Looking to get my first controller to work with Ableton Live, suggestions?

DJ Gear & Hardware Hardware: Controllers, Mods and Gear
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Looking to get my first controller to work with Ableton Live, suggestions?

I’m looking to get a controller soon to dj with Ableton Live. I don’t know how much it will cost for one with enough features, so I’m not sure how much I’m willing to spend yet. One I looked into was Mixtrack Pro, but I can’t tell if it has enough options or not. I want to be able to easily control things like high and low pass filters, loops, and various other effects for transitions, and also just interesting sounds or twists on songs. Just looking for suggestions

2

Mixtrack will be next to useless for Ableton it does not have enough options and what would you use the jog wheels for ?

Akai APC40, A&H K2, Livid Ohm, Novation Launchpad, Vestax VCM600 are all solid options for Ableton.

The new Behringer CMD series (unreleased) also look like they might be awesome for Ableton (and you could “grow” your setup as needed)

For all the above you will need a 4ch sound card as well BTW.

Are you sure you want to use Ableton even .. most of what you describe can be done in Traktor.

3

I plan to use it for production as well as DJ use, and yes I know I will need a different sound card.

I’m not sure what I would use the jog wheels for, how useful are they if I’m going to be dealing with EDM and Pop style stuff mostly?

4

If your just looking to mix, the mixtrack wouldn’t be a bad start to see if its your thing.. But if your looking to produce the mixtrack isn’t meant for that by any means.

Im personally looking at the MPK mini to see what using a controller is like with producing.

5

The jog wheels will be pretty much useless within Ableton and will only act as big “knobs” as Ableton does not have platter control/cueing etc like “normal” dj software.

IMHO The mixtrack does not have enough buttons whatsoever for Ableton and no easy way of triggering multiple clips, hence the reason I made the other suggestions which are designed for clip triggering and FX control within Ableton.

If you are spending that much on Ableton, no point in skimping with a controller thats not designed in any way to be used with it.

The ONLY benefit in the Mixtrak pro is that you get a sound card included.

6

look at the korg nanokontrol a bunch of knobs and buttons for not a lot of $$$. a few nanokontrols could do just about everything you can think of in ableton.

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After looking through the controllers mentioned, I think I’d like the APC40. Is it a bad idea to purchase it used, and is it compatible with both Mac and PC?

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  1. No - they are reliable and second hand should not be any problem.
  2. Yes - compatible with PC and Mac
  3. If you are buying S/H make sure and get the Live APC edition CD/Serial and registration transferred with the unit, it’ll save you some $ if you are upgrading Ableton later.
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If your heart is set on using ableton, then the apc40 is the way to go hands down.

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APC-40 is a great controller for Ableton Live, in my opinion, the best!