Djing with Ableton

[WillamH]

Hi guys, firstly I apologise if this has been asked somewhere before or if it's a silly question.

I run Ableton in the studio on a Windows pc.I sometimes make studio Dj mixes using my Apc40mk2 and really enjoy the workflow. I have been asked to do a few Dj gigs in a club environment. Obviously I need some kind of computer on stage. Is it possible if I bought the new Ipad pro that I could run my Dj projects on stage where the Ipad replaces my old desktop computers role? Basically want to open my Dj template maybe have my set list of tracks loaded up and then use my Apc to control it..just like I do in the studio. It wouldn't be too complicated or Ott. Just a deck A/B kind of idea a bunch of songs and some effects chains.

Thank you kindly in advance,

William

[miyaru]

Nope, only Windows and MacOS are supported afaik.

[yur2die4]

You can do a lot of music and midi things on the iPad. You might not quite be able to do a workflow similar to Live, but there are a variety of ways you can make dj type things work out. But I wouldn’t go buying a Pro until you have a better idea of exactly what to expect as your limitations and possibilities.

I do have to say this. I’ve been in love with iPad music apps, and fun iOS environment for a few years now and it’s quite fun and exciting.

[orbita]

Consider a MS Surface if you want tablet format.

[WillamH]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the replies. Maybe I pad pro isn't way to go then by the sounds of things.

Do any of you dj with Ableton live, and if so may I please ask what laptop or Mac are you using?. I need something stable..

Ps - it doesn't need to be tablet form.

Regards,

William

[marcusm1]

Hi William,

Personally I use a 2015 MacBook Pro, and previously a dell xps 13. My preference is the Mac, mainly due to my personal preference of macOS - in terms of stability I’m not sure there’s any great difference though others may feel differently.

What makes this work really are the controllers - a launchpad mini for triggering tracks and loops and a Vestax vcm 600 for the main control surface. Along with these I have mappings for a number of effects (eq, reverb, delay, filters, etc)

Marcus

[TLW]

If you want to go down the ipad route NI do an iOS version of Traktor. Don’t know how good it is though. I’m typing this on a 9.whatever” iPad Pro and it’s pretty powerful for a tablet, the new ones more so.

Any computer that can run Live should be OK for DJing, it’s what Live was originally designed for all those years ago. If you need things like MIDI networking, then a Mac is probably the best way to go because it’s built in and they can handle it natively. Gigging is one of those times where the most important thing is stability and reliability, and being able to do a complete reinstall of everything very quickly is useful. Keeping a backup system image ready to go is a good idea.

[Tarekith]

Traktor on the iPad is pretty nice, and the new update coming next month looks even better. The Z1 and iPad are all I use for DJing these days, sold my S8 and haven't looked back.

[orbita]

A MacBook is a smart move because the Core Audio is very good and can be enough in situations when you do not need cueing via headphones, thus eliminating a separate soundcard.

Also Macs support Aggregate Devices which allows you to combine the Core audio with another Soundcard for when that is necessary. This is why I run OSX on my desktop PC as well.

Downside is that modern mac laptops come with only USB-C so expect to have to buy a USB C->USB hub and various other dongles. Small price to pay though.

[yur2die4]

I don’t know what your particular workflow is using the APC with Live, which is why I did not suggest a specific app.

But I will say that djay is a great free app. It won’t support the APC though unless you use their wonky subscription service. Not a fan.... but it does make the app extremely powerful. Still, when using it free it supports Link and has all standard dj functionality plus support for ‘specific’ controllers. Subscribers get midi mapping.

Stay away from the old Traktor app. No opinion on the new Traktor app, haven’t used it, but the old one doesn’t allow for a whole lot of customization and doesn’t support a lot of things within the iOS ecosystem. It’s beat detection is generally good but sometimes won’t allow you to fix an offset no matter how much you try (auto snap quantization).

But again, at the end of the day, I do feel ipads are brilliant music making tools in general. Offer things even a computer can’t do. But if you can’t find what you’re envisioning, don’t be surprised if you hit a few snags. Investing in a computer might work best for what you’re envisioning. These days a decent number of computers can handle basic Live use. Gets trickier for more power or if you’re considering hardware connection options.

[jlgrimes]

Hi guys, firstly I apologise if this has been asked somewhere before or if it's a silly question.

I run Ableton in the studio on a Windows pc.I sometimes make studio Dj mixes using my Apc40mk2 and really enjoy the workflow. I have been asked to do a few Dj gigs in a club environment. Obviously I need some kind of computer on stage. Is it possible if I bought the new Ipad pro that I could run my Dj projects on stage where the Ipad replaces my old desktop computers role? Basically want to open my Dj template maybe have my set list of tracks loaded up and then use my Apc to control it..just like I do in the studio. It wouldn't be too complicated or Ott. Just a deck A/B kind of idea a bunch of songs and some effects chains.

Thank you kindly in advance,

William

If you have Suite, with M4L, it might be possible using Touch OSC. I believe M4L supports OSC.

Check on the M4L forums.

I believe it is possible. It wouldn't replace laptop but complement it. It might be theoretically possible to create something like launchpad with it. So your iPad would be a controller.