Part 1: An In-Depth Look at a Live Electronic Music Rig – Hardware + Ableton Live
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This past weekend, I rewired and rearranged my home studio. I disassembled what I call The Stack – a two-tiered array of machines arranged to be playable like an instrument. Seeing as I don’t play live machines much anymore, I decided to optimize my setup for traditional studio sessions.
I will post about the new setup in the coming weeks, but first here is a detailed breakdown of a multi-instrument live electronic music rig.
It Starts with the Pieces
MacBook Pro (Discontinued) running Ableton Live 10 Suite– Ableton’s strength is its flexibility, but that flexibility does not serve the novice. It’s easy to become intimidated by or completely lose oneself in the endless possibilities afforded by this incredible software. The key to using this software successfully is to define precisely what you want it to do for you – nothing more. I use it as a mixer, MIDI/audio clip launcher, and insert/return effects processor. I also use a 4-port USB hub for my hardware devices. (See MacBook Air for a current laptop option.
Akai APC40 mkII (Discontinued) – This is my physical “mixer” as well as my main controller for virtual devices. Developed specifically to run an Ableton session, this piece is all about the immediacy of a live situation. It drops your session view into your lap for a tactile experience – which is important for playing live.
Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 (Discontuned) – This is my audio interface. It’s relatively inexpensive, small, and provides almost all the ins and outs I need to run everything. I had to make one compromise; my electribe runs in mono. Still, it gets everything in and out – including MIDI, which is important. Linked above is the mkII version, as mine pictured is discontinued. See Komplete Audio 6 Mk II for a currently available model.
Roland TR-8 (Discontinued) – Probably my favorite instrument in the studio, the TR-8 is the backbone of all my live sets. I would challenge anyone to show me a more intuitive, immediate, classic-sounding drum machine. This piece brings the sound of the classic TR-808 and TR-909 to the table – and it does so with astounding accuracy. See TR-8’s successor, the TR-8S, for a currently available model.
Korg Electribe EMX-2 – My very first electronic instrument. The Electribe is what I learned all of this house and techno nonsense on in the first place. It’s a versatile groovebox that can be a drum machine or a synthesizer, but I mainly use it for auxiliary percussion – shakers, cowbells, various hand drums… it works like a charm in that department. I also use it for white noise and the occasional synth sequence. The new version is blue — I have the original gray.
Novation Bass Station 2 – If TR-8 is my favorite instrument in the studio, this guy is a very close second. It is a digitally controlled analog monosynth that absolutely kills on bass detail. As it should. While the sequencer is garbage, the arpeggiator is phenomenal. I use it for bass lines and arps.
Akai MPK Mini (Discontinued) – This device is specifically tied to my synth channel. It controls any soft-synth I load onto that channel. The small footprint is a gigantic plus, as real estate on my table (a slab of wood that was once the side of an home entertainment center) is limited. See MPK Mini Mk III for a much better, current model.
Akai LPD8 (Discontinued) – This is a handy set of auxiliary controls that I tie to specific virtual devices in my Ableton session. The pads work as on/off switches, with the lights serving as on/off indicators. You can read how to configure an LPD8 in such a fashion in a previous post – it’s easy to do, but not so simple to figure out. (See LPD8 MK II for an updated, current model.
Putting it together
I have a slab of wood that I place on an keyboard stand. I bolted a DJ laptop stand to one side, and I added a second tier to the stand. The laptop and the APC go on their respective stands. Everything else is arranged on the wood plank.
The following diagram shows how all the pieces are connected:
It’s really pretty simple. The laptop is the brain – it’s connected to the USB hub and the APC. The Audio 6 is the nexus. It receives all the audio from all the hardware instruments and sends it to the laptop via USB. It also sends the MIDI clock signal to the TR-8, which is then transmitted to the Electribe by changing the TR-8’s MIDI Out to MIDI Thru – it’s a really neat trick TR-8 does that comes in clutch in many situations. The Bass Station, MPK, and LPD are connected directly to the computer via USB.
Configuring the Live Session
Wiring a live electronic music system relatively easy. The hard part is configuring the software to work with your setup. I mentioned earlier that the key to running Ableton sessions successfully is to clearly define how you want to use the software and what you need it to do.
For my live setup, I run eight active channels, three auxiliary channels, and three return channels.
Channels 1-3 are set in monitor mode and receive audio from TR-8, Electribe, and Bass Station, respectively. Channel 4 is my Synth channel – where I load the soft-synths I plan on using in the session. Channels 5-8 are for loops and one-shots. I have them separated into Percussion loops, Synth loops, Vocals, and one-shots.
The remaining three channels are passive – I don’t actively adjust them during a set. Channel 9 is the Ghost Kick. It is always muted and always running a four-on-the-floor kick sequence to key the compressor I have running on channel 10. Because I run TR-8 in stereo on channel 1, I cannot isolate the kick drum. But since 95% of the music I make uses the same kick sequence, it makes sense to have a ghost kick running in the background. There is also the added bonus of retaining the pump effect when I pull the kick should I so choose. Finally, channel 11 serves to record my set.
Conclusion
There is more to my live configuration within Ableton – my buffer settings, MIDI clock delays, effects chains, controller assignments and internal signal routing — but all of that can fill another post or two. Stay tuned for the run-down on all of that mess – and for free downloads of my live set template, as well as all of my effects chains.
Finally, here’s a video of a live improvisation on The Stack from a few months ago:
Until next week!
-AudioMunk
Do you have any questions pertaining to setting up a live electronic music rig? Or perhaps you have a live configuration you’d like to share? Leave a comment below or drop me a line on my contact page – I’d love to feature it on Instagram and post it on this very site about it!
