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- 5 Plugins for Headphone Calibration
5 Plugins for Headphone Calibration
Ableton Cook up
January 01, 2025
In today’s newsletter🎅:
🗃️Exploring Live 12’s Browser and Filter Function
🎨Ping Pong Delay in Ableton Live: Tips and More
🎧5 Plugins for Headphone Calibration and Speaker Simulation
📟Using Ableton Move to Control Ableton Live: Tips and Troubleshooting
🌍 Ableton Live Community Ebonie Smith on the Difference Between Engineers and Producers
⚡[Workflow Trick] Reverse a Clip
🗃️Exploring Live 12’s Browser and Filter Function
Ableton Live 12 introduces an exciting update with its revamped browser and filter function, significantly improving workflow for producers. This new feature allows users to navigate their libraries and find sounds, instruments, and effects faster and more efficiently. Let’s dive into the key aspects of this new browser and its filter capabilities.
Improved Search and Organization
The new browser in Live 12 has been designed for better organization and easier access to your sound library. The updated interface allows you to quickly navigate through your sample packs, instruments, and presets, with a more intuitive layout. The filter function, in particular, enables you to narrow down your search results by type, helping you locate exactly what you need in seconds. You can also filter by categories (e.g. file type, genre, and key in the samples section) streamlining the process of finding the right sound for your project.
Tagging and Custom Filters
One of the standout features of the new browser is its enhanced tagging system. Users can now add custom tags to their favorite sounds or frequently used instruments, allowing for quicker access. Whether you’re building a specific sound palette or organizing your presets by mood, the tagging system offers a more personalized browsing experience. Custom filters can also be created based on these tags, further streamlining your workflow when working on complex projects.
Faster Workflow with Live 12’s New Filtering Options
Live 12’s filter function allows for more granular control when searching for specific sounds or effects. You can now apply multiple filters simultaneously to narrow down your search results. For example, you could combine a “Loop” filter with a “Bass” and “Clean” filter to pinpoint the exact sample you need. This flexibility not only saves time but also opens up more creative possibilities, as you can quickly refine your search results based on the specific needs of your track.
Ableton Live 12’s new browser and filter functions are game-changers for producers. With an improved layout, custom tagging, and powerful filtering capabilities, navigating your sound library has never been easier or faster. If you haven’t yet explored these features, now is the perfect time to dive in and elevate your production experience. Here is a video from Ableton to dive deeper:
🎨Ping Pong Delay in Ableton Live: Tips and More
The Ping Pong Delay in Ableton Live is a creative audio effect that adds rhythmic, spatial, and textural elements to your tracks. By bouncing audio between the left and right channels, this delay effect can create a sense of movement, widen your mix, and add interest to otherwise static sounds. Here’s a guide on how and when to use it.
How Does Ping Pong Delay Work?
Unlike a standard delay, Ping Pong Delay alternates the delayed signal between the left and right stereo channels, giving the effect of a dynamic stereo feel. In Ableton, the Ping Pong Delay is integrated into the Delay device.
Use Cases for Ping Pong Delay
1. Creating Spatial Depth
Add Ping Pong Delay to pads, synths, or vocal harmonies to create a wide, atmospheric effect. Use a long delay time (e.g., 1/2 or dotted 1/4) and moderate feedback for an evolving stereo landscape.
2. Adding Groove to Percussion
Apply Ping Pong Delay to hi-hats, shakers, or other percussion to inject rhythm and complexity. Use shorter delay times (e.g., 1/16 or 1/8) to maintain tight grooves.
3. Enhancing Lead Sounds
Lead melodies or arpeggios can benefit from Ping Pong Delay, which adds motion and keeps the listener engaged. Experiment with automation on the filter or feedback to create dynamic interest over time.
4. Sound Design and Experimental Effects
Push the boundaries by cranking up the feedback and adjusting the filter to transform simple sounds into textures or risers. Pair Ping Pong Delay with reverb for a lush, otherworldly effect.
Tips for Using Ping Pong Delay in Ableton
Automation is Key: Automate the delay time for pitch-shifting effects or the filter cutoff for evolving textures.
EQ the Delay: Use an EQ Eight after the Ping Pong Delay to ensure the echoes don’t clash with the rest of your mix.
Combine with Modulators: Pair it with an LFO or Envelope Follower to modulate the dry/wet balance or feedback dynamically.
Ping Pong Delay offers endless creative possibilities, from adding delicate stereo width to crafting intricate rhythmic patterns. Experiment and uncover how this versatile effect can redefine the character of your tracks.
Ping Pong in Delay
🎧5 Plugins for Headphone Calibration and Speaker Simulation
Mixing on headphones can be tricky due to their limited stereo imaging and often non-flat frequency response. Thankfully, modern plugins make it easier by offering headphone correction and speaker simulation. Here are five must-have tools for Ableton producers seeking more accurate monitoring.
A favorite among producers, SoundID Reference calibrates your headphones or monitors to deliver a flat frequency response. With a library of profiles for hundreds of headphone models and advanced room correction tools, it ensures reliable monitoring. In Ableton Live, you can place this plugin on your master channel to maintain consistency across projects.
Nx creates a virtual studio listening environment directly in your headphones. With head tracking technology, it simulates how sound behaves in a real studio, adjusting the stereo field dynamically. This is perfect for Ableton producers who want a realistic room feel during long headphone sessions.
Realphones offers comprehensive headphone calibration and speaker simulation. It includes profiles for various headphones and virtual room emulations, allowing you to test your mix in different acoustic spaces. Pair this with Ableton’s Mono Utility for an even better translation test.
For producers looking to mimic speaker crossfeed, CanOpener Studio is a standout choice. It blends left and right channels subtly, reducing ear fatigue and creating a more natural stereo field. Its simplicity makes it a great addition to your Ableton workflow for headphone mixing.
Morphit focuses on frequency correction and headphone emulation. It supports a wide range of headphones and allows you to customize the sound further. In Ableton Live, use it in combination with Spectrum to visually analyze your mix’s balance.
Why Ableton Producers Need These Plugins?
Accurate monitoring is essential for creating mixes that translate across playback systems. Plugins like these provide a more neutral listening experience, ensuring your Ableton projects sound professional whether played on speakers or headphones. Here is a video about why calibrating your listening system is important:
📟Using Ableton Move to Control Ableton Live: Tips and Troubleshooting
The newly released Ableton Move has generated significant interest among producers, thanks to its portability and versatility. One of Move’s key features is the ability to control Ableton Live in “Control Live Mode” by connecting it directly to your computer via USB-C. Here’s a quick guide to setting it up and troubleshooting any issues, so you can seamlessly integrate Move into your workflow.
Getting Started with Move as a Control Surface
To set up Move with Ableton Live, simply connect it to your computer using a USB-C cable. For most users, Ableton Live will automatically detect Move, and configure it as a control surface without any additional setup. If you need further information on “Control Live Mode”, the Move manual offers a detailed breakdown of its functions and customization options. Switching to “Control Live Mode” is straightforward—just press Shift + Step 2 on Move, go to the Setup menu, and select Control Live.
Here are a few tips to get you started in “Control Live Mode”:
Use one Move per session: Ableton Live supports only a single Move controller per instance.
USB-MIDI restrictions: Devices connected to Move’s USB-A port won’t communicate with Live when Move is in “Control Live Mode”. If you’re using other USB-MIDI devices, connect them directly to your computer to maintain control in Live.
Troubleshooting “Control Live Mode”
If you encounter issues with Move being recognized as a control surface, here are some steps to help resolve the problem:
Update Ableton Live: Make sure you’re running the latest version of Live 11 or Live 12, as updates may include essential Move compatibility.
Check your connection: Ensure the USB-C cable is firmly connected. If issues persist, try using a different cable.
Reboot Move: Disconnect Move from your computer, wait at least 5 seconds, then reconnect it.
Confirm “Control Live Mode”: Open Setup on Move and make sure it is still in “Control Live Mode”.
Switching Between “Control Live Mode” and USB MIDI
If you need to send and receive MIDI over USB, switch Move to Standalone Mode. In “Control Live Mode”, USB MIDI functionality is disabled by default to optimize control functions. Switching to Standalone Mode is quick—press Shift + Step 2, open Setup, and use the wheel to select Standalone Mode.
Ableton Move (Image from: Official Ableton Website)
🌍 Ableton Live Community
Ebonie Smith on the Difference Between Engineers and Producers
Atlantic Records producer Ebonie Smith talks about the influence of cinema on her work, the blurred lines between technical and creative tasks and the unique demands of working with poets and spoken-word artists.
In this episode of “Doing Music”, a podcast recorded by Ableton, Ebonie Smith talks to Craig Schuftan about her varied career as an in-house producer and engineer for one of the biggest record labels in America. From amplifying the voices of Black women through her latest poetry-related project to celebrating the ingenuity of modern hip-hop and trap producers, Ebonie's broad insight reaches from the specifics of her creative ventures to all kinds of practical industry matters affecting the way music is released and received by global audiences.
⚡[Workflow Trick]
Reverse a Clip
Did you know you could reverse any MIDI or Audio clip? You can turn your risers into downsweepers, and you can create novelty in your rhythm section.
How To Do It?
Double click on the MIDI or Audio clip and press the “Reverse” button. You can also simply hit the letter “R” on your keyboard and it will do just that.
Reverse
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