Ableton Forum

i've spun records for a few years,
and have been trying to piece together a studio for a few years,
I mainly bought live to switch to digital and dj with, BUT,

-I just wanted to know, with my setup, can I make tracks with live, if I buy a synthesizer, or do I need sequencing software??
-also, do i need my sampler anymore? or is it too old and should i just get a software sampler and sell it?

I'm still trying to learn the ins and outs of live, and my sampler, but I want to know what I need next (synth, software) to make the sounds and tracks I want. I really am a beginner in the digital realm and would be extremely grateful for some guidance

MY SETUP:
Centrino PC
ableton live 5
Yamaha i88x interface
Roland TR-909 drum machine
Roland S-760 sampler
2 Technics 1200s
Roland DJ-2000 mixer
(about to buy a midi controller asap but undecided still)


THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

sounds like your set!

even if you wanted to add a synth (but keep in mind soft-synths are great)
live will sequence for you!

depending on your budget you could get a synth.
Some poeple will tell you softsynth are OK, other will tell you they sucks, just judge with your ears.
Ableton's Operator, is a pretty good synth ideal to start with as it is really easy to master and create sounds with, good for beginners and for experts, it offers FM + subtractive synthesis, very versatile. In few months you'll be able to shape your own sounds, which the main thing to give your character to your tracks.
On the other side an hardware synth offer more natural feeling hand on control, you know it from the 909 don't you but a good hardware synth doesn't come cheap.
I prefer not to recommend anyhting as what is good for me couldn't mathc your needs.
As for the sampler, just do an A/B comparison with the same sample, out of it and out of live, if you don't notice any difference then swap it and buy a synth instead. Hardware samplers are fun to work with but they slow down a bit the writing process (time needed to load and edit sounds) but then again with the 909 set in external instrument mode you can do some wicked sequencing with the sampler.

thanks guys


has anybody specifically worked with the roland S-760 before, that can recommend whether i should keep it as part of this setup to make minimal techno? i know it's supposed to be pretty powerful but complicated to work with...
(I'm barely learning how to use it, because i saved up and bought the S-760 used many years ago, (before Ableton was around) as i was trying to build up a studio, but then i left it at home when i left to grad school on the other side of the country)


hey minimal, i'm guessing 'zh' is zurich?
I just got back from living in geneva for 6 months, but i never made it out there.very interesting city and good place to live but I didn't find too much of a techno scene out there, although some good artists came to lausanne. how is the scene in zh? i ask because there's a chance i'll move back...

can anybody suggest a good controller for this setup (for studio and playing live?)
i was thinking the the bitstream 3x would probably be good, perhaps combined with a faderfox LX1 or 2

It really depends what you want the s760 to do. Impulse and Simple both offer a lot of sampling power.

(I use an s760)

exvinyljunkie wrote:thanks guys


has anybody specifically worked with the roland S-760 before, that can recommend whether i should keep it as part of this setup to make minimal techno? i know it's supposed to be pretty powerful but complicated to work with...
(I'm barely learning how to use it, because i saved up and bought the S-760 used many years ago, (before Ableton was around) as i was trying to build up a studio, but then i left it at home when i left to grad school on the other side of the country)


hey minimal, i'm guessing 'zh' is zurich?
I just got back from living in geneva for 6 months, but i never made it out there.very interesting city and good place to live but I didn't find too much of a techno scene out there, although some good artists came to lausanne. how is the scene in zh? i ask because there's a chance i'll move back...

yes is zurich. the scene is is a bit too druggy for my tastes but there is a lot going on and great artists and international acts are often playing here.
As for lausanne/geneva yes it lacks of a proper scene though some very good producers are around.

As for the sampler: don't think a given instrument is better suited for a given music style... if you'll find you like your sampler keep it and use it.

where are you from?

I'd like to suggest that you keep your sampler, regardless of what working method you choose in the studio (using software sampling for example) ...because when you gig , assuming you will gig with ableton live, you cant change set without stopping the audio. Its great to have any piece of hardware to bridge this gap, such as your sampler. You could use it to bridge those changing-set-moments.

of course some people throw everything into one set...but that doesnt work for me, as I like to manipulate as much as possible (cpu hog virtual instuments & cpu hog effects) within a set which means my cpu reaches maximum quicker then if everything was rendered samples just waiting to be played and eq'd slightly...

I basically make each of my sets a single 'song' so to speak, and use a drum machine to keep the beat going whilst changing sets.

just picked up a new imactel, and its doing really well with cpu and I have much less plugins to use on it....so well I guess I can put alot more in one set now....


anyways, a longwinded reply it was, but essentially I vote for keeping your sampler!