Ableton Forum

Alright check it out fellas...

Im a techno/electro and drum n bass dj here in nyc and im in the process of going digital. Less than a month ago i purchased:

-15" Apple Powerbook G4 1.67 GHZ processor, 100 GB hard drive, 1 GB Ram

-Lacie 200 GB external hard drive w/ Firewire 800 (for when i play out so i
dont have much latency issues with Ableton)

-Ableton Live 4

-Reason 3.0

-Evolution UC33e midi controller

-Korg Kontrol 49 midi studio controller

- M-Audio Firewire solo recording audio interface

-BlueSky 2.1 studio montiors (THE ABSOLUTLE BEST FUCKING SPEAKERS FOR STUDIO MONITORS ON THE PLANET...100% PERFECT CROSSOVER...2 6.5" SATELLITES POWERED AND BI-AMPED WITH 100W+100W AND FOR BASS...A SINGLE UNDER THE DESK 12" 200W POWERED SUBWOOFER..THESE ARE ALL LUCASFILM THX CERTIFIED CAUSE THEY ARE THE EXACT SAME GEROE LUCAS USES WHEN RECORDING SOUND IN STAR WARS EXCEPT HE HAS THEM IN A 5.1 SET-UP...FREQ. RESPONSE ON THESE THINGS IS 18HZ-20,000kHZ....$1,500)

so Anyway...my cousin is a dj/producer who uses Live on a laptop but is always on tour throughout ny and europe so there is really no time to ask him shit.

what i really need to know is how exactly do u use the warp markers? like what exactly does the beat look like in a wave form? is the peaks the bass and beat? or do i wap mark the lttle tiny shit? is it as simple as tapping a keyboard key to find out the tempo then just click the warp button once u rounded off a number? like how do the beats not drift away such as like when u dj with turntables?

also...i have like 1,000 songs in itunes....i wanna convert as many possible to wav files...then somehow save them on my external hard drive..

my biggest question of all is: how the fuck do i program the midi shit for ableton Live 4 on this Evolution UC33e and/or the Korg Kontrol 49? nd ho do i intergrate the live ReDrum on Reason into my ableton set?

any help would be fuckin awesome cause as it is these midi controlllers are out of the box but collecting dust cause i dont know how to use them but i soooooooooooooooo am eager to learn and want to learn. thanks.

p.s. given the equipment i hve i should be able to fucin o the crazyest shit right with that evolution controller and ablton?

p.p.s. Im also having a hard time figuring out how to decipher between the Cue/solo options....like i put my headphone jack into the m-audio audio interface but all i hear the the live track...how do i get it to where i wanna preview audio 2 in The headphones while audio 1 plays on the monitors?

Welcome!

Coming here with attitude blazing isn't gonna win you any friends...

Read the manual. Search the forum. Tons of instructional tips and tricks.. even a video on warp-markering.

You've got all the right equipment. And although it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out, there is initially a steep learning curve. But nobody here is going to spoon-feed you. In fact, the more you learn on your own, the better you'll understand how to get the most out of this stuff.

Also, there's an awesome book called Ableton Live 4 Power! You can find it at Amazon.

You're doing the right thing, dude. The DJ/producer world is changing. Those who keep up with it will survive. Those who don't...

come on no one wants to answer? i know a lot of u guys know yer shit

Hambone thanks a lot for the brief tips

I suppose not knowing me and not knowing you, you thought i came across with a "blazing attitude" i didnt see it like that...im mad straight up when i wanna get shit done or get to the point....you also gotta remember i like in this neurotic fucking city called, Manhattan hehe. So ya im definitely always energized and fuckin ready for the whatever the fuck happens...whether its some people that wanna take down the world trade center or a crazy homeless fuck that wants to push you off a subway platform after he tries to steal yur iPod..im fuckin ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he did answer!

probably no one wants to write a long winded reply telling you how to do it when you could quite easily spend 10mins looking it up for yourself - its pretty basic stuff and the manual is a good read

UC33 - click midi learn and set it up whatever you like
ReDrum - open live, open reason, select reason as input (rewire), make pattern on ReDrum, hit play

People ARE here to help. You'll find guys (and gals!) here who are totally expert at this stuff (AJ.. "we're not worthy... we're not worthy..) and are willing to help.

I understand the NYC attitude (what are you doing up at 5 in the morning?!), but remember this is a worldwide forum, and the only way we can know each other is how we communicate. A little bit of tact can go a long way in winning friends that will help you on the journey.

And we're not all techno/D&B/breaks people, either. People are using Live in theater, ciassical music, sound FX.. just about every genre you can think of. I personally use it for corporate/private functions with Live running the sound, big-screen video, and lighting.

Quoth, it sounds like you would benifit from joining a Live users group...

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21012

try this movie
http://www.andrewbohne.com/downloads/warping.mov

Funny: learnmusicsoftware, NY, posted a on another thread on Fri Jun 17, 2005 8:45 am. Do you know him?

Hey i appeciate veryones help and kindnes honestly.

If there is anyone else who wants to shout tips please do so.

Thanks again for the re-drum tip.

Hey quoth,
Welcome aboard you crazy-ipod-swinging-tramp-swatter you. Here's a hint. I don't have Tiger yet but apparently there is a system application called automator. I think it's basically a more user friendly Applescript program which allows you to create routines. So if you want to do repetitive tasks you can do it in automator once and it remembers it. So you could try this to save you hours and hours converting your itunes collection to wavs. Or you could wait for Live 5 and make full use of the new MP3 support and not bother converting them at all...



A tramp with an ipod on the subway. It'll be an advert soon...

Well, you've certainly got the equipment to do great things with. Sounds like you've got so much you might have overloaded a little.

The best thing you can do is to pick a product and focus on just that product for a while. I mean, you can get right to work composing with Reason, but to really KNOW it could take months or even years. Live gives you the same kind of power (in a different area) and you could spend a LOT of time just learning all the ins and outs of that program. And then there's rewiring them together...

I would suggest picking either Live or Reason and spending a few weeks just familiarizing yourself with that one. Shelve the other until you're comfortable with the one you're learning first. I assume because you are a dj you are less interested in composing than remixing (although that's just a guess), and in that case I'd focus on Live. If you want to create original music from scratch then Reason is the place to start.

With Rewire you can work with both at the same time, but that might be a lot to bite off if you're just starting out with the two. Learn one well first. Then the other. Then putting them together will be a lot easier.

Tip Number One: Don't ask anyone for help unless you are desperate. Figure it all out for yourself. It is the only way to learn, particularly if you are to retain some originality. 99% of the stuff is designed for simpletons.

Tip Number Two: Don't be tempted to buy any other software or start buying sample CDs until you are satisfied that you have become an expert with what you already have.

Tip Number Three: Don't say shit so much. It sounds shit.

Wait for Live 5.. everyone will be a DJ with no skill required whatsoever...

Better yet.. get this and same yourself some cash.. www.ejay.com