Handle Loop Cross-Overs With Delay

2007 October 15
by Kent Sandvik

live_alternate_delay.pngThis is another trick how to handle loop cross-overs in Ableton Live. What typically happens with pad-like loops is that when the loop starts again, you could hear the transition from the end to the beginning. And Ableton Live, still in version 7.0, does not have cross-over handling.

One technique I’ve used from time to time is to insert a ping-pong delay at the end of such pad loops. Jut when the loop ends, I will increase the wet level with automation. Thus, when the pad ends, you get this filler that feeds into the next round.

You could experiment with reverb as well to get such a fill effect to avoid hearing the obvious loop cross-over points.

Another nice thing with such a delay or reverb is that it sounds very psychedelic, like mind-expanding, here and there! Anyway, this is another reason I prefer mouse-based automation loops, instead of using a controller, you could be far more exact with such settings, not that using a controller will make the production sound somewhat more human.

3 Responses leave one →
  1. May 21, 2008

    hey man

    thanks for the trick, i often asked myself how to handle this problem
    and i agree, mouse-based automation rules ;)

  2. June 13, 2008

    Ableton should still fix the issue of cross-over point mixing. It’s something other audio products have under control.

  3. October 30, 2009

    Clever! What about combining this effect with the sound you get when automating in the same sequence: a send to a stereo delay-equipped aux track with the resonators plugin on it!

    worth a shot!

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