Dissecting Skrillex's Ableton Project - Mumbai Power

[@TheBlashMusic]

Fun Fact: OTT's "Amount" knob actually isn't a dry/wet. It just adjusts the global range and ratio of all three freq bands (as far as I know). Because a true dry/wet would cause phasing issues at the crossover points.

[@OfficialAHEE]

Thank you for that! Wish we could see exactly how the settings are changing as the knobs are turned. ABLETON! If you're out there, take note. :)

[@SPIN4CHEATER]

I have always wondered that. If you notice, the OTT in Serum phases the fk out when you go below 100% dry/wet.

[@ivanomilo9438]

@@SPIN4CHEATER u should email steve duda about it! he'll fix it i bet

[@SPIN4CHEATER]

@@ivanomilo9438 Ha I don't doubt it. Duda is on point with Serum service. It just isn't worth the effort when you have the OG OTT

[@dreezstring829]

i've always wondered this

[@sampemberton5710]

You can tell someone’s a skrillex fan when they call Fuji opener ‘ping pong’

[@saauer]

That or San Diego VIP xD

[@lukeholden5798]

Two of my pals and I made the urban dance vocals pack . 😂😂😂

[@OfficialAHEE]

I bought it years ago, love it, who did y'all record with?

[@lukeholden5798]

It was a personal friend of ours Majestic MC he’s moved onto bigger and better things now. We only made it for a laugh and to make a couple of bucks but it blew

[@willeditsvids]

What a legend

[@burrito1413]

@@lukeholden5798 could y’all send it to me for free? 🤔🤔🤔

[@Rockandrollaz-d8l]

Awesome!!!

[@johnhargens4980]

the reference tracks are actually being routed through the external outs not the master so that way when listening back to the references it goes direct to your audio interface and not through the master as to not get touched by the mastering effects.

[@madpanman]

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

[@von...]

@@madpanman you could just make a channel called premaster then route all your normal tracks there and then put all the mastering plugins/effects on the premaster channel instead of the real master. Then you can route anything you want to the clean and clear real master to hear its un-reprocessed sound.

[@von...]

@@theostene4444 just repeating stuff learned from someone whos actually smart

[@williamkreth]

Hell yeah! Thanks!

[@fl33k59]

@@von... who is the person you are referring to?

[@thisotherguynamedloxso]

That Pro L2 preset "Vocal - Transparent MTK" is in the "V1 Preset Folder" under the Single Channel submenu

[@mitchellb16]

Love this! But what fantasy world are we living in where Ableton launches in .2 seconds?

[@DOVADED]

The fantasy world of edited video lol

[@stranger048]

It's a edited video

[@jackhammer8061]

Why would he put out a video and make everyone wait 5mins on a loading screen of a 180+ track project? It’s all ok, your CPU is enough brother haha

[@shyambasnett5967]

Jump cut

[@officialhowlmusic]

If you're wondering why everything is audio; in a recent podcast on XLNT Sound, Afrojack said that Skrillex likes to bounce his sounds and cut them so there's no tails clashing with other elements. He's basically cleaning up his entire arrangement to perfection by exporting everything to audio and cutting all the tails.

[@whosagoodboi6217]

yooooo... thanks man... also the vocal mtk preset on L2 is in the V1 preset folder-> single folder-> vocal transparent mtk!!

[@OfficialAHEE]

thanks, found it, must of missed it the first time around

[@sethmathis250]

That vocal preset is from the first Pro-L. If you own both, in Pro L2's preset menu theres a separate drop down for presets from the first Pro-L

[@Fritztafer]

Did not know this thank you

[@lukebradford195]

180 tracks! My mac would have froze and set on fire at 70😂😂

[@dustinrobbins7313]

great video man i appreciate you for going through the whole thing

[@dylanlockemp3]

20:00 hello hearing damage

[@shanedonnelly8814]

sup bro

[@abbasahmedlp]

Wtf man.... Lmao

[@hedcanon6456]

a little messier

[@illGatesMusic]

To fix Ableton's broken solo behavior while using this bussing technique try using Return Tracks instead of Audio Channels ;)

[@jeskereee5193]

Can u xplain?

[@gabbyonyoutube]

Yo man, when I clicked the video I thought "ah just another random dude playing the skrillex video" but I must say that you did a nice job in finding out interesting key elements. Well done!

[@gato6591]

this random dude is a bass music monster, check his music out

[@gabbyonyoutube]

​@@gato6591 I just figured, nice one! Thx for pointing out

[@kenidu1]

Yeah dude by far one the best mix talk on Ableton this year so far niceee u killing and shout to Skrillex

[@dondraper3898]

11:31 That preset is in the "Single Channel" folder from Pro-L 1. If anyone wants those presets: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Z-AXauK5CFUwr3yUwI3M3sKBT20gkWA5?usp=sharing

[@RemmyMusic1]

insight is an analyser- its before ozone 5 because he's measuring the loudness before applying his last limiter

[@OfficialAHEE]

Monty P yeah that’s what doesn’t make sense to me, usually producers want to measure the loudness after the final limiter. Any ideas why?

[@NOLINK74]

@@OfficialAHEE mixing for loudness > mastering for loudness. Basically getting all the loudness and then taming shit. Ekali does the same thing.

[@RemmyMusic1]

@@OfficialAHEE its just the last form of gain staging so he knows how loud the master is before applying the limiter- which ozone 5 has a unique one compared to the rest of their versions [like waves L2 vs L3]

[@bobsanders2145]

skrillex has always been really good at transitions throughout his song to keep you interested.

[@mitch150]

Dude thank you for pointing out all the routing techniques. So genius!!

[@petitfantome777]

bruh my face when he said camel fat on the master

[@ringoman08]

its not what but why he use that on the masters!!

[@bomdoboy]

camelphat on default, is a limiter in a wierd way, trick I got from Audio(dnb) production tutorial

[@DONBRETX]

@@bomdoboy what do you think the ozone 5 is used for

[@bomdoboy]

@@DONBRETX also limiting but not every VST works the same.

[@gulagwarlord]

Btw... most of the magic with this stuff is done with saturation and clipping. Sure... there's compressors all over the place too... but it's a combination. Maybe you've figured that out since this video so I don't know. It's slowly becoming common knowledge.

[@kswindia]

Very comprehensive analysis AHEE! Love it. Thanks for taking the time out!

[@AnandhuVlogs]

KSW FAN FROM KERALA INDIA LOVE YOU MAN

[@justburningmanlive]

The Pro - L preset, if I'm not mistaken, is actually from Pro - L1. He probably just copied it over from the first one to Pro - L2 or maybe both use the same preset folder I'm not sure. (It's in "Single Channel" category)

[@MOON_dozer]

I cant wait til he makes a master class. Could be 5 years out but you know its coming!

[@nullnull2128]

5 years later and nothing yet

[@MegaGuac]

I've revisited this video many times. Very interesting and informative m8!

[@Jesus_loves_you2023]

박사님이 천연기념물에 대해 설명해주는것 같아 I feel like A professor giving speech about an natural monument

[@jacobfilderman]

Thank you SO much, this was amazing! You pointed out a lot of stuff that I had missed completely. The routing is super interesting and seems like it keeps the process a lot cleaner from a signal flow perspective.

[@choppyoppy5823]

2nd this!

[@mikohenriksson450]

Buss routing in general is really great. It can be used to great effects for example when you route your main sounds and drums to a different channel than your filler or background sounds.

[@dialogtalk]

8:15 i listened to the track before watching this video at your request and noticed the heys so this made me feel special lol

[@internetgod404]

possible video on gain staging and particularly -- aux(s) , pre master, basic chain in ableton?

[@OfficialAHEE]

Yes, just uploaded it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaWYcnaJps6cjNk

[@nofaceexe]

Hey AHEE, thank you for the video. Could you maybe upload a video how to setup those bus channels that are pre master ? I don't get it really routing wise. I would dig it so much

[@OfficialAHEE]

I saw a number of folks suggest that so.., just uploaded it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaWYcnaJps6cjNk

[@erhodmusic]

Great video, what do you thing Skrillex he's putting in his 3 different "chain group"?

[@OfficialAHEE]

Eliot Sztenkryc most likely Pro L 2s & possibly some low cut eq on the “Chain Basic” but I’m unsure

[@OfficialAHEE]

I just made a video where I guess at that, just uploaded it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaWYcnaJps6cjNk

[@Phletchy]

Great video thanks for making it!

[@theunknowndude4878]

There's a link directly from BWB on his youtube vid that takes you to the paypal you're speaking of. It looks sketch but it does provide the samples when you buy it.

[@selasiii]

he was using ozone 5 to refrence the frequency spectrum with other songs, hence the refrence tracks section the reason why he uses specifically ozone 5 is cause its the latest version of ozone that lets you analyze the frequency spectrum of multiple refrence tracks at the same time. for some reason in the newer versions on ozone they only allow for one refrence track for you to analyze, which is really inefficient.

[@JulianGrayMedia]

Fantastic breakdown video

[@Fluuzone]

Not sure if anyone really knew this but I'll shed some light on it. -This isn't Sonny's computer. It's his friend and Manager Andrew's. -I'm close to certain that any subfolders he has on THIS computer won't open much because the files just aren't there. -The Ableton Loading screen is sped up a bit. -If you watch when Sonny hovers over the Vocals you can see the file in the bottom left reads ".mp3". Yes, an Mp3 files for the vocals. -The only automation noted in this entire song is the filter sweep at the end from high to low. that's it. These are just a few small things I noticed and I don't use Ableton much. I also make music but commenting on my Gaming channel. OfficialJBish is the music channel.

[@Erliortmejurur]

about the last thing, the entire thing is audio, so he probably moved most automation around beforehand

[@vincentvandeperre1670]

You can hide the automation in ableton its not fruityloops lol

[@gulagwarlord]

I wish I had his video like 10 years ago because I spent a decade figuring this crap out and came to pretty much all of the same solutions he's using. There're only a few ways to hit -3.5 LUFs... I think Zomboy does it WAY better to be honest.

[@Retro-zn2jt]

Do you have any information or video on this about Zomboy? I don't see how apart from routing and clipping/limiting this is possible

[@Skrenja]

There's almost zero reason to master that loud these days.

[@Loris_remix]

180 tracks, thats insane

[@littlegameMASTER]

i've never used Ableton, I use FL Studio, but the way you describe "Gain Staging" seems similar to a technique you can do with the mixer. Say you have a sound on Insert 1, but you want more effects on it, maybe you used up all 10 slots of effects. Simply route insert 1 to another insert (E.G Insert 2) and stop routing it to the master. Using this technique allows you to mix your sounds individually, and then put them on another insert to "pre master" it and then finally routing it to the master from that insert (usually done by default)

[@cmndzmusic1647]

At 11:42 the signal is in the left side man! It's not shoing mono stereo , the whole spectrum! Idk it's kinda confusion 😅

[@scottslonski1688]

Well Done! My Friend

[@chopsoe]

Pretty sure he's using Ozone 5 as well as Insight for mesuring. He doesn't use it for any type of volume optimisation whatsoever (makes sense since it comes after Insight) Ozone 5 EQ is awesome for seeing clearly what's going on with your full spectrum and mesure EQ with reference tracks, you can have snapshots of all those Just guessing here tho haha

[@matirojasc]

CamelPhat could've been automated for the distortion effect at the start of the second drop, I really doubt that he uses it as an harmonic exciter

[@dreezstring829]

this makes sense, to get that overall crazy disto sound you cant just push it on a regular track in the session

[@OfficialAHEE]

Possibly! Tho I didn’t see any automation on the master. And that sample looked beefy, but I could see that happening. I have seen other producers use Saturn on the master to add a bit of grit.

[@sillohmusicdnb]

@@OfficialAHEE CamelPhat is a really good limiter (Clear Preset) - might've been that?

[@brianzimmerman6774]

hey chris, do you do private lessons?

[@incarnatedsound1463]

16:04 From my experience, Ozone 5 sometimes clips when you use EQ, Multiband Comp...etc and the maximiser all together. To have one Ozone doing all the effects and another only to do the maximizing is a workaround for this issue.

[@STATXMUSIC]

Thanks for all these videos man! That robot maker sounds dope, I gotta get that. Would also love to see you breakdown how to get some classic G Jones or EPROM dirty bass sounds.

[@OfficialAHEE]

Any songs specifically you're interested in?

[@STATXMUSIC]

Oh shit, a reply from the man himself! Yeah dude, the baseline from Hurricane by EPROM is one example. You can also hear similar sounds (maybe more pronounced) on this album called Cyborg Rising by Skew. The track “Don Robot” has this almost mechanical sounding... I don’t know what. Analog synth maybe? I’ve been trying to wrap my head around these bass sounds for the longest. Specifically the way they seem to oscillate or loop slower as they play lower notes and faster as they play higher notes. Hope that all makes sense. Thanks for the reply and sorry for the novel!

[@ImBooblehead]

Man, I love coming back to this video. You're an absolute legend for doing this!

[@aczibcultur]

Oh what a shame they didn’t get into the premaster channel.

[@kswindia]

22:00 Jungle AAZ would probably be some Jungle samples from AAZAR

[@RPT2x]

The Fab Filter preset [Vocal- Transparent MTK] isn't in L2 its from the previous version presets folder :)

[@michaeltrue6202]

it's pretty genius this gain staging idea to build volume and retain clarity but it requires so much organisation and understanding of the spiderweb of processing, if i had one spliff i would be stumped

[@panitabeats]

What's the sense of routing everything to a "Pre-Master" track and not directly to the Master?

[@android_lime]

PänaOfficial you can limit and compress the majority of your track in the premaster but also have some elements that don’t go through heavy compression/limiting.

[@MOON_dozer]

@@android_lime Then everything is still limited in the end?

[@mikohenriksson450]

@@MOON_dozer Limiting is probably the most effective way of controlling transients and do the heavy lifting for compressors so you don't have to adjust your settings for the whole track because sudden harsh transients. So my guess would be that yes, everything is limited, maybe excluding the sounds that you couldn't hear without seeing them.

[@GRIMECRAFT]

this was incredibly insightful thank you.

[@MattMakesMusic]

Bro! This is so good. Thanks, such a good breakdown of whats going on.

[@omenz1891]

ps: that's not Skrillex laptop that's his techs laptop this is Andrew golds laptop

[@SPIN4CHEATER]

So this is possibly not even Skrillex's mixing and mastering work?

[@OfficialAHEE]

I was wondering who Andrew was & why there were so few folders, thanks

[@omenz1891]

@@OfficialAHEE no problem man

[@user-oo2gz9ln8v]

NotOnceNotNever well people die for his sound so it’s good put it out, he is a producer not a mixing or mastering engineer. still good

[@mikohenriksson450]

@@user-oo2gz9ln8v Maybe not mainly or by studies, but he definitely knows mixing and mastering. For producers of this scale mastering is mostly used to get a second opinion from engineers in reference environments. I doubt they touch the mixing.

[@OfficialAHEE]

Wassup Aliens! I just uploaded a new video on how to setup your gain staging like Skrillex does in Mumbai Power. Watch it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaWYcnaJps6cjNk

[@manofgoat]

thank you so much i really need explanation on how he made those chains and why

[@Bejeerk]

You probably already found the link, but here are the BWB samples: www.reddit.com/r/Drumkits/comments/7tutoj/bwb_kit_bundle_16_reupload/

[@Ozfish75]

Keep your desktop empty. Makes your comp faster. Organization

[@user-ej7ss8ei2g]

lol

[@mikohenriksson450]

Delete system32 to fit more Serum presets. Only the pro's know this, don't tell them you heard it from me.

[@IDontReadReplies42069]

Why do i feel like you use a smart phone with your index finger?

[@ringoman08]

its not his (skrillex) laptop

[@SUBCHVRGE]

so cool coming back to this and picking up little nuances and tips as i learn more and more....love this

[@chingesumareoficialssss]

If have a camelphat maybe its for give armonics and a sligthly dist fx to the master. In hardstyle is very useful for leads and mixing. Maybe in bass music works same

[@reiherreracl3459]

you could do a 4k video since the original skrillex video is in 4K so you can show more details on the image when zooming.

[@OfficialAHEE]

any recommendations on how to download 4k video off youtube? was my first time grabbin a vid

[@TomBudin]

I still prefer the sound of ozone 5 to ozone 8 especially with the MB compression

[@alsoeris]

you should have downloaded the 4K video

[@OfficialAHEE]

you're right, but I'm not very good at knowing how to do that, any recommendations?

[@fernandojaviermanqueo5890]

@@OfficialAHEE 4k video downloader

[@DistortionsMusic]

Very interesting video, really enjoyed it man

[@Slavestep]

Thank you so much for this Chris

[@ellmango]

great video, im wondering if you could talk more about your theories on whats going on in the premaster and group chains, and also how to go about routing this. i thought i knew how but had some trouble.

[@MAE917MUSIC]

This is EPIC!

[@djwickit]

This is a fantastic video.

[@jon0830]

Thanks so much for making this. The concepts you pointed out I hadn't noticed since i'm not an ableton user, but since implementing them in my own daw, it has been a game changer

[@justgno4242]

omg thank you so much for this video, just got Ableton 10 installed and was looking for some inspiration to get back in the spirit of it and get inspired.. & this video is perfect was always wondering how he set things up, super near to see! hope to see more videos like this. :)) Thanku so much

[@vman234]

maybe the last ozone on the master is using the audio codec preview?

[@draesounds]

would love if you could share that .text file!

[@labden9540]

Yeah that gain staging is brilliant going to start messing w this

[@BrysonPrice]

You pointed out some cool things that I didn’t see 😁

[@PerryCodes]

So wait... he didn't release his actual Live project... but simply a FUCKING VIDEO of him playing the Live project? BIG FUCKING DEAL...

[@braxtonolita]

could u please reupload this vid with you on the right instead of bottom left. it’s blocking all the plug ins we want to see. thank you so much for thos

[@curamamat6118]

bro，please ，why the soundfield look like not normal

[@JohnArwaymusic]

please subtitles, I don't understand what I want to learn

[@gianlucareali713]

best analysis by far, subbed

[@toskagamingz]

Just trying to comprehend whats going is making me go insane. This is sweet info for anyone wanting to up their music knowledge. Awesome vid!

[@Neverkilltime]

Really dope video, will be checking out your downloads! 👊🏼

[@niceboyrude4155]

Hey man this video is the shit !!! Thanks bro

[@SubDocta]

thanks g!

[@djcj]

ur bass ship sounds are iconic man

[@mugatu8732]

there is no settings on camelphat. its used as a clipper.

[@davehalt1806]

BIT MUCH FOR A TWO MINUTES OF CRAP MUSIC DONT YA THINK 180 TRACKS ! I DONT SEE HOW HE IS SO POPULAR LET ALONE GOT THAT FAR IN THE GAME. WE CAN ALL STRAP SAMPLES TOGETHER AND COME UP WITH A TWO MINS OF SHIT MUSIC IN OUR SLEEPS. I THINK WITH A MUSIC COMPANY'S BACKING WE WOULD ALL KNOW THE MIXING TECHNICS ALSO AS WE WOULD OF PICKED THEM UP ALONG THE WAY.ITS EASY TO MAKE MUSIC FOR CHILDREN. LETS ALL START MAKING MUSIC FOR ADULTS INSTEAD AND UP OUR GAMES THIS WAY. YOU DONT LEARN FROM THE DANCING MONKEY. YOU LEARN FROM THE OLD MAN ON THE PIANO WHO FEEDS THE MONKEY.

[@MANSHN]

Thanks so much for doing this man, great stuff :)

[@Skrenja]

Almost no midi in that project. :S

[@michatroschka]

this is gold! nice work. he has groups within groups within groups. i thought that would introduce latency or cpu issues.

[@Paradroidx]

Ozone Insight just a monitor of levels

[@LosantoBeats]

@7:10 I felt the same way first time I heard the song. Too much. But in the context of the track it works.

[@ThrowAwaySounds]

Has anyone found the vocal PRO L 2 transparent mtk files?

[@Rhekluse]

What crazy routing.

[@severemaisjuste]

Thanks for the video ! Please have a sip of water and keep a glass handy :p

[@whatchrisdoinmusic]

Man you did all the work that I wanted to do! Appreciate you man

[@verlatenn]

this guy is the edm version of julien earle

[@tg8628]

you say he's using his midi to sidechain, however that MIDI is on an audio track - what's going on there?

[@Astroreign]

Really appreciate the time you took to put this vid together g!

[@nospheremusic]

mans suffocating on his own spit