playgrid.ccRead tutorial

Tutorial 049 / Ableton Live

Build Fjord Ember

Fjord Ember is a lead sound made with Wavetable, Saturator, Delay and Utility.

5 stepsWavetableLive 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

Choose the first wavetable and amplitude contour

Choose oscillator 1’s wavetable, position and tuning. Set the amplifier envelope and voicing from the starting settings. Wavetable position chooses the harmonic shape; the amplitude envelope controls how the sound arrives and fades.

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

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

Control Value
Osc 1 On On
Osc 1 Pos 66 %
Osc 1 Gain -9.0 dB
Amp Attack 4.40 ms
Amp Decay 759 ms
Amp Sustain -4.0 dB
Amp Release 347 ms
Unison Amount 10 %
Glide 40.0 ms
Volume -6.0 dB
Osc 2 On Off
Sub On Off
Flt 1 On Off
Flt 2 On Off

Voicing and modulation

Choose the waveform and voicing controls below. In the Matrix and MIDI tabs, set the listed routes; leave unlisted routes at zero. The modulation amounts are the values shown in the matrix. Poly voices apply in Poly mode.

Control Value
Oscillator 1 category Basics
Oscillator 1 wavetable Basic Shapes
Oscillator 1 effect mode None
Oscillator 2 category Basics
Oscillator 2 wavetable Basic Shapes
Oscillator 2 effect mode None
Voicing Mono
Poly voices 8
Unison mode Classic
Unison voices 3
Filter routing Serial
Velocity → Volume 60
Pitch Bend → Transpose 2 st
Env 2 → Flt 1 Freq -16
Velocity → Flt 2 Freq 7
Mod Wheel → Flt 2 Freq 15

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

Fjord Ember — Wavetable — step 1
Fjord Ember — Wavetable — step 1 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 1 — WebM/Opus

Next: Layer the oscillators and animate the filters →

Step 02 / 5

Layer the oscillators and animate the filters

Enable the additional sources and filters using the states below. Balance oscillator 2 against oscillator 1, then set the filter types, cutoff and resonance. Apply the listed envelope and LFO routes in the instrument’s Matrix and MIDI tabs; unlisted routes stay at zero.

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
Osc 2 On On
Osc 2 Pos 46 %
Osc 2 Gain -13 dB
Osc 2 Detune 5 ct
Sub On On
Sub Gain -18 dB
Sub Tone 0.0 %
Flt 1 Type Notch
Flt 1 BP/NO/MO Clean
Flt 1 Freq 959 Hz
Flt 1 Res 22 %
Flt 2 On On
Flt 2 Type Lowpass
Flt 2 Freq 6.80 kHz
Flt 2 Res 5.0 %
Env 2 Attack 20.0 ms
Env 2 Decay 1.10 s
Env 2 Sustain 20 %
Env 2 Release 300 ms
Flt 1 On On
Fjord Ember — Wavetable — step 2
Fjord Ember — Wavetable — step 2 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 2 — WebM/Opus

Next: Apply Saturator →

Step 03 / 5

Apply Saturator

Select the curve before setting Drive. Drive changes the waveform’s harmonic content; Output balances the level after that change. Dry/Wet blends the processed and direct tone. Keep Color and clipping controls as listed because they alter the distortion character.

Control Value
Type Analog Clip
Drive 2.5 dB
Output -3.0 dB
Color On Off
Pre Dc Filter On
Dry/Wet 70 %

Place Saturator after Wavetable. The complete settings include its remaining controls.

Fjord Ember — Saturator — step 3
Fjord Ember — Saturator — step 3 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 3 — WebM/Opus

Next: Apply Delay →

Step 04 / 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 On
L Time 267 ms
R Time 267 ms
Ping Pong On
Feedback 24 %
Dry/Wet 18 %
Filter Freq 1.80 kHz
Filter Width 3.50
Freeze Off

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

Fjord Ember — Delay — step 4
Fjord Ember — Delay — 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 6.04 dB
DC Filter On

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

Fjord Ember — Utility — step 5
Fjord Ember — Utility — step 5 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 5 — WebM/Opus

Audio & settings ↓

Audio & settings

Audio recordings and settings for this tutorial.