We were honored to have a long-time Pyramind Mentor, often referred to as the godfather of custom MIDI controllers, Moldover, participate in our Online Artist Workshop. We had dozens of people from around the world join us to catch a glimpse of Moldover’s home studio as well as his range of original MIDI controllers.
Pyramind Director/Founder and Ableton Certified trainer Gregory Gordon kicked off the event, and welcomed everyone in. The chat room lit up instantly as it seemed people were eager to connect with us and more importantly, with each other even over a digital realm.
After a quick introduction, Moldover jumped in and began to share his story. Like any good superhero (or anti-hero in this case) he has an origin story that he shared with the audience. Having spent time in San Francisco, New York, and Boston he has crafted a unique sound and stage presence that has captivated audiences for years.
As alluded to earlier, Moldover is known as the “godfather of controllerism” due to his tireless work on creating innovative and revolutionary instruments that allow him to shape sound in tandem with Ableton Live. He shared videos of some of his early performances and trials with his now world-famous Mojo controller. The early prototype included a trackball, faders, buttons, and a whole host of other widgets that lead to what the controller is now known for.
As he progressed through his story he highlighted his latest album Four Track, which is a more “intimate” affair that sees him using his songwriting chops. In classic Moldover fashion, he utilized his Robocaster guitar controller and MC1 prototype microphone. The MC1 is a microphone that he runs through Ableton Live that taps into a robust rack of effects including delays, reverbs, pitch-shifters, and more.
If the attendees weren’t already familiar with Moldover, the scene had been set as we dove into his extensive rack and live performance setup within Ableton Live. Moldover went into detail on how he utilizes not only the tools within Ableton Live but third-party plug-ins such as Native Instruments Guitar Rig and Vocal Synth from our partners at Waves. Attendees had the opportunity to see some racks and effects chains that he is currently building and working on for companies as well as some of the original racks that he has built for himself and other artists. He went through the building process and how helped artists such as Bassnectar, DJ Shadow, and Mickey Hart amongst others create and use a live performance setup.
To cap off the event he touched on his free downloadable Max 4 Live tool called Setlist Fire which is a helpful tool for any live performer. You can find this HERE.
Attendees who had RSVP’d for the event were treated to some FREE Live racks designed by Moldover as well as a massive discount on the Pyramind Music Producer Program through Pyramind Online. This was a great opportunity to meet their mentor up close and personal as they can book him for a private One-on-One session.
It was an absolute pleasure to have Moldover kick off our new Online Elite Sessions. Be sure to stay up to date with us as we will have more exciting events coming up soon!
