Category: General

Soundbrenner Metronome and Ableton Live Link

Since i started using the Soundbrenner Pulse and its Metronome app i’ve had serious problems connecting it to Ableton Live with Link. I read through the troubleshooting page forever. Added firewall rules everywhere. Checked the network traffic going from and to the laptop and the phone. Nothing. Almost nothing. The worst part was that somehow random suddenly the connection would work. Even more frustrating: i seemed to be the only one with these problems.

Suddenly it became obvious to me. If no one has these problems, it must be the network. Obviously the phone has to work from WiFi. My wireless network must be up to date and all should be fine, but it does work with these newfangled mesh repeaters. So my idea was: why not connect the laptop directly to the phone’s mobile hot spot and cut out the router and mesh network?

Soundbrenner Metronome App Live Link
Soundbrenner Metronome App Live Link

Suddenly everything connected flawlessly. If you ever want to use Ableton Live Link, make sure its a straight connection between devices. Any router or repeater can wreck the connection, or the reliability of the connection. Another problem finally solved.

Metapop! Check it out!

Metapop started apparently out as a site for mixers and remixers a few years ago, but got acquired by Native Instruments. Now its starting to become a home for all musicians, mixers and remixers. There is a continuous set of running competitions and a place to post your latest creations. You can either compete with a song or remix or run your own competition. The concept itself is not that new, but the execution is good. The Native Instruments sauce is quite heavy. Every competition has some kind of Native Instrument prize attached, so you’d better be using or be in the game for this stuff.

Where it gets interesting is the commenting on each other’s tracks. If you comment on someone’s track you are allowed to upload a track where you can ask for comments. Its a bit broken, because you don’t build up commenting karma. This means you have to plan your commenting carefully to the uploading of a track where you ask for comments. Strange.  There is also a set of Groups that focus on Mixing, or Mastering and such. This misses a bit of structuring inside the discussions I think, but it works for now.

As always this stands or falls with the community aboard and for now it looks like a good place to roam around. A little bit too friendly at times. A lot of comments go along the line of “This is great, I like it”. Which is not always that helpful I think. It breeds a nice atmosphere though where there’s not a lot of burning down. Criticism is appreciated I noticed, so there is also helpful commenting. There is also a few “mentors” roaming around that try to give very detailed comments on tracks.

I participated in a competition and a few discussions about tracks. All in all not bad at all. If you, like me are looking for a friendly community where you can post your music and maybe even collaborate on songs, I suggest you check it out. Maybe it can grow to another alternative to the now commercialized SoundCloud community.

SoundBrenner Pulse wearable metronome, first impressions

What people say

This product appears everywhere in timelines on social media when you’re interested in making music. I must say it immediately got my attention when I saw it. For me the appeal is that would solve the problems playing along with the computer when practicing or playing live. I don’t always have live musicians to play along with and the computer is unforgiving. Any metronome is welcome there and the SoundBrenner Metronome app is then already of great help.

But now the Pulse is there and it adds to this a haptic vibrating metronome you can feel. Now you don’t have to look at blinking lights while playing. Also, I use Ableton Live, also live, and there is even the possibility to use Ableton Link with Metronome app. If this all works together as one integrated haptic Metronome that allows me to feel the tempo while playing along with Ableton? Perfection! The ultimate gadget heaven!

Before buying I always look around for reviews and more info. One big complaint is that it is not an actual watch kind of thing. A lot of people hoped that it would also display the tempo. It doesn’t. You have to look at the screen of your phone (or tablet) to see settings and tempo. This also means that you have to keep the phone screen on. At the same time the Pulse is connected via Bluetooth. The phone is the brains, so you must at all times keep it charged and connected. A challenge, specially live.

Then there is some word going around on it not being accurate, but I think that is already fixed now through firmware updates. Another complaint is that it takes time to get used to ‘feeling’ the tempo. I guess that a lot of people send it back immediately, but I am more patient. Most new skills take time to get used to and I am quite convinced that this Pulse is a good idea. But now for first impressions.

What I say now

When you first start using the Pulse you will find that it is a bit fiddly to operate. You have to tap the watch face to start using it, but its not really touch sensitive. You have to really press it to pick up the taps. Then, straight out of the box it is set to really buzz the rhythm very strongly. And audibly also. Fortunately you can immediately go back to the app to set it to a more friendly and short vibration. In the lightest mode it really feels okay, but I play keyboards, When playing a more physical instrument, like drums, I can imagine you need the stronger buzz.

Charging it is also fiddly. It is a small kind of dock that has to properly connect to the device. After popping the Pulse in the band it gets even harder to let it connect to the charging dock, because the band pushes it from the dock and the dock can easily slip away, because its so light. People complain about the time that the device can be used on a full charge, but I don’t have enough experience now to say if it is really a problem for me.

Then its time to start practicing and linking it up with Ableton Link. That’s where all starts to get a little bit flakey for now. Ableton Link somehow goes in and out of the connection with the app. Which is ok for practicing in my case, but I don’t think this is ready for playing live. Also my phone sometimes loses connection with the Pulse after several minutes of playing. My phone is an Android phone, running Oreo and I know it can be very aggressive in killing background processes, specifically if they draw power. Probably that is not helping here, so I want to try it with another iOS device also.

One other thing to mention: its quite a big device. Maybe better suited for male wrists. There is another bigger strap in the box for your leg or your upper arm, but this device will have a hard time looking elegant on fragile ladies arms.

First conclusions now:

  • Big. Don’t expect this device to be light to operate, you really have to tap hard
  • Dive in to the settings to tune it to your preferences
  • Great for practicing, but for playing live this is a really complex setup to get and keep running

I hope this helps you appreciating the device for what it is now. I will keep using it and I’ll keep you up to date. Please note that there is also a new Soundbrenner device on Kickstarter that is actually more like watch, the Core.

How to remain creative

I know its quite pretentious to state that I would know how you can remain creative, but this is for me just a space to remind myself how I get things done. I hope this can help you in some way and inspire you to be creative. Please comment if you have your own tricks to remain creative. Maybe these will also help me.

So this is how I work:

#1 Keep a notebook at hand
I always have my phone on me and even if i am on the train or on holiday, I always have my online notebook at hand on my phone: OneNote. It can be something I hear. It can be something I think of or feel. I know I have to write it down immediately. As part of a general notes page, or as title of a new song or as a part of new lyrics for a new song. Even though I am quite sure that I would remember it again in the evening or even five minutes later, this usually turns out not to be true. So I Write It Down!

I let OneNote sync to the cloud and use the same notebook in the studio. Notes that change while on the road sync to the studio and vice versa. Eventually lyrics take their ‘final’ shape and then they are updated and saved as such. New versions get added and my OneNote pages always contain all lyrics from all songs and all lyrics and remarks that I collected while on the road.

#2 Work out of the box
Nothing is more inspiring than a real instrument. Even though it is entirely possible to write a song with a mouse and keyboard, its not my thing. Usually after practicing just playing away can easily result in new ideas. I try to record ideas immediately and with any fitting name its a joy to browse through all loose ideas and stumble upon a new song.

#3 Do not repeat
The thing that will surely kill creativity is putting some section of a new song on repeat. Even when perfecting a part of a song or a new idea I avoid putting it on repeat. After three times its time to look at another part of the song or start working on something new. All kinds of controllers, like the Ableton Push might try to make me work in a repeat loop, but I stay as far away from it as possible.

#4 Work fast, keep focus
Know your gear, don’t get stuck in finding stuff out while you need to be recording. Eventually when working on one song for a long time the dreaded hearing fatigue will kick in. Time to stop and do something different. Preferably not related to making music. Start listening again the next day at the earliest. Preferably in a different setting. Al too famous is listening in a car of course. If it sounds right there, you’re getting somewhere.

Editing VR 360 video

In the previous post showed you how i currently currently record VR 360 video. The Gear 360 does not output large video files (typically 100 MB). On the whole these files can be processed on any laptop or PC easily. The bit rate is not as extreme as the 4K output of professional camera’s. The GB files from these camera’s can bring a lower spec PC to its knees immediately. Expect this also with balls of GoPro camera’s. You shouldn’t have problems with Gear 360 video.
You can process these files with any video editing software, as long as you only use cross fades or other basic transitions. Slow motion or any speed effects will be ok. Even some special effects will apply, like vignette effects. These will blur or darken parts of the 360 video and that can work out quite ok. Coloring effects are also fine of course. One of the effects that does not apply is anti shake, because that will snip the edges of the video and thereby breaks the stitching of full 360 video. Actually technically anti shake could be done by rolling in and out parts of the video on opposing sides. I didn’t find any effect that can do that yet.
Now, titling and logos. If you want any titling you will either have to accept that it will be curved in strange ways, or you will need software that can apply the necessary curving to mix in the titling at the right viewing distance and angle. You can try to do this using Hugin. You can find instructions on how to create images that can be blended into your VR 360 video for logo’s and titling.

Hugin 360 title
Hugin 360 title

So now you’ve got mixing of different shots covered and titling and thus your basic needs. But is this enough for you? The remaining problem is that you can only see the final result after finishing editing, rendering and outputting to your VR device. This makes editing a chore. Fortunately, VR 360 is catching on and there is software that allows you to edit in a real 360 way. Even on a classic flat PC monitor.
Enter Pinnacle Systems Studio 20 Ultimate. The first affordable editing software for VR 360 movies. Now you get a 360 preview window and a way to place 2D content, like logo’s and titling, in the 360 space and preview the result immediately. This also means that you can mix in flat 2D video as part of your 360 video. You still need to be aware which effects and transitions apply in the VR world, but at least you can see the results without first rendering it and move it to the viewer. I am quite sure that more video editors will support VR 360 video. For now your starting point can be Studio 20 Ultimate, or just keep it basic and simple. The end result is worth the effort!

Working together on songs over the Internet

Regularly i try to work together on songs or remixes with other musicians. Sometimes far away and sometimes close, but without actually sitting together at the mixing desk. For me the common way for this collaboration is the use of stems.

Stems are the raw sound files of a song, track by track. Or submix by submix. Usually, with as little as effect processing as possible. Or with full effect processing if needed for specific tracks. It is also common to give the return channels as separate tracks, so the other side can mix back some effects if needed.

Stems You've Got Me
Stems You’ve Got Me

These stems can be send to a fellow musicians over the Internet. On the other side you colleague then creates a new empty project and copies all the sound files in separate tracks on his or her side. This should allow your partner in music to replay the entire track from any DAW without any need for the original components that were needed to create it. He or she then can remix the song to your liking and replace tracks with your own arranged versions of that track. Voilá, a new mix or arrangement of the same song.

Did you realize that these stems are also an excellent backup for your projects? If your PC suddenly dies, you might find that you are not able to recreate the same setup with the same plugins. Or if you get an update from hell that breaks your song setup, you’ll still have the stems to recreate the mix.

If needed you music pal cal return the stems of his or her remix of the song and you can in turn start remixing and rearranging that!

Tips:

Do not forget to also tell the other side the original recording tempo. This will help make a smooth start building a new project with the audio files.

It can help to aptly name all the sound files, otherwise the other side will waste a lot of time finding out what all tracks contain. Like “Vocals Chorus Backing” and “Base drum”.

Sharing the stems can be difficult because of the sheer size of all raw audio files. Do not fret: Dropbox or Wetransfer can do the job.

Starting the making music blog

Why start a blog about making music when there are so many blogs? When there is YouTube where you can learn anything about everything in 10 minutes? This blog is more a reminder to myself. Making music is about inventing something new for every song.

Of course I hope that you can also find something here that inspires you, or helps you when you get stuck. This blog is about working in a small home studio and performing on stage. Also probably some words about publishing your music and having fun or frustrations doing so. Enjoy!

And yes, I make music!

Live at Gebr. De Nobel Leiden
Live at Gebr. De Nobel Leiden