I have found in my talking with people about Ableton that there are a lot of people who hate on Ableton’s preset sounds, and even on their built-in synths and instruments.
It’s my personal opinion that the somewhat lack-luster looks of many of its synths contribute to some users gripes with their sounds. I will concede that there are other DAW’s that have some shinier out of the box sounds, but I can offer an immediate explanation for this.
Ableton is modular in nature. Sounds and effects are meant to be layered, stacked, and used in combination to create awesome things. So for where certain routing abilities are in lack or effects missing within the synth itself, there are innumerable possibilities for sound and effect layering that quickly make up for this.
These conversations have led me to do recurring spotlights on Ableton’s awesome preset sounds. Sometimes I make them more awesome by creating custom mappings. Sometimes, I create audio effect chains to manipulate the sound, and sometimes I drop them on a track and let them work their magic for me.
Today is one of those days.
The wavetable preset, “Light Keys”, needs no help to be awesome.
Why I Love It
Sound Quality
To me, “Light Keys” is reminiscent of an airy reverb trail. It sounds a lot like what I would want the decay of my EP to sound like if the world was my oyster.
Pre-Mapped Macros
I love a good set of macro controls. Ableton really covers all the bases here. It gives you the ability to change the filter and the filter attack, add distortion, reverb, unison, and even just straight up noise.
Long Filter Envelope
This sound fades in nice and smooth and gradually gains a bit of punch as it does so. While it would have been easier to achieve this fade in with the amp envelope, here it is done with the flow opening of the filter. This was a brilliant choice because, with one parameter, you are creating to resulting sounds; one, the fade in and two the timbre change.
Premapped Reverb
Reverb changes everything. When you are making, and altering synths, running a sound through a reverb can completely change its tonal qualities. Because the majority of my playing is done live, I want to get the most mileage possible out of each sound. One of my three go to audio effects is a good reverb. This one comes built-in
How I Used Light Keys
In my video example, I used this preset to create a processed and slightly distorted fake reverb sound. It almost gave me the feeling of the sustain and distortion you get when you are running an electric guitar through a nice tube amp.
I recorded an E-piano part and duplicated it directly into the Light Keys track. Then, I went through and muted all of the notes that weren’t sustained. This way the wavetable preset only peaked through on the longer notes. It was a fast and easy way to add a lot of character to my EP part.
Alright, now get out there and make something you feel proud of! You are already well on your way, and I would love to be a continued support to you. The easiest way to be directly in touch with me, as well as with a whole community of Ableton users is to join my facebook group. It’s easy to place to get and offer support for all of your Ableton needs. And I look forward to meeting you personally!
Until next time, happy creating.
-Brett