The simple interface of Ableton’s Operator belies some truly lovely soundmaking capabilities. Our friend Francis Preve, a principle Ableton sound designer who has contributed hundreds of presets since 2004, has a new single out that makes use of some of those sonic possibilities, combining Operator with juicy spectral and granular effects in Live 7. As a gift to Ableton users on CDM, he’s giving us both the rack he used and some tips on squeezing noise out of the Ableton instrument. (By the way, I’m open to tips for other platforms, not just Ableton — ask for what you want!)

First, the EP: “Hasown / Less Cowbell” is out as a Beatport exclusive on Josh Gabriel’s new label, Different Pieces.
Hasown / Less Cowbell EP

Lots of the sound of “Less Cowbell” comes from some creative recreations Fran made of the 808 Cowbell, using Operator and Live effects (hello, grains). This is the actual patch he used. If you think this is some generic cowbell preset, think again: give the knobs a twist, and some wild sounds come out. I asked Fran to walk us through the patch:

“The essence of the original 808 Cowbell consisted of four simultaneous sawtooth waves at the following frequencies: 1.94 kHz, 1.37 kHz, 835 Hz, 555 Hz. By using the all-carrier Operator algorithm, fixed tuning, and a lot of tinkering with the envelopes, I was able to pretty much nail the original sound. From there, it was just a matter of creating a a bunch of Macros to manipulate as the groove developed.”

Here are the assignments for each Macro:

• LFO Rate: This controls the rate for the tempo-synced sawtooth LFO, which is assigned to all four operators’ pitch. The range is 1/48th note to 4 measures.
• LFO Amount: Overall amount of the LFO effect. Note that these parameters work best in conjunction with longer release times.
• Spectral Volume: Controls the volume of the 1.94 kHz, 1.37 kHz, and 835 Hz sawtooth waves. A value of 0 reduces the sound to just the 555 Hz sawtooth, whereas 127 is the full-on 808 Cowbell.
• Spectral Spread: Introduces positive detuning, spreading the frequencies from the root 555 Hz sawtooth all the way up to the 808 array. Great for rises and builds.
• LPF: Lowpass cutoff frequency.
• Falling Grain: This affects four different Grain Delay parameters simultaneously. The result is a dotted eighth-note delay that descends in pitch. Note that since the Grain Delay comes after the Reverb, some really unusual ambient effects can be created by adjusting both Macros simultaneously.
• Release: Overall release for the four operators. Range is 174 ms to 60 seconds.
• Reverb: Controls the decay time and amount of autopanning for a tempo-synced bouncing reverb effect. Used during the breakdowns for Less Cowbell.

You do need a copy of Operator to try this out, but even a demo copy of Operator will do. Live 7 only is needed, though of course Live 8 beta will work, too. (And I do expect we’ll have a load of new things to talk about once folks wrap their heads around the new release.)

Download it exclusively from CDM, right here (please do not directly link to this file; just link to the story):
Less_Cowbell_Operator_Patch.zip

As for the EP, you can grab this week’s release from Beatport, and next week Toolroom will feature the tracks “Yin” and “Yang”, collaborations between Francis and electro “it-boy” Wolfgang Gartner. Check out Francis’ MySpace page.

Personally, I love the idea. It’s all the rage to release special online toys to play with samples or iPhone apps or remix tools or whatever, but the full-blown preset means you can really make something quite different. (It’s something Ableton co-founders and members of Monolake once did with Max/MSP.)

Let us know how you like the patch, and if it inspires other ideas.

Previously:
Free Tutorials, Techno iPhone Ringtone from Francis Preve, Celebrating Single “Caboose”
Exclusive: Free Ableton Live Slicing Pack by Covert Operators

Here’s the story: because Native Instruments uses the free Kore Player for its soundpacks, you can make use of the included sounds without owning Kore, on Mac or Windows. Soundpack Compilation Volume 1 is packed with nearly 100 MB of 100 Kore Sounds and 800 variations thereof, curated from the various soundpacks they’ve released this year. That includes synths designed in Reaktor, FM8, Absynth, and Massive, percussion, effects, and more. Aside from the variations, you get quite a bit of timbral control over the sounds with pre-assigned parameters, even without owning the software with which these were developed. (In other words, no need to use the presets as-is in recognizable form!) If you own any of the products, you can edit the sounds.

KORE Soundpacks: Free Compilation Vol. 1 [Native Instruments]

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, Volume 1 suggests more may be coming.

Since it works with everything, I figured it was worth putting here instead of our kore.noisepages.com minisite. Let us know what you think of the pack, and if anyone else has freely-available sounds for the holidays.

And in other news, I suggest being as arcane as you possibly can on social networking services like Twitter and Facebook. For instance, “Peter is … jumping with joy because he’s found exactly the right granular size parameter for his new SuperCollider effect.”

People will think you’re about to cause the end of the universe, along with that Large Hadron Collider. Actually, excuse me while I Tweet that.

Hate soundware and generic downloaded samples? You’ll love this. The “Slice of Winter” sound pack created by Covert Operators for CDM doesn’t have a single sound in it – not one; you bring your own. Instead, install this pack and you get a whole mess of slicing presents for use with Ableton Live’s Slice to New MIDI Track feature. Grab an audio clip (or record your own), hit Slice to New MIDI Track, apply a preset, and you get a new Drum Rack instance with slices mapped to pads, effects, and live controls. (You can see what I mean as Bjorn plays around with the feature in the video.)

Naturally, this works nicely for drum loops, but if you apply to vocals or weird found sounds or other material, you can get all kinds of results. You’ll need Live 7 as it’s a new feature, but you can use the free trial to try it out; the trial is still unlimited time-wise and now even saves for the first 14 days.

It’s not so much that this is something other tools can’t do – even some hardware drum machines have a similar feature. But in the context of Live, slicing takes on a different quality. It integrates with all the clips you have sitting around your session, can map to those warp markers, and gives you virtual drum machines with live controller mappings and the ability to insert effects (including third-party plug-ins) on each pad.

We feature this technique in the CDM Winter Guide for two reasons. One, it’s a perfect antidote to sets that get boring because you have clips looping endlessly. Two, you can get a lot of mileage from this feature musically, so it’s something to live with for a while (which was the idea of the guide). In the guide, we have a detailed tutorial for using the feature, how to make your own presets (which isn’t clear in the manual), and some creative ideas. Francis Preve joins in with some tips; he used this feature heavily on his single “Caboose.” Previously:

Free Tutorials, Techno iPhone Ringtone from Francis Preve, Celebrating Single “Caboose”

Get the Guide + the Pack

So, be sure to not only grab the sound pack but download the free PDF, or get the bound treeware version to keep on your desk:

Print Edition + Free PDF Download @ Lulu.com

And for the free Live Pack download from Covert Operators:

http://covops.org/cdm

More Brain Dumps on Live

Covert Operators also makes other lovely stuff for Live and live performance, including software (like a utility for making better use of the BCR2000 controller), Live packs (free and fee), and an in-depth video subscription series with power tools for Live use.

If you want still more Live knowledge, Grooveboxmusic has a limited-time deal on three hours of free tutorials, on special through the end of the month:

Grooveboxmusic.com: Free video tutorials [Ableton.com, via the ever-vigilant Synthtopia.com]

Now pray for a snow day to actually get some Live time for music making! (I know I’m hoping for one. Or an Elton John Day.)

Okay, first, a disclaimer: the fact that the upcoming microKORG XL has a “genre” knob for selecting presets isn’t big news. The original microKORG had genre-selectable presets, too. The beauty of the original, though, was how incoherently these settings were labeled. (Retro, or Hiphop/Vintage, anyone?)

Sometimes, the labels that don’t fit are better than the real ones.

“What type of music do you play?”

“I play VOCODER!”

(From here on out, any time the mention of VOCODER comes up, it shall be in CAPS and ITALICS as will anything else we especially ENJOY. For instance: GRANULAR DISTORTION!)

Sadly, it seems Korg has – well, sort of – made these choices rational. (As rational as they can be, anyway, given “genre” is generally irrational.) I think I misread the label “ROCK/POP” as “POWER POP” – you’ll have to use your imagination. (VINTAGE SYNTH? Does that really say HOUSE/DISCO?) Korg explains:

The first selects the musical genre, while the second defines the instrument category. From the familiar "ROCK / KEYBOARD," the standard "R&B / LEAD," and the distinctive "HIPHOP / BASS," a wide range of presets are instantly available. For the diehard synthesists and sound designers, you can use the three performance edit knobs for fast, effective editing in performance. You’re also free to select and assign your favorite parameters.

No idea what “distinctive” means, but since our job is not selling lots of gear, let’s do something more fun. I suggest we chip in and imagine the Most Awesomest Genre Knob ever. You’ll be free to incorporate this into your Pd and Reaktor patches. It will have silly, awesome names on it that we’ve made up or refer to disparagingly. Get your genre brains going, and submit your ideas, and I’ll run the best answers later this week. You’ll have to print out a sticker to put on your new microKORG XL when it ships in 2009.

Now, if only we could use a “genre” knob on bands at gigs… sorry, Emo band, you’ve now just become Avant-electro-noise!

Send your answers below, or head directly to http://cdm.genreknob.sgizmo.com

If you’re hungry for some patch content, the download-rich PatchArena has you covered, with a massive library of free, user-created content:

PatchArena Downloads

There are particularly large sections for the all-in-one studios EnergyXT, FL Studio, and a number of others. (Correction: Intua BeatMaker for iPhone/iPod Touch is promised, as well, though I got my categories confused — no files there now, so we’ll check in if some get posted! But it could be a great place to upload BeatMaker presets; see the thread on PatchArena’s forum.)

Francesco Silvestri writes CDM to let us know about his latest addition, a huge set for Cakewalk’s awesome soft synth Rapture. He says:

I’ve released Muz3um, a free set of patches for Rapture the virtual synthesizer by Cakewalk.This collection is built on waveforms from vintage synthesizers.

It features:

• 661 presets organized in categories (Basses, Keys, Leads, Pads, Sequences)
• 573 waveforms
• 36 impulse responses, taken from amp sims, cabinets and lo-fi speakers, providing additional colors to the set

It’s great having those impulse responses alone – meaning even if you’d rather program your own sounds in Rapture, this could be a must-download.

Update: This also works just fine with Rapture LE, meaning lots of Cakewalk customers can use the pack. (Thanks, Chad!)

Have a go and let us know what you think, Rapture users!

Rapture Muz3um OS X

Rapture Muz3um Windows

20 of the 200 presets are available for immediate, free use; if you like them, the whole set is US$39 (EUR29).

Musicrow Modular Dreams

I have to say, as much as I loved the tactile feel of patching on a real Moog modular, and as much as the software sound falls slightly short of the real thing, you can’t beat the fact that you can transport a laptop and save presets! Photo by Erikadotnet.

• KORE software, a tool that can act either as a plug-in or a host for plug-ins, which provides sound browsing, internal effects, and performance controls for combining sounds and effects in semi-modular fashion – ships as KORE 2
• A hardware controller, integrated with the software for high, resolution hands-on control and the ability to audition and switch sounds and performance presets without looking at your computer – also ships with KORE 2
• A sound platform, in which NI presets for existing instruments and effects are categorized and controlled in standardized ways — which doesn’t require KORE 2
• A set of functionalities built into NI’s instrument and effects line that make it easier to browse presets (theirs or your own) in a standard way — again, doesn’t require KORE 2 (though integrates with the hardware if you’ve got it)

So, what’s it all mean? Well, in short, you can get a handful of sounds for free, some good sounds for cheap — but, as often happens, the exciting stuff is at the deep end of the pool when you pay up for the full KORE and get a semi-modular performance environment for instruments and effects, integrated with control hardware. And since we like diving in the deep end around here, you know upfront where our bias is. That said, here’s a quick look at some of the bargain buys to be had, which could complement another tool nicely.

The Freebie: KORE Player

KORE Player, of course, can’t do what KORE 2 does, or you wouldn’t buy the full product. But if you check the comparison, you’ll see KORE Player leaves out support for third-party plug-ins, the sophisticated mapping and routing features, internal effects, and performance presets. It’s just a sound player and browser. You do get sound variations for each sound and morphing features, plus automation and recall in any audio host, so it is more sophisticated than what we’ve tended to see in this category. But it is what it is: a soundware browsing and playback tool.

Freebie lovers, though, should appreciate that you get a slick package with 300 MB of sounds (50 presets) to play with for no cost at all, so I won’t complain. I just will say, don’t assume this really gives you a sense of what KORE is, because it strips out the really interesting bits.

KORE Player

The Add-ons: KORE Soundpacks

The other half of the announcement today is sound packs. As with KORE Player, what this announcement means depends entirely on who you are:

You just want some sounds to play with. For US$59-79, the soundpacks give you that: new sounds taken from NI’s best instruments and effects, with synthetic drums, a Hammond C3, the Massive and Absynth synths, the Reaktor engine, sampled sax & brass, and sampled “pop” drums. And, because these play in KORE Player, you can choose different variations and morph between them. You can’t control the sounds with KORE hardware, but you can assign MIDI control (and I expect you can find something with eight knobs.) It’s a good deal — and if you want some Reaktor weirdness, for instance, it’s a terrific way to inject that into your sets without falling down the rabbit hole of trying to learn Reaktor.

You’re a power user / NI die-hard. Yes, the whole point of the Soundpacks is that you don’t need to own Reaktor or Massive or Kontakt or whatever was used to create the sounds. But if you do have those tools, you can jump in and edit the actual presets. There are a couple of oddities — the Best of Reaktor collection has instruments you’ve already seen in Reaktor, albeit with some new sound variations. I could complain about that, but at this point, I’d rather wait and get a new version of Reaktor.

The main thing is, those of you do own KORE 2, you get a free choice of soundpack to go with it (and I can see from the forums that some of the KORE 2 early adopters have been waiting impatiently for that). I’d say if you own Reaktor already, skip the Best of Reaktor and go for the Massive Expansion or something; I think that’s what I’ll be doing.

KORE Soundpacks

So, Would I Buy Them?

Well, okay, I’m not really the target audience for the Soundpacks. But I will say this: while I think even in KORE 2 there’s still some untapped potential for KORE to reach, the real story here remains the KORE flagship. The soundpacks look like a good buy for the budget-minded, and finally give people some of the NI sounds without requiring a massive investment of cash. (You can literally get some good stuff for $60-120, instead of hundreds and hundreds of dollars.) But, don’t try to argue that with me. To me, it’s diving into KORE + Kontakt that really starts to get interesting. It’s not for everyone, and it’s got some increasingly-tougher competition for your “powerful instruments + effects rig live” dollar (which is a good thing). But it is right up CDM’s alley, so we’ll have more of a look at what it all means soon.

Craig Anderton is easily the most prolific music technology writer on the planet. We got an exclusive interview with him at Cakewalk at the NAMM show to talk about the technologist who has had the biggest impact on him: Bob Moog.

Craig talked to us about two projects, each a tribute to Moog’s legacy. First, there’s The Minimoog Tribute, an inexpensive expansion pack for Cakewalk’s Rapture and Rapture LE synths. Why another set of Moog samples, given there’s a fake Minimoog patch or thirty in just about every synth? Craig tells us he wanted to do something different: really create patches that “cover” the classics rather than duplicate them, taking advantage of samples of his personal Minimoog but blending them with Rapture’s digital capabilities.

Craig also talks about why he chose Rapture, because “it basically says twist my knobs, man, have a good time.” (I won’t touch that one.) In all seriousness, he describes the relationship with the synth as being a personal one.

And this isn’t just a preset pack. It’s got gear porn in it, too — cue the Moog porn bassline.

Craig Anderton’s MiniMoog Tribute Expansion Pack [Cakewalk]

Liz interviewed Craig for CDM at the Cakewalk booth:

NAMM08: Craig Anderton @ Cakewalk – Moog Tribute for Rapture [cdm@blip.tv]

But the real reason Craig wanted to have this interview wasn’t just to talk about his product — it was to make an impassioned plea for The Moog Foundation, which is working to save the vast archival materials Bob Moog collected through his life. They’re not just the history of Bob, or the history of Moog synthesizers: they’re a chronicle of the history of electronic music. And they now have met a formidable foe: humid southern weather. But you can help:

NAMM08: Craig Anderton @ Cakewalk – Moog Foundation [cdm@blip.tv]

A portion of the proceeds from the Minimoog expansion pack for Rapture will be donated by both Craig and Cakewalk to the fund, but even if you’ve only got $10 or $15, consider giving something directly to the foundation — or volunteer or contribute in other ways.

Moog Foundation Call to Action

Donation form

Have Moog synths influenced the way you use non-Moog synths and software? We’d love to hear how — aside from the obvious ways, of course. I know my approach to sound was deeply affected by using both the Buchla and Moog modular systems, even applying thinking about sound and synthesis to very different digital systems. Let us know in comments.

Way back in January of last year, when Native Instruments introduced its Kore sound product, they promised the software/hardware tool would become a new “sound platform.” The idea makes sense: part of the point of Kore is the ability to easily catalog presets for NI and third-party instruments and effects, which would be a logical pairing with big sample libraries and plug-ins that otherwise have lots of presets. (And this is potentially useful if you’re managing settings you’ve created yourself.) About a year after the launch of KORE, though, third-party support hasn’t really materialized. I had speculated sample makers might embrace the format, but that never happened — and one of my likely candidates, East West, abandoned NI’s own Kontakt sample engine for their new “PLAY” engine.

One significant developer is announcing support for KORE, however: Camel Audio. The makers of the terrific CamelPhat distortion/EQ/fatten– erm, “phattening” effect and the deep Cameleon 5000 morphing/resynthesis additive synthesizer have built a number of new KORE-savvy products.

Camel KORE: For Cameleon 5000, CamelSpace and CamelPhat, they’ve built 35 free KORE plug-ins for registered users of the software, all programmed by Biomechanoid with controller assignments ready to go. These use their plug-ins, demonstrating the potential of KORE for use with non-NI software. (Camel users, if you’ve got KORE, do let us know how these are and whether they give you reason to jump into KORE with your Camel plugs or not.)

and KORE and Absynth-ready sounds: The Biolabs Absynth sound collection is now in KORE format for use with either KORE or Absynth — meaning you can have either tool and get the benefits of both. This is, honestly, a bit more like what I originally imagined KORE would do: you get a sound engine, a preset manager, and the ability to easily manage sounds and performance settings.

Camel Audio

All bets are off until NI ships KORE 2, the re-vamped version of the hardware and software that adds integrated sound engines and a lot of new features. (When I brought up the new release, it sparked a vibrant discussion here on CDM — and plenty of questions we hope to answer once the new tool ships.) Given the mixed response to KORE 1, we’re very anxious to see how that product evolves. And even if other third-party manufacturers don’t ship presets, KORE could be a sound platform of its own — provided it can provide enough utility that you’d want to program your sounds via KORE rather than just within each individual plug-in as we’ve all done in the past.

Preset libraries are rarely designed with the avid sound designer in mind. Usually what you get is overdesigned patches that don’t really work for your music. Andrew Souter sends an interesting collection today, however: a $15 library for Native Instruments’ Absynth synth with 1,000 wavetables (single-cycle waveforms, the building blocks of lots of classic digital and analog sounds). That sounds more my speed, and it should be just the thing to pair with Native’s incredibly-powerful synth. The categories sound useful, too: “Additive, AM, Classic, FM, Formants, LoFi, Serial, and UHF.” This library is a translation of an impressive MetaSynth library; with support for Mac and Windows Absynth 2 and 3, this release should reach a bigger audience. (And much as I love MetaSynth, it’ll be even better to have something you can play live.) I’m going to try this thing out and start brushing off my Absynth chops — expect a report later this summer.

Galbanum Architecture Waveforms for NI Absynth