Thoughts/Advices 4 setting up a live in a club without cpu

[breakz]

Let's say I have 8-10 tracks
that I want to play them "live" in front of an audience in a club and don't want to use a computer.

Those tracks are mainly techno tracks with no particular instruments like a guitar or keys,what I mean is that all the parts of the tracks are bounced(sampled and resampled) and can not reproduced in any way live,but instead they will be played as files from a hardware sampler like an Octatrack for example.

does this still count for a live?

If I go this route then what I will do is just load all the parts from the tracks in Octatrack and sequence them ? then use external fx to treat them a bit more ?
maybe bring a drum machine along to fill some spectral space ? probably use a 16 channel mixer...

what do you think about the live gigs Techno artists perform these days ?


thanks.

[Lost to the Void]

you wouldn`t need to pre sequence anything
Sequence it all live with the octa and yes of course it is live.
16 channel mixer not really useful unless you have 16 channels to use.

Yes, combine with a drum machine, will be more to do.

I have a rotating live PA setup, the closest to what you do would be when I use my Octa, and a Virus together.

What do I think about the live PA`s these days?

Some are good, some are really crap.

there are a few I`ve seen where it`s just a mass of hardware covering a table, and they have been terrible, too much for the artist to do, so they spend all their time setting up sequences and sounds, really lacks flow, which is important in a club setting.

Rehearse a lot, whatever you do.

[breakz]

Is octatrack the best solution for computer free live? anything else ?

[Lost to the Void]

I have no idea if it is the "best" solution for live. It really depends what you want to do, it has the wonderful elektron sequencing, can do a lot of mangling with samples.

[Barfunkel]

Is octatrack the best solution for computer free live? anything else ?

It's ok, if a little fiddly to use live. There are some aspects I would love to be changed (mutes being note instead of audio level, FX being per pattern, better quality FX), but I doubt they ever will.

Don't know any real alternatives to it though. There are of course other samplers out there, but they all seem to be missing something that I'd like.

[UN!T B]

I found the OT track fiddly to use as well.

I think the Analog Rytm is an easier machine to use in terms of interface. The pads serve as scene locks, realtime performance controls, chromatic mode, track mutes and something to tap in beats with. Its well laid out and easy to move through different modes.

The main differences are with the AR you get a sound engine per voice of which there are 12 instead of 8 on the OT. As well you have 12 sample slots. What is missing is realtime sampling and the depth on those features. If you have an Ipad then you can buy Strom and add close to real time sampling but not quite.

In both the AR, OT and the A4 there exists several OS bugs. One of the most major is that the sequencer can lose sync on patterns and will not change exactly correct each and every time 100%. That said is the AR still useable? Yes, I just don't have a 100% confidence in it not to shit the bed at a critical moment. In fact the other day I was using it and it started making some kind of noise live the voice wouldn't stop and there was all kinds of vomit coming out of the machine. I had to shut it off to make it stop. Then it happened a second time shortly after. So you can understand why I might say its not 100%.

Other options might be an Mpc series machine. An Mpc 1000 would likely fit the bill for you. Reasonably portable. Sequences midi and samples. Its a standard workhore.

[breakz]

I can not imagine working with a machine that might go into a a buggy situation live,that's why I am skipping computers.
Mpc,yes I'd like to hear about those more if anyone has something to share.

thanks.

[innovine]

I have an mpc1000 with jj os2xl. It is rock solid, and I would have no hesitation in using it live. Its an excellent sequencer, and really nice for chopping breaks and of course playing/tapping out patterns.

Whats not so good: its pretty bad if you look at it as a midicontrollable sampler. Best to let it sequence itself.
it doesn't have knobs, and the q-links sorta work but they can produce unexpected jumps in levels and values so I would treat them very carefully live, or not use em at all to be safe. You can prerecord tweaks just fine though.

if your live set would consist of preprogrammed sequences, where you trigger oneshot samples and loops and possibly overlay some live pad drumming, and mute and unmute tracks then you'll be able to build up a great set with the mpc. But do the knob tweaking on synths. You'll probably want an external mixer too, although the internal one works ok.

The onboard fx are poor.

[breakz]

thanks for the input on the mpc1000,will have to check this.

another question is how do you travel with let's say 2-3 desktop machines,a couple of pedals,cables etc ?

can you take all of them into a bag that will be considered a hand luggage ? putting them in a bag as a proper luggage on a plane is a nightmare as you can imagine

[innovine]

I have only travelled with my mpc. Recently went across europe for a few days and took only handbaggage, containing clean clothes, mpc, laptop, a bunch of cables and some other small electronics. No one in the airport security cared in the slightest.

[UN!T B]

I can not imagine working with a machine that might go into a a buggy situation live,that's why I am skipping computers.
Mpc,yes I'd like to hear about those more if anyone has something to share.

thanks.

No problem. I believe in full disclosure. Even if that means that I have to point out issues in what is actually a quite good piece of gear. Now all of that said. I do know that people are using them live. TM404 and Skudge have one in their set up.


Maybe my unit has issues. I don't think so because it has really glitched out too much since I did an OS update. Its fine 99.9% of the time. Glitch free. Pattern sync issue is running at a somewhat less percentage, however do keep in mind that I am using it in a way that many people are not. That being sequencing it externally.

Another issue that you may want to be aware of on this machine is there is no way at all to attenuate a signal on the input. None. No way to adjust the level at all. Its like Elektron totally dropped the fucking ball on it. Basically the external input is as good as useless.

Hopefully my critique has put you off too much. Think of it this way. It does have issues, but I haven't sold it yet. I am getting a bit fed up waiting for an OS update that will fix the sync issue. Its been almost a year now. If I knew I was going to get a only partially functioning machine I would have sent them only part of the money. Seems fair to me.

[Lost to the Void]

I can not imagine working with a machine that might go into a a buggy situation live,that's why I am skipping computers.
Mpc,yes I'd like to hear about those more if anyone has something to share.

thanks.

Go check the headless horseman live pa on boiler room.
He was all elektron and there were no stability issues at all.

[UN!T B]

If you are interested in reading about what documented issues exist in the AR you can read these topics.

Regarding the external input....
http://www.elektronauts.com/topics/view/7044

Regarding the direct jump bug. Losing sync on patterns...
http://www.elektronauts.com/topics/view/6786

An earlier 2nd direct jump topic which includes a reply from Elektron. A disconcerting response to say the least...
http://www.elektronauts.com/topics/view/10246

14 pages of feature requests...
http://www.elektronauts.com/topics/view/5962

6 pages of bug reports...

http://www.elektronauts.com/topics/view/5687

[Lost to the Void]

Weird that there is no input gain on the RTM. Did they forget?

[UN!T B]

They were eating mushrooms when they designed it.

[Lost to the Void]

Fair enough then. I won't cuss a man for wanting to explore the inner verse.

[breakz]

I have watched some videos with octatrack and mpc workflow.

at the end I hate to say it but I feel a computer will always be far more effective than any other compact solution,for many obvious reasons.

I think will try to work with a macbook pro ( i5 model) , APC40,Fireface800 RME,and 2-3 pedals (reverb,delay,filter),plus a drum machine.

with this setup I will be able to have all my parts from each project on separated channels and control them with the APC(mute ,unmute,send fx...)

this way will not have to use a standard mixer too.

do you think this will be a risk ? I know ,you can never tell what is gonna happen.

I have a cycloops too and will have it with me and record loops so in case everything goes blank will have something to play


thanks for your input so far guys !

[Lost to the Void]

I have watched some videos with octatrack and mpc workflow.

at the end I hate to say it but I feel a computer will always be far more effective than any other compact solution,for many obvious reasons.

I think will try to work with a macbook pro ( i5 model) , APC40,Fireface800 RME,and 2-3 pedals (reverb,delay,filter),plus a drum machine.

with this setup I will be able to have all my parts from each project on separated channels and control them with the APC(mute ,unmute,send fx...)

this way will not have to use a standard mixer too.

do you think this will be a risk ? I know ,you can never tell what is gonna happen.

I have a cycloops too and will have it with me and record loops so in case everything goes blank will have something to play


thanks for your input so far guys !

In terms of sampling you are absolutely right. Hardware samplers can't compare to a laptop at all. A sampler is just a computer with a shitty interface essentially.
As long as you set up everything and test well you will be fine.
I've been playing live pa's via abelton in various ways since 2004 I,ve only had trouble 2 times. Once because some ass ripped out my FireWire cable and froze everything, the other time was on a festival stage where the soundsystem was making everything vibrate way too much as the booth was this platform forward of the soundsystem. Everyone was having a nightmare.
That's not bad going for 11 years of gigging.

The only real reason I am not using a laptop live now is that people are dicks, it was time to renew the laptop, I realised there was this idiot meme going around that laptops aren't instruments, and to avoid constantly explaining that it is the musician that is important, and not the tool he uses, I went with a hardware rig this time round.