am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
Sage
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by Sage » Thu May 07, 2009 3:24 pm

For using Live, well live, the APC will tick a lot of boxes for a lot of people. Though my only issue at the moment is the price, £400 for the only decent solution to launching clips?

Don't know what the issues about size are all about, but I'm used to playing guitar in rock bands with large pedal boards and Marshall stacks.

Angstrom
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by Angstrom » Thu May 07, 2009 4:46 pm

watching those videos there's a lot that Ableton ought to take from the way this works for insta-messing about.

EG:

"and you can just record some automation of those parameters ... like this"
or
"and here you can just flip through the different snare drums to see which one you like"

etc

moodles
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by moodles » Thu May 07, 2009 5:35 pm

I hate to brag, but I just pre-ordered and APC40 for $320 and I am super psyched.

I don't have any viable controllers yet and I want to start moving from track creation to live performance, so this looks like it is going to be perfect.

I sympathize with the folks who want more drum machine or step sequencer functions out of their controller and Live. I don't quite understand why Ableton is so lax on this point. APC40 won't really help much with this, but otherwise it will be great!

nowtime
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by nowtime » Thu May 07, 2009 5:43 pm

moodles wrote:
I sympathize with the folks who want more drum machine or step sequencer functions out of their controller and Live. I don't quite understand why Ableton is so lax on this point. APC40 won't really help much with this, but otherwise it will be great!

Agreed. If the Abe's are not hard at work on a Maschine-killer, I will be so bold and call them fools. And I would be dissappointed.
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Tone Deft
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by Tone Deft » Thu May 07, 2009 6:32 pm

moodles wrote:I hate to brag, but I just pre-ordered and APC40 for $320 and I am super psyched.
did that months ago.
I sympathize with the folks who want more drum machine or step sequencer functions out of their controller and Live. I don't quite understand why Ableton is so lax on this point. APC40 won't really help much with this, but otherwise it will be great!
it has a step sequencer mode. why do you think they're lax? you have some crystal ball so you can peer into their offices?
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contakt321
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by contakt321 » Thu May 07, 2009 6:49 pm

nowtime wrote:
Agreed. If the Abe's are not hard at work on a Maschine-killer, I will be so bold and call them fools. And I would be dissappointed.
You do know that Maschine and the APC40 are two very different pieces of gear for two very different purposes, right?

moodles
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by moodles » Thu May 07, 2009 7:56 pm

Tone Deft wrote: it has a step sequencer mode. why do you think they're lax? you have some crystal ball so you can peer into their offices?
I may be wrong, but I don't think the step sequencer mode really does what people are looking for, which is the ability to jam out patterns on the fly in a live situation, which is what a lot of drum machines and grooveboxes allow you to do. Building and editing midi patterns and drum loops in Live just feels too labor intensive and not "live" enough. Even with a controller, you still end up with lots of pointing and clicking, but people want a more tactile, hands-on experience.

swett
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by swett » Thu May 07, 2009 8:13 pm

0% excited

Tone Deft
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by Tone Deft » Thu May 07, 2009 9:29 pm

moodles wrote:
Tone Deft wrote: it has a step sequencer mode. why do you think they're lax? you have some crystal ball so you can peer into their offices?
I may be wrong, but I don't think the step sequencer mode really does what people are looking for, which is the ability to jam out patterns on the fly in a live situation, which is what a lot of drum machines and grooveboxes allow you to do.
of course you might be wrong. the dimwitted maschine fanboys have been calling it an APC killer for months and the fucking thing isn't even released yet. maschine doesn't even compare to the APC, MPC yes, APC, no.

Building and editing midi patterns and drum loops in Live just feels too labor intensive and not "live" enough. Even with a controller, you still end up with lots of pointing and clicking, but people want a more tactile, hands-on experience.
it just sounds like you don't know how to use Live very well.
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sparklepuff
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by sparklepuff » Thu May 07, 2009 9:47 pm

Can the APC do This???
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glitchrock-buddha
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by glitchrock-buddha » Thu May 07, 2009 9:57 pm

Tone Deft wrote: the dimwitted maschine fanboys have been calling it an APC killer for months and the fucking thing isn't even released yet. maschine doesn't even compare to the APC, MPC yes, APC, no.
Not all of us! Maschine and the APC40 are about as far apart as midi controllers can get! It's about the same as comparing a bcr2000 to a trigger finger or something.
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moodles
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by moodles » Thu May 07, 2009 10:04 pm

Yeah, I'm not even trying to compare the two. I bought an APC and have absolutely no interest in Maschine.

I'm just saying, I can see how some folks would like a powerful controller that can interact with Live in a manner similar to a groovebox or powerful drum machine. I don't think the APC was made for this, though we'll see how it works with M4L.

Tone Deft
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by Tone Deft » Thu May 07, 2009 11:55 pm

moodles wrote:though we'll see how it works with M4L.
true. that's the end all be all answer to any question on the forum. I hear ya, seems the APC is more like a DAW control surface than anything else, general control over Live. we shall see.

I'll be at a demo for the APC in a few hours, maybe I can shed more direct light on the subject. unfortunately my camera is borked, so no pics.


GRB - yeah, but you always 'get' gear better than most users.
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Angstrom
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by Angstrom » Fri May 08, 2009 2:58 pm

there are a few things about the APC that I dislike, but I'll still get one just for the bits I do love

Love
  • clip matrix direct control
  • flashing lights!
  • potentially very useful method of interacting with devices/effects/banks
hate
  • 8 dead sliders = no use whatsoever.
  • a crossfader (which I never use), and in the worlds most awful position.
  • no little screens means I still must look at the laptop to try and make some logical connection between what these lights represent. Hey ... lets play the new scene called, um "red light"
but I'll get one and see if I can use the BCR of all the places where the APC falls down.
I can always unscrew the crossfader and gaffer tape over the 8 sliders!

contakt321
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Re: am i the only one who isn't excited about the apc40

Post by contakt321 » Fri May 08, 2009 3:15 pm

Angstrom wrote:there are a few things about the APC that I dislike, but I'll still get one just for the bits I do love

Love
  • clip matrix direct control
  • flashing lights!
  • potentially very useful method of interacting with devices/effects/banks
hate
  • 8 dead sliders = no use whatsoever.
  • a crossfader (which I never use), and in the worlds most awful position.
  • no little screens means I still must look at the laptop to try and make some logical connection between what these lights represent. Hey ... lets play the new scene called, um "red light"
but I'll get one and see if I can use the BCR of all the places where the APC falls down.
I can always unscrew the crossfader and gaffer tape over the 8 sliders!
I totally understand where you are coming from.

I also like the knobs for pans and sends, as well as the insta map to device.

I am no fanboy, I just wanted to talk about your dislikes - because I totally understand them.

*The reality is, having motorized faders would be totally awesome, would make this way more expensive.
*I agree the crossfader is in a weird spot, but I plan on using this to DJ and I bet a significant number of the people do too - they would get way to many complaints for not having one.
I think the screen thing is probably about cost too, but it would be awesome (wishlist sort of thing) to have a Novation like strip screen at the top.

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