Ableton Live for DJing

cjw296 · #1 (**permalink**) 2nd July 2008 , 08:57 PM

Hey Guys,

Was pretty disappointed with the official Ableton forums so hopefully here will be better.

I'm currently a heavy Serato + TTM57SL user for my DJing, I love the mixer-bsaed control, looping, cue points, crate organisation, playlists and searching capability...

...but I'd love to get all the cool features of Ableton involved in my DJ sets.

How do people set Ableton up such that you can build playlists, set cue points, loops, etc on the fly as well as easilly search through a couple of thousand tracks to decide what to play next?

cheers,

Chris

Lighthouses · #2 (**permalink**) 26th July 2008 , 08:48 AM

Well the good thing about Ableton is you can pre-analyse your music library so to reduce the loading time when you drag to the session layers, if you make a generic ableton session file you can set all your loop points to various songs and save it and then you'll be able to access all your pre-configured loops and envelopes if you so wished. Ableton might even save this info over into other session files I'm not sure. You can't build playlists like you would in, say, Traktor but I'm sure there's some way around this although I haven't found one that works for me

I've just switched over from Traktor and I can see why so many people are converting to DJing with Ableton, the level of control is incredible!

modz1 · #3 (**permalink**) 26th July 2008 , 01:02 PM

Hey Guys,
The 'DJ'ing with Ableton Live' question is something that gets raised often, could I ask any of you who come across, say, YouTube videos or other links of DJ's using, or explaining how they use 'Live' to post in this thread pls..? Let's see if we can get the definitive workflow and reference here..
Nice one!

Khazul · #4 (**permalink**) 26th July 2008 , 03:08 PM

There is no such thing as a definitive workflow for Live - once you get into using it, you will probably very drastically change the way you approach a live set from back a mix of tracks to being a harmonic mix of loops and phrases that flow in whatever way you see fit to suit that specific night.

The real key is I think resist the temnpation to being up a complex set with lots of channels in it - in fact restrict it to whatever works and remains easy to control fromt he controllers you have.

Simple and quality is allways way way better than complex and messy. In the end the clubbers want a fluid and interesting set with great energy ebb and flow etc and TBH I find that getting all quirky and technical just messes that up (my context is trance, electro house, tech house, progressive house).

So ill often keep everything too between 8 and 16 tracks including fx returns - this is because I can easily control this lot from a behinger BCF2000 and BCR2000 combo. Ill have all the fx return routing back to regular audio tracks just so I can have automations on complex effect movement etc as backup etc.

All my music phase and loops I tend to keep spread across 4 tracks - 2 of which are for the main phrases, the other 2 are for side loops extracted from those tracks.

maybe upto another four tracks for spot fx and drum loops etc. Then on the fx return tracks (which fed audio tracks), a useful spread of the kind of fx I want and allways included kick pumped compressor as well and dub delays etc.

But the real key I because I keep it simple and consistent - I dont have to really think hard about what know, button or slider does what- - its the same every time.

Dogboy73 · #5 (**permalink**) 26th July 2008 , 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by modz1

Hey Guys,
The 'DJ'ing with Ableton Live' question is something that gets raised often, could I ask any of you who come across, say, YouTube videos or other links of DJ's using, or explaining how they use 'Live' to post in this thread pls..? Let's see if we can get the definitive workflow and reference here..
Nice one!

There are plenty of vids on YouTube on this subject. Not all tutorials but there is some decent stuff on here;

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

conor_j · #6 (**permalink**) 29th July 2008 , 10:34 PM

One of the best features of live is its ability to be used in many different ways and the best method to discovery how to use it to suit your individual needs is to experiment.

I tend to use live in 2 different ways depending on where im using it

External (preferred but takes longer to set up)

I run 4 channels (Deck A, Deck B, Audio Loop, Midi Loop) as well as return channels out to 4 channels on a DJM800. All EQ'ing, Cue'ing etc is done with the mixer and I use a Trigger finger to launch clips and control Live's FX.

Internal (quick setup)

I use the same template in Live but just use the trigger finger to control Live's internal mixer, control clip launch, EQ, FX etc etc and run 1 channel out to a house mixer, hence the easier set up.

When performing a set I drag my tracks into either deck channel to mimic a traditional dj setup, but I like to split tracks into different clips/loops with various cue points and use my audio/midi loops to gel these together.

bosco · #7 (**permalink**) 1st December 2008 , 07:50 PM

Hi, I used to dj a bit a few years ago but sort of let it slide. I've recently got a lot more free time and decided to jump back in. I've been doing some research on Ableton and I think thats the road I want to go down. Ideally I want to be still able to use my cdj's while I get the feel for Ableton maybe I will always want to us them, I dunno. I've also get a djm700 mixer thats capable of sending midi. So can anybody suggest a good audio interface that will have all that I need and a bit of advice on hooking it all up would be really appreciated.

sureno · #8 (**permalink**) 1st December 2008 , 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bosco

Hi, I used to dj a bit a few years ago but sort of let it slide. I've recently got a lot more free time and decided to jump back in. I've been doing some research on Ableton and I think thats the road I want to go down. Ideally I want to be still able to use my cdj's while I get the feel for Ableton maybe I will always want to us them, I dunno. I've also get a djm700 mixer thats capable of sending midi. So can anybody suggest a good audio interface that will have all that I need and a bit of advice on hooking it all up would be really appreciated.

tbh i would suggest getting an audio8 dj because it will work with live and if you want you can get traktor scratch pro and use your cd decks to too, for dj'ing it is the best imo

bosco · #9 (**permalink**) 6th December 2008 , 05:52 PM

Ok, I've taken a look at the Traktor Scratch Pro Digital Vinyl System. It seems like a good package and if I can add ableton at a later date then it seems a waste to not make full use of my cdjs at the minute. Just wondering how do the cds hold up to use as I've seen they can also be purchased separately.

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#1 (permalink) 2nd July 2008 , 08:57 PM
cjw296 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 5	Ableton Live for DJing Hey Guys, Was pretty disappointed with the official Ableton forums so hopefully here will be better. I'm currently a heavy Serato + TTM57SL user for my DJing, I love the mixer-bsaed control, looping, cue points, crate organisation, playlists and searching capability... ...but I'd love to get all the cool features of Ableton involved in my DJ sets. How do people set Ableton up such that you can build playlists, set cue points, loops, etc on the fly as well as easilly search through a couple of thousand tracks to decide what to play next? cheers, Chris
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#3 (permalink) 26th July 2008 , 01:02 PM
modz1 Administrator Join Date: May 2008 Location: London Posts: 1,540	Hey Guys, The 'DJ'ing with Ableton Live' question is something that gets raised often, could I ask any of you who come across, say, YouTube videos or other links of DJ's using, or explaining how they use 'Live' to post in this thread pls..? Let's see if we can get the definitive workflow and reference here.. Nice one! ______________________________ *"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long.."*
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#2 (permalink) 26th July 2008 , 08:48 AM
Lighthouses Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 15	Well the good thing about Ableton is you can pre-analyse your music library so to reduce the loading time when you drag to the session layers, if you make a generic ableton session file you can set all your loop points to various songs and save it and then you'll be able to access all your pre-configured loops and envelopes if you so wished. Ableton might even save this info over into other session files I'm not sure. You can't build playlists like you would in, say, Traktor but I'm sure there's some way around this although I haven't found one that works for me I've just switched over from Traktor and I can see why so many people are converting to DJing with Ableton, the level of control is incredible!
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#4 (permalink) 26th July 2008 , 03:08 PM
Khazul Furry Filter Phreak Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Reading, UK Posts: 913	There is no such thing as a definitive workflow for Live - once you get into using it, you will probably very drastically change the way you approach a live set from back a mix of tracks to being a harmonic mix of loops and phrases that flow in whatever way you see fit to suit that specific night. The real key is I think resist the temnpation to being up a complex set with lots of channels in it - in fact restrict it to whatever works and remains easy to control fromt he controllers you have. Simple and quality is allways way way better than complex and messy. In the end the clubbers want a fluid and interesting set with great energy ebb and flow etc and TBH I find that getting all quirky and technical just messes that up (my context is trance, electro house, tech house, progressive house). So ill often keep everything too between 8 and 16 tracks including fx returns - this is because I can easily control this lot from a behinger BCF2000 and BCR2000 combo. Ill have all the fx return routing back to regular audio tracks just so I can have automations on complex effect movement etc as backup etc. All my music phase and loops I tend to keep spread across 4 tracks - 2 of which are for the main phrases, the other 2 are for side loops extracted from those tracks. maybe upto another four tracks for spot fx and drum loops etc. Then on the fx return tracks (which fed audio tracks), a useful spread of the kind of fx I want and allways included kick pumped compressor as well and dub delays etc. But the real key I because I keep it simple and consistent - I dont have to really think hard about what know, button or slider does what- - its the same every time.
Offline

#6 (permalink) 29th July 2008 , 10:34 PM
conor_j Super Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 297	One of the best features of live is its ability to be used in many different ways and the best method to discovery how to use it to suit your individual needs is to experiment. I tend to use live in 2 different ways depending on where im using it External (preferred but takes longer to set up) I run 4 channels (Deck A, Deck B, Audio Loop, Midi Loop) as well as return channels out to 4 channels on a DJM800. All EQ'ing, Cue'ing etc is done with the mixer and I use a Trigger finger to launch clips and control Live's FX. Internal (quick setup) I use the same template in Live but just use the trigger finger to control Live's internal mixer, control clip launch, EQ, FX etc etc and run 1 channel out to a house mixer, hence the easier set up. When performing a set I drag my tracks into either deck channel to mimic a traditional dj setup, but I like to split tracks into different clips/loops with various cue points and use my audio/midi loops to gel these together.
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#7 (permalink) 1st December 2008 , 07:50 PM
bosco Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 4	Hi, I used to dj a bit a few years ago but sort of let it slide. I've recently got a lot more free time and decided to jump back in. I've been doing some research on Ableton and I think thats the road I want to go down. Ideally I want to be still able to use my cdj's while I get the feel for Ableton maybe I will always want to us them, I dunno. I've also get a djm700 mixer thats capable of sending midi. So can anybody suggest a good audio interface that will have all that I need and a bit of advice on hooking it all up would be really appreciated.
Offline

#9 (permalink) 6th December 2008 , 05:52 PM
bosco Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 4	Ok, I've taken a look at the Traktor Scratch Pro Digital Vinyl System. It seems like a good package and if I can add ableton at a later date then it seems a waste to not make full use of my cdjs at the minute. Just wondering how do the cds hold up to use as I've seen they can also be purchased separately.
Offline