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Cheapest/Affordable way to get 16 externally controlled tracks in Ableton
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| DjStephenWiley |
So I talked with my sales associate with sweetwater. We could only come up with two solutions. Two APC40's or two Euphonix MC Mix chained.
I want a 16 board channel that allows me to manually adjust my volume (sliders) along with panning and sends/returns. The APC40 is perfect but only has 8 faders and has some features that are a waste of space for me.
The Euphonix MC Mix is certainly a great idea, except it's a $2,000 venture.
I've also thought about chaining two novation zero's, but again, a lot of stuff I really don't need and not really designed to be used as such.
Anybody have any ideas????
Seems there would be a controller out there that emulates a mixing board that you can use with various DAW's. |
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| Subtle |
| 2 x Behringer BCF 2000 |
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| flutlicht junky |
| 2 x Korg Nano Kontrol @ 44 quid each. Use scenes to select from four versions of one knob even (pan, send a, send b, spare) Job done. |
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| EgosXII |
| quote: | Originally posted by flutlicht junky
2 x Korg Nano Kontrol @ 44 quid each. Use scenes to select from four versions of one knob even (pan, send a, send b, spare) Job done. |
| quote: | Originally posted by Subtle
2 x Behringer BCF 2000 |
yeah, if you just want to have faders, either of these would be WAY better options than apcs... |
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| kitphillips |
You want midi control over 16 tracks? I'd just grab a mixing desk mate, analogue mixing has advantages that the midi controllers don't. The most obvious being that there's no latency on the mix, so when you touch a fader its more responsive. Also, you have to consider the benefits of being able to see the metering next to the fader you're adjusting, like on the pioneer DJM 800. For someone who comes from a DJing background, I don't think that a midi controller will really give you any advantages since you'll be used to the responsiveness of the DJ mixer.
Just IMO. |
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| SoundMagus |
MPK49
24 knobs over 3 banks
24 faders over 3 banks
48 pads over 4 banks
4 octave keyboard
under £300
2 x Launchpads £149 each ! |
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| echosystm |
| quote: | Originally posted by DjStephenWiley
Anybody have any ideas????
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yes, don't buy any of them.
my bet is you buy them and then realise you end up using your mouse the majority of the time anyway. i've only ever found mixers are useful for tracking live audio (eg. recording vocals, not recording synths). most non-live-recording people just buy these things because they look cool and it makes them feel more pro. they're not very useful for edm, in my experience.
if you're going to buy anything, make sure it has a parameter read out, like the novation remote, euphonix mc mix or mackie control. without this, it is going to be a total pain in the dick to use, because you will never remember what fader controls what or will have to lock yourself into using the same project template every time. ftl. |
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| SoundMagus |
depends how you use them eh, I use mines in a live set-up as well as production and I hardly ever use the mouse.
When i get the launchpad (today) i will be doing even more without the us of the mouse.
Its up to you, if you use the mouse or not, i use both but the mouse definitely less since I got the controllers. |
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| DjStephenWiley |
| quote: | Originally posted by echosystm
yes, don't buy any of them.
my bet is you buy them and then realise you end up using your mouse the majority of the time anyway. i've only ever found mixers are useful for tracking live audio (eg. recording vocals, not recording synths). most non-live-recording people just buy these things because they look cool and it makes them feel more pro. they're not very useful for edm, in my experience.
if you're going to buy anything, make sure it has a parameter read out, like the novation remote, euphonix mc mix or mackie control. without this, it is going to be a total pain in the dick to use, because you will never remember what fader controls what or will have to lock yourself into using the same project template every time. ftl. |
Hate the mouse. I use it less and less and have tried to discipline myself (even when its quicker with a mouse) to not use it. I want to get away from it. I want to work in a digital environment as if it were an old school analog environment. On a budget of course. I can't afford some huge digital mixing board. And thanks for bringing up the Parameter Read I completely was overlooking that. I sure would like to get one of those Euphonix (start with 1) and go from there even though I know I will use many more tracks. But a lot of tracks I don't do much with like my sidechain track, etc. I can control those with my Novation 49, and control the "8 most important" tracks with the Euphonix or whatever. Plus this will help discipline me into using fewer and fewer tracks which is something I want to do.
I'm thinking I should probably just get a Novation Remote Zero (one) and just learn to quickly navigate it with an encoder that switches from channels 1-8 to 9-16. Only thing is I really like how the APC40 is laid out even though the faders are ty at best and of course theres a ton of un-needed things on it that just drive up the price.
Maybe I should just say it and get a big mixing board from Behringer. Just not sure what software I would want to run it with. |
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| echosystm |
| quote: | Originally posted by DjStephenWiley
Hate the mouse. I use it less and less and have tried to discipline myself (even when its quicker with a mouse) to not use it. |
suit yourself, but as someone who has owned a mackie control, 90% of the things you do in your daw can only be done with your mouse and these controllers are a total waste of money imo. |
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| cryophonik |
This isn't really what you're asking about Stephen, but I'll just throw it out there for consideration: Frontier Designs AlphaTrack. Yes, it only controls one channel at a time, but once you become accustomed to it, you can navigate your tracks pretty quickly, it gives you full access to all your plugins, and is pretty customizable. I replaced a 24-channel Soundcraft board with my AT years ago and haven't regretted it for a second. It sits right next to my mouse and, when I'm mixing or tracking, it's like an extension of my right hand. It's a much cheaper solution, has a much smaller footprint, and is a very well-supported company. All that said, I've only used it sparingly with Live (I use it primarily with Sonar & Cubase), so some Live/AlphaTrack users may want to weigh in with their opinions if you think it's worth considering.
Just a thought. |
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