Found my perfect companion to Push for DJ mixing

[markwphoto]

I've been using Push for a little over a year now and Ableton for about the same time. I love what both Push and Ableton are capable of but I found it to be lacking when it comes to doing live DJ/mixing. I dabbled in DJ'ing some years ago and hoped to get back into for fun. As much as I love the idea of the new APC40 MkII I find a lot of the functions to be redundant to what push already has and it also cost a lot of money that I don't really want to spend right now. Really all I wish I had was a crossfader and a couple of faders.

I looked up DJ mixers on Amazon and came across the M-Audio X-Session Pro DJ midi controller. It was about $45.00 and looked to have about everything I wanted. It features:

A crossfader
4 Volume style faders
12 knobs (6 center notched and labeled for EQ)
2 buttons for Cue Assignment
+8 additional buttons
All midi controlled plus runs on bus power.

But could it work with Live for what I wanted to do?? Helz yeah!!
After mapping it the way I wanted it works perfectly as a DJ mixer to control multiple decks in Live! I saved a ton of money and I finally have what I was missing from Push. The X-session Pro is a discontinued product from M-Audio but you can still find them new for cheap. If you're looking for a similar setup I highly recommend checking it out!

Cheers!
MW

[login]

Well the Launchontrol XLgives you double that, It's not as cheap but it seems a better option to me.

[markwphoto]

While the Launchpad XL has more controls I really wanted something close to a DJ Mixer style. The XL lacks also lacks a physical crossfader. Having more buttons and knobs can be great but I also know from experience in other areas of work I do that sometimes less is more!

Thanks anyway!
MW

[tom_d]

Not a bad controller at all, used one for a long time. Pretty cheaply made and both mine and a friend's are now biting the dust (generate random small tweaks in CCs without being touched) but can't argue for the price! An alternative might be http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/CMD-MM-1.aspx or http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/xonek2/ (no cross fade on the K2 if that is important though)

[logicbomb.de]

I also have Push used along an APC40.

In my case, I purchased Push after I got the APC.

Yes, theres is definitely a degree of overlap between the two devices, but for me the APCs fader are indispensible.

I usually keep my Push in device mode anyhow.

I might not have have picked up an APC had I gotten Push first, but I'm glad to see you found a solution that works perfectly for you and only costed $45.

That Behringer CMD MM-1 looks really nice too