Livid DS1

[sigabort]

I do provide feedback on knob pickup position in gridlock on buttons - not as intuitive as in the knobs, but still workable

[tedlogan]

Hang on...$400 for a midi mixer? Are the faders motorised at least? I don't mean to be rude but this seems extremely expensive for just another mixer controller.

[Pitch Black]

@Pitchblack, do you have any kind of screen/laptop attached to the desks, or are they just standalone?

Standalone. Thats the point of my whole performance ethos, actually. When I play live, I have the laptop on the floor behind me, and don't touch it or look at it during the gig. Everything is done from hardware controllers.

I come from hardware dub mixing background - full live band, large-frame desk, completely analog. Putting a screen between me and the audience is like a third-party distraction in the equation, it takes away the relationship.

In my current setup, it's still a hardware performance - albeit hardware that was programmed and runs on a VERY capable computer and software package - but in the actual playing of it, its the hardware that I'm interacting with.

1990's Pitch Black live rig for an analog dub mix (at an outdoor party in the rain!):


Current Pitch Black dub rig (2 x Doepfer Drehbanks, the UC-33 at the top is for video):


Current solo set and live band dub rig (UC-33, marker pen freshened up just for the photo:-)):


So obviously I'm just the sort of person the DS-1 is aimed at, a UC-33 devotee who loves and works with one button = one function single-control for gigging. Encoders have their place for me in the studio but they feel sloppy and imprecise (for me) in the heat of a live gig. I also believe that not having a screen in the picture so to speak helps me compartmentalise a whole aspect of my brain for just listening to, and reacting to, the music.

Also, Ergo!

[Pitch Black]

I would love it if a knob's LED ring could go OFF or ON when moved from the zero position.
I could then literally see at a glance which knobs needed resetting to zero or default between songs.

Hi paddy! Forgive me, but wouldn't looking at the knobs tell you at a glance exactly where the knobs are?

Yes, absolutely! I should be able to, but in my practical experience, in the scramble to reset the desk between songs in the dark, usually while the dub is still decaying and acting as the link between the tracks, that I frequently miss something... and the incoming tune starts with some extreme wetness on one stem that was unintended!

I've recently started to work around that though, in the latest iteration of my showload Ableton set, I have a button for "total recall" resetting of all the mixer parameters (with the exception of the Dub and Master channels). I can hit this button and be assured that the software mixer is reset, and any leftover desk move will briefly come into effect when I go for that knob the next time. A quick instant-pickup of the hardware value that you don't hear, or is so brief it doesn't matter

[Jekblad]

Hang on...$400 for a midi mixer? Are the faders motorised at least? I don't mean to be rude but this seems extremely expensive for just another mixer controller.

US MAP is $450 on this unit. You're not being rude at all, just a few things to keep in mind. We hand build our units in Austin Texas out of high quality parts. This creates a completely different product and experience for the user than something mass produced by a Chinese facility made out of plastic parts. There is a market for both and that's ok!

If you want a no-nonsense durable MIDI mixer DS1 is going to rock your world, that's where it kills. As usual users will stretch the capabilities to the max and do all sorts of stuff we never thought of or thought was possible, and we love it. This is part of why I wanted to talk about DS1, so people with more complex ideas can get a chance to see what's possible and what isn't.

Paddy:
I love the total recall idea.

[muthafunka]

Looking at this and of course interested but having owned (past tense) a Base I have to ask about the banking and also the scripts/ease of programmability. Will there be any banks at all? My main gripe and reason for selling the Base was that though it had banks, when switching between banks the midi notes sent by the pads could not be changed. I investigated this heavily with support, forums etc and it was confirmed as such. For a pad-based controller for use with drums, Battery etc that struck me as madness.....so I suppose my concern is about flexibility. Beautiful as it might be, who needs a one-trick pony? Connected with this is the programmability/reassignment part. No matter how I tried programming, using the web-based editor (maybe there was an app too?) was uber-clunky, slow...just horrible, and looking to support, the forum etc it was in all honestly more like a university-level geeky electronics project and I'm usually fairly sharp and persistent with this stuff. This was only about 6 months ago and I haven't looked since returning it. The build was stellar, absolutely worth it and I get all the 'hand made in Texas' stuff 100% BUT if it's a pain in the balls to program then that's a huge downer. I'm looking at the Novation Control XL which is pot-for-pot probably not much different price-wise from the DS1 BUT, there is a useable, user-friendly GUI and editor. How will the DS1 cut it I wonder? Thanks

[Jekblad]

The DS1 does not have any banking capability within the firmware. We had a prototype with a display and after working with it and talking with the guys at Dubspot it just didn't feel right, or fit the original vision. We knew we'd lose some people over banking, but also that the majority of people looking for a unit with pots and faders aren't looking for banking as a priority.
That being said, we do have banking built into all the scripts (Ableton, Logic, etc) so you can still do it if you want to use it that way, but within the script.
Concerning the feedback on the editor and Base, thank you I'll be taking it to the team.

[muthafunka]

Thanks for the straight input JB. No banks in firmware....tbh not really sure how 'within the scripts' will work, also looking forward to hearing any more back on the editor story - as I said that was a MAJOR downer for me. I understand you have a vision, that's important but at the same time if that vision is formed in the basically fixed-use environment of Dubspot schools it unfortunately leaves less flexibility/adaptability and thus maybe chance of survival in the wild. Of course I don't know production details/implications etc seems odd to leave it basically hobbled when some comparatively (compared to developing the whole) minor programming would open it up to a potentially wider market. Ho hum...anyways, thinking out loud and of course props for getting it out there, as I said the build quality was superb, felt like proper 'gear' as opposed to a plastic box...one day.

[Jekblad]

Within scripts basically means if you have the Live script enabled, one of the buttons will bank you up 8 (or to the next) channel.

Working with dubspot certainly shaped the project. Not having a workflow in place means there's no wrong way for a controller to work you know? We should all just wipe the slate clean and start over... oh to be young.

[v00d00ppl]

bump. Anyone got one yet? Anyone also using it for Presonus Studio 1?

[PremEye]

I just received my DS1 yesterday.
Any chance of getting a script (and a description of its functions) for Ableton?

Initial impressions...AWESOME build!
Gonna get into it today (Hopefully with a script!)

[Airyck]

Is it possible to use two at a time to get 16 dedicated channels?

[Jekblad]

Prem you should find the script stuff here:
http://wiki.lividinstruments.com/wiki/D ... ote_Script

As far as two DS1's I don't see why not but I haven't tested such a setup. I'll look into it for you.

[Jekblad]

Is it possible to use two at a time to get 16 dedicated channels?

Just checked with the guys and this is possible.

Here's a sound design workflow featuring DS1. Although it shines as a mixer, it has a lot knobs that can do whatever you need!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFEApAT ... e=youtu.be

[Airyck]

Is it possible to use two at a time to get 16 dedicated channels?

Just checked with the guys and this is possible.

Here's a sound design workflow featuring DS1. Although it shines as a mixer, it has a lot knobs that can do whatever you need!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFEApAT ... e=youtu.be

Awesome thanks for the info! I'm very tempted to get a couple of these soon, just going to do a bit more thinking and researching.