[ghostfires]

Hey guys - I've been asked to perform live next weekend, which will be the first live performance for me in many years. It will also be the very first time ever I've performed with a MIDI controller (Ableton Push) and with a laptop (running Ableton Live 9).

I'm hoping someone here might have some experience with performing live using a laptop and a DAW. I'm at a loss at the moment as to what the best means to go about getting the final audio out of the laptop and into a PA system would be. I have a DBX DriveRack PX, which is a powered speaker optimizer. I want to try to get my audio from the laptop, through the DBX, and out to the speakers. My problem is - all I can think of is running a 1/8"(3.5mm) to dual XLR cord from the headphones out jack on the laptop and then into the XLR inputs of the DBX driverack.

Is that hurting the quality of my output? Should I be doing something different? I'm at a loss as to what other options I might have. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

[texasvinyl]

Someone will know better than me, I'm sure. But I have this little guy sitting between my mixer and my PC. M Audio FireWire Audiophile audio interface.

I have Ableton, an Akai APC40 controller and one synth (yamaha s80 digital piano). The interface gets the audio in/out of my PC. I've never performed with it or anything, I just screw around with it in my man cave.

[DISCOSUCKS...]

Hey @ghost - I may have misunderstood, but you just need a standard USB audio interface I think? This is the one I use, but there are many many out there:



It has stereo phono line outs. And you can run your MIDI controller through it. I may be wrong though, as I don't fully understand your current setup and am a bit of a live-MIDI newbie myself!

Anyhow, this kind of USB Interface can be gotten really cheap, mine was £20 from The Bay!

Good luck sir....

Ps. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what @texas has also suggested above, though I've no idea what those controllers cost....so have thrown my 2cents in. No offence, @texas!

[Darren LD1984]

Hey Ghost, for live the most important thing for a good mix are how many outputs you can give to an engineer.

The best advice I was ever given was to split my outputs. If you can get your hands on a USB interface that gives you four outputs. Run your Kick and low percussion out on output 1, Snare and highs out on 2, Bass synth on 3 and your pads strings lead synths out on 4. It gives the engineer loads to work with and it will give you a much cleaner mix for front of house.

[ghostfires]

Thank you to all three of you! It sounds like unquestionably I am missing a very important piece! Thank you guys so much for the information. I will definitely be picking one up ASAP. This is exactly what I was hoping to find out, so I don't go make a fool of myself next weekend!

If anyone is morbidly curious as to what I'll be subjecting the crowd to...I just put two songs together yesterday that I think will hold up live. I hope so, at least.

https://soundcloud.com/rharris/sets/street-lights

[Darren LD1984]

Sounds killer Ghost. That just reminded me that I need to pick up your tape.

[ghostfires]

@darren - really? Thank you very much! You might want to listen to samples of that tape before you grab it, as it sounds absolutely nothing like the music you just heard from me! Many years come between those two recordings...

That is the challenging thing with this live performance. All the music I'm writing these days has a severe Enigma and downtempo influenced sound, where as the music labels are just now releasing of my work are very Carpenter-inspired...but those were recorded years ago, and I don't really write music like that any longer...so my current recordings don't match my current releases. Sounds weird I know, but hell - I'm just making stuff I enjoy hearing!

[DISCOSUCKS...]

Really enjoyed those tracks @ghost - especially "I Said". Definitely get a certain Depeche mood from some of this, hope that's not taken as anything but a compliment! The (down) beats kicking in on "Street Lights" were a nice surprise!

Sure it will be a top show, break yer legs...Do you know anything about who you're playing with?