacom SSP in the house! We have liftoff 🚀. When you boot it the first time, it loads a gorgeous demo patch using the Wavetable oscillator with FX ready to play via USB MIDI. #eurorack #percussassp I just updated my @ableton #push3 Controller to Standalone using Push Upgrade Kit. Incredibly great packaging, labeling, process and install instructions. We have lift off 🚀! EAT DRINK SYNTH: Dinner, Drinks & Groovebox Invasion at Clancy’s Irish Pub.

11 responses to “Overview and Time-Lapse Video of My Ableton Live Laptop Music Rig + Controllers”

  1. Mark Mosher Avatar
    Mark Mosher

    Thanks!

    Like

    Reply
  2. operatore video Avatar
    operatore video

    This is the great and I like so much. It’s very awesome and nicer thing. This is the very impressive post and more useful.

    Like

    Reply
  3. Mark Mosher Avatar
    Mark Mosher

    You should definitely do a vid!!! I’m hoping to get down to 10 min with a little practice.
    Mark

    Like

    Reply
  4. Mark Mosher Avatar
    Mark Mosher

    Not really. I compose and mix in stereo so if you have a great system or use headphones it sounds interesting. The nice thing about plugging into the Bose is it takes the stereo in and sums into mono and things sound fine to me.

    Like

    Reply
  5. Marc Avatar
    Marc

    That is such a great video. I need to do similar with my rig (10 min set up FTW).

    Like

    Reply
  6. Jonathan Tucker Avatar
    Jonathan Tucker

    Wow, thank you so much for that detailed reponse! 🙂 I don’t mean to pester you with so many questions, but has live/PA sound limitations influenced your compositional process? For instance, if you create space in a track through extensive panning, it’ll sound completely different (aka busy) in a live situation. Same with stereo samples (think omnisphere). Having said that, I have since then tried to make my music as mono-compatible as possible – samples and fx, the exception being reverb.
    … I might be going too overboard with this.

    Like

    Reply
  7. Mark Mosher Avatar
    Mark Mosher

    Hi Jonathan,
    Yes indeed – Bose L1 Compact. By the way, I updated the post to put a list of all the gear in the rig.
    For years I gigged with a back-breaking Roland KC-550. It sounded great but this time around I wanted light, fast setup with no cables. I’ve gigged a lot and feel in most venues a stereo mix is lost on listeners – either because of the room, or where they are standing. I find Bose’s radial array concept much more compelling. I really like the concept for cases where there might be more than one performer. You know, you’ll hear sound coming from the direction of the performer and not from some speaker way over on the side. As a matter of fact, I just saw Pat Metheny’s Orchestrion, and he had like 8 Bose systems on stage so he could discretely monitor the different elements, and the audiance could hear this as well.
    So with the Bose, I just plug the stereo out into the the inputs thereby turning everything mono. I personally think the L1 compact sounds great although I had to EQ and re-mix my songs slightly to accommodate it’s character. Now I have eq on the master channel of my live tracks so I can quickly adjust if I jump to a house solution for a gig. The Bose solution disperses evenly at 180 degrees plus at different heights so listeners sitting and stand can hear well. Another cool thing is if you put it slightly in front of your rig so your a little behind the 180 degree dispersion, the volume drops and you can use it as a monitor and a P.A. I recently tested it at the Walnut Room in Denver and it was plenty loud even at half-way up.
    I suggested you put some of your tracks on an iPod and head down to a Bose store or a local Guitar Center and give it a try. Sweetwater also carries them and has some nice demo videos. Most stores have a money back guarantee as well so you can give it a go.
    Bottom line, it’s expensive, but the quick setup, light-weight, radial array concept is awesome for my needs.

    Like

    Reply
  8. Jonathan Tucker Avatar
    Jonathan Tucker

    Hey Mark,
    Is that a Bose L1 Compact in your setup? I’ve been seeking a quality audio solution for performing laptop gigs, specifically because I still play mostly house shows. I’ve been thinking about getting two Roland MC-505 keyboard amps (on stands) for a stereo set-up – unfortunately, that’ll cost a lot.
    Any ideas? Also, how do you approach performing through a mono PA system when your samples and plugins are stereo? These problems have been on my mind for some time now, and I was hoping you’d have some insight.
    Thanks in advance!

    Like

    Reply
  9. Hannes Pasqualini Avatar
    Hannes Pasqualini

    I see, you are using a usb soundcard… that explains it. Maybe I should switch to usb as well, firewire proved to be quite problematic.
    On a different matter… I’ve read about you enthusiasm for the blofeld before, and as an owner of the keyboard version I can only second that! It’s really a great machine!

    Like

    Reply
  10. Mark Mosher Avatar
    Mark Mosher

    In my travels I bump into artists using Windows with Ableton Live all the time – although Macs have certainly become extremely popular.
    I’m using a Windows 7 32-bit, 3GB, HP DV6t-1200 Pavilion w/Core2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53 GHZ, 7400 RPM drive. In my setup I’m using 5 USB controllers & a USB sound card which is all plugged into the HP Quickdoc Docking Station.
    Anyone other readers know of systems with TI Firewire chip.
    More details on my setup here –
    https://markmoshermusic.com/about.html
    Links to lots of the software I use here: https://markmoshermusic.com/links.html
    Mark

    Like

    Reply
  11. Hannes Pasqualini Avatar
    Hannes Pasqualini

    nice!
    I see you’re not using a mac… which is quite uncommon in this musical field. Could I ask you what brand/model of laptop you’re using, I’m currently looking for a pc laptop but it’s quite difficult to find one with a TI firewire chip, and all the others just don’t work.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Mark Mosher Multimedia

Ableton Ableton Live Ableton Live 6 Absynth Analog Four Boulder Cakewalk Colorado Concert Controllerism Denver Digitone Electronic Music Elektron experimental music free live pack Halloween image-line Improvisation live Mark Mosher Mark Mosher Music Musique concrète Octatrack Percussa percussa audiocubes Podcast Push 2 resolume Sampler Samplers Sonic Encounters Sound Design Soundscape Soundscapes Synth Synthesis Synthesizer Synthesizers Tenori-On Theremin U-HE Video VST Waldorf Blofeld

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com