Ableton | Page 2 of 5UniqueSquared Pro Audio Blog

PRO AUDIO

Paul
March 6, 2013

My Five Favorite Features In Ableton Live 9

Ableton Live 9 is officially available for purchase as of today. This has, naturally, been a long and hotly anticipated update to a beloved DAW that has become synonymous with so many of the artists who champion it over the years. While the Push surface is only available for pre-order (and appears to be around 2 weeks away from shipping to users), today’s launch has had a lot of anticipation specifically around the new control. Understandably so, as Push promises to turn Ableton into a hands on instrument focused around the generation of ideas.

That’s great and all- but what about the program itself? More than a few Ableton users have been quite happy before Push, but have still been awaiting the program. As for me, I will be picking up Push because I think it will be useful for replacing some other odds and ends around the office- and …

PRO AUDIO

Paul
January 23, 2013

NAMM 2013 – Media Preview Day

Another year, another NAMM, and we’re back at it. Today was the Media Preview Day. If you don’t know what that means- today is the day to get the first scoop on products at the show, and also a great day to go ahead and get through the whole “hey, bro, where’s my badge at?” situation. Currently, my badge is secured, and I have been and seen a few things worth mentioning.

My first stop was to meet up with Ben from Dubreq, who announced their new Stylophone S2 with a cool video from Brett Domino recently. We got to talk to Ben a bit about how he and his father (who designed the original) came to realize they needed to release this all analog, British powerhouse into the world. Having gotten my hands on one, I can self-assuredly say I am getting the hell out of one ASAP.

Meanwhile, …

PRO AUDIO

Taylor
January 17, 2013

Novation Twitch: A Retrospective

The world of DJ controllers really opened up to new possibilites with the release of the Novation Twitch DJ Controller. Sure DJ’s were already using control surfaces that did not reflect a traditional DJ setup, but this was the first time we saw the replacement of jog wheels with touch strips, and a DJ controller that seemed designed specifically for the new breed of controllerist. This of course sparked debate amongst DJs and controllerists as to what constitutes a proper DJ setup or the proper way to DJ. But the truly creative and innovative controller connoisseurs saw this as an exciting prospect for the future of digital DJing. It was also one of the first DJ controllers to offer 8 pads on both decks which could be used to setup hot cues, launch one shots, or control FX and their parameters. With controllers like the Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol F1 and the latest …

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UniqueSquared
January 5, 2013

Cableguys Curve 2

Many of us (who aren’t programmers for a living) do not see the background work that goes into creating a single working music making program. I am not a programmer myself, but given the complexity of simply using an application – I’m betting that it is not easy to create one. When an app is finally released on the shelves (or on the internet) – it isn’t a final product that needs no more work. Users will undoubtedly discover problems with the software, or find something that simply does not seem to flow. Consequently, developers and program coders are hard at work, even after the app has been released on shelves.

For consumers and musicians this is a welcomed idea, as it means that the software they worked so hard at learning will still be around when revisions are made again. Any good software worth its weight will have a …

PRO AUDIO

Taylor
December 12, 2012

Akai MAX 49 Keyboard Controller Overview

inMusic, the parent company that owns Numark, Alesis, and Akai, has been pretty busy this year. All three of their leading companies have been releasing much of the gear featured at Winter NAMM 2012 and teased through YouTube videos and company press releases. Gear like the Numark 4TRAK, the Alesis QX line of MIDI keyboard controllers, and the very popular Akai Synthstation 49 and MPC Renaissance. In addition to releasing tons of new gear this year they also acquired formerly AVID owned M-Audio to round out their line of professional audio equipment. We will likely see more from inMusic this year at Winter NAMM 2013 in January and we will have plenty to report from the show room floor.

We first saw the Akai MAX 49 almost a year ago at Winter NAMM 2012 and our first impression was that the MAX 49 was a collection of improvements …