HELP!!! Incorporating Ableton into my setup on a second computer!!!

Sound, thanks man!!!

I've been DJ'ing 20 years, there or there abouts anyway... Only moved onto Traktor about a year ago but that's when I got the Denon mixer and all that. I've already got the second computer, it's a Dell WIN7 lappy, with 2.4gb quadcore processor and 8gb of RAM, I bought it to run Traktor but it's too unreliable so that's why I got the Mac.

I'm just using the laptop to go on the net and that's a real waste of a quality machine so that's why I've decided to try and get this working. All I need is to find the right external soundcard that will work with my laptop, then I'm going to buy a little mixing desk to put them through and then finally an Akai APC20 or maybe an APC40 and then I should be sorted.

I don't intend to use my set up to play live, just to mess about with at home, when I'm out DJ'ing, I'll just take Traktor on the Mac.

I'm going to do some research into soundcards and mixers, then when I've decided on which bits to buy, no doubt I'll be on here tapping the knowledge base to help me get it working!!!

Thanks for your advice so far chaps!!!

I don't appreciate being called a liar.


Goodbye.

The problem is that I don't have a clue what I'm doing... I know how to mix records together and that's about where my knowledge ends!!! LOL

OK, so if I use a Midi cable to go from the Denon to a USB Midi interface then operate the interface through my laptop it should get the signal and sync up, is that right???

The Mac just runs Traktor using the Denons on-board sound card, so I believe that I can just leave that alone.

The next step is where to route the audio from the laptop with Ableton, would it be wise to get a little USB mixing desk and put the decks through one channel and the laptop with Ableton through the other???

Thanks for your help so far by the way!!!

This is your Asus? If I open all that stuff, I only get to 2-4%.

I love these comments. I believe the same way Richie Hawtin does.. same with Chris Leibing... Your show is a performance.

A) It looks alot more entertaining to see things happening all over the place, its a show

B) Screen Real estate, if you have to spend time alt tabbing windows, trying to get visual feedback, that puts you at risk of screen glare, and because of this 15 to 17 inch screen you will be constantly looking at it if you use ableton for anything other than a wet/dry send effects box.

C) I run 4 tracks of samples, Massives, FM8 and Maschine off of my Ableton Laptop. On the other is 4 traktor decks, both laptops run their interfaces at 96 samples. With a few instances of massive, an FM8 playing samples and also using the machine as a external fx send, the CPU can have constant activity (be it 15 to 30 percent). Id prefer to know that I have the lowest possible chance of drop outs when pushing the Ableton Laptop to its limits during a set.


All in all, I use no 3rd party applications (I dont install anything but music related software/files on my music machines) to route audio, one Midi cable, and push play on MIDI Clock.. To each their own I guess.



Big Dan as far as your question. You will also need a sound interface or a midi interface with MIDI IN (obviously) on the Ableton machine.

Go from MIDI Out on the Traktor Device to MIDI in on the Ableton Machine. In traktor make sure Send MIdi Clock is active. In the master clock section make sure Master and Auto are highlighted, and hit play, and tick. YOu should hear and audible tick from your traktor Machine (while monitoring or however you have it setup)

Then in Ableton to you need to make sure the MIDI Device recieving the singal has its Sync button on, in MIDI Sync in preferences. Within the main control surface you should click the "EXT" button top left ot receive external midi clock. Hit play with the metronome on, and this should give you an indication of how far off the sync is.

From here you need to go back into the MIDI Sync prefernce tab, and expand the device you are using to recieve the midi signal, there should be a few options, one being Sync Delay. You need to adjust this up or down and "beat match" your two metronomes from each machine. And Voila, you now have tempo synced laptops.

Essentially yes. MIDI Cable from the Denon to your Second Laptops Midi Interface/Soundcard once you turn on the necessary settings Traktor should send a midi signal out, Ableton will receive if as long as you have sync on that device on.. and then its up to you to figure out adjusting the delay so the two "Clicks" from each program line up.

THIS is of course all if you want to use TWO Laptops to do this operation. The second Laptop is going to need to have its own external sound card (probably preferably one with midi)


But if you are just starting to mix and get the hang of how you want to do things, don't have the extra sound card, extra laptop or the funds right now at your disposal, running Ableton and Traktor on one machine is a different process.


As far as Traktor is concerned, because your denon is USB and a sound interface, you should be able to just use Traktor preferences to have Decks A and B round to one of the four channels on the Denon.

Then Ableton again its down to preference. You can have multiple tracks that just go back to one channel on your mixer, or you can split tracks up to go to two channels (two more decks for example as tracks in ableton).

Some form of USB controller for all of this would be ideal, but controllers are personal preference.

Past the syncing of the software, or laptops, what devices to control ableton and traktor is entirely up to you

Try actually using those vsts you just loaded then... If you say you run 2 massives 2 fm8s FX Chains and Machine at 4 percent.. Youd just be lying. Or highly over exaggerating. Or they sit there idle.. whichever.. whatever.. Who cares.

Dan, your Denon is a sound interface, so its midi out should work fine with a midi patch cable going to your second laptops audio interface/midi interface. You will just need a midi interface for your second laptop (Or a sound interface with midi since you will need an audio card for the second mac anyways. Below is just a quick snap of what I use when I play out.. They are simply synced together using the audio interfaces midi in and out and using the method I had described above.

Maybe Im missing the exact problem?


337687_10200526417628887_702181438_o.jpg

I love these comments.

A) It looks alot more entertaining to see things happening all over the place, its a show

if you have to spend time alt tabbing windows, trying to get visual feedback,

that puts you at risk of screen glare, and because of this 15 to 17 inch screen you will be constantly looking at it if you use ableton for anything other than a wet/dry send effects box.

C) I run 4 tracks of samples, Massives, FM8 and Maschine off of my Ableton Laptop. On the other is 4 traktor decks, both laptops run their interfaces at 96 samples. With a few instances of massive, an FM8 playing samples and also using the machine as a external fx send, the CPU can have constant activity (be it 15 to 30 percent).

Why not use Traktor and Ableton on the same computer?

A MIDI interface would work well.