How to make ableton sound good

-AudioSoma- · Post by **-AudioSoma-** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:41 pm

I just switched from fl studio to ableton a couple days ago. made a track overnight, ableton is extremely efficient and the tools are cool and all that jazz. but my track sounds weak! in FL studio, the only thing i ever did to my tracks was good gain structuring and an elephant on the master track. my tracks always turned out fat, good enough to go against professional tracks when mixing. i did the same thing with my track in ableton and like i said, it sounds weak. what do i need to do to my track to make it boom?

wub · Post by **wub** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:44 pm

This more likely a result of your mixdown/mastering techniques than Ableton's sound engine being inferior to FL's (or vice versa).

-AudioSoma- · Post by **-AudioSoma-** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:52 pm

Maybe, but I did the same exact thing in ableton that i did in fl studio and it sounds weaker. im not hating on ableton, its a really useful program and im glad that i switched over. i just want to know what techniques ableton users use to make their tracks sound fatter.

wub · Post by **wub** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:54 pm

When you say the exact same thing, do you mean you used identical samples/arrangement/mixer levels/mastering effects/presets on both programs?

Disco Nutter · Post by **Disco Nutter** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:56 pm

It's your mix!

-AudioSoma- · Post by **-AudioSoma-** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:01 pm

No, that was a little unclear i suppose. i used identical mixer levels and mastering effects. the samples were from a couple sample packs that i used a lot in fl studio.

here are the tracks. you can tell the difference in the first couple of seconds.

ableton track:
Soundcloud

fl studio track:
Soundcloud

wub · Post by **wub** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:03 pm

Not sure exactly what I'm listening for - have you run both tracks through a spectral analyser? See where the various elements are hitting and compare that way.

-AudioSoma- · Post by **-AudioSoma-** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:14 pm

Where can I get a spectral analyzer? I will admit that i am ignorant of its function

And you can hear the difference in the thickness of the drums and bass and really just everything.

wub · Post by **wub** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:18 pm

Voxengo Span is an excellent free one - http://www.voxengo.com/product/span/

Disco Nutter · Post by **Disco Nutter** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:42 pm

-AudioSoma- wrote:And you can hear the difference in the thickness of the drums and bass and really just everything.

Well, you've chosen different sounds that have different characteristics, it's normal.

Try bringing in the sounds from the other tune and you'll see that it will sound the same.

+1 for Span, it's really good.

RandoRando · Post by **RandoRando** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:56 pm

ableton also has "spectrum" in audio effects which is a really good one too, along with SPAN. But it was different for me, i just switched from FL too and my tracks sound alot better through ableton. Not that theres any different thing with the audio engine, but the workflow in ableton got my mixing efficiency better. So its your mix bro! make sure you pull the bar up above the mixer faders in ableton to get the little numbers that show where your tracks are peaking at.

-AudioSoma- · Post by **-AudioSoma-** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:27 pm

Well, I'm gonna stop being lazy and figure this out. Cheers!

venuq · Post by **venuq** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:45 pm

If you don't 'Dither' when you export your track, and then open the file up in something like Waveburner and bounce from there I think it can give better results.

spotofthedead · Post by **spotofthedead** » Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:16 am

I just switched from FL to Ableton and the learning curve is steep!!! However my mixes sound actually louder in Ableton, even With a dry master channel! Are you sure that Fruity Limiter isn't what is making your tunes so big sounding in FL?

RandoRando · Post by **RandoRando** » Tue Dec 27, 2011 11:10 am

spotofthedead wrote:I just switched from FL to Ableton and the learning curve is steep!!! However my mixes sound actually louder in Ableton, even With a dry master channel! Are you sure that Fruity Limiter isn't what is making your tunes so big sounding in FL?

I recently just switched to ableton from FL too! lol . i already pretty much got it down. i got ableton about 6 days ago, and i already have a apc40 now

-AudioSoma- · Post by **-AudioSoma-** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:05 pm

I never used the fruity limiter. All mixdown.

Ive been fucking w/ EQs and stuff on ableton and i think i got it down pretty good.

Soundcloud

what do you guys think?

Earjax · Post by **Earjax** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:11 pm

venuq wrote:If you don't 'Dither' when you export your track, and then open the file up in something like Waveburner and bounce from there I think it can give better results.

Not really true, however a lot of people choose to master in waveburner because its really easy to burn copies of cd's off of and its generally more geared towards that sorta thing. In my experience though mastering in my daw, logic, gives the exact same results

naroja · Post by **naroja** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 10:04 pm

-AudioSoma- wrote:I never used the fruity limiter. All mixdown.

Ive been fucking w/ EQs and stuff on ableton and i think i got it down pretty good.

Soundcloud

what do you guys think?

Sounds Great Man!!!

Yeah, FL & Ableton are two different animals, funny thing is I actually thought my stuff sounded flat in FL, I think it's all a matter of getting accustomed to the various tools & techniques in each app to achieve the same result. It all takes time, but it sounds like you really figured it out! Good job man!

Undrig · Post by **Undrig** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 3:09 pm

The only less than stellar aspect of ableton is the timestretch algo imo. Even Traktor has a better one. I simply use the repitch function most of the time (esp with breaks) since it speeds and down the pitch naturally with the tempo.

naroja · Post by **naroja** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 6:34 pm

Undrig wrote:The only less than stellar aspect of ableton is the timestretch algo imo. Even Traktor has a better one. I simply use the repitch function most of the time (esp with breaks) since it speeds and down the pitch naturally with the tempo.

Really?? I always thought this was the reason people would sometimes switch to Ableton Live

The Transient / Complex Pro algorithms are great for distorting / changing effects & creating lots of really nice organic complex sounds

Probably not as good for DJing though....

How to make ableton sound good

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