Do the Ableton live 8 drum racks allow....

[ins@outs]

Hi
Im looking to get a percussion pad,maybe alesis control pad or roland spds to use in ableton live 8 but i would like to know before i purchase it whether a custom built drum rack in live 8 will allow me to assign the samples within the drum rack to the pads on the percussion pad to record a pattern? using the mouse is getting so boring, anyone ever used these pads with a drum rack before is it difficult to set up?
Thanks

[BlackMath]

Hi
Im looking to get a percussion pad,maybe alesis control pad or roland spds to use in ableton live 8 but i would like to know before i purchase it whether a custom built drum rack in live 8 will allow me to assign the samples within the drum rack to the pads on the percussion pad to record a pattern? using the mouse is getting so boring, anyone ever used these pads with a drum rack before is it difficult to set up?
Thanks

if whatever pad device you decide to get can send midi data then

YES

[puxflux]

Most pad based midi controls will allow you to define the note that each pad sends. The alesis control pad will allow you to set the note number for each pad for sure (just looked at the manual on there site), and it seems that the spds will as well. It shouldn't be too hard too set up.

Even if, for some odd reason, the pad controller you get does not allow you to freely assign the notes that each pad sends you can move the pads in the drum rack to match the pads on the controller. That can be a little tedious but it work.

[agent314]

I have an Alesis ControlPad and you can definitely do what you want to do with it, although it's sort of a pain in the ass.

Because the Controlpad will only output momentary notes of super tiny length (think 1/64th or 1/128th in Live), you have to extend the release time of any samples you want to use (unless you want to exclusively make crappy sounding glitch, in which case it's perfect ).

You can very easily reassign the pads to send whatever MIDI note you want, as well as adjust the velocity curves and sensitivies pretty quickly, which is a plus. The feel of the pad overall is pretty nice too (however I am not a drummer, so if you are a native stickhandler, you may have a different opinion), and for live applications I could see it being a great addition.

In terms of production I find myself almost always using either my padKontrol or the pads on my MPK when I want to put together beats, because it's sort of a pain in the ass to have to futz with the CP, and it definitely takes me out of the moment.

I'd say look at a padKontrol before you check out a proper drum controller. You will almost certainly get more bang for your buck and have an easier time with it overall.

[BlackMath]

Most pad based midi controls will allow you to define the note that each pad sends. The alesis control pad will allow you to set the note number for each pad for sure (just looked at the manual on there site), and it seems that the spds will as well. It shouldn't be too hard too set up.

Even if, for some odd reason, the pad controller you get does not allow you to freely assign the notes that each pad sends you can move the pads in the drum rack to match the pads on the controller. That can be a little tedious but it work.

an easier way to accomplish the same thing would be to just change the "receive" note in the Chain I/O

[maahhk]

I play an acoustic drum set with an Alesis control pad through Live 8. All the above posts nail it pretty good on how the pad works. Good enough for me being that I only use it for fills and such. Custom drum racks on Live however is my only problem with Live. When trying to drag certain samples into a blank drum rack I get a message saying I need to purchase operator. This is the main reason why I got Live. My needs are pretty simple. Doesn't make much sense to have to pay an additional 160 on top of 500 to do such a simple thing.

[Lazos]

I have an Alesis ControlPad and you can definitely do what you want to do with it, although it's sort of a pain in the ass.

Because the Controlpad will only output momentary notes of super tiny length (think 1/64th or 1/128th in Live), you have to extend the release time of any samples you want to use (unless you want to exclusively make crappy sounding glitch, in which case it's perfect ).

A lot of people overlook the Midi "Note Length" device in the the midi devices folder. Look up its function in the manual. It will lengthen any midi note sent to the channel it's on to whatever you specify. I find this much easier than extending the release of all your samples (still don't know why everyone insists on doing this instead of using the Note Length plug).

[agent314]

That's a good suggestion, Laz. Thanks.

Does that actually change the length value of the notes, or does it just send an equal length to the device with whatever note value gets sent?

[Lazos]

The second one, if I understand your question correctly.