APC 40/20 in the studio? What's it really useful for?

[kevwestbeats]

I do not use a lot of loops to trigger or anything like that I just call up a clip slot and play something into it and I kinda treat the session view as a linear sequencer anyway. My question is for someone with my sort of workflow does an APC really benefit me? I would love to use its pads to trigger drum sounds but that does not sound like something realistic for it. I noticed that the Novation Launch pad can do this

[botstein]

If you do not really use session view, the button grid is not exceptionally useful unless you use a remote script for step sequencing or something. The faders and send knobs are nice to have to control the mixer, and the device knobs are nice to control macros and such.

[infernal.machine]

If you want to trigger drum sounds, get a launchpad. If you want knobs to control your devices and sends, get an apc.

[kevwestbeats]

thanks for the replies. Problem is I want a full on controller for Live like the APC but I only have one usb port available which means my MPD may have to go or I may end up just buying an MPK 61 which also means how well would a APC 40 compliment a MPK keyboard but if I am going to drop that much cash I might as well wait it out for Push

[chelemasty]

1 USB drive? You should add a hub man... You'll always want more of it. If not now, in the near future. I use the APC40 like you would want it to do except banging my drums on it with velocity. I still prefer using keys or pads for it anyway, so it doesn't bother me. For me, I think for studio use for full control of the mixer and effects, the APC40 is still my top option for it. Also for DJing. The platform or the design of it is laid out better for me for that purpose. Ableton Push for me, is more for hands-on on-the-spot trigger galore instrument like launchpad, just more advanced though... APC40 will remain.

[antarktika]

wait for Push. I wouldn't recommend a launchpad for triggering drums, but it looks like push is velocity sensitive.
*edit* Also, yes, get a USB hub. I have 5 controllers set up on one, without any major issues.

[kevwestbeats]

I don't see myself needing the hub honestly. I don't usually keep a lot of controllers around or use a ton of them. I like to keep it simple and clean that way. I am just interested in the APC because it is a controller that totally controls live. I may just grab one and an MPK 61 and sell off my MPD18 I think that will give me all of the options I need. I really like the idea of having complete hands on control of Live plus I love the Akai MPK controllers anyway. i used to have a MPK 25 and I miss it.

[chelemasty]

So now you decided to get two controllers, you'll really need a hub coz that will cost you two USB port for it to use. Either that, or get a new computer with more than two USB.lol

[Willyum]

I put these vids backwards (3,2,1) but in actuality there should be a 4th vid cause there are sooo many new improvements from the last version. I think the reason he only shows what's been upgraded in each version is because it would realistically take about an hour to demo all the features in this script. So if you like what you see in vid 3, look at the others to see more features in use. The script is $50 from nativeKONTROL. It was the best 50 bucks I've spent on upgrading a peice of hardware.

3 http://youtu.be/KoP4IDyoq0A

2 http://youtu.be/t5YW2JFPf0I

1 http://youtu.be/sMfcr0JraUk

[kevwestbeats]

So now you decided to get two controllers, you'll really need a hub coz that will cost you two USB port for it to use. Either that, or get a new computer with more than two USB.lol

I think you misunderstand me when I said that. I have 3 usb ports. One is taken by my audio interface one by my midi keyboard and the other by my MPD 18. If I get an APC it would replace my MPD 18 and I would get a MPK to then replace my midi keyboard as well lol. On a side note I was watching a video on YouTube about the APC 20 and it says it has note mode which would be really useful but I do not see the same feature on the APC 40. Is the APC40 lacking this feature?

[kevwestbeats]

I understand USB hubs are powerful I just don't want to go that route. I chose a laptop because i wanted to keep things sort of small. I have dealt with usb hubs before and I agree they are very useful if you plan to run a ton of usb gear. On a side note after doing more research I have discovered that almost everything I am asking to do in Live can be done directly from my Oxygen 61 by default thanks to direct linking. I didn't realize there was a guide for this in the Live lessons until a few minutes ago which means I don't need to buy a controller for the hands free controls I was looking for. However one thing that I do not see an option for anywhere in Live is auto arming selected tracks. Is there a way to set this up easily or even setup a button on my midi controller that will allow me to set this up for the selected track?

[kevwestbeats]

Thanks everyone for your help I think I have found the solution to my problem. I was looking for a more effective way to control Live without using a mouse in particular what happens at the 3:40 mark in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMcRUy2ehI0
What I have found is that I can do everything there except arm tracks directly from my Oxygen 61 and the reason I don't think I can arm tracks with the Oxygen itself is because my C26 button is setup as a bank button and this Axiom has a bank button on it already. This is good it saves me some cash glad I looked in the Live Lessons.