Playing Live for 1000$

[Jef]

APC40 or Livid CTRNL to controll ableton
Synths need a sequencer, with the combination you easily go over 1 k.
The A4 is definitly an option but not easy to learn and fully control in a live set.
Dont forget the roland aira stuff these days.
Maschine is perfect for live to controll your drums.
In live you want big knobs if they are small it is hard to controll in the dark.
And before i forget the TT303

To summarize... For 1k
Go for secondhand
Get a good controller, around 200 euros
Get a secondhand tt303, around 450 euros
Get maschine mk1, around 200 euros
Still 150 euros left for some pedals, great if you chain these

Try and practise, practise, practise because playing live is not easy and hard to understand for the crowd sometimes you are not a dj...

[UN!T]

This is how a live PA is done.

youtu.be/p6fHOJVmX2E

Watch and learn from a true master who has been banging it hard for years.

[UN!T]

Then there is these fellows.

youtu.be/jdBrEpzYyVE

[UN!T]

Xosar is sexy as hell and works the Electribe series.

youtu.be/WN8rMmYc7L4

Screw you Legowelt!

[UN!T]

Mr.G rocks the MPC. Seems like he is more into it than the crowd is. Still...

youtu.be/0HffibenJl8

[UN!T]

Skudge
youtu.be/vBR-jyBGJhI

Still wonder what the mods are on their 909...

[UN!T]

Juju & Jordash

youtu.be/bs8fXjDeKq0

[Lost to the Void]

And not forgetting the innovations of Tim Exile who takes software based PA`s to the next level.

This is also how a live (in italics but like extra big with lights and a little bell and like extra firm conviction and shit) PA is done.

You could do a reduced version of what he does for a grand.

youtu.be/2sIeI5clmMw

Reggie Watts, who dispenses with instrumentation and uses his voice and loopers to wonderful effect
The 2 units he uses are easily affordable.

youtu.be/UXyHf_SpUUI

and of course Beardy Man who basically blends Reggie Watts and Tim Exile together.
His early kit was just some Kaoss Pads, so was definitely affordable, now he uses a silly amount of kit.

youtu.be/qPBM69nThkM

[Lost to the Void]

Try and practise, practise, practise because playing live is not easy and hard to understand for the crowd sometimes you are not a dj...

This pretty much, and redundancy test everything, get to the point where you can literally operate eyes closed, then you will be ready for all the inevitable distractions you will get (like people trying to talk to you because they think like DJ you have all the time in the world between tunes to talk to them), as well as over zealous smoke machines, lights in your face, projectors in your face, having to setup in less than optimal conditions on or in areas with no room for ergonomics, heat and humidity causing randomness (hard and software can go awry at any club at any time ever) dodgy inconsistent power and so on.......

Then be prepared for people to come up and request tracks, thinking you are a DJ and or have all the tracks you have released ever on hand at all times.

I could give a lecture on all the things you have to be prepared for............ oh

[mint clad]

My original live setup was an Electribe ESX (the newest one, $500 retail), Monotribe (I think I paid $200), reverb pedal that I paid $100 for, and a Yamaha MG102c mixer ($100 although I'm not sure they make those anymore).

That brings me to $900, mixer included. Swap out the Monotribe for a Volca Bass (much more capable synth than the Monotribe and cheaper, plus midi capabilities) and you're down to $850. Without the mixer it would be $750 and for $250-$300 you can find a very solid mixer within that price range.

What that particular setup lacks is a synth that can do something other than bass. To fill that gap you can sample synths on the Electribe (which has individual assignable outputs, meaning you can route certain sounds to their own mixer channels). But I recommend upping your budget a little (lol) and maybe getting a Blofeld. The Blofeld is the most capable $500 synth money can buy, I cannot recommend it more. And what's great is that the Electribe can transmit monophonic sequences via midi, on three different channels. A caveat of the Volca+Blofeld is that they both only have midi in, no thru, BUT the Volca has its own built-in sequencer that can be triggered by sending a sound out of one of the Electribe's individual outs into the sync jack on the Volca. Also worth noting that the Blofeld has the Multi-mode feature, wherein you can use multiple different synth patches at once, each being triggered by their own midi channel.

So yeah, that setup has limitations but it's also very capable and open-ended. The Electribe can obviously make any drum sounds you need and the Blofeld can give you basically any synth sound, all while the Volca chugs along with some dirty bass.

Base setup:
Electribe $500 (or much cheaper via eBay)
Volca $150
Reverb or delay pedal ~$100
Mixer $100-300
Total $800-1000

Mint Clad techno veteran special recommended setup:
Electribe $500 or less
Volca $150
Lexicon MX200 or similar (instead of pedal) $200 or less
Blofeld $500 or less
Barebones mixer $100
Total $1450 or less

[Lost to the Void]

My original live setup was an Electribe ESX (the newest one, $500 retail), Monotribe (I think I paid $200), reverb pedal that I paid $100 for, and a Yamaha MG102c mixer ($100 although I'm not sure they make those anymore).

That brings me to $900, mixer included. Swap out the Monotribe for a Volca Bass (much more capable synth than the Monotribe and cheaper, plus midi capabilities) and you're down to $850. Without the mixer it would be $750 and for $250-$300 you can find a very solid mixer within that price range.

What that particular setup lacks is a synth that can do something other than bass. To fill that gap you can sample synths on the Electribe (which has individual assignable outputs, meaning you can route certain sounds to their own mixer channels). But I recommend upping your budget a little (lol) and maybe getting a Blofeld. The Blofeld is the most capable $500 synth money can buy, I cannot recommend it more. And what's great is that the Electribe can transmit monophonic sequences via midi, on three different channels. A caveat of the Volca+Blofeld is that they both only have midi in, no thru, BUT the Volca has its own built-in sequencer that can be triggered by sending a sound out of one of the Electribe's individual outs into the sync jack on the Volca. Also worth noting that the Blofeld has the Multi-mode feature, wherein you can use multiple different synth patches at once, each being triggered by their own midi channel.

So yeah, that setup has limitations but it's also very capable and open-ended. The Electribe can obviously make any drum sounds you need and the Blofeld can give you basically any synth sound, all while the Volca chugs along with some dirty bass.

Base setup:
Electribe $500 (or much cheaper via eBay)
Volca $150
Reverb or delay pedal ~$100
Mixer $100-300
Total $800-1000

Mint Clad techno veteran special recommended setup:
Electribe $500 or less
Volca $150
Lexicon MX200 or similar (instead of pedal) $200 or less
Blofeld $500 or less
Barebones mixer $100
Total $1450 or less

Can I ask how you make transitions between tunes with that setup.
Let's say for example you play a track, the crowd thinks it blows, or it's just the wrong vibe, so you need to move on, can you transition to another track easily without losing flow or sound "size" or do you need to go back down to minimal instrumentation (just drums for example) to move to the next tune.

[terly]

Can I ask how you make transitions between tunes with that setup.
Let's say for example you play a track, the crowd thinks it blows, or it's just the wrong vibe, so you need to move on, can you transition to another track easily without losing flow or sound "size" or do you need to go back down to minimal instrumentation (just drums for example) to move to the next tune.

I'd say this is the problem with any live set, or anyone's performance really, including DJs. It is up to the promoter to set up the show right. That is another can of worms though ...

I have a friend who plays an admirable live set with an MC303, TR-505, FB-01, and a Mopho, and a small Phonic mixer. He got he Mopho for $200 (crazy deal), the 505 for twenty bucks, the MC303 is a long-term loan from someone who got it for $100, I gave him the FB-01 (which I got for $30), and the mixer was less than $100 new.

I have another friend who has toured extensively with bits and pieces of dirt cheap kit - I think his most expensive piece is a Monotribe. He has maybe spent a grand on gear throughout his entire career which has spanned well over a decade and taken him all around the world.

Another friend who uses two Electribes which he bought 2nd hand, although he recently found an SH-101 locally for $700.

I saw another friend playing last night with a 707 and a microkorg.

It's totally possible to create a hardware setup for cheap, and there is beauty in working with limitations.

[Lost to the Void]

I actually did a number of gigs in the early 000`s with nothing but a korg electribe ESX-1. It was hard work, and now I look back on it, unbelievable I got away with it.

You can get away with a surprisingly minimal setup, but it`s the transitioning that becomes very difficult with small setups. Some audiences will put up with the old, back down to just a kick between tracks schtick, but I wouldn`t be happy doing that.

I think it is important to push push push.

But yeah, like I linked in the reggie watts vid, all you need is a gob and a looper unit, if you are good.

It is easier now than ever to play cliche techno live though, 909 (or similar) drums, appreggiated dissonant riffs, maybe a few chord stabs, you can do that kind of thing with any setup, and even hardware wise you can do that shit for less than a grand easy.

[UN!T]

A laptop is just as cliche as a 909. Maybe more so. It's a general. appliance like a dishwasher. Just about everybody has one. There's nothing forward thinking , experimental or avantgrade about using a dishwasher. A laptop with Ableton is a do it all machine. There some risk that app may crash beyond that its pretty much a safe zone. Not much can go wrong with the set. Most people could just press play and walk away. There are some exceptions to the rule like Tim Exile. The average set up is a controller and ableton with an interface. Songs chop up into bits to be reshuffled on the fly. I saw Function a couple years ago and he had a laptop controller & a 909. It was a pretty good set. I would rate it an 8.

I guess I come from a time when 'live' meant instruments on stage with somebody playing them. There was a time when laptops where new and interesting although that time has long since passed for me. Too much pling...plong...plop...techno maybe...

[Lost to the Void]

The problem is the mistake if thinking of a laptop as a thing other than another piece of hardware, albeit a very versatile piece.
A laptop is a blank slate awaiting purpose, in instrument terms, it's funny that any kind of separation is made. So when someone plays a laptop it is no different to pushing a few buttons on a xox grid or pressing buttons on a Akai mpc. None of it is really really live like actually playing an instrument, something I miss from my band days (which is why I've got myself a new guitar and am building various new instruments and probably finishing up with techno this year).
Anything is an instrument if you make music with it.
To say one type of music pling pling plop for example, is made by software, is like saying only classical can be played on a guitar.
Nothing is really new and interesting in instrument terms, bar some really new stuff being done (that is essentially mirroring the innovations that came from software synthesis) in the modular realm, most synths are just repeating the same old synth themes.
I think it's why a lot of techno has jumped the shark in a way and has started regurgitating early era sounds instead of going somewhere new.

If anything the standard setup of 1-2 synths and a drum machine leads to far more pling pling plop or arpeggio, 909 pattern and stab, than anything else.

Of course it's not the tool but how you use it. I just find when you are looking at a budget, nothing offers the potential of a software based setup. You can do anything with it. Some people get overwhelmed by having too many possibilities, I get that, some people feel more comfortable with restrictions, I get that too, when you find the limit it's nice to then push that limit.

But for a grand for a live setup, you can't really match the unlimited potential offered by a software setup. The only limitation is your imagination, and how live it is depends entirely on how live you want to make it.

I've done both, and I've recently gone back to an all hardware setup (kinda, synths bore me so I'm trying to generate the sound as much as I can physically).
And I enjoy both for different reasons.
Hardware wins in a way where the audience can more readily understand what you are doing, but it's all button pushing at the end of the day. I'm all about sound quality, freedom to transition in a way similar to a dj, and constantly expanding potential.
It's much easier to do those 3 things with software, more quickly, and cheaper.

In the end it is the artist that really counts, anything beyond that is fetishisation, something techno is really terrible for. 909 t shirts, technic t shirts and all the other cliches.

[terly]

In the end it is the artist that really counts, anything beyond that is fetishisation

great thread

[Hades]

Of course it's not the tool but how you use it. I just find when you are looking at a budget, nothing offers the potential of a software based setup. You can do anything with it. Some people get overwhelmed by having too many possibilities, I get that, some people feel more comfortable with restrictions, I get that too, when you find the limit it's nice to then push that limit.

But for a grand for a live setup, you can't really match the unlimited potential offered by a software setup. The only limitation is your imagination, and how live it is depends entirely on how live you want to make it.

...

In the end it is the artist that really counts, anything beyond that is fetishisation, something techno is really terrible for. 909 t shirts, technic t shirts and all the other cliches.

Even though I've gone from HW only => SW mostly => HW + SW, and I can't deny I love my HW,
I still think nothing beats the laptop for its potential.
But of course, you need to add at least 1 or 2 controllers and you need to create a liveset that is open for live interpretation.
HW or laptop, all of them are just tools, instruments, and it's only how creatively you decide to use them that really counts.

[Plyphon]

youtu.be/N-9s2yI9F08

did anyone catch this set? amazing live synthy techno


som r8 diks in the crowd tho

[Hades]

pff, boiler room sets are always the same thing,
some of those are really great audio wise (quite liked this one, always nice to hear some more melodic techno for a change), but you always gotta imagine the dickheads behind the artist aren't there or it totally spoils the audio.
I'd be moving my ellbows sideways and backwards quite a few times if I was in his place.

[Ztriumph]

so i was able to pick up a maschine from a friend, next plan is to get the apc40 volca bass and two behringer mm-1's and a korg nanokontrol2. for a start.