Ableton Forum

So the idea is becoming more appealing lately... I've started using Live for Djing but there's something about using a laptop for Djing I can't get used to, maybe it has something to do with looking the part while DJing? i dunno...

Whats your views on using Live and CDj s to DJ? Does anyone use both?

Why does the look matter?

It's DJing, for Chrissakes... playing someone else's music!

IMO it's what's coming out of the loudspeakers that matters! (except for the insecure 'look at me' types, perhaps... or those who want to cheerlead...)

i_falcon wrote:So the idea is becoming more appealing lately... I've started using Live for Djing but there's something about using a laptop for Djing I can't get used to, maybe it has something to do with looking the part while DJing? i dunno...

Whats your views on using Live and CDj s to DJ? Does anyone use both?

Yes!


...but not with actual CDJ's. I use dj-1800, which is a pretty good software simulator of the CDJ's. I've also found that setting up livesets is really quite time consuming, and since I'm more of a basement DJ (ie, not getting paid gigs), I'm more interested in just banging out some beats. I find that working with live can be quite tedious in this respect... it just doesn't have the same "jammability" factor as a set of turntables.

As for the screen-looking factor, I found that using live at lower screen resolutions improved my ability to use the software for playing livesets... 800x600 all the way, baby!

In Seattle a lot of people started out using Turntables rather than a laptop to spin and mix other peoples (and their own) music

It's virtually impossible for lap jockeys to understand why someone would want to actually beat match music so it's kind of a mute debate

personally I love both but I would never ableton live a dj set for more than say 10 people (I knew)

but if you can combine the two - that's dope!

I've also found that setting up livesets is really quite time consuming, and since I'm more of a basement DJ (ie, not getting paid gigs), I'm more interested in just banging out some beats. I find that working with live can be quite tedious in this respect... it just doesn't have the same "jammability" factor as a set of turntables.

yeah thats exactly what i mean... i have to setup my set for when i DJ a bit before hand, where's that doesn't look like the case with CDJs. i just wanna bash out some tunes!

Also, when using laptop, I don't want people to think i'm checking my emails or playing from itunes lol


But Live is great for that 'mash up' feel which i do at my sets.

If you want even more immediate satisfaction you should look into Torq or Serato

you don't even have to burn the mP3's to disc, just open the program up and start mixing - Torqs super dope, especially wha tyou can do with their looping capabilities - you come up with all kind of new rythmes, then drop some strobe and reverb on top of that and bam...I've been getting into the snap shots lately - just holding a key an triggering different effects (nice)

once they get the sampler quantized you'll be syncing and firing off loops just as easy in Torq than in Ableton


check it out

I have CDJ's because of the affordability of buying new tunes, but its still not vinyl

lesterdiamond wrote:I have CDJ's because of the affordability of buying new tunes, but its still not vinyl

I cant believe some people turn up with a set already done on ableton to DJ with. beat matching is only half the fun of playing out, thats pretty much all dance music DJing is. the thing about being a goodf DJ is pulling out the right tracks at the right time and you can only do that on the fly judging what a crowd wants. Its not brain science but it only comes with practice, from playing to empty floors to maintaining a packed ones. I've learnt the most trying to get people on to a floor and keeping them there.

djadonis206 wrote:If you want even more immediate satisfaction you should look into Torq or Serato

+1


It's all about what your comfortable with in my opinion. I started out Djing with 2 1200's.

I decided I wanted to try to make my own stuff so I bought reason, and eventually got into ableton a little over four years ago because it was advertised as a "live performance" tool. I never considered using it for dj sets (and at that time it didn't support mp3's - didn;t even have midi actually) but was more looking to get into doing live techno.

Eventually, on the dj end of it, I decided I wanted to take advantage of DJing with digital media so I bought traktor 2 and used that for about 2 years with a 4 in/4out sound card, a laptop and a dj mixer. I could not bring myself to dj with a mouse, or even a midi controller - I atleast had to have the hands on of the faders and eq's on my mixer. When Ableton started supporting mp3's I tried my hand at it, but it just wasn't something I could get into. Mainly the warping and all of the prep involved, as someone above mentioned. Something about it just turned me off so I stuck with traktor.

For me, in the end of the "traktor days", DJing lost all of its fun, all of the soul just got sucked out of it. I don't know man, so last Fall I bought Serato and set my 1200's back up. DJing is fun now for me again. We all know that beat-matching is no great skill, but it really is a part of what makes mixing records fun.

So now I can utilize my old 1200's and my mixer, I can utilize my digital media as well as (what's left of) my vinyl collection, I can start collecting vinyl again, and most importantly I'm having a blast again.

Hambone was right, what really matters is whats coming out the speakers, but it's also important (to me) to be enjoying myself, and to do that I need to feel those platters under my hand, the pitch control, the eq's, etc.

I just can't get that out of ableton, it's a different tool for me. Nothing against the people who do DJ with it - if it's working for you and it's putting a smile on your face use it. If not try something else.