Just got back from Day 1 of my Ableton course... (101) and have learnt HEAPS. I'm amazed at just how much can be done with this software - on a production and also DJ level (spent most of today looking at DJing components and arrangements)..
Anyone else on here use it?
I use it occasionally for production
it does take some learning, but I've been impressed with what I've experienced so far.
it's absolutely brilliant.
yes, it does take instruction to begin with and isn't necessarily intuitive off the cuff, however, it makes total sense once walked through. I've not even scratched the surface of it's capability and am already really impressed.
its the bees knees
iv been using it for about a year and have still a lot to learn, but its awesome. it is tough at first but once you get your head round it everything starts to make perfect sense. the little things impress me, like dragging plug ins and effects easily into tracks, and the easy control of all the parameters in one place.. and the non destructive wav editing is a masterstroke. love it!
apparently its really fun to dj with it as well but i havent tried that, im still not really in favour of laptop dj'n but im sure ill give it a go at so-me point. how have you found dj'n with it kitten?
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it's amazing to dj with, if yr into the whole laptop dj thing. i've used it for a couple of years for djing and it's pretty amazing how powerful and flexible it is.
far better for djing and live work than producing, i think!
so many people slate it for djing tho,
which kind of baffles me when having experimented with it today. It seems you can do SO much more than say, Traktor.. depends how drunk you are behind the decks, me thinketh.
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well, i think it kicks traktor's ass for djing. it's not 'like djing' in the sense that it isn't laid out like 2 decks or whatever..but with a bit of preparation it is so much more powerful than anything else i've used. traktor didn't really cut it for me
yeah, same.
have you used serato scratch?
the place I am doing my course at also rate it.
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i haven't used it but it looks amazing. thing is though it's basically like decks but with mp3s. ableton's a different thing entirely, i think. it's certainly a different way of thinking about mixing
People slate it
for DJing because it takes beatmatching and even starting something on beat out of your hands, so a lot of traditional DJs see it as cheating. Which misses the point a bit as mixing tracks is less about beatmatching and starting on beat and more about phrasing, EQ and levels. Plus you can do things you genuinely couldn't do on anything else (mainly to do with layering loops and cutting tracks up to change the structure), which is more than can be said for programs like Traktor, which can only really do the same as someone competent on CDJs.
well.... today was the first time I'd used it
for dj purposes... and agree with all the above. The array of effects available at your fingertips... incredible.
I'm looking forward to immersing myself in it. I was quite pleased with myself having four tracks looped and going today - all sounding really really good, actually, if I do say so myself! ;-)
I've tried messing with Traktor and found that to be quite good... I'm yet to dj out in public with it all as yet as in the past have used vinyl. But well, lugging that bag around is hardcore. For mega purists only (and car to car delivery).
This could and will compeltely revolutionise the way I look at music. It's taken me awhile to get to this course but really, I enrolled in it to help with live sets as my band uses Ableton and for live sets, it will really help me knowing how to handle it all, rather than just playing the synths... and basic backing tracks / sound sequences coming out of x 2 macs..
This is all very exciting - I know I"m probably a late adopter with it but as I said, had a few other things to deal with.
The intersting thing is that 'apparently' you can purchase pre-warped tracks from places like beatport etc... but am yet to actually see it (and also, why pay double for that when you can do it yourself?)..
I reckon you could fly a plane with Ableton ;-)
DONTCHAFINK?
This looks good Kitten
Good luck with ya other days on the course. I just stick to the records and ones and twos cos I think my computer would overheat and die if I tryed running Ableton on it. Should be well good for your live stuff though, keep up the good work.
I've
used it for DJing for about 2 years, and production for about a year or so. DJing it's fantastic, not necessarily for effects (my effects setup is fairly minimal, with a beat repeat/looper, redux and fade to grey on each channel) but for its easy layering and looping. It's easy to add your own drum loops, 4 bar loops of other songs and acapellas over a track, and mix around with 3 or 4 tracks at once, which is pretty much impossible to do with anything else.
The pre-warped stuff on Beatport is generally a bit pointless, as normally it takes 20 seconds to warp a track, if that, but certain things are a complete pain in the arse to warp, depending on what the producer's done with the BPM whilst making the track.
I've never seen the option to purchase prewarped
tracks on Beatport - but yeah, funny how they are making cash from it.