Is APC40 more for producing, or performing?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

Is APC40 more for producing, or performing?

I really want to get started in music production, I currently have a Numark Mixtrack Pro that I’ve been using with Traktor for a while, and a full midi keyboard (Casio LK-something)

For music production, it seems ableton is the future, and I’ve dabbled with it here and there with just a mouse. I just got the keyboard and haven’t actually hooked it up yet though.

I’ve been looking into a new controller of some sort and it seems the APC40 is the best for ableton. I’;ve watched quite a few demonstrations including Abletons video on it.

I only see people performing music live with the APC40, which is great and eventually I want to do that too, but I hear it takes a very, very long time to become fluent enough with Ableton and have enough music of your own creation in order to use live effectively. In the mean time I’d like to just produce at my own pace (I’ve watched videos of live, and coming from using Traktor and the likes, it’s kind of entirely different).

So is the APC40 actually helpful in the process of CREATING music, or is it mostly for performing live and launching clips, etc? If so, I think with my limited budget it might not be in my best interest to get one until later considering i’ll probably continue to perform and DJ with Traktor, but if it’s very helpful and crucial for learning and using ableton to produce I’d love one.

Overall, I’m stuck on the fence between an APC40 as you’ve read, and my ever-growing anxiousness for something better than the Mixtrack as I drool over every new gadget on the front page of DJTT everyday.

Any advice would be great! I made a thread like this a little while ago, but this is geared of off the responses I got there, not trying to be redundant!

Thanks, you guys always have the best advice.

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The APC40 is interesting for performing live. In some ways, it’s the best thing of its kind.

I–for one–think it’s completely useless for production. There are some max4live patches that make it worthwhile, kinda…but I just don’t see it.

What are you wanting the DAW controller to do? That should be the first question you answer before you even look at specific products.

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I really don’t see it having a ton of use during production. You won’t really be launching clips. However, you may find the knobs and sliders useful and time-saving during production. Using a mouse for everything is irritating.

I would hold off on the purchase. Teach yourself Ableton first… If you find that you need the knobs/sliders, get one.

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It’s more for performing live. A lot of people use it for production too but I really hate it for producing to be honest and would not pick one up as a control surface for producing, pretty much why I sold mine.

Considering the faders and knobs on the APC40 kind of suck imo I would much rather just use an iPad with Touchable to launch clips and do misc. ableton tasks. And for faders for mixing I would look at a control surface with better studio style faders. I really don’t like akai’s encoders so there are many controllers that beat it there too.

But really the APC40 is just big and awkward and having a big clip grid isn’t all that important to me while producing, and I think the ipad apps like Griid and Touchable do that much better anyway…

5

Welp, thats a wrap haha. I was under the impression it was used for production itself, and was so lost when scoring to find demonstrations of how this was.

YIPEEEE, I felt almost obligated to get one because in the end, I want to create my own music more than anything else.

thanks! Now.. what next…

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i think for productions its limited but what it can do it does it well. just started experimenting with using it as a mixer, mixing down the 8 channels from maschine going into ableton. i would prefer an a&h mixwizard, but for the pricepoint it makes a really nice mixing surface

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Start learning with the mouse, and when you find something you want to do differently…think about how you want to be able to do it, and then start looking at products that fill the void. And keep an open mind.

If you want EQs and Faders that you can actually play with…the answer might actually be a mixer. If you want better control over soft synths, the answer might be to buy hardware synths. If you think you just want faders, the answer might be something simple. If you think you want transport controls, getting into keyboard mapping might work.

Pieces of hardware solve interface problems…they’re never necessary, and just buying things without thinking about how it’ll make your life easier or better is not the right way to approach it.

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that pretty much sums it up.

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when I said what next I meant like, now to go look at something that can provide what the numark mixtrack can’t do (samples, 4 decks, better effects, more hotuces, etc.).

but thanks, I tend to get ahead of myself with these kind of thing and need to realize it will simply take time.

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That’s a completely separate question……were you looking for a studio piece or a DJ piece?

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This is what I did with an APC40. Used it as a performance tool:

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Nononono haha, now that i don’t NEED an APC40 for production (thought a controller for production was 100% needed), I can put that money towards something more of use to me in terms of DJing.

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Ahh…

I’d still approach it the same way. Use whatever you have, and when you reach limits, figure out what you want to do and how to do it and then start looking at products.

Then again, if more people did it that way, I don’t think the MidiFighter would exist.

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I’ve found that by and large I just use my mouse anyway for production… Then I can see exactly what I’m adjusting. There are some sick paid mappings out there for it using Bomes though. I’d say it’s pretty ideal for live use though, though I haven’t used Ableton to perform live - I used it with Traktor.

15

This. I got my APC40 purely because I like adjusting levels and parameters with knobs and sliders. To echo what’s already been said, it’s good practise to get to know a piece of software first, to find if it’s right for you then buy kit around what suits your workflow. Not just because everybody else is using it.

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Holy. Definitely makes me wanna learn now haha..

so, you did that in Ableton or Traktor? Like all those effects.