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Tutorial 116 / Ableton Live

Build Quartz Trail

Quartz Trail is an electric keyboard sound made with Electric, Saturator, Reverb and Utility.

5 stepsElectricLive 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 the hammer, tone and pickup

Choose the pickup model and set hammer stiffness and force. With tine volume at zero, shape the tone component, pickup distance and symmetry. The hammer’s velocity sensitivity changes how strongly the tone responds to each strike.

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

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

Control Value
Voices 12
Volume -12 dB
PB Range 2.00
M Stiffness 28 %
M Stiff < Vel 62
M Force 48 %
M Force < Vel 60
Noise Amount 10 %
Noise Decay 15 %
F Release 35 %
F Tone Decay 65 %
F Tone Vol 75 %
P Symmetry 56 %
P Distance 62 %
Pickup Model R
P Amp In 48 %
P Amp Out 48 %
Damp Tone 45 %
Damp Amount 58 %
F Tine Vol 0 %
Quartz Trail — Electric — step 1
Quartz Trail — Electric — step 1 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 1 — WebM/Opus

Next: Blend in the tine character →

Step 02 / 5

Blend in the tine character

Raise tine volume to the listed amount, then set its color and decay. The tine adds a brighter component to the tone. Its balance against the tone component and the pickup geometry determine the bell-like edge of the instrument.

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
F Tine Decay 58 %
F Tine Vol 33 %
F Tine Color 45 %
Quartz Trail — Electric — step 2
Quartz Trail — Electric — 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 Soft Sine
Drive 1.8 dB
Output -2.0 dB
Color On Off
Pre Dc Filter On
Dry/Wet 45 %

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

Quartz Trail — Saturator — step 3
Quartz Trail — Saturator — 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 1.47 s
Room Size 52.00
Dry/Wet 14 %

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

Quartz Trail — Reverb — step 4
Quartz Trail — 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 11.7 dB
DC Filter On

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

Quartz Trail — Utility — step 5
Quartz Trail — Utility — step 5 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 5 — WebM/Opus

Audio & settings ↓

Audio & settings

Audio recordings and settings for this tutorial.