Ableton Forum

I've been mixing on cd for about 2 years now and have decided to switch to laptop mixing. I bought ableton rather than traktor as i would also like to get into the production side of things as well. My problem is this, i don't know what controller to buy. I have about £400 to spend and would like something which would ideally give me a similar feel as your standard mixer. ALL the ableton recommended ones seem to be much more focused towards production. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/XSessionPro.html

That one looks to me most like a DJ mixer, although I have no experience with that model, only the previous version. Nice thing is that it's well under your budget, so you could add another production-oriented controller down the road if you get into that.

build you own hardware
midibox framework is THE framework to do this
if you own max for live, then it should be easy to interface it with Live.

If you're going to get into some production as well it might be worth going with something like the APC40, which can do a lot more than the XSession. I've never used either so I don't know how they compare feel-wise for mixing. The XSession might work better for you because it's strictly a mixer but if you're using Live you could make use of a lot of other features by using the APC40. I've considered getting the XSession to use with Traktor just for strict two channel mixing but when using Live there is more mapping that I like to do than will work with the XSession. Depends on what you intend to do with the software while mixing.

I wasn't sure if i should get involved in this one because I have very limited experience specifically with 'dj mixer' style controllers.

The 'low cost' option that I've had my eyes on for quite some time is the Numark Total Control: http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i- ... edium=feed

Pros: you can CLICK on the knobs for extra buttons. has loads of junk to tinker with. has the wheelie dealies. your typical knobs. and a ghetto-fader Comes with TRAKTOR LE (so you can try out that software in conjunction with Live!)

Cons: toy-ish. All the midi controls are PRE-ASSIGNED.. so you can't change them to suit your preferences (not actually a big deal with ableton live)


The Traktor Kontrol x1 is the hot new item on the market: http://www.djdeals.com/nativeinstrument ... TROLX1.htm

Pros: looks sleek, lights up. also has clicky knobs. comes with Traktor LE also. Native Instruments is hot haha. AND you can edit the functions of all the knobs/buttons. I'm not positive, but i'd also assume you can switch between MULTIPLE midi-assignment layouts.

Cons: Does not have the wheels, but the midi editing possibilities makes up for it. Native Instruments is sort of a pain in the butt when you first register their stuff (but their downloader is quite easy once you are registered!). If you want an example of how tricky it can be to register with NI, I highly suggest getting their FREE Kore 2 Player! (i recommend it to anyone and everyone ).



The M-Audio X-Session is the tried and true option.

Pros: no registration And midi editable. Has MIDI in/out jacks (only important when controlling other hardware really, or piping some yamaha/casio thing into your computer ). bright display.. but really basic (good for manual editing of controls)

Cons: really old. slightly odd layout. controls don't seem as dedicated. least amount of 'controls' if you really look at it.


All 3 options should be about the same price. saving you enough to get a couple korg nano devices

Check out the Allen and Heath Xone 2:d. I just got mine and it's a lovely bit of kit