DJing with Ableton and the APC40 (I need guidance)

[infinitesinewave]

Hey guys... I NEED HELP!!! I've had some minor success on youtube trying to bring live elements to DJing and now I've caught myself in a bind. I'm primarily a musician... not a DJ... but there's a promoter in town who wants me to start DJing right away. I told him I still had to finish one more track using 4 Quneos (which is true)... and then I would be availabe. However... I don't know anything about DJing. I was going to buy all this fancy equipment but then I found some pretty awesome DJ sets on youtube with just the APC40 and Ableton.

I need some guidance... should I buy legit DJ equipment like the Pioneer DJM2000 or can I just do everything using my Quneos, the APC40, & Ableton (WHAT A GREAT PROGRAM... I wish I would have switched earlier). Will it be professional? I want to incorporate the live element of actually playing the instruments into my DJ set.

Am I getting in over my head? How long will it take for me to be prepared to actually do a decent job DJing for 1 hour-1.5 hours? Should I buy the professional equipment?

My inclination is to get creative with what I already own. Advice? Suggestions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqtJ6GrzTL0

[102455]

I just answered this in the other thread where you asked the same thing....

[infinitesinewave]

I know, i Appreciate it... But after i posted the question i realized the topic is unrelated on my other thread. So people will not look there. In response... I have the fireface400 . Great pristine soundcard.

[yur2die4]

Most important gear aside from a sturdy soundcard (comes in handy!) and fun and engaging controllers (also very handy, can be optional, but that would not be so fun:P ), is your brain.

Practice. Experiment, ask questions. Practice practice. Get familiar with your tracks, your gear. Practice in the light, in the dark. Find a love and passion.

Then be ready for everything you thought would be ideal, to be completely overlooked by people that have no clue what you are doing. Who will actually be listening? How will they listen to you? Will they hear you for te tracks you play, how you mix them, how you perform, or just whether or not you Look like an interesting fellow? Who knows!

Practice a 'solid' set, and practice loose sets. Practice being experimental. Practice being consistent. Probably record a couple sessions and listen to the context.

The dj has a few responsibilities. Depending on how they end up behind the 'decks' they can range from selling drinks, to retaining artistic integrity/consistency, to being thought of as completely fucking insane.

But all it really is, is putting songs in context (whilst keeping your decided responsibilities in check).

Have a good time and
Have good luck

[infinitesinewave]

Ok... so with the Fireface400, Macbook Pro, APC40, 4 Quneos, Ableton, & Massive... I have everything I need in terms of equipment?

[102455]

You seem very determined not to use a mixer!

Did you not see my reply in your first thread? viewtopic.php?f=4&t=192839&p=1512746#p1512746

[infinitesinewave]

The APC40 hasn't got a sound card though, has it?

When you're out on the road, you'll need something better than the output jack of a laptop to feed sound to the PA - so it may as well be a mixer.

Having external hardware that can work independently (not rely on being connected to the computer) is essential in a live situation if the worst happens and the computer crashes/freezes/reboots or just plain doesn't work for whatever reason. With a real hardware mixer you can easily have a backup audio source on standby.

Have a look at how this rather famous chap does it..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAhsVNBcvjA

Thanks for posting that vid... it was very helpful. I'm posting your quote above so that people know what we're talking about. I definitely need to construct a "backup" situation and you've definitely got me thinking on that. When thinking about my setup... I was planning on having two laptops running Ableton & synched... 1 laptop running the tracks, the 2nd running VSTs... with the DJM2000 mixing it all. The video shows a similar setup. However... this ideal setup is going to cost me $6,000. OUCH!!! I'm trying to abandon that for obvious reasons but still be able to accomplish what that video shows.

I'm producing on my desktop so I definitely need to purchase a laptop. I was going to get a macbook pro for 2,000 and upgrade to Ableton 9. I already own the APC40 and 4 Quneos for DJeffects, instrument, AB slider, & samples control on Ableton. I already own a soundcard, the RME Fireface 400. I'll get a mixer if I need it. What do you recommend? I just want to avoid having to spend more money.

[102455]

If you're trying to save money then why on earth are you talking about a Macbook Pro and a Pioneer mixer?!

As I said before, there are plenty of other mixers on the market - why the Pioneer blinkers?

If you don't want/need the built in USB audio then the analog equivalent of the mixer PVD uses would be the A&H Xone:92 $1500 or so new.

If you fancy using two laptops then, instead of a Macbook Pro, buy two non-Apple products.

[Evengy]

guys, why should he buy a mixer? played my first dj gig at saturday with my notebook, soundcard and vcm-600. before i started there was a guy with ableton live and a launchpad only and he played a nice set!

i played 3:20h with traktor and tried a - b mixing only to get comfortable and make some experience. im djing since 3 month i prepared and organized my music in the last month. i learned that choosing the right music is the most important thing and while i was mixing i thought "less is more". i want to be more creative but there is so much more to learn and my gig was only the beginning! ;D i concentrated really on the basics to play a good set. another thibg what i learned was that the track itself is more important than the key. i thought i must play 30 mins in G or something line that and yeah sometimes it's really nice but in the club there are other rules. i threw away some of my concepts in the first 15 mins. im so happy that it worked like that!

i can tell you that it's relative easy for a musician to learn djing. do you wanna play your own tracks only? at the end i think you need lnly practice. you have a lot of equipment and for myself i would try to reduce some of them for the first times and use that later if you are comfortable. concentrate on the basics first!

[102455]

guys, why should he buy a mixer?

I've already given the reasons.

You played with a notebook, soundcard & VCM-600. What would you have done if the notebook crashed? Where was your backup sound source?

[infinitesinewave]

That sounds like good advice. I've heard others tell me the same thing... "less is more." A well known dj in LA I spoke with three days ago told me that he uses Traktor on his ipad as a backup sound source. His computer crashed once during a live set and he said the audience started "awwwing" and then he hit play on his ipad and they all went crazy. He told me he hasn't worried about it since.

I just have to get the macbook pro and upgrade to Ableton 9. (The upgrade is not crucial or needed for DJing... 8 is plenty for that... but I just love Ableton... so I want to support them.)

So I decided on that setup. I do plan on mixing my own tracks in the set as well but I plan on playing the original material live and mixing it in and out of a set.

[Evengy]

guys, why should he buy a mixer?

I've already given the reasons.

You played with a notebook, soundcard & VCM-600. What would you have done if the notebook crashed? Where was your backup sound source?

yeah i think about that very often but in the other case whats when the mixer is damaged , some faders are not working, cables are danmaged and something like that? technique is always vulnerable and if it happens it happens

i try to configure my notebook as best as possible. i installed a second win 8, ripped down the services, deactivated everything whats possible (wlan, bluetooth, cd/dvd, graphic card etc.) and traktor is now running with 1-2% cpu but im searching for a backup too, maybe a mixtape on a mp3player etc.