Noob in need of controller feedback from experienced users

[33tetragammon]

apc40 is rubbish - move 3 faders and experience a firmware bug

i experienced the same thing last night.thought to myself :

OH MY F$%%ING GOD.........THIS>JUST>DOES>NOT>WORK!!!!!!!!!!
it's like tasting a (erm) ROTTEN APPLE.

i sold it today...........

not to say that it's rubbish or rubberish,just moving on.......

[JuanSOLO]

hey e-rod, I'll sell you my APC40 for $350.

[e-rod]

JuanSOLO: It's 250 on amazon

33tetragammon: what exactly happened? You know, the apc40 may not be perfect, but so far I feel there is no perfect setup. I read the Launchpad posts and a lot of people have issues with them. Same goes for BCR and BCF.

It comes down to personal preference and whatever suits your work-flow best. I feel the apc40 will work for me.

I would still like to hear from people using lpk25 and lpd8. So far, mpd18 and oxygen 25 look like the winners, though.

Also, Nocturn users who work with a lot of VSTs, please let me know if it's worth it.

[33tetragammon]

33tetragammon: what exactly happened? You know, the apc40 may not be perfect, but so far I feel there is no perfect setup. I read the Launchpad posts and a lot of people have issues with them. Same goes for BCR and BCF.

It comes down to personal preference and whatever suits your work-flow best. I feel the apc40 will work for me.

you're right,there is no perfect setup,and that's not exactly the reason i sold the apc-40.i sold a lot of stuff lately : Maschine,Reaktor 5,Kore 2 controller+software,Alchemy,apc-40,Live is up for sale at this very moment.
i am moving on to Logic studio 9,going to add surround sound and movies/pictures to the music,which is exciting as hell to say the least!!!!
Live's been fun,i'm not selling it because of this "live sounds crap" stuff that's going on and on.........i make up my own mind :
if it works,and feels right,i buy it.
if it doesn't,i sell it.

[JuanSOLO]

I used to have a Nocturn. I got rid of it, too poor quality for me. Response from the knobs would stutter. I read a post about that very same issue and some guy returned it to Novation, and they sent him a working one.

Seems to me like you are set on buying a lot of "in-expensive" gear. What I know about all of those thing is most of the time you get what you pay for. If you go back a bit on the DJ Tech Tools site you will see a review, or comparison test between the Korg Nano and Akai LP stuff. It's pretty dead on review, and there are lots of comments to read about.

I would say quit trying to analyze it to death and just buy some shit. Thats the only way you'll find out what you are really needing.

[e-rod]

JuanSOLO: I am looking for inexpensive gear. I don't have a lot to spend right now. However, I'd like to get the best possible inexpensive gear I can while also covering my needs.
The reason I need your feedback is also because I live in Venezuela. There are no stores where I can go and try them out myself. This is also the reason I can't just buy something and sell it if I don't like it. I'll probably have a hard time finding a buyer.
I read some posts on problems with the Nocturn as well, but there are many posts of people having issues with Remote SLs too, and those aren't cheap. From what I can gather, Automap is not always accurate. Also, In another post a Novation rep said that they had a bad batch of Nocturns go out for sale and offered people to send them back.

I also know that there are other people in this forum who are on a budget like me, and wanted to hear from them what they thought of their inexpensive gear. Sometimes a controller may seem limited, but with a little tweaking it can cover your needs.

So far, I'm thinking APC40, MPD18, Oxygen 25. Not sure if I would need the Nocturn, especially if I have the APC40.
Any Nocturn users have any advice? Please, let me know .

[JuanSOLO]

I live in the US, and it's still difficult to go to a store and try stuff out, and re-selling is difficult as well.

I understand your effort, I have bought TONS of gear in the past 3 years, some good some bad. I found an SL 37 for 100bucks, mint condition.

Out of all the 60dollars controllers, I would say, the LPK25, LPD8, and the KorgNano Kontrol, are the best options. To me they are better built in the dollar range. The Korg Nano Kontrol has 4 banks, thats a lot of possibilities in one small little controller.

Remember the APC40 has NO Momentary buttons, and there is no way to make simple adjustments to it without something like Bomes or M4L. You will be stuck with either the default communication between Live and the APC40, or Lives Midi Map but all buttons on the APC will be toggle only.

To me the less expensive route would be more like a Launchpad, BCR2000, and a BCF2000. You'd get an easier, more versitile, and ergonimic rig than you would with an APC40. These Behringer controllers may be cheap builds, but I bet if you take care of your shit it will take care of you. Tim Exile has been using them for a while, to me thats an indication that they are worthy of lots of mashing and knob turning. Also Daft Punk uses them.

[Pipotron4000]

My ideal cheap conf for production :

Nocturn + guille script
Nanokontrol + myr script
LPD8 (not nanopad, fragile)

And of course a keyboard

You don't get all the features, but you get enough for production and even portability

[fx23]

a nice cheap setup to start is nano series, portable.

then for total modular setup, a touch screen + usine http://www.sensomusic.com


I use booth, endless possibilities,real HW feel but modular evolutive setup with visual feedback, for relative descent price.

for example with usine you can easy extend banks, create shift functions, have a visual feedaback, store/recall snapdhots
for any kind of cheap controllers like nanoPad.

ie made a system if pressing 2 last button, then any of the 12pads to get access to 12 scenes, or another combinaison so
XY can be routed to 12 differents destinations, ect..

or a much more functions (and the ones you decide)) than APC with colors and captions, can see on the link below.

[Rave]

No need for APC40.
Maschine + iPad (LiveControl) is all you need.

Euphonix and iPad

[Guff Tong]

My current set up:

2 x LPD8's - only 88-odd quid for the pair = 16 light up touch sensitive pads with midi feedback and 16 rotaries. same price a the 'light-less' Akai 16 pad range = no brainer. Proper easy to set up too...

Launchpad - only for basic clip launch and maybe use the M4L sequencer on user mode 2 - Never used mixer mode as got the BCR2K before which pretty much covers all main DAW controls (and more besides)

BCR2K in mackie mode (Its also got midi in/out which is a real bonus). Used in conjunction with the Huserku 'LCD' display its incredible for under 100 quid.

Evolution MK461 (My first controller, bought 6 years ago) got this as the wife plays piano and thought she'd like the full size keys, range and maybe have the odd play. she doesn't
As I'm not a keyboard player I'd be happy with anything tbh, probably go for something with a smaller keys and footprint if I was buying now (most probably the LPK25 if pressed)


(also got FCB10/10 foot controller as I play guitar too tho if I'm writing beats etc the top devices are more than enough)

Foot-note: you can get some nifty clip-launch shenanigans with the BCR/F and LPD8's without the Launchpad (my most recent purchase) which is the most expensive of the whole lot.

[Pipotron4000]

Hi fx23 !

I've tried your IR LED + Wiimote trick on Usine : works like a charm

Nocturn + Guille script show you 8 clips status too
And you can launch them of course, and change their offset columns/rows

But i second fx23 : Usine is very good with any DAW, especially Ableton with OSC

You can automate your live set deeper than Live do, make your own interface (wants big buttons ? 7 XY pads ? 25 rotaries ? You can ), use touch screen (multitouch or not) or even use an IR LED and a wiimote (like fx23 and me)

It is cheap and you don't need another controller : just touch your screen

[fx23]

hi Pipotron4000

yeah wiimote and Irled is a very cool cheap controller, can turn any screen on fast responsive touchscreen and can also
be a complex wireless controller. glad you like as well the modularity of usine!
that's the big point: with usine you make the interface YOU WANT, with features YOU WANT, that perfectly match
your wanted setup, and that's freakin cool.

I had bougth too much midi controllers and various setups over my life hehe , so i resisted to nocturn, but it must be really
sweet with extended scripting, and i guess an usine patch could as well extend possibilities nicely, didn't ya tried?
having the leds for visual feedback must be really sweet... nice setup you have!

[B-S]

go for apc40, the best controller for ableton hands down.

regarding midi-keyboard, check m-audio axiom. i've owned axiom49, and it was pretty good for the price.

[Pipotron4000]

@FX23
I didn't tried special Usine patches for those controllers for now

About APC40, i see a lot of ppl happy with it... and i see a lot selling it too

And this is due to one thing : it is a closed system ( like launchpad): you like it or you hate it

Scripts and other alternative solutions are just rising now...too late for certain ppl who already sold it, being bored.

Buy it second hand and resell it if you don't like it

But keep an eye on Usine anyway