ableton live and dj'ing set up ?????

[andy johnson]

hi folks, i would like to start dj'ing with ableton live and leave the trusty 1210's behind .
as i have not much idea on the set up required could anybody help me out with a few suggestions? i like the look of the uc 33e to control the ableton but what pc to use ? i cant afford a mac so am looking at a dell as they have some good deals on.
do i need a second sound card?? would a seperate hard drive to store all the tunes on be an advantage??
thanx for your help
andy

[buzby]

hey andy

i ve been using live a bit for dj-ing and also just got virtual dj

you can see my laptop specs below but after lots of driver configuration problems with various things im getting a mac at xmas -

i ve been using the uc-33 and love it - also sometimes using the evolution x-session together with the uc-33 but mostly use the uc-33 alone

a second sound card ?- im using a omega which only has one line out so i routed the cue out from live to my laptop's soundcard and plug my headphones into that for cueing

i just use the space on my laptop for songs that i play but then store the songs and analysis files on an external hard drive (make sure to save all your warping changes etc so you dont have to keep doing it for the same tracks)

in the live set i have 3 tracks for 3 "decks" - 2 loop pools - in each track i have an eq 3 and in the loop pools i put some effects units if needed

hope this helps...

buzby

[dinobot]

My 100% working set-up to DJ is,

1.5 GHz Powerbook, 2GB. The extra ram certainly helps.
MacBook or older MAC would be o. K. don’t know about PC’s but I am sure there are happy users out there.


Echo DJ Indigo soundcard. I have tested and tried couple soundcards. M-audio, Edirol. All of them had issues with E.G crashing, audio quality.
However this is just my experience, I am sure there are happy users out there in the community using those brands. I’m lucky that in Japan I can try out equipment 30 days, and return the product if I am not 100% happy. The Echo card is small, and looking from the stand point that when you DJ out in clubs you have limited space, and each Dj booth is different. The Echo DJ Indigo gives you two options. Master and Cue, or 2 channels to the DJ mixer. E.G LINE 1, LINE 2.
I would like to get a Motu Ultralite when I upgrade to a MacBook Pro. So that would give me the option of 4 channels, but also remembering that it is always best to have CDJ on hand to mix in and as backup.


4 RCA Audio-Technica leads + Connection plugs to the Echo ($150US)
I feel that it very important to buy the best RCA cables available. It makes such a difference.

Icurve stand that helps the laptop sit nicely in the DJ booth.

X-session, that allows me effects, 4 EQ, Beat repeat, Ping Pong, Auto Filter Etc. I do have a X-station keyboard, but again for room in the DJ booth.
Less is more and X-session is great.

One the thing I do make my CPU run smoother, is Render all my songs to an external disk and save them in Record box type order. So my DJ tracks are all Aiff, so not using Decoding Cache in live.
This make the world of difference my system runs at CPU 10-15%
Also you can have global BPM and burn all those Aiff tracks to CD as backup or mix in them in when you DJ. I would highly recommend you use an external hard disk to render all your files to, and import them back to your Laptop record box for use when you DJ out.

I mix 3 to 5 hours sets, with my equipment and this runs beautifully gee I love Ableton!

If you haven’t already search the forums and check out http://abletonlivedj.com

[andy johnson]

thanks very much for your help .
cheers
andy

[d.chong]

andy

Don't buy a edirol fa-66 it's shitty and it fucked one of my shows, if u plan on using it professionally, get a macbook (pro if u can afford, but regular is good too ) with 1gig ram, a good fw ext harddrive (don't be cheap take the best it's your records you'll be putting there, I personally use la cie little big disk ) with a box that will compensate the vibrations if u play in big clubs and a good steady sound card (rme kicks ass).
For the controller it mostly depends on your budject.
There is a non official ableton live dj forum where they reviewed most of the controllers available, u'll find the adress easily looking at the forum.
Cheers
David

[RePeter]

Don't get a dell... heard bad bad things about them in the past.

You generally get what you pay for with PCs, a few extra quid (spent on a PC or a Mac) and you could have a laptop which is alive for twice as long.

The most important thing to buy (in my opinion) is a decent controller or two. Without one you simpy won't be able to get down!
The one UC33 is good, but the beringers are very highly rated and cheap.

Get a sound card with two individual outputs, and low latency ASIO drivers are a must.
To get started google ASIO4all and use that with your internal soundcard.

Finally an external hard drive will be more important the more you get into it, especially when you fill up your laptop's drive.
Then get a second one to make a backup with.

Its not cheap, so take your time a don't buy stuff just for the hell of it, otherwise it'll gather dust.

[Rokko]

Can't afford a mac?

Last month I did a little comparison between the macbook and the most similarly specced dell laptop I could find. I was pretty shocked at the results - the mac was better (or at least as good) in every aspect, and was £150 cheaper than the dell.
Not so expensive after all!

[vinkalmann]

Seriously look at the Behringer BCR2000 over the UC33e. I have both and prefer the Behringer hands down. After I got the Behringer the UC33e has gotten little use.

[LJ Martin]

Seriously look at the Behringer BCR2000 over the UC33e. I have both and prefer the Behringer hands down. After I got the Behringer the UC33e has gotten little use.

without starting a war I would say exactly the opposite

try them both if you can and see what you like

[andy johnson]

well, i went and bought a uc 33e ( off ebay) it seems to work quite well, i think it'll do for me , apart from my pc acting up, am now serching for a mac laptop at the right money.
cheers
andy