Live for DJs

Captain Magic · Post by **Captain Magic** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 11:30 pm

The Quatro is not bad, but even that might have to many features for your purpose.

I had one of these a few yaers ago:

http://www.edirol.com/products/info/ua3d.html

and it worked great for recording vynal onto my laptop.

kabuki · Post by **kabuki** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 1:13 am

Hey, Purple. Cool to hear another DJ is seeing the light. Props.

I hope I can answer some questions.

1st one: Computer.
Things to keep in mind:
• The built in hard drive (HD) will need to be 5400 RPMs to be reliable enough for data-streaming (but 7200 RPMs is ideal without being overkill).
• Also, Live 3 can load entire songs into RAM, so a computer with at least a Gig of RAM and a well planned set list can have you loading every-other song into RAM.
• Third thing to remember is that the bigger the screen, the easier you can work in Live. Minimum of 15".

I am a Mac fan, always will be. They tend to be a little high-priced, but the support is good, and with an Applecare Extended warranty (3 years to cover Mfg flaws) and an insurance voucher for about $10 USD/month (to cover user damage), you should have no problem. If you are looking into the Mac line, look at the 15" Powerbook 1.25 GHZ, It comes with a backlit keyboard (for dark club giging) and the screen tends to be sturdier than the 17".
**BUT**, if you want to save a little coin, look at the Gateway Series of computers. NICE stuff,, and the new Microsoft XP is very user-friendly.

Other things to keep in mind:
•Hard drive space. You can probably already tell that .WAV and .AIF files take up a LOT of room. I recommend an external HD, and if you get a Mac (or certain PCs) look into a HD that supports FireWire 2 - much faster. Read LOTS of reviews and ask TONS of questions, because there is NOTHING worse than your HD corrupting and losing all your data. Good recommendation is the Lacie brand of HDs.
•Extra Power Supplies/Batteries: The batteries on Laptops are conveniently rated for working from RAM without HD or CD/DVD spinning, which lowers its time rating.

Sorry if I'm too long-winded.

Alright, Audio Cards/Interfaces
I have heard GREAT things about the INDIGO line of cards by Echo. (I'm personally looking at the INDIGO DJ). The DJ has 4 outs (2 stereo pairs). 1 pair for Headphone queing, the other for output to the mixer. Then there is the Indigo I/O, which has 2 stereo lines in, 2 out. Io cant pre-listen, but can record... Each card is $179 USD, which is cheaper than all-in-one cards... and they are PCMCA, which leaves your FW/USB ports available...

http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/Indigo/

Another solution is the M-Audio line of interfaces. The FW 410 and FW Audiophile are REALLY NICE and have some nice preamps...

http://m-audio.com/index.php?do=product ... interfaces

They also have the Ozone USB, which triggers MIDI (for samples in Live) and has audio I/O with the same preamps as the FW line (HIGHLY recommended - I have the Oxygen 8, and it has been EXTREMELY usefull):

http://m-audio.com/index.php?do=product ... 23c8d6646f

NOTE: You can trigger all your tracks using the QWERTY Keyboard on your computer in Live, so your set would have to be pretty complex to run out of keys... you may not need a MIDI keyboard, but if you do...

CONTROLLERS: As I said, I have an Ox 8, and its great for me. There is also the AKAI MPD 16 pad controller, based on the MPC series, and it is a sturdy, well-built unit.

http://www.akaipro.com/us/mpd16.html

I had one, but its latency was a little slow. Still very nice if you are triggering with 1/2 bar quant.

Also is this thing:

http://m-audio.com/index.php?do=product ... de0db48fef

or the Hercules DJ (PC only) has controller and audio features

http://www.guru3d.com/article/sound/100/1/

Some other things to look into:
I recommend Propellerheads Reason (Mac and PC) works really well with Live and is easy to use... for ceating your own Basslines/Melodies,Beats, etc

www.propellerheads.se

Some guys like FruityLoops. PC only, and their website sucks, so I wont touch it... your decision, though

http://www.e-officedirect.com/FLStudio/ ... rames.html

Good luck.

Phatbottom (The Great Kabuki)

kabuki · Post by **kabuki** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 1:24 am

I'm curious. To those DJing with live:

Which algorithm are you using to stretch the audio, and what are its settings? BTW, this is the best, non-flaming, informative thread I have read on any forum bar none. Good darts, kids.

kabuki · Post by **kabuki** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 1:30 am

BTW, Purple, check out this site for laptop DJ specific reviews:

http://www.em411.com/

Kabuki (The Phatbottom)

Purple · Post by **Purple** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 12:33 pm

Wow Kabuki,

What a great post! I will have to read this one several times and look into all the links. I'll sure come back with questions.

BTW - I've just discovered the EM411 forum myself and I agree it's a great source of information.

Thanks a lot!

Purple

Purple · Post by **Purple** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 12:35 pm

And thanks Captain Magic too,

Though from what I've read that unit has only 1 stereo out, while I need at least 2, also I really want at least the option for 24bit 96kHz.

Purple

Purple · Post by **Purple** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 12:40 pm

Kabuki,

Forgot my first question: At first I was considering the IBM T40, but when I realised that it's price is more or less the same as the G4 PowerBook (17" screen), I startet considering the Mac again.

Now you think I better not go for the 17" PB? But rather the 15" one?

kabuki · Post by **kabuki** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 3:33 pm

The 17 is an AMAZING machine and I know a few folks that have one. I personally like the smaller size for portability sake. I've also heard that the 17 is very fragile, so if you know you are careful with your gear, the 17 would be nice for the workspace... The speed difference is minimal (1.25 to 1.33 ghz), so the screen is the only serious difference between the two.

It should also be pointed out that I had to send in my iBook a few times and the Apple repairs to about a week each time...

Peace.

Kabuki (the REAL Phatbottom)

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 7:37 pm

Can live import mp3's, or does it need to be .wav/.aiff's? I'm thinking of making the switch from Final scratch over to Live 3.0 for dj use. Also, would the Remote Audio Extreme be satisfactory as the controller for a live performance?

Rich

mag · Post by **mag** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 7:48 pm

Anonymous wrote:Can live import mp3's, or does it need to be .wav/.aiff's? I'm thinking of making the switch from Final scratch over to Live 3.0 for dj use. Also, would the Remote Audio Extreme be satisfactory as the controller for a live performance?

Rich

No mp3s , yet

serotoninsteve · Post by **serotoninsteve** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 7:57 pm

Hello everybody!
I´m working with Live 3.0.2 on a Toshiba Satelite 5200-701 P4M 1,9 512Mb 40GB HD XPprof. wich is a very high quality machine, fast enough and brilliant display! For the HD it only has 4200rpm but I`ve newer had dropouts, just keep it defragmented!
I´m using a terratec phase 26 usb(1.1) soundcard and the sound is good, compared to vinyl on a PA the vinyl sounds punchier! I`ll try out some analogue emulation plugins (dominion,vintage warmer or the vinyl distortion) on the master track.
First I bought an uc-33 midicontroller for DJing with Live, but the plastic knobs and the to long faders don`t really rock like a DJmixer! I´m using it now only for remoting my softsynths when producing with Live and FruityLoops in rewire!
Then I`bought a BitstreamPro www.waveidea.com[/url]
similar to the uc-33 but that thing rocks!
8 channels with 4 knobs over each fader, short faders, integrated LFO and very important: A configuration software where you can assign ass many faders and knobs to interact together as you need!
In a DJset I am working with 3 channels where I have all the tracks I want to mix well splitted in intro, breaks and the rest as different clips in one track.
On the 3 channels I have each time an utility set to -6 (so you can pull the volume fader full off) and 1 DJeq.
The 4th upper knob I am using for the send command(only possible with the BitstreamPro and it´s software).
I have 2 sends in my setup, one acts as passthru and on the other one I have all my fx!
I think a 3 channel setup is enough for DJing, I´ve not often seen DJ`s mixing with 4 or more turntables!
That was a lot, I know!
Greetings

Purple · Post by **Purple** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 8:17 pm

serotoninsteve,

That midi controller seems interesting, how much does it cost? So the knobs are better built than the ones on the uc-33?

So, you're saying that vinyl sounds punchier in the club compared to the digital sound files that were recorder from vinyl? And you do mean punch, right, not only lower in volume? I wonder if this is because of the phono preamp that you use, or the sound card.. What sample rate and bit resolution do you use for recording and playback?

Let us know if any of the plugins you mentioned improve the sound.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 8:56 pm

I too am curious about the difference between deck/vinyl playback and computer output as far as punchiness and presence is concerned. Couple of questions:

1) Has anyone figured out a plugin solution that helps?

2) Anyone tried outboard gear (mixers, compressors, etc) that has helped?

I'm seriously contemplating moving over to Live for dj'ing...but this could be a serious enough problem to make me wait.

On the subject of controllers, the Grex MFX8 looks great. Can't wait until the reviews start streaming in....they just started shipping last week.

serotoninsteve · Post by **serotoninsteve** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 9:11 pm

No, I don´t own vinyls, I`m grabbing from CD!
I´ll try out recording from vinyl once I get a good needle for my turntable.
In my audiocard is already a good phono preamp integrated.
The sound is good and loud, but not so rich in dynamics as the vinyl.
The price was about 540 ? for me shipped to Luxemburg.
The knobs have a rubber feeling, the space between the knobs is not large but enought.
The faders are very short (40mm), not very precise but ideal for rocking!
On the uc-33 you can replace the knobs by rubber ones, then it`s better too!
Greetings!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 9:14 pm

Any link to this Grex MFX8?
Greetings!

Live for DJs

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