27" Screen
2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
Purchased the above unit today to be delivered in a couple of days. This is the first apple mac I have ever owned so thought might as well get a good one. I decided on the fixed unit rather than a mac book pro as portability was not a consideration for me (home based) and considering the upgrade in spec and monitor size for an equivalent mac book the imac seemed the obvious choice.
I’m planning on using the mac purely for my music interest whilst my other two PC workstations are for my photography editing and general internet browsing.
I want to run both Traktor and Ableton on the mac and thinking of using the S4 and the vestax vcm 600 to control the corresponding programs.
A couple of questions:
Can the S4 be mapped to also control Ableton and traktor at the same time or is it better to purchase a separate controller to control ableton?
Will the Imac allow me to have both programs running together on the same screen at the same time (dual windows open) so i don’t have to switch between programs by closing one window down and opening another?
I want to use ableton and traktor together in synch, what set up would you personally use to do this? S4 and APC40? APC40 and kontrol X1 etc etc
What should I do once I receive my Mac in terms of preparing it for traktor and ableton? do i need to configure anything before installation??
I have lots of music on an external hard drive currently used on on eth pc’s. I would like to copy all my music across to the mac’s internal harddrive, would you recommend this or would you play / access your stuff off an external drive?
Any tips / advice on a first time Mac owner moving into music dj’ing and production using traktor and ableton in terms of things to do before setting the whole system up i.e. organising music tips, categorising samples etc?
in theory yes. but it’s not advisable because you WILL make mistakes working like this, especially as a beginner - plus, the S4 is premapped for its special version of traktor while controllers like the VCM or APC are premapped for ableton. trying to customize this is a waste of time unless you really know what you’re doing. if you don’t pay attention, you will end up spending more time on nerd shit than on making music. don’t.
yes, but it will look cluttered no matter how you arrange them.
apc/vmc and s4 sounds like an ok combo. personally, I use a more complex setup but wouldn’t recommend anything this weird. especially when you’re just starting out, try learning one program at a time and use them together only when you’ve truly mastered each one on its own.
no. macs are pretty much idiot-proof. just turn off stuff you don’t really need when working on your music (such as: wifi, bluetooth).
when you’re at home, it shouldn’t matter as long as it’s not a shitty drive. I’d recommend firewire over USB though.
no. make your own mistakes and learn from them. no workflow is as good as one you’ll develop on your own.
You can switch the S4 to midi mode and control any software yoy want with it.
Yes. I have a cheap second monitor to do things like that with though but I only have a 21" iMac
Really it’s just personnel preference. Watch a bunch of videos of people using the different things and choose the one that fits your workflow the best.
Turn it on and install the software, that’s it.
Internal will perform faster imo.
Lost of threads on this just do a search and enjoy your new computer.
The S4 has a built in sound card so need for an audio 8/4 etc…however the VCM 600 does not. If I am using the S4 to run traktor and my vcm 600 running ableton, can I use the S4’s sound card when manipulating paramenters in ableton. What I mean is can i use both controllers to control both programs on the same mac without having to purchase a separate sound card?
Welcome to the Apple family. Also, you might change your mind about using the PCs for photography if you ever try Aperture. I love it. I don’t do HDRs or anything ridiculously serious, and I haven’t started Photoshop in a long time…Aperture 2 is freaking killer.
[quote=“Mintaka, post:1, topic:17570, username:Mintaka”]
A couple of questions:
Can the S4 be mapped to also control Ableton and traktor at the same time or is it better to purchase a separate controller to control ableton?
[/quote]Kinda. You can use something like MidiPipe to send some signals to one program or the other, but it’s another app to run, therefore it’s one more thing to break. It’s also not the most intuitive program I’ve ever seen. I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle.
[quote=“Mintaka, post:1, topic:17570, username:Mintaka”]
2) Will the Imac allow me to have both programs running together on the same screen at the same time (dual windows open) so i don’t have to switch between programs by closing one window down and opening another?
[/quote]Not really. Kinda. Traktor is very specific about the sizes it will use. If you can squeeze Ableton in beside it, yes…but you probably won’t have a lot of room for whatever you’re doing in Ableton.
[quote=“Mintaka, post:1, topic:17570, username:Mintaka”]
3) I want to use ableton and traktor together in synch, what set up would you personally use to do this? S4 and APC40? APC40 and kontrol X1 etc etc
[/quote]I’ve done this with 2 X1s and a VCM-600 using Traktor Pro as the MIDI master sending to Live through the Traktor Virtual Midi port. It works fine as long as you don’t do anything ridiculously stupid or expect it to work like Bridge…it takes a tiny amount of time for Live to catch up when you change Traktor’s tempo (either with an internal master or auto deck master), and I wouldn’t expect you to be able to ‘scratch’ live’s output like you can with Bridge. Everything else seems to work, though.
As far as the controller for Live…it’s just about what you want to do. If you’re making beats and editing them in Live, the APC40 is probably right up your alley…it probably works well if you’re working with remix stems too.
I have the VCM-600 because I bought it so that Live would be my only system (the way Sasha mixed for a while). Adding Traktor was pretty recent, and I don’t really use them together much except to prove to myself that I can. I have a feeling that if you do it that way, you’ll end up heavily favoring one system over the other (i go back and forth) and feel like you wasted $800 on one of the controllers or the other.
I also would advise getting into the Ableton community as you get more familiar with the program. There’s a LOT you can do with either the APC40 or the VCM (or any controller) if you are or know a python hacker. There are a lot of midi remote scripts for the APC40 that do a lot of really cool things. Unfortunately, there’s a bit less community support for the VCM, probably because it’s so much more expensive. I’m having to write a lot of stuff for it that’s been implemented for other controllers because of some differences.
Actually, the whole reason I got the Traktor setup was because using Live for DJing turned into a coding project…it’s enjoyable, but sometimes I just want to play tracks…you know?
[quote=“Mintaka, post:1, topic:17570, username:Mintaka”]
4) What should I do once I receive my Mac in terms of preparing it for traktor and ableton? do i need to configure anything before installation??
[/quote]Not really. I find a few utilities useful (Caffeine, InsomniaX, smcFanControl). It’s just basic software setup. Caffeine keeps your display from sleeping. InsomniaX disables suspend when you close the lid (not a concern with the iMac). And smcFanControl gives you temp readouts and lets you turn fan speeds up.
Apart from that, you might want to disable Spotlight indexing while you’re performing, but I find it’s not necessary as long as my disk doesn’t change drastically. Disabling secure virtual memory can help, but I don’t remember if it’s on by default. And I disabled Dashboard, but that was more because I find widgets annoying than because it was actually a performance hit.
Also, Apple seemed to have accidentally left QuickSilver out. That thing saves me a lot of time. Alfred is another example. Some people–especially if they just came off Windows–hate working like that…I still hate mice and find it invaluable.
[quote=“Mintaka, post:1, topic:17570, username:Mintaka”]
5) I have lots of music on an external hard drive currently used on on eth pc’s. I would like to copy all my music across to the mac’s internal harddrive, would you recommend this or would you play / access your stuff off an external drive?
[/quote]If you’re not traveling, I say it’s not a big deal. I would never bring an external to a venue, because it’s one more thing to accidentally get unplugged and potentially cause problems…it’s also one more failure point that you don’t need.
Yeah…keep backups. And be ready to change everything when you find a better way of doing things. If you were using Traktor and/or Live on your PCs, using those applications isn’t that different. I made the switch to Apple after I started using Live, and the only thing I noticed was that everything worked more smoothly and that Spotlight’s searches actually found things. And that I threw my Apple across a room a lot less frequently (it’s only happened twice with this one in the last 2 years as opposed to twice the last week I had a thinkpad back in 2005).
Yes I know. I don’t want to do too much too soon but at the same time I do if you know what I mean. I want to be able to use traktor and also ableton, i want to be able to create loops on the fly, chop them up, have 8 cue points to juggle and also to be able to launch my own samples and use awesome vsts to create unique effects.
I think I may be trying to do too much too soon and may be better off just sticking with ableton or traktor and learning these programs fully and becoming proficient before starting the other.
This, they both can be overwhelming on there own, probably more so with Abelton. I would learn most of what you need with Traktor first since it’s the DJ specific program and then try doing one extra thing at a time with Abelton.
Good idea there. I’ve learned that the best way to master things is to introduce things gradually, especially with Ableton as the possibilities are endless. Focus on learning to use one new thing (and by “thing” I don’t mean an entire program, but a single effect/process/etc), play around with it exclusively for a bit until you’re comfortable with how it works, and then move on to the next thing. In my experience, you’ll get comfortable with your equipment and software much more quickly with that method than diving in, trying to do everything at once, and immediately forgetting everything.
Idk…I kinda just dived into live. But that was at version 4. Since then, it’s been gradual as they add stuff…and I only got to the point where I was playing with it live in the past year or so. So, maybe that approach wasn’t best.
So, yeah…I also had been DJing on vinyl, ssl, and CDs for a little while when I first got Live…if you know nothing, learn that first.
Well I have used a DJM 800 and CDJ’s for a couple of years but sold up a while back as I need the money and also didn’t really have much time to focus on the music. So in terms of beat matching mixing etc I have experience in that area.
Ableton really attracted me as I liked the idea of performing live with my own samples and other full tracks, chopping them up mixing in different elements are creating quite progressive stuff. I was dead set on purchasing the vcm 600 and an apc40 and really focusing on using the software and learning all about it. I wanted to do this as knew there was so much that could be done with the program and also the ability to make my own music over time and utilise all the vst and fx capabilities. However the S4 came along and BANG i’m caught between sticking with the original idea or moving to traktor.
Traktor appeals to me because of its more DJ friendly set up (which i have traditionally come from) with quick loops and many que points along with the s4 ability to make samples and trigger them in synch. Cue points which a program like ableton doesn’t have (without making more clips etc).
Both programs have advantages and disadvantages over each other but I want to have fun too rather than spending all my time mapping etc.
I’m thinking of the vestax vcm 600 and apc 40 as a combo for ableton. Between these two I will have full control over the software.
A couple of questions though regarding this setup: Can I use both controllers together to control the software? Is there a limit to how many controllers can be used i.e. can a button on tow different controllers activate/trigger a certain track?
I think Traktor S4 will be great also however I want to really get more out of the software other than a simple playing machine, I want to produce, Dj, implement live elements etc.
I honestly think that the VCM alone gives better control…it just takes a bit of thinking and/or hacking. The red box launching thing happens as part of a midi remote script, so if you find that code, you can add that functionality to the VCM using the EQ kill, solo, and mute buttons. I’ve thought about doing that, but it turns out I don’t miss it that much.
The last thing I did was adapting someone else’s code so that the view-clip buttons jump to the playing clip in a track (if there is one) instead of the clip in the currently selected scene. And I’m working on hacking together more friendly looping controls.
Honestly, I don’t see a need for the apc40, but…I was mostly working with full tracks, not pieces.
I DID IT GUYS!!! I purchased the S4 and it should be with me TOMORROW 12pm!!! I feel like I did when I bought my first Mitsubishi Evolution 6…I can’t stop smiling!!!
I also purchased a pair of ADAM A3x Monitors (awesome)!
OUT OF STOCK waiting for new batch to come in January now : ( something with the power supply, NI sent out a load of units with a missing power supply : 0 ???
Amen to the second part! And jesus man, Christmas was good to you this year! That sounds like a LOT of fun! I’m super jealous ! Congratulations! I guess you’ll be spending many sleepless nights with people like me who stay up all night alongside the DJTT forums DJing in their bedroom!
thanks buddy really appreciate that. The S4 is looking to be back in stock in about 2weeks so I bought the vestax vcm 600 instead for my ableton setup and will just add the s4 when it arrives. I may even end up having soo much fun with the vcm that i might map to run traktor, it has all the channels, knobs and buttons i could ever need for traktor.
! Congratulations! I guess you’ll be spending many sleepless nights with people like me who stay up all night alongside the DJTT forums DJing in their bedroom!