Ableton Forum

mrvinyl wrote:pvd uses serato and 2 x macs

not to be rude, but....so?

mrvinyl wrote:mackie have just released 2 new mixer/soundcards and one is in a dj stylee with a x-fader etc - cant remember the model numbers off hand, but if you look on the sound on sound website there's a good review.

If you have the budget though - go for allen and heath!

Yeah, the U series thanks for the tipoff, quite interesting and not expensive I believe.

http://www.mackie.com/products/useries/splash.html

Ecler Evo 5

All these soundcard/djmixers looks übernice! If i was a DJ or played mutch doing djstyle stuff i would get one!

yeah, they look real great.

but nobody has actually posted experience about using one. as far as I can tell, everybody who has an Evo 5 uses it to play 4 decks in Traktor. for a $2000 frickin' mixer. I'd like to hear about actually multiple source live mixing and performance setups. surely there are a couple of people like that on this forum?

and you Xone 4d jocks? what do you do with it? its a beast! if you're just controlling ableton, you're not even using half of it!

xone 4D...

I dream of getting one, and Tracktor, so I could, on ONE big surface controler/mixer, play my ableton live set AND mix mp3s with traktor simultaneously...

or just mix mp3s for fun at home or parties,

or just live gig, with DJ friends able to mix their vinyles or seratos on my 4D while me playing...

or...
or...

that is indeed a pure beauty beast. I want one.

Green Lemon wrote:
does anybody actually use these things to their potential?

I was answering this question, when I stated about PVD using serato and 2 macs

I just sent a Korg Zero back for several design flaws, lack of support, and sound. I tried to love it, but it just wasn't all it was cracked up to be. it seems more like a scratch dj mixer with limited midi. the midi functionality is so small you cant really do much with it.

the mixer is pretty, and the lights are nice to look at.
it has 3 modes,
analog w insert effects; analog / midi (hybrid) no insert effects, and all midi. if you are an ableton user, you lose 1 of your 4 channels for a wonky routing for cueing. I had all sorts of issues getting it working, and of course, no help from Korg. the people that helped were on the Ableton Forums (of course). Its knobs suck, and if lights needed replacing, i fear that this would be a huge problem finding a good service center. i returned it and bought a BCR 2000.
It actually feels better and has more functionality. and cost around 650 less. The allen and heath are nice, but you can put a downpayment on a home or buy a car for the $$$ of a 4D.

ALOT OF PEOPLE SUGGEST BUYING A MOTU ULTRALITE.

^that sucks, and I'm too lazy to see the original point of this topic, but I don't see a traditional DJ style mixer as ideal for Live. Tracktor, Serato, Decdance - yes. Live - no.

It always sucks when something doesn't work well for somebody but if there's one thing I've learned about the Internet is that generally people don't show up to praise something, but instead show up to vent or complain. From some of the threads on this forum you would think that Live is a completely useless piece of software, but that doesn't account for the majority of users that don't post on here at all.

Side-but-related rant: Pisses me off when people doing user reviews give a product the lowest rating possible simply because the retail site or delivery company didn't get it to them in a timely manner or shipped them the wrong product.

well im here, praising teh shit out of the zero4. cause it works great and sounds better. i use it every day now in my new place and the midi is awesome and and and and...

That's great that the Zero 4 works for you, I think its very hit or miss from what I've read around on the web. I've decided to not get a hybrid mixer at this point, but stick to a traditional midi controller/laptop/soundcard combo for Ableton, and if I want to incorporate Serato or other later I'll get hardware dedicated to that. The Zero 4 was definitely the closest to what I was looking for, but I'm just not able to love that piece of gear- maybe next gen.

Anyway, thanks for all the input folks.

ever just try to use it as a dj mixer?

The one thing I am still contemplating is picking up an Allen and Heath Xone 2d. great sound, and build, plus they thought of cueing when building their piece of kit (sound card). however, I am holding off for a bit to see what comse up in the next year or two. with the APC, MFL, & the Serato project, me thinks hardware design will catch up with the software, and most importantly, the creativity people have with this software. If you like analog for tactile purposes and want midi together with ableton, U might like the 2D along with your abalog mixer. then you have portability to plug into mixer at another venue as well as your set-up @ home. as for myself, I've decided to switch to MIB, so I am going more of a modular set up, until we see what the future has in store. This way, at least for now, I can grab just what I need when playing out, and its a quick move from studio to venue.

best wishes on you purchase...

if i wasn't buying a house, i would be pick up a 4D in a heartbeat, with a lemur and MFL.