sEEDs an Album by Tchu

Nice work mate :clap:

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A big thanks from Montreal @ringokidf! :heart::pray:

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Thanks a lot @natehorn! :heart::pray:

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Great! Missed this and sTONEs… that’s my two hour round trip sorted this evening to pick one of the kids up from a party. :black_heart:

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Nice, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts about those! I hope this will bring you a good time as your week was, as you said, shitty. :heart:

Thank you so much for your support @brucegill! :pray:

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I have a hybrid setup. I compose and perform exclusively on Hardware but record in Ableton using Overbridge. All my Machines are synced with 5-pin MIDI cables. Digitakt is the Master giving Clock, Transport and Program Change to the others via a Kenton MIDI Thru.

I use OB (with the No Sync option) but I don’t record the individual Tracks. For each Machine used in a Song, I record its Stereo outputs (or Mono for Mono Synths) on a single Master Track in Ableton. I also use the inputs of my OB Elektrons for my other Synths/Machines to assure a tight sync between everything.

Now, the process. To my knowledge, I try to make the best mix possible of the Sounds in the Machine itself. I use an EQ plugin (mostly using LP or HP Filters) on each Track of the Song in Ableton to cut unnecessary frequencies. For Sounds in the Lows, I cut everything at a minimum 30 Hz to 60 Hz. For the other Sounds (Mid, Hi), I cut at 75 to 150 Hz minimum. I also cut high frequencies on bass Sounds. The minimal stuff. When the Song is performed Live and recorded on a single Stereo Track, I finish it with a slight touch of Ozone Elements (mostly to increase the Loudness of the Song). I’m no Expert in the mixing/mastering department, it’s not perfect but if it sounds good to my ears (I use them a lot), then, it’s good enough for me. I don’t let the Technique overshadowed the initial idea/feel of the moment.

The two Hardware devices that are a big part of my overall Sound are the Elektron Heat and OTO Boum (mainly on Master Bus).

I don’t know if it covers everything you wanted to know but if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate.

Edit : In general, it goes : compose a Pattern with a minimal mixing, warm it up with Heat and Boum, adjust mixing, hit record, jam, listen back, if it’s good, keep it, if not, rehearse and practice then hit record again…

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Excellent as the previous one.
Love the feel and the theme nature oriented make me see images in my head while listening your tracks.
Very good job thanks for the release. :100:

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For the record, I’m still listening to this everyday since its release, it’s brilliant! :clap: :clap: :clap:

What plugin do you use?

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The stock plugin EQ Eight.

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Again, thank you for the feedback and the kind words. I’m really flattered to be a part of the Soundtrack of your life.

Out of curiosity, which Album : sEEDs or sTONEs?

Thanks a lot, very insightful!

Still left me a bit confused about the live and recording parts:

  • Are you performing your tracks from start to finish in one take? Are you using song mode/arranger?
  • Are you composing everything on one machine like “Run Forest Run” on AF only? If not, are you recording several instruments via OB at the same time? Thought that’s not possible.
    OR
  • Are you playing the track live on several machines, but only record one at a time and then combine the recorded one stereo master tracks per machine, although they were technically not played live at the same time?
  • Are you using Ableton clips for arranging or are you only applying EQ etc. to live tracks as performed on your machines?
  • Are you adding effects via Ableton? Read your list of (reverb) pedals in another thread, so I assume you added them via insert later on?

Thanks a lot! I never finish stuff because I would like to record it played live on all machines in one track without song mode/arranger, but then mess up performing too often and get frustrated. So I was thinking about recording parts and arranging in Ableton, but am afraid that it loses its live character and I spend more time on the laptop than I want to. So I am always interested how others record and finish their live synth stuff.

Thank you very much @blaize! :heart::pray:

Oh nice! Visuals as a bonus.

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sEEDs, I haven’t even touched sTONEs yet. I’ll check that one out too soon! :slight_smile:

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Yes.

Not yet but I will try it very soon to see if it brings something interesting.

It depends. Sometimes it’s one Machine only, other times, several ones. The way I have it setup, I can bring any device in the mix. Everything is saved on the Elektron Machines (patches of Synths and pedals, fills, sequences, etc.). Sometimes, the Track comes from a couch session with a single Instrument, other times, it’s a combination of 4-5 different Instruments.

I record my Live Performance, that means that I record everything at the same time on one Stereo Track in Ableton but every Instrument has its own Audio Track (with minimal plugins). So, Ableton only serves as a kind of enhanced recorder. I could record every Track in Ableton and do some Edits but I find this time consuming and kind of boring.

No.

Yes.

No. I have a dedicated Audio Interface for my pedals so that anything can be routed to anything. I also have dedicated pedals for specific Instruments. As an example, the Ventris and Nemesis are on the Cue Out of the OT, the Space and TimeFactor are exclusively for the Hydrasynth.

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Dude, sTONEs is equally amazing, tremendous work you’ve got here!

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Thank you @theartistisirrelevant! I sincerely appreciate that you take the time to comment. :heart::pray:

This is so good, really inspiring. Thanks a lot for sharing!

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Thank you very much @Jayko! If it can sparks something… :pray: :brown_heart:

Bandcamp Friday bump!

Love this album. Rich and full of ambiances — rewarding of careful listening, but with a beat you can put in the background and just be mildly distracted by if you want. A fantastic bookend to sTONEs (which everyone should also get)!

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Thank you so much for the support Joshua, I really appreciate it! :heart::pray:

Wo, I didn’t expect this. I love your description and your kind words, thanks for the push and the motivation you’re giving me!

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