New Beginner!

MonaShaker · Post by **MonaShaker** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 3:49 am

Hello All,

Looking to get set up with Ableton. other than bedroom dj'in, this is new to me. After checking out previous posts. Im thinking i'll be needing/wanting:

1) Laptop - 160GB HD,2 GB RAM, Intel core 2 duo, XP sp2, mininmum 14".
2) Ableton Live 6
3) Midi Controlller, possible M-Audio 25
4) ????
5) ????

Any advise for a newbie more than welcome.

Michael-SW · Post by **Michael-SW** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:17 am

You will also need some sort of audio interface with two (stereo) outs, so you can connect one to the PA and use one for cueing.

beatfreakn · Post by **beatfreakn** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:18 am

^^^^
Check out M-Audio for audio interfaces / sound cards

You will want to get some Vsti's (virtual software instruments) also which you can pick up for free too start with until you have more of an idea of what you want and are doing check out www.kvraudio.com for these.

Clearscreen · Post by **Clearscreen** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 12:30 am

do your research (search the forums) on soundcards, theres a lot of people around here that probably aren't as impressed with maudio as beatfrkn...

andydes · Post by **andydes** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 4:24 pm

Clearscreen wrote:do your research (search the forums) on soundcards, theres a lot of people around here that probably aren't as impressed with maudio as beatfrkn...

Too right. Tried with a M Audio FW410. Kept freezing the laptop. Mac, admittedly, but heard of lots of problems with PCs too.

Much, much happier with the Presonus Firebox, which is only a tad more expensive. Sounds a hell of a lot better too. 4ins, 6 outs, and very good mic preamps for the price (should you need them later).

laird · Post by **laird** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:24 pm

well, there are probably 100X more m-audio sound cards out there than presonus, so you're bound to hear more m-audio horror stories just based on those stats.

That being said, I just upgraded from a cheap old m-audio card to a presonus firepod and couldn't be happier. Still, I never had any functionality problems with the m-audio card.

My .02: don't fill in those question marks yet. Laptop, live, midi controller sounds like more than enough to get yerself started (and dont miss that kvraudio.com link!).

Some usb midi controllers are also audio cards. I wont endorse any as I've never owned one, but the concept is great http://www.zzounds.com/item--MDOOZONE

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 8:08 am

Welcome!

Your onboard sound will be fine for starters. Two stereo outs isn't a requirement.

Forget what you know about 'traditional' beatmatching. Once your tracks are warped, cueing is no longer necessary.

andydes · Post by **andydes** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:51 am

True. But if you want to be able to cue and aren't concerned about stereo (most clubs play mono anyway), you can split the headphone out from the laptop and send L to the headphones and R to the amp.

Might need to make yourself a custom cable though.

MonaShaker · Post by **MonaShaker** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 1:52 am

thanks for the input guys. Much appreciated!