Ableton Controllers for DJing ...

brianroche · Post by **brianroche** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:53 am

Hi,

First, I have to say the forum is great, I've learned a lot from many people, thank you!

I have a specific question on controllers for Ableton. Yes, I've read the forum and know this topic has been addressed before but none of them answered the specific questions I have. Perhaps that's because the answer I want isn't out there?

Some background before my question. I've been DJing for more than 14 years and I'm in the final stages of converting my entire collection to wav (ripping, cutting, creating loops etc) and putting them on the computer. As I do this I've been playing around with the samples and doing little mock DJ sets. I use the uc 33 and xsession controllers. Although the controllers are nice, they simply lack enough launch buttons.

My questio;, I've taken a look at Sasha's Maven controller and like how he has the launch buttons situated right next to each chanells fader/slider. Is there any controller out there that has channel sliders but with a larger bank of buttons that could be used to launch samples? If not an all in one controller, then an additional controller that could be used that is just buttons?

Thanks for any help at all!
Bri...

supster · Post by **supster** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 3:05 am

look into the m-audio triggerfinger.

i use a UC-33 for mixing 4 channels and 4 effects sends.

each channel has hi pass/low pass - 2 insert effects- 2 sends.

the trigger finger has 16 pads which are mapped to controlling clip launch/stop, row select, looping, follow, copy clip etc

im actually running the triggerfinger as key mapping input to Live inteface using bome translator, a free program that translates midi to keyboard input. ie it allows something like say, CTRL F for follow to be mapped to one pad

so the UC mixes and effects, the triggerfinger provides the interface control and buttons your looking for. most functions can be done without the mouse, and even more as soon as ableton fixes some holes in the way Live is handling certain features (like "select on midi launch" .. hint hint)

this setup turns out to be really flexible, from what i have heard and seen it can potentially duplicate a lot of what the maven can do ..

until some fully featured dedicated controllers for this hit the market, this will do fine ..
.

donnydonny · Post by **donnydonny** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 3:24 am

when doing mixes using the trigger finger... have you ever found the need for more than 4 faders?

supster · Post by **supster** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 5:16 am

donnydonny wrote:when doing mixes using the trigger finger... have you ever found the need for more than 4 faders?

i dont use the trigger finger sliders or knobs at all for this scenario.

all the mixing is done on the UC, it has 8 faders (+ master) ... and 4 of those faders i still havent figured out a good use for yet

you cant use the triggerfinger as both a midi controller and a mapped keyboard type controller with bome as a translator as far as i know.

the sliders and knobs on the triggerfinger are disabled in this setup. so unless theres a way around that or i rig it up some other way, i couldnt use them even if i wanted to ..
.

Michael-SW · Post by **Michael-SW** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:20 am

There are always the Faderfoxes:

http://www.faderfox.de/

Lots of buttons on the LX1. But perhaps you don't need so many buttons? If you use a rotary controller to select scene (row), you can have a single button for each track that triggers the highlighted clip.

It is a very quick way to launch clips, no hassle at all.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:38 am

The Griffin Powermate is fantastic for selecting and launching scenes. Twist it to select the required scene, push it down to launch. You can even have it navigate left/right as well as up/down for clip launching across your set.

Does what a million buttons could do.

Buttons are still useful, though. I have all 37 keys of an Ozonic set up to trigger all kinds of loops and one-shots for audio, video, and lighting. If you want to use the octave keys, you'll have access to 128 buttons. Use the 20 preset banks, and you've got 2560. That's not including the normal buttons on the controller.

Michael-SW · Post by **Michael-SW** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:04 am

hambone1 wrote:...You can even have it navigate left/right as well as up/down for clip launching across your set.

Huh? How do you get it to do that (left/right)? Thought that there was no left/right scroll in Live? Are you routing it through something (Bidule?) to simulate that via midi note ons?

brianroche · Post by **brianroche** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:04 pm

You know I had thought about using the Fader fox stuff. That would definitely give me what I need. Only problem is that it's a midi device and not usb connection. But there are ways around that too.

The Faderfox controller is the best way to go for me, as I want to sometimes select clips simultaneously.

Thanks everyone!
Bri...

Agent47 · Post by **Agent47** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 6:14 pm

The Behringer B controller combined with the Ozonic is all I need for buttons and knobs to twiddle.

wildcon · Post by **wildcon** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:20 am

All you need for the Faderfox is a midi to usb converter.

I either use a simple in out (edirol) that cost about £30 or use the midi thru
on my X-Station.

The midi input is actually much better as it allows you to link several Faderfox controllers together.

It really is not a problem at all.

brianroche · Post by **brianroche** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 2:57 am

... I just purchased the FaderFox button controller and I picked up the M-Audio Midisport to allow me to connect via usb.

Hopefully when it arrives there will be no problems and I can expedite my first gig in the club with Live.

Thanks everyone for the help.
Bri...

DJSK · Post by **DJSK** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:02 am

Word is that Sasha will get a patent for either his Maven or something like it and sell the controller. I don't think it would be worth it to wait for just that though cause there are some other cool controllers that will definately do the job. The Mauzer looks really good and then there is Waveidea bistream controllers that is getting a lot of good reviews from a lot of users. I just hope the guys at ableton get their acts together and release a controller of their own.

Michael-SW · Post by **Michael-SW** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 9:36 am

DJSK wrote: The Mauzer looks really good...

Huh? What is this?

Tuur · Post by **Tuur** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 8:53 am

He probably meant http://www.mawzer.com/

Tuur · Post by **Tuur** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 9:18 am

Oh - and I'm hearing the BCD2000 should be out in a week or two...

Ableton Controllers for DJing ...

Ableton Controllers for DJing ...

thanks for the replies ...

faderfox ...