Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

djtrixxx · Post by **djtrixxx** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:32 pm

My wife got me the Akai APC40 for x-mas. She heard me talking to a friend on how I wanted to try out MIDI and incorporate into my DJ setup. She went to Guitar Center and they pointed her to the APC40 with Ableton.
Now I have this APC40 and don't know how to incorporate it into my DJ setup, LOL
I'm assuming I will need a external audio interface in order to CUE on the APC40 and Ableton Live? I'm new to Ableton Live as well as it came with the Akai device. Anyone have a APC40 setup with their DJ set? Can I do mixes on Ableton using the APC40 as I would have done on a software such as Acid Pro? I would like to make mix CD's on Ableton as I used to do on Acid Pro. Is this possible with Ableton?
I'm so confused right now with MIDI. Any information would be helpful, thanks.

My dj setup consist of the following:
(2) Denon DN-S5000 CD Decks
(2) Numark TTX Turntables
(1) Denon DN-X1500 4 channel Mixer
Serato Scratch Live (SL1)
Pioneer EFX 500

sgreene · Post by **sgreene** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:25 pm

I was playing with a group of musicians the other day and I did it like this:

Before starting, make sure you have your 'cue' output set up. You'll need a multiple output audio interface - hopefully you have one. One with a set of mains and an addressable headphone output will work.

On the master output, activate the cue function by pressing the solo button (i think)

1. Set the track/s you want to bring in to cue and deactivate them. You can press the activate and cue/solo button at the same time
2. Tap the tempo to set to what they are playing(or in your case, the tempo of your decks).
3. On your fourth tap ableton will start playing. You might be able to disable that, not sure.
4. If it didn't come it right, press stop and hit play on the next measure start.
5. Your ableton mix should be playing in your headphone at the tempo you tapped - which should be close to your deck tempo.
6. You can use the nudge buttons to slow down or speed up a little - somewhat like you'd use the speed slider on your deck. While pressing nudge, you can hit the tempo button and the tempo will stay permanently lower - otherwise hitting nudge just slows ableton down temporarily.
7. Now you should be bouncing along pretty closely. You can either adjust ableton to match the rest of your setup with nudge/tap tempo or you can adjust your decks to ableton.

If you have multiple inputs on your sound card you could probably also get your decks into ableton on two different tracks and put effects on them - control the effects with the apc40 encoders. Set the two different decks to A/B so you can use the apc40 DJ slider. Just remember at that point, everything is going through the computer, so you'll have some risk with that.

Alternatively, you could route a deck into ableton and use the looper plugin to build up scratch/beat effects and make your own little audio clips...fun. You can control the looper plugin with a keyboard sustain pedal plugged into the apc40.

On the midi side of it, you would need a keyboard or pad controller to input notes and play along with your records - but that's a whole other area.

There is also a help lesson in ableton on how to do DJing.

TechnoPrisoner · Post by **TechnoPrisoner** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:04 pm

man what did your wife bought you for Christmas?????
AN APC 40????

she is not just a wife,she is the ULTIMATE WIFE!!!!

if all girlfriends-wives bought such kind of presents to their boyfriends-husbands,this world would be different

you are a lucky guy!please pass her my congratulations!

enjoy the APC40 experience!

TEKTRO · Post by **TEKTRO** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:29 pm

damn you and your amazing wife.

djtrixxx · Post by **djtrixxx** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:48 am

Thanks guys. She is the best. She has bought me some good gear over the years. She got me my Numark TTX turntables, the AKAI APC40, and also some stands for my CD Decks.
Do you guys think I need a MIDI Keyboard like a Axiom 25 to go along with my setup or is it not necessary? I'm new to MIDI and I see a lot of DJ's with MIDI keyboards in their DJ setup. Not sure if I need that along with the APC40 controller? Any info would help. Thanks.

DJVATERS · Post by **DJVATERS** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:06 am

i have an axiom 61 and the apc40.. dont know how i lived without them. you dont "need" it, but you wouldent loose anything by getting one. its just going to open up more things to do, thats forsure.

mrvinyl · Post by **mrvinyl** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:26 am

personally I would do one or the other

stick with your cd decks and serato

or use ableton and the apc

or get the wife to buy you 2 cdj2000's for easter

TechnoPrisoner · Post by **TechnoPrisoner** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:32 am

dude seriously maybe you should ask your wife to get trained into digital-music production and so she will be able to answer your questions and at the same time buy you the right gear

djtrixxx · Post by **djtrixxx** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:10 am

sgreene wrote:I was playing with a group of musicians the other day and I did it like this:

Before starting, make sure you have your 'cue' output set up. You'll need a multiple output audio interface - hopefully you have one. One with a set of mains and an addressable headphone output will work.

On the master output, activate the cue function by pressing the solo button (i think)

1. Set the track/s you want to bring in to cue and deactivate them. You can press the activate and cue/solo button at the same time
2. Tap the tempo to set to what they are playing(or in your case, the tempo of your decks).
3. On your fourth tap ableton will start playing. You might be able to disable that, not sure.
4. If it didn't come it right, press stop and hit play on the next measure start.
5. Your ableton mix should be playing in your headphone at the tempo you tapped - which should be close to your deck tempo.
6. You can use the nudge buttons to slow down or speed up a little - somewhat like you'd use the speed slider on your deck. While pressing nudge, you can hit the tempo button and the tempo will stay permanently lower - otherwise hitting nudge just slows ableton down temporarily.
7. Now you should be bouncing along pretty closely. You can either adjust ableton to match the rest of your setup with nudge/tap tempo or you can adjust your decks to ableton.

If you have multiple inputs on your sound card you could probably also get your decks into ableton on two different tracks and put effects on them - control the effects with the apc40 encoders. Set the two different decks to A/B so you can use the apc40 DJ slider. Just remember at that point, everything is going through the computer, so you'll have some risk with that.

Alternatively, you could route a deck into ableton and use the looper plugin to build up scratch/beat effects and make your own little audio clips...fun. You can control the looper plugin with a keyboard sustain pedal plugged into the apc40.

On the midi side of it, you would need a keyboard or pad controller to input notes and play along with your records - but that's a whole other area.

There is also a help lesson in ableton on how to do DJing.

I am looking to get an external audio interface. Just spoke to a friend and he has a M-Audio Audiophile USB interface. Would that be good for the setup I need and to CUE? Thanks for the info.

sgreene · Post by **sgreene** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:31 am

That looks usable - nice headphone output AND it has midi, which can come in handy.
I can't find any specs on that unit - looks a bit older, but if it has 4 inputs and 4-6 outputs, it should fit your current needs.

My wife got me the apc40 for christmas as well

the_antagonist · Post by **the_antagonist** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:52 pm

"whats midee?" says my wife.

funky shit · Post by **funky shit** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:03 pm

djtrixxx wrote:My wife got me the Akai APC40 for x-mas. She heard me talking to a friend on how I wanted to try out MIDI and incorporate into my DJ setup. She went to Guitar Center and they pointed her to the APC40 with Ableton.
Now I have this APC40 and don't know how to incorporate it into my DJ setup, LOL
I'm assuming I will need a external audio interface in order to CUE on the APC40 and Ableton Live? I'm new to Ableton Live as well as it came with the Akai device. Anyone have a APC40 setup with their DJ set? Can I do mixes on Ableton using the APC40 as I would have done on a software such as Acid Pro? I would like to make mix CD's on Ableton as I used to do on Acid Pro. Is this possible with Ableton?
I'm so confused right now with MIDI. Any information would be helpful, thanks.

My dj setup consist of the following:
(2) Denon DN-S5000 CD Decks
(2) Numark TTX Turntables
(1) Denon DN-X1500 4 channel Mixer
Serato Scratch Live (SL1)
Pioneer EFX 500

Great video on djing with ableton live by Tom Cosm.
Youll need to know how to warp first.
You might be clueless right now, but after a while.. the apc and ableton will be your new best friends.

http://www.vimeo.com/3773783

Ed J · Post by **Ed J** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:21 pm

djtrixxx wrote:
sgreene wrote:I was playing with a group of musicians the other day and I did it like this:

Before starting, make sure you have your 'cue' output set up. You'll need a multiple output audio interface - hopefully you have one. One with a set of mains and an addressable headphone output will work.

On the master output, activate the cue function by pressing the solo button (i think)

1. Set the track/s you want to bring in to cue and deactivate them. You can press the activate and cue/solo button at the same time
2. Tap the tempo to set to what they are playing(or in your case, the tempo of your decks).
3. On your fourth tap ableton will start playing. You might be able to disable that, not sure.
4. If it didn't come it right, press stop and hit play on the next measure start.
5. Your ableton mix should be playing in your headphone at the tempo you tapped - which should be close to your deck tempo.
6. You can use the nudge buttons to slow down or speed up a little - somewhat like you'd use the speed slider on your deck. While pressing nudge, you can hit the tempo button and the tempo will stay permanently lower - otherwise hitting nudge just slows ableton down temporarily.
7. Now you should be bouncing along pretty closely. You can either adjust ableton to match the rest of your setup with nudge/tap tempo or you can adjust your decks to ableton.

If you have multiple inputs on your sound card you could probably also get your decks into ableton on two different tracks and put effects on them - control the effects with the apc40 encoders. Set the two different decks to A/B so you can use the apc40 DJ slider. Just remember at that point, everything is going through the computer, so you'll have some risk with that.

Alternatively, you could route a deck into ableton and use the looper plugin to build up scratch/beat effects and make your own little audio clips...fun. You can control the looper plugin with a keyboard sustain pedal plugged into the apc40.

On the midi side of it, you would need a keyboard or pad controller to input notes and play along with your records - but that's a whole other area.

There is also a help lesson in ableton on how to do DJing.
I am looking to get an external audio interface. Just spoke to a friend and he has a M-Audio Audiophile USB interface. Would that be good for the setup I need and to CUE? Thanks for the info.

NI Audio 2 DJ will do the job perfectly and for cheap (it even comes with stereo-jack to phono cables so you can just plug it straight into your mixer and cue from there like you normally would). If you want inputs (for recording, or just running your mixer into Live to use Live's FX on your CDJs), then a lot of people on here seem to get off on the MOTU stuff, and the Apogee duet is meant to be pretty good too.

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:30 pm

Definitely go MOTU or NI instead of the Audiophile. Check out our Live DJ forums here for more info:

http://abletonlivedj.com

wiresmith · Post by **wiresmith** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 4:46 pm

TechnoPrisoner wrote:man what did your wife bought you for Christmas?????
AN APC 40????

she is not just a wife,she is the ULTIMATE WIFE!!!!
if all girlfriends-wives bought such kind of presents to their boyfriends-husbands,this world would be different

you are a lucky guy!please pass her my congratulations!

enjoy the APC40 experience!

Does she have any sisters?

Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

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Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

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Re: Akai APC40 with DJ Setup

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