help with triggering session clips for DJ sets?

Metrotek · Post by **Metrotek** » Wed May 16, 2007 3:24 pm

hi new live6 user here, I am DJing a long 6-hr set this weekend using only the session view in Live (i.e. I am not pre-recording the set in the arrangement view).

While I am happy to crossfade and blend songs in genres like dub and old soul using my faders and fx racks, I need much tighter triggering for my techno set.

I am only using whole "songs", not looped/short clips.

So far, the only way I can think of automatically triggering different songs one after another is to use the "follow action" function and define a point in each clip upon which the next clip should launch. Is this correct or are there any other good ways of setting up clip launch automation so that the tracks launch precisely one after another?

I presume I should also play around with the clip quantization and launch settings (eg make sure the clip launch is quantized and that the clip starts on the downbeat, so that if you do launch it on the fly, it has a better chance of coming into the mix on time).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated (before Friday evening!)

Cheers,

Ruso · Post by **Ruso** » Wed May 16, 2007 3:37 pm

using follow actions at a preset location isnt really mixing, now is it?....

in miidi map mode a few hidden buttons appear, one to navigate the set up and down, and under every track a play button appears... midi map those.

Metrotek · Post by **Metrotek** » Wed May 16, 2007 4:29 pm

nasty! How right you are. But I'm not really a DJ yet, really more of a producer and I'm only getting the hang of Ableton now as we need it for our new live set. So the mixing chops will take a while.

I've got a faderfox lc2 which I've midi-mapped and it's launching stuff quite nicely on the fly but I just want to make sure everything comes in on time rather than a bloated mess of beats, hence the request.

cheers

Majnun · Post by **Majnun** » Thu May 17, 2007 2:37 am

As long as you warp your clips properly, and have a sensible quantize setting you should be good to go with follow actions (or mannualy trigger)... but you better be pretending to do something with your hands or people will assuming you're playing someone's mix tape.

You're very brave to book a gig before you've learned the basic functionality of your gear (that reads more sarcastic than i intend).

Metrotek · Post by **Metrotek** » Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 am

jebus i'm getting some hammering on this forum ...

actually last night I did a lot of more tweaking on the launch settings for each clip and realised, as you say, that once you have the right quantize setting and the launching markers for each clip set up properly, the clips generally mix into one another in sync.

as for the mix tape concern (precisely why I didn't just pre-record the whole thing in the arrangement view beforehand!), don't worry, I'll have plenty of tweaking to do with the faders, crossfader and fx racks I've set up and assigned to the faderfox. I did a master rack with one of those fx chains which are quite cool as you can morph and overlap the fx quite subtly, and with the faderfox you can assign the encoders so that changes to an effect in one track don't affect the effect settings for the other tracks. So i should be kept pretty busy...

kyleweb · Post by **kyleweb** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:35 pm

I know this is probably an awful way to do it but in my sets I set warp markers to remind me where to trigger songs for stuff that I have roughtly pre-planned.

That way I can either go along with what I have planned or change it up based on what is going on in the club.

As i said prob an awful way but still getting to grips with the program.

Metrotek · Post by **Metrotek** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 5:32 pm

thanks for that. I don't really bother with additional markers as once you have a reasonable feel for your tracks you know when you can drop them into the mix.

now that i've learnt how to properly warp/launch everything and have a couple of gigs under my belt with the faderfox - DJing with Live is child's play - but fun all the same.

respect to everyone still using vinyl.

seanw250 · Post by **seanw250** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:18 am

[quote="Metrotek"] that once you have the right quantize setting and the launching markers for each clip set up properly, the clips generally mix into one another in sync.quote]

What is a good quantize setting for a tempo of about 128?

BASSbüro · Post by **BASSbüro** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 6:31 am

it's all about the groove and how you play your clips. for me the best quant. is 1 bar or 1/2. if you play four to the floor-beats go on with 1 bar.

compare it a bit how you mix your vinyl-stuff these days and how you drop the next records.

seanw250 · Post by **seanw250** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 7:28 am

cool, ill go home and try a few different settings tonight. I do like to ease my tracks in rather than have it come slamming in on the down beat