How to Use Turntables With Ableton Live

With digital turntables or CD-Js you can control Ableton Live

If you are using Ableton Live, the computer music production and DJing application, but want to also use turntables, you will need to use digital turntables. Digital turntables mimic the control you had with traditional vinyl decks and apply it to your computer. Therefore, you can load tracks and then control them with the turntables. To do this you need to set up a MIDI controller that is connected to the turntables or CD-Js.

Instructions

1. Set up your MIDI controller and connect the CD-Js or digital turntables to the controller. Make sure the MIDI controller software is installed to your computer properly, before proceeding to set it up in Ableton.

2. Open Ableton Live.

3. Click "Edit," then "Preferences." Click "MIDI/Sync tab" on the left. Click the first "Control Surface" and then select your MIDI controller. Select the input and output and then click "OK."

4. Press "Ctrl"+"M" to turn the Midi map on and then click the global "bpm" button. Move your slider on your turntables that you want to control the bpm. Click the left nudge button to slow down your tempo -- this is for beatmatching -- and press the relevant control button on your MIDI controller. Repeat for the right nudge button. Repeat with any other MIDI control options you want to set up.

5. Press "Ctrl"+"M." You can now control the playback, tempo and mixing with your controller.

References

• Ableton; Ableton Live Manual; Dennis DeSantis, et al.; 2009