Ableton Forum

Ive searched the forums for information about this but the idea is somewhat abstract to me so i figured id try it out on you guys::
Basically, im looking to record a DJ style mix using two technics, a pioneer 2 channel dj mixer, and live. Ideally, I would be able to mix between all three devices at will [i.e. triggering clips in live and somehow syncing the pitch with a midi controller to that of the turntable]. My question for you is...can you think of an easy way to set this up in which i could be mixing on the fly between these three devices but also recording the set with the same laptop [ i only have one computer! and no other recording device]. Thanks in advance. Also, if it helps i have a powerbook g4 and no external soundcard currently. Also, if you feel like delving into the topic of how i might actually go about grabbing realtime samples from the turntables and replaying them in live, feel free..if not im sure i can dig up a tutorial on that. Thanks!!

I'm not sure but final scratch with traktor software might be able to interface a MIDI clock with ableton. I've been wondering the same thing, this would be really helpful to my style of playing.

whew!
wow where to start...

2 channel mixer - ala pioneer DJM300:
two source at once, period. set channel one to phone for table, and channel two for phono for other table and line for Live. just switch that one as needed. it sucks though, cus say u play a record on one, then if u played a record on two, you would have to play another record on one before u can switch two to line for Live.

u really need more than 2 a channel mixer. regardless:

to record, just set an ableton track, one thats empty, to the input of your soundcard in the drop down. itll be the only choice since youve only got one input. if it hasnt been activated, the drop down will say "configure," and youll be prompted to do so. u need a mixer wth an extra out - i know the djm300 has a booth out. record enable the track and hit record on a slot in session view for that track. (thats how i do it.)

im layin all this ou cus it sounded like that's what u needed.

as far as spinning with ableton and beatmatching with tables, just dont expect its gonna be super easy - its not - depending on your already skill as a DJ. you will spend more time matching the tables to ableton, midi controller or no. its hard to get very accurate tempos in Live. most, or at least me, will be slowin or speeding up the vinyl to Live, while the vinyl is playing, and while cueing.

basically just gonna have to practice a lot. try this -
left channel on DJM300 Live, right channel a table.
hit play in Live. let a track play, and match a record to it as if live was a table. dont worry about live's tempo yet - just start somewhere where youd normally be.
mix out like normal, but dont stop live, just let it keep going, the main sequencer that is.
now u have just the table going, and u wanna drop the next track from Live.
well, can be tricky...in the phones now, cueing, hit play on another track in Live (id suggest having all clips on 8 or 4 bar quantize now.) when this track starts playing, in the phones, it should still be in sync with the record thats still up. but it wont, not 100% - so now, heres where you wanna ride the table's pitch to get it back in sync with Live.

thats the jist - u can think of Live as a metronome, and you want everything at all times to be in sync with it - even if no audio is coming out of Live at that point, then when it is, it'll all be synced pretty.

even if u have a Xone 92 mixer, youd still be doing this.

hope none of this was redundant, and helped.

thank you so much!! You really covered all of my questions..i sort of figured thats how it had to be done but thank you for making it cohesive for me. Luckily i have the djm-707 which is 2 channel [unfortunately], but it does have the booth out..so thats a plus. Anyway, thanks for the help...if anyone else uses live in this way feel free to post your experiences.

How many inputs on your sound card, because you could always have your tt's put through phono preamps and routed into live, thus using live as the mixer, then have the click-track output to your headphones, and then you can sync the tt's beats to that, or just do it by ear.

That's how I'd do it personally, that way, if you have "infinity" devices you can mix everything up!

Hey John,

Here in Chicago too. I have been investigating this same dilemma for months now. (LIVE and two 1200's). Initially I was beatmatching LIVE to the tables using Midipipe to invert a fader on my KORG microKontrol for pitch with a range of 124 - 140 bpm. It works, but my hand is contantly on the Fader to keep in sync. IMHO This kind of takes away from my involvement with loops and defeats the purpose of using LIVE at all.

So recently, I dug out my old RedSound audio to Midi convertor and have LIVE synced to the tempo of my 1200's. With this set-up, I have had "moments" of pure synced bliss between the 1200's and the lappy. But, I still haven't got the bugs out. I'm spending the weekend trouble shooting and, hopefully, I'll have some more information next week.

Another challenge yet to be tackled is "live sampling of my records" to play back simultaneously while the record is still playing.


Tod

Ah, but if you use the redsound MIDI converter, you'll also need aux sends on your mixer so it can sync to the output of the decks without live's output as well. Otherwise, it'll be trying to sync to itself.

If you're trying to sync live to decks, and it starts to drift, you can hit the tap tempo button once at the begining of the bar (track playing on the deck). This matches your first beat without changing the tempo. then it's just a matter of tweaking the fader. Only seems to work if you're close though.

andydes wrote:Ah, but if you use the redsound MIDI converter, you'll also need aux sends on your mixer so it can sync to the output of the decks without live's output as well. Otherwise, it'll be trying to sync to itself.

If you're trying to sync live to decks, and it starts to drift, you can hit the tap tempo button once at the begining of the bar (track playing on the deck). This matches your first beat without changing the tempo. then it's just a matter of tweaking the fader. Only seems to work if you're close though.

After about 20 hours of "research" this weekend. I'm a lot closer to tight sync. I have both outputs from phono 1 and 2 out of my mixer going into my RedSound so the Beat clock is strictly from my 1200's. I still have some drift because the Redsound only reads 1 bpm, (not tenths)...but I've gotten a lot closer. I'll see if I can use Tap Tempo in LIVE when it is set to external sync. I also have quatnize set to 1 bar, maybe if I set it to more less, that may also make a difference.