APC minimal edition

[Johnisfaster]

might be... i am still in faver of the angstrom nano version... over the normal one...
or maybe you are wrong...?

oh it's a great idea for sure. I might have purchased that one over the mixer one oddly enough even though I've been wanting some faders in my life.

[Johnisfaster]

that'll probably happen, but they are gonna wait till this one sells a ton first. then they can release a second type that sells to all the people who didn't buy the first one or people who bought the first one and wished it was (?)
that way they can potentially sell 2 machines to the same person.

I have no doubt we are gonna see one with a larger session grid too.

[H20nly]

I think the problem here is that we aren't taking the macro economics of this proposal into account.

To sell a separate unit with a different layout, they'd have to manufacture a completely different line of products , which would split up the sales between the two of them and potentially hurt the bottom line if it doesn't offset the costs of production or distribution or whatever. It probably costs a lot more to sell different versions of the same unit.

True AND they would have to come up with so many different US vs. EU pricing schemes. They'd have to hire a whole team just to figure out how much extra to charge.

[Angstrom]

that'll probably happen, but they are gonna wait till this one sells a ton first. then they can release a second type that sells to all the people who didn't buy the first one or people who bought the first one and wished it was (?)
that way they can potentially sell 2 machines to the same person.

I have no doubt we are gonna see one with a larger session grid too.

yes, i think this is what will happen.
variants starting in about 18 months time.

at least I hope so.

[SubFunk]

i hope also that they will sell a hell lot of the APCs and then after a year or so release a nano version, without the fader business.

i have had an APC already in my hands, but think it's way to big... i can't see myself going with such a monster to a gig. also i know from experience that it is always trouble to set up your gear, space wise... i don't know about the states, but in europe hardly any club is in anyway proper prepared for live setups (thanks to the vinyl dinosaurs). and having one bulky unit you need to place: nightmare... (and it's not even constructed the way that you can place it on a turnatble platter like a PadKONTROL... ) i'd rather have an APC nano and if i need faders a nanoKONTROL separate...

also, the look is nice but the need of a PSU is a 100% no go for me personally...

so in short, i hope angstroms nano version finds an ear at ableton. (and without the built in disco lights and USB powered)

[Tone Deft]

I think the problem here is that we aren't taking the macro economics of this proposal into account.

To sell a separate unit with a different layout, they'd have to manufacture a completely different line of products , which would split up the sales between the two of them and potentially hurt the bottom line if it doesn't offset the costs of production or distribution or whatever. It probably costs a lot more to sell different versions of the same unit.

sorry, but how can you speculate about the cost of manufacturing something? aren't you a biomed student? have you ever been involved in anything remotely resembling this process?

wanna know how this stuff is made? market team discusses what people want. they tell engineering what to make, engineering pushes back on the schedule and cost. a few months go by while the nerds do the geekshit (electronics and mechanicals) and VPs argue about the color of knobs and stupid shit like that. you send the design files to a Contract Manufacturer, a few weeks later boxes show up with the finished product.

the geekshit and marketing are done, all they would need is new sheet metal to house a subset of the assembly and design a new box to ship it in.



I can see a compact USB powered version coming out, lose the knobs and faders. the name though... the 40 in APC40 is the number of pads on it.

[Sales Dude McBoob]

As lovely as the APC40 turned out, I stand by my request to have a display over every trigger with clip name info:

[Tone Deft]

you probably see more gear than most of us, surely there are better LCDs out there than the Novation SL series. which would you choose?

[H20nly]

As lovely as the APC40 turned out, I stand by my request to have a display over every trigger with clip name info:

This is what happens when your SL series is left alone with you APC and booze is involved.

This just makes the case even stronger for turning off your computer when not in use - it cuts the USB power and keeps the strange mutt factor down to a minimum.

[Angstrom]

As lovely as the APC40 turned out, I stand by my request to have a display over every trigger with clip name info:

drifting wildly off topic here, but I would go a completely different route to get that effect.

How much are 14" lcd panels now? £20 or so (about $30)

stick some unbreakable pvc on top and then glue a selection of semi-opaque buttons on top of that. The result would be maximum screen area underneath some robust buttons. The button row connections would run through thin channels and would barely cover up the screen beneath.

probably cheaper and more reliable than surface mounting 40 individual screens.

In fact, I now remember seeing a video of someone who has done exactly this. With dials as well.

[ThrowAway]

People are already complaining about the "don't need" or "not enough" .

that will never end though, you've been around long enough to see that every version of live comes out with a "OOOOOOOO AHHHHHHHH THATS AMAZING" and quickly follows a "WHAT THE HELL, I DON'T LIKE HOW IT..." because people are just like that.

you forgot the wave of "its too expensive" and "I already own live I shouldnt have to pay for an upgrade"

[Johnisfaster]

yup, followed by 50+ threads about how the pay instruments should be included, and about 25 threads about how everyone should quit bitching about it cause live is so amazing that it's wroth it.

then 5 "thanks ables" threads by people who think ableton isn't satisfied with the money and want a thank you too.

[8O]

Just a small point I think SubFunk and ToneDeft mentioned - if you dropped the faders, you'd probably still need a PSU to light all those LEDs - you'd need to drop more LEDs (or maybe get more expensive, more efficient ones, if they exist, no idea) to get the unit to be purely USB-powered...

[Tone Deft]

hmm...

the top 40 buttons have tri-color LEDs under them, so that's 120 LEDs. add the remaining 39 = 159 LEDs.

15mA each = 2,385mA ~= 2.4Amps.

USB does 0.5A, so yeah, no bus power.

500mA divided by 15mA to light each one gives you 33.333333 LEDs.

that's how I see it, haven't really looked at LEDs recently to see how little current they can take these days.

[8O]

I saw an even higher LED count somewhere...

Yeah, the FAQ: No, it has too many LEDs (around 380) to be bus powered.

Edit: ok, getting a bit off topic here, but the rotary rings only ever need 1 LED to be lit at any one time, so maybe there's a way to squeeze a little bit out there...