Ableton setup

[p_brane]

very interested in getting into the live thing.

just wanted to know what hardware people are using to control ableton.

cheers

[rhythmtech]

behringer bcf2000 & bcr2000

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan05/images/behringer1.l.jpg

[stjohn]

what way do u setup Live barry?? playing my first liveset in a month, and i need to get preparing real soon!! if college would ever ****in finish!!

[eyeswithoutaface]

BCF2000 here too, lovely stuff

although if i had more wonga available i'd probably invest in another controller or 2

[rhythmtech]

at the moment im only djing my tracks off it with loops and samples over them

but i am working away on a full live set - which is set up as follows

live is in performance mode

track1 - kicks and bass
track 2 - snares
track 3 - overheads
track 4 percussion and drum loops
track 5 + 6 - synths
track 7 - atmos and fx
track 8 - misc samples

each track has a high & low pass filter, mute, solo, 3 band eq & simple delay attached to the controller.

then the extra controller knobs are assigned to various fx - glitch, beat repeat, chorus, master filters etc etc


bloody pain in the arse though :whoops: its taken my nearly 8 months to get as far as i have.. but i should be spending a lot more time at it than i actually do

[judas_beast]

I use a KorgMicro control. Use the keys to trigger different scenes or whatever they are called, have a load of effects on each channle (kick, bass, percussive synth, ride etc etc).

Ableton is wicked to play around on.

[eyeswithoutaface]

at the moment im only djing my tracks off it with loops and samples over them

but i am working away on a full live set - which is set up as follows

live is in performance mode

track1 - kicks and bass
track 2 - snares
track 3 - overheads
track 4 percussion and drum loops
track 5 + 6 - synths
track 7 - atmos and fx
track 8 - misc samples

each track has a high & low pass filter, mute, solo, 3 band eq & simple delay attached to the controller.

then the extra controller knobs are assigned to various fx - glitch, beat repeat, chorus, master filters etc etc


bloody pain in the arse though :whoops: its taken my nearly 8 months to get as far as i have.. but i should be spending a lot more time at it than i actually do

same here, live set wise ive been a bit slack but it does take alot of hard work as you know, and coupled with having various other production commitments sometimes the wheel turn's alot slower than one would like, but hey no rush really. Better to spend time getting thing's totally spot on than doing something half assed for sure

nice amount of control on just the BCF2000, i bet with the other bank of knobs on the bcr its even sweeter

[Honeey]

Just got the Korg Microkontrol a while ago and LOVE it for playing my live sets with Ableton.

http://www.midi-store.com/images/D/microkontrol_lg.jpg

I usually assign kick, hats, etc.. to the drum pads and it's loads of fun to punch away at them plus all the faders, joystick, keyboard, etc... come in real handy too and it's small and light :)

[RDR]

Just got the Korg Microkontrol a while ago and LOVE it for playing my live sets with Ableton.

http://www.midi-store.com/images/D/microkontrol_lg.jpg

I usually assign kick, hats, etc.. to the drum pads and it's loads of fun to punch away at them plus all the faders, joystick, keyboard, etc... come in real handy too and it's small and light :)


TELL more please!!!!

[judas_beast]

TELL more please!!!!


I'll tell you my view on them, in the words of Tony The Tiger: They're G-r-r-r-r-r-r-reat! I've got one, got it for £140, its sturdy (mainly metal not plastic) has 16 different ''scene's'' on board for most standard software, comes with a PC based editor, its easy to use, easy to program, looks good and is cheap. It even has 4 different colour lights on it! Amazing!

[Honeey]

TELL more please!!!!

Agreed with judas_beast I'm loving all the metal and good construction too.

Basically everything on it is assignable except for the little Korg part right beside the drum pad so you can be creative with it and use it however works best with your setup. I even assigned the joystick to 2 different parameters for x and y movement in camel space or similar fx and It's sort of like playing a video game sometimes lol

Specs:

Keyboard: 37 Keys (mini-keyboard, transmits velocity)
4-way Joystick (with switch)
16 Pads (can transmit velocity or fixed value)
8 Rotary Encoders
8 Sliders
Value Dial

Display:
Main Display: 8 characters (8x5 dot) with 3 segment backlit LCD
Sub Display: 8 characters (8x5 dot) with 3 segment backlit LCD
Tempo LED

User Memory:
12 (preloaded from factory)

Connectors:
DC 9 V (AC adapter)
MIDI IN, OUT, THRU
USB connector
Footswitch Pedal

Power Supply:
USB Bus Powered, or
DC 9 V (AC adapter), or
(6) AA batteries

Power Consumption:
AC adapter: 3.5W (Max)

Dimensions:
20.63" (W) x 9.13"(D) x 2.76"(H)
524(W) x 232(D) x 70(H)mm

Weight:
2.6kg/5.73 lbs.

[judas_beast]

Agreed with judas_beast I'm loving all the metal and good construction too.

Basically everything on it is assignable except for the little Korg part right beside the drum pad so you can be creative with it and use it however works best with your setup. I even assigned the joystick to 2 different parameters for x and y movement in camel space or similar fx and It's sort of like playing a video game sometimes lol
.


Yes mate, you know it. I use the joystick, in my live thing, to control the frequency and amount for the ''erosion'' effect, in Ableton. It's wicked!

[Honeey]

Yes mate, you know it. I use the joystick, in my live thing, to control the frequency and amount for the ''erosion'' effect, in Ableton. It's wicked!

yaaa! high five from Canada :)

[BloodStar]

i am using this little baby

http://www.musik-schmidt.de/osc-schmidt/catalog/images/CME_Bitstream_3X_1.jpg

[rhythmtech]

i am using this little baby

http://www.musik-schmidt.de/osc-schmidt/catalog/images/CME_Bitstream_3X_1.jpg


i tried to order one of them about 2 years ago but it was early production and they told me i had a 6 month wait. at the time my uc33 had been stolen so i needed something for gigs quickly.. shame.. they look excellent!!!

[judas_beast]

i am using this little baby

http://www.musik-schmidt.de/osc-schmidt/catalog/images/CME_Bitstream_3X_1.jpg

Toying with getting that or either the Remote Zero SL, funds allowing.

[BloodStar]

Yep the Novation looks nice aswell., I remember we were discussing it in other thread a few weeks ago,. So you still not decided, eh?

[BloodStar]

rhythmtech> they look wickid. Shame you couldnt wait for 6 months to get it. Absolutly lovely piece of gear. The construction is really solid, no plastics. + I have mine with a nice aluminium case as a bonus...

[p_brane]

i'm really liking the look of the bitstream. think i might splash out with next months bonus.

cheers guys

al

[trainspotter]

bitstream user here.

[RDR]

bitstream user here.

cmon then fess up, your critical evaluation please

[trainspotter]

well here goes! :)

it's pretty much my main thing in my set up right now, controlling everything from my old cz-101, multiface 2 mixer menu & overall anything i can send cc's to, oh something i left in review. It's goes really fast to assign in standard mode cc values so no need for using 3rd party software unless your doing advanced stuff.
Also wrote a review in gearjunkies, as per user wrote super negative about the unit. Have to assume the user hadn't really used it long enough, and hadn't even scratched on it's potiential.

Here 's review i wrote for nurser forum:

cons:
due to roland putting a stop on their patented d-beam infrared junk, meant they hade to also but in a ribbon control instead of d-beam, i hardley every use the ribbon could be good for some, more of a novelty thing in my book.

the buttons overall cost saving had to have gone in effect here, the button on the right hand side of unit don't feel very solid and and could of used some better push button feel to them.


pros:(ready for a long list)

1 x midi in,1 x midi thru,2 x midi out & 1 x din sync

usb and stand-alone powered with supplied power supply(believe it's a
regular 9 volt)

100 scenes = 100 presets

transport buttons if your in to that.

regular jump or latch mode so no jumping parameters changes with group changes(also visual arrows/values to show what direction you have to move to hit old value)

4 different setting modes for every group:
standard mode - all knobs faders send CC values printed on side of knobs and faders
mackie mode - for mackie emulation(admit never used this function)
reason mode - self explanatory good if your a reason user
user mode - my favorite, ability with editor to redefine everything including renaming knobs to custom names so no guessing what knob you moving, and using long sysex chains for multiple controlling knob action. of course every knob can send different midi channels etc.

midi configuration:
midi merge
using either separate or combined usb/midi in to send/block usb/midi out.
midi filter
want to block certain messages well you can.

lfo - assignable to anything and of course midi sync able, use your imagination

motion sampler - well not to most used function but i think it's like you can record 8 seperatate cc/parameter movements and playback.

arpeggiator - least used of all functions still to this day, arpeggaitor with list of presets no definable, and a bit cumbersome to get into.

joystick - this is also a very none used function but usable if you want some x/y midi controll action going on.

crossfader - nothing fancy but between the ribbon control and joystick this is by far the most used of the 3 assign to crossfade in ableton and done.

snapshot - send/save button for sending settings to hardware/software

not going into amount of faders,buttons and knobs on this, you can look at the picutre of it or the website at www.waveidea.com (http://www.waveidea.com/)

ability to switch screen display in to modes regular/invert color scheme.

metal case - yes it's metal case and it black, never can go wrong with this.
if i dropped it on the floor it will still work.


how i use it, well it's the main controller for everything from the dsi evolver to vst soft synths, a great feature if you disconnect or lose power it remembers all settings. i at first when i got it was overwhelmed a bit and after diving into the great manual ( something like 80 pages for a damn midi controller) and using for awhile it's a breeze.
some features like midi merge/filter can be confusing at first as it wont let stuff through if it's not set right but again manual and also when using the editor for sysex stuff(have alot of gear using this arcane format) i needed to contact waveidea for some support and they answered really fast and timely.

it's now pretty much a must in my setup and i strongly recommend it for anyone who wants a none endless rotary controller who like to feel the knobs rather than guessing it.

the knobs feel really good actually on it, the faders not so great but nothing you cant live with.
i've tried everything from doepfer pocklet control, behringer nano, kenton phatboy, uc-33 and various other ones.

[p_brane]

sold.....

to the man writing this thread..

[xfive]

This beast has been doing it for me:

http://www.analoguehaven.com/novation/remotezerosl/remotezero.jpg

[BRADLEE]

live is in performance mode

track1 - kicks and bass
track 2 - snares
track 3 - overheads
track 4 percussion and drum loops
track 5 + 6 - synths
track 7 - atmos and fx
track 8 - misc samples

each track has a high & low pass filter, mute, solo, 3 band eq & simple delay attached to the controller.

then the extra controller knobs are assigned to various fx - glitch, beat repeat, chorus, master filters etc etc


bloody pain in the arse though :whoops: its taken my nearly 8 months to get as far as i have.. but i should be spending a lot more time at it than i actually do


That's basically my exact method for the live sets too.

[neilried]

This beast has been doing it for me:

http://www.analoguehaven.com/novation/remotezerosl/remotezero.jpg

Yeah I got one of these kiddas too except the 25 key version....

Our current live set up is two laptops each with ableton, one with 8 audio outputs one with 2 (and the remote SL). all running into a soundcraft mixer with an FX rack (reverbs delays etc). Using a Rolland digi drum pad thing rigged into a Novation Drum Station... Yup it takes 4 hands to just about control it all :o)

[bblaze]

My current ableton setup is a microKontrol and an Evolution UC-33

I run 8 channels.. basically
Chan 1 - Drums
Chan 2 - Bass
Chan 3 - Synth
Chan 4 - Synth/efx/loop

then repeat for the other 4 channels.. i consider it a hybrid of live and dj, whereas i remix 2 songs together live.. i like it.. it works for me..


On the UC-33, I've got 3 band EQ and volume for each track.. I use Next/Prev buttons to scroll thru my set.. On the microKontrol, I've got cutoff and resonance for each track.. I use the pads as mutes and start selected sample.. then i can scroll around on the uc and start loops on the microkontrol...

[judas_beast]

I'm still loving the microKontrol for ableton. I use the 'keys' to trigger each scene, have 14 channles in Ableton running, kick, clap, snare, hi hat, synth, vocal etc, use the slider and knobs to control the amount of effects or filter freq etc on each channle, and the pads to turn effects on an off.

[audioinjection]

This beast has been doing it for me:

http://www.analoguehaven.com/novation/remotezerosl/remotezero.jpg

ahh yeah i want to get that one!

[danielmarshall]

This beast has been doing it for me:

http://www.analoguehaven.com/novation/remotezerosl/remotezero.jpg

Never looked back. SOOOO powerful, plus it looks farking awesome.