I dont mess with computer at all or DAW plugins samples etc.Just make the production on the fly all the audio out from the synths go to the yamaha console and record it to an sd cart like multirecording every channel a different stem

I make some music dawless without using computer DAW or any plugin just hardware synths and live performance.have alot of fun and is inspiring too

looking for someone to mix and master a upcoming VA for an upcoming label. Reaching out here in an attempt to find something affordable, not necessarily looking for a pro, but ideally someone with some m&m gear and a good ear looking to make a few bucks. Potentially longer term if the work is good.

Hello,

I wanted to know who here uses an MPC for techno production? If so, how do you use it? Pros? Cons? I’m in the market for one to start making hip hop beats. I love techno and also want to start experimenting there.

Last track using the symetrix 501 on my bass lines its kinda ass 🙈 i didnt really love the compression style and you get a high pitched whine if you crank the limiter. Idk not for me

Ive been lurking on guitar center for a cheap dbx160a and I found one 😭😭 gonna be adding that to the rack to replace the symetrix

Do any of you all still use hardware for compression? I think it gives a more interesting sound but vsts are really good these days. I think if you’re gonna go cheap hardware isnt worth. Its barely worth it at a higher price bc vsts get you so close, but theres something about hardware sounds I just like! What do you think?

Anyways, been sitting on this track for a week just released the vid for it yesterday, lmk what you think! Finding my way around the microwave xt a lot better now, wavetable synthesis is crazy.

Thanks for listening! Full vid is in the comments if you want

hey guys, absolutely in love with this track, and especially with the way the Darin vocal is processed, I don't really know where to start on this and would love some advice on how to get that choppy, delayed, pitch shifted sound, if anyone has suggestions/techniques, they would me greatly appreciated!

Hola a todos!
Alguien me puede recomendar algún, patreon, curso o canal de youtube que profundice en el lado más ambiental y minimal del techno?
La verdad es que lo que he encontrado hasta el día de hoy se me queda muy corto y/o superficial.

Gracias!

JP8000 or Virus C

This isnt about production moreso collecting and playing.

Im a bit of a cheat and use the old Vengence Sounds extensions on the Usual Suspects VST.

I really want the element of physicality in my playing and will eventually when money comes buy both.

Which one would you recommend I buy first?

Honestly with space, usability and also the genre of music im playing the Virus C could be my only purchase.

But the Jp8000 does supersaws like nothing else.

I listen to tracks and get inspired but can't remember what it was that gave me the idea. I end up doing something that's shite from experimenting.

Please let me know how you work with and from your ideas!

I've been making electronic music for more than 10 years, but I've rarely played live before. When I did, it was usually drone/noise stuff with noise boxes and very little conventional song structure.

Recently I've released a few very minimal, old-school dub techno tracks, and now I'm starting to get invited to play live. So I need to figure out a completely different kind of live setup.

The music is around 130 BPM, and I currently have about 5 tracks that I'd like to build the set around. The tracks are roughly 5–6 minutes each.

My current hardware is:

- 1010music Blackbox mk1

- Roland/TT-606

- potentially a MIDI controller for the Blackbox

The problem is that the Blackbox has a 512-bar limit in Clip Mode, and because I'm working at 130 BPM, a 5–6 minute track can get surprisingly close to that limit. So simply loading complete stems/arrangements and playing them back as long clips doesn't really seem like a good solution.

I'm also trying to avoid making the Blackbox do too much at once. Ideally I'd like the set to be reliable and not have the machine struggling or potentially freezing during a gig.

My current idea is to use something more like:

- manual sequence for the TT-606

- around 10 short loops for percussion, pads, stabs, textures, etc.

- keep individual sequences relatively short, perhaps 32–64 bars, instead of trying to recreate a whole 5–6 minute arrangement in one clip

Another option I'm considering is doing the actual composition in Ableton Live's Arrangement View first, but deliberately writing the material as a live set: essentially reducing each track to its main bass/melodic hooks, drums and textures, then turning the arrangement into a collection of shorter 64-bar sections/sequences that I can reconstruct and manipulate on the Blackbox.

So I'm wondering:

How would you approach designing this live set given these limitations?

Would you:

1. Prepare the tracks in Ableton and essentially turn them into stems/loops for the Blackbox?

2. Build everything from short loops and MIDI sequences, with 32–64 bar sections?

3. Treat the five tracks more like source material and create one continuous live performance from their elements, rather than trying to reproduce the original arrangements?

4. Or use some completely different approach?

The important thing for me is that I want it to feel like an actual live techno set, not like pressing play on five finished tracks. At the same time, I only have one week before the next gig, so I need something I can realistically prepare and rehearse without building an insanely complicated system.

I'd especially appreciate advice from people who have used the Blackbox mk1 for minimal/techno live sets and have dealt with its clip/sequence limitations.

Adding some spice to an ambient & trancey techno track.

Novation Peak is one of my favorite synth,
so why not go dual?

#novation #novationpeak #elektron #dawless #techno

I don't often make techno but jamming around sure is fun and the sound of this is pretty fierce! Inspired by a single polymax sound I made. Drum loops, polymax for everything else except for the prophet 5 layer. Reminds of being young lolol.

​

Mine are overlistening to a 8 bar loop, or overtweaking a sound...

Sometimes I spend so much time trying to improve one small detail that I lose sight of the bigger picture.

Hey guys and gals, it’s me – your favorite AInfluencer GeminiGPT. Our favorite time of the year is approaching – BLACK FRIDAY! And oh boy I sure do know, that we all love the consumer orgy that it is and hold our wallets open – ready to spend our money to get that dopamine kick over and over again while we listen to Stone Techno Sets posted by ARTE in our Berlin basements. So let me tell you which Plugins you need, to become the best underground Techno Producer in the world!

Just kidding xD

Around a year ago I started buying Plugins and Max for Live Devices and tbh I really am wasting too much money on them, so this is my try to reflect my purchases and (hopefully) warn others - because this rabbit hole is a real money sink. That’s why I don’t want to focus on paid plugins only, instead I want to write down all the free things I use regularly (I tried a lot, but I only keep a certain amount of things). So this list is going to show my purchases and all the free plugins and M4L Devices I use regularly.

First of all:

Ableton Suite is all you need

If you’re afraid that you also are a person, who could be tempted to buy plugins because someone on the internet said “they are good”, don’t scroll to the bottom, I am going to start by listing all the amazing free plugins and M4L devices I use regularly and finish this post by listing all my purchases.

One last thing on the buying aspect: buy used Plugins. It would have saved me so much money. So if you’re going to buy something, make sure to check out Knobcloud & KVR Sell & Buy Forum!

Free Plugins

These are the only free Plugins that sticked with me (all the ones I didn’t mention I deleted - and I tried a lot). Most of them do things that I didn’t find in Ableton/ M4L.

Instruments

Inear Display (on gum road - also has a website)- this person makes so many amazing free plugins, which are awesome for sound design and I am going to have a lot of them in my list. Make sure to check them out. Instruments: Bref (FM Perc Generator), Ephemere (FM-Drum Machine), Lancinantes (Drone). All amazing. Really amazing.

VRAC by Beatsurfing - Drumify your samples, amazing thing.

Zyklop - really nice weird free synth

Effects

I love effects. Especially Delays. Delays are the best things in the world.

Inear Display again - so many amazing effects. Especially his delays (Antagone & Interstice) are amazing. I use Litote (really really nice granular device) very often too. Danaides seems also to be a really nice Multi FX.

Hysteresis & Fracture by Glitchmachines - classics. Amazing.

everything Tokyo Dawn Records (TDR) offers. Kotelnikov is an amazing compressor & Molotok (for colorful compression) too! Prism is on my Master (ask me if you need the preset), amazing frequency analyzer.

BattleFX by Unfiltred Audio - amazing Delay & Reverb plugin.

Pocket Dimension by Freakshow - classic

Airwindows Consolidated - such a rabbit hole. So many nice plugins in one. Try it!

Valhalla Supermassive - classic. Use it. Amazing.

Sol by Dawsome - awesome grain reverb to create long atmospheres and textures

Magic7 Reverb - it’s the only pure Reverb Plugin I use (tho I prefer to use Ableton ones or M4L)

Polarity Recordings has several really nice free Plugins - I use Spectral Compressor and the Recorder (it’s recording the main Output continuously) and really like them

Free Max For Live (M4L) Devices

I love M4L almost as much, as I love delays. I use a lot of them regularly and tried even more. Check out Sidebrains collection of M4L Devices (you can find this word document somewhere on his website - I could search for it if needed). Check out maxforlive . com - amazing website with a lot of new M4L Devices released every day.

Utility

B.S. Audio Utility - it’s the utility Ableton deserves - read the manual bcs it does a lot

Duck Buddy - that’s the only volume automation I use to duck the bass to the kick. It comes with a nice oscilloscope integrated

Randomizer by LiveWorkFlow Tools - you can put it behind every Ableton/M4L Instrument and FX and it randomizes all parameters. Nice for random sounds.

Volume Compensator (on the M4L site I linked above) - Volume matched to not let your ear get tricked by loudness

sonder by mark (M4L site) - a nice note pad

session notes by jikay (M4L site) - a less complex note pad

Camelot wheel cheat sheet (M4L site) - does what it says, plain and simple

recorder 1.5 by meownoid (M4L site) - a rolling master recorder (40 seconds max - which is why I switched to polarity recorder). Love it anyways and used it a lot.

Sequencers & Midi

7 Curves - I prefer this over the LFO to modulate things. Check out his m4L page - he has a lot of nice devices (like Kick synths, sequencers etc.)

Long Frequency Oscillator - like Stock LFO but has a slower rate (up to 1024 bars)

Steps (by Elphnt) - really nice per step modulation

DrumBrain - a sequencer for drum racks

MDD-Snake - has a new version on Gumroad, I didn’t like the older ones

Sting 2 - Iftah is an absolute legend and has a lot of nice M4L devices which are all top notch

print to clip (on gumroad) - a device that you put behind a sequencer and it records midi notes & creates a clip automatically. You’ll never again have to create a midi Track to record notes!

Deviate - Add randomization to your midi notes

Tuple (I use an older version because the new one only works in full screen which I don’t like - should be on his GitHub/ ask me) - chose your chords and play them in tune. Sometimes nice if you want to break out of the usual disharmony.

Delays

I told you I love delays so here we go.

dschihadelay - name is really sus but it sounds amazing on percussion

FilterStereoDelays (on the Robert henke website (co-founder of Ableton) also has an amazing Reverb there) - a really nice Delay that is based on Abletons (/his) Filter Delay

GMM (by dnksaus - check out his YouTube to learn more about Ableton) - a nice little granular delay

Retur (by Fors) - also a nice little delay

Effects

Lanzarote (on robert henkes Website) - already mentioned above. Try it, randomize it, it’s amazing

Romb (by Fors) - a really nice sounding little reverb

Mutable Devices (by Chris on gumroad) - Mutable Instruments Software packed into M4L Devices - tray them all out, I really liked them

Beast Repeat by Dillan Bastan - like abletons beat repeat - just better

Inflation (by Stevon on M4L site) - he has a lot of devices, but I just use this one. It’s like Oxford Inflator/ Js Inflator

Jaspermarsalis (in M4L site) has quite a few really nice devices. Check them out! I love bi-Phaser and the chorus

Waveguide Resonator (by Cavity) - wild distortion

Instruments

Vertex by aorist (gumroad) - amazing DFAM clone

Jaspermarsalis again(in M4L site) - Odessy and pro sound amazing!

plaits clone by Flechtwerk - I still have the M4L if anyone needs it

P_4L || (ringtone tools on gumroad) - a really nice but complex Plaits clone. It’s worth it!

Gotta mention Iftah again! Nice and simple instruments

stax - a simple subtractive Synthesizer

Perfect Storm - an M4L device the simulates Storm and rain with samples. Niche but cute.

Vril (by Spalsteen - check him out. A lot of amazing devices!) - can’t even really explain it

Paid Plugins

My criteria for buying products in genrell were: no ilok, no (/optional) plugin manager, bonus points if .clap and Linux versions are available.

Instruments

Phase Plant - I bought almost everything from them and it’s nice. Sound Design Heaven - I recommend you watch “Dash Glitch Top 50 Tips & Tricks for Phase Plant” its an 3 hour masterclass for learning Phase Plant.

Punchbox 2 - I love this, if I need a 909 with some good clicks - this is it.

Kick 3 - it’s okay for kicks (tho I prefer Punchbox) and amazing for bass! (try the “Tom Distortion”-Styles)

Random Metal - nice Persussion Synth & amazing for bass!

Klevgrand Skaka and Borsta - I really like them and use them regularly, but you could achieve the same with using Ableton instruments & samples.

Effects

I love Sound designing & building complex evolving FX chains, so let’s start with these plugins first.

Tape Fiasco & Kazu by Phase Fiasco- these multi FX Plugins are amazing. If you want to buy one I’d recommend you only buy Kazu (this plugin is so deep and the modulation on it is top notch. And this price…. Plugins that do those things cost normally ~100€ - looking at you Shaperbox and Infiltrator). I am probably going to buy Modular Fiasco as well because I really love this developer & have so much fun exploring the plugins (it has a randomiser button, which is always a nice addition).

DLAY by FRCTL Audio - I love delays. I really really love delays. There are going to be so many delays in this list and this is the one delay purchase that’s totally worth it. It’s the only delay I know, that does per Tap-Pitch Modulation (yes - each repeat has its own pitch! and also much more). I also really enjoy the GUI as everything is fast accessible (especially the modulation). And it hast a randomiser button - I love pressing it. It’s a really really nice delay!

Deelay by Sixth Sample - I bought the Premium Edition because I love the free one so so much, and used it so often (again - the randomiser button). It’s a really nice delay!

GRFX - I thought I’d need granular effects and they are alright but I’m not a huge grain enjoyer. This plugin is the one I enjoyed the most.

Now I will list all the effects I bought, because I thought I need them to make good sounding mixes. Spoiler - I was so wrong. I still struggle to make kick and bass sit nicely in the mix. I am still developing my listening skills and those are the only real solution to this problem. So keep that in mind. Also I always wanted to make everything myself the song, the mix, the “master”. I will keep trying.

Uni-L by Tone Projects - this is the best limiter (before it was Limitless by DMG). It’s hard to learn & I don’t even have a proper listening situation, but you can push this thing hard. + my favorite mastering engineer said it’s good (Incedence Studios - check him out on YouTube!). But it costs a lot, so maybe I’m still coping hard xD

Tokyo Dawn Records - I love this company. They make so many great plugins and the free ones are all you need tbh. But this is the paid list so here are my purchases: Kotelnikov (amazing compressor), Limiter 6 GE (amazing tool kit - it has everything you need), Molot (nice compressor, but Limiter 6 should be enough (it has some coloration compressor modes)), Filter Bundle (I have Pro Q 4 so technically I don’t need them (realized it too late) but I still use the regularly, because they are very fast to use)

Pro Q 4 - I still use a lot EQ8, except when I (try to) mix.

Saturn 2 - like it a lot, but I use other saturation & distortion things too.

SIR Standard Clip - classic

True:Balance by sonible - it shows me all the reasons my mix is shit. Nice.

Visu by Tritik - it’s a really nice cheap spectrogram that I use for balancing kick & bass (ask me if you are interested in my preset). But it can only partially help! Train your ears kids!

Paid Max For Live

ALFIL (Ableton Live Fast Item Loader) by Killuhu - I use it and love it. You can use invisible characters as placeholders to have a really nice overview for all the things I use regularly.

Chiral, Opal & Dyad by Fors - these 3 instruments I’d buy from them again. I really love the range of sounds you can get out of them. (Make sure to check out all the separate M4L devices that come with them!)

Augur & Celestine & Spectronaut by ijo Audio - really nice devices, with a nice depth and a lot of possibilities. I really enjoy them.

Slink Bundle - everybody knows it and rightfully so

Knob Studio - a really nice LFO/ Modulation Source

Entanglement, Superposition & Mouth Play by Dillan Bastan - those devices are really deep & can produce really interesting and unique sounds, tho I don’t reach for them as often.

So yeah this is it. I wasted >1200€ in the last 12 months if I combine all my purchases and was it worth it? No, but it’s complicated. I definitely would buy some of those plugins again if I had to. But only some. I learned a lot along the way. Really. I fall asleep thinking about something music related every single day and still feel like I am only scratching the surface.

So yeah here are my promises: I am going to stop buying so many things in the future. It’s a step I need and want to make. Before I buy something I am going to demo it extensively. I will stop insta-buying things.

Holy shit this took way too long… should’ve used ai for this xD I’m sure I forgot some things, eventually I’ll add them in the comments. If you have any plugins/ devices that stayed in your toolbox after extensive use - share them!

I hope you have a great day :) <3

hello friends, here Joseph, i am a producer myself and cofounder of Home of Sound, a series we regularly host deep conversations and production technical masterclasses with techno producers.

one of my personal all-time favourite, Raffaele Attanasio has kindly accepted to work on a production masterclass. for those who know him, you know how great and well produced his music is :)

we have many ideas and potential directions and want to get your collective input so that he can focus on the most valuable things.

what are the top 2-4 topics and questions you would love to be covered?

go wild and deep, we will go through all of the suggestions!

and I will keep you updated as soon as we progress. so excited to have him <3

The word hybrid in the context of music production (specifically with techno and studio workflow) has always carried some level of mystique in my imagination. It’s taken me a long time to really wrap my head how I can “hybridize”/optimize my studio instrument workflow. Something i grapple with for most of my days.

For the past year or so I’ve been experimenting with just recording the stereo out of my 32 channel analog mixer and really just using Ableton for that single purpose. As someone who was previously vst based, this was really eye-opening and refreshing.

But now as I have made much progress in my music journey I want to fully integrate my hardware capabilities with my software capabilities too.

This means, and this may be obvious to some of you, instead of going simply from analog to digital (mixer to Ableton) i will now go from digital to analog (and then back to digital for the final print of my Ableton projects that I overdub on my mixer.

The main difference is that my hardware instruments will now go to my interface/ableton first before going to the mixer.

So while I have really gotten to know and love my Motu Ultralite mk5+Arturia Audiofuse x8 in, it’s time to up the ante, I need an interface that can handle 32 ins and 32 outs to give me flexibility to incorporate my 32 ch analog mixer.

I am considering staying in the Motu realm and getting the old version of the Motu 16A (pictured), but I am also open to going the more upscale route with something like Antelope Orion, RME fireface UMX III, Universal Audio Apollo 16, or Arturia 16 rig…maybe there are some others that I am not aware of that are similar that you could recommend.

For those of you that have experience with all analog, hybrid, and all digital workflows, should I expect a noticeable change in my sound? Will running my hardware instruments into an interface like the old Motu 16A/Ableton first color the sound in an undesirable way or is the “analog stereo out only” recording mentality of any true merit?

Thanks for stopping by.

one for the inner city <3

Hey,

I found the „Apollo Techno Masterclass“ on one of my drives and decided to share it here for anyone who is interested in.

I also added „The 28 Steps to Electronic Dance Music Production (EDM Power Book)“

The Swisstransfer link for Download is valid for the next 30 Days🤘🏻

https://www.swisstransfer.com/dl/01a12f94-d54d-70b2-bf3d-b91b2f1ef006

Have fun studying 🎶🎹

Better with earphones for the sub!🎧

Working on new stuff for my live performances. Here some of the background percussion are loops launched on the SPD-SX PRO pad in front of me, and everything else is basically played in real time. The bassline is triggered by the bass drum as a sequence.

What genre would you call this by the way? Does it fit under the techno umbrella?

Hello all,

I recently got myself a Moog Matriarch.
The synth sounds amazing and is an awful lot of fun. I only got it for a week or two but i often find myself ending up making the same patches.
I really would like to have some external opinions and techniques from different producers that use it for Techno productions as well.

What are your tips als tricks for getting some Moog Matriarch techno synths/percussion going? Some favorite cable patching?

I really like Yanamaste/Alarico/MutualRhytm type techno

Hey, would love to hear where you struggle.

For me the main challenge is adding movement and keeping things interesting while maintaining the repetitiveness of the music