Afro Monk

It has finally been unvieled to the world! The partnership of Ableton and Serato has produced something that looks to change the face of DJing all over again.

The Bridge is an updated version of Serato that integrates the session view that we’ve all come to know in Ableton into the Scratch Live interface. Launch clips and controlling them via decks or CJS. Also they’ve out done themselves with having it all work together and using many tricks that Ableton has for mixing. Sampling couldn’t have become easier either.

One great feature that I know I’m going to take advantage of is Play Hard(ware) where it allows you to hook additional hardware controllers like the new APC20, launch pad, or APC40. It will automatically change the Ableton layout to match your controller and have your clips run like regular tracks using Scratch or Itch. Truly the possibilities are endless.

Those of you who are into recording mixes and tweaking them up to sound perfect can also export recorded sets in Serato into an Ableton file. This lets you go back and edit or add anything into the mix.

The future is now and we are going to start to see DJs and Producers starting to share a common bridge. This to me is big because now a DJ who is use to conventional Scratch setup has oppertunity to finally pick up on Ableton and enter into production a lot smoother. This also gives a chance for producers to get a feel for using decks or CDJs in mixing with an environment they are familar with. Everyone wins here and only helps to push things further along.

Transitioning to Ableton and APC40.

I’ve only been doing this DJ thing since mid 2009. The first purchase I made was a Numark NS7. I believe it’s one of the best controllers out there. After the NS7 I finally made the plunge and picked up turntables. As of late November I’m a proud owner of the Akai APC40.

The APC stands for Abelton Performance Control. Ultimately what it means is that it’s mainly designed to be used with Ableton Live. It is layout so you can go out and use Albeton for live acts flawlessly.

I’m not going to lie; I’m no pro at DJing and mixing. Right now I’m pretty terrible at beat matching. Yet after really understanding what a standard DJ does I’m ok with not being the best at it or remotely good at it. The APC40 takes care of all that and yet introduces a new challenge, programming. Whereas a standard DJ with CDJs or Decks is limited in playing a track and slight control on a mixer the truth is all they are doing is popping in a CD or record and matching the beat and moving to the next track. Yes they do mess with the EQs but nothing too crazy. The APC gives you endless possibilities when using Ableton. The amount of things you can do is mind blowing.

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