The Ultimate Music Production Tool
I’m looking to get a good piece of equipment to use with Ableton live. My budget limit is about $400.
If you have an MPC, an MPK or some other midi controller that you just can’t live without when it comes to making music, then let’s pretend you are a salesman, and you need to “pitch” this controller to me. Why should I buy your product? 
Well what do you have right now?
I mean I like my MPK49 but it’s just something to press keys on and I wouldn’t call it essential since any cheap midi keyboard would do the same thing. I have a little lpk25 I use too. I have a maschine I use to make beats which I don’t think I would want live without- it can control ableton too in midi mode. I also have ipads running touchable but I wouldn’t really call them essential.
When I had an apc40 I thought it was a waste of space- the ipad is much more useful and less annoying even without knobs and faders.
iPad with lemur or touchosc depending on how far you want to go with customizing the controller (lemur has scripting, touchosc does not). Check out Mu if you go the lemur route.
novation launchpad + novation nocturn
launchpad is great but it haz no knobs/ faders, the nocturn remedies this by adding touch sensitive knobs and awesome ableton integration
these will allow you to use ableton like a boss 
oh and then if you have any extra $ some cheap midi keyboards like the korg microkey or cheap akai mini keyboard will do for the time being
Currently I have nothing. I only have an iPod Touch 2G running TouchOSC. I really want an iPad 2 but its very expensive. $500 for the absolute cheapest one.
Forget mu and touchosc. Touchable is still where it’s at for ableton.
Refurbished iPad Deals - Apple $420 refurbished comes with full warranty and in new packaging.
Wow. What exactly does refurbished mean?
Most likely scenario is someone returned it to the store and they can’t sell it as new so they test and repackage it and sell it as refurbished.
[quote]1) What are Apple Certified Refurbished Products?
Apple Certified Refurbished Products are pre-owned Apple products that undergo Apple’s stringent refurbishment process prior to being offered for sale. While only some units are returned due to technical issues, all units undergo Apple’s stringent quality refurbishment process.
Each Apple Certified Refurbished Product:
is fully tested (including full burn-in testing).
is refurbished with replacement parts for any defective modules identified in testing.
is put through a thorough cleaning process and inspection.
is repackaged (including appropriate manuals, cables, new boxes, etc.).
includes the operating software originally shipped with the unit and the custom software offered with that system. See each products “Learn More” for more details.
is given a new refurbished part number and serial number.
is placed into a Final QA inspection prior to being added to sellable refurbished stock.
Refurbishment procedures follow the same basic technical guidelines as Apple’s Finished Goods testing procedures.
(2) What should I expect when I purchase an Apple Certified Refurbished Product?
Substantial savings
A fully functional unit with complete documentation
The assurance that the unit meets Apple’s premiere quality standards, and that its defective components have been replaced by genuine Apple components[/quote]
Thanks Xone. I had no idea you could buy refurbished stuff from apple
If it were me I’d get an APC 40 ($300) and an Oxygen 25 keyboard ($100).
APC 40 integrates so nicely with Ableton Live. I mean that’s why it was built. Plus, it gives you knobs and continuous rotary encoders with LEDs, something the Launchpad doesn’t have. I own a Launchpad, and while they’re awesome, I still can’t help but wonder how much better my life would be with an APC 40.
The Oxygen 25 keyboard is nothing fancy, but it does the job well of having to enter notes. It’s fun to work with. I’m not a really good keyboard player though. I’m coming from a guitar background. If you are a trained pianist you might want something larger and with weighted keys.
I just started drooling while looking at the APC 40. It’s perfect. Do you have one?
Call me crazy but I think the APC40 is incredibly overrated. It’s huge, requires external power, and you’re going to have to draw in automation anyway so it’s not that useful in a studio.
I sold it and switched to an ipad/touchable setup and never looked back and you can get a used ipad for the same price. Yeah, I know, people say no tactile feedback blah blah blah. I much prefer it to any controller setup and it is so much better integrated and comprehensive than anything else out there. The apc40 doesn’t feel that great anyway and touchable is 10x more useful.
touchable can also be run on multiple ipads- I have two.
Lemur/mu, griid, touchosc and other ipad apps have nothing on it for an all in one ableton solution.
refurb is a great way to go /thumbs up
I guess it’s hard to justify buying a piece of hardware like the APC40, when you can literally emulate anything you want on the iPad.
I’m going to have to check out touchable. My reasoning for going lemur is that my end goal is to control traktor and ableton with a custom template. Currently I’m syncing live to traktor’s clock. I have a cue points and fx controls page (traktor), and then two more pages for live, one with a 4x4 drum pad wired to a drum rack and the second a virtual keyboard tied to a synth. I still have quite a ways to go to get where I want to be though.
Xonetacular - how customizable is touchable?
It’s not customizable- it just controls ableton perfectly with zero hassle or tweaking better than lemur/mu does. That said it controls nearly every part of ableton you could possibly want and does a lot of things better than mu. That’s the beauty of it.
Mu is a pain in comparison but is customizable and when I tried it it just felt very hacked together and I didn’t like it.
Xonetacular’s idea of buying a refurbished iPad is an amazing suggestion and totally perfect for your budget.
I do have to disagree when it comes to the APC40. I’m an Ableton guy and love my APC 40, which is the tool to have for Live. It IS the session view.
Touchscreen is not for everyone… or you like… or you hate, no gray zone.
Apc40 is really fine.
It all depends whta your working on, but just to clarify, refurbished units in my opinion are usually better than retail units, some with argue with me but I have bought refurbished for a while and the reason I do that is because I have seen that every refurbished unit goes through testing so you are gauranteed to get a working unit.
I just bought an APC20 that should arrive…I feel that for launching clips I like the tactile feeling of buttons, don’t need to double take at a control surface once you’ve located your clip.
