FREE NEW INSTRUMENT RACK!
I have also been working on a new instrument rack that I now feel comfortable sharing with yall. It is an autochord-type instrument that will allow you to lay down some nice string pads without having to learn a whole bunch of different chord inversions (I know a whole bunch of chord inversions and I can tell you it is better to leave room in your brain for something else). It is made to overcome the Launchpad’s specific shortcomings–the weird form factor and the lack of velocity sensitivity–but it really can be used with any MIDI controller. And its best feature? It’s totally free!
As you can see, the String Machine has a total of 6 controls, which, for maximum utility, should be mapped to different knobs. The Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release controls are pretty obvious: they affect the envelope of the string sounds. The interesting thing, though, is the bottom two controls. The Volume control is actually a MIDI volume control, which means that if you strike a note and change the control, nothing will happen. It will only affect the NEXT note. This is good when you want to hold a note down and have the next note be at a completely different volume, this way you don’t need to affect the note that is being played. The last control is Chord Type and can be used to play different chords: Major, Minor, 7th, 6th and Sus to be exact. This means that all you really have to do is select the chord type with the knob and play the root note on your keyboard and you are off and running. Very handy when you are trying to play chords on a tiny (computer) keyboard. Also doesn’t sound so bad!
To get this free instrument rack, click here and sign up for the Ableton Cookbook newsletter. This will only come out twice a month and everyone who is on the list will be eligible for exclusive content!
Have tried it and works fine.
Would it be technically possible to trigger major/minor using two keys (e.g. d and d# for D minor)? This used to work nicely on an old cheap keyboard I had.
Hmm…yes. You would have to re-arrange the chains. Basically make it so all the “white” keys (C-D-E, etc.) go to the “major” chain. And all the “black” keys go to the minor chain. If this doesn’t make sense, let me know and I will throw a different version together for you!
i was try download free new instrument rack that link u send it to my email add,but i still can`t open it with mac laptop,is that for mac or windows?
I just sent you another link through Twitter. Check your DMs.
Let me know if you have any other problems!
so i installed the plug-in but i have no idea where to find it. i even performed a search and it turned up nothing. anyway you can help would be much appreciated thanks
Hi Anthony,
seems that the free rack isn’t there anymore. I subscribed to Your mailing list but there is no download or maybe I made something wrong? By the way: Your site is very instructive and I learned a lot from Your videos. Your postings on generative music inspired me to some randomized tracks which You can find on my Soundcloud site:
http://soundcloud.com/tonwelle
Thanx and best regards,
Tonwelle
Tonwelle, I think I fixed this. Go ahead and click the link and see if it works!
I just want to say that your website is awesome! I am reading all your posts from the beginning and I love each and every one. Ableton cookbook is where its at.