In this Ableton Live tutorial (part 3 of the drum loop series) we take a look at using Ableton’s Beat Repeat effect to create glitchy sounds from a random audio loop.
The tutorial starts by explaining how to use the slice to midi function in order to split up an audio loop into slices and then spreads them out across the pads of a drum rack. This allows for individual control over each slice and some interesting possibilities also arise when using the various slice presets that come with Ableton. In this tutorial we stick with a basic preset and use this to roll off the attack portion of each new slice, creating a stuttered feel to the loop. An EQ8 follows the drum rack is used to cut the low end ‘muddy’ frequencies from the loop.
Any loop with stuttered feel is excellent fodder for Ableton’s Beat Repeat effect. Try altering the pitch decay, volume decay and filter settings for interesting repeats. To make the repeats less predictable turn down the chance setting and try introducing some random repeat sizes by turning up the variation control. For glitch effects the gate setting on Beat Repeat works well. This cuts out all of the dry signal and only plays back the repeated sound.
To take the glitch idea one step further the output of the Beat Repeat track can be recorded into a new audio track. This freshly recorded file can then be dragged onto the arrange page for further editing to make sure it fits nicely with the groove of the drum loop. Consolidating theses final edits into a one bar loops makes it easy to drag them around the arrangement as the track progresses.
This Ableton tutorial makes use of the Sample Auditioner Rack. You can watch how to make one of these here.
