Newbie to Live.. need some suggestions please

silversx · Post by **silversx** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 12:54 am

I want to use Live to DJ live with my laptop..

can anyone make some suggestions for what kind of external controller i should look into..

and what kind of multi output usb soundcard i should buy.. because my laptop built in sound only has stereo output

the style of music i spin is psytrance.. goa.. tech trance... electronic music in general..

i'd really appreciate anyhelp.. and yes i am on a budget too

thanks

cosmosuave · Post by **cosmosuave** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:02 am

Try some of these links...

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic. ... highlight=

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic. ... highlight=

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic. ... highlight=

silversx · Post by **silversx** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 3:39 am

thanks but anyone have any serious help and suggestions ?

Moody · Post by **Moody** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 3:44 am

The bundles would be a good place to start.

silversx · Post by **silversx** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:08 am

what do you mean by bundles?

like a usb sound card midi controller combo??

can anyone give me any product names that they use themselves??

thanks

Clearscreen · Post by **Clearscreen** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 7:00 am

silversx wrote:what do you mean by bundles?

http://www.ableton.com/pages/shop/bundles

you have to bear with this forum a bit sometimes, questions like this come up every other day so people get a bit tired of answering it... and mentioning trance is kind of a no no...

even though plenty of people round here make it.
if you gave a little more info, like how much you have to spend it might help.
why do you want a usb soundcard? i'd generally recommend something firewire for better performance myself, but i know the usb stuff is often cheaper.

as far as controllers go, the faderfox stuff is good but pricey, but theres some ok m-audio gear and the behringer bcr stuff is cheap and pretty good.

what have you looked at and why?

silversx · Post by **silversx** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 7:34 am

Clearscreen wrote:
silversx wrote:what do you mean by bundles?
http://www.ableton.com/pages/shop/bundles

you have to bear with this forum a bit sometimes, questions like this come up every other day so people get a bit tired of answering it... and mentioning trance is kind of a no no... even though plenty of people round here make it.
if you gave a little more info, like how much you have to spend it might help.
why do you want a usb soundcard? i'd generally recommend something firewire for better performance myself, but i know the usb stuff is often cheaper.

as far as controllers go, the faderfox stuff is good but pricey, but theres some ok m-audio gear and the behringer bcr stuff is cheap and pretty good.

what have you looked at and why?

i've looked at the uc-33e .. i already have Live 6.0 so the bundle is a no go..

and also looked at the behringer BCD3000...

both are within my price range 200-300.. the uc-33e doesn't have the traditional mixer layout.. is it more for production?

what controller do you recommend for live dj performances.. i won't be doing much production.. the uc-33e seems to have more functionality but im just not sure if its meant for live djing.. advantages/disadvantages??

as far as the sound card.. it doesn't have to be usb.. firewire is fine too.. is firewire still faster than usb 2.0?? either is fine.. if you have any suggestions on sound cards with multi output..

thanks for any advice

and i didn't say trance.. i said psytrance.. or psychedelic.. electronic music in general.. i don't see why the board has something against trance.. i'd love to know why tho lol..

which faderfox unit is best for live djing since you brought that up too.. thank

Kaizen · Post by **Kaizen** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 9:18 am

Go for a second hand UC33e if you can find one. Best buy you'll make.

As for the soundcard, you get what you pay for! I waited for 6 months to get a Motu Ultralite & I wouldnt change it for the world now.

^^^^ is more than enough for any style of DJ'ing

cavern · Post by **cavern** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 12:00 pm

i use a m-audio trigger finger as my controller and assign the faders to crossfade, master tempo, volume and one for an effect or whatever. there are also 8 knobs i assign for volume to 8 different tracks and the pads can be used to trigger songs, parts, etc. the possibilities are pretty endless. i also use a edirol fa-66 audio interface and assign the master out to my monitors/a pa and another output for the cue. i plug the trigger finger straight into the midi in of the edirol and it works perfect.

silversx · Post by **silversx** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:47 pm

thanks for the replies guys

right now im leaning towards the uc33e for controller and fa-66 from edirol for sound interface..

would that be a good setup for a DJing.. keep in mind i don't really produce

the motu ultralight is a little out of my price range..

also looked at the EMU 0404 USB 2.0 at $199

what are your thoughts on EMU products versus roland edirol and behringer and m-audio / evolution..

any more suggestions??

andydes · Post by **andydes** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 6:31 pm

That should do you fine. Firewire interfaces are generally regarded as being more stable than USB when playing live.

You could also consider the Presonus Firebox. It's roughly the same price as the FA-66. 4 in 6 out (analogue), very good sound for the price and nice preamps.

I know you say you're not interested in production, but you never know, that might change later. Good chance after a while, you'll be wanting to add your own beats and other bits and pieces to your mix.

silversx · Post by **silversx** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 7:37 pm

thanks for the reply..

would the uc33e also be good for other programs such as traktor if i decide to use traktor sometimes??

it seems traktor is much more of a straight forward dj program.. will it be awkward to map the uc33e to traktor's functions??

or would something like a behringer with a traditional dj layout serve me better in that regard..

thanks for all the replies guys.. really appreciate it

Clearscreen · Post by **Clearscreen** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 11:28 pm

are you used to using a dj mixer? maybe check out one of these: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/X ... -main.html
i don't know what a uc33e is worth where you are but the xsession pro is cheaper here in oz, and might be more suited for you? worth a look anyway...

edirol makes generally pretty good stuff for the money - i've never used the fa66 before though. the one problem i have with their stuff is the latency settings in the drivers are a bit vague - it has an arrow saying 'less' in one direction and 'more' in the other or something. not a big deal though...

one thing to check out before you get a firewire interface is to make sure your laptop/desktop is using a compatible firewire controller - have a look at edirols website as they might specify that somewhere. the texas instruments controller is generally the one everyone recommends i think? and make sure you can take it back if it won't work... thats the one good thing about USB - it will generally work, but you probably won't get as low latency and theres a little more cpu overhead using it.