As Max for Live has matured, this tool for extending the functionality of Ableton Live has played host to a growing wave of brilliant custom tools – enough so that it can be hard to keep track. This month saw a few that deserve special mention. In particular, two tools help make MIDI mapping and automation recording easier in Live, and point the way for what the host itself could implement in a future update. (Live 9, we’re looking at you.) And in a very different vein, from Max for Live regular Protofuse, we see an intriguing alternative approach to sequencing.

Clip Automation does something simple: it patches a limitation in Live itself, by allowing you to record mapped automation controls directly in the Session View clips. (As the developer puts it, it grabs your “knob-twisting craziness in Session View.”) The work of Tête De Son (Jul), it’s an elegant enough solution that I hope the Abletons take note.

Clip Automation

Mapulator goes even further, re-conceiving how mapping in general works in Ableton – that is, how Live processes a change in an input (like a knob) with a change in a parameter (like a filter cutoff). Live does allow you to set minimum and maximum mappings, and reverse direction of those mappings. But the interpolation between the two is linear. Mapulator allows you to ramp in curves or even up and down again.

There’s more: you can also control multiple parameters, each at different rates. And that can be a gateway into custom devices, all implemented in control mappings. BentoSan writes:

For example, if you wanted to create a delay effect that morphs into a phaser, then cuts out and finally morphs into a reverb with an awesome freeze effect, you would be able to do this with just a single knob…

Again, this seems to me not just a clever Max for Live hack, but an illustration of how Ableton itself might work all the time, in that it’s a usable and general solution to a need many users have. Sometimes the itch Max for Live patchers scratch is an itch other people have, too.

Lots of additional detail and the full download on the excellent DJ TechTools:
Mapulator: An Advanced MIDI Mapping Tool for Ableton

Protoclidean We’ve seen Euclidean rhythms many times before, but this takes the notion of these evenly-spaced rhythmic devices to a novel sequencer. Developed by Julien Bayle, aka artist Protofuse, the Max for Live device is also a nice use of JavaScript in Max patching. See it in action in the video above. There are custom display options for added visual feedback, and whereas we’ve seen Euclidean notions in use commonly with percussion, the notion here is melodic gestures. Additional features:

• Eight channels
• Independent pitch, velocity, and offset controls
• Scale mapping
• For percussion, map to General MIDI drum maps (Eep – darn you, English, we’re using the word “map” a lot!)
• Randomization
• MIDI thru, transport sync, more…

More information:
http://designthemedia.com/theprotoclidean

Also, if you’re looking for more goodness to feed your Live rig, Ableton has added a new section to their own site called Library. You can find specific Max for Live content in that area, as well:
http://www.ableton.com/library
http://www.ableton.com/library/tags/mfl/

This is in addition to the community-hosted, community-run, not-officially-Ableton Max for Live library, which is the broadest resource online for Max for Live downloads:
http://maxforlive.com/library/

For fans of slicing, dicing, glitching, reversing, and shuffling incoming audio streams, this Max for Live Device is for you. Shuffler 2.0 is the latest in a series of “modular” Max for Live devices from developer Isotonik Studios. Mappable to MIDI, the suite of Devices focuses on simpler tasks in ways that can be combined. There are interactive Follow Actions, for instance — a feature I’ve long argued should be native to Ableton Live — plus tools for more easily mapping MIDI to envelopes. There’s a convenient Looper.

From last week, there’s a module called Smart, capable of mapping some eight macros to one knob.

The entire series is sold as a subscription for 17 quid:
http://isotonikstudios.com/modular/

Check out the Follow actions in the video below.

“Integrated” hardware and software is a mysterious thing. It tends to hit extremes. At one end of the spectrum, you have bare-bones hardware bundles with an interface and software, or basic integration features so an audio interface doesn’t require extra configuration or a control surface works out of the box. These might save you a few dollars or a few minutes here and there, but they’re hardly revolutionary, and in the end you might not bother at all. At the opposite pole, you have the titan Digidesign Pro Tools HD solutions, which typically involve an investment in tens of thousands of dollars of hardware gear. These can work nicely, but only if Pro Tools is your platform of choice, and for many the price means they’re not an option at all.

Cakewalk’s new SONAR V-Studio 700 heads straight for the middle of that spectrum, the area a lot in the industry have ignored. The V-Studio is a massive love child of Roland’s controller and synth hardware, a multichannel audio interface, and Cakewalk’s software. In brings a deeper level of software control than SONAR has seen before.

When Cakewalk became “Cakewalk by Roland,” after Roland bought a controlling interest in its long-time software partner, everyone wondered what integration that deal would bring. The V-Studio may be more substantial than anyone imagined, particularly after simplistic offerings in the past (some Roland sounds in a soft synth or a bundled Edirol audio card pre-configured for SONAR). I expect your take on it may depend on how you already feel about Roland hardware and Cakewalk software. This is definitely more of what these companies already offer – it’s just a lot more of it, and better integrated.

What’s included:

• SONAR 8 Producer: Big, spendy hardware aside, this is really a Cakewalk product and software is central. Cakewalk’s flagship audio software is here with all the extras, including end-to-end 64-bit audio, 64-bit processor support, and lots of included effects and instruments, including the Dimension Pro sampler, mastering effects, and vocal processing.
• Rapture: Cakewalk also throws in the full release of their deep soft synth Rapture, which has become a favorite among electronic producers for its easy envelope editing and sound design. The only danger I see: it might upstage Roland’s more conventionally-minded Fantom VS hardware.
• Control surface: The VS-700C V-Studio Console (ah, Roland branding) is the control surface part of the equation. Cakewalk has already been touting their ACT control system, which is designed for zero-configuration integration with controllers. What’s unique about the VS-700C is that you get a really full-featured control surface, and a greater level of integration. Transport, motorized faders, push-button rotary encoders, of course. Where things get interesting is there are automatic mappings to any active plug-in, surround joystick panning, and other goodies. We’re also supposed to get excited about the fact that you can then switch the same control surface to control Roland’s non-linear video editing hardware, but I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that applies to exactly none of you and move on.
• Audio interface: Interestingly, this runs on USB 2.0, but offers 20 inputs and 26 outputs, digital effects, some eight XLR ins, 24-bit, 192 kHz audio, digital I/O, MIDI, and front-panel metering. If Roland nailed the audio quality here, this could be a fantastic bargain.
• Roland Fantom VS hardware synth: This is the part you probably didn’t expect. The Fantom VS hardware synth from Roland adds 1,400 presets and integrates with SONAR as a VSTi for “zero-latency” synthesis without taxing the CPU.
• Two cables, no configuration: To make the whole thing work, you plug in two cables (one for the controller, one from the controller to the audio interface), install, and go. There’s no configuration or extra drivers to install.

Grand total: “around” US$4000, estimated, with international distribution in February 2009.

It’s a big, Roland-style box, even with the Cakewalk name. To me, the results will live and die on the quality of the audio I/O and the controller integration. Fantom synth? If you want it, you probably already own it. To anyone using SONAR, a hardware Fantom synth is just icing; potentially nice to have, but probably not the selling point. V-LINK? I’ve yet to hear from anyone using Edirol’s hardware DV editor; I’m sure they exist, but they’re a small market, so the number who would want that and this would be even smaller.

So, let’s look at those control surface and audio details, at least on paper – and expect more on the specifics soon.

Control Surface Specs

The “VS-700C” identifier is particularly misleading, as there really hasn’t been anything quite like this exclusively geared for SONAR.

• Nine 100mm, touch-sensitive motorized faders (8 channels + 1 master)
• Tab between fader banks and lock a specific channel. (For reasons known only to the engineers who designed them, some high-end control surfaces won’t lock down one channel as you tab to others, so you can’t, for instance, ride the first fader while making adjustments to the second bank of faders for access to channels 9-16.)
• Transport, X/Y cursor, jog/shuttle controls with scrub and zoom support
• 12 rotary encoders which access EQ, sends, or automatically map to active effects, instruments, and mix parameters. (Now, Mackie Control also does something like this, but the integration appears to be a little deeper and more flexible via Cakewalk’s ACT.)
• Surround control with joystick panner and other dedicated controls
• Access to views, utilities, and custom assignments for dozens of SONAR commands
• T-bar for integration with video, but also assignable to surround front/rear balance and other parameters. There’s actually no reason why a t-bar can’t make a very nice audio control, in fact.
• LCD screens with parameters (2×13) and (7-segment) timecode / time position
• Audio input for easy access, including Hi-Z if you want to plug in your guitar, etc.
• Metering
• Monitor section for controlling stereo, sub, 2-way headphone mix

It’s not unprecedented stuff, but there is a some sophistication and deeper integration you don’t get from controllers like the Mackie Control line. The tradeoff – you don’t get double-duty as you would with a Mackie Control-compatible unit, which you could use in conjunction with other hosts. (I can’t say for sure that you can’t use the VS-700C with other hosts, but it looks like it’d be most useful with SONAR.)

The integration and how it came about to me is a big issue – not only specifically in terms of this product, but because CDM as a website is always most interested in how you control software and design hardware around it. We’ll look at this area in more detail soon.

Audio Interface

Audio is no slouch, either:

• 24-bit, 192 kHz, USB 2.0 with “low-latency” performance
• 20 inputs, 26 outputs; 18/24 simultaneous
• Compression, LF Cut, Pad digital effects on input
• 8 analog ins (XLR + 1/4”), +48v phantom power
• 10 1/4” outs (balanced/unbalanced); XLR main monitor outs
• AES/EBU, S/PDIF, ADAT digital I/O
• MIDI I/O
• External sync
• Front-panel metering (that’s on top of what you get from the control surface, which makes sense as you’d use the latter for monitoring the mix engine in SONAR)

I’m also told by Cakewalk that the A/D and mic pre specs are very good; we’ll go into more specifics soon on that.

What Matters, Who is it For?

There’s a real danger here. Part of the whole value equation of software like SONAR is its flexibility, the fact that you can get software synths and mix-and-match audio I/O and controller hardware to meet your needs. Releasing integrated hardware doesn’t really hurt that; it can simply wind up being upstaged by the software itself. I’ve already heard from Steinberg pitching integration with their hardware products, and Apple pitching integration with Apogee audio hardware. The implication has a tendency to veer toward the “Pro Tools killer” territory. The results just often don’t live up to that, and I suspect part of the reason is that people who choose these software solutions are already used to picking their own gear. And if you read this site regularly, you should be very, very aware that people’s needs differ wildly. It’s not pro versus consumer, it’s countless fundamentally different approaches to the entire music making process.

So, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say it, I’m sure to many SONAR users the existing a la carte approach will be just fine.

That said, I think it’s worth noting that Cakewalk and Roland are being far more audacious than some of their competitors. Whether you want a V-Studio or not, you have to appreciate the sheer dedication to putting the best bits of Cakewalk and Roland into one box. You’re likely to feel strongly about it. Even if you feel ambivalent, I think you’ll feel passionately ambivalent. Forget the Fantom and the V-LINK bits for a second. If they really have nailed the audio and controller integration bits, it’ll find its market.

We’ll be looking at what Cakewalk has done, partly because it could finally lead to smarter integration with hardware. Stay tuned.

Let us know what you think – whether you’re saving up pennies or ignoring it entirely.

Cakewalk SONAR V-Studio Site

Elijah B Torn was introduced to me at the Warper Party. Apologies to Elijah, but the gimmick was a microcontroller-manipulated light bulb. “Hey, come downstairs, you’ve got to see this guy — he’s got a lightbulb that flashes in time to the music!” Actually, maybe that’s perfectly appropriate: crowded on our feet in front of Elijah on his laptop, everyone stared into his bright, blinking lightbulb, like a uniquely retro rave. Elijah’s music can lend itself to that.

If there are any doubts about this connection we like to talk about between handmade music and handmade other things, here’s Elijah’s work used as the soundtrack to British artist Julia Pott for one of Etsy’s Handmade Portraits. (Warning: Julia has an animation of animals talking about their crushes; my guess is that you, man, woman, straight, or gay, may be crushing on Ms. Pott by the time you’re done with the video.) It’s funny to hear Julia talk about introducing the human hand into her art as Elijah’s electronic sounds echo in the background, but by coincidence, I think some of what Elijah’s doing is about keeping an organic element in sounds.

Elijah has just assembled a video showing off the techniques he’s put together for his new album, “You Are Lucky I am Not a Vigilante.” As seen at top, Elijah narrates it as though he’s a malfunctioning android. There are plenty of weird and wonderful sounds in there, partly through some abuse of Live clips. I asked him to share some more details of what he was doing, and got this semi-cheeky response. Some techniques will be very familiar to long-time Live users, but may have a twist on them that fits Elijah’s personal style; others may be new (click images for larger versions):

Since I have been performing electronic music live a great deal, I wanted to write songs that had a more natural flow. Working in what I felt was a less visual way of composing instead sequencing in the computer in the hopes the songs would lend themselves to being performed live more easily and have less of the “let’s put the drum brick here and then the bass brick comes in here” style writing. A great deal of “Vigilante” was created out of improvizations with the bass guitar and laptop recorded to 4-track cassette. From these “experiments”, most of these songs were both written “to tape” and were then sampled back into the Ableton Live and reprogrammed either with Ableton features, NI Battery, Kontakt, or the Akai MPC 3000 (see theycontrol.us’s “How To Making Beats” video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlnjb0xuuGQ ) and combined with various 8bit drum machines, sid emulators, air organs and other things. This included (but was not limited to) running everything through external filters, boomboxes, aged tape delays and spring reverbs.

This also led to my streamlining my Ableton Live set to be more utilitarian. One of the main things I incorporated into my set was a “dummy” master track. All tracks are set to “Send Only” and sent to a designated Send which functions as a master track but allows me send all of the tracks to an external effect and be rerouted into an audio track input in the same set (then going to the main real Master track) without causing (the bad kind of) horrifying feedback. This more or less allows me to process everything through external effects and making new loops of the whole track with the flip of a switch.

some of the bizarre techniques from my video in further detail-

For the interference with Electromagnetic Scalar waves in “Gun Music 1″ sound-
I am running my bass guitar into an audio track in Ableton Live 7.
The audio track is set to “Monitor In”. I have various “dummy” clips (or clips containing no audio information) but that contain a lot of clip envelope information. (For more on Dummy Clips check out the CovertOPerators) This allows me to automate modulation of anything from FX plugin in my audio fx chain to individual plugin parameters to control over the mixer including volume and panning information on the live input, in this case the bass guitar. This can be used to create anything from step sequencers to hands-free tempo synced filter freakouts. I also use Dummy clips to switch between different fx plugins as well as changing midi instruments when playing live.

For the echolocation of dolphins sounds in “Dangerous”-
I am a instance of Simpler on a instrument track. Sorry, I HAVE an instance of Simpler.
Simpler has the loop setting on with a very very short length (in this case 0.40%)
The start of the Loop has been midi mapped to a fader so that what is being played back and triggered can be within the piece of audio.
There is also a delay set to a momentary switch on the output of that instrument as well as having control of routing the instrument to an external delay (that is then run back into Live intro another audio track with the monitor set to input. I usually place a sweep-able filter on this track).

more information soon, I’ve already said too much!

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For something somewhat … trippy, here’s an animated GIF of what Elijah’s Live set looks like:
Elijah B Torn, Animated

I think it’s nice seeing artists sharing what they’re doing rather than treating digital techniques as trade secrets — there’s genuine pride in technique, for one thing. And there’s also the suggestion that just using the same techniques doesn’t have to yield the same results. Maybe computer-generated art doesn’t have to be as anti-human as Julia suggests above. Let us know what you think.

And certainly, it’s worth acknowledging that Elijah is one of an army of Live users who, rather than complaining about its limitations, decided to hack in what they wanted. For a great series on Dummy Clips, here’s the awesomely-powerful Bjorn Vayner:

Dummy Clips Revisited