Ableton Live Riser Device - Free Max For Live Download - Point Blank

Here's one for you Ableton live users with Max for Live. It's a free Riser effect from Point Blank, perfect for break-downs and build-ups in your tracks.



You can grab the device from Point Blank Facebook page here.

"Point Blank instructor and course developer Daniel Herbert has created this Max For Live custom device for creating rises and sweeps in Ableton Live. Perfect for breakdowns and buildups! Watch the video to see how it works, what makes it unique and and how to set it up.

We are giving it away absolutely free via the link above.

Check out Point Blank's range of Ableton Live Online courses here:http://www.pointblankonline.net/courses/ableton-live-courses.php

Watch more free tutorials on our sample course page:http://www.pointblankonline.net/sample-a-course/

Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials from Point Blank Online school."

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Ableton announce Live 9 and Push

Ableton has always focused heavily on the live performance aspect of music and as a result there are already some really cool dedicated controllers out there; I’m talking about the Akai APC series and the Novation Launch Pad. Although these controllers are designed to work directly with the Ableton Live software, they don’t really take full advantage of everything that Ableton can do.

Along with the recent announcement of Live 9, Ableton revealed their latest venture into the hardware controller market. Push is a dedicated controller that integrates directly with the Ableton Live software. This hardware/software hybrid approach reminds me of the highly acclaimed Maschine controllers from Native instruments.

The only downside that I can see is that Push is huge; I can’t really see it sitting comfortably next to my laptop like my humble MaschineMikro does at the moment. However, even with its large size I would still like to get my hands on one and see what it’s capable of.

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Ableton Tutorial - Sound Design Series (pt2) - Point Blank

Even the most humble sound can be brought to life with some short looping and further modulation. In this video Danny J Lewis shows you how Live's Loop Brace can bring some fantastic possibilities to sound design.

This is a sample tutorial taken from our Ableton Live Sound Design course. Find out more about the course here: http://www.pointblankonline.net/ableton-live-sound-design.php

And watch more free tutorials from this and many other courses on our sample course page: http://www.pointblankonline.net/sample-a-course/ 

Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials from Point Blank Online school.

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Ableton Tutorial - Sound Design Series (pt1) - Point Blank

In this video Danny J Lewis shows you how to use two amp envelopes, panning each oscillator in a different position to create a stereo image. Here the result is a nice, fizzy contemporary sound that works well for sustained chord sections.

This is a sample tutorial taken from our Ableton Live Sound Design course. Find out more about the course here: http://www.pointblankonline.net/ableton-live-sound-design.php

And watch more free tutorials from this and many other courses on our sample course page: http://www.pointblankonline.net/sample-a-course/ 

Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials from Point Blank Online school.

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Ableton Tutorial - Deep House Chord Selector Rack (Free DL) - Point Blank

http://www.pointblankonline.net/courses/ableton-live-courses.php to check out our range of online Ableton Course where you can learn more techniques like this. Please get in touch with a course advisor at advice@pointblankonline.net if you want to find out more.

In this tutorial Danny J Lewis creates a rack in Ableton Live which gives you a selection of easy to play chords.

Download this rack for free here: http://www.pointblankonline.net/blog/free-ableton-chord-selector-rack-download/

Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials from Point Blank Online school

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Creating a Tech House Track in Ableton Live with Radio Slave Loops - Point Blank

In this weeks video from Point Blank we are shown a few tips and tricks while creating a tech house track using samples and loops. They also have a pretty cool competition running where you can win the sample pack used in this video, a copy of Ableton Live 8 and a place on a Point blank Pro Producer course.





"Win this Radioslave pack, Live 8, and a Point Blank Pro Producer course here: http://ow.ly/c0BAS

In Ableton Live we have a fantastic tool to manipulate, chop and twist loops into your own interpretations all in real-time. This gives you the ability to create limitless unique tracks with the same loops and samples. In this tutorial Danny J Lewis shows some simple but very effective techniques to do this such as adjusting the clip start position and transposing the key up and down.

The pack he is using is one of Ableton's latest partner instruments, put together by Radioslave and Sample Magic. As well as a collection of drum, percussion, and musical hits and loops, the pack contains some great custom instrument and effects racks which, if hooked up to a midi control, can give a really tactile method of experimenting with the sounds. 

Check it out here: http://www.ableton.com/library/radio-slave-live

Racks such as the Kit Creator use macro controls to scroll through the various samples and adjust parameters like attack, decay and low cut to mould the sounds into something new. It is a great example of the type of racks that we teach you to build from scratch on Point Blank's Ableton Live Sound Design courses.

Check out the sound design course here:http://www.pointblankonline.net/ableton-live-sound-design.php

Watch more free tutorials on our sample course page:http://www.pointblankonline.net/sample-a-course/

Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials from Point Blank Online school."

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Electronic Music Composition (pt 3) - Faithless 'Insomnia' - Point Blank

"Go to: http://www.pointblankonline.net/electronic-music-composition-emc.phpto check out our online Electronic Music Composition Course where you can learn more techniques like this. Please get in touch with our course advisors at advice@pointblankonline.net if you want to find out more.

In this tutorial Ski Oakenfull breaks down the chord sequences in Faithless' dance anthem 'Insomnia'. Buy here:http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/insomnia-best-faithless/id305775034

Do you have a track that you would like to see Ski deconstruct musically? Then let us know in a comment below or hit us up on twitter with:
#emcrequest @point_blank + your suggested track title

Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials from Point Blank Online school."

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Custom FX Rack Design in Ableton Live - Stereo Width (Free Rack DL) - Point Blank

"http://www.pointblankonline.net/courses/ableton-live-courses.php In this tutorial Danny J Lewis shows you how to create a custom FX rack in Ableton Live to add stereo width to your mix

Download the rack for free here:https://www.facebook.com/pointblankcollege/app_326957207366280

Learn more techniques such as this on our Ableton Sound Design course, an 8 week module that involves the creation of many bespoke effect and instrument racks :: http://www.pointblankonline.net/ableton-live-sound-design.php - get in touch with a course advisor at advice@pointblankonline.net if you want to find out more.

Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials from Point Blank Online school."

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Recreating a bassline in ableton live - Point Blank

"Go to: http://www.pointblankonline.net/courses/ableton-live-courses.php to check out our range of online Ableton Live courses where you can learn more sound design techniques like this. Please get in touch with our course advisors at advice@pointblankonline.net if you want to find out more.

In this Ableton tutorial Danny J Lewis (Defected/Enzyme Black) reverse engineers the bumpy bassline in the 2011 club anthem Noir & Haze - Around (Solomun remix) 
Out to the original artists. You can buy the release here:http://www.beatport.com/#/release/around/378135"

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Creating a dub siren in Ableton Live - Point Blank

Everyone loves a dub siren. Here's a video from Point Blank that shows you how to create a siren of your own using Ableton. If you don't use Ableton, the basic principle will work for pretty much any DAW or synth that you have.

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Creating organic melodies in Ableton live

Here's this weeks video from Point Blank Online. It looks at creating some organic melodies in Ableton live.

Don't forget to check out the courses that they offer on their site and check out some of their other videos on their YouTube Channel.

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Ableton Live Tutorial - Miami Pool Party Deep House Vibe

Point Blank offer some amazing music production tutorials on their YouTube page. Check them out and remember to subscribe to their channel for their latest updates.

Check out their site to find out about some of the online music courses that they offer as well.

I'm going to be featuring one of their videos each week here on Voltage-Controlled so keep checking back for more awesome videos.



"With WMC 2012 coming up and the prospect of scantily clad revellers raving it up at various pool parties around Miami, this week Danny J Lewis decided to demonstrate how to create that summertime deep house pool party vibe.

As part of the sound he shows you how to twist up a vocal sample using Ableton Live and Native Instruments Maschine as a control device."

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Free Kong drum kit samples

For this free sample pack I've been messing around with the analog modules from Reason's Kong drum machine. As I said in my last post, I use Kong for all of my drums when producing music.

This free sample pack contains:

• 4 one shot kicks samples
• 4 one shot snares samples
• 4 one shot hi-hats samples
• 4 one shot percussion samples
• 6 bonus loops

All the samples were made using the Kong drum machine and further processed with various VSTs in Ableton live.

Get the samples here (.rar)

All the samples that are available here on Voltage-Controlled are available completely free of charge. They are also royalty free, which means that you can use them in any creative protect (commercial or non-commercial) without having to clear them.

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Bitwig, Ableton live killer?

The first thought I had when I saw the teaser video for Bitwig was "This is pretty much just a copy of Ableton", The similarities are remarkable but it's mainly the clip launcher and UI that remind me so much of Ableton. Apparently a few of the guys working on Bitwig are ex Ableton employees which would explain the similarities between the two DAWs.

By the looks of things the guys at Bitwig have crammed some pretty cool features into their new studio. General tracks (audio + midi), online collaboration, per-note automation and modular instruments are just a few of the features included in Bitwig.

Could this be an Ableton killer? The software will soon be going into the Beta testing stage so only time will tell. I'd love to get my hands on a copy though, just to take it for a test drive.

For a full list of the features of Bitwig Studio check out their site here.

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Voltage-Controlled MicroKorg Ableton rack by LynchAudio

I've been meaning to post this on here for a good while now. Matt from LynchAudio has made an awesome Ableton Live rack using the MicroKorg samples from the Voltage-Controlled sample collection Vol.1 sample library.

Go check out his site, download the free Ableton instrument rack and watch this demo video that he's made.

If there's anyone else out there that would like to share what they've created using the Voltage-Controlled samples then please get in touch (DanWeatherall@Voltage-Controlled.com) and I'll post a link up on the site.

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Ableton live, TouchOSC + FB383

One of my favourite hardware synths that I own has to be the FB383. I've posted about it a few times here on Voltage-Controlled and I've used it in quite a few of the sample packs.

The FB383 is a clone of the famous Roland TB-303 Bassline synthesiser. I picked it up a few years ago from a second-hand place for just £20. It was listed as 'Hi-Fi accessories' so I'm guessing that the people from the shop had no idea what it was that they were selling.

The unit has been sitting on my shelf for a few months now feeling neglected, so I thought that it was about time I took it down for a good jam session.

Because the 383 has no internal sequencer (like the original TB303 does) I've chosen to trigger it using the ABL2 vst plugin via Ableton Live. The drum loops are taken from one of the Voltage-Controlled sample packs that are available to download for free on this site.

I used the TouchOSC app on the iPad to trigger the clips in Ableton. I love how customizable TouchOSC is, creating your own personalised midi controller is a godsend when using music Production software.

I have to admit, the video that I've uploaded has poor sound. This is because It was recorded using the camera on my iPhone. The speakers connected to my laptop weren't turned up very loud so there's a bit of obvious background noise and the mic on my iphone failed to pick up some of the very low frequencies. Other than that the video quality's quite good. After all, I wasn't planning on documenting the sound of the unit and it was recorded just as a random bit of fun. Enjoy.

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