what do you think of Live as a DJ program.

JAMM · Post by **JAMM** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:51 pm

Is live a DJ-tool?

I don,t like:
-converting or saving my MP3 into AIFF or WAVE
-warping a track to make nice DJ-style crossfades...easy but not on hundreds of MP3, or constantly have to do this on new tracks
-warping a old track...to much work, sometimes no good results.
-after preparing or warping a DJ-set it,s one step from pressing the PLAY button.....it becomes to easy!

I like:
after preparing or warping a track only have to focus on remixing a track in front of a crowd and turn it inside out with my midi controller.
be creative and constantly fool around with the effects.

In the end i love Live as a remix or composing program but am missing some things as a DJ program.

What do you think of live as a DJ-tool

Globaldj · Post by **Globaldj** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 10:41 pm

I totally agreed with you.
I've been spining music for a long time, I started out with a pair of TTs and just recently moved to CDjs. Lately I've been thinking about switching to Live 5, however it seems quite of lame imo. Last month a saw the # DJ in the world Mr. Paul van Dyk using Live 5. I was right behind him the whole time, and what he was doing was just boring and lame... anyone could've done what he was doing. The guys knows how to make to crowd go nuts but it didn't require """any""" sort of skills.

I saw Paul van Dyk a year ago too, at the time he was using Final Scratch, somehow everything seemed more interesting to watch. He had to actually beatmatch the tracks, find cue points, and all the other stuff which are part of a DJ.

The only reason why I'd probably switch to Live is because it'll help me to take my music to a higher level, however I highly doubt that I will switch complety, I think that my Powerbook will be another tool to use during my sets.

I'm not gonna warp every single one of my tracks, that will take forever, I guess I'm just gonna warp certain ones.

JUST MY OPINION

robtronik · Post by **robtronik** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 10:46 pm

in essence, you percieve it is missing things because you are thinking within the confines of the old DJ paradigm.

Its different, but better, IMO. But if you are wanting to replicate the principal ease of vinyl in a program, then you are barking up the wrong tree with Live.

You might as well stick w/ Vinyl or CDs.

.02,

rob.

donnydonny · Post by **donnydonny** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:01 pm

I think Live, as a dj tool, gets ALL of its credit when it pushes the boundaries of dj'ing. On the surface, people will see that you beatmap your tracks beforehand, press play, and voila... flawless mixes.

What really makes Live interesting is creating loops that no turntable could ever replicate... flipping through 4 different loops on every measure that you couldn't even do with beat juggling... layering 2 loops during a mix... transposing a song so that it's in the right key...

Live is like an ugly duckling when it's not used to its full potential. Push it hard and it turns into that lovely swan.

MarkH · Post by **MarkH** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:44 pm

Here's the problem..

To really have a good DJ performance you need your laptop + at least some sort of controller, whether it be UC-33e, a midi keyboard, whatever.

Most clubs won't give you the space needed in the DJ booth. Hell will freeze over before any worthy club is going to let you setup a Laptop (let a lone a G5) and a Maven-like mixer (or swap out the house mixer for a Xone) or let you put your midi clutter on top of their CDJ's or vinyl turntables. It's like an uphill battle fighting for space and it sucks because they almost always say no, unless you're a mega star.

Right now Serato Scratch Live is everywhere. Rane obviously did some heavy communications because every major club has one. The clubs have their Serato system pre-installed and you just show up with your laptop and plug in to the house USB cable and start DJ'ing.

robtronik · Post by **robtronik** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:01 am

I DJ a lot in Los Angeles and around Southern Cali (all the major clubs - Giant/Avalon, Spundae, Godskitchen, etc.) and never had a problem coming in and setting up my laptop with a controller. You only need two ins on a line in on the mixer.

I think promoters (and I'm one of them) are starting to get it. Laptops are pretty common now. Get a controller that is portable enough and you are good to go.

rob.

Airbase · Post by **Airbase** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:18 am

JAMM wrote:Is live a DJ-tool?

I don,t like:
-converting or saving my MP3 into AIFF or WAVE
-warping a track to make nice DJ-style crossfades...easy but not on hundreds of MP3, or constantly have to do this on new tracks
-warping a old track...to much work, sometimes no good results.
-after preparing or warping a DJ-set it,s one step from pressing the PLAY button.....it becomes to easy!

Warping hundrets of mp3-files aint easy or fun.
Thats where you do the job. Its not cheating to mix with Live, the difference is that you do all the hard work at home, and do all the fun parts of it while on a gig.

Globaldj · Post by **Globaldj** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:25 am

Well.... you could even warp the track at the club... That way you won't get bored

robtronik · Post by **robtronik** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:30 am

Globaldj wrote:Well.... you could even warp the track at the club... That way you won't get bored

yeah, that will excite the crowd.

rob.

The Benjamin · Post by **The Benjamin** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:23 am

I recently asked a similar question on this forum http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30645
regarding Live vs Traktor as a DJ tool. I've since decided to go the Live route because I love the flexibility, the possibility of really blurring the line between DJing and Live PA. The only feature I'm really finding Live lacking--and I realize people have been asking for this for a long long long long time--is a way to "nudge" a playing file so that it slows down or speeds up momentarily. When you warp your tracks properly, they'll line up perfectly, but I've come to believe that part of what makes a DJ set "alive" is the slight imperfections in the beats lining up. Not flamming, but little shifts in timing. And the ability to nudge would make that possible.

Otherwise, I've been really happy with Live as a DJ tool (so far--I'm pretty new to it). Since a lot of what I'm going to spin will be well-known tunes (but no "Come On Eileen"--I've got to put my foot down somewhere), being able to easliy deconstruct the tune as it plays is pretty cool.

StompyJ · Post by **StompyJ** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:23 am

If you dont' have the vision or ability to think up the BAZILLION things you could be doing now that the grunt work of beatmatching can be eliminated, then you should stay mixing vinyl.

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:36 am

Globaldj wrote:I totally agreed with you.
I've been spining music for a long time, I started out with a pair of TTs and just recently moved to CDjs. Lately I've been thinking about switching to Live 5, however it seems quite of lame imo. Last month a saw the # DJ in the world Mr. Paul van Dyk using Live 5. I was right behind him the whole time, and what he was doing was just boring and lame... anyone could've done what he was doing. The guys knows how to make to crowd go nuts but it didn't require """any""" sort of skills.

I saw Paul van Dyk a year ago too, at the time he was using Final Scratch, somehow everything seemed more interesting to watch. He had to actually beatmatch the tracks, find cue points, and all the other stuff which are part of a DJ.

The only reason why I'd probably switch to Live is because it'll help me to take my music to a higher level, however I highly doubt that I will switch complety, I think that my Powerbook will be another tool to use during my sets.

I'm not gonna warp every single one of my tracks, that will take forever, I guess I'm just gonna warp certain ones.

JUST MY OPINION

quick Q, where did you see PVD play?

stinky · Post by **stinky** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:57 am

Yaaaaawwwwnnnnnnn.... Beatmatching... Been djing for almost 7 years, and wow... watching a dj beatmatch is more boring than anything i've ever encountered. Beatmatching would have gone the way of the dodo if it wasn't for the fact the dj's without musical talent kept trying to keep the status quo and go against the grain in a shift of the present paradigm (and clubs aren't too eager to throw money at every new technological trend that comes along). Whatever happened to the underground spirit of moving in new directions and pushing the boundaries. Granted turntablism is another matter, and I find that thoroughly enjoyable to watch. But, i digress.

Push the boundaries.. move beyond that state of mind, and into an altogether new mentality. I find it amazing to watch all these new ways of working.. thank god it's not a glorified jukebox, matching beats, and pushing records back to back.. If that was the case, we wouldn't have cdj's with built in looping (can't do that with most TT's) or internal/external FX mods. And, with all due respect, the show is not about beatmatching, or pushing buttons, or knob twiddling, or posing mid mix.. it's about the music #1, the crowd #2, and then artist #3 and interaction between the three.

As for toting a laptop/gear to a gig, and what the club says... if you've got the salt, they'll give you the shirt off their back to pack the house... I don't think any club would find it hard to figure out a place for your gear.

Fokker Out.

stinky · Post by **stinky** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 4:38 am

OH BTW... I saw Monk from Rabbit in the Moon fame dj using a laptop and a zip drive at a club in West Palm back in '98 and he was way more impressive and, at the time, cutting edge than any breaks dj I had seen then... including Icey (even though Icey is damn good)....

what do you think of Live as a DJ program.

what do you think of Live as a DJ program.

Re: what do you think of Live as a DJ program.