This Overlooked Ableton Feature Will Level Up Your Mix

Using the Envelope Follower in Ableton Live (or the peak controller in FL Studio) can unlock some powerful and advanced processing options to make your music sound better. These free tools save you time and deliver better results when compared to alternative methods with multiple plugins, parameter adjustments and routing.
I also show you how to automate 3rd party plugins in Ableton and use the Peak Controller in FL Studio.
One of the songs used in my video is La La Land by Kennedy Wilde (available on all platforms)
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0:00 - Intro
0:15 - Setting up the Envelope Follower
1:52 - "Sidechaining" Envelope Follower
2:30 - Automating 3rd Party Plugins in Ableton
3:18 - Advanced mixing techniques
4:22 - FL Studio Peak Controller Alternative
6:08 - Why is this better?
#ableton #mixing #musicproduction

[@inthemix]

Don't worry folks, I haven't switched DAWs. I use a variety of software when mixing/mastering for artists and I like to stay fresh with all of them. Plenty more tutorials and content coming soon! Michael

[@gtmlsmsc]

😂 just had silent attack

[@rmn_sxn]

​@@gtmlsmsctrue

[@SchulleHBS]

Ich würde mich freuen wenn du mehr Videos über Ableton machst! 😄

[@inthemix]

@@SchulleHBS Ich mache mir Notizen!

[@gtmlsmsc]

@@inthemix I thought you are from the UK

[@sancessounds]

Please always do this! I am legit never on social media so this would be amazing content for us and for you!

[@inthemix]

I’m hearing this quite a lot, I will do!

[@mattfrenden1000]

Always do what?

[@62433N]

@mattfrenden1000, what they were talking about right there was Michael making a dedicated video on KZbin about short tips and tricks that might have gone viral elsewhere on social media, in this case, Instagram.

[@DJPastaYaY]

So weird but so cool to see Ableton here haha

[@inthemix]

Yeah it feels a bit odd!

[@bruhmastergachisound]

Hi pasta🙂

[@DJPastaYaY]

Hey there!@@bruhmastergachisound

[@KDEADS]

Yet again, excellent advice. No gimics, no ego, no waffle - just great advice delivered in a clear and humble way. Thank you.

[@pick_nark]

I slept way to long on peak controller in FL but I find myself using it to control all kinds of things nowadays. You can use the smoothing option while linking to controller to make it not so jumpy.

[@Slimmaxmusic]

For thoes of us using Ableton but always come here to learn, its really amazing seeing you doing ableton tutorial.🤝

[@baymax001]

Please do this always, Like taking about a concept and showing it on different daws, Maybe There's more FL users but the main concept is the important part 〽️

[@ancientmodesty9300]

So happy to see you posting more regularly again. Keep it up, your FL content is near unmatched as far as I'm concerned!

[@moffatbanda6001]

I have always known you as an FL guru, It's nice to see you delve creatively into Ableton live, great tut

[@JamesMusicPH]

It amazes me seeing you explore Live (Ableton). That's the first DAW I learned after switching from the free LMMS.

[@r3ttgaming177]

I can be farily creative when routing the envelope follower to stuff... But holy... Using the envelope follower to sidechain with an EQ. OH MY GOD!! That's some of the most big brain shit I have ever hear anyone say!!!! My brain is officially blown! 🤯 BRAVO!

[@vsp237]

Great tip mate! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@JTUCKTAMAGASTAD]

Pure gold content as usual… real talent shows others how to achieve the best…

[@jeremyformerlyknownastoken8218]

Really nice to see some Ableton on this channel ! Hope to see more

[@djvar94]

This is really cool! Thanks a lot for sharing :)

[@OMNICHROMATICA]

man your videos are always excellent!

[@Babelfish112]

Awesome tip, thanks!

[@ChrisM541]

Very well explained. Envelopes are, in effect, gates, and we can already assign tracks to any number of gates. Simply use the gate as a function input to whatever you want to do elsewhere...affecting separate track/tracks/busses etc.

[@leeanedominic]

Man, this channel is the best.

[@Silentnarcotic]

THANK YOU!!! I was doing this using the FabFilter MB and my trial ran out. So simple but sometimes it's hard to wrap your head around the most effective way to do this.

[@Astral-Sine-Techno]

Very useful! Thanks for including FL as well.

[@lucvanheumen2246]

omg, I switched to ableton a while back for a lot of different workflow reasonings but the main thing I always missed is having a peak controller! I didnt even know this was a feature! Thank you so much!

[@adrianclarke7935]

Great video as ever. A very useful method simply explained, thank you. (b.t.w. colour coding the plugins/effects/devices in Ableton makes them easier to find)

[@DJChonguito]

Still loving your content. Keep up the good work! Also your plugin is amazing!

[@inthemix]

Thank you so much!

[@HumanMotives]

Great stuff 👌🏼🤘

[@surmeetdhaliwal8735]

thank you so much bro for sharing it🎉

[@crazyfluke]

This is awesome, always wondered what that fl plugin did.. anything this useful that doesn't cook my potato CPU is gold! Thanks for another great video 👍

[@Reggi_Sample]

Can probably do a whole KZbin series on what can be done with the envelope follower and lfo options in Ableton. Love to see more, even though I already use the thing it’s still cathartic to watch and always new ways to implement. A big reason why I no longer have a Digitakt as I ended up mainly using it for similar features

[@itstommy135]

Id love to see that

[@TomUsurp]

Bro awesome, new FL user here learning through your videos. This pretty much functions like Fabfilter ProQ or TDR Nova sidechain I do in my other DAW Reason

[@lincelukose4683]

Thank you for this Ableton video

[@Zombies8MyPizza]

Always used this techique on FL to scoop some bass out of my 808 basslines whenever the kick is hitting, very effective for avoiding horrible low-end clashing and muddiness!

[@DarkTrapStudio]

Very boujee way to do it rather than multiband ^^

[@Zombies8MyPizza]

@@DarkTrapStudio Just find it a lot easier to visualise I guess

[@DarkTrapStudio]

@@Zombies8MyPizzaAlso !

[@norand022]

Another way of having kind of dynamic EQ and stuff 😁👏🏻👍🏻

[@DanBris]

this is so helpful tysm comrade

[@xnervemusic]

Hey Michael can you please make a full beginners tutorial on how to use Ableton?

[@inthemix]

If enough people want to see that, I'd happily make a beginners guide for how I would approach using Ableton.

[@harshitavlogs]

I was gonna ask too!

[@xnervemusic]

@@inthemix Maybe you can set up a poll over your KZbin or Instagram and let people answer :)

[@inthemix]

@@xnervemusic Good idea!

[@bhargavdobhal5327]

Thank You Bro🙌🙌Very Helpful Video🔥🔥.

[@losmandu]

Thanks for the tip. Double thanks for showing Ableton.

[@SonicDephect]

Thank you for the ableton tip! Game changer

[@omarwhite3627]

I’d love to see you do more Ableton videos

[@lattetown]

I started out with Ableton Live 10 years ago, and I have never used that plugin...so thanks for the tip!

[@Maximoltz]

I was kind of doing the same thing using Fabfilter plugins Sidechain feature but this one is quite CPU friendly, Thanks for sharing!

[@inthemix]

Fabfilter users are already a step ahead with that! But this is handy for other effects too!

[@walterwischmob2914]

Makes me want to experiment with other possible options one could link to stuff via the "link to controller" function. Seems to be an underrated tool. Thanks for the video :]

[@ShineDj-zt1vt]

Need more from Ableton micheal!!

[@aro7975]

Funny (great) to see ableton here now. I main FL but actually picked up the Standard Live 11 for some of its benefits with audio warping.

[@kid.forever]

Sick! Thank you!

[@inthemix]

No problem!

[@skjortan]

I love theese eco friendly vst tips

[@CherubimMobileProductions]

This is FANTASTIC, Love from N-E India

[@bigfuzzztv787]

DAUM,... GREAT EPISODE BRO,...

[@abletonproducer0014]

Just discovered it a few days ago and lovin it

[@flikelpipd]

Loved it!

[@leowalless9328]

Excellent! Thanks :-)

[@baymax001]

I like your wooden headphones stand 😍

[@JoeyGodsey]

The return of the King!

[@yurtch3862]

I actually use this feature in FL for a little bit over a year now. I usually find out where the kick in my mix hits the loudest. Then I load in a peak controller and let it cut out the frequence of the kick in the bass.

[@juliansvidal]

Dude that’s sick. Ima try this now 😂

[@imwitdeschyt]

I just purchased the final 2 editions of my FL studios, so I was interested in how to use that peak controller. Good looking out!! It's still a lot I don't know, but I'm learning as I go on.

[@DSWL_]

good luck bro it 🤘

[@JunMan]

THANKS!

[@bpm-hz]

brilliant!

[@apatsa_basiteni]

The best way to avoid guessing the values for eq mid value is just to type value 0.5 for the FL studio's peak controller, then you can adjust volume and tension knobs to your heart's content. ❤

[@h_endal]

MORE ABLETON TIPS PLEASE YEAHHHH

[@prodMukut]

Please make a video on manual vocals tuning

[@cirusraskil]

Thank you buddy. Quick question: Do we have he equivalent in Pro Tools?

[@aka_ghost1897]

how did you even find this thing??? this is awesome 😲

[@AG_before]

Good stuff! 💯 Anything similar in Audition? Thanks.

[@gepmrk]

The first time I saw someone do this was 6 years ago in a Live session by Russian DnB producer Nami. I could see the EQ8 nodes jumping up and down but it took me a while to work out how he was doing it. BTW the Envelope Follower that appears in the Audio Effects folder in Ableton IS the M4L device.

[@inthemix]

Oh I must have made a mistake there. In the M4L folder, there is a different one that is blue and doesn’t quite have the same controls? Luckily this method works for both!

[@hoossembechiri6136]

U r the best bro ..wich daw is best for u pllllz ...about ....beatmaking ......recording .... Vocals tracking ......mixing ....mastering

[@casinomann]

0:25 Just a minute correction: the envelope follower you are using is indeed a M4L device, you can tell by the symbol of the effect itself. So just a heads up, people will not be able to use this without Live Suite or purchasing M4L.

[@hamedroshan8960]

did you use Carla or pedalboard to get that real-time tuning sound?... you asked me how can you use krisp as a plugin... you can use any plugin (vst & vst3) along with some software like krisp with those software i mentioned before ❤

[@G1ne303]

or should I just grab your newest one? and thank you for doing these videos im learning a lot of essential information about what this stuff is and why its to be used in their respective ways

[@StudioDirector]

Upload full video tutorial for Abaltone live .

[@clickbaitpro]

Fruity Peak controller does the same and you can go wild with formula controller and envelope controller inside the patcher

[@ezencrow]

Thanks for amazing tips! Do you know any similar plugin for Logic Pro? Many thanks!

[@JontieDesario]

Hi Michael, I love your channel and have been following you for years. Hands down the best channel for FL Studio on YT. I have a question that I can't seem to find an answer for. I'm using Native Instrument's Noire Piano in FL Studio. The problem is that during playback, it tends to peak and cut out (it gets worse as the track goes on). When playing exported files, a lot of the longer midi notes are also cut off prematurely. Do you know why this is happening or what I can do to fix the problem. Thanks and take care.

[@inthemix]

Honestly I have never heard of this issue but have you replicated it in an empty project? I used to have issues with Kontakt and FL compatibility in large projects.

[@grin_vod]

ur so cool and helpful! ; )

[@igglue7671]

This seems like a more advanced sidechain. But very cool techniques!

[@Kleinebombair]

Please Show us more Ableton Stuff

[@bobdevore24]

Very cool. Unfortunately the envelope follower effect is not included in my version of Ableton (Intro).

[@saucythighs]

@inthemix What might be the purpose of using this vs. dynamic EQ?

[@Grid21]

I have a question, I have TDR Nova EQ, and I think I saw a feature like this that auto cuts parts of the audio without linking it to any other controller, are you familiar with that plugin? And am I correct that it's built into it?

[@G1ne303]

bro Im interested in your template but which one is best to grab for parallel processing

[@eggladoid2215]

Is there a way we could do this but with selected frequencies such as when sibilance hits it ducks the low pass on a reverb or something

[@cybermousey]

YES FL studio stuff, always interests me. Though you should hear that. ^_^ TY

[@lioneltall7219]

Bro! for a sec i thought you've change DAW to Ableton. Phewww. 😅

[@rajivmodha3693]

Is there something similar in Studio One? Thanks.

[@niallmcconnell6776]

🔥

[@imasured]

Doesn't TDR nova do the same trick? You can choose a certain frequency range & u enable threshold it will sorta balance it out. Or unless im confused😅

[@coolborndj]

I think you can do something similar with the Peak controller in Fl

[@inthemix]

Absolutely, I show that method at the end of the video. In some ways I prefer the Peak Controller (more links, more fine adjustment) but the Envelope follower is more simple and quick. Both are great!

[@coolborndj]

@@DarkTrapStudio Yeah sorry I noticed it later 🥲

[@DarkTrapStudio]

@@coolborndjOh sorry when I posted the comment his response to you were not there :)

[@coolborndj]

@@DarkTrapStudio No problem man :)

[@hv1461]

Can you do anything this in Logic Pro ?

[@delirivm0000]

omg it exists for fl

[@Adsha316]

Hi guys . I had a question, I'm new to making professional music and i want to make music in ncs style or dubstep gutter, which daw you think suits me best based on your experience, fl or Ableton?

[@lushinjilo]

I came here because of Ableton, slowly expanding my DAW selection from just FL and Pro Tools.

[@ShantnuBhardwaj-ug3sh]

Soundcore q10 better or oneodio pro 10/50

[@kuvasik]

I there any free semilar plug-in like this for Qubase??

[@playmakersmusic]

I'm relearning music production especially mixing and also switched from FL to Ableton. This will come in handy, thanks Michael!

[@amigazo3972]

The ultimate betrayal!! 😂 Using Ableton!!

[@nunyabizfam106]

(In FL) Can you do this with 3rd party plugins?

[@noone_3.0]

Thank you Cillian Murphy!

[@paweld9745]

dope. thank you

[@DarkPhive]

A better option in FL is load Patcher --> Multiband Sidechain preset

[@Lennard222]

Quick question. Is there the possibility to limit the envelope follower to a certain frequency band. (De-essing and parallel compassion comes to mind)

[@inthemix]

You could achieve this with a send track. Filter the send so it only contains the frequency content you want. Put an Envelope Follower after the send and use that to control your desired parameter. I would mute the output of the send

[@Lennard222]

@@inthemix Smart solution ;) Thanks

[@vj-nikkolax8008]

Help!! If I had 20 instruments and I have the number 1 selected, how can I select the number 20 with the PC keyboard Without having to go down and select one by one with the arrows ? I need to move faster When I'm improvising, in maschine MK3 it's possible to do it with the pads, but in FL I don't know how to do it but!!!... I know that is possible because I can do it with an M-audio axiom49 but I don't want to use it in my workflow 😐

[@youngkizzi9944]

Wow, Ableton... unexpected 😅 But truly insane!