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Tutorial 135 / Ableton Live

Build Sienna Field

Sienna Field is a bass sound made with Analog, Saturator and Utility.

4 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 / 4

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 → Saturator → Utility. Begin with the instrument, then add each effect in its numbered step.

Control Value
Voices Mono
Volume -6.0 dB
OSC1 Shape Saw
OSC1 Level -6.0 dB
OSC1 Balance F1
AMP1 On/Off On
AMP1 Level -6.0 dB
AMP2 On/Off Off
AEG1 Attack 5 ms
AEG1 Decay 799 ms
AEG1 Sustain 0.65
AEG1 Rel 159 ms
AEG1 < Vel 2.50
Unison On/Off Off
Glide On/Off Off
Press Dest A Filter 1 Cutoff
Press Amt A 12 %
OSC2 On/Off Off
Noise On/Off Off
F1 On/Off Off
F2 On/Off Off
Sienna Field — Analog — step 1
Sienna Field — Analog — step 1 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 1 — WebM/Opus

Next: Blend the oscillators and shape the filters →

Step 02 / 4

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 Rect
OSC2 PW 45 %
OSC2 Level -12 dB
OSC2 Balance F1
Noise On/Off Off
F1 On/Off On
F1 Type Low-pass 24dB/oct
F1 Drive Sym1
F1 Freq 194
F1 Resonance 52 %
F1 Freq < Env 3.20
F1 Freq < Key 0.50
F1 To F2 0 %
F2 On/Off Off
FEG1 Attack 5 ms
FEG1 Decay 210 ms
FEG1 Sustain 0.08
FEG1 Rel 130 ms
LFO1 On/Off On
LFO1 Shape Sine
LFO1 Sync Hertz
LFO1 Speed 1.7 Hz
F1 Freq < LFO 0.12
Sienna Field — Analog — step 2
Sienna Field — Analog — step 2 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 2 — WebM/Opus

Next: Apply Saturator →

Step 03 / 4

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 4.3 dB
Output -3.0 dB
Color On Off
Pre Dc Filter On
Dry/Wet 70 %

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

Sienna Field — Saturator — step 3
Sienna Field — Saturator — step 3 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 3 — WebM/Opus

Next: Apply Utility →

Step 04 / 4

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 1.50 dB
DC Filter On
Mono On

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

Sienna Field — Utility — step 4
Sienna Field — Utility — step 4 · Select image to enlarge

Sound after step 4 — WebM/Opus

Audio & settings ↓

Audio & settings

Audio recordings and settings for this tutorial.