Ableton Forum

hey would love some advice on this topic as im new to the whole midi controlling and syncing area

basically i want to play back to back so to speak with my mate on the decks and myself using ableton controlled by a digital dj mixer...

im looking at a korg zero 4 but would prefer something slightly cheaper if possible (any ideas?). i want to link ableton up to this mixer so it can be used just the same as i would use a normal dj mixer with the channels, frequencies and faders, etc.. (if this is possible?) i'd also like to be able to listen to the other track that isnt playing out with headphones like you would usually too. also what would be the best device in ableton to link up as the high mid and low frequencies..

the next part of the question is about syncing it up with my mates music..
im thinking i would have my mixer controlling ableton and have the master going into one of the channels of my mates mixer..

so thats my plan but im completely lost on how i go about syncing it with his music?? i have a mac and surely i must need some sort of input from his music into my ableton so it can sync the beats?? do i need to buy something for this? or would his music have to come out of my mixer or what? i have no clue

any help would be so greatly appreciated

cheers

You cant' sync it. That only works with midi, not with audio. Your friend needs to adjust his tempo to your output, since he is more flexible with the recordplayers in terms of adjusting the tempo.

ableton has a tap tempo function where you can tap a button to sync up with external djs. version 7 also has a tempo nudge function so you can sync up more precisely. you can cue out with hedfonez if your audio card has got more than 1 stereo output. in the master I-O thing in live, selsct 1/2 for your main output and then above it select 3/4 for your hedfonez and plug your fonez into the regualr hedfone jack and make sure your audio card is sending the approriate output to the headfones. if you did it correctly, the solo buttons on your channel strips will have become a button with a headfones icon instead of a icon with an "S" on it. when you click this you can listen to track being played on the inaudible side of your crossfader. i hope that helps

I've synced my laptop up to vinyl DJs more thana few times, it's not hard, it just takes practice. I highlight the tempo field first in Live, then use tap tempo to get close to the vinyl DJ's tempo. Then I use the up an down arrows to fine tune it, while restarting the song. Really no different from using rack mount CD decks, just give it a couple hours practice at home first and you'll be fine.

Arrow UP/Arrow DOWN = 1BPM increments
SHIFT + Arrow UP/Arrow DOWN = 0.1BPM increments

We've got a setup like this out at "The Shack". The computer has an EMU 1212m audio card, but you can use anything cheap with a handful of inputs and outputs. We're using a pair of outputs for a headphone mix (cueing) and then another pair of outputs get sent to the mains (through a mixer).

There's a THIRD pair of outputs that we send to BOTH the A and B line inputs on the DJ mixer, which is where all the magic happens.

The guy on the turntables has a switch for each deck that toggles between the phono and line input... so when you're mixing on the decks, you can have any combination of:

Turntable A -- Turntable B
Turntable A -- Computer
Computer -- Turntable B
Computer -- Computer [retarded. but you can do it.]

Now the man on the decks can mix his vinyl, and cue up with whatever the guy on the PC wants to send him. He also can cut to the computer with the crossfader, and even gets to use his 3-band EQ on it. He can also ignore the computer altogether and mix vinyl like my grandma used to do.

The computer side takes input from the DJ mixer (you can grab outputs from each deck or just take the main mix) and this lets the guy on the pc hear the vinyl in his headphones, add EQ and effects to the feed if he wants, and record the mix. The only way to get the tempo, sadly, is with the "tap tempo" feature in live -- it takes practice

I use an x-session and a trigger finger for midi control, but the newer m-audio x-session pro has more faders like a classic DJ mixer. And it's cheap.

Just remember that in a setup like this with everyone's inputs and outputs linked, it's very easily to create a feedback loop. You've been warned.