DJS OUT THERE - Advice on DJing in Ableton

[dubohno]

For any djs out there, I want to know how good Ableton is for djing compared to using decks. I obviously know the standard pros and cons for using software against hardware. My sets usually cover a range of bpms, say from 125 - 130 for example, I speed some tracks up and I slow others down to fit best in the mix. What I have found with ableton is that it seems it is at its best if you are djing in a set tempo all the way through. I've seen a few ways of changing the bpm whilst doing a set in ableton, either by jumping the tempo up rapidly or even instantly which I do not like to do, or using a midi controller to adjust bpm gradually which is ok - but what if I am playing a track at 128bpm which I am speeding up gradually to 129 and the next track I want to bring in is originally at 130bpm so I need to make that slower and bring it down to 129 to mix it in. Is it a case of warping all the tracks to the tempo you need before hand?? If so, that seems very long winded??

Is there no Tempo / Pitch fader in ableton assigned to each seperate track where you can adjust the songs tempo individually, like on a deck??

I might just be being stupid but its annoying me how difficult djing in ableton seems to be... do you really have to warp every track you want to play??

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers

[mbird21]

Use the nudge buttons up top of the ableton to give it a nudge forward in time or back in time like the old vinyl mixing, thats way i heard about it but i havint dj using ableton so sorry if that might be wrong

[mbird21]

Im wrong LMAO it does it globally thats totally wrong sorry lol

[dubohno]

yeah... this is the thing... i dont think its really tailored towards physical mixing at all? just seems overly complicated... BUT I KNOW IT MUST BE EASIER THAN I THINK?!?!!!!

[S4racen]

You really need to read the manual mate, i dont think youve grasped what ableton is about....

Cheers
D

[dubohno]

Not the kind of reply I was looking for really... can you correct me on anything / everything? Do you even understand the problem I'm having?

[dubohno]

To clarify - I know ableton is about making compositions, and being able to use multiple layers to create a piece quickly and easily, but can it not just be used for simple standard djing in the normal way? I've heard people using it to dj so I assume it can be used for this aswell as music composition?

[kieranholden]

i dj with ableton its great - really lends itself to mashups etc..

basics are import track - warp track to grid - all the tracks run on global tempo.

global tempo goes up and down all running tracks go up and down together : ) you can either warp them to stay i the same pitch or change pitch like a deck.

the decks /channels dont have independent bpm ( unless you dont warp the track in which case it will play it its original speed )

does that make sense?

k

[socialjusticeman]

Honestly, man, read the WHOLE manual. Then ask your questions here.

We've all "wasted" our time reading it and you should be bothered to do the same. It's only a few hundred pages and it contains all of the answers to the questions you've asked.

In short, there aren't many "dues" to be paid these days, but reading the manual is the absolute least you can do.

Yes, I could answer all of your questions. Yes, I could help you.

But I won't until you help yourself just a little bit.

You'll find that there are many others here who will help you if you don't ask questions that are easily answered with info in the manual.

Read it, and I'll help you till my fingers are sore from typing, I promise.

Ian

[dubohno]

Ha... OK fair enough... as long as I am not wasting my time, and I can actually achieve the simple djing that I want to do (which your response seems to confirm) then I will do a bit of reading first before coming on here with my questions.

Thanks for the feedback

[socialjusticeman]

You can DEFINITELY do it

Ian

[matthews]

If all your really interested in is "simple djing", I would personally advise against ableton for this.

The amount of time your going to spend learning the software, warping tracks, setting up clips, organizing your set, mapping effects and chains, etc... is going to get old really quick, if your not actually utilizing the real capabilities of live and just want to play a few tunes.

Not saying this can't be done of course, but it seems like traktor might be something more up your alley. its very straight forward with a MUCH smaller learning curve and with 4 decks and half decent effects, you'll be up and running in an hour of installing it.

[dubohno]

Hmm interesting.. Haven't really looked into traktor. It was just because I already had ableton, I wanted to use it to make and record 'bedroom mixes' instead of having to use my decks and record from my mixer to my laptop which isnt very convenient. I also wanted to see whether I could use ableton to dj live, when out and about aswell.

Obviously I still want ableton to make my own tracks, but maybe I should look into traktor for djing.

I'm also wondering whether I should get serato... but that's another issue..!

Thanks

[FrankieP]

IMO there are 2 types of DJs nowadays. The old school type and the more creative performance type. A lot of DJ software nowadays (Ableton and Traktor) are geared for the latter. Automatic beatmatching, sampling, and lotsa FX. Sounds to me if you just want to play songs, changing the tempo every now and then, then you must be one of those old school type. I'd recommend some type of controller then running Serato Itch.

[S4racen]

Serato with the bridge and an apc40 or couple of launchpads and you're sorted...

Cheers
D