Ableton Forum

Hello,

So im looking to get a controller or multiple controllers, mainly for studio work, id like some keys. Budget up to $600.

Ive really no idea what to get, ive read many posts and various reviews, been put off the novation remote - fader fox seems to get good reports, but are they mainly for performace. Anyone own an axiom?

Any comments and tips much appreciated, cheers!

You can start at google first of all...then search for retail audio stores online. Compare whats out there and what you need then buy whatever fits. No one can really tell you what to buy.

My biggest advise is take the "reviews" on certain products from forum members with a grain of salt. Most people dont know what they are talking about. You can come to a much more solid understanding of gear by reading magazine reviews and thorough study of the product's manual.

for $ 600 I´d buy a keyboard and drumpads. No wait, do you have monitor speakers? A pair of monitor speakers and the novation remote sl. Who put you off? When reading all those posts you have to be aware that people who are into the subject sometimes complain at a high level. You might read that automap sucks, but even if it did (it doesn´t) the novation remote sl compact is still a great deal and you can use it independently of the automap! Its cheap, has many controls and usable drumpads.

About the monitors: Go test them yourself. When I started to get into these things I heard someone more experienced than me say: Genelecs suck. When I went over to the store I didn´t even bother to test them because an expert had said they sucked. I shouldve tried them, for many its their favorite choice (but my blue sky mediadesk are awesome! ).

It depends what you want to control.

For composing a keyboard is best, with some faders and rotaries and transport controls to get you started.

Cheap might be good to get you going.

Check out the M-Audio stuff.

Cheers Folks. I have a set of genelec's actually, very nice sound. Yes Tytus i have trawelled the internet and read many reviews. At the moment its a toss up between the m-audio axiom series and the novation sl series....

Any more input appreciated.

You could get a nice synthesizer that'd double as your keyboard controller, too.... so don't neglect that market.

So, it's not a moog or a virus, but for the price, Novation XioSynth is a fucking bargain.

Audio interface, midi controller with knobs/joystick/xy-pad and an onboard synth that definently rivals the microkorg, all for 300 bucks. And if you want twice as many keys, just add another hundred.

Such a steal. I keep mine in my laptop case and i'm set to go, anytime, anywhere.

And talking about FaderFox it seems like they've lowered their prices a month ago. Still a bit overpriced since they're very simplistic, but they're very powerful when used with Live. I like to mangle sounds in real time and for that they're absolutely super, so if you're doing that you should definently pick one of them.

I use my faderfoxes for performance and in the studio. equally good wherever. they're not the cheapest controllers out there but definitely the best I've used.

Hello World,

You know what? I bought a second-hand Waldorf Q+ a few weeks ago!

I have a MacBook Pro with Live 7 installed and I really enjoy them!

I had some quite nice piece of hardware in the past but I finished to sell everything in the last years to start producing music only using my computer. I chose Absynth and FM8 for new synths.

But I realized soon that I wasn't programing my synths anymore since they were software and that my music was badly influenced by that!

So, to go back to your question, once you have a good laptop and Ableton Live, my advice is you should buy a nice hardware synth, then program it and sample it!

Salut!

i have the m-audio axiom 49.. it has 8 drum pads which is excellent for using impulse, keys, and some sliders/pots..

i;'m still learning the ropes, but even a noob like me got it up and controlling enuff to get started.

and it was a decent price.. like $200-250 Canadian.

i would recommend it for studio stuff.. haven't performed live with it, but it could be usefull. i found some latency issues, but again i = noob, so i'm sure you can get around that somehow.

Phantom Cosmonaut wrote: i found some latency issues, but again i = noob, so i'm sure you can get around that somehow.

There's a good lesson in the manual called Driver error compensation. Use your axiom to trigger the sample and after doing every step of the lesson , you won't feel the latency anymore.

I have an Axiom too and I have to say that I am happy with it. I think it's a very good tool to start with. You can check me out producing a beat at www.dsidemusic.com ( that was the advertising line ).

But yes, nobody can't tell what to buy. You have to buy what fits your needs.

Korg MS2000. Cheapish second hand, the keyboard version is way cooler than the rack one, as it has wooden edges, which as everyone knows makes it sound better. Great keyboard and synth, also use it for MIDI control of Live along with AKAI MPD32.

Mr B :lol:

Monitors first, controller second.

I would say an external sound card! Most laptop harddrives have an ability to put noise on your signal when running!