Hey there -
Sonarcade wrote:I had a question about what you meant by turning audio channels on/off OR trigger clips. Do the 4x4 double as doing both or are you saying respectively the 2x2 handle exclusively the channel on/off functions while the 4x4 handle the triggering? And how do you deal with situations where each audio channel has more than 4 clips? Do you instead move clips to other audio channels when audio track 1, for example, is moved? Thanks again.
Good questions. I'll try to explain the best I can below.
Each of the two 4x4 grids serves to trigger clips. I run 8 channels of loops for my live sets. There may be one or two other channels of live inputs (drums via Impulse, keys sounds via VST plugins or Simpler, etc), but only 8 channels of pre-recorded loops.
I do this because I've learned that I can't handle much more than that in a live situation where I'm also working the mixer, adding effect, playing live instruments, and so on. That means a pair of 4x4 grids works well for me.
Since I can hit CAPS LOCK and do a sort of "bank switch" on the lower 3 keys in the grid, I essentially have a pair of 4x7 grids. The CAPS LOCK doesn't affect the number keys, so those stay dedicated to the first row of clips. Alternately, I could map these to channel mutes (the speaker icon) if I decided to, and just use a 4x6 bank of keys for cilp triggers.
The 2x4 grid and the number pad can be used for whatever. Lately I've been using the 2x4 grid to control effects parameters (turning Beat Repeat on/off, for example). The number pad is set up to trigger all clips associated with a track, so when I hit the top-left key on the number pad, it starts all clips associated with track 1.
Hope this gives some explanation. By popular demand, I've posted a JPG of my keymapping. It's nothing exotic, but it might help you understand what I'm talking about.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chromedecay/389414220
Keep in mind, too, that the wonderful thing about this setup (and Live, really) is that everything could get reconfigured if I decided on something better. I could either pop the keys off and shuffle them around, or just remap stuff inside Live.
My partner's IBM Model M keyboard is even more reconfigurable - it has removable keycaps that pop off while the keys themselves remain attached. I repainted 6 sets of the key caps, so they can get pulled off and moved without taking the actual keys.
http://flickr.com/photos/chromedecay/370911568/
Hope this helps!
Bill