Articles by Martin Delaney

Best beginner DAWs: Ableton Live 11 Intro

How to use mid/side EQ in Ableton Live: "When we split mid and sides, we can take the opportunity to adjust the levels of these elements individually, and even apply different effects to them"

By Martin Delaney published 23 March 24

Mid/side EQ is a mixing technique that can be put to practical or creative use, and Live has what we need to apply it

Ableton on Live 12's accessibility revolution: "When you say 'accessibility is not on your roadmap', you’re cutting out a lot of musicians from being able to use the tools that you make"

By Martin Delaney published 26 February 24

Ableton’s Accessibility Specialist Adi Dickens and blind musician Andre Louis speak to us about Live 12 and Note’s improved accessibility for the visually impaired

How to use Granulator III, the new version of Ableton's powerful granular synth in Live 12: "We were frequently distracted from writing this tutorial by encountering great new sounds to save for later"

By Martin Delaney published 9 February 24

One of the best Max for Live devices has been given a refresh. Here's the lowdown on its latest version

Polyend Play+ review

By Martin Delaney published 4 January 24

£699
€799
$799

Polyend’s Play was a thing of wonder but it missed one thing: synthesis. Now the Play+ comes along, with synths and a physical upgrade offer for users of the original

8 Ableton Live tips that you need to know about

By Martin Delaney published 9 November 23

Tips and techniques for Live users hoping to make the most of their DAW

10 more things you didn't know Ableton Live could do

By Martin Delaney published 30 October 23

Are you making the most of Ableton? We explore ten more lesser-known features of this powerful DAW

Akai Pro APC64 review

By Martin Delaney published 10 October 23

£339
$399

Not so much a tweak as a full upgrade, the Akai APC64 acquires new abilities – and a new audience?

10 things you didn't know Ableton Live could do

By Martin Delaney published 15 September 23

The basics of Live are easy enough to grasp, but there’s far more to this DAW than meets the eye. Here are our ten choice picks of hidden (and not-so-hidden) extras

Akai Pro MPC One+ review

By Martin Delaney published 7 August 23

£699
€799
$739

Akai’s MPC One+ upgrade brings Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a little more storage and a hot red finish. We give our verdict

Fantastic (stock) plugins and how to use them: Ableton Drift

By Martin Delaney published 3 July 23

We take you on a guided tour of Ableton Live's new, MPE-enabled virtual analogue synth

Akai MPC X Special Edition review

By Martin Delaney published 26 April 23

Akai's flagship MPC gets a refresh, but it's about more than just the retro grey paint job

Atau Tanaka: "I didn’t want to hide behind racks or synths - I wanted electronic music to become a live medium"

By Martin Delaney published 17 February 23

Creating electronic music using the movement of his own body with custom-built software, Atau Tanaka takes the ideas of software control and performance to a completely new level