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I'll update with some relatively good news! I have a moderate set up-and-running; I have my full-length songs loaded into Live 7, and I'm using the Oxygen25 and MIDIFighter Classic to trigger various effects, samples, and the occasional patch in Mainstage (thanks Soundflower). Basically I just start the song, pick the track with the sample(s) or patch(es) I need, and occasionally trigger something mid-song. It's addicting!
...so, my questions are, should I assign a knob to a crossfader and start experimenting with crossfading/beatmatching/etc? Are there any must-have effects for mid-set (right now I have a Bitcrusher, Beat Repeat, a Low Pass Filter, Tremolo/Auto-panning, and on/offs for Low, Mid and Treb, with all but the LMT controllable/adjustable by knobs on the Oxygen)? In short, what do I do now?
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Beatmatching is hella easy, if you're a producer, then you will tackle this in minutes.
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There is really no need for a crossfader or beatmatching if you are using all your own material.
One thing I love for performing live is Izotopes Stutter Edit. I use my MF to trigger the effects and you can juggle vocal phrases or drums like crazy, similar to a scratch routine. But it does take practice so you don't overdo it.
One cool thing about Ableton is you can set up your routine to be as risky or as safe as you want. What I mean is, you can set it up so you barely have to touch a button every 5 minutes or you can set it up where you have to launch clips every few bars while swapping effects.
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So I just got back last night from my first-ever performance. I can't thank you guys enough for your input and support, I had no idea how much having the MIDI Fighter would burst open my opportunities for amazing live performances... and now it's starting to sound like a really crappy ad for DJTechTools, but I don't care. Two nights ago was one of the best nights of my life, and I absolutely need to do it again.
...I'm not the most photogenic/videogenic guy so footage might have to wait. But controllerism and Eurobeat get along a LOT better than I ever expected.
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Hello again! It's been a while since I've posted; I've played two shows so far and they've both gone very well! I should perhaps ask a few more questions since they've come up, so I can start to diversify my shows a bit.
MY LIVE SETUP (only what I've used so far)
Macbook Pro 13", OSX 10.8
Logic Pro 9 (for Composition)
Mainstage 2
Ableton Live 8 demo (it recently ran out... *snif*)
M-Audio Oxygen25
MIDIFighter Classic
LPD8 Pads
Numark DJ2Go (Yes, you may laugh.)
What I've been doing is using the LPD8 pads for samples, freeing up every knob on the LPD8 and Oxygen for effects on the MIDI Fighter and things such as Lo Mid Hi. I haven't been too inventive with effects on the Fighter— Top 4 are BeatRepeats, Next 4 are Tremolos meant to rhythmically cut/pan by 1/4, 1/8, 1/12 and 1/16, Next few are things like Flanger, Reverb, a couple others I've forgotten, and the last four are L, M, H kills and Mute. I have "performance versions" of my songs— that is, with the lead vocal removed if I'm singing on that particular track (true in about 4/5 cases), some instrumental solos or samples removed so I can play them back in live using the Oxygen (using Mainstage) or LPD8 (drum racks in Live), and the rest all in— which I essentially just hit trigger in Live. I depend entirely on crossfades (literally just sliding the bar between A and B) for transitions, and I'm not fond of having to do that, but folks oddly don't seem to mind.
So, my question is, what do I do from here? What should I fix, what should I keep, which effects have I overlooked that are built into Live that would really make things interesting? Should I learn how to DJ traditionally, for the sake of more interesting transitions? Should I be more involved with the songs themselves, performance-wise (that is, triggering drums or parts of the lead)? I've got another gig in November in LA, this time with another guest vocalist, so I'd like to use October to get ready.
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You could easily just have one song lined up after another. As one song ends, another begins. It sounds like you don't really need to make things all that complicated, especially with your lack of DJ experience. Exporting non-vocal mixes and singing on top of them or playing keys over them and adding your own samples. It doesn't need to be that hard.
You're in Scotts Valley? We're sort of neighbors.
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No Left Turn, that's basically what I have going so far. I'll trigger the next song in time so that it crossfades nicely, but I would like to eventually start getting more complicated/intricate with my transitions, or at least start playing around with the material on a deeper level.
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Good evening, all. It's been a while since I sought your insight, and I come again for it.
My next confirmed show is in Vegas in February. However, by that show I hope to have a different setup from my current one, like so:
• Replace the DJ2Go with a Mixtrack Pro (or Mixtrack + Behringer soundcard)
• Remove the Oxygen25 from the setup. I'm... not quite as good with the keyboard live as I thought I'd be, even after some practice. Knobs previously assigned to the Oxygen (that aren't already on the Mixtrack) get tossed onto the LPD8.
As well, I need to figure out some creative ways to stop abusing Beat Repeat so much. Lately I took another peek at Ean Golden's transition videos for things like the Echo Freeze trick and I'm contemplating how these effects could be duplicated in Live, seeing as it would really give me more options mid-song. I... don't like having little to do on songs, even while I am singing, so I just sort of reach for various buttons and effects...
...IT'S NOT A PROBLEM THOUGH I CAN QUIT ANY TIME ; ^;
Eh, I digress. What are some good tricks for Live-based, loop-focused transitions I can trigger with some ol'-fashioned knobs-and-buttons magic, other than my usual "slide crossfader and hope nobody realizes I'm not exactly revolutionizing the 2-deck game"? Alternatively, I could just start learning how to use Traktor or Mixxx or something and actually do some direct and immediate DJing.
