“Bussification”

The newest sale pack is here: “Bussification”. It consists of channel strip racks designed for placement on groups of tracks, auxiliary tracks, and on the master buss during mixing. Each macro control for each is specifically restrained in minimum and maximum ranges to exemplify the relevant characteristics of different types of instruments.

Group Busses
By grouping similar instruments in a mix and placing different Bussification racks onto them, each is given a distinct frequency character “home”, leading to a clearer and more vibrant overall mix when applied carefully. For each buss, decide upon a frequency to enhance, in particular, to help it stand out. You can sculpt the brightness and darkness to fine-tune the resultant tone, remove unnecessary frequencies with “tauten”, and infuse parallel saturation. There is a “juice” control which determines overall intensity of various parameters, parallel saturation calibrated uniquely for each buss type, and finally a knob for natural-sounding, sophisticated level automation which works by balancing various internal parameters.

Auxiliary Busses
Set up two return channels (CMD/CTRL-ALT-T), one for “Dirt” and one for “Space”. Solo them and send just enough of each channel in the mix to it to be able to barely hear. Use “Dirt” to add a bit of edgy presence for a less muddy mix. Use “Space” to emulate a nice room tone, helping to glue all elements together and cohesify punchiness. After balancing all track sends, unsolo the return tracks, reduce their levels to minimum, and slowly introduce them into the overall mix for added vibe and color. A next-level trick is to automate those levels to introduce more dirt and space during different song sections.

Master Busses
Place one of these on the master buss to subtly alter the overall character from digital neutrality to match the media of choice. These each have different controls. “CD” is for general-purpose, modern pre-mastering with an emphasis on the solidity of bass and the clarity of high frequencies. “Vinyl Record” adds in custom emulations of turntable rumble, stylus quality, and surface grime, also with RIAA pre- or post-equalization. “Cassette Tape” is equipped with a very nifty tape hiss generator which creates the hiss based on the original material as well as nonlinear subtle sub and air contour distortion.

Grab “Bussification” over at isotonik studios. Available now!

↑ click on that ↑

New Free Live Pack: “Turboencabulation”

On a whim, i made a series of effects based on the Turboencabulator:

Grab the effects pack for Ableton Live 9+ FREE by clicking here.

For more history on the Turbo Encabulator, check this out.

Update: Huge thanks to Ableton for sharing the Turboencabulation pack for “FreeStuffFriday”! I love you, Ableton! Side-fumbling has indeed been effectively eliminated.

Over 420 free effect racks for free VST plugins… WHAT

EaReckon VST Rack.PNG
Due to an increasing upcoming workload, we’ve decided to release the freeVST racks all at once, instead of in monthly batches as originally planned. That’s over four-hundred and twenty individual racks now available! Talk about an expanded toolkit.

These are “default/template” audio effect racks for many different plugins which are available publicly for free in 64-bit. You simply load any of these Ableton racks, and it loads its corresponding plugin (assuming it’s installed). Each rack includes help text which will be shown when hovering over macro controls.

Most of the plugins we have racks available for have 32-bit and mac versions as well; however, some are 64-bit or windows-only. Mac-only and AU plugin racks are planned in the future. FreeVST racks here will be updated occasionally to reflect developer updates. If you know of a free vst developer we missed or encounter any issues, please leave a comment.

ABLETON LIVE 9.6 required (Intro, Suite, or Standard).
Yes, you can even use all of these racks with Live 9 Intro!

Continue reading →

AfroDJMac Special Zone Collab Pack

Special Zone

Special Zone

As you may have noticed, i have random ideas all the time. It’s just a matter of finding the physical time to implement them. One idea i had which didn’t take super long to implement was to make effects based on the “Special Zone“ (aka “Special World”, “Star World”) levels from Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo. I grew up playing and loving NES and SNES and so get all predictably nostalgic over such things, as many people in my age range tend to (thus the almost-nauseating overpopularity of 8-bit retro throwback stuff currently).
I tossed the idea of effects based on the “special zone” levels at AfroDJMac to see what he thought, knowing that he’s somewhat into retro video game stuff too.

One thing led to another and another and… well, just that one thing, actually. It was pretty straightforward.

So now you have The Special Zone Pack for Ableton Live. <- Click that to go to AfroDJmac’s site to read about / grab.

Bodacious.

Super, super huge thanks to AfroDJMac for hosting this pack! If you browse around his site, you will find a near-limitless supply of amazing, weird goodies.

 

New Free Microcassette Tape Instruments

20160604_162304
SO my friend mobdividual lent me a couple of microcassette players in order to import an old microcassette tape i found. It turns out the cassette was the very same used to record samples on this classic record. Neato!
BUT THEN i decided to also record the sound made when the tape player was playing a blank tape through the larger tape transcriber. It’s a nice, warm, rich, subtle hiss and hum. By varying the tone and speed controls in a methodical, timed manner, and crafting a sampler rack to play slices according to their timbre, you have a variable instrument you can use to recreate a range of tonalities. For extra swag, you could, for example, match the root note of the hum (by ear) to the key of your song.
I also created an instrument which plays in-pitch with whatever MIDI note you play, allowing for tape noise which follows a melody, hybridizing past/analog and future/digital techniques.
Lastly, there is a “stop clicker” percussion rack which can be used for nice analog clicking noises when you need them.

These instruments are available absolutely for free via Subaqueous, who also makes a vast assortment of mysterious and useful Ableton Live tools, from MIDI tools for compositional purposes to crafty effects and exotic instruments, as well as some deliciously tasty music.

Grab three microcassette tape instruments for Ableton Live 9 for FREE via Subaqueous.

 

NEW Sale Packs: “One Knob Wonders”, “Advanced Splytterz”

Two new premium packs for Ableton Live have been released, after extensive testing periods.
These are some of the most robust and practical stuff we’ve created yet!
All Premium PerforModule packs are self-installing, meaning that you simply drag them into Live and all the devices will now be in your library, categorized.

okw 1“One Knob Wonders”
Includes 64 different single-knob effects, each designed for a specific purpose.
They range from highly practical mixing tools to wacky, nifty performance tricks.
<- Click the link for more details.

Here’s a highlight of some my favorites from the set…
–Noisify: adds source-reactive noise and degrades signal
–FonePhilter: retro telephone tone with signal overdrive
–DownFilter Dirty: performance sweep utilizing Live’s new analog filter functionality
–GrainPitch Up: crude realtime pitch shifter
–Pianosator: “piano reverb” of chromatic resonances
–BassCream: velvety bass guitar process based on a classic pro studio workflow
–Shredder: scorching tone for hard rock/heavy metal lead guitar, easy-peasy
–Characterizer: adds mid-range richness and warmth
–De-Essify: de-esser which works like magic
–JuiceSnapper: aux buss finalizer / transient enhancer
–SuperUltraMega: Makes. Stuff. Louder.
–Chube: chorus to sound like going through a metal tube
–Breepitate: glitchy fun
–BrownLoop: loop and shift a clip down to half speed
–SeaShore: transform any audio into a pleasing surf wave
–PongFreez: more glitchy fun
–TapeFlange: emulates splitting the feed into an extra tape machine

Splytterz Icon
“Advanced Splytterz”
Includes template racks used for splitting up any audio source into multiple chains by various methods.
<- Click the link for more details.

Useful for when you want to do things like
-apply different effects to different frequency ranges
-apply different effects to the left and right sides of a stereo file
-apply effects to just the mid or side channels for super easy m/s processing
-different effects chains which alternate based on a time interval
-effects applied separately to above and below a transient threshold
-etc…
It also includes three “tri” devices pre-loaded with effects and a “behind the back panner” for an interesting phase-shift panning technique.

~ALSO~

drumhead smTelling you about the “Drum Enhancerz” Ableton Live pack by PerforModule.

<- Access the sale page by clicking on the drum head.

It includes racks which are calibrated for sculpting of specific drum elements. Included are…

Enhance Cymbals
Enhance Kicks
Enhance Overheads
Enhance Snares
Enhance Toms

Each rack includes 8 macro controls for sculpting your drum sounds with ease.
A few of the capabilities are…
-plush control for smooth cymbals
-smack control to add top attack to kicks
-smash: go-to overhead compression
-pitch-matched resonance for boomy toms

“Drum MIDI FX” Free Pack

Grab Drum MIDI FX for FREE here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MZEMt6VdYTbOSjlict3ylL29YqGY3WaG/view?usp=sharing

It includes a handful of midi racks which are specifically designed for use before drum racks in Ableton Live.
Especially fun stuff for live performance if you like to play drum racks with a midi pad controller.
Also very useful for hastening studio production workflow.
Click the image below to learn all the details of the specific devices and to grab the pack.
Many thanks to Subdivizion for originally hosting. Enjoy!

Drum MIDI FX - Copy

p.s. don’t forget to subscribe to this blog to receive email updates when new items come out. We try to keep posts to Ableton pack related stuff & very special news only. Also don’t forget to subscribe to the isotonik studios newsletter to get even more exclusive free performodule packs.

Vinyl Snackler

 

NEW free pack available via AfroDJMac: Vinyl Snackler
“Instrument with 128 Unique Analog Vinyl Noise Loop Samples.”

This is a sampler instrument which is designed to play a loop of background vinyl noise which you can select from 128 unique samples, each with their own character. Some of the samples are primarily background hiss, but some also have pops, clicks, and other artifacts which can be useful as percussion elements. Big thanks to the one and only AfroDJMac for hosting this device.
afrodjmac vinyl snackler
(It’s free! Go grab it!!)

PS…. if you are not already a member of the ADM Music Production Club, then you are missing out on a crazy-affordable source of insanely cool, high-quality, monthly awesome stuff delivered to your face. If you are interested in steadily building up your ableton library full of production and performance assets to be able to more quickly dive in to making your own bizarre unique sounds and developing your own twisted techniques, this is one of the most practical possible methods you can consider, especially if you’re a fan of the more odd and innovative side of things (which, if you’re reading this here now, i’m guessing you probably are).

Free “Emphasizers” Racks

emphasizers image

Now updated for Live 11!

Click to Get Emphasized.

Control any audio effect with more precision than ever before.
Drop any nonlinear FX plugins into them and have the ability to alter the signal they are reacting to.

Includes:

•In~Out
Provides basic input gain, compensated by an opposite amount of output level. Super simple and super useful for fine-tuning any nonlinear effect. For example, use it on a saturator to make that saturator drive harder or softer, expanding its usual working range. Same idea for any threshold-based effect like a compressor — you can use In~Out to fine-tune the onset or expand the range of any built-in threshold.

•Emphasizer
•Emphasizer (LR)
•Emphasizer (MS)
•Emphasizer (Dual Shelf)
Boost a certain frequency or frequencies to hit nonlinear FX differently, output-compensated by exactly opposite curvature, leading to a totally neutral sound (other than the reactivity of the dropped-in FX).
For example, you could push more midrange (say…2.5kHz) into a saturator, without directly affecting the overall clip gain. This greatly expands the capability of normally non-adjustable distortion processors by a great deal, if you think about it. Want to crunch up only the highs or the bass more than other frequencies? Go for it. It’s especially great for guitar distortion and amp plugins whose tone controls tend to be quite limited.
Same for compressors and the like. You can make a compressor plugin that has no built-in sidechain EQ effectively have one. Effin’ sweet. Think about gating and noise reduction. Preserve certain frequencies by boosting them in the sidechain, or ignore frequencies you don’t care about.

~`~

(inspired by this excellent tutorial video by Dan Worrall)

Have with the funs!

Sometimes the simplest things are the most useful… introducing the free “Utilification” Ableton Live Pack

Here’s a {free} ableton live pack of effects that are made for simple yet extremely useful purposes, including fading, stereo panning, m/s encoding and decoding,.

It is highly recommended to grab these and implement them into your Ableton Live library.

toolz

INCLUDES:

Audio FX

“-inf to +0 Fader” — just like it says, this is a simple fader from negative infinity to zero decibels. When you want a quick and easy volume knob that goes all the way to silence and maxes out with no boost (unlike the “utility” device), use this.

“LR to MS Controller” — this will switch a Left-Right Stereo file to transmit its left channel as the sides and its right channel as the center, or you can swap those results so the right is the sides and the left becomes the center.
You can then tilt the center and sides channels, mute them, and alter their levels.

“MS to LR Controller” — this will switch a Mid-Side Stereo file to transmit its sides channel as the left and its center channel as the right, or you can swap those results so the center is the left and the sides becomes the right.
You can then tilt the left and right channels, mute them, and alter their levels.

[an example of using these controllers would be to make an MS recording into LR to be able to apply a stereo effect to it, then to return it back to MS again]

“Instant Muter” — Mutes the audio, plain and simple, the moment the knob is moved above its minimum value. Use this to be able to easily interrupt the audio flow wherever you want within a chain.

“Stereo Panner” — Allows for “stereo panning”. Using clever routing, this allows non-exclusive panning of audio wherein the content from the opposite side is moved over rather than being faded out (while maintaining overall level). This allows for more natural-sounding panning of stereo sources without losing material.
[For example, let’s say you have a stereo track with a guitar panned hard to the left side and a piano panned hard to the right. Normally if you use a pan knob to move right, the guitar sound would be lost. With this, panning right will gradually move the guitar over to the right along with the piano, rather than removing it.]

“Phase Adjust” — Select among 4 phase-flip options with one knob, and implement micro-delay to align waveforms more carefully, either between the source and the mix or between the left and right halves of the source.

“Utilify” — “Swiss army knife” which includes most of the above devices in one rack.  Use this as a more robust replacement for Ableton’s built-in Utility effect.

—>>> Download “Utilification” for Ableton Live 9+ <<<—