The simplest way to deejay with the APC40?
The simplest way to deejay with the APC40? Posted on: 04.08.2013 by Danielle Caguioa Hi all, I know this community
is on the cutting edge of digital deejaying and controllerism and that most here are trying to push the boundaries of the craft, however, I'm looking for somewhat of the opposite... I want to know the simplest way to deejay with the APC40. I have Ableton Live, of course, as well as Traktor 2.5 and the Collision mapping. To be honest, it's all a bit overkill for me. I basically want to mix music the way it use to be done with two turntables and a mixer, and then work my way up from there. Baby steps. Maybe it's a silly question, because really, is there a simple way to deejay with a MIDI controller with ten faders, seventeen knobs, and eighty-plus buttons? I don't know. What do you believe? | |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 18.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by Patch
I works even better in conjunction with a midi-> keystroke convertor to give you some really useful functions on the blank buttons: Quantize lengths (which I have set up on scene launch) Quantize Length Default @ 1 bar when loop is set active Follow waveform: Set up on the Master button. Browser show/hide for more screen real-estate. Having these extras means your loops are all in time and you don't need to worry as much about accurate warping as you'll can have a proper pitch (quantize zero) bend on the +- |
| Kellie Myrum 17.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by William Gibson
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| Klara Kinnebrew 17.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by Stewe
To be honest, downloading the traitor trial and giving some of your maps a try have been on my to do list for about 8 months now. Your maps look sick. |
| Kellie Myrum 17.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by William Gibson
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| Klara Kinnebrew 17.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by Patch
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| Danielle Caguioa 04.08.2013 | Hi all, I know this community is on the cutting edge of digital deejaying and controllerism and that most here are trying to push the boundaries of the craft, however, I'm looking for somewhat of the opposite... I want to know the simplest way to deejay with the APC40. I have Ableton Live, of course, as well as Traktor 2.5 and the Collision mapping. To be honest, it's all a bit overkill for me. I basically want to mix music the way it use to be done with two turntables and a mixer, and then work my way up from there. Baby steps. Maybe it's a silly question, because really, is there a simple way to deejay with a MIDI controller with ten faders, seventeen knobs, and eighty-plus buttons? I don't know. What do you believe? |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 19.09.2013 | Looks like it could be interesting to screw around with alright Cheers. |
| Brunilda Kora 19.09.2013 | Ahhhh... Back when I was selling Ableton Templates (for UC-33e) a lot of Mac users contacted me about Templates. I used to point them to MidiStroke and ControlAid. If you haven't already, I'd recommend checking out ControlAid for Mac... |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 18.09.2013 | Bomes would do the trick, I use midistroke (mac only) |
| Brunilda Kora 18.09.2013 | Bomes? I use Bomes for mouseless browsing and loading.,, |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 18.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by Patch
I works even better in conjunction with a midi-> keystroke convertor to give you some really useful functions on the blank buttons: Quantize lengths (which I have set up on scene launch) Quantize Length Default @ 1 bar when loop is set active Follow waveform: Set up on the Master button. Browser show/hide for more screen real-estate. Having these extras means your loops are all in time and you don't need to worry as much about accurate warping as you'll can have a proper pitch (quantize zero) bend on the +- |
| Brunilda Kora 18.09.2013 | Nice template! Very well thought out! |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 17.09.2013 | I honestly have yet to come up with a really intuitive method of using the APC with Traktor (even though I did make a mapping) .. too much concentration required and less fun to be had IMHO. When I wanna play I just wanna play and not need to watch what I'm hitting constantly. Attached is a reasonably sensible Ableton DJ Template with the nasty non-dj stuff disabled that can kill a gig with a wrong push e.g. Scene Launch/play/stop/record/stop all clips. Want less - just delete/hide a few channels Rather than browse folders I load my entire gig playlist (200+ tracks) into the grid and arrange it based on colors .. I never remember track names anyhow :P 4 channels = First 4 faders, just load up your Tracks into the clip slots. Top Encoders Pan lit = Gain / Bass (most used when mixing) Send A lit = Top / Mid Send B lit = HP/LP Filter Bottom Encoders = Effects Per Selected Channel (only 8) Scene Launch = Disabled Play = Selected Track Loop Stop = Loop in Rec = Loop out Clip Stop = FX Rack on/off Track Selection = Select Currently selected track on deck rather than the channel. Activator = Mute Solo/Cue = Cue Record/Arm = Stop Track Cue level = Master/Cue Mix There is Loop Decks as well on Channels 5-8 which correspond to channels 1-4 just press grid buttons to record a loop of a currently playing track press again to activate the new loop. EQ's are global so EQ for Channel 1 = Channel 5 affected as well, which makes sense for loops. Sorry I didn't add headphone volume so has to be controlled manually, I don't really adjust the volume on my cans mid-set anyhow. The Template should with Live 8.2+ and Live Lite as well (surprisingly!), however you can't save your set in live lite. |
| Kellie Myrum 17.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by William Gibson
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| Brunilda Kora 17.09.2013 | Ableton is really easy to get started with for DJ'ing. Once you've warped a few tracks, it's just a case of pulling 'em into session view and hitting play. Learn to use Ableton Live with a mouse first, then make your own simple mapping like I described earlier. I cannot stress enough how VALUABLE mousing around in ANY software is. It is by FAR the fastest and most efficient way of learning any software. |
| Klara Kinnebrew 17.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by Stewe
To be honest, downloading the traitor trial and giving some of your maps a try have been on my to do list for about 8 months now. Your maps look sick. |
| Kellie Myrum 17.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by William Gibson
|
| Klara Kinnebrew 17.09.2013 |
Originally Posted by Patch
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| Brunilda Kora 17.09.2013 | I believe you should map 2 faders on the APC to 2 channels in Live to control the volume of those 2 channels, and map the cross fader on the APC to the cross fader in Live. Map each channel to each side of teh cross fader in live (Channel 1 = "A", channel 2 = "B"). Simple, 2 channel dj set-up. treat each channel in Live as a turntable. Ableton is much easier to get started with than Traktor. |
| Hyacinth Sabulsky 17.09.2013 | +1 for what william gibson said. there are a few traktor mappings for the apc40 that will do what you want with them. pick one of the two deck mappings and take the time to learn the layout. there's no EASY way other than putting the time in and getting which button does what down to muscle memory. phawsea's mapping and the trakor bible mapping are nice places to start. definitely rely on sync but that isn't a big issue if you don't let it become one. i have been using a vci-100 arcade version that died out at burningman this year so i've been lucky to have my apc40 in storage (got it for ableton, tried traktor, haven't looked back in 2 years). i've had to learn a whole new layout, which takes some time but i'm getting better and it's getting more intuitive. the main thing is pick a mapping, import it into traktor, and take your time to get familiar with it. |
| Klara Kinnebrew 05.08.2013 | Dont get caught up in all the knobs and buttons. If you want simple, Just use Live with 2 tracks or "decks". IMO, midi controllers can be as intricate/involved or as simple as you want them to be. I have only been at it for about 9 months now and with a 72 hour work week I dont get much practice but I made one simple plan early on. Dont get TO caught up in all the shit that is possible before I have the basics. I spend 99% of my time just working on mixing tracks in the most basic ways possible and the other 1% working on more technical stuff. Like one thing I have been doing a lot of lately is sampling some drum off track A and putting it on the midifighter. Then after I do my mix out to B I keep playing the drums for a few bars on the midi fighter. Just a way to keep an element of track A in a little longer. The sky is the limit with what you can do with digital DJing. I would just suggest not getting caught up in all that there is to offer until you get some basics down. .02 from a newb. Hope it helps some. |
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