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Berklee College of Music
CEMi Rig
Building a Live Performance and Production Tool
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Degree of
Master of Music in Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration)
Supervisor: Casey Driessen
By Carlos Emilio Llerena Tolmos
Valencia Campus, Spain
July 2018
Table of Contents
Abstract
iii
1. Introduction
1
2. Proposed Culminating Experience
3
3. Objectives & SubObjectives
4
4. Methodology
6
4.1 Plan of Action
6
4.2 Timeline
8
5. Justification
11
6. Execution
12
6.1 Setting up
12
6.2 Trying out the Rig
18
6.3 Ce.Sounds Website and Preset Packs
23
7. Justification
27
8. Conclusions
26
9. Bibliography and Multimedia Resources
29
Abstract
The purpose of this project is to create, by using both hardware and software tools, an
environment that allows me to perform and produce my own music. As a saxophonist and
electronic music producer, I had been struggling with bringing these two musical sides closer
throughout the years. By figuring out my own personal creative rig, I would find new ways of
incorporating the saxophone into my music through different techniques such as looping, live
sampling and effects processing. Throughout the process, I tried out different hardware
devices, such as MIDI controllers, synthesizers and effects learning a lot about sound design
and MIDI programming to achieve what I wanted. As a Ableton user, this software was also
implemented to have interconnectivity between all of the tools used. Specific effects were
designed to transform the saxophone and almost 100 original patches were designed to be
used with Teenage Engineering’s synth, the OP1. This lead to the creation of a web store
where all of these patches can be purchased. I hope these explorations help musicians seek
new ways to perform or produce by expanding the limits of acoustic instruments through
electronics.
Keywords: creative project, saxophone, live sampling, synthesizers, Ableton Live, Teenage
Engineering
1. Introduction
Carlos Emilio Llerena was born in Lima, Peru on February 24, 1992. With the saxophone
as his main instrument, he immersed himself in the language of Jazz and improvisation since
very young. This opened doors for him, as he developed the versatility to adapt and play many
different genres. For many years, he explored with jazz, groove, funk, peruvian folk music and
free improvisation going through many different projects and bands. By 2009 he knew he wanted
to be a professional musicians, but living in Peru made it very difficult, since by that time there
were no universities or college music programs. Carlos Emilio prepared for auditioning to
Berklee College of Music in Boston, eventually receiving a scholarship to study an
undergraduate degree in Jazz Performance. While in Boston however, it was when he was first
exposed to electronic music and music technology. This woke up a latent interest in him, which
lead him to record an album of experimental electronic music called “Doja Gardens” where he
discovered the power of Ableton Live and sound design.
From listening to Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Hank Mobley, he started
listening to more modern artists that were pushing Jazz limits to new directions, such as Chris
Potter, Joshua Redman, Robert Glasper, JoJo Meyer, Mark Giuliana, etc. He was impressed by
how these artists were taking elements from modern music to create something new and original.
At the same time, he was listening to Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Hip Hop, Independent Dance
Music and other styles.
1
Back in Lima in 2013, the need of playing “gigs” and producing income had him once
again performing actively in different contexts. He formed a band of Live Electronic Music
called “Nassa” in which he was in charge of live effects, sampling, Ableton Live and playing the
saxophone through effects. Together they played in Electronic Music festivals in Peru and the
project made an impact in Lima’s music scene. Carlos honed his live performance skills during
this time and learnt a lot about creative audio routing.
Eventually, he started his career as an independent producer and he first started
composing and producing beats and tracks for corporate events, advertisements and rappers. In
2014 he was contacted by the artist “Alejaru” to produce her EP “Lucido” in which he got his
first experience actually producing for another artist. This EP had huge success and marked an
important moment in Carlos Emilio’s career. After working with other artists and producing
several full albums, he decided to release his first EP under the name CEMi1 in 2017. Combining
modern harmonies, polyrhythms and creative sampling he achieved an original sound but deeply
rooted in his groove influences. As a goal, he set to create a unique palette of drum sounds by
sampling his saxophone in creative ways and making his own drum kit to achieve a signature
sound. However, although the saxophone was still his main instrument, he did not incorporate
this instrument at all in his first release. The sound of the saxophone did not find a place in the
mix for him and he felt that the minimalistic sound of the EP was lost with it.
This proved to be a problem, since he could not find a way of integrating both his
1
Free Online Stream of CEMi https://cemi.bandcamp.com
2
electronic music productions with the saxophone in a way that he felt was natural but innovative
at the same time. While in a band setting, he could play the saxophone with effects, in a live solo
performance setting, he would use Teenage Engineering’s synth, the OP12 and Ableton Live.
2. Proposed Culminating Experience
As a continuation of his first EP, Carlos is on a quest to explore unique and personal
sounds with those instruments that he feels a connection to. The need to create electronic music
without leaving behind the saxophone is what drives him. He finds there is a gap between his
two music personas, the jazz saxophone player and the electronic music producer and he wants
to bring those two closer together and explore a whole new world of sonic and creative
possibilities which will allow him to express his music. As Kenny Werner says “seeking new
levels of technical mastery should be a lifelong pursuit not because you want to impress, but to
facilitate any direction the great spirit inside you wants to go.” 3
The main idea of this creative project is to build a solo live performance environment or
set of tools which incorporates the saxophone, sampler/synth OP1 and Ableton Live. By
environment, there’s an emphasize in noting that it’s not only one performance but more of a
“collective” instrument in which the saxophone acts as the main instrument but then both the
OP1 and Ableton Live will expand the saxophone’s capabilities by either effects, live sampling,
2
3
Teenage Engineering’s flagship synth, the OP1 https://www.teenageengineering.com/products/op1
Kenny Werner, Effortless Mastery (Alfred Music; Pap/Com edition,1998)
3
audio manipulation and sound design. This performance environment would then be used for
both live performance and composing/producing.
3. Objective & SubObjectives
This live performance environment has the goal to allow one to perform from scratch a
song, either improvised or composed. Without relying on loops or prerecorded material,
everything would have to be created on the spot. Part of this is aimed to explore the new
capabilities of acoustic instruments, in this case, the saxophone, in electronic music context.
Then also, approach composition the other way around. From an improvised piece using the
“rig”4, one could potentially continue to further produce the song in the studio to have an actual
song.
As part of the process, a lot of sound design is required. All of the sounds both from the
OP1 as synth patches or devices used from Ableton Live, will be created from scratch.
Eventually, all of these presets and patches will be organized and polished to be released on an
online store for purchase or as free downloads. The songs composed on the rig will be work as
short demos for these preset packs.
To achieve the final goal, specific steps have to be prepare before hand:
4
From now on, “rig” will define the set of tools, both hardware and software, used for this project.
4
Create 8 FX5 saxophone patches which can be controlled via the SoftStep 2 controller.
Master OP1 workflow and tricks to be able to sample and resample on the spot.
Set up an Ableton Session template with all the needed audio routing, mappings, tracks
etc. and map some functions to the Softstep 2 controller.
Figure out the physical audio routing and signal flow.
Compose, produce and mix a song and adapt it to be performed on the rig
Compose a song out of the rig
Document the process and set up
The saxophone’s natural sound usually sits in the middle of a mix6, therefore it is very
difficult to have it stand out in electronic music without it been actually meaningful and
impactful. Therefore, it is very important to discover and achieve “signature” FX’s patches that
vary from leads to more ambient sounds. These could not only be applied for live performance
but for actually electronic music production of original songs, by then resampling these new
sound. Teenage Engineering’s portable synth, the OP1, is a great powerhouse synth/sample that
lets one use it according to personal needs. However, it takes time and practice be able to fully
operate in a fast and useful way. Part of this project is to explore the sampling and FX
capabilities of the OP1 in a live performance context and combining it with other synths, tools,
etc.
5
FX is used to shorten “effect” in Electronic Music and other musical environments.
Please refer to http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/saxacoustics.html for more information regarding saxophone
acoustic characteristics.
6
5
4. Methodology
The method in which this project will be carried will be a combination of
“actionresearch” and “performativeresearch”. Even before actually utilizing the rig, the rig has
to be planned out and tried. This requires a lot of trial and error, see what works, what doesn’t,
what sounds good, what could be better. Many versions of the rig will probably be created in
order to find one that best suits performance and creative needs.
4.1 Plan of Action
1) Create a Ableton Live Performance Template
Ableton Live allows the user to do easy creative audio routing for quick sampling and
resampling. A saxophone track will be set to feed the OP1 to sample/resample by using an
interface with several outputs. On this same track a Looper device will always be active. This
Template will include all of the MIDI assignments to control specific elements of the Session by
utilizing a MIDI foot controller. These elements include FX dry/wet signals, controlling
volumes, controlling the Looper device and moving around the Session View in Ableton.
2)
Creating FX patches for the saxophone
Once the template is set, FX chains will be explored to figure out at least 8 specific
patches with different characteristics and uses. Patches will be divided in three categories, Leads,
Pads and Keys. It is important to note that this FX chains must have low latency in order to work
for live performances. This FX will be activated and used with the MIDI foot controller.
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3)
Creative exploration of the FX patches and sampling
This step is to help refine the patches specific roles. The live rig will be set to improvise
and to see how well the patches are performing in real context. According to this, changes will
be made to the patches or new ones will be created to have distinctive sounds. Here, sampling
exploration will begin with the OP1 and the saxophone as a way to start a constant practice with
the rig.
4)
OP1 Presets creation and sampling from other sources
A wide of collection of presets and patches will be done to put up on sale on a simple
website. Presets made with OP1 native synth engines but also sampling from other sources such
as Ableton’s Wavetable, Serum and real sources. They will all be tweaked and be completely
playable on the OP1.
4)
Composing, producing and mixing a song
One song will be composed, produced and mixed in Ableton Live with the aim of
performing them with the rig. This two songs won't necessary use the “new” FX patches, they
will be composed and produced by “traditional” methods used by Carlos Emilio.
5)
Performing and video recording that song
Once the the song is completed, as a way of practicing using the rig, they will be adapted
for live performance. Here, there will be an emphasize on using both the FX patches and the
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OP1 capabilities. This step will help reveal any problems with the rig to further improve it.
After this step, the rig’s workflow should be mastered.
4.2 Timeline
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
Setting up
the
website/or
ganizing
patches
CE First
Presentatio
n
CE Final
Presentatio
n
Practicing, exploring, trying out the live rig
Creating
Ableton
Live
Template
Creating
FX Patches
for sax and
OP1
Program Softstep Midi
Controller
Compose,
produce
and mix
song 1
Perform
and video
record
song 1&2
Revise routing and FX
patches
Edit videos
of whole
process
Practice OP1 techniques/Study Live Performances
Practice saxophone daily
January
● Practicing/exploring the Rig
○ Booking a teaching/ensemble room for at least 3 hours
○ Video record set up
○ Get comfortable with set up
○ What can be discarded? What can be changed?
● Program Softstep
○ Read the manual
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CE
Revision
○ Program it to control Ableton’s Looper
○ Program to control FX patches
○ Specific Ableton transport controls (Stop all clips, volumes)
● Creating Ableton Live Template
○ Set number of tracks
○ Figure out Audio Routing for Resampling on OP1
○ Set and tweak two drum racks for Ableton Push
○ Configure Looper device
○ Configure all MIDI assignments
February
● Practicing/exploring the Rig
● Create FX patches for saxophone
○ Using Ableton, create FX racks for original saxophone sounds
○ Configure FX patches with Softstep
○ Test out patches
March
● Compose/produce 2 songs
○ Create a Live Performance version of each
○ Adapt songs to the rig
April
● Perform and Video Record Song s
○ Practice the songs to be performed using the Rig
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○ Set up teaching/ensemble room with action camera and record
● Tweak or change anything that comes up.
May
● Edit patches and polish samples to catalogue
○ Finish website and be ready to upload packs
● Edit videos
4.3 Resources/Materials Needed
● Technical Resources
○ MacBook Pro 16GB RAM with Ableton Live Suite
○ Tenor Saxophone
○ Keith Mcmillen Softstep 2 Midi Controller
○ Keith McMillen KMix interface/mixer
○ Teenage Engineering OP1 synthesizer
○ Ableton Push 2
○ Samson Wireless Saxophone Microphone
○ Digitech Whammy Pedal
○ Action Camera
● Space Requirements
10
○ Practice rooms
○ Ensemble room/teaching room
○ Fully equipped music recording studio
5. Justification
Although saxophone and FX processing has been done before, this project aims to go
much further than that. By creating this new environment or rig, we are taking a source (the
saxophone) and expanding its capabilities by using other “instruments”, the OP1 and Ableton
Live. So it is not just an insert effect, it is more like a live collective instrument. This will not
only show a complete new and original way of using the saxophone but also of the OP1 and
Ableton Live. The saxophone as an acoustic instrument has its limits, but what this is all about is
breaking those usual limits.
Many musicians nowadays are starting career as independent electronic music producers,
but many times they can’t find a way to perform their music in an original way. They would
either rely on classic Dj style performance7 or Ableton loop based performances. The
possibilities that will be demonstrate throughout this project, will definitely give other
performers ideas on to how to translate their electronic compositions to live acts. Although the
project uses Ableton Live as mainly an audio hub, I think it will spark more ideas in the future
7
Traditional Dj setting with two decks and vinyls
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for other people. A laptop/computer doesn’t need to become the “main” instrument but more of a
mixer for very specifical audio routing that can’t be achieve otherwise.
As for the sound design part of the project, by putting together a website that sells at a
very low price, preset packs and samples, many other OP1 users can easily access them. This
will help refresh their own OP1 sound library and perhaps inspire them to keep using their OP1
to produce their music. Although the OP1 was released on 2011, its user base is still very active.
People are always finding new ways of achieving certain sounds or certain effects. This part of
the work aims to be a deep study of the synth itself to not only achieve more OP1 techniques for
myself, but to share with fellow producers.
6. Execution
6.1 Setting Up
The first steps to take, was to figure out what hardware and how everything was going to
be connected. A lot of time was put into exploring different gear and this dates back to 2015.
Many different controllers and synths were tried, such as Korg’s Volca line, modular gear, iOS
softsynths, the Kaoss Pad sampler and many more. However, by discovering the OP1 and it’s
capabilities it was very easy to decide that this piece of hardware had to be incorporated in the
set up. By 2017, Carlos also had built up a lot of experience using Ableton Live and the Push 2
controller, so he knew that perhaps it would be possible to build something from there.
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In October 2017, the first ideas for the C.E project started to be drafted out. Carlos
wanted to figure out a way of live looping the saxophone and then send it to the OP1 for
resampling. The fastest way would have been with an exclusive looper pedal and then just route
that out to an interface with more than two outputs, so that two outputs could then send out to the
OP1 for resampling. However, buying a looper pedal was not in the budget so many solutions
where thought out. Having already the KMix interface by Keith McMillen Instruments and
knowing of the good quality of their controllers, the SoftStep Controller was a very good choice.
Not only would he be able to MIDI assign Ableton’s Looper to it but also many other
parameters. As soon as the SoftStep arrived Carlos started to figure out how to program it to do
what he wanted, because it was not as simple as it looked.
Keith McMillen Instruments provides an extensive manual8 on how to program the
SoftStep however, it isn’t very clear. A dedicated software is required to do specifical
programming called “Softstep Advanced Editor” and here is where one can create different
presets to upload to the controller. After watching almost every single SoftStep tutorial online
plus contacting Keith McMillen for support, programming started based on the different
functions that were going to be needed.
Ableton’s Looper has a “multipurpose button” that changes function depending on how
or how many times you press it, so this would be the first assignment to program to get looping
8
Keith McMillen Instrument’s Sofstep 2 Manual
https://files.keithmcmillen.com/downloads/softstep/SoftStep_Manual_v2.0.pdf
13
working. Eventually, after trying out many different configurations, due to where it is located,
Pad #5 was chose for this role (see figure 1). The SoftStep also allows for visual feedback
depending on what is going on Live’s looper so some LED configuration was done as well.
When the LED’s are blinking green it’s because the looper is waiting, when red, recording and
when green, it’s playing. This was done so that there would be no need to see the computer’s
screen to know what is going on with the looper.
As this foot controller has so many possibilities and functions, Carlos thought it would be
very useful to make a pedalboard with a few different effects in Live and then be able to control
them with the SoftStep. First, a simple reverb and delay where assigned to Pads #2 and #7. They
are controlled depending on the amount of force put in the Yaxis of these pads. Two effects were
created by combining several effects into an FX rack and then using Live’s Macro Controls to
control specific parameters from the different devices. This two FX were called “Dreams” and
“Psychic”. Their purpose is to create more of an ambience and texture effect to the saxophone
and expand upon it’s natural sonic capabilities.Then Pads #8 and #9 where assigned to turn On or
Off these effects, while #3 and #4 control the Dry/Wet also through the Yaxis. Some more fine
tuning was done throughout the months as to make the SoftStep as expressive as possible and
easy to use.
While on “Hosted Mode” the Softstep will only connect if the dedicated software is open
all the time. However, for unknown reason, it would randomly disconnect making it useless for a
few minutes and it would only reconnect when the editor software was selected. After trying
14
different USB cables and messing around with the MIDI routing, it would still have the same
issue. Therefor, the SoftStep preset was translated to the “Standalone Mode” which allows the
SoftStep to be connected without having to have the Editor software running. With this mode,
the SoftStep was working as it meant to and not having to have another software running, meant
another thing less to worry about.
Figure 1
The next step was to create an Ableton Live template (see figure 2) that already had all of
the required MIDI assignments plus the specific audio routing settings. Once the Looper was set
up, there needed to be a way in which whatever was looped could be sent into the OP1 for
resampling. Ableton Live allows for very specific audio routings so this came really handy at this
point. The Looper Track would be always sending to the Master Output track, however another
track which is called “OP1 Sampling” would be listening to this track the whole time but instead
of sending out to the Master Track it would be sending to the Auxiliary Outputs that the KMix
15
interface offers. This way, output 34 are sending whatever is looped on that track to the OP1
and to sample it or capture that audio, you simply set the OP1 into Line Input sampling mode
and press a key. This way, the Looper is still running even after sampling.
Once this was set up and running, the rig began to be explored in practical situations as to
see what else was needed and how it could be implemented. For several practice sections, every
piece of gear was brought it. Ableton Push 2 was set up to play drum beats using my personal
drum kit, because of how easy it is to input a pattern on it. Two Teenage Engineering Pocket
Operators were tried as to have more sonic options. Moog’s Minitaur synth would be taking care
of the bass, controlled through an Akai keyboard controller. The OP1 was loaded with both
Synth patches and Drum kits to be able to input botch at any point. But after a few sessions, the
workflow proved to be very complicated and even more so the set up. If this project is to become
practical, it has to be as portable as possible and also have a quick workflow to be able to create
everything from scratch. By having so much equipment it was very hard to achieve what is
wanted because it was impossible to concentrate on any gear and the roles of each of them were
not really clear.
16
Figure 2
The rig went through several revisions, hardwarerelated speaking. So throughout the
months, a lot of gear was removed from the rig, eventually just focusing on the OP1, as it
started. It was noted that Ableton Live was basically taking a role of a mixer plus the Looper/FX
pedal board and the OP1 was were most audio was happening. This simple set up, OP1,
Ableton Live and the SoftStep felt much better in terms of workflow and portability. It didn’t
take long to set up and creating from scratch on the OP1 is fast thanks to it’s Sequencers and
effects. The only problem was that the only way for inputting notes was using the OP1’s
keyboard, which (see image) is very small and has no velocity controls, which for playing drum
kits is a must have. To solve this issue, two more track were added to the Live template. The first
one “OP1 Keyboard”, gets MIDI notes from an Akai keyboard controller and sends them to the
17
OP1. This way, Synth patches can be played through this controller instead, giving more
expression and more range. The second track is “OP1 Drums” and this required more time to be
prepared. This track was loaded with Ableton’s Drum Rack device which shows drum pads in an
Akai MPC sort of way. Usually, one can load samples into each of these pads and then you can
trigger them through any MIDI controller. As the goal was to play the OP1’s drum kits through
MIDI, Push 2 came back into play. Instead of loading samples into the pads, Live’s External
Instrument device was loaded into 24 pads, which correspond to the OP1’s keyboard. Then each
of these pads was individually set to trigger the corresponding notes on the OP1. This track
would be receiving MIDI from the Push 2 set in drum pad mode, which allows for very smooth
control over the drum kits on the OP1. Now, not only is velocity available, but I can also
sequence from the Push, giving more freedom and options as to how to input notes or drum
sequences.
6.2 Trying out the Rig
Once the rig was put together in terms of hardware, it was time to try out how practical it
was in real situations. Starting in February, 4 hour sessions were booked in different Berklee
Valencia’s facilities to practice the rig and get comfortable with it and change what needed to be
changed. For the first sessions, a lot of time was spent setting up and then, packing away the
gear. Roughly about 30 minutes for set up and 30 minutes for packing up. At first, it was hard to
memorize the cable connections, the position of each gear, the required electrical connections
and volume levels. Therefore, I started taking pictures to memorize everything and be as efficient
18
as possible with set up. If this rig eventually leads to performance opportunities, then it has to be
practical in every sense and avoid any over complicated steps. However, each time I would set
up things faster and I would have more time to get handson the rig.
For the first four practice sessions, I would build up improvisations using different
elements of the rig and different approaches. At first, I was obsessed with the idea of beginning
with a looped saxophone and then build upon that. The Looper device would set the BPM of
Ableton once it began looping. I liked this feature, but Ableton would not round up the BPM to a
whole number, so I would end with something like 98.34 or 114.95, which was very troublesome
because the OP1 can’t sync with decimal BPM. I came up with several solutions for this issue.
1) I could start the Ableton session and enable the metronome, so that the Looper
device follows whatever tempo I input before. This way, the Looper device record
and stops recording on the first beat of the measure after I press the Multipurpose
button.
2) Having the OP1 running with a metronome and use that metronome to guide
myself.
3) Use inears and send a metronome out from Ableton.
Even though I tried these solutions, I still felt like it was not the right way to go. It was
too easy to lose sync between the OP1 and Ableton. Inspired by Mason Self, a fellow musician
who also explores electronic live music, I set myself to embrace musical “accidents”. In the
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following to videos “Court: Live Recording”9and “Silt Tutorial: Permutations”10, Mason Self
shows how he goes by to create his songs with no pre recorded material but a lot of preparation
before hand. I personally asked (through Youtube’s comment section) him how he went on to
synchronize different devices. In the first “Court Live Recording”, he has Ableton running and
he’s listening to that metronome through his headphones, which the audience can’t hear. The
OP1 is set to the same tempo and he manually presses Start. In “Silt Live Recording” something
similar happens, but this time he begins recording a piano into Ableton’s clip while having the
metronome in his headphones. The OP1 is again, set up with the same tempo and manually
launched after. This workflow seemed very interesting because by letting the OP1 be manually
synced you don't lose certain creative capabilities like moving the tape back and forth manually
to create glitches or slowing the tape down drastically.
Figure 3
9
10
Mason Self Court: Live Recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HJHX9ibHlo
Ibid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKcyowyyWJo
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For research purposes I ended up recording two video performances in which I try two
different workflows. On the first one, I simply rely on the OP1 for everything, thinking of this
set up more to produce songs or come up with idea to further work later. The second one, I use
more devices, like Ableton’s Looper combined with the OP1 for sampling, to create more of an
experimental live performance. These will be further explained later on.
After deciding which two workflows I would use, I noticed I was still not convinced by
the sound of the saxophone in this kind of electronic music. So I decided to incorporate three
hardware pedals to further alter the saxophone’s sound. This would also give more handson
manipulation on dialing however I wanted to effect that instrument. With the Whammy Pedal, a
Pitch Shifter effect, I would change the octave at which the saxophone is played, but it also gives
a very digital characteristic to the sound. This would be very useful to create Lead type sounds.
After the Whammy, I connected the “Hall of Fame” reverb and the “Flashback” delay. With
these two, I could shape the decay and sustain of the saxophone more to my personal liking.
Finally, I got to record the two videos in two separate sessions. For Video #111, I am
basically only relying on the OP1, Ableton is doing all the MIDI routings and FX’s but all the
sounds are coming out from the OP1 and recorded into Ableton. The Click comes from the
OP1, which at first I found to be not adequate for a real Live Performance situation, but I think
somehow, it manages to blend as part of the song. As I have four tracks to record onto the OP1,
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CEMi Using the Rig for Production https://youtu.be/42N9T2Pj1FM
21
I can build up songs by record onto different tracks and then perhaps, mute some sections to
create variation.
Although I like this set up, because of ease of connectivity and comfort, there’s a
limitation on to how much I can do to keep things interesting. I can build up loops or sections
easily, but I would have to stop everything if I wanted to make a drastic change or add even more
sections. However, having the Push and the MIDI keyboard to quickly input harmonies,
melodies or drums is very quick and convenient. This set up would work more as a “song
sketch” rig from where I can layout beats and ideas and then continue working on them for a
fully produced song on Ableton.
For Video #212, I used a totally different approach. I started by looping my saxophone
onto Ableton. For this to work, I had to start with something very simple and spaced, like a
drone. If the initial loop was very busy and complex, then there’s not much room for building up.
Then, without even looking at the templo, I had already set up a Drum Pattern through one of the
OP1 sequencers and I would launch it when the saxophone loop completed one cycle. Even
though they are not at the same tempo, because the first loop is very sparse, it feels as if it was
shifting around the time signature. Once the drum pattern was printed on the OP1 I would
enable the Whammy to overdub onto the ongoing saxophone loop. This time, instead of long
tones, I would play more staccato, almost randomly pitches, to create a contrast. As the OP1’s
drum loop is running freely, it allows me to do something called “Tape Tricks” which is the term
12
CEMi Using the Rig for Performing (Live Improvisation) https://youtu.be/QKLnyO3jiKs
22
used for manual tape manipulation such as fast forwarding or rewinding the tape, beat repeat,
“scratch” effect like sounds, etc. As everything was playing, I sampled the previously loop
directly into the OP1 and moved around the start and end points of that sample. Then, I reversed
the whole sample and pitched up an octave to further process it. This plus the COW effect of the
OP1 would give me the ability to create very drastic textures over whatever is playing. It would
then take some coordination to be able to trigger the beat repeat, play the sample back, use tape
tricks and move the effects parameters but the results were very pleasant.
6.3 CE.Sounds Website and Preset Packs
At some point during the whole process of figuring out the rig for performing and
producing, I noticed that I had been building an extensive collection of OP1 patches to play my
music. I have always thought that one of the secrets to make electronic music sound original, is
to spend a lot of time creating personalized sounds, either if its through Synthesis, sampling or
Sound Design. As mentioned earlier on this work, on 2017 I released my first electronic EP
which uses all original sounds created through the Prophet 08 synthesizer, the OP1 and
resampling techniques on Ableton. As a continuation of these explorations, in January I took the
“Creative Sound Design” class taught by Ben Cantil (Encanti) to further hone my Sound Design
skills and incorporate them in this project.
23
This sparked the idea of creating a simple website which I call CE.Sounds13. Here I have
uploaded through services like Gumroad and Weebly, my own OP1 presets in several packs for
people to purchase. For starters, I have made a free demo, one pack with only keyboard patches
and a last one called “OP1 Patches Vol.1” which has over 50 different patches both sampled and
synthesized. The idea is to use the two videos recorded to showcase some of these patches, plus
other songs that are posted on my updated Soundcloud site14. This would work two ways because
if someone enjoys my music and is a fellow producer, they can purchase my presets, but if a
fellow OP1 user knows about the presets and likes them, then they will also reach my music.
This would potentially give me more chances of building an audience since I would be putting
out myself not only as an artist/producer but also as a Sound Designer.
Figure 4
13
Ce.Sounds Website https://cesounds.weebly.com
14
My SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/cemill
24
7. Professional Plan
This project would serve as Carlos Emilio’s main instrument/rig for live performances,
composition and production. With it, his electronic music can be performed in an unique way
which will allow him to get gigs and tours. The whole process of creation will be documented
and eventually, a series of improvisation videos will be uploaded to Youtube as live sessions.
Hopefully, it will have a positive impact in Ableton’s and Teenage Engineering’s community,
making it possible to assist conferences such as NAMM or Loop as an artist. The rig will be
probably be continued to be revised and perhaps different version will be eventually created to fit
different scenarios. Eventually, he would like to incorporate it in an ensemble, to expand even
further the possibilities.
The Website CESounds will help him showcase his skills as a Sound Designer and if the
patches gain popularity, there’s a strong chance that Teenage Engineer will include some of them
in future versions, or perhaps for future hardware they plan on releasing. Not only this, but other
Sound Design jobs could be possible, like creating presets for companies such as Native
Instruments, Korg, Roland, etc.
8. Conclusions
This project was in my mind at least one year before coming to Berklee Valencia. Since I
started a career as an electronic music producer I have always struggled to blend my two musical
25
personas, specifically, incorporate my saxophone, my main instrument, in the music that I
produce. One of the main reasons for coming to Valencia, was because I knew I would have the
time, the space and resources to really figure out a practical rig in which I can comfortably
produce and perform. Throughout this months of trial and error, I personally think that I have
made huge steps towards what I envision. With this rig I feel I can finally incorporate my
saxophone in creative ways that I think fit my music.
However, I do imagine the rig continuously changing, especially for live performances.
With more time, I don’t doubt I would get more and more proficient with it and probably figure
out different ways to achieve more dynamics and changes as to escape from monotonous and
over repetitive music, which I think the rig fall into naturally. In a not so distant future, I would
like to make the rig completely independent of a DAW. For budget reasons, I wasn’t able to
incorporate an actual physical looper pedal or more devices that I have in mind such as
Elektron’s Digitakt. The good side of this is that, this limitations forced me to learn more about
MIDI programming that I ever thought I was going to need.
Although this project was aimed to be something very specific, many other skills have
been polished and learnt along the way. Spending so much time with Ableton has made me more
efficient while working on it. I’ve explored characteristics of Ableton’s internal routing options
that I had no clue were possible. I feel much more comfortable working with synths than ever
before and my workflow using the OP1 has definitely improved just because I’ve spent so much
time with it over the year.
26
In conclusions, the initial objective was met and with it many other useful tools were
acquired during the process. The whole idea behind this project was to create a tool or a rig using
the saxophone and electronic instruments to achieve new creative ways of composing, producing
and performing. I have spent over a decade studying the saxophone to get to a point where lack
of technique doesn’t get in the way of creativity. Now, I have to learn how to play and compose
from the rig to the point where the different tools allow me to express in ways I couldn’t before.
I would say there is still a lot of room for changes and improvement that throughout further
experimentation, will be addressed.
In these months, not only did I achieve my main objective, but I have learnt new skills
and honed others. Sound design is a subject that deeply interests me and has proved to be crucial
in the whole project. I will continue to create new sounds with the saxophone, through synths
and samplers because I think that the key for achieving engaging electronic music, is original and
characteristic sounds.
Finally, in today’s music scene, I think it is not enough to just do one thing. One must
find several subjects within music that you are passionate about and excel in those. In the long
run this will make you a more wellbalanced musician and professional with several tools at your
disposal. Then it’s up to yourself to decide when to use them. For me, jazz, improvisation,
sequencing, sound design and electronic music are passions and tools I’ll use to express my
music throughout my career.
27
Bibliography and Multimedia Resources
Baths. NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkYnVE5jsAo
Donohoe, Brian. Saxophone through “Organizer” pedal by Earthquake Devices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxfs_enqK8c
Jacques. Phonochose #1: Livelooping a l’Amour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUHZqVeqoXY
MIKROBI.T. Gambia Berlin (Live Session)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpfrMMMvWS8
Mongerio, Dean. The Sounds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lLdzp9Nhzg
The Gears https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqHyYBaBhas
FJK. Tokyo (Red Bull Studios Improvisation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7GJY7hVkY
Self, Mason. Sampling a bear box https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZa0FxOie6M
Sampling a Dantranh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepDAWxB_yU
OP1 + Moog Minitaur + Piano https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6VCMpcqdjQ
How I Setup and recorded Court https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz84mkqBYrs
Vespers, Drew. Vespers Live Performance Setup with Ableton Live 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg6MrcGxYjw
Warren Walker. EarthQuaker Session:The Kandinsky Effect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNQyBDMrdNQ
Werner, Kenny., Effortless Mastery (Alfred Music; Pap/Com edition,1998)
28
CEMi Rig
Building a Live Performance and Production Tool
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Degree of
Master of Music in Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration)
Supervisor: Casey Driessen
By Carlos Emilio Llerena Tolmos
Valencia Campus, Spain
July 2018
Table of Contents
Abstract
iii
1. Introduction
1
2. Proposed Culminating Experience
3
3. Objectives & SubObjectives
4
4. Methodology
6
4.1 Plan of Action
6
4.2 Timeline
8
5. Justification
11
6. Execution
12
6.1 Setting up
12
6.2 Trying out the Rig
18
6.3 Ce.Sounds Website and Preset Packs
23
7. Justification
27
8. Conclusions
26
9. Bibliography and Multimedia Resources
29
Abstract
The purpose of this project is to create, by using both hardware and software tools, an
environment that allows me to perform and produce my own music. As a saxophonist and
electronic music producer, I had been struggling with bringing these two musical sides closer
throughout the years. By figuring out my own personal creative rig, I would find new ways of
incorporating the saxophone into my music through different techniques such as looping, live
sampling and effects processing. Throughout the process, I tried out different hardware
devices, such as MIDI controllers, synthesizers and effects learning a lot about sound design
and MIDI programming to achieve what I wanted. As a Ableton user, this software was also
implemented to have interconnectivity between all of the tools used. Specific effects were
designed to transform the saxophone and almost 100 original patches were designed to be
used with Teenage Engineering’s synth, the OP1. This lead to the creation of a web store
where all of these patches can be purchased. I hope these explorations help musicians seek
new ways to perform or produce by expanding the limits of acoustic instruments through
electronics.
Keywords: creative project, saxophone, live sampling, synthesizers, Ableton Live, Teenage
Engineering
1. Introduction
Carlos Emilio Llerena was born in Lima, Peru on February 24, 1992. With the saxophone
as his main instrument, he immersed himself in the language of Jazz and improvisation since
very young. This opened doors for him, as he developed the versatility to adapt and play many
different genres. For many years, he explored with jazz, groove, funk, peruvian folk music and
free improvisation going through many different projects and bands. By 2009 he knew he wanted
to be a professional musicians, but living in Peru made it very difficult, since by that time there
were no universities or college music programs. Carlos Emilio prepared for auditioning to
Berklee College of Music in Boston, eventually receiving a scholarship to study an
undergraduate degree in Jazz Performance. While in Boston however, it was when he was first
exposed to electronic music and music technology. This woke up a latent interest in him, which
lead him to record an album of experimental electronic music called “Doja Gardens” where he
discovered the power of Ableton Live and sound design.
From listening to Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Hank Mobley, he started
listening to more modern artists that were pushing Jazz limits to new directions, such as Chris
Potter, Joshua Redman, Robert Glasper, JoJo Meyer, Mark Giuliana, etc. He was impressed by
how these artists were taking elements from modern music to create something new and original.
At the same time, he was listening to Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Hip Hop, Independent Dance
Music and other styles.
1
Back in Lima in 2013, the need of playing “gigs” and producing income had him once
again performing actively in different contexts. He formed a band of Live Electronic Music
called “Nassa” in which he was in charge of live effects, sampling, Ableton Live and playing the
saxophone through effects. Together they played in Electronic Music festivals in Peru and the
project made an impact in Lima’s music scene. Carlos honed his live performance skills during
this time and learnt a lot about creative audio routing.
Eventually, he started his career as an independent producer and he first started
composing and producing beats and tracks for corporate events, advertisements and rappers. In
2014 he was contacted by the artist “Alejaru” to produce her EP “Lucido” in which he got his
first experience actually producing for another artist. This EP had huge success and marked an
important moment in Carlos Emilio’s career. After working with other artists and producing
several full albums, he decided to release his first EP under the name CEMi1 in 2017. Combining
modern harmonies, polyrhythms and creative sampling he achieved an original sound but deeply
rooted in his groove influences. As a goal, he set to create a unique palette of drum sounds by
sampling his saxophone in creative ways and making his own drum kit to achieve a signature
sound. However, although the saxophone was still his main instrument, he did not incorporate
this instrument at all in his first release. The sound of the saxophone did not find a place in the
mix for him and he felt that the minimalistic sound of the EP was lost with it.
This proved to be a problem, since he could not find a way of integrating both his
1
Free Online Stream of CEMi https://cemi.bandcamp.com
2
electronic music productions with the saxophone in a way that he felt was natural but innovative
at the same time. While in a band setting, he could play the saxophone with effects, in a live solo
performance setting, he would use Teenage Engineering’s synth, the OP12 and Ableton Live.
2. Proposed Culminating Experience
As a continuation of his first EP, Carlos is on a quest to explore unique and personal
sounds with those instruments that he feels a connection to. The need to create electronic music
without leaving behind the saxophone is what drives him. He finds there is a gap between his
two music personas, the jazz saxophone player and the electronic music producer and he wants
to bring those two closer together and explore a whole new world of sonic and creative
possibilities which will allow him to express his music. As Kenny Werner says “seeking new
levels of technical mastery should be a lifelong pursuit not because you want to impress, but to
facilitate any direction the great spirit inside you wants to go.” 3
The main idea of this creative project is to build a solo live performance environment or
set of tools which incorporates the saxophone, sampler/synth OP1 and Ableton Live. By
environment, there’s an emphasize in noting that it’s not only one performance but more of a
“collective” instrument in which the saxophone acts as the main instrument but then both the
OP1 and Ableton Live will expand the saxophone’s capabilities by either effects, live sampling,
2
3
Teenage Engineering’s flagship synth, the OP1 https://www.teenageengineering.com/products/op1
Kenny Werner, Effortless Mastery (Alfred Music; Pap/Com edition,1998)
3
audio manipulation and sound design. This performance environment would then be used for
both live performance and composing/producing.
3. Objective & SubObjectives
This live performance environment has the goal to allow one to perform from scratch a
song, either improvised or composed. Without relying on loops or prerecorded material,
everything would have to be created on the spot. Part of this is aimed to explore the new
capabilities of acoustic instruments, in this case, the saxophone, in electronic music context.
Then also, approach composition the other way around. From an improvised piece using the
“rig”4, one could potentially continue to further produce the song in the studio to have an actual
song.
As part of the process, a lot of sound design is required. All of the sounds both from the
OP1 as synth patches or devices used from Ableton Live, will be created from scratch.
Eventually, all of these presets and patches will be organized and polished to be released on an
online store for purchase or as free downloads. The songs composed on the rig will be work as
short demos for these preset packs.
To achieve the final goal, specific steps have to be prepare before hand:
4
From now on, “rig” will define the set of tools, both hardware and software, used for this project.
4
Create 8 FX5 saxophone patches which can be controlled via the SoftStep 2 controller.
Master OP1 workflow and tricks to be able to sample and resample on the spot.
Set up an Ableton Session template with all the needed audio routing, mappings, tracks
etc. and map some functions to the Softstep 2 controller.
Figure out the physical audio routing and signal flow.
Compose, produce and mix a song and adapt it to be performed on the rig
Compose a song out of the rig
Document the process and set up
The saxophone’s natural sound usually sits in the middle of a mix6, therefore it is very
difficult to have it stand out in electronic music without it been actually meaningful and
impactful. Therefore, it is very important to discover and achieve “signature” FX’s patches that
vary from leads to more ambient sounds. These could not only be applied for live performance
but for actually electronic music production of original songs, by then resampling these new
sound. Teenage Engineering’s portable synth, the OP1, is a great powerhouse synth/sample that
lets one use it according to personal needs. However, it takes time and practice be able to fully
operate in a fast and useful way. Part of this project is to explore the sampling and FX
capabilities of the OP1 in a live performance context and combining it with other synths, tools,
etc.
5
FX is used to shorten “effect” in Electronic Music and other musical environments.
Please refer to http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/saxacoustics.html for more information regarding saxophone
acoustic characteristics.
6
5
4. Methodology
The method in which this project will be carried will be a combination of
“actionresearch” and “performativeresearch”. Even before actually utilizing the rig, the rig has
to be planned out and tried. This requires a lot of trial and error, see what works, what doesn’t,
what sounds good, what could be better. Many versions of the rig will probably be created in
order to find one that best suits performance and creative needs.
4.1 Plan of Action
1) Create a Ableton Live Performance Template
Ableton Live allows the user to do easy creative audio routing for quick sampling and
resampling. A saxophone track will be set to feed the OP1 to sample/resample by using an
interface with several outputs. On this same track a Looper device will always be active. This
Template will include all of the MIDI assignments to control specific elements of the Session by
utilizing a MIDI foot controller. These elements include FX dry/wet signals, controlling
volumes, controlling the Looper device and moving around the Session View in Ableton.
2)
Creating FX patches for the saxophone
Once the template is set, FX chains will be explored to figure out at least 8 specific
patches with different characteristics and uses. Patches will be divided in three categories, Leads,
Pads and Keys. It is important to note that this FX chains must have low latency in order to work
for live performances. This FX will be activated and used with the MIDI foot controller.
6
3)
Creative exploration of the FX patches and sampling
This step is to help refine the patches specific roles. The live rig will be set to improvise
and to see how well the patches are performing in real context. According to this, changes will
be made to the patches or new ones will be created to have distinctive sounds. Here, sampling
exploration will begin with the OP1 and the saxophone as a way to start a constant practice with
the rig.
4)
OP1 Presets creation and sampling from other sources
A wide of collection of presets and patches will be done to put up on sale on a simple
website. Presets made with OP1 native synth engines but also sampling from other sources such
as Ableton’s Wavetable, Serum and real sources. They will all be tweaked and be completely
playable on the OP1.
4)
Composing, producing and mixing a song
One song will be composed, produced and mixed in Ableton Live with the aim of
performing them with the rig. This two songs won't necessary use the “new” FX patches, they
will be composed and produced by “traditional” methods used by Carlos Emilio.
5)
Performing and video recording that song
Once the the song is completed, as a way of practicing using the rig, they will be adapted
for live performance. Here, there will be an emphasize on using both the FX patches and the
7
OP1 capabilities. This step will help reveal any problems with the rig to further improve it.
After this step, the rig’s workflow should be mastered.
4.2 Timeline
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
Setting up
the
website/or
ganizing
patches
CE First
Presentatio
n
CE Final
Presentatio
n
Practicing, exploring, trying out the live rig
Creating
Ableton
Live
Template
Creating
FX Patches
for sax and
OP1
Program Softstep Midi
Controller
Compose,
produce
and mix
song 1
Perform
and video
record
song 1&2
Revise routing and FX
patches
Edit videos
of whole
process
Practice OP1 techniques/Study Live Performances
Practice saxophone daily
January
● Practicing/exploring the Rig
○ Booking a teaching/ensemble room for at least 3 hours
○ Video record set up
○ Get comfortable with set up
○ What can be discarded? What can be changed?
● Program Softstep
○ Read the manual
8
CE
Revision
○ Program it to control Ableton’s Looper
○ Program to control FX patches
○ Specific Ableton transport controls (Stop all clips, volumes)
● Creating Ableton Live Template
○ Set number of tracks
○ Figure out Audio Routing for Resampling on OP1
○ Set and tweak two drum racks for Ableton Push
○ Configure Looper device
○ Configure all MIDI assignments
February
● Practicing/exploring the Rig
● Create FX patches for saxophone
○ Using Ableton, create FX racks for original saxophone sounds
○ Configure FX patches with Softstep
○ Test out patches
March
● Compose/produce 2 songs
○ Create a Live Performance version of each
○ Adapt songs to the rig
April
● Perform and Video Record Song s
○ Practice the songs to be performed using the Rig
9
○ Set up teaching/ensemble room with action camera and record
● Tweak or change anything that comes up.
May
● Edit patches and polish samples to catalogue
○ Finish website and be ready to upload packs
● Edit videos
4.3 Resources/Materials Needed
● Technical Resources
○ MacBook Pro 16GB RAM with Ableton Live Suite
○ Tenor Saxophone
○ Keith Mcmillen Softstep 2 Midi Controller
○ Keith McMillen KMix interface/mixer
○ Teenage Engineering OP1 synthesizer
○ Ableton Push 2
○ Samson Wireless Saxophone Microphone
○ Digitech Whammy Pedal
○ Action Camera
● Space Requirements
10
○ Practice rooms
○ Ensemble room/teaching room
○ Fully equipped music recording studio
5. Justification
Although saxophone and FX processing has been done before, this project aims to go
much further than that. By creating this new environment or rig, we are taking a source (the
saxophone) and expanding its capabilities by using other “instruments”, the OP1 and Ableton
Live. So it is not just an insert effect, it is more like a live collective instrument. This will not
only show a complete new and original way of using the saxophone but also of the OP1 and
Ableton Live. The saxophone as an acoustic instrument has its limits, but what this is all about is
breaking those usual limits.
Many musicians nowadays are starting career as independent electronic music producers,
but many times they can’t find a way to perform their music in an original way. They would
either rely on classic Dj style performance7 or Ableton loop based performances. The
possibilities that will be demonstrate throughout this project, will definitely give other
performers ideas on to how to translate their electronic compositions to live acts. Although the
project uses Ableton Live as mainly an audio hub, I think it will spark more ideas in the future
7
Traditional Dj setting with two decks and vinyls
11
for other people. A laptop/computer doesn’t need to become the “main” instrument but more of a
mixer for very specifical audio routing that can’t be achieve otherwise.
As for the sound design part of the project, by putting together a website that sells at a
very low price, preset packs and samples, many other OP1 users can easily access them. This
will help refresh their own OP1 sound library and perhaps inspire them to keep using their OP1
to produce their music. Although the OP1 was released on 2011, its user base is still very active.
People are always finding new ways of achieving certain sounds or certain effects. This part of
the work aims to be a deep study of the synth itself to not only achieve more OP1 techniques for
myself, but to share with fellow producers.
6. Execution
6.1 Setting Up
The first steps to take, was to figure out what hardware and how everything was going to
be connected. A lot of time was put into exploring different gear and this dates back to 2015.
Many different controllers and synths were tried, such as Korg’s Volca line, modular gear, iOS
softsynths, the Kaoss Pad sampler and many more. However, by discovering the OP1 and it’s
capabilities it was very easy to decide that this piece of hardware had to be incorporated in the
set up. By 2017, Carlos also had built up a lot of experience using Ableton Live and the Push 2
controller, so he knew that perhaps it would be possible to build something from there.
12
In October 2017, the first ideas for the C.E project started to be drafted out. Carlos
wanted to figure out a way of live looping the saxophone and then send it to the OP1 for
resampling. The fastest way would have been with an exclusive looper pedal and then just route
that out to an interface with more than two outputs, so that two outputs could then send out to the
OP1 for resampling. However, buying a looper pedal was not in the budget so many solutions
where thought out. Having already the KMix interface by Keith McMillen Instruments and
knowing of the good quality of their controllers, the SoftStep Controller was a very good choice.
Not only would he be able to MIDI assign Ableton’s Looper to it but also many other
parameters. As soon as the SoftStep arrived Carlos started to figure out how to program it to do
what he wanted, because it was not as simple as it looked.
Keith McMillen Instruments provides an extensive manual8 on how to program the
SoftStep however, it isn’t very clear. A dedicated software is required to do specifical
programming called “Softstep Advanced Editor” and here is where one can create different
presets to upload to the controller. After watching almost every single SoftStep tutorial online
plus contacting Keith McMillen for support, programming started based on the different
functions that were going to be needed.
Ableton’s Looper has a “multipurpose button” that changes function depending on how
or how many times you press it, so this would be the first assignment to program to get looping
8
Keith McMillen Instrument’s Sofstep 2 Manual
https://files.keithmcmillen.com/downloads/softstep/SoftStep_Manual_v2.0.pdf
13
working. Eventually, after trying out many different configurations, due to where it is located,
Pad #5 was chose for this role (see figure 1). The SoftStep also allows for visual feedback
depending on what is going on Live’s looper so some LED configuration was done as well.
When the LED’s are blinking green it’s because the looper is waiting, when red, recording and
when green, it’s playing. This was done so that there would be no need to see the computer’s
screen to know what is going on with the looper.
As this foot controller has so many possibilities and functions, Carlos thought it would be
very useful to make a pedalboard with a few different effects in Live and then be able to control
them with the SoftStep. First, a simple reverb and delay where assigned to Pads #2 and #7. They
are controlled depending on the amount of force put in the Yaxis of these pads. Two effects were
created by combining several effects into an FX rack and then using Live’s Macro Controls to
control specific parameters from the different devices. This two FX were called “Dreams” and
“Psychic”. Their purpose is to create more of an ambience and texture effect to the saxophone
and expand upon it’s natural sonic capabilities.Then Pads #8 and #9 where assigned to turn On or
Off these effects, while #3 and #4 control the Dry/Wet also through the Yaxis. Some more fine
tuning was done throughout the months as to make the SoftStep as expressive as possible and
easy to use.
While on “Hosted Mode” the Softstep will only connect if the dedicated software is open
all the time. However, for unknown reason, it would randomly disconnect making it useless for a
few minutes and it would only reconnect when the editor software was selected. After trying
14
different USB cables and messing around with the MIDI routing, it would still have the same
issue. Therefor, the SoftStep preset was translated to the “Standalone Mode” which allows the
SoftStep to be connected without having to have the Editor software running. With this mode,
the SoftStep was working as it meant to and not having to have another software running, meant
another thing less to worry about.
Figure 1
The next step was to create an Ableton Live template (see figure 2) that already had all of
the required MIDI assignments plus the specific audio routing settings. Once the Looper was set
up, there needed to be a way in which whatever was looped could be sent into the OP1 for
resampling. Ableton Live allows for very specific audio routings so this came really handy at this
point. The Looper Track would be always sending to the Master Output track, however another
track which is called “OP1 Sampling” would be listening to this track the whole time but instead
of sending out to the Master Track it would be sending to the Auxiliary Outputs that the KMix
15
interface offers. This way, output 34 are sending whatever is looped on that track to the OP1
and to sample it or capture that audio, you simply set the OP1 into Line Input sampling mode
and press a key. This way, the Looper is still running even after sampling.
Once this was set up and running, the rig began to be explored in practical situations as to
see what else was needed and how it could be implemented. For several practice sections, every
piece of gear was brought it. Ableton Push 2 was set up to play drum beats using my personal
drum kit, because of how easy it is to input a pattern on it. Two Teenage Engineering Pocket
Operators were tried as to have more sonic options. Moog’s Minitaur synth would be taking care
of the bass, controlled through an Akai keyboard controller. The OP1 was loaded with both
Synth patches and Drum kits to be able to input botch at any point. But after a few sessions, the
workflow proved to be very complicated and even more so the set up. If this project is to become
practical, it has to be as portable as possible and also have a quick workflow to be able to create
everything from scratch. By having so much equipment it was very hard to achieve what is
wanted because it was impossible to concentrate on any gear and the roles of each of them were
not really clear.
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Figure 2
The rig went through several revisions, hardwarerelated speaking. So throughout the
months, a lot of gear was removed from the rig, eventually just focusing on the OP1, as it
started. It was noted that Ableton Live was basically taking a role of a mixer plus the Looper/FX
pedal board and the OP1 was were most audio was happening. This simple set up, OP1,
Ableton Live and the SoftStep felt much better in terms of workflow and portability. It didn’t
take long to set up and creating from scratch on the OP1 is fast thanks to it’s Sequencers and
effects. The only problem was that the only way for inputting notes was using the OP1’s
keyboard, which (see image) is very small and has no velocity controls, which for playing drum
kits is a must have. To solve this issue, two more track were added to the Live template. The first
one “OP1 Keyboard”, gets MIDI notes from an Akai keyboard controller and sends them to the
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OP1. This way, Synth patches can be played through this controller instead, giving more
expression and more range. The second track is “OP1 Drums” and this required more time to be
prepared. This track was loaded with Ableton’s Drum Rack device which shows drum pads in an
Akai MPC sort of way. Usually, one can load samples into each of these pads and then you can
trigger them through any MIDI controller. As the goal was to play the OP1’s drum kits through
MIDI, Push 2 came back into play. Instead of loading samples into the pads, Live’s External
Instrument device was loaded into 24 pads, which correspond to the OP1’s keyboard. Then each
of these pads was individually set to trigger the corresponding notes on the OP1. This track
would be receiving MIDI from the Push 2 set in drum pad mode, which allows for very smooth
control over the drum kits on the OP1. Now, not only is velocity available, but I can also
sequence from the Push, giving more freedom and options as to how to input notes or drum
sequences.
6.2 Trying out the Rig
Once the rig was put together in terms of hardware, it was time to try out how practical it
was in real situations. Starting in February, 4 hour sessions were booked in different Berklee
Valencia’s facilities to practice the rig and get comfortable with it and change what needed to be
changed. For the first sessions, a lot of time was spent setting up and then, packing away the
gear. Roughly about 30 minutes for set up and 30 minutes for packing up. At first, it was hard to
memorize the cable connections, the position of each gear, the required electrical connections
and volume levels. Therefore, I started taking pictures to memorize everything and be as efficient
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as possible with set up. If this rig eventually leads to performance opportunities, then it has to be
practical in every sense and avoid any over complicated steps. However, each time I would set
up things faster and I would have more time to get handson the rig.
For the first four practice sessions, I would build up improvisations using different
elements of the rig and different approaches. At first, I was obsessed with the idea of beginning
with a looped saxophone and then build upon that. The Looper device would set the BPM of
Ableton once it began looping. I liked this feature, but Ableton would not round up the BPM to a
whole number, so I would end with something like 98.34 or 114.95, which was very troublesome
because the OP1 can’t sync with decimal BPM. I came up with several solutions for this issue.
1) I could start the Ableton session and enable the metronome, so that the Looper
device follows whatever tempo I input before. This way, the Looper device record
and stops recording on the first beat of the measure after I press the Multipurpose
button.
2) Having the OP1 running with a metronome and use that metronome to guide
myself.
3) Use inears and send a metronome out from Ableton.
Even though I tried these solutions, I still felt like it was not the right way to go. It was
too easy to lose sync between the OP1 and Ableton. Inspired by Mason Self, a fellow musician
who also explores electronic live music, I set myself to embrace musical “accidents”. In the
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following to videos “Court: Live Recording”9and “Silt Tutorial: Permutations”10, Mason Self
shows how he goes by to create his songs with no pre recorded material but a lot of preparation
before hand. I personally asked (through Youtube’s comment section) him how he went on to
synchronize different devices. In the first “Court Live Recording”, he has Ableton running and
he’s listening to that metronome through his headphones, which the audience can’t hear. The
OP1 is set to the same tempo and he manually presses Start. In “Silt Live Recording” something
similar happens, but this time he begins recording a piano into Ableton’s clip while having the
metronome in his headphones. The OP1 is again, set up with the same tempo and manually
launched after. This workflow seemed very interesting because by letting the OP1 be manually
synced you don't lose certain creative capabilities like moving the tape back and forth manually
to create glitches or slowing the tape down drastically.
Figure 3
9
10
Mason Self Court: Live Recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HJHX9ibHlo
Ibid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKcyowyyWJo
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For research purposes I ended up recording two video performances in which I try two
different workflows. On the first one, I simply rely on the OP1 for everything, thinking of this
set up more to produce songs or come up with idea to further work later. The second one, I use
more devices, like Ableton’s Looper combined with the OP1 for sampling, to create more of an
experimental live performance. These will be further explained later on.
After deciding which two workflows I would use, I noticed I was still not convinced by
the sound of the saxophone in this kind of electronic music. So I decided to incorporate three
hardware pedals to further alter the saxophone’s sound. This would also give more handson
manipulation on dialing however I wanted to effect that instrument. With the Whammy Pedal, a
Pitch Shifter effect, I would change the octave at which the saxophone is played, but it also gives
a very digital characteristic to the sound. This would be very useful to create Lead type sounds.
After the Whammy, I connected the “Hall of Fame” reverb and the “Flashback” delay. With
these two, I could shape the decay and sustain of the saxophone more to my personal liking.
Finally, I got to record the two videos in two separate sessions. For Video #111, I am
basically only relying on the OP1, Ableton is doing all the MIDI routings and FX’s but all the
sounds are coming out from the OP1 and recorded into Ableton. The Click comes from the
OP1, which at first I found to be not adequate for a real Live Performance situation, but I think
somehow, it manages to blend as part of the song. As I have four tracks to record onto the OP1,
11
CEMi Using the Rig for Production https://youtu.be/42N9T2Pj1FM
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I can build up songs by record onto different tracks and then perhaps, mute some sections to
create variation.
Although I like this set up, because of ease of connectivity and comfort, there’s a
limitation on to how much I can do to keep things interesting. I can build up loops or sections
easily, but I would have to stop everything if I wanted to make a drastic change or add even more
sections. However, having the Push and the MIDI keyboard to quickly input harmonies,
melodies or drums is very quick and convenient. This set up would work more as a “song
sketch” rig from where I can layout beats and ideas and then continue working on them for a
fully produced song on Ableton.
For Video #212, I used a totally different approach. I started by looping my saxophone
onto Ableton. For this to work, I had to start with something very simple and spaced, like a
drone. If the initial loop was very busy and complex, then there’s not much room for building up.
Then, without even looking at the templo, I had already set up a Drum Pattern through one of the
OP1 sequencers and I would launch it when the saxophone loop completed one cycle. Even
though they are not at the same tempo, because the first loop is very sparse, it feels as if it was
shifting around the time signature. Once the drum pattern was printed on the OP1 I would
enable the Whammy to overdub onto the ongoing saxophone loop. This time, instead of long
tones, I would play more staccato, almost randomly pitches, to create a contrast. As the OP1’s
drum loop is running freely, it allows me to do something called “Tape Tricks” which is the term
12
CEMi Using the Rig for Performing (Live Improvisation) https://youtu.be/QKLnyO3jiKs
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used for manual tape manipulation such as fast forwarding or rewinding the tape, beat repeat,
“scratch” effect like sounds, etc. As everything was playing, I sampled the previously loop
directly into the OP1 and moved around the start and end points of that sample. Then, I reversed
the whole sample and pitched up an octave to further process it. This plus the COW effect of the
OP1 would give me the ability to create very drastic textures over whatever is playing. It would
then take some coordination to be able to trigger the beat repeat, play the sample back, use tape
tricks and move the effects parameters but the results were very pleasant.
6.3 CE.Sounds Website and Preset Packs
At some point during the whole process of figuring out the rig for performing and
producing, I noticed that I had been building an extensive collection of OP1 patches to play my
music. I have always thought that one of the secrets to make electronic music sound original, is
to spend a lot of time creating personalized sounds, either if its through Synthesis, sampling or
Sound Design. As mentioned earlier on this work, on 2017 I released my first electronic EP
which uses all original sounds created through the Prophet 08 synthesizer, the OP1 and
resampling techniques on Ableton. As a continuation of these explorations, in January I took the
“Creative Sound Design” class taught by Ben Cantil (Encanti) to further hone my Sound Design
skills and incorporate them in this project.
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This sparked the idea of creating a simple website which I call CE.Sounds13. Here I have
uploaded through services like Gumroad and Weebly, my own OP1 presets in several packs for
people to purchase. For starters, I have made a free demo, one pack with only keyboard patches
and a last one called “OP1 Patches Vol.1” which has over 50 different patches both sampled and
synthesized. The idea is to use the two videos recorded to showcase some of these patches, plus
other songs that are posted on my updated Soundcloud site14. This would work two ways because
if someone enjoys my music and is a fellow producer, they can purchase my presets, but if a
fellow OP1 user knows about the presets and likes them, then they will also reach my music.
This would potentially give me more chances of building an audience since I would be putting
out myself not only as an artist/producer but also as a Sound Designer.
Figure 4
13
Ce.Sounds Website https://cesounds.weebly.com
14
My SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/cemill
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7. Professional Plan
This project would serve as Carlos Emilio’s main instrument/rig for live performances,
composition and production. With it, his electronic music can be performed in an unique way
which will allow him to get gigs and tours. The whole process of creation will be documented
and eventually, a series of improvisation videos will be uploaded to Youtube as live sessions.
Hopefully, it will have a positive impact in Ableton’s and Teenage Engineering’s community,
making it possible to assist conferences such as NAMM or Loop as an artist. The rig will be
probably be continued to be revised and perhaps different version will be eventually created to fit
different scenarios. Eventually, he would like to incorporate it in an ensemble, to expand even
further the possibilities.
The Website CESounds will help him showcase his skills as a Sound Designer and if the
patches gain popularity, there’s a strong chance that Teenage Engineer will include some of them
in future versions, or perhaps for future hardware they plan on releasing. Not only this, but other
Sound Design jobs could be possible, like creating presets for companies such as Native
Instruments, Korg, Roland, etc.
8. Conclusions
This project was in my mind at least one year before coming to Berklee Valencia. Since I
started a career as an electronic music producer I have always struggled to blend my two musical
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personas, specifically, incorporate my saxophone, my main instrument, in the music that I
produce. One of the main reasons for coming to Valencia, was because I knew I would have the
time, the space and resources to really figure out a practical rig in which I can comfortably
produce and perform. Throughout this months of trial and error, I personally think that I have
made huge steps towards what I envision. With this rig I feel I can finally incorporate my
saxophone in creative ways that I think fit my music.
However, I do imagine the rig continuously changing, especially for live performances.
With more time, I don’t doubt I would get more and more proficient with it and probably figure
out different ways to achieve more dynamics and changes as to escape from monotonous and
over repetitive music, which I think the rig fall into naturally. In a not so distant future, I would
like to make the rig completely independent of a DAW. For budget reasons, I wasn’t able to
incorporate an actual physical looper pedal or more devices that I have in mind such as
Elektron’s Digitakt. The good side of this is that, this limitations forced me to learn more about
MIDI programming that I ever thought I was going to need.
Although this project was aimed to be something very specific, many other skills have
been polished and learnt along the way. Spending so much time with Ableton has made me more
efficient while working on it. I’ve explored characteristics of Ableton’s internal routing options
that I had no clue were possible. I feel much more comfortable working with synths than ever
before and my workflow using the OP1 has definitely improved just because I’ve spent so much
time with it over the year.
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In conclusions, the initial objective was met and with it many other useful tools were
acquired during the process. The whole idea behind this project was to create a tool or a rig using
the saxophone and electronic instruments to achieve new creative ways of composing, producing
and performing. I have spent over a decade studying the saxophone to get to a point where lack
of technique doesn’t get in the way of creativity. Now, I have to learn how to play and compose
from the rig to the point where the different tools allow me to express in ways I couldn’t before.
I would say there is still a lot of room for changes and improvement that throughout further
experimentation, will be addressed.
In these months, not only did I achieve my main objective, but I have learnt new skills
and honed others. Sound design is a subject that deeply interests me and has proved to be crucial
in the whole project. I will continue to create new sounds with the saxophone, through synths
and samplers because I think that the key for achieving engaging electronic music, is original and
characteristic sounds.
Finally, in today’s music scene, I think it is not enough to just do one thing. One must
find several subjects within music that you are passionate about and excel in those. In the long
run this will make you a more wellbalanced musician and professional with several tools at your
disposal. Then it’s up to yourself to decide when to use them. For me, jazz, improvisation,
sequencing, sound design and electronic music are passions and tools I’ll use to express my
music throughout my career.
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Bibliography and Multimedia Resources
Baths. NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkYnVE5jsAo
Donohoe, Brian. Saxophone through “Organizer” pedal by Earthquake Devices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxfs_enqK8c
Jacques. Phonochose #1: Livelooping a l’Amour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUHZqVeqoXY
MIKROBI.T. Gambia Berlin (Live Session)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpfrMMMvWS8
Mongerio, Dean. The Sounds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lLdzp9Nhzg
The Gears https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqHyYBaBhas
FJK. Tokyo (Red Bull Studios Improvisation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7GJY7hVkY
Self, Mason. Sampling a bear box https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZa0FxOie6M
Sampling a Dantranh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepDAWxB_yU
OP1 + Moog Minitaur + Piano https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6VCMpcqdjQ
How I Setup and recorded Court https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz84mkqBYrs
Vespers, Drew. Vespers Live Performance Setup with Ableton Live 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg6MrcGxYjw
Warren Walker. EarthQuaker Session:The Kandinsky Effect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNQyBDMrdNQ
Werner, Kenny., Effortless Mastery (Alfred Music; Pap/Com edition,1998)
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Media of
