Ableton Forum

Hello everyone. I am a music producer who wants to get into being a digital DJ. I'm going to use Abelton as the software but was wondering if anyone could recommend the best set up in terms of a controller and audio interface (or a combined unit).

There are so many on the market so what would really help is the advice of someone who uses Ableton for live DJ sets.

Many thanks

Metro

i started with m-audio x-session pro (just midi controller). the good thing is that it has classic dj mixer feeling and it's cheap (flaw is that it feels cheap as well).

within two weeks i upgraded it to korg zero4 which is in my opinion perfect dj tool for live (if i was a designer i would do the same thing). you get 4 channel mixer, audio interface, midi interface and midi controller in one box. i still like m-audio as portable, light solution but i've found optimal setup only after few home sessions with zero4.

take also a look at this thread: http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic. ... art=15#top

i also started with x-session pro, making the mix in live, but i really think EQ3 is no good for mixing, maybe you would like to check some other DJ-eq plugins.

my current setup:

4 live channels routed to all of my interface (Presonus Firebox) outputs and i mix (and cue) in the mixer, it sounds so much better, and i use controller for looping, fx, navigation, one shot samples, etc. i use BCF2000 and BCR2000 as controllers, and a M-AUDIO midisport midi interface, i know it's not that portable, as it requires midi cables and BCF2000 and BCR2000 are not USB-bus powered, but i perform with a mate as a duet and we do not like to get bored.

i think it's all about what you want to do, if you want something portable or not, but i like to take advantage of live's potential as a live remixing tool so well we need a lot of knobs and stuff.

other cool and popular controllers you can use for djing in live are uc-33 and novation remote sl (the one with no keyb), as for interface, Presonus Firebox is neat, cheap compared to other interfaces, and it has a really powerfull headphone output

I would second the Firebox, VERY reliable, very sturdy and sounds great. plus you get two extra outputs unlike many competitors. The UC-33 works excellent in my opinion. You CAN translate midi controllers to keyboard buttons for mouseless DJing. plenty of information out there. The korg Zero 4? If I had a thousand bucks maybe

obeyendevor wrote:The korg Zero 4? If I had a thousand bucks maybe

got mine 6 months old from ebay for about $660

What about Native Instruments Audio Kontrol? It is a combination of Soundcard and Control-Surface - you get an big Knob and 3 Buttons and you can assign many DJ-ish parameters to them, e.g. X-Fader to the Knob and Effects to the Buttons. On the Headphones-Output you have a very convenient Toggle-Button to switch between Main- and and Monitor-Sound.

If you don't want to spend double money on a Soundcard and a Control-Surface, this would be my choice. I am using it myself on a Mac and am very pleased!

not sure how you're gonna do real-time dj controlling with just one knob and three buttons?
Unless you're running audio out to a seperate dj mixer i guess.
I did my first gig using a UC-33 not too long ago. That works very well: has enough faders and knobs to control eq and effects for multiple tracks, and it's pretty cheap.
I was using an m-audio audiophile firewire interface.

Faderfoxes are also great although you'd probably need to have more than one to get enough controls if you're dj-ing more than 2 decks.