Here is the video from a session where I improvised a new soundscape called “. This was improvised on Ableton Live 10 with Push 2.
Sources Samples
While I mostly do my own sound design I’ve been enjoying using libraries from others to introduce pleasant surprises (“chance operations”) into some of my improvisational pieces. All the source samples for this song are from the Ghosts sound pack which I bought from my friend and independent New Zealand based sound designer Greg Cole (aka Empty Vessel https://store.emptyvessel.co.nz ).
This was originally released as a samples and presets for the TAL sampler, but I brought these into Ableton (notes on this below).
Greg takes such great care in producing and mastering his source samples I’m happy to report he also just provided these samples as a stand-alone WAV edition here https://store.emptyvessel.co.nz/p/cl3h5w.
Track 1 – Drum rack filled with almost 64 samples + Echo Track 2 – The sample “Piano String 2” loaded into Audio Damage Quanta granular synth + Echo Track 3 – The sample “Sinister Piano Strike EB3” loaded into Ableton Wavetable which analyzes it and converts into a wavetable + Echo Track 4 – The sample “Wonky Movement C2” loaded into a Simpler + Echo + Reverb Track 5 – The sample “Sandmand D4” loaded into Simpler + Echo
DREAMZONE TEXTURES is a professionally designed sound bank developed for the ACCESS VIRUS TI series of synthesizers and consists of 102 unique programs geared toward deep space ambient, experimental, dark-ambient, ethereal, new age, moving textures, film scoring, gothic, noise, etc.
The programming for this sound set was produced by long time electronic musician and sound designer Jesse Sola who has over 20 years of experience programming synthesizers and producing electronic ambient music which has been featured on syndicated radio programs like Hearts of Space, Star’s End, SOMAFM, and many others. Additionally, the sound designer has produced ambient music for commercial use and several SONY ACID Loop Libraries and has been working with the Virus line of synthesizers for over 10 years.
Each patch has been meticulously designed from the ground up, making ample use of modulation sources and nearly all patches make use of all 3 soft knobs and the mod wheel to further manipulate the sounds. Take a listen to the YouTube audio demo of many of the sounds on this sound set. Note that all sounds in the following demo video are 100% from my Access Virus TI2 with no additional overdubs, effects, or mastering.
Tone 2 has released the Synth Legends soundset for their analog modeled virtual instrument Saurus. Here is an audio demo.
Exploring Saurus' True Analog capabilities the Synth Legends soundset takes you into the depths of aged circuitry, modular setups and authentic analog, delivering 200 classic synth patches. An inspiring collection of vintage instruments, Synth Legends perfectly mirrors the unique character of analog hardware, replacing popular analog synths like the Moog, Oberheim, Prophet 5, Korg MS20 and the Arp Odyssey.
Gritty basses, weaving arpeggios, expressive pads, screaming synths, dirty leads and vibrant brass, providing you with all the sonic flavors of the analog era.
Highlights
* 200 presets by professional sounddesigners. * Comfortable installation. * Perfect integration into the user interface. * Many patches can be ‘morphed’ using the modwheel.
Perfect for many genres, such as Old School Electronica, Soundtrack, Ambient, Techno, House, Funk, Synth Pop and a wide variety of other music genres.
Saurus is a goto instrument for me as it’s easier on the CPU than a lot of circuit modeled plugins making it a good choice for live performance. It’s also a great value at $119. If you don’t have Saurus you can learn more about it here http://tone2.com/html/saurus%20synthesizer%20%20vst%20au.html. Below is a video I did a while back doing an improv with Saurus.
This is single patch improvisation recorded in one pass with no edits using Tone2's virtual Synthesizer Saurus. A single instance of Saurus is used with no other effects or editing other than what is built-into the synth. I'm starting with a factory patch in the "Lead" bank called "1970s Soloist H". I only touch the computer once during the performance in the middle to turn up the gain in the mod matrix so that LFO modulates pitch.
Prior to recording I mapped all sorts of parameters to my Novation Remote SL MK II Keyboard.
– XY map to Filter and Rez – Bank 1 of the top 8 knobs are mapped to filter parameters and OSC Balance – Bank 2 of top 8 knobs are mapped to effects parameters – Bottom row 8 knobs are MIDI mapped to Oscillator noise type AM/FM, LFO Speed, Glide rate – The first 4 sliders map to the volume ADSR – The next 4 sliders map to filter ADSR
I used my projector to paint my wall with Saurus to the knob movement you see on the wall is in real-time and corresponds to my controller movement.
Waldorf has a sale going on this weekend. The time warp theme is related to European daylight savings time change which happens this Sunday. The sale is for this weekend only.
Use the discount codes in the video for your order and save up to 30% on
Largo
Waldorf Edition
Waldorf Edition Upgrade
PPG V3
Waldorf PPG Wave 3.V Upgrade
Lector
Atmospheric Transients
Jörg Schaafs Blofeld Xperience Vol 1
Blofeld License SL
Note, Waldorf’s virtual synths require eLicenser software (and can also be transferred to USB-eLicenser). This is normally a show stopper for me but I like Largo so much I made an exception to my rule. If your curious how Largo compares to the Blofeld, checkout this post. You can download demos of the instruments first if to see if they are right for you.
Also note that License SL is on the list. So if you’ve been waiting to upgrade you’re your Blofeld Desktop to activate the sample memory now might be the time.
Ronnie over at the wonderful Rekkerd.org has released a new free sample pack –”Sound Recordings Vol. 2”.
Ever since recording some sounds a few years ago, I’ve been meaning to take the trusty Zoom H2 for another round. I finally took the time to capture another batch of ordinary, and perhaps some less ordinary sounds.
By the way, I have and use the hell out of my trusty Zoom H2.
For Rekkerd Sound Recordings Vol. 2 I found a number of interesting objects to hit, drop, slide, slam, press, etc. After a good amount of editing the pack ended up containing 90 samples. Various noises produced by light switches, fans, drawers, and lots more included.
The samples are in 24-bit/44kHz WAV format. Plenty of background noise is included, and those with a good ear might spot one of my kids in some of the recordings. 100% high quality lo-fi!
So why did I record these sounds? Well, I personally love create rhythms/percussions with unusual sounds so I figure I’m not the only one. Also included in the pack is a number of such loops that I did exclusively using the recorded sound and and a bunch of processing. You can listen to those loops below.
Waldorf has just released Electric Body Machinery – a new Blofeld soundset by Soundset Ari Ahrendt.
This punchy soundset that covers everything for electronic music of the darker kind. Highly energetic sounds for areas such as EBM, Synth Pop, Dark Electro, Future Pop, Electro Wave and Minimal Electro Pop. All sounds on highest level of musical playability, usability and inspiration. Suitable for records, studio and especially for clubs and live performance! 128 Sounds for technically wide EBM basses, melodically sawing chaos leads, boombastic drums, shiny pads and strings, as well as inspring polysynth sounds enable you to make the dance-mob shake and stomp .
Use modulation wheel at own risk!
Here is a demosong called “Dark Lights”. According to the soundcloud notes, all sounds are created with Waldorf Blofeld including all drums, effects, spheres and modulations.
Unfelds is a series of downloadable field recordings that are free donationware made available under Creative Commons licence. Denver-based sound designer and fellow Ableton Colorado member James Tobin’s work is featured in u. nfields12 “cruzin'. James also contributed a Sounds from a Distant Outpost composition “Subdude's First Excursion To The Outpost” last year. James describes this set of fields recordings:
“these sounds were recorded on a cruise trip from seattle to alaska. when i first learned that my wife and i would be taking this trip i was immediately excited by the opportunity to record such a foreign and strange environment. you see, here in denver we don't have many ships. a few boats, yes, but certainly no ships. the ms oosterdam did not disappoint. she had all kinds of great sounds around. i did run into one little unforeseen difficulty — traveling with 3,000 people can make it a little hard to capture good, clean recordings, especially when they all want to talk about "that fuzzy thing" with me. nonetheless, i was able to find some time away from the crowds and enjoy the sounds of a ship on my own. i certainly had a fantastic time recording these sounds, and i hope they inspire you to create some fantastic new instruments. happy noise-making!
i used a zoom q3hd stereo recorder to record these sounds at 24 bit/48khz. the sounds that appear here are recorded and unprocessed, aside from dithering down to 16bit/44.1khz and adding metadata.
james tobin”
Visit the unfeld page to download a 99MB zip file with sounds and some great photos by James. There are some cool recordings in the library with my favorite being “unfields12_14_-_whipping_wind”. To support Jame’s work you can also make a donation while there.
Puremagnetik just released a new sound library of high quality multisampled wooden marimba instruments called MalletPak One. This Micropak was created in collaboration with Richard Lainhart. In addition to being an award-winning composer, author, and filmmaker – Richard also spent a number of years as a jazz vibraphonist. Puremagnetik conducted a great interview on the trajectory of Richard’s musical journey which I linked to at the bottom of this post.
I met Richard for the first time earlier this month at Electro-Music 2011 and I also caught his wonderful live performance. When I read that he was involved with this Micropak I reached out to him for some additional information on this library. Richard was kind enough to send me some high-rez photos from the recording session (click the photos to enlarge).
According to Puremagnetik, the vibraphones were “recorded in a reflective room with a pair of Shure KSM32s in an ORTF configuration to capture the wide stereo field of the instrument..”
The Micropack contains a collection of 13 multisampled instruments in Ableton Live Pack, Kontakt, Renoise and Apple Logic formats. There are over 900 high quality samples under the hood and the samples include “multiple mallet types, hit variations and sophisticated velocity.” I’ve embedded the audio samples from Puremagetik’s Soundcloud set below.
I bought the Ableton Live format of the library and I’m really enjoying it. The source samples from Richard are fantastic and the collaboration with Purmagnetik has resulted in an excellent use of Ableton Live racks that I’ve come to expect from Puremagnetik. The macro knobs offer excellent performance articulations of the marimba. Some patches are programmed to take the sound into the synthetic realm with excellent use of AM and FM synthesis and Ableton effects.
Puremagnetik System B Micropaks
This is not the first time Richard has collaborated with Puremagnetik. They have also released two Micropak’s based on Richard’s work with the Buchla 200e modular analog synthesizer. The instruments in these libraries are based on a dense and complex master performance patch that was years in the making by Richard. Here is an excerpt from the interview Puremagnetik conducted with Richard that offers more detail:
The reason I got the Buchla in the first place was to have a flexible modular system that I could perform with, which the Buchla is ideal for because of its patch memory. So, since I've gotten it, I've been developing and adding to one master performance patch, which lets me change its configuration quickly in performance but still allows for the maximum degree of sonic variety. That's the patch you're referring to, and which by now, after a couple of years of work, has gotten pretty dense and complex. The Continuum interfaces with that patch via the Continuum Voltage Convertor, or CVC. The Continuum senses finger position on its surface in three dimensions – horizontal, vertical, and depth or pressure – and the CVC converts the data stream from the Continuum into a set of 12 separate control voltages of three dimensions of control for up to four separate voices. Most of the patches are set up so that the X dimension controls pitch, Y controls filtering, and Z controls amplitude, but there are some patches where the Y dimension controls oscillator waveshaping or timbre modulation,for example, or the Z dimension control modulation index. It all depends on the patch and what I want to be able to control in that particular sound, and the system has a lot of flexibility that way.
To put this in more concrete terms, checkout this fantastic video of Oraison, composed by Olivier Messiaen in 1937 for six Ondes Martenot, transcribed for Buchla 200e synthesizer and Haken Continuum Fingerboard controller and performed by Richard in 2009.
B-System Basses and Leads Features: A richly programmed library of Buchla leads & basses from the synth arsenal of Richard Lainhart.
• Over 1000 24-bit Buchla 200e samples
• 20 expertly programmed multisampled instruments
• 30 Ableton Live Clips with integrated Macros and effects
• 30 Apple SIAL loops
• Custom Kontakt KSP GUI and native Kontakt effects
B-System Percussives Features: A unique sonic adventure through 10 electronic drum kits and 40 rhythmic loops recorded from an original Buchla 200e modular synthesizer.
• Over 650 24-bit electronic percussion samples • 10 expertly programmed kit menus • 40 Ableton Live Clips with integrated Macros and effects • 40 Apple SIAL loops • Custom Kontakt KSP GUI and native Kontakt effects
Again, both of these Micropaks are simply excellent and highly recommended. I especially like the “Morphopox” instrument in Basses and Leads and the “Voltog” kit in Percussives.
Get the Micropaks Note that MalletPak One is the current Micropak so you need to be a subscriber to get this today. Subscribers pay $5.75 a month or $60 per year. B-System Micropaks are available to those with an “All Access Pass” or for a $12 fee for everyone else.
More on Richard’s Work Watch for a future “Music Monday” post featuring some of Richard’s Releases. Till then use the social links below to explore his work. I think we’ll also see some future collaborations between Richard and Puremagnetik in the future so watch for those Micrpaks as well.
Note: I'm updating this soundset so it's currently offline.
On December 17th, 2010 I released the Sounds from a Distant Outpost FREE Live Pack. Now, a little over a month later there have been over 1,000 downloads! Update on 6/13/2011: Just about to hit 2,000 downloads :^).
The most exciting thing for me is that a two people have REALLY dug into the 12 instruments in the Live Pack and have taken the time to compose tracks using ONLY instruments from this pack.
I’ve attached their two songs plus a third I created below. It’s pretty fantastic that while we didn’t directly collaborate all the works are quite different yet sound they all sound like they are telling stories from the same universe.
I think it would be pretty cool to create an album or score a film with multiple composers sharing the same custom yet limited instrument palette like this.
“Subdude's First Excursion To The Outpost” First up is an awesome offering by James Tobin (aka Subdude), Denver, USA – www.jamestobin.info.
Update: I'm updating this soundset so it is currenlty offline.
I'm very excited to announce that your FREE holiday gift is now ready for download! It is an Ableton Live Pack called Sounds from a Distant Outpost.
Sounds From a Distant Outpost is more than a sample sound library. Over 30 hours in the making, it is a set of 12 deep and expressive instrument racks that will transport you to a dark and distant outpost. From here you will be able to explore the sounds, machines, and creatures of this world. These instruments will help spark your imagination and I hope inspire you to create your own soundtrack for this world. Of course, the instruments will also help add an interesting "edge" to any sound or music project.
The source audio is made up of some of my field recordings as well as original synthesized and re-synthesis harmonic content. The concept for the instruments was based on a back-story I created as the project progressed. Fueled by the story and setting, I translated these source samples into Ableton Live racks and meticulously programmed them to create playable dynamic instruments which are placed under your command via macro parameters, velocity, after touch, and modulation wheel mappings. I've also provided the original source samples for the project so those who don't have Ableton Live will be able to use these samples as oscillator sources in synths like Absynth, Alchemy, ElectraX and Blofeld.
This project is also a social experiment. Rather than just provide a Live Pack, I've created a dedicated social microsite so you can share your notes and work with the library. I’ve also offered a SoundCloud drop box so you can share your original sound or music compositions.
I've had a great time creating – to coin a phrase – this "story-based sound design with social remix" experiment.
I hope you enjoy your gift. I'm looking forward to your notes and creations.
As always, thanks your support. Have a happy, safe holiday filled with electronic music!
A quick note to say I’m making great headway on your holiday gift. Just to be clear, it’s a gift to you for the holidays, not a holiday themed sound pack. No sleigh bells here ;^).
I’ve finalized the instrument racks I’m going to include. There will be 12 instrument racks. They are very deep and have fully mapped modulation routings for the macro knobs, velocity, aftertouch, and mod wheel. I'm color coding the macros, creating "Info Text" and a usage manual as well.
Most instrument racks are make use of Ableton Sampler and all use original harmonic waveforms I’ve created through field recordings, re-synthesis, and synthesis (additive, analog…).
At this rate I should release the Abelton Live Pack version next week sometime so you'll have it to enjoy during some holiday down time.
I’m making great headway on the sound pack work. I’m almost done with the Live pack version and need to get going on the second format. Since Absynth 5 has been in the lead from the start and hasn’t lost this position throughout I’m declaring it the winner! Thanks to all those who participated.
I think the results are a testament to the quality, and depth of Absynth and the fact that after all these years it’s stayed fresh and relevant. Kudos to Brian Clevinger and NI.
The other good news about Abysnth winning is I believe Kore 2 users will be able to load the sounds. I don’t own Kore 2, perhaps I can get someone to help me test – use my contact form if you want to volunteer.
So thanks for voting and if you voted for Alchemy or Blofeld and don’t own Ableton Live, you might want to pick up Absynth for $99 bucks – sale ends today. (Note: I’m not affiliated with NI and don’t benefit from you buying Absynth – just a heads up). I am quite familiar with programming for the runner up synths so perhaps in 2011 I’ll do some sound design work for those formats.
Mark Mosher VLOG–2010 Holiday Soundpack Session #1
In this video I’m working on an instrument rack that will end up in Ableton Live 8 Livepack format so anyone with any edition of Live 8 will be able to access the patch. The sound in the video start with found sound which I resysnthesize with an additive synth, then resample back into Ableton Sampler. Then lots of programming.
I will then use the same samples to create a version of the patch in either Absynth 5, Alchemy, or Blofeld depending on the results of the reader poll.
Why did I pick Absynth5/Alchemy/Blofeld for potentials in addition to Livepack? They all support using your own samples as OSC source and every patch I'm working is rooted in found sound, or re-synthesis/resampling so harmonic content is original.
The elves at Modulate This are working on a holiday gift for you – a free sound pack! As you know it's a busy time of year for elves, so we need some feedback on where to focus our sound design magic. Ableton Live 8 Livepack format is a given. Also, you can download last year's holiday gift here.
Note, I'll be sharing notes on the work as I go in the comments of this thread. You can subscribe to just the comments of this post by clicking here.
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