Ableton Forum

Hey guys

I have been playing a few events here and there using Ableton as a DJ mixing tool. Normally I have been using it for an actual live show with each of my own tracks split into 8 parts and then mixed live. In this form I have had no porblems from the software at all.

I am using an Apple 17" G4 Laptop and its been handling it really well. I have also just puchased a MacBook Pro 15" and I have been using the Beta tests before I get the full verison of Ableton when its out.

Now I recently played out using the MacBook Pro and a Beta to DJ with. The system ran fine for 2 hours then suddenly I dropped a track in... and within a minute into the track it seemed to loop the audio and just freeze. I had some cd's with me also so just played them while I rebooted.

I put it down to the Beta testing... I tried the same track later and all was well.

A week later and a new Beta version and I get 40 minutes into a set and another track just dies on me.... so again I carry on using CD's but this time when I reboot the system is mega slow so I don't use it again for the rest of the night. The one thing I did notice was I changed tempo both times by a few bpm just before the crash.

So..... rather than risk another problem I then go back to the full verison of Ableton on my 17" and I do a full 45 minute live show in Europe and its perfect... no problems... I then leave the main room to DJ in a 2nd room..... 6 tracks in and bam... another crash..... just after I change tempo.....

I have just DJ'd again last night and this time I used the 17" G4 and it ran great for 2 hours then suddnely the music just stopped. I wasn't doing anything on it at the time. It was simply playing and half way into the mp3.... nothing... it just stops playing.... this is really driving me nuts...

So what I wanted to know was.... anyone else having any problems? It is due to the MP3? is it due to the tempo change?
Is it a well known bug?

Anyone have any ideas.... I don't wanna risk another DJ crash while playing out.

Another small issue I have noticed is that from time to time when I drop in a new track the sound drops out for a second. Its a very small gap but its a gap none the less.

Is it possible to actually change the mp3's I have to wave and not have to go through all the tracks again and put new makers in? I have tried with one file and I changed the name of the asd file to match but it didn't seem to work. I would be happy to do this if I new wave files would stop the crashes I am having with my laptops.

Thanks

Kuffdam

Hello Kuffdam,

Do you use any plugin in you DJ set ? If yes, which ones ?
Also, did you set a limit or a minimun free drive space in the Preferences for your decoding cache. Do you work on the Powerbook's internal drive or on an external drive, and is it near to be full or is there some free space ?
Also, last thing to check: how is the RAM usage ? How much RAM do you have on each computer ?

If you intend to convert your mp3 tracks to WAV, you should convert the audio to WAV, then open the warped mp3 in Live, and click the "replace" button the clip area, point to the WAV file, that will create and asd file for the WAV file with the same clip settings.
Make a copy of an mp3 and its asd first to try it for yourself and ensure that you're doing things in the right order.

Kind regards,

Amaury

Hi there Amaury

Ok I wanted to answer each of your questions so that hopefully I can get a good answer on this issue that I am having.... so here goes...

1. Plugins - I currently use the following in my DJ set:
EQ Three on 2 channels
Saturator on 2 channels
Compressor II on 2 channels
Auto Pan on 2 channels
Beat Repeater on 2 channels
Filter Delay on 2 channels

That's it.....

2. The minimum free space is at 500mb and max 10gb but its not turned on just now.

3. I work on the powerbooks internal drive and it has 45gb free at the moment.

4. The ram is 1gb on both machines

Does this help?

Hello,

Do you have the latest version of Quicktime installed ? Also, does it happen with any track, or with some only ? Some rate settings different in the crashing tracks ?

Would you give a try to 5.2 on the powerbook, to see if that helps ?
Don't the computer suffer of overheating in the clubs ? I mean, does it happen at home also ?

Best,

Amaury

Some of the mp3's are different ratings yes

Both macs are fully updated with the latest files

I have't had a problem before with regards heat and when doing a live show which means over an hour of play using wave files mixed live and several controllers the system has handled fine.

The only problem has been when playing mp3's and each time it has been a different file.

With regards the version of Ableton. I have had problems with all of the beta's on the macbook pro. I am considering buying the upgrade to 5.2 but I am concerned with each of the crashes so far.

The Powerbook is using version 5.02 and its having the same problem.

I haven't had a problem at home on the G4 but the macbook pro beta crashed several times.

Is there anything in the log files that I could copy and paste for you to look at that might help?

Hi again,

Yes please, send me the log files and the crash reports.

You can try the demo of 5.2 on your Macbook Pro for as long as you want, it is exactly the full version but you can't save.

I'll look into your files and get back to you.

Best,
Amaury

I think one of the main issues with this has been down to dragging mp3's from the left hand browse window into the clip views.

I haave just gone through all my tracks and replaced them with wave files now. I notice that when dragging a track from the left window that it now loads instantly where as an mp3 has to convert. I think that while playing 2 or 3 clips and also dragging in a new mp3 which is having to convert is placing too much strain on the laptop cauing the crash. I can't be sure but I will find out this weekend when I am out playing.

I will try the new version on the macbook pro this weekend.

Where should I send the logs and files to? what email or do you want me to post the information here?

Hi,

You can send me the files at [email protected].

Thanks,
Amaury