Want a good reason to use Ableton? Here's one!

Ableton and Serato -- two of the biggest names in live music production -- have been working in stealth mode over the past year to create what they've been billing as "the future of digital DJing," and today that new product has been revealed as The Bridge. Basically, you've got a thin layer of software that sits between full versions of both Serato Live (or Itch) and Ableton Live that allows output from both products to flow into the other -- DJ sets can be imported into Ableton with full control over effect parameters, tempo, pitch, and so on, and Ableton instruments can sit inside a Serato session. It's an interesting advancement, and the way the companies are talking, this is just the first in a string of products of the partnership; the good news is that The Bridge will be free to owners of both products, but unfortunately there's no release date yet, so raves are going to have to soldier on using last year's technology for at least a while longer. Hang tight, we're told it's "coming soon."

Here's a demo video they put up, it's not the greatest but it will give you a feel of what this can do. Unfortunately one of dude's mics is absolute shit!

Champion Beats Remix Contest!!!

Anthony @ Champion Beats let us in on a remix contest they are holding for an upcoming Kerrie Nation release entitled "Shake Pop and Lock".

ONLY ONE REMIX WILL WIN!!!

Remix Pack

As with most remix contests the prize is a release by Champion Beats on Beatport
Any genre will be accepted but knowing these guys/gals output getting low and wobbly probably wouldn't hurt your chances of getting this released.

Anthony didn't specify but I'm assuming wav or Aif would be the preferred formats for submission. All submissions must be in by Mar 5th and sent to Anthony@championbeats.com



Champion Beats Blog

Beat It!!! Korg WaveDrum

Build
The new Wavedrum might be significantly more affordable than the first version (which retailed for £1500-odd when released), but it arguably looks better. Out is the, erm, toilet-seat aesthetic of the original and in is a 'futuristic conga' look.

"It's hard to describe this second generation Wavedrum's breathtaking sound and playability. It's phenomenally good"It's still a hefty enough piece of kit and, at just over 13" in diameter, it's perfectly sized for hand or stick playing. The chassis of the Wavedrum might be plastic, but it inspires confidence in terms of longevity, and the steel 'hoop' and tactile head are instantly inviting.

The fact that the Wavedrum feels more like a real instrument than an electronic gadget will become something of a theme in this review - and the fact that the head is tensionable (with five bolts) is just one of the factors that plays a key part in this.



The rounded profile of the hoop, and its satin finish, are clearly designed for comfort, but there's extra functionality built in here too. Two notched ridges (wide spaced on the right of the hoop and closer on the left) are present to allow for additional sonic options.

Scraping a stick or flicking across these ridges with a fingernail gives a completely different response than playing on the head in 'standard' fashion. The playing area rightly dominates the unit, with controls - limited to a volume control, six buttons, three LEDs and a 'Value' pot - taking up a narrow strip at the top of the drum.

Connections to and from the Wavedrum are similarly simple. Two 1/4" jacks for left and right stereo output, a headphone out and Aux In (the latter two both on mini-jacks) and that's your lot. Yep, there's no MIDI - more of which later.

Internally, things are a lot more complex, however. The Wavedrum's DSP innards combine analogue, additive, non-linear and physical modelling synthesis methods to deliver 36 sound-shaping algorithms. And these basic building blocks appear alongside 200 different PCM instruments that cover some extremely convincing acoustic percussion emulations. If all of that means next to nothing then read on, because it simply means good things are contained within.

Hands on
Before delving into the gloriousness of the Wavedrum's sonic arsenal, it should be pointed out that just as it's a flexible musical performer, it's also versatile from a playing perspective. The unit can be mounted on any standard snare drum stand for inclusion in a kit, mounted on a taller stand for playing at conga height, or nestled into your lap for sat-down hippy jamathons around a camp fire. Near an electrical outlet, clearly.

Once set-up, you can start digging in, with hands, sticks, mallets or whatever you prefer. Either way, you're going to be spoiled. We've already alluded to the fact that the Wavedrum feels like a real instrument. On the most basic level that's because its recreations of congas, djembes, snares and myriad other acoustic instruments are so impressive.

The emulations are complex and deep, responsive to every playing nuance; as such the Wavedrum avoids any sensation of just being a clever trigger. Instead it feels organic, alive and, yup, very real. If you were just to use the Wavedrum as a source of acoustic percussion sounds you'll never tire of it. But the real fun starts when you harness its wilder side.

Within the 100 preset programs are gems like Yoga Breathing Drum, a deep tabla tone with a 'talking' pitch bend when you press the head and Japanese taiko and tsuzumi drum sounds triggered from the rim. It's hard to describe this second generation Wavedrum's breathtaking sound and playability. It's phenomenally good.

But there will be those that raise an eyebrow at what is an unarguably clunky, arcane editing system that involves multiple button pushes (and remembering that 'U.Cr' and 'P.tn' are the three-segment LED's way of announcing the Velocity Curve and Pressure Tune parameters), and a lack of MIDI. Frankly, it's oddness like this that adds to the Wavedrum's character, though - you have to learn to work with it and around its quirks.

And no MIDI? Well, the resulting standalone nature only further reinforces the idea of the Wavedrum as instrument, not studio trigger machine.

Review found on Music Radar

Wobbly Bass Made "Simpler" in Ableton

So if you're like us at Undercarriage then you deff loves some BASS!! Hearing a great bassline for me is right up there with hearing a girl scream my name during those "sweaty moments".

Now I'm just stepping into the production arena and have found this tutorial by Dubspot and was happy that it's actually quite helpful. They step you through the simpler instrument in Ableton to create that wobbly bassline used in DubStep and Fidget(as well as other genres). Hopefully everyone out there in the blogosphere find it as useful as I did.

Computer Music Freebies!!

Computer Musice guide to Festive Freebies

Posted using ShareThis


The good folks at CM def earn their $16 + cover price by constantly supplying us Marauder's with free sounds, plug ins etc and their website is no different. Here's some stuff they posted in December..

Computers are actually up to good while you sleep!!

In a world where we are constantly "connected" its only natural to fear the day when the machines takeover al la T2,Matrix etc..But like the Japanese have figured out the machines arent trying to take over they just want to make pretty images thatjust may invoke seizures!! Give a big fuck you sized dick kick to Neo and his band of apocalyptic nerds and put the "machine" to work for you all the while getting badly needed shuteye...you ravist!!

Get this great open source (PC and Mac) screen saver by Scott Draves that runs on thousands of computers around the world while their users aren't using them. The computers calculate complicated fractal images and share and display the results (sheeps). You can vote for your favorite fractal animations with your keyboard, so they live longer in the genetic algorithm. You can also design your own sheep on pc mac or linux using http://www.apophysis.org/downloads.html - where you can find the tool, the source code and bunch of tutorials to get you started. Other tools are available on electricsheep.org.

Consider what generated fractals can do for a VJ's show!!!

Big ups to Subtechnology for this axn!

Record your live sets then upload to podcast from your IPHONE!!

As if I wasnt ALREADY disgusted by my blackberry storm...yet another app I can't have but NEED!! Cmaaaaan crackberry get on this!!


Minneapolis, MN – Audiofile Engineering, a leading audio software developer for Mac, has released version 1.3 of FiRe, their professional field recording App for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. This version incorporates many new features including professional audio effects powered by industry leader iZotope. The most notable of the features is the new Podcast Export option which allows users to publish podcasts directly from the iPhone, making it the first App of its kind.



FiRe was designed to bring serious field recording to audio professionals and version 1.3 furthers this direction by being the first iPhone application to incorporate professional audio signal processing powered by iZotope. “With a reputation for the best digital signal processing available, iZotope has become the leading provider of DSP for professional audio applications,” says Matthew Foust of Audiofile Engineering. “Incorporating this technology adds even more value to FiRe 1.3.”



FiRe 1.3 is the first application with the ability to publish a finished Podcast directly from the iPhone or iPod touch. Several features make FiRe an excellent Podcast recorder such as the ability to tag recordings with location data and the ability to insert and name markers. When creating a Podcast with FiRe, markers are converted to chapters for easy navigation.



“Bringing professional audio processing to all platforms is part of iZotope’s main strategy,” explained Mark Ethier, CEO of iZotope, Inc. “We’re proud to have Audiofile Engineering as a lead customer on the iPhone with their professional-grade FiRe field recording app.”



Musicians writing songs or recording rehearsals, sound engineers and designers recording on location, and even students recording lectures in the classroom will appreciate the new features in FiRe 1.3. These include an improved overdub mode, the ability to change the playback speed while retaining the pitch, the ability to compress files in AAC, Apple Lossless, FLAC, and Ogg Vorbis formats, improved search and metadata functionality, a new toolbar for fast access to recordings, an updated SoundCloud API and more.



FiRe is now available on the Apple App Store for $9.99 at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fire-field-recorder/id309378684?mt=8.

Waves LoAir- For Getting LOW LOW LOW LOW!!

WAVES RELEASES LOAIR, A NEW PLUG-IN FOR ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY ENHANCEMENT


— More than just a subharmonic generator, LoAir creates and enhances LFE channel content with pinpoint precision —



TEL AVIV, ISRAEL, November 17, 2009 — The second in the new line of dedicated Waves Post Production tools, LoAir is a sub-harmonic generating plug-in which creates and enhances LFE content or “rumble.” This tool is perfect for sound designers who want to add dramatic effect to existing audio. LoAir consists of four separate components: Mono-to-Mono, for creating and enhancing subharmonic frequencies on existing LFE tracks; Stereo-to-Stereo, for generating LFE content from Stereo signals (Outputs LFE or Stereo + LFE); 5.0-to-5.1, for generating LFE content from a 5.0 signal; and 5.1-to-5.1, for increasing subharmonic frequencies on existing LFE tracks.



Sound designers and post-production mixers alike will greatly benefit from LoAir. Waves is making this tool available following many requests from users in the Post Production field. Notable for being the first subharmonic plug-in of its kind for Pro Tools, LoAir is more than just a subharmonic generator, as it features adjustable frequency and low-pass filter controls to shape users’ ultra low-end. Plus, it’s the only subharmonic plug-in available which lets users process polyphonic content, as well as create an LFE track from stereo or 5.0 sources.



Features

- Add weight, drama and depth.

- Enhance existing subharmonics.

- Processes polyphonic source material.

- Full session recall, full automation.

- Mono, Stereo, 5.0-to-5.1, and 5.1-to-5.1 components.

- Up to 24-bit, 192kHz resolution.

- Supports TDM, RTAS, Audio Suite, VST, AU.

- PC and Mac® compatible



Controls

- Frequency controls the cutoff frequency of the low pass filter.

- LoAir controls the volume level of the generated pitch.

- Direct controls the level of the direct unprocessed signal.

- Output Meter displays the LFE output levels.

- Direct Signal Filter determines if the direct signal is filtered or not.

- Align delays the direct signal to synchronize it with the generated pitch.

- Output controls the overall output level. (Mono & Stereo components only)

- LFE Output controls the level of the LFE Output. (5.0 & 5.1 components only)

- Feed Section (5.0 & 5.1 Components only)

- L/R controls the amount of Left & Right channel content fed to the pitch engine.

- C controls the amount of Center channel content fed to the pitch engine.

- Ls/Rs controls the amount of Left Surround & Right Surround channel content fed to

the pitch engine.

- LFE (5.1 only) controls the amount of LFE channel content fed to the pitch engine.



Waves LoAir has an MSRP of $100.00 Native/$200.00 TDM. Waves Mercury V7 and 360° Surround Tools V7 owners covered by Waves Update Plan receive LoAir at no additional charge. Waves LoAir is now available from authorized Waves dealers and online. For more information, please visit www.waves.com.

Logic 9 Shortcuts Brought to You by AudioTuts+

http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/logic-pro/saving-time-with-logic-pro-9-keyboard-shortcuts/



Good Morning!!!

If you haven't already make sure to pop over and check out Audiotuts+ they have all kinds of good tutorials for almost every DAW..They include both step by step written tutorials as well as video tuts usually with a sample file included. As I am a devout LOGIC user I found their site for the Logic content but they have lots of tutoriols on Pro-tools ,Reason and Ableton and most likely all of today's top DAW's on their site..

Here is a sweet little compilation of the shortcut commands for logic 9. Yes I realize these can be found in the manual but I figured this as good as any time to put ya'll on to their site!


Essential Keyboard Shortcuts
You can see all of Logic’s keyboard shortcuts in the Keyboard Manager. I’m listing them here because there are so many, you many have trouble figuring out which ones to memorize. The follow shortcuts are the ones that will really make working with your projects much quicker. Secondly, you can print this reference out and look at it as you use Logic — as far as I’m aware there’s no keyboard shortcut cheat sheet that comes with Logic.

We won’t cover the standard File menu shortcuts that you should know from using computers in general, though I will reiterate that Cmd+S is the shortcut to save your project and you should make it a goal to get this shortcut to become a subconscious habit so you’re saving your work all the time and don’t need to think about doing it.

Record Enable Track: Ctrl+R
Record: R
Toggle Mute Track: Ctrl+M
Toggle Solo Track: Ctrl+S
Play/Stop: Space
Rewind: ,
Fast Rewind: Shift+,
Forward: .
Fast Forward: Shift+.
Create Marker: Ctrl+K
Rename: Cmd+Return
Toggle Cycle Mode: C
Open Mixer: Cmd+2
Open Arrange: Cmd+1
Close Window: Cmd+W
Toggle Bin: B
Bounce: Cmd+B
Zoom Window: Shift+Cmd+M
Import Audio: Shift+Cmd+I
Learn New: Cmd+L (for learning hardware controller signals)
Toggle Zoom: Z
Quantize Selected Events: Q
Select Previous Region: Left Arrow
Select Next Region: Right Arrow
Select Previous Track: Up Arrow
Select Next Track: Down Arrow
New Track: Option+Cmd+N
New Track with Duplicate Settings: Cmd+D
Hide/Show Track Automation: A
This is by no means a comprehensive listing of shortcuts. It’s not meant to be — these are the ones that are actually useful in a day-to-day project setting, with none of the more obscure and less useful shortcuts in the way