DJing with a laptop? you need the killamixTM mini

With effectively 144 knobs and 144 buttons, a robust brushed aluminium case to stand the knocks, solid aluminium knobs, metal shaft encoders, knob position and MIDI channel indicators, instant position recall, illuminated buttons, full duplex MIDI and a joystick, the

Killamix Mini gives you everything you need in a unit

measuring just 320 x 64mm. Just plug in the USB cable and go*.

Designed in conjunction with Ableton Live expert Martin Delaney, the unit is arranged with 9 buttons and 9 knobs for each of the 16 MIDI channels.You change MIDI channel by pressing the knobs, which instantly recalls the previous knob positions and button states for this channel and displays these on the LED rings and illuminated buttons, with the MIDI channel being indicated by the LEDs along the top.

Available now for more details or to BUY ONLINE www.killamix.com * Win XP / Vista and Mac OSX only

Danny Mac DM-01

All trademarks & tradenames acknowledged

The DM-01 is a USB controller for use with software DJ tools such as Ableton

Live & Traktor

Brookfarm House Station Rd London SW19 2LP UK

The DM-01 is laid out as a DJ mixer to enable you

to perform freely without having to constantly

use a mouse.The buttons on the right hand side

are used mainly to launch 'clips' (8 banks of 10

clips = 80 clips) and the buttons along the

top select which 'bank' of 10 is in use at this time - but they can also

perform other functions and can access further setups (or programs).

Tel: 020 8544 9200 (Intl: +44 20 8544 9200)

The DM-01 controls knobs & buttons can easily be mapped to any

MIDI CC# and MIDI channel you wish.

The DM-01 has smooth, long lasting conductive plastic

faders and broadcast quality buttons. Solid aluminium

knobs and a rugged steel case complete the package.

www.kenton.co.uk

Coming soon

See www.kenton.co.uk/dannymac Performance Technique Warping tunes for DJ sets

Warping tunes for DJ sets

If you’re a performing DJ, knowing how to warp audio will enable you to bring something new to your sets. Mo Volans shows you how...

ON YOUR

Full-sized screensh ots

and all the supportin g

fi les you’ ll need to

follow this tutorial.

Live’s ability to warp audio has always been one of its strengths – while other DAWs have been playing catch-up in the area of traditional time-stretching, Ableton has brought real meaning to the phrase ‘elastic audio’. And

although Live 7 enables you to adjust the tempo and pitch of audio in real time (the processing is done in sections and uses granular re-synthesis), the artefacts are much less noticeable than those associated with other time-stretching algorithms. This transparency lends itself perfectly to processing entire tracks for DJ sets.

Some DAWs include a secondary application or rely on third-party products to create loops that can play back as elastic audio. Live 7 has this feature built-in, so there’s no need to use other software to make your loops. Live 7 even offers Auto Warping, with new algorithms to choose from.

Power Tip

When importing smaller files into Live 7 you will notice that they are automatically processed and a time grid is calculated. By default, Live will also do this for longer files such as full productions. If you want to play back productions at their original tempo without warp markers, simply turn off the AutoWarp Long Samples option in Live’s Preferences. Longer files will now play back at their original speed.

Think of audio as a piece of elastic that needs to be pinned across a board to fi t a desired length.

Learning how to use Live’s warping features is relatively easy, but, like any other production process, it’s worth taking some time getting to grips with the theory and mechanics behind the technique. Once you’ve learned how to do it, the same techniques can be applied in the vast majority of cases. However, occasionally, more attention to detail will be needed to attain the desired results. Warp factor Before you start warping your mp3 collection in preparation for your performance, let’s take a closer look at the way in which Live 7 implements its unique Elastic Audio technology. Knowing how it works will help you make important decisions later.

Think of your audio as a piece of elastic that needs to be pinned across a board to perfectly fi t a desired length. Ableton uses warp markers as these ‘pins’ and each pin

www.musictechmag.co.uk

MusicTech Focus Ableton Live 15