The Shuffled LFO tut

The Shuffled LFO tut

Presets:

NI Massive preset (Massive version 1.1.5+)

Ableton preset (Ableton version 8.1+)

Basically all music that I myself prefer to listen to is not absolutely sync. By sync, I don’t mean that the sounds correspond to one another in the dimension of time. I just mean that I mostly like to listen to something thats not in the realm of being bound to the sequencing possibilities of a tr909.

Now most digital workstations support a shuffle or swing function, but then again, most virtual instruments don’t. However, since most modern virtual instruments are so diverse that you can basically do whatever you want, this problem can be solved easily. Let me demonstrate by using NI’s massive:



The Trick:

As you might have heard in the Indikings Mix tape, using a shuffled / swing LFO is getting pretty hip. In days before, LFO’s were bound to it’s usual western stubborn steady feel. But since software has been developing in the same direction as our needs, it is now possible to get an LFO do do whatever you want.

In NI’s Massive, I solved the problem by using the dual low frequency oscillators provided for a Massive LFO. Modulating the mix between the two waveform provided for LFO 1 by a square wave in LFO 2, and by delaying the start time of the second waveform in LFO 1 at the same time, we can create a shuffled or swing modulation which can be applied to any parameter in the synthesizer.