live pa setup

revy · Post by **revy** » Sat May 05, 2007 5:13 pm

within ableton im finding it tough to balance maximum expression with limited RAM, not to mention trying to keep track of all the midi controller presets and whatnot...
i have messed around with playing live instruments through my audio interface for instant record/looping, but the short time delay gets frustrating...

and i really dont want to cop out and pre arrange material so much that it turns into a dj set of original tunes.

oh and then theres hardware, i dont want to get so bloated with stuff that its impossible to setup at a typical booth.

so im curious how people are managing their live pa? any thoughts?

Android · Post by **Android** » Sun May 06, 2007 4:26 pm

Live PA's are great fun, I love bringing hardware out, it sounds so much clearer and louder than any vinyl or laptop can.

you don't have to have a giant set up, but I would recommend some compressors in your kit.

I use an MPC 1000 as my main sequencer / beat machine. Korg Electribes are also very popular. as are Machinedrums

northernlight · Post by **northernlight** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:09 am

i think first you have to look for a sequencer. One unit that plays the part of the master for clock and sequencing other gear. the centerpiece of your setup.

a great all-in-one unit is the blue electribe. it has drum samples and synths. everything to get you started. A friend of mine does amazing live pa with only one blue electribe.

but there are lots of possibilities: MPC, Machinedrum, Monomachine, MC-808 and MC-909, RS7000 etc.
IMO they can all act as the centerpiece for a live pa. it depends a lot on your way to make music.

if i was you, i would check them out at music stores or people that own one. play around with the stuff. spend some time on the machines and learn their advantages/disadvantages and buy the one you like the concept, sound and price of.

Ruso · Post by **Ruso** » Mon May 07, 2007 6:42 pm

At least two sequencers is a must unless you use ableton.... I've played on electribes for a long while and I've played on mpcs... Now I use my EMX for a REALLY REALLY great midi controller, my esx as a drum machine and my kaoss pad as an extended midi controller for ableton....

I think the issues you're having can be resolved.... Especially since you're making minimal.... what minimal is, is the least ammount of instruments, the least ammount of sounds....

use racks with vst instruments that don't eat much ram, I use normally 4 midi tracks with Massive(and or simpler, or impulse), and an audio track for audio in from my ESX drums... so far this is the best setup I've been on

and bs hardware is better sounding, might be a tad cleaner and louder but there's no hardware synths that can do as much as massive can....... you can do as much as your computer can handle....

revy · Post by **revy** » Tue May 08, 2007 4:14 am

thanks for the input guys!
so ive been holed up in my apartment the last couple days diving deeper into this.
abletons my main sequencer and main hardware EMX1. my main issue is the time delay with my audio input...if i want the hardware to match midi clocks with ableton, live knob tweaking or playing keys is a bit off. the only way i can avoid that delay is mismatching the midi clocks but then i cant use any other proper loops...

northernlight · Post by **northernlight** » Tue May 08, 2007 8:36 am

revy wrote:thanks for the input guys!
so ive been holed up in my apartment the last couple days diving deeper into this.
abletons my main sequencer and main hardware EMX1. my main issue is the time delay with my audio input...if i want the hardware to match midi clocks with ableton, live knob tweaking or playing keys is a bit off. the only way i can avoid that delay is mismatching the midi clocks but then i cant use any other proper loops...

if i understand you right, you route the audio out from the EMX into ableton live to an audio track, right?

Check out the ableton live manual for the following topics:

- Sync Delay
- Track Delays
- Device Delay Compensation

you don't need to mismatch the midiclock if you can correct the time delay with one of the above options.

revy · Post by **revy** » Tue May 08, 2007 4:44 pm

haa yeah the manuals always helpful

thanks for reminding me.

so i had the sync delay setup properly for my audio interface but didnt realize you can change the delay for any audio track! working much better now

although still not quite dead on and i have maximum delay set (1 second) but it is close enough i think. after a few beers you cant tell

one other question though...which do you think would have better sound quality in this situation? (btw my interface is presonus firebox)

laptop output and emx1 output routed seperately to two different channels on a dj mixer, then to pa system

or

emx1 thru my interface into ableton, and master laptop output to one channel on the mixer or maybe even direct to the pa.

i have no mixer to test this with right now but just curious.

4am · Post by **4am** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:29 pm

revy wrote: laptop output and emx1 output routed seperately to two different channels on a dj mixer, then to pa system

or

emx1 thru my interface into ableton, and master laptop output to one channel on the mixer or maybe even direct to the pa.

i have no mixer to test this with right now but just curious.

go for the first option, get a mixer if you can (also a small one) or use the dj mixer when you play outside. i also suggest to use the electribe as midi master (and live as slave)
works fine for me