In Part 1, we discussed the value of using a remix template. To summarize, the reason for utilizing a remix template is to devote less time recreating the repetitive technical elements of a remix, and invest much more time being creative. In Part 2, we’ll examine Ableton’s factory default template and how to create a brand new template from an current session.
By default, when opening up Ableton Live, an empty session is created incorporating an empty audio and midi track, two return channels, along with a master channel. Like Ableton, almost all DAWs allow you to get started with a clean session, although the terminology, track/channel types, and other components may perhaps vary. When developing a remix, you are going to need at a minimum one audio track as well as a master channel to begin with. Though I cover remixing thoroughly in another series (stay tuned for my upcoming Smart Remixing tutorial series), I usually get started by importing the original song into an audio track at its original BPM (beats per minute) for warping and manipulating later. Traditionally for house music, tracks are brought in at 128 BPM, however you might desire to raise or lower (“warp”) the tempo later in accordance with your project. To be able to listen to the audio track, you traditionally utilize a master channel for routing sound from the audio track to your system’s internal or external soundcard and finally out to your headset or speaker system.
After you develop a personalized template, you’ve got the option to save your personal settings as the default template when opening Ableton or creating a new set. To do this, enter Live’s Preferences, select the File/Folder tab (left side, fourth tab down), and at the top you are going to see the ‘Save Existing Set as Default’ selection. Simply click ‘Save’, confirm ‘Overwrite the Template Set’, and your new template will be saved. Based on your DAW, I actually advise leaving the default template alone to ensure that your DAW opens cleanly and rapidly. As a DJ while in a live setting, I oftentimes open Ableton to quickly warp or edit tracks for instant use within Traktor Scratch Pro. In this scenario, speed, low CPU usage, and minimal disc activity is often a priority. As you will notice, a sizeable, feature-packed template normally requires some time to load and can really tax your computer.
An excellent technique exists in Ableton in the event you decide that you just want to revert back to Ableton’s factory default template. Merely open up a new session while holding down the [shift] button, then just follow the details discussed above to ‘Save Current Set as Default’. Caution: As soon as you save your new template, your previous template is going to be deleted. Understanding this, you may prefer to save your former template as a session prior to reverting back to Ableton’s factory default template. This way, you can very easily just open up any one of your stored sessions and ‘Save Current Set as Default’ to save your preferred session as the new default template.
In Part 3, we are going to start constructing our remix template by examining the template I currently use to begin a completely new remix.