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Tutorial 031 / Ableton Live

Build Cinder Orbit

Cinder Orbit is an evolving synth sound made with Meld, Delay, Reverb and Utility.

5 stepsMeldLive 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

Shape engine A and its amplitude contour

Choose engine A’s oscillator type and set its two named macros. Swarm Triangle uses Motion and Spacing for internal movement and interval spread. Set engine A’s tuning, level and amplitude envelope with its filter bypassed.

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

Signal flow: Meld → Delay → Reverb → Utility. Begin with the instrument, then add each effect in its numbered step.

Control Value
A On On
A Osc Type Swarm Triangle (♭♯)
A Osc Motion 12.0
A Osc Spacing 29.4
A Volume -10 dB
A Amp Attack 771 ms
A Amp Decay 2.41 s
A Amp Sustain -4.0 dB
A Amp Release 2.17 s
Drive 5.0 %
Volume -8.0 dB
Scale Aware Off
B On Off
A Filter On Off
Voice Spread 0 %

Voicing and modulation

Set these voice and controller assignments for both engines. Unlisted modulation cells remain at zero. Spread moves each engine’s detuning and pan in opposite directions. The engine oscillator macros provide additional internal motion.

Control Value
Voicing Poly
Poly voices 8
Stacked voices Off
Spread → A Detune 50
Pitch Bend → A Pitch Mod 7 st
Note Pitch Bend → A Pitch Mod 48 st
Spread → A Pan 50
Velocity → A Volume 50
Spread → B Detune -50
Pitch Bend → B Pitch Mod 7 st
Note Pitch Bend → B Pitch Mod 48 st
Spread → B Pan -50
Velocity → B Volume 50

Use the voicing and modulation settings for the oscillator choices, voice mode and modulation routes.

Cinder Orbit — Meld — step 1
Cinder Orbit — Meld — step 1 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 1 — WebM/Opus

Next: Layer engine B and shape the stereo tone →

Step 02 / 5

Layer engine B and shape the stereo tone

Enable engine B and engine A’s filter using the states below. Choose engine B’s oscillator type, then shape each engine’s filter and envelope. Set Voice Spread for the global detuning and stereo distribution; the voicing and modulation table specifies its routes.

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

Control Value
A Filter Type SVF 12dB
A Filter Freq 1.66 kHz
A Filter Q 12.0
B On On
B Osc Type Basic Shapes
B Osc Shape 0.0
B Osc Tone 0.0
B Octave 1 oct
B Volume -22 dB
B Filter Freq 3.60 kHz
B Amp Attack 1.10 s
B Amp Decay 4.00 s
B Amp Sustain -6.0 dB
B Amp Release 2.20 s
Voice Spread 25 %
A Filter On On
Cinder Orbit — Meld — step 2
Cinder Orbit — Meld — step 2 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 2 — WebM/Opus

Next: Apply Delay →

Step 03 / 5

Apply Delay

Set the left and right delay modes and times, then set Feedback and Dry/Wet. Unequal times create a stereo echo pattern. Feedback changes how long repeats persist; filtering changes their tone. The modulation controls move the delay’s timing or filter when their amounts are above zero.

Control Value
L Sync Off
R Sync Off
Link Off
L Time 340 ms
R Time 470 ms
Ping Pong On
Feedback 30 %
Dry/Wet 22 %
Filter Freq 1.70 kHz
Filter Width 3.00
LFO Freq 0.18 Hz
LFO > Delay 2.0 %
LFO > Filter 4.0 %
Freeze Off

Place Delay after Meld. The complete settings include its remaining controls.

Cinder Orbit — Delay — step 3
Cinder Orbit — Delay — 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 30.0 ms
In Lo Cut On Off
In Hi Cut On Off
Diff. Hi Freq 3.20 kHz
HiShelf Gain 0.60
Density High
Freeze On Off
Decay Time 3.50 s
Room Size 90.00
Dry/Wet 20 %

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

Cinder Orbit — Reverb — step 4
Cinder Orbit — 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 9.61 dB
DC Filter On
Bass Mono On
Bass Freq 160 Hz

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

Cinder Orbit — Utility — step 5
Cinder Orbit — Utility — step 5 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 5 — WebM/Opus

Audio & settings ↓

Audio & settings

Audio recordings and settings for this tutorial.