I really like all of AudioRealism’s plug-ins. They sound really good and have features like randomize which I covet. I gave an artist endorsement to the original ABL and I am happy to see they have updated this excellent Roland TB-303 clone. If your doing any kind of modern music the swing parameter is really import (ex. minimal techno). I recently did a post about swing you can check out here: Global Groove and Swing parameters in Ableton Live. So what else did that add? Take a look:

Since 2003 ABL has established its sound as the industry standard. In 2007 ABL2 achieves important improvements in several key areas. Amongst new features the most important thing is the sound: The bass is improved for less muddiness. The filter has been improved to incorporate subtile nonlinear effects for additional squelch. The distortion unit has been improved with less aliasing. The controls have been calibrated to better match the response of the original. Moreover several new features are present: The new pattern analyzer which can be used to edit patterns and will even detect patterns from audio files. – audiorealism.se

It’s 95 Euro, Upgrade your old one for 25 Euro. VST 2.4 for PC, Audio Units and VST for Mac OS X.

I just released a new EP on my label called Diagnosis Terminal with Miro Pajic. One of the songs “IO” has a heavy swing to it. It’s a very easy two step process to implement Swing in Ableton Live. Swing is of course popular in Jazz and is one of the main stylistic points in modern “Minimal” techno.

To hear it work let’s create a test clip. I put and instance of Impulse with a Roland TR-808 kit on a track. I double clicked an empty Clip Slot to create an empty Clip. Then in the Midi Note Editor I laid down a 4/4 kick, Snare on the 2 and 4 and a 16th note closed Hi Hat.

On the top left side of the Ableton interface, to the left of the metronome “dots” you will see a number 0. That number represents the Global Groove Control parameter. Click and drag that number upwards to about 55.

Lastly, back down to the the Clip View and under the Groove drop down menu choose “Swing 16″ which matches the 16th closed Hi Hats you have placed in your clip. Now listen to the loop with the Groove Control parameter at 0 and then at 55:

Download audio file (groove_control_0.mp3)

Download audio file (groove_control_55.mp3)

If your working with a pattern that is mostly 8th notes set the Swing to “Swing 8″. This is the classic rock swing preset you hear on vintage drum machines.

Be sure to check out the swing parameters in plug-ins like D16′s Nepheton or Audiorealism‘s ADM as they both Swing in a awesome aggressive nature. For MPC timings and unique Groove Control patterns try out Propellerhead’s Reason 4 ReGroove Mixer.

Do you like to swing?