The Best Simpler Settings For Your 808s || Ableton Live 11
You can save the simpler as the default so that every time you load simpler into a new Ableton MIDI track, it will load with the settings. (Located at number 5 after pressing show more)
Tracklist
0:00 - Beatmaking
5:00 - Tutorial
1. DETAILS
Low end has been a fundamental part of music. Usually characterized with an 808 or a bass, it can either be used as the main instrument of the song,
K Camp - Lottery (Renegade) - • K Camp - Lottery (Renegade) (Official Video)
Dua Lipa - Break My Heart - • Dua Lipa - Break My Heart (Official Video)
or as a supporting element for the track
Charlie Puth - Attention - • Charlie Puth - Attention [Official Video]
DaBaby - VIBEZ - • DaBaby - VIBEZ (Official Music Video)
Low-end mixing especially through YouTube videos still has its major struggles as you move from video to video trying to figure out elements like sidechain compression, harmonic distortions and anything else to do with it, some people including me have done experimentations on what`s good and what`s bad for low-end mixing. And this video is not for that. I recommend you start doing your own experimentation but not from scratch. Start from what you`ve liked from other producers and start making changes to it step by step until you`ve come up with your own.
The other thing is tuning the low-end usually, 808. For the most part I can`t remember any song with any out of tune low-end. So, we will start with that.
Load simpler into an empty MIDI track and load your favourite 808 or bass sample into simpler. Or simply just drag and drop your 808 or bass
2. TUNING
Create a MIDI clip that will contain your bass-line or 808 pattern and the simplest way is by highlighting on the arrangement view how long you want the clip, right clicking and press Insert Empty MIDI Clip(s). “The hot key is Ctrl + Shift + M”
The first note of the bass-line or pattern should be the same note on the tuner.
If not, got to the controls tab and adjust transpose and de-tune until it reads C.
Although simpler in its basic form can still get the job done, sometimes it leaves performance on the table or maybe sometimes something unusual starts happening and you can`t fix it that`s why am here to discuss my favorite simpler settings.
You can leave the video since this is highly unnecessary but in the long run, they make a difference.
There are different playback modes in the simpler including Classic, One-Shot and Slice.
For your 808 or bass, classic and one-shot playback modes are recommended.
IF YOU ARE USING ONE-SHOTS, THESE SETTINGS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED
The basic form can still get the job done.
3. When using Classic playback Mode,
First change the number of voices to 1. This will make the sample cut itself when another note is played.
Second ensure re-trigger is off. Sometimes the simpler has the tendency of triggering the 808 or bass sample again as if you placed an extra note in the MIDI. That why it needs to be off.
Third go to controls and turn on glide and choose the glide option from the menu. From there adjust the time to between 70 milliseconds and 140 milliseconds for the style of music you are going for.
And lastly change the vel vol to 100. I have a video explaining why but basically when it is set to 100 and your MIDI note has a velocity of 100, the simpler will use the sample at its maximum volume. When there is clipping reduce the output volume here.
4. When using 1-shot playback Mode,
First choose between Trigger or Gate mode.
Here`s what they mean. When Trigger mode is selected, the sample which in this case the 808, will continue playing even after the note is released but when gate mode is selected the sample will fade out as soon as the note is released. (DEMONSTRATION)
Second, go to controls and turn on glide and choose the glide option from the menu.
Third, change the vel vol to 100.
The only problem with 1-shot mode is that there is a clicking sound if the sample is cut short especially when in GATE mode and good thing is it does not affect anything
5. SAVING PRESETS
I know there are a lot of steps required on my favorite simpler settings but the good thing is it can be saved as a default preset.
First make your preset, either in Classic Playback Mode or 1-shot Mode.
Lastly, right click on the title bar and from the menu choose the option Save as Default Preset.
From there on every time, you drag in simpler, it with those settings enabled.
The original simpler settings are not gone they can still be accessed by simply dragging and dropping a sample onto an empty MIDI track directly. The other is accessed when simpler is dragged in first then the sample.