controllers for Ableton - effects
hey folks,
im new to ableton and have a laptop and apc40. however want to control more dials in realtime. is there another midi controller that focuses on the effects pots?
please help!
cheers
den
@denjonesdotcom
www.denjones.com
Hey man. There are so many controllers that can do this. It really just depends on how much you want to spend. I’m assuming you are going to be making your own mapping for the controller for tweaking effect parameters so the possibilites are abundant. A cheap way to go is the KORG NANOKONTROL ($30-40 on eBay) if you want a sea of knobs with LED postion feedback then the BCR2000 would do very well even if it is a little outdated. If you want to go for a more boutique type controller then I would look into Livid Instruments’ Code ( i think it is) it has a grid of push button endless encoders that you could do some pretty sweet stuff with.
Good luck and have fun!
yes, that would indeed be the Code you’re thinking off. They released the mk 2 version not long ago, so there are some good deals to be had on the original version if you look enough.
+1 for the BCR2000, sure its old, but cheap as chips these days (i sold my old one for just $65) and configuration is such a piece of piss.
The code is a really nice piece of gear though if its in your budget.
The Akai LPD8 is another option, maybe not as many knobs as the code, but cheap as hell and you get velocity sensitive pads as well.
They aren’t endless encoders though, or does it have any kind of feedback unlike the other controllers mentioned (with the exception of nano) which makes fast switching between parameters without needing to think about it completely a no-no.
In a live situation soft-takeover is NEVER an option IMHO, theres nothing worse than fooling around in the dark trying to match a fader or knob to the takeover point of whats on screen to fine adjust something quickly.
Dare I say “Ipad” + Lemur
good point
Sometimes though, you do end up falling into the hole of spending too much time mapping things rather than actually making or playing music. Are you mapping for DJing? Or producing? Because for producing, you’ll get a lot further learning how to use automation - but it’s definitely a user preference.
Right now, i’ve got about 2 effects and a filter for each deck and the effects are macro effect chains based on basically filters, reverbs and delays. If you look at that djtt article that chris lebing was in for example, he talks about the fact that almost all his effects are various combinations of delays and reverbs (mind you, he does run a $1500 software reverb plugin, lol)
I’d also say, definitely concentrate a little more on how you want the knobs laid out. I thought i could use a Traktor X1 for effects racks initially, and it was a real pain trying to look at the screen 
when you have horizontally arranged knobs on screen and vertically arranged on the controlled. For that reason, i might recommend staying away from the nanokontrol. But then once i simplified things and didn’t have to rely on looking at the screen, really didn’t make a difference.
Oh and a plus 1 for iPad (or actually any of the novation based controllers with automap)
plus 2 for iPad. Give it a bit of time and love and you’ll have you’re own controller built the way YOU want it. TouchOSC is easy to build a template with and infinite in possibilities. Plus, you get to play around with loads of other music/synth/dj apps that may end up taking you in whole new directions.
Check out the new arturia minilab 16 encoders, 8 pads, 8 layers-
I picked up an old evolution uc-33e. Its 9 sliders and 24 knobs do the trick.
I use a BCF2000, which is awesome, at least one Maschine, iPads, and many keys and buttons to control effects in Ableton, but if you’re all about encoders, BCF is the way to go.
A bit over kill to some I’m sure but I’d recommend maschine.
I use an apc40 with maschine and the template I have is pretty sweet. Sends a and b go into maschine allowing me to assign fx and program them using only the maschine controller. The apc40 just serves basic mixing functions
Novation Zero sl MKII- totally!!!
I have it, I can totally recommend it, awesome with ableton.
+1. Have you tried mapping aftertouch to stuff? it’s a lot of fun.
+1 on the LPD8 its great and cheap… i love it. I use the pads to turn on/off effects and the knobs to change different things… Works well!!
UC-33e FTW.
yeah i use the vst synth uhe ace a lot, and a lot of its presets have some after touch programmed in. Fun shit with note repeat and choke groups.
