Hi Guys,

Great thread. I've had a bit of experience with LIVE. Its an amazing tool, and I also get to see Sasha use it once a month here in LA, as he has a residency here.

From a DJ perspective - its a way to play DJ sets live. You essentially have the software on your laptop and have (ideally) a firewire drive with AIF or WAV files of all of your tracks. Then you simply drag and drop your tracks into different channels on LIVE and the software does the rest, including beatmatch. This might sound bizarre since beatmatching is usually a common element of learning how to DJ, but LIVE actually goes well beyond that. You can cut, copy, paste, sections of audio for instant remixes, add VST effects to certain part of the song, and much more. All in all, its a very powerful tool that I think is going to completely rule the market in the coming years.

I hated that essential mix, it sounded like one 2 hour long prog mix [as in a mix between two songs, not a mix as in set], but that being said I'd still like to see what this setup can do.

Somehow, I find it hard to believe that you can create great music on the spot, but the hype surrounding this thing makes me wanna see the extent of these 'on the fly' things as well as how user friendly it is.

___________________
Not Everyone Understands House Music, It's a Spiritual Thing, a Body Thing, a Soul Thing

Last edited by Sly_Guy on May-25-2005 at 22:20

quote:

Originally posted by reemo Marsh you should stick one of these in your new laptop when you get it: http://www.storedj.com.au/products/product.php?id=666 http://www.storedj.com.au/products/product.php?id=667 Will do you a fantastic price, email me Unless you had something else in mind?

Hey man,

muchly appreciate tha offer, however at the moment (for the last 6 months) I'm packin one of these:

http://m-audio.com/products/en_us/F...phile-main.html

which doesn't quite offer the compactness of that lil sucker, but can be used with a a desktop, and has it's own control knob assignable to the virtual mixer and has 1/4 inch jacks.. and the reliability I have come to cling to from M-Audio. Having said this, compactness is a BIG factor, and I've heard good stuff about the echo indigo range quality wise, so hmm?!?!...

___________________

quote:

The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously. -Nicholas Butler (1862 - 1947)

Marsh - Distance (405 Recordings)

Hear the track on my Myspace https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html...133676/distance
http://www.discogs.com/release/1476900

quote:

Originally posted by Sly_Guy Somehow, I find it hard to believe that you can create great music on the spot, but the hype surrounding this thing makes me wanna see the extent of these 'on the fly' things as well as how user friendly it is.

It's great you do have an open mind, because playing live can be a really exciting visual spectactacle, and open up HUGE possibilities for improvisation, such as dropping in loops, acapellas, and doing custom arrangements (prolonged or shortened depending on what's called for).

*Dance floor dying in a breakdown? - slap something in, tastefully of course (this comes with time/practice), and you have their attention again etc.. just a small example.

___________________

quote:

The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously. -Nicholas Butler (1862 - 1947)

Marsh - Distance (405 Recordings)

Hear the track on my Myspace https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html...133676/distance
http://www.discogs.com/release/1476900

quote:

Originally posted by ô§§|E Hey mate, i read this post of urs about ableton, what i was wondering is where did u get that book from??? (dont say overseas!) i have a copy of ableton but havent got "stuck into" it yet cause of uni, however when my break comes up i really wanna hammer some stuff with it and get to know more then just the basics whilst i have the time, so i would like ot know how useful this book is and how much it cost and where u got it from? Thanks p.s had a lil play with ableton and its just fucking awesome hey, the amount of on-the-fly shit u can do it just way too cool (guess thats why they call it Ableton LIVE huh )

Amazon.com - bout $60 Sorry!! But it's worth EVERY cent!!

___________________

quote:

The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously. -Nicholas Butler (1862 - 1947)

Marsh - Distance (405 Recordings)

Hear the track on my Myspace https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html...133676/distance
http://www.discogs.com/release/1476900

quote:

Originally posted by marsh It's great you do have an open mind, because playing live can be a really exciting visual spectactacle, and open up HUGE possibilities for improvisation, such as dropping in loops, acapellas, and doing custom arrangements (prolonged or shortened depending on what's called for). *Dance floor dying in a breakdown? - slap something in, tastefully of course (this comes with time/practice), and you have their attention again etc.. just a small example.

So it's $60 for an all in one tool, essentially. That seems pretty quality to me. Is there any shareware version or an online spot where I can see it in action?


And another thing, about this control board it comes with, what's the quality of that like? Can I subsitute that for my own mixer, since I'm in love with my vestax PCV 275...

___________________
Not Everyone Understands House Music, It's a Spiritual Thing, a Body Thing, a Soul Thing

quote:

Originally posted by Sly_Guy So it's $60 for an all in one tool, essentially. That seems pretty quality to me. Is there any shareware version or an online spot where I can see it in action? And another thing, about this control board it comes with, what's the quality of that like? Can I subsitute that for my own mixer, since I'm in love with my vestax PCV 275...

Opps, sorry - the ableton live 4 power 'book' is $60 from Amazon, the software itself is about $800. Yes, it's an all in one tool, yes you can use it with your mixer. Mixers wouldn't 'control' it as such, however a MIDI controller is painfully easy to assign to virtually any parameter - in a couple of key presses, you can be wrenching on the filter of your favourite synth, or the feedback of a pingpong delay effect.

Something tells me that many retailers will soon be offering the chance to see it in action, so keep and eye out for one and get them to make jump through some hoops for you.

___________________

quote:

The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously. -Nicholas Butler (1862 - 1947)

Marsh - Distance (405 Recordings)

Hear the track on my Myspace https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html...133676/distance
http://www.discogs.com/release/1476900

But this software doesn't work with .mp3's yet does it? And there are plans for it to have mp3 compatability correct?

I think I might wait for the next version if I do plan to buy, but I have to find somewhere to check it out beforehand.

___________________
Not Everyone Understands House Music, It's a Spiritual Thing, a Body Thing, a Soul Thing

I've seen soundcards 4 times as good as that, for half the price.
Wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

quote:

Originally posted by Sly_Guy But this software doesn't work with .mp3's yet does it? And there are plans for it to have mp3 compatability correct? I think I might wait for the next version if I do plan to buy, but I have to find somewhere to check it out beforehand.

yeah there are plans, not sure when though, either way u can just convert your MP3 files to .WAV files and load em into ableton, its not hard trust me

quote:

Originally posted by G`Dave I've seen soundcards 4 times as good as that, for half the price. Wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

Were they pro-audio cards though? Or were they made by creative or some other consumer manufacturer? In a lot of cases, it is not simply the soundcard spec which you pay for (ie. discreet stereo outs etc..), but infact the drivers, the testing with a variety of hosts and standards (ASIO2, DirectX).

Many 'cheap imitaions' lay claim to ASIO 2 support & drivers, but when used in demanding applications are exposed for having more holes that swiss cheese.

Find me a cheaper card that performs better than an M-audio, and I will give you my M-audio



Seriously, though I'm interested in knowing what's about, so could you give me an example to research? Cheers.

___________________

quote:

The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously. -Nicholas Butler (1862 - 1947)

Marsh - Distance (405 Recordings)

Hear the track on my Myspace https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html...133676/distance
http://www.discogs.com/release/1476900