Midi Controllers

Thought this was an interesting article



(Need to quote as I can’t post link due to SA rules)


[quote]Up to this point I’ve avoided writing much about midi controllers with Ableton. Don’t get me wrong, they can add a whole new world for live performance as well as producing but I hadn’t personally felt I had enough to say on the subject. You see, I don’t want to just jump on a hype bandwagon if I don’t actually have something important to contribute. My goal isn’t to turn you on to a bunch of extra gadgets for your studio, I want to help you actually make more music or perform more efficiently.



For the most part, the things that initially excite me about new midi gear don’t turn out to be incredibly practical. Â Most of the neat midi controller templates lend themselves better to pre-prepared performance set ups and less of a spontaneous environment. On some youtube videos I’m really impressed with some of the chopping and remixing effects i see people do on the fly, but then realize that you wouldn’t be able to do most of that live to say, 100 song choices to mix and match. Instead you would pretty much have to have your whole setlist ready to go and just have the ability to tweak from within that template. This can be great if you are performing your own productions and remixes, but not as great for more of a DJ style set.



Lately, I often find myself asking “Is this piece of gear really serving me, or does it just look cooler”?



I haven’t forgot the beauty of simplicity in DJ performance. I still am blown away by DJ’s with no more than 3 CDJ’s and a mixer. Of course we all want to push things to the next level, but amazing things can still be done without a setup that would confused a rocket scientist. I am not attempting to make one setup wrong and another one right, I am simply trying to share what works for me.



Thusfar these are the midi controllers I have used:



M-Audio Ozone



Korg PadKontrol



Behringer BCR2000



Behringer BCF2000



Akai APC40



You can probably guess from that list that I really love the concept of the flexibility a midi controller can give you. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found that 1 piece of gear that works perfectly for my needs. Each piece of gear offers something special, but no single piece does it all. Most controllers are a bit too androgynous which can be a good thing when you want to re-invent it’s capabilities but not necessarily as straightforward as a DJ mixer. In many cases, I buy a piece of gear in order to do something a bit more outrageous and later realize it’s just not as practical in a live situation.



APC40



I was one of those guys who bought the APC40 the first day it came out and dove right into it. The plan was to be among the first to review how great it is on my blog but the longer I played with it, the more I felt hyping this controller wouldn’t have been authentic. I would simply have talked about how others use it when I hadn’t personally found an approach to using it that satisfied me. Everytime I used it in a live situation, I found the functions I wanted most were not at easy access. Â I guess I was hoping the APC40 would be as straightforward as Sasha’s Maven controller. I like that each channel has volume, EQ and 6 clip launching buttons.



I realize that I like one knob or button to have only 1 function. I don’t like having to scroll for the right menu before I can make a particular tweak or find that one song or loop in my set. In that same amount of time I often find I could have more easily just used my mouse or qwerty keyboard.



Another thing that bugs me is multiple clip grids on the APC40. It’s a fantastic concept and I still get a lot of use out of it, but when you are adding and removing songs and loops, it’s easy to get confused with what is what. Â I’m constantly checking to make sure I’m about to push the right clip.



With a standard DJ mixer you have less flexibility, but you always know where everything is. The faders will always be volume, the EQ’s will always be EQ. There is something comforting about that. Most controllers just aren’t sure exactly what they are. For example, the APC40 isn’t quite the perfect performance tool as it doesn’t have 3 EQ bands for each channel. It also isn’t quite the best studio controller as so much real estate is taken up with the clip pads which aren’t touch sensitive.



I know what you are thinking right now…”Well you can tweak it to do all sorts of things”! Of course you can if you want to learn a bit of programming and 3rd party software, but I’ve found, for myself, that the more software involved in a live situation, the more time it takes to set up and the more chances of your set not going smoothly.



iPhone/iPad as a controller



I love some of the aps for the iphone without a doubt. I particularly love Snatch, Mrmr, and Touch OSC . It feels very empowering to be able to control Ableton from your iPhone’s touchscreen however, after trying to work it into a live situation, I found it only satisfying as a gimmick. I can certainly see the iPad having many advantages to the iPhone versions but still question just how necessary it really is in a live situation. At the end of the day, for me personally, I prefer physical gear.



In a way, this realisation kinda bummed me out because I really liked the idea of the iPad replacing the need for physical gear. I also thought it looked cooler. I fought with this for a while and finally concluded that I got more enjoyment from physical gear that is set up in a simple fashion. Â It just took too long to set up all the software and have the time to test the wifi network and 3rd party software to be sure it would work perfect everytime. I will likely incorporate the iPad in the future, but not for my most important controls.



Another thing to consider is that I set up and tear down my studio every time I DJ. This means I am hooking and unhooking different controllers, sound cards, hardware and templates. This can confuse things quite a bit when both your live setup and studio setup are complex. Â This was never a problem when spinning vinyl or CD’s since there was no hardware/software setup process you had to dial in to get things working seamlessly. You simply plugged them into your DJ mixer and were ready to go. For this reason I don’t see myself abandoning my CDJ’s anytime soon. They have continued to be a lifesaver when my computer or controller glitches.



Don’t worry, I in no way plan to abandon Ableton or controller technology. I love technology! My goal is to use technology to have a balance between the most options possible and the most seamless performance experience.



Just because you can, does it mean you should?



For me, when I listen to my favorite DJ mixes, there isn’t a whole lot going on. Usually there are subtle hints of EQ, filters, chorus, delay, reverb and looping. A great mix doesn’t overuse any of these fx and doesn’t tend to scream “Hey look at me, I’m doing stuff”! I don’t know about you, but when I listen back to a Live DJ mix of mine at a small club, I give myself a headache with all the trickery I add to try to keep people interested. Â The real trick is to find the right audience who will appreciate what you do musically, then most of the overused gimmicks become unnecessary.



I wish you good luck in finding your own perfect balance for performing.[/quote]

[quote]I haven’t forgot the beauty of simplicity in DJ performance. I still am blown away by DJ’s with no more than 3 CDJ’s and a mixer[/quote]



Ah yes, the plain old three deck set up. So vanilla!!

I thought this was an interesting read…



I have the APC40 and MPD32. I use both for DJing. I don’t have CDJs and I never used them before so I could care less! I don’t DJ out, because I spend all my time makin tracks. I totally understand what the guy was saying… BUT!



I love the APC40 & MPD32 because I can use them while I am producing. The apc40 is great when you open a synth or drop an EQ3 and parameters get automapped. I use it all the time to get a feel for a sound from a knob instead of just using a mouse.



Also yeah the APC 40 doesn’t have a 3 EQ for each channel… But you can just throw an EQ3 onto each track channel if you are running an A B C D dj setup in ableton. If you do this when you click on the EQ for each track channel the APC 40 takes care of the rest.



On top of that… I have the MPD32 sitting right next to the APC40. So my brother and I can use the extra channels and pads on the MPD32 to basically add another layer to the performance/production side. We use it to make beats, 1-shots and more…



I love DJing with ableton because I use it for production. I love the seamless integration between performance & production that ableton provides. Sure CDJs & a DJM800 are pretty standard for DJs. And purists look down @ people using ableton but who cares…



Last time I checked… there is a reason that guys like Daft Punk, Justice, Deadmau5, Laidback Luke and more ALL use ableton when DJing/performing! Electronic music is moving towards live performance anyway!



Learn 2 adapt or DIE!

I don’t have any problem with people using computers to DJ but I do have a problem with people who think that once they can play one track after another without it sounding like a train crash they are a good DJ.

It is possible to be a great Dj after learning on a laptop, but it is very unlikely.

On a side note, I really don’t like the EQ3 in Ableton, am I the only one? It makes things sound muddy. This is from the Ableton manual:

[quote]Note: The filters in this device are optimized to sound more like a good, powerful analog filter cascade than a clean digital fillter. The 48 dB Mode especially does not provide a perfect linear transfer quality, resulting in a slight coloration of the input signal even if all controls are set to 0.00 dB. This is typical behavior for this kind of _lter, and is part of EQ Three’s unique sound. If you need a more linear behavior choose 24 dB Mode or use the EQ Eight.[/quote]

[quote]TheAnt (03/03/2011)[hr]I don’t have any problem with people using computers to DJ but I do have a problem with people who think that once they can play one track after another without it sounding like a train crash they are a good DJ.



It is possible to be a great Dj after learning on a laptop, but it is very unlikely.



On a side note, I really don’t like the EQ3 in Ableton, am I the only one? It makes things sound muddy. This is from the Ableton manual:


[quote]Note: The filters in this device are optimized to sound more like a good, powerful analog filter cascade than a clean digital fillter. The 48 dB Mode especially does not provide a perfect linear transfer quality, resulting in a slight coloration of the input signal even if all controls are set to 0.00 dB. This is typical behavior for this kind of _lter, and is part of EQ Three’s unique sound. If you need a more linear behavior choose 24 dB Mode or use the EQ Eight.[/quote][/quote]



I totally hear ya Ant! And that was interesting about the EQ3. Never read that!



And just so we are clear… I am not claiming to be a great DJ at all.



Personally. DJing does not impress me whatsoever. I’ve been 2 too many parties to give a crap what the DJ is using to get the job done. traktor, serato, cdjs, ableton. Who cares. I totally agree that just knowing how NOT to trainwreck is not enough to claim yourself to be a good DJ.There is a lot more to it than that, of course… But either way it doesn’t impress me. There are a million jokers out in the scene all over the world now that claim to be “DJs”… The only thing that makes a good DJ in my book is track selection. If your playing bangers and it sounds good… nobody is gunna give a sh*t what you are using.



In the end though. I could care less about DJing or people’s new mixes.





I am much more interested in artists that perform their music LIVE.


[quote]UnitedVision (03/03/2011)[hr][And just so we are clear… I am not claiming to be a great DJ at all.
[/quote]

Also, to be clear my comments weren’t directed at you or, for that matter, anyone else on here. :wink:

The old debate hey. Using a computer doesn’t make you a good DJ. I dj’ed for a number of years using vinyl. The first part of the dj process for me was learning to beat match, then making sure you select the right music and bulid your set, then making sure that you mix in and out at good points to make sure the mix flows, then reading the crowd etc.

Theres so may elements involved with being a good DJ.

Alll these to me are parts of dj’ing using a computer helps you to match the beats and take away a little bit of skill but there is still a hell of a lot involved. For example poor tune choice and mix flow even though the beats are matched doesnt make for a good DJ. Check the floor is the floor is busy i would sy you are doing something right.

Remember people wont dance unless that want to this will usually involve drink LOL!!!