Tech Talk: Techno Producer Arthur Robert Discusses Elektron Machines, Drum Tuning, And More

[@ArthurRobertofficial]

Nice of people to chime with their opinions. My point is that I could use any given machine at this point and most likely extract a lot out if it due to my extensive knowledge in synthesis and sound design. Furthermore I can see the irony that saying “limit yourself” with a wall of synth behind me might seem contradictory but in fact I know most of my machines very well and it is precisely this process that enables me to work the way I do. I limit myself in the sense that I learn a machine properly first. Also whilst making music I won’t certainly use all my machines. I use a few and get them to send as good possible. That is limiting. And to close this off, I teach students operator inside Ableton. This synth is powerful but also carries limitations. Also in the way I teach it. Make as many sounds as possible from the same source. It’s not what you have it’s what you do with what you have.

[@only1mikelarry]

Learning from him has been a game changer to my approach to making music.Arthur is an absolute gem

[@f33fifofum]

I could listen to him talk about gear all day, absolute legend

[@Datacustic]

Finally someone explaining that EQ is very small doses only and the shaping is in the envelopes and Tuning Offcourse. Nice arrangement approach!

[@SolidtraxNL]

Wisdom in this one. Thanks!

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Synfluence101]

I like this guy’s style. Limitations bring creativity.

[@stephenpopov909]

great content. I love his Elektron-ish sound. The guys knows his stuff

[@istvantoth7431]

Great interview. The guy certainly knows his Dojo!

[@TheSpaceVentura]

Excellent craftmanship shown here! Thanks for sharing these insights

[@pawel_dobrowolski]

I totally agree that Ableton effects are sufficient and you basically don't need anything else :)

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

For all those who want to delve a little deeper into the subject of drum tuning, we recommend our drum tuning video with Hannes Bieger: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3vclI1qr7uMq5Y

[@manuelotin88]

Excelente video, Nata! Muy fresco, sincero y sencillo. Super útil.

[@robertocasaldi1642]

Big Arthur perfect words ❤️

[@cyrillerobin5564]

love this workflow !

[@yalinyucel574]

Legend ❤

[@amenbrothersSE]

Thanx for sharing! Nice tunes and info!❤

[@timoskam7646]

Great video! Your Masterclass gave me a lot of insight thanks a lot

[@LucasMarchal]

Solid advice upon solid advice. Boss !

[@vitaliiandronov8629]

He says that digitone sounds surprisingly well for a synth that costs 600-700 euros and that octatrack is limited. Once I bought novation xio for 50 bucks and it sounds very well for that price. But fm synth for 700 euros should sound well. These insights are not for me, but thanks for the content anyway - still my favorite youtube channel

[@effext1]

I get what you’re saying but the sound engine of the Digitone makes up only half of that machine’s capabilities.

[@arenreiser3643]

@@thatmr.a8010 he makes damn good music. So where do you get your statements and hatred from?

[@sawlin2829]

@@effext1 Exactly. I bought it because of the Live performance Feature.

[@Pixeljunky1979]

Love this Series! But please do it a bit longer! 30 Min would be much nicer!

[@larry6006]

I just love this extra terrestrial people =)

[@RotlichtFilet]

Wow, super interesting approach on production. Really love that he produces everything on the fly with his gear into ableton. I think definetly is limited in some way, beacause Software Synths are way more complex most of the time.... more possibilities. You can go back and forward all the time, but that the Octratrack is a simple machine is a bit funny. :D

[@avilynn_music]

that's a proper advice about tuning

[@JJaxxon]

Favorite PlugIn: Limiter!

[@dxtrs_mnpltr]

😂

[@Giovanni-Giorgio]

Meanwhile, me with my 4-year old kid his keyboard toy and a Zoom H1 audio recorder. Beat that for Limited 💪

[@Reprobus3]

Add a Monotron Delay and you'll be set for world domination!

[@tomb-X]

🙏 very good info👍

[@gewddoogie]

His voice and articulation reminded me of the Daft Punk track "We added a Click" - Giorgio by Moroder

[@jonathancooper3615]

Track at the 1 min mark?

[@elmundozazou9522]

"The Octatrack is VERY limited."... It's the most complex, effing deepest machine you own bro.

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

Didn't he say he uses the Octa for Sampling primarly?

[@tillschroder6992]

Its very limited compared to a DAW

[@ThatBonsaipanda]

8 monophonic stereo tracks which you can modulate and sequence. In addition you have very crude and basic MIDI sequencer for 8 tracks (which don't support scenes). Yes, it is extremely limited. You can still do lots with it, even complete tracks.

[@luytzen]

​@@ElectronicBeatsTV so he limits himself by not using the Octatracks sequencer....and uses the Cirklon instead

[@gbrl_cyber]

​@@luytzen he said he mostly uses ableton m4l sequencers ... btw check out mono-sequencer or the alexkid tools ... really good stuff. criklon is dope af tho'

[@shoal__]

My mann

[@jakojako_live]

Wurde auch mal Zeit für ein Techtalk mit ihm! 👍

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

Ey, kein Druck bitte

[@jakojako_live]

@@ElectronicBeatsTV'Ey' mich nicht, bitte ;)

[@meilstone]

Using the same approach, just a digital mixer instead of Ableton, makes it even faster and more hands on.

[@dannyg8015]

Very inspiring, great video!!

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@greun]

Very inspiring video, wow that Studio I love the Octatrack and the Analog Rhythm but I sold my Analog Four because of the crappy sound.

[@james82408]

🙏🏾

[@Bin909able]

Very nice, but to call the octatrack limited... as he says: in the way he uses it. The OT can take users in numerous directions and is know for a steep learning curve, but extreme depth. There are hardly two users using it in the same way...

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

To be fair, the learning curve is also so steep because of the countless submenus and double assignments. There's not much else like it, which is why many people find it very difficult at first.

[@Bin909able]

Very true. My OT will stay with me until one of us dies 😉

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

But compared to a DAW the Octa is limited, isn’t it?

[@dxtrs_mnpltr]

@@ElectronicBeatsTV there are way more submenus to learn in a DAW, to be fair.

[@njdpdv]

Having all the Elektron boxes on that upper row looks pretty un-ergonomical (limiting) 😆.

[@FastpackingDiaries]

“It’s better to be limited” he exclaimed, in front of his wall of synths

[@el_dani]

Very limited setup, indeed! Otherwise great production and mixing tips, thanks for the video.

[@worriesinthedance]

a tinge of irony, sat with 10ish + gear behind oneself....with the "limited" spiel.

[@sawtooth808]

He doesn’t use every piece of equipment he has all at once.

[@Cybercowboy_69]

what track at 4.42?

[@psicotechnico]

would love to see some non elektron based hardware approach. because elektron stuff sounds good but always like elektron, which starts getting boring after a while. it’s why most hardware livesets sound more or less the same imo.. stuff i would like to see featured: korg emx/esx roland mc 909/505 sequentix circlon (a bit more in depth) radical technologies spectralis and synth wise: jd800/990 e-mu romplers access virus nord lead fx wise: ensoniq dp4/dp2 there’s so much out there, no need for the 100th person telling me how much they love the octatrak lol

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

We don't choose people according to what equipment they use in the studio. That's always a surprise for us too.

[@famousarmystudio]

The Octatrack is limited??? He may be the only human who has ever touched an Octatrack that would say that.

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

Guess he means compared to a DAW like Ableton.

[@sawtooth808]

Compared to Ableton, or Bitwig, or Fl Studio…yeah, the Octotrack, the Digitakt, even the Roland SP 404 mk 2 is limited. But if you keep your head down and work within those limits, you can get a lot done.

[@b2466-d8x]

How do these guys afford all that gear? I'm doing a blink analysis - they must be in debt or be from wealth

[@PabloInformation]

Well How bad do you want it? Its quite easy to accumulate that amount of gear in a 10 year period which is how long he mentioned he was developing his current work flow....Its actually only 2K or Less per year on gear! & (Ps. buy used)... But you have to be willing to make sacrifices to have the extra cash if your disposable income is low ....for example just don't go parting ,drinking or buying girls stuff & you'll save up a good chunk even with a minimum paying job. question is are you willing to make sacrifices for your dreams? if not you'll never have anything ...if so its actually quite easy Ps: my advice comes from 1st hand experience doing exactly what i proposed.

[@modal-kkurt4986]

It's easy to afford gear if you work and don't put it all up your nose!

[@sawtooth808]

Believe it or not, a lot of musicians by second hand when it comes to gear, if it’s new ish equipment, stores do offer the choice to purchase demo units that were used in the store for less money.

[@ethermod307]

That's a weird question. You know these guys are being paid for what they do, right? Each instrument has made its money and created a surplus as well.

[@DigitalJMusic]

Education, work hard and save a lot. You plan things in advance and I think most of us have been collecting since we were kids/teenager

[@spaceJuank]

Pro

[@gbrl_cyber]

100% no hipster bullshit attitude towards making music. that guy knows what's up.

[@neverheardofhim_so_far]

Nice that he is not one that pushes one and another vst like many others!

[@AndreasHimmes]

I‘ll Never understand the statement „Limited“ hand in hand with Tons of Gear. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

No one uses all the gear at the same time. Limit yourself to some selected gear per track.

[@sawtooth808]

@ElectronicBeatsTV ☝️☝️☝️This☝️☝️☝️ people should tattoo your response to the inside of their eyelids 😮‍💨😑

[@TheJacksonscience]

Dude has a ton of gear but it’s still limited in comparison to working inside the box with unlimited options where you can stack 30 effects on one plugin that can use 200 voices

[@pirateradioFPV]

Restricted =\= Limited

[@TeddyBaas]

Always a big debate on this, whether to tune drums or not

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

@BaltimoreReese That's not really a debate. At a professional level, drum tuning is a must. For a lot of people, it's just a matter of choosing the sounds that fit together by ear. There are different ways, the important thing is that the drum sounds and bass etc. fit together harmoniously and don't clash. If this is not the case, you have to tune accordingly to create a rounded overall picture. Exceptions prove the rule. Here is a video which goes more into detail kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3vclI1qr7uMq5Y

[@ExpectResistance]

It always surprises me when creatives talk about sound creation, experimentation, using your ears but then also have difficulty in accepting drums/bass not all tuned. Tuning your drums and bass is a preference, it’s subjective. It is very possible to create interesting sounds and music using both approaches.

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

@ExpectResistance In the end, everything is subjective. Some people intuitively choose sounds that fit together harmonically, others tune the ones they want to use. That doesn't mean that untuned sounds can't sound interesting in context. But there is a reason why bands tune their instruments so that they harmonize with each other. It's no different with electronic music.

[@pufu21]

😍🫂

[@leandrodomingues50]

I spot another OT with yellow knobs... :)

[@SpikesStudio3]

Bro, the word is "specific" not "limited".😐

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

There are some very „specific“ comments here 😉

[@miker23]

*Promo SM* 🤩

[@Vcg108]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees the irony.

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

@Vcg108 Or wants to understand it that way 😉

[@Vcg108]

@@ElectronicBeatsTV I mean it is a video, what you show is just as important as what you say 🤷‍♂️

[@a1o1]

That's a 200k studio .. crikey

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

@a1o1 Where do you get such fantasy sums from?

[@a1o1]

​@@ElectronicBeatsTV extrapolating from my own studio and a calculator!

[@ElectronicBeatsTV]

@a1o1 I see around 30k or rather 25k.

[@lucid484]

According to Deadmau5, tuning drums is stupid and a waste of time... 😂😂🤣🤣

[@------YeahOK------]

'My sound'?? Then we hear 909 drum machine lol.

[@new.romance999]

Why everybody says limit limit limitations creativity limit yourself limitations better. Go make music with buckets then.

[@Heathcliff_hensel]

The more gear you have the worse your music is.

[@kablehead]

What do you mean? He has a lot of stuff sitting around. 🙂