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Ableton NI Stem Creator

STEMs and Ableton

September 30, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Yesterday I received an email from Native Instruments suggesting I download and try their free STEM Creator tool (ironically[?] showing Ableton on the screen). After watching their YouTube video, I got to thinking, do I even need this? The truth is, I really don’t. I produce my tracks in Ableton, and if I need to bounce isolated track stems, that can be easily accomplished from a drop down menu in the Export Audio dialog. Most of us produce in layers anyway, so if I were to ever perform my original productions live (sigh, one day), my elements are already split into independent tracks with associated clips.

However, if I produce my own tracks and intend to publish and share them with NI Traktor users, this creator tool could be quite valuable. Although not truly necessary, I started thinking about how Ableton might be further enhanced by supporting STEM format, and where I see real potential.

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August 4, 2015 / / 9 Comments

BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER 

I’ve received a number of comments on this post about how wildly inaccurate and flawed my assessment of this situation is. I am no expert on this matter, and have never claimed to be. And I’m not afraid to admit that I could be (ahem, likely am) wrong. Ableton has always been a hobby for me. The write-up below was based entirely on my own personal experience, on an older version of Live, and I strongly urge you to read this Reddit article in hopes to clarify what I (and maybe you) have been perceiving; it includes some alternate tests that you are welcome to try. Cheers

I recently subscribed to the “Your Mix Sucks” series by Marc Mozart, and learned loads of tips as to how to get a great mix in my home studio. One such tip suggested inserting a track-level “gainer plugin” instead of moving the default track volume fader. Skeptical, I decided to try this technique in Ableton, and the results have completely changed my workflow.

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April 17, 2015 / / 0 Comments

I got into a controller conversation with a friend tonight. He and I have a similar Ableton setup, including Push and the first-gen Akai APC40. Given the new analog synth he was adding to his studio, he and I debated whether he could ditch the APC, and continue using Push only. It definitely got me thinking… thinking I don’t see ever parting with my APC. Here’s why.

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December 17, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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December 14, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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mashup ableton launchclip

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December 13, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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October 18, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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Deeper Discoveries while Warping Ableton Tracks

September 6, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In a previous post, I outline how I warp tracks for my Ableton DJ sets. Here I’d like to share a few additional discoveries and learnings I’ve encountered along the way.

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