Ski Beatz Ableton Live Track Creation

Ski Beatz
MPC SP d950
warping
get your warp game up
chopping and sampling
Move over Roland MV-8800, Ski Beatz like Ableton.
Today I’mma show you guys I make a beat using Ableton Live, totally different from how you make a beat using Ablteon Live.

Producer Ski Beatz professes his newfound love for Ableton Live and why the software has become his tool of choice.   Ski explains slicing and warping audio, and shows how easily track elements can be modified or added.

171 thoughts on “Ski Beatz Ableton Live Track Creation”

      • hey thats a good one. its actually true.
        That made me think, i guess its about the proportions.
        i think its all about the tangibility.

      • True…hardware is sometimes based on software; what I mean is that more musicians are using software programs now, the same way that they were using MPCs in the ’80s/90s. Oh yeah, and MV-8000s, Ski

  1. he actually didnt show anything that somebody couldnt do in the mpc in seconds. Its just another method. Not better, not worse, different.

  2. ableton is the future but it’s all in how you use it and what makes you comfortable thats whats its all about

  3. Dope to see a guy freestylin on his own beat, thats the way it should be! Hiphop is supposed to be fun.
    But his last remark when he said “thats what you can do with ableton live” made me think, that he’s probably gets paid for this “advertisement”.
    But still I heard a lotta great things about ableton

  4. ski is dope, but everything he just did can also be done in pro tools 8, chop samples and a host of other things? ableton must have sponsored that spot?

  5. i have ableton but it just isnt for me’ way too different from what i’m use to.. ill just stick to reason and logic for now!!! but i see where ski is coming from!!!

  6. I just made the switch from pro tools to logic. Im about half committed cause i havn’t figures everything out in logic. With pro tools you gotta have a 7200 rpm harddrive. prefferably firewire. You gotta have an mbox or one of there more expensive daw’s ‘And it just got fuckin boring.I do like the ease of editing in pro tools though. With logic you aint gotta have none of that shit. Use what u want when you want i like that ! Plus when you bounce a sond to disk it just sounds sweeter to me.I tried bouncing in both
    logic and pro tools and logic won hands down.Matter of face if you dont have that harddrive i was talking about earlier shit ain’t even gonna bounce .Yeah. But im gonna try that ableton 8 too when I get around to it. The better the challenge the better the results.

    • logic is better for strictly creating music but i found myself dumping the track back into pt for vocals and editing so i just kept all in the box of pt and when i take my pre production to the studio the setup is easier cuz every studio uses pt

  7. Now a days all these software programs are pretty much the same because they compete with each other. Its really a personal preference what you want to use

    • pretty much…and with rewiring it REALLY doesn’t matter…you can take what you want from certain particular programs…

      unless you actually PURCHASE the programs you use, then the funds kind of get in the way and you have to get used to what you can afford…

  8. Ski was pushing the mv8800 about a year ago
    now it’s ableton live
    yo just master the software or hardware you use and take it from there
    niggas is still making dope beats on the sp1200’s

  9. It doesn’t matter what you use as long as your beats bang the f@$# out. You can make a good track with anything as long as you feel comfortable with what you are using. Ski said in this interview that he put in a shitload of time just learning Ableton and honing his skills. If you take the time to learn your equipment and software to the fullest you will be able to get tracks done easier and they will sound better.

  10. If you know ableton, you know it is a absolute beast!! you hook an mpc up with that and you will have so much fun it’s obscene !!!!!!! rewire reason into it its like steroids !!!!!!!!!! Ski ain’t even scratched the surface here !!! and don’t get rid of you mpc and just use this you are missing out big time!!!!!

    • SumoftheParts:

      Interesting, I’d like to know more about your setup with your MPC and Ableton. I have the MPC1000 that I carry in my backpack to keep me occupied on the road. But never hook it up with Ableton in my studio.

  11. Like SumoftheParts said, using Ableton along with you other setup creates incredible results. I’m constantly rewiring Reason into Ableton to utilize various Plug Ins on my Reason Tracks. Plus, like you saw with Ski, warping is nice the Drum Rack in Ableton is serious. I’m still using 7 but I’ll probably upgrade to 8 later this year.

    • I’d suggest the upgrade to version 8, I prefer the new warping methods to the previous versions of Live.

      I started out back on the Commodore Amiga with a program called KCS. it’s very similar to Ableton in how it mixes pattern based recording with linear arrangement. Which mimics the MPC as well with the pattern/song mode.

      I switched to software completely 10+ years ago, VSTi mostly with Cubase and Cakewalk but missed the quickness of my KCS with my S950.

      Had a hard time finding an computer application that had wicked audio AND midi capabilities.

      Tried the MV8000, loved the VGA out on it but hated the timing and quantization on it. Got the MPC4000, loved the timing but had issues with the drivers over USB with my PC.

      As of Ableton version 4, I believe is when they integrated VSTi and I started toying around with it. Come version 6, they had me hooked and combined with a Wacom tablet support in version 8, it’s deadly.

      Of course, this is just my experience and it’s all about work flow and what you know. The ASR-10 with an Alesis MMT-8 could be the ultimate setup if it enables you to get your ideas out quickly.

      As mentioned in a previous comment, the video scratches the surface of Ableton. Right click, slice sample, chromatically layed out with decay set to 127 automatically is nice, but it’s not magical, more like the standard window tint that comes on every car made these days.

  12. What have I been saying?

    ABLETON LIVE…All the way baby!

    hats funny is that I thought I was keeping a secret from people, but this is basically how i make my beats too. Only I use that Triggerfinger and The 49 key.

    Nice Post!

  13. geekbeats, i’m just curious why you suggest that using the MMT-8 with an ASR-10 would be a great setup? i’m not familiar w/ the MMT, but i’m an ASR guy and i’m just curious how that would help out as the ASR already has a sequencer ?

  14. I purchased ableton intro all because of this clip 99 bucks not bad ! warp function works as he says. but the program looks like it was designed with a # 2 pencil and some kids water paintbrush set lol

  15. This shit appears to be like reason recycle on mega steroids ! eccept you dont hafto import wave samples in and then take them back out to put in your fruity loops ‘ mpc ‘ reason 4 or wherever your going with it. You can do it all in ableton on the fly !!! Im gonna take some time out like homey did and learn this shit for real ! I was bored with pro tools ‘ and logic had a curveball that I didn’t know if I really wanted to catch ‘ but this shit ….I copped *ableton intro* watching this clip right here on Crate Kings and I was sold . If it this gravy im gonna have the full version 8 real soon. he he

  16. Ableton is a beast but I’m more comfortable with FL and Idrum along with my
    trusty Zoom Sampletrak,but while the potential of Ableton is worth exploring,it’s all about being comfortable with whatever you’re using,really.
    That freestyle was dope and hell yeah,that’s what hiphop is all about,spontaneous and fun-:)

  17. IM HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING THIS PROGRAMS BASIC CONCEPT . SEEMS LIKE IM WORKING BACKWARDS TO MOVE FORWARDS. I DON’T GET IT JUST YET. CAN’T BE MAD CAUSE PRO TOOLS TOOK ME LIKE 2 YEARS BEFORE I COULD GET INTO THE MEAT AND POTATOES.

    • I tutor Ableton for $20.00 per hour, or $2.00 per question. via paypal

      ONCE PEOPLE FIGURE THIS OUT, THE GAME IS OVER. YOU CAN ALMOST DO EVERYTHING A HIP HOP ARTIST NEEDS TO DO, FROM A DEMO

Comments are closed.