I have a question for anyone who can help me.
I’m a dj for allmost 5 years, played at some small parties, mostly for friends.
I got an idea in my head after seeing Pop Culture by Madeon that i want to get more creative with music, making my own tunes and combining it with what i do now.
My question then is: How do i get started?
I saw the launchpad and how it works with ableton and it seems like a great way to start. Am i right about this? Is it to difficult to start with and should i try something else first?
Give me your opinion!
I started this way because the launchpad come with an entry version of Ableton.
In my opinion Ableton is not great for DJing with, or should I say not the best for how I prefer to DJ, loads of people love it to dj with.
I have started producing tracks with the software and the launchpad is a cool way of triggering clips and in user 1 mode playing drums. With the full version of ableton you can use a plugin called max for live which enables you to use it as a step sequencer.
If your a mac owner you can sync traktor to ableton pretty easily and have fun using both the programs at the same time. It can be done using PC but its a bit of a ball ache and needs something such as midi ox, and a pretty powerful pc.
All in, its very early days but im loving the launchpad and ableton.
Get yours hands on a book called “Ableton Live 8 Power” and read it from cover to cover. That’ll give you a nice introduction to Ableton and its usage.
First of all, thx for the quick response.
I’m kinda new to all this so i will take your advice and read that book.
Ok not great for dj’ing but that’s not really the main goal i’m after, producing my own tracks is.
BFLY said:
‘‘I have started producing tracks with the software and the launchpad is a cool way of triggering clips and in user 1 mode playing drums. With the full version of ableton you can use a plugin called max for live which enables you to use it as a step sequencer.’’
Can you clarify that plz? (I’m new to this world )
I’ve only worked with actual cdplayers and turntables and have no experience in making my own tracks.
Did you mean that the launchpad comes with a version where you can make your own tracks using samples and the launchpad.
And that with the full version you can use your launchpad for more stuff like filters etc ?
Yes the Launchpad comes with A Version of Ableton called the ‘Launchpad Edition’, you can use this to create your own music or play pre recorded or created music loops (known as triggering clips)
The full version just lets you use more of abletons built in features.
All the Launchpad is is a Midi Controller that lets you interact with Ableton
I have a Launchpad and it’s a great tool for working in Ableton. Makes triggering multiple clips at once way easier.
But I don’t like Ableton for DJing. It’s not as suited to on the fly mixing as Traktor. Just my opinion.
The Launchpad mapped to Traktor is a fun and cool looking DJ controller.
You have to realize that what you saw Madeon do in his Pop Culture video required hours and hours of set-up and practice, all for three minutes of music. Yes, it was awesome, but its not exactly like throwing a few songs on the decks like you can with a more DJ oriented set-up.
These classic Moldover videos explain how he uses Ableton to do live mashup sets. His compositions are a little less complicated than Madeon’s, but still requires everything to be setup in advance and leaves you with less room to play whatever songs you (or everyone else) are feeling at the moment.
I just recently bought a launchpad, and DJing has taken a backseat - take this as a warning lol. I love it. While it doesn’t have knobs and faders, the launchpad has a really nice (and visual) way of getting around this by turning each column into a volume control. If you have other midi controllers, these can be mapped to ableton as well, to control fx or Eqs. I have a bcd3000 mapped to ableton, and it works great.
I’ve taken to making individual “tracks” in ableton, and instead of mixing one into the other, dropping out clips, and adding others to create sets. While this doesnt do the same thing as DJing, its pretty cool in itself.
I HIGHLY recomend picking one up as they are pretty cheap, and hours of fun are to be had with it.
APC 20 > Launchpad. It has real faders, which is a gigantic plus, as you can still use the clip launching abilities and have access to the mixer, plus they are actual faders, and not a series of buttons. and there’s a useful, mappable knob!
otherwise, I immediately concede that the APC20’s disadvantage is its larger size and the fact that it needs external power.
still, I would much rather use something with actual faders
/opinion-suggestion
It all depends on your budget. The APC20 is almost twice the price of the launchpad, but it makes up for it with more buttons and faders. If you have a large budget, I’ve seen some pretty cool mods taking an APC20 and an APC40 and attaching them together into an APC80/60. One of the downsides to the launchpad buttons is that they are not velocity sensitive. But it all comes down to budget. You can also string up to 6 launchpads together, if you have fast fingers.
ah sure. wish i was in the usa sometimes when i compare the usd price to the eur one. you have quite a nice bit of kit already tho re: “apc40.launchpad.nocturn.lpd8.touchosc”
Always could use more. Can’t get anything new for a while since I paid the equivalent of ~$500 for that APC40 here. :C
I’m hoping to replace my LPD8 with a Beatmasher MFP, though.
Edit: Back to OP! Here’s another video I found not too long ago.
Pretty sure thesecondwhorl and FingaDrummer are the same person, but I haven’t found any solid evidence of that other than these videos and mixes.
Yup i know.. But that’s why i want to do it. I became bored with just trowing songs… (not that this can’t be fun or difficult but i just want something else for the moment)
a korg nanokontrol works nicely along side a launchpad to give u those twiddly controls.