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Tutorial 022 / Ableton Live

Build Apricot Pulse

Apricot Pulse is a synth keyboard sound made with Analog, Chorus-Ensemble, Reverb and Utility.

5 stepsAnalogLive 12 Suite

Listen to the finished sound

Download WEBM ↓

Follow the synthesis steps in order. Use the audio examples and device settings alongside the instructions.

Step 01 / 5

Build the first oscillator and amplitude contour

Choose oscillator 1’s waveform and tuning, then set its level and amplifier envelope. The waveform supplies the harmonic material; the amplifier attack, decay, sustain and release shape its loudness over a note. AEG1 means the amplifier 1 envelope; FEG1 means the filter 1 envelope.

Use Analog with the complete starting settings. Set the source and amplitude controls below; sections marked Off stay bypassed at this stage.

Signal flow: Analog → Chorus-Ensemble → Reverb → Utility. Begin with the instrument, then add each effect in its numbered step.

Control Value
Voices 8
Volume -7.0 dB
OSC1 Shape Rect
OSC1 PW 32 %
OSC1 Level -7.0 dB
OSC1 Balance F1
AMP1 On/Off On
AMP1 Level -6.0 dB
AMP2 On/Off Off
AEG1 Attack 5 ms
AEG1 Decay 1.40 s
AEG1 Sustain 0.15
AEG1 Rel 420 ms
AEG1 < Vel 2.00
Unison On/Off Off
Press Dest A Filter 1 Cutoff
Press Amt A 10 %
OSC2 On/Off Off
Noise On/Off Off
F1 On/Off Off
F2 On/Off Off
Apricot Pulse — Analog — step 1
Apricot Pulse — Analog — step 1 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 1 — WebM/Opus

Next: Blend the oscillators and shape the filters →

Step 02 / 5

Blend the oscillators and shape the filters

Bring in the second oscillator at the listed tuning and level. Enable the filter sections shown below, then set cutoff, resonance and filter-envelope depth. The envelope moves the harmonic ceiling during each note; key tracking changes that ceiling across the keyboard.

Keep the first stage’s source and amplitude settings while making these changes. The complete instrument settings show the resulting tone before effects.

Analog’s F1 Freq and F2 Freq values are in hertz.

Control Value
OSC2 On/Off On
OSC2 Shape Sine
OSC2 Octave 1
OSC2 Level -22 dB
OSC2 Balance F1
Noise On/Off Off
F1 On/Off On
F1 Type Low-pass 24dB/oct
F1 Freq 950
F1 Resonance 16 %
F1 Freq < Env 2.30
F1 Freq < Key 0.70
F1 To F2 0 %
F2 On/Off Off
FEG1 Attack 5 ms
FEG1 Decay 320 ms
FEG1 Sustain 0.08
FEG1 Rel 250 ms
LFO1 On/Off Off
Apricot Pulse — Analog — step 2
Apricot Pulse — Analog — step 2 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 2 — WebM/Opus

Next: Apply Chorus-Ensemble →

Step 03 / 5

Apply Chorus-Ensemble

Select the mode, then set Rate, Amount and Dry/Wet. Rate controls the speed of movement, Amount controls its depth and Width sets its stereo spread. The high-pass setting limits the low-frequency content entering the chorus.

Control Value
Mode Chorus
Rate 0.32 Hz
Amount 12 %
Dry/Wet 18 %
HP On On
HP Freq 180 Hz

Place Chorus-Ensemble after Analog. The complete settings include its remaining controls.

Apricot Pulse — Chorus-Ensemble — step 3
Apricot Pulse — Chorus-Ensemble — step 3 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 3 — WebM/Opus

Next: Apply Reverb →

Step 04 / 5

Apply Reverb

Set decay, room size and Dry/Wet for the surrounding space. Predelay separates the direct attack from the room. Input filtering shapes what excites the reverb, while diffusion and high-frequency damping change the density and brightness of its tail.

Control Value
Predelay 12.0 ms
In Lo Cut On Off
In Hi Cut On Off
Diff. Hi Freq 4.50 kHz
HiShelf Gain 0.60
Density High
Freeze On Off
Decay Time 1.80 s
Room Size 62.00
Dry/Wet 17 %

Place Reverb after Chorus-Ensemble. The complete settings include its remaining controls.

Apricot Pulse — Reverb — step 4
Apricot Pulse — Reverb — step 4 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 4 — WebM/Opus

Next: Apply Utility →

Step 05 / 5

Apply Utility

Set gain and width at the end of the chain. Set Utility’s Gain knob to the Output value in the table. Width changes the balance between center and side information; Mono combines the channels. Bass Mono narrows only the low frequencies below its cutoff. Keep DC Filter and phase-inversion switches at the listed values.

Control Value
Output 4.80 dB
DC Filter On

Place Utility after Reverb. The complete settings include its remaining controls.

Apricot Pulse — Utility — step 5
Apricot Pulse — Utility — step 5 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 5 — WebM/Opus

Audio & settings ↓

Audio & settings

Audio recordings and settings for this tutorial.