Free Novation Bass Station II Instruments

A few months back, I reviewed the Novation Bass Station II for Keyboard Magazine. As modern analog synths go, the BSII packs a lot of analog power into a small footprint. So while I had it in my studio, I couldn't resist snagging a few samples of it to share with everyone.

For those who aren't up to speed on the Bass Station II, it's a dual-oscillator analog monosynth with a sub-oscillator and tons of nifty filtering modes, along with a nasty little distortion. As the name implies, it excels at bass, so that's the focus of this new pack.

Free Moog Sub Phatty Ableton Instruments

Moog's Sub Phatty (the basis for their new Sub 37, incidentally) takes their Phatty engine and adds a sub-oscillator and new "Multidrive" circuits that are capable of some really in-your-face sounds.

Since I've been using it for close to a year, I figured it was time for another round of Moog-based Simpler patches. Because the Multidrive is so unique and the extra sub-oscillator adds textural complexity, I focused on those for this pack.

Free Prophet 12 Ableton Instruments

Dave Smith's Prophet 12 is one of the most buzzworthy keyboards of 2013. It's arguably the deepest analog-hybrid polysynth ever released - and since all of my previous packs have used single note samples, I decided to create a pack entirely from chord stabs.

Because chord stabs are all the rage with the kids these days.

I'm also breaking with tradition and including twelve presets instead of the usual six. See what I did there?

Free Korg MS-20 Ableton Instruments

Korg's MS-20 Mini has quickly become one of the biggest synths of 2013. Maybe even THE biggest synth of 2013.

With its full-figured filters and a semi-modular approach to sound design, the MS-20 has a sound that's so beefy and unique that it's earned a very special place in my studio.

Having tinkered with it for the better part of the summer, I figured it was time for another six-pack of Simpler patches. Since the MS-20's filters are so distinctive, I focused on their sound as the basis for these presets.

The MS-20 instruments in the file are as follows:

Ring Fizz - Combining the MS20's ring mod (using a major third interval) with super-resonant filters resulted in this nasty patch. Check out the freaky aliasing in the top octaves.

Reso Square - I tuned the filters to match the square wave oscillators, which added a light quiver to the overall tone.

Res Saw Interval - Interval tuning on a pair of sawtooth oscillators, again with the resonance cranked for additional harmonic emphasis.

Noise Square - Using the MS20's patch bay, I modulated the filter cutoff with some white noise. Dirty.

Filter Frenzy - With the filter resonance adding some "ghost" tones, I dropped one of the oscillators by an octave to increase the low-end content. For some serious boom, lower the cutoff frequency on this Simpler patch.f

Detuned Pulse - A pair of pulse waves detuned with the lowpass open and the highpass subtly boosting the lows.

As usual, the instruments are in default mode, with filtering, LFOs and envelopes off, so you can use them as starting points for your own sounds.

With all of the modulation and detuning going on, looping was a challenge, so I took longer samples to capture the character a bit more accurately

Here's the Ableton Live file containing the presets.

Download:

Francis Prève - MS-20 Mini Simpler Sixpack

(compatible with Ableton Live 9.7 and higher)

Note 1: If you like any of these sounds and want to keep them for future tracks, just click the little save button in the upper right corner of the Simpler and add it to your library (it will copy the waves too).

Note 2: If you don't use Ableton and just want the C3 samples, you can download the file and fish the waves out of the "Samples" folder, then use them in your DAW or sampler of choice.

Free Mopho X4 Ableton Instruments

Dave Smith's Mopho X4 made my Beatport News 2012 Top 10 Tech Tools list for good reason. It can sound sweet-as-pie or downright nasty, depending on how you program it.

Since my previous downloads have been a tad on the smooth side, I decided to explore the grungy, filthy aspects of the X4 - resulting in seven Simpler instruments that really show what it can do.

The Mopho X4 instruments in the file are as follows:

Ultra Moopher - Based on one of the factory presets, this one's great for fat chords and leads.

SizzleSquare - Starting with a pair of square wave oscillators, I cranked the resonance on this patch, giving it a lot of fizzzzzz.

Uberswell - I used a really long filter attack and a ton of filter feedback to get this evolving texture.

Dirty Fiver - One oscillator is set to square, the other's set to a sawtooth, then detuned a fifth apart. There's a little bit of sub-oscillator and a touch of filter feedback too.

Vanilla - Here's a pair of detuned saws. Good for pads and progressive stuff.

Bassification - Slightly detuned oscillators with the Curtis filter cutoff lowered for warmth. Useful for subby breakdown drones.

Dabuzz - Another dirty patch with a bit of white noise thrown in for fun.

As with the all of the other Simpler packages on this blog, I left the devices in their default mode, with filtering, LFOs and envelopes off, so you can use them as starting points for your own sounds.

Like the SH-101, there's some quick-n-dirty looping on these patches. Nothing fancy, as I was more focused on creating long waves, so you can turn the loop off  and use the samples in their pure state. 

Here's the Ableton Live file containing the presets.

Download:

Francis Prève - Mopho X4 Simpler Pack

(compatible with Ableton Live 8.1.5 and higher)

Note 1: If you like any of these sounds and want to keep them for future tracks, just click the little save button in the upper right corner of the Simpler and add it to your library (it will copy the waves too).

Note 2: If you don't use Ableton and just want the C3 samples, you can download the file and fish the waves out of the "Samples" folder, then use them in your DAW or sampler of choice.

Cheers!

Free Roland SH-101 Ableton Instruments

After the success of last month's "What Synth Should I Sample?" poll, I decided to do it again for the 12k milestone on my Facebook page.

This time, you wanted me to sample my beloved vintage Roland SH-101.

There's a ton of web info on this historic synth, so you can read about it here and here.

The Simpler instruments in the file are as follows:

SH101 Saw - Basic single oscillator SH-101 sawtooth.

SH101 Square - Basic single oscillator SH-101 square wave.

SH101 PWM - One of the truly classic SH-101 sounds lies in the character of its pulse width modulation.

SH101 Saw+Sub - Another signature sound from the 101 comes from its sub-oscillator. Here, I blended it with a sawtooth waveform.

SH101 ResSweep - The SH-101 shipped around the same time as the legendary TB-303 - and many producers have used the 101 in similar ways. The resonance on this synth is exceptional, so here's a taste.

SH101 Resonant - This is another example of the SH-101's resonance, generating a whistling tone over a square/pulse wave.

SH101 Noise - Lots of 80s tracks used the SH101's midrange-heavy noise generator for synth drums, so I included a sample of it here.

SH101 Bass - Gotta have some bass too, right?

As with the all of the other Simpler packages on this blog, I left the devices in their default state, with filtering, LFOs and envelopes off, so you can use them as starting points for your own sounds.

That said, I did some quick-n-dirty looping on these patches, which was tricky due to the nature of Simpler and the slight inconsistencies of analog-derived waves. Fortunately, the samples are long enough that many users will be able to switch it off if they choose. 

(For those who create cleaner loops for these presets, please send them my way and I'll update the package accordingly.)

Here's the Ableton Live file containing the presets.

Download:

Francis Preve - SH-101 8-pack 

(compatible with Ableton Live 9.7 and higher)

Note 1: If you like any of these sounds and want to keep them for future tracks, just click the little save button in the upper right corner of the Simpler and add it to your library (it will copy the waves too).

Note 2: If you don't use Ableton and just want the C3 samples, you can download the file and fish the waves out of the "Samples" folder, then use them in your DAW or sampler of choice.

Cheers!

Free Prophet 08 Ableton Instruments

To celebrate hitting 10,000 fans on my Facebook page a couple of weeks back, I took a poll to see what synth in my studio you wanted me to sample next.

The overwhelming response was my beloved Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 08.

So… Here ya go! :)

The Simpler instruments in the file are as follows:

P8 Saw - Basic single oscillator Prophet sawtooth.

P8 Square - Basic single oscillator Prophet square wave.

P8 Pulse - Basic single oscillator Prophet pulse/rectangle wave.

P8 2x Fifths - Two octaves of fifth intervals. Super thick and Mau5-ish.

P8 Big Octaves - Four octaves of a basic dual-oscillator patch. "Undertaker" and "Ghosts-n-Stuff" fans are gonna love this one.

P8 Detuned Saws - One of the hallmark sounds of ALL Prophets.

P8 Deep Drone - Big, throbbing detuned bass drone.

P8 Sync Sweep - Long slow hard sync sweep with tight short loop at the end. If you want to have a lot of fun with this patch, start by adjusting the sample start point. You'll see ;)

P8 Res Sweep - Resonant sweep with a touch of white noise and a tight loop at the end. As with the Sync Sweep patch, try tinkering with the start point.

As with the Minitaur and Doepferheim packs, these Simplers in their default state, with filtering, LFOs and envelopes off, so you can use them as starting points for your own sounds.

I did handle the looping tasks myself, because several friends commented that it's rather tough to get them right if you're inexperienced with the process.

Here's a fun aside: The "Marina" lead sound is in this collection, but it requires some additional programming. See if you can find it.

Here's the Ableton Live file containing the presets.

Download:
Francis Preve - Prophet 08 6-pack 
(compatible with Ableton Live 9.7 and higher)

Note 1: If you like any of these sounds and want to keep them for future tracks, just click the little save button in the upper right corner of the Simpler and add it to your library (it will copy the waves too).

Note 2: If you don't use Ableton and just want the C3 samples, you can download the file and fish the waves out of the "Samples" folder, then use them in your DAW or sampler of choice.

Much love, kids.

Free Oberheim/Doepfer Ableton Instruments

Fans and friends of mine know that my studio consists of a ton of analog gear, arranged in a semi-modular configuration - and I'm constantly experimenting...

One of the cornerstones of this rig is a baby modular, created by pairing a Doepfer Dark Energy Mk 1 and an Oberheim SEM CV-edition.

You can find all of the tech specs in this article I did for Keyboard Magazine last year.

A lot of people have asked what this beastie sounds like, so I decided to whip up a new Ableton six-pack that showcases some of the sounds it can generate.

Free Moog Minitaur Ableton Instruments

The Moog Minitaur is one of the most buzzworthy hardware synths of the year.

It's an all-analog bass synth, with a knob for every function, that costs around $600 (US).

To honor the release of this synth - and commemorate hitting 3000 Facebook likes for my Official page  - I whipped up a four-pack of Ableton Simplers that demonstrate how amazing this synth sounds.

And yep, they're free and you can use them in your tracks - royalty-free.

Free Ableton Instrument: Sharkjumper

Wubwubwubwubwubwubwub. Urp.

I swore I'd never make a straight-up dubstep bass patch, but since that train shows no sign of stopping this year, it's time for me to jump the shark.

Of course, I couldn't resist calling attention to that fact, so the preset is named... Well, you KNOW what it's named.

Free Ableton Instrument: One Trick Pwnage

Alrighty then!

I promised I'd release a preset once my new "Official" Facebook page hit 500 friends, so here ya go.

Some of you may recall the nifty video for Swedish House Mafia's hit with Pharrell Williams, "One". In the video, the intro (0:10-0:35) apparently used one of Teenage Engineering's white hot OP-1 synths to morph a kick drum into the lead riff.



Well, as cool as the OP-1 is, you can also do this trick rather easily with Ableton Live, so I created an Instrument Rack based on one of the free kicks from Matt Lange's isoRhythm packs (Thanks, Matt).

There are three macros that duplicate the programming and effects used in the intro part for "One" - Loop Rate for the kick sample, Reverb amount and a touch of Flanging at the end before the riff begins.

To make everything crystal clear, I created a passage in Live's arrange window that uses automation to duplicate the process SHM used in their track (but of course with a different riff, so no one gets annoyed with me).

Here's the Ableton Live file containing the preset. If you dig, just click the save button and add it to your library.

Download:
Francis Preve - One Trick Pwnage ( compatible with Ableton Live 8.1.5 and higher)

The next preset comes when my Facebook page hits 1,500 - so get clicking :)

Ableton Preset: Mattel Synsonics

In the pantheon of vintage analog drum machines, there's an unsung classic that isn't from a big name manufacturer like Roland or Korg, but from a toy company. Released in 1981, the Mattel Synsonics was an affordable black box that housed a fully analog kit consisting of kick, two toms, snare, cymbal and hi-hat - all playable via velocity sensitive pads.

Of course, since it was a "toy", few artists took it very seriously - with one notable exception: Kraftwerk.

Ableton Preset: Sine Of The Times

Ah, the sine wave...

For years, I have referred to this wonderful little waveform as "the atom of sound". Without the sine wave, no other waveform could exist, since every complex or single-cycle wave is comprised entirely of sine waves - whether they are harmonically related or a cacophony of chaotic tones.

So, as an exercise, I created this month's preset - Sine Of The Times - out of two single sine waves an octave apart, just to see if I could make it do as many tricks as possible via clever macro assignments.

The result exceeded my expectations and hopefully yours too.

To prove this, the Sine Of The Times Live set is comprised of four sequences that all use the same patch as their starting point.

Track 1 is a hip-hop style jeep bass that consists of a single low sine wave. Classic. Timeless.

Track 2 is a soprano/choir patch that's reminiscent of the lead from Real Life's "Send Me An Angel" (or if you prefer, the original Star Trek theme).

Track 3 is a plucky sequence with a touch of pitch bend in each note's attack.

Track 4 is a fairly accurate recreation of the legendary Roland TR-808 tom/conga that can be further modified via the macros.

All from the same pair of sine waves, with a touch of chorus and reverb.

TECH NOTES

- I'm posting the patch within a Live Set, as opposed to a Live Pack or single preset, so you can hear the patch with example clips and twist the macro knobs to see what's what. If you like it, then hit the preset save button on the macro and add it to your Library.
- The patch will run on Ableton Live 7.0.18 or higher.
- What you see/hear is what you get. I tested it on a couple of systems and the Zip file works as expected.

Download Sine Of The Times

Ableton Preset: Wavescraper

A few weeks back, I got a request to post a tutorial and/or tips piece on Saturator. Since there's already a lot of coverage for Ableton's nifty digital distortion device, I decided to go one better and create a preset that utilizes a more exotic attribute of Saturator: Waveshaping.

An interesting detail about waveshaping is that it works best on audio with very little harmonic content, like sine or triangle waves - or strongly lowpass filtered source material.

A few years back, I did an Instrument Rack for Live 6 that used this technique as a synthesis tool. Of course, that was ages ago and I've refined the technique a bit more, so I decided to revisit the production methods and whip up a new patch: Wavescraper.

Less Cowbell Operator Patch

Back in 2009, I released a track on Different Pieces/Armada called Less Cowbell

Earlier this month, I rebooted the track with updated drums and used it in my May podcast. [Update: I've since posted the full reboot as a free download.]

The core sound in Less Cowbell is based on an custom Ableton Live Operator patch that deconstructs the original TR-808 analog cowbell sound.

To commemorate the original release in 2009, Peter Kirn's Create Digital Music blog posted a piece on the making of the track - along with a downloadable version of the Operator patch - so producers could see how it was done and tinker with the sound itself.

I was going to post a link to the original article here, but I've since made a few revisions to the info and download, so I'm posting a new Live Set that includes the patch - and a sequence to get you started with the macros.

The set is compatible with Live 7.0.18 or higher - and requires Operator (but it will still work in demo mode, even if you don't own this little wündersynth).

Ableton Preset: Tuvanism

One of this season's trends in EDM tracks is a focus on voice-like synth sounds. Pleasurekraft's 2010 hit "Tarantula" is one of the main influences for this synthesis technique.

Whenever a new sound hits the clubland zeitgeist, I'll find myself spending spare time analyzing the timbres and textures and reverse-engineering the techniques for future reference. For this particular trend, I've found myself experimenting with vocoders and formant filters.

What's a formant filter?

Ableton Preset: Gillette

This month's preset is an homage to my favorite new softsynth, NI's RAZOR.

Yeah, yeah, I've been going on about RAZOR incessantly since it came out, but savvy readers know that I just don't gush unless a synth is incredible - and RAZOR is truly incredible.

So I got to thinking... How do I capture some of that magic in an Ableton preset that's compatible with Live, without using Operator as its core?

The result is a simple additive instrument called "Gillette".

For starters, I created four single-cycle waves: fundamental (1st harmonic), odd harmonics, even harmonics, and prime-numbered harmonics. Then I placed each in its own Simpler and placed those Simplers inside an Instrument Rack.

From there, I added the following macros:

Super Secret Roland Project

A lot of people have been asking about the top secret programming gig I recently did for Roland.

Here's a hint ;)

New Ableton Preset: Arkade

Taking the occasional break from launch activities, I've been fiddling around with this preset for a couple of weeks and I think it's ready to release into the wild.

Arkade is designed to emulate 8-bit video game sounds, with a few effects like bitcrushing and highpass filtering thrown in for good measure.

MACRO PARAMETERS

Rate: Adjusts tempo-synced arpeggiation rate
Length: Adjusts duration of arpeggiated notes
Range: Determines maximum upward range of arpeggiation
Step Size: Varies the step size from 0 steps (only held notes are apeggiated) to one octave (classic octave jumping arpeggiation)
Octave 1: Introduces an additional square wave, one octave higher.
Octave 2: Introduces an additional square wave, two octaves higher.
Bitcrush: Bitcrushing amount
HiPass: Highpass cutoff frequency

Notes and download link after the jump...

Want another Ableton preset?

So, instead of watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, I spent some time in the studio with Academik artist, badass DJ, and all-around Zen good guy, Shreddward.

We were reminiscing about those silky electronic strings from countless 70s and 80s tracks. Like the lead in Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" or (when accompanied by a phaser) those riffs and pads in all of Duran Duran's early hits.

Interestingly, one of the synths that excelled at this particular sound was the ARP Quadra I blogged about yesterday.

So, while I was showing Shredd how the sound was done, I realized I'd whipped up another patch for this blog.

For usability, I added a few macros (including a phaser for that authentic Nick Rhodes goodness) and uploaded it to my server.

Notes and download link after the jump...