How To Make A DJ Mix In Ableton Live
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- How To Make A DJ Mix In Ableton Live
In this tutorial I am going to show you how to use Ableton Live to make a simple DJ mix which you can then go onto upload onto Mixcloud, Soundcloud or other platforms of your choice. We are keeping it simple with a 2 deck mix in Ableton Live.
This will give you an insight into my workflow of making a DJ mix using Ableton Live and how to lay down a mix.
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Instagram: / djkarlthomas
Facebook: / djkarlthomas
Mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com
Music in this video: www.epidemicsound.com
#ableton #djmix #howto
Check out this video next: czcams.com/video/VRwixVBdYuc/video.html
Not cheating, studio mix, and live mix is 2 different things.
Very fair point....many people have just said that to me in the past! Thank you for watching
While that is true I think that the vast majority in the DJ community don't take it to that level. There are only a handful of DJs that actually bother to manually warp and make special edits or effects to enhance the mix.
Completely agree.
Recently switched to Ableton and this is one of the reasons I’ll be using it. This video is exactly what I needed to see to make sure that it could do what I wanted. Quality video and explanation 👍
Thank you for watching! All the best with making mixes!
Bro, this is insane. Thank you.
Thank you SO much for this video! Been looking for this exact lesson for quite some time. Your teaching skills are very good!
Thank you, means a lot! Happy mixing!
Love this fantastic thanks for the helpful advice
Thanks for this video. I've been using ableton for a couple of years producing but not yet tried it for dj mixes. I will now 👌🏻👍🏻
Nice one mate! Glad it was useful and thank you for watching!
Apologies for the sound quality when playing back elements of the mix for future tutorial videos like this I will ensure the audio is direct from Ableton rather than out the speakers into the mic.
Make sure the tempo of the individual track is correct. Also ensure the beat grid is correct in the window where you set up the warp settings (kick drums in the right places etc)
Like your DJ work flow in Abelton, so simple but very effective 👍🏾
Thank you! I try to make it as simple as possible! Thank you for watching
Thank you, this is exactly what I will be using Ableton for, gonna be purchasing the intro version
Nice one! Happy mixing!
A while a go I saw your video already. After seeing it again, I have a go at it: mixing tracks with Ableton. Your explanation got me started off in the right direction! Thank you for sharing.
Nice one! Thank you for watching and glad it helped
Great tips as always Karl!! 👏
Thank you for making this! Feeling a lot more confident with this decision. The perfectionism in me is having trouble with the live radio mix
Glad it was useful! Can completely relate to your points!
i agree keep it simple with the eq3 and the delay, thanks for the tips
No worries! Glad it was useful. Thank you for watching!
Just a tip… If you’re doing a DJ mix and mess up a blend, just restart the previous song before you started mixing in and then try again. Afterwards, just delete the mistake. Mix saved.
Yeah, seriously. Just start it over and then splice the corrected blend into the previous portion. Producing a faux live mix like this is so strange. I understand his point about it being efficient time-wise, but that tells me the way he looks at DJing is like a business and not something he truly loved and is passionate about. If he was, he'd want to do the mix live in the decks because he enjoys it.
If you find yourself unhappy with blends when you're recording mixes, that means you need to practice more, and obviously making your mixes this way is counterintuitive to that. You'll only stay at the same skill level and when you do go play a show love, you'll probably mess up and your performances won't be as good.
Actually while you do have a few good points regarding practicing etc, I feel you have missed the point of what he is showing you here.
Conservatively, I'd say 80 to 90% of all mix compilations and even "dj" sets of any genre are and have been done exactly like this for many many years since the birth of digital djing and perhaps even when vinyl was the only medium.
Joel "deadmau5" zimmerman has even said as much quite recently in regards to the more recent djs, especially highliting the dj sets with big productions accompanying the sets, like afterlife, tomorrow land etc etc.
While I am a nobody, I have and use vinyl to play with in my my studio at home here, I have a pioneer dj controller and laptop set up also to play on when the mood takes me also, but I have been creating dj sets like this since ableton 5. It can actually be very creative if you come at it from say a production stand point. What he has showed you here is very very very basic. With a bit of creativity you can actually create a set that can not possibly be done on vinyl or digital decks at all. So while I totally agree that if you are a true dj who plays with that conviction keep going, stay committed,practice daily, but don't close a channel of creativity down on the thought of somthing lessening or demeaning your commitment to proper djing. You may even stumble across somthing by making it inside of mix like he has shown you and wonder if it can be created on decks? The dj world is absolutely bursting with pointless fake knob touching and loop tightening assholes, it has almost become a dirty word, why not practice this as an extension of what you do to try and create somthing far more than the sums of its parts. Like I said, if you know ableton, there is a lot more than what he is showing you here, this is the equivalent to 2 belt drive decks and only 2 records with a shit mixer (the very start) use what you know to create somthing truly captivating in a new way as a studio mix, give it a chance, give it ago, if your creative you will find it satisfying, even if it's just for your own listening in the car.
I'm off to play some vinyl right now. Happy creating, whatever you use.
Brilliant video Karl, glad to hear it’s not just me that does this 👊🏼
I used to get so annoyed recording live, making a mistake and then having to restart the mix again so this makes life so much easier haha
i feel u on this. Most touring djs premix everything anyways and sync to visuals
A great video! I got everything I needed from it. Thanks!
Excellent! Glad it was useful!
Excellent!! That's been really helpful, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
This is genius. It´s a great way if someone needs a good set fast and you don´t have your equipment with you. Like, than this is the solution. Most people don´t care how it´s made, so it doesn´t matter if it was less fun to mix. Your mix just need to sound good.
Thank you for the kind words and glad you found it useful!
@@djkarlthomas Yes was very usefull! Made my first 2 mixes already :) 1 question, sometimes a song is coming in to hard in volume. You just change that with the volume gain on the clip itself right? By just listening I guess. Because that´s what I´am doing right now. Thanks in advance
Yeah I just turn the gains down a bit. Happy mixing!
@@djkarlthomas thanks! you to
Great intro to mixing in Ableton. Thanks!
Thank you for the kind words!
Thank you it was really great seeing that again I forgot how it was done because i was mixing in real time with a controller
Glad it was useful!!
Excellent tutorial Karl, learned a lot!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video
This is the best software 🤟 I am just looking why my mixes looks so good but I always want make them better than original and the reason of why its because all that ideas can going on a next track! All New Begginers DJs I give you this idea Always saves the samples you dont actually have a completed idea and just keeping building more beats! Forever 🙏
thank you for your comments and for watching the video :)
Finally a video on how to do this. Thanks
Glad it was what you were looking for!
Holy shit, your explanation of why you prefer to do mixes in ableton is exactly the same thought I have! Like you said, if it's not going to be live then it's a waste of time
Thank you for this video, you helped me a lot!!
Glad it was helpful and thank you for the kind words
Very grateful. Like you I've mixed on decks for years but sometimes want to do a studio mix.
Great tutorial.
Glad it was useful and thank you for watching!
great vid. some good stuff in there!
Thank you for watching 😊
This is exactly what I need. Thanks! 😊
Nice one mate! Thanks for watching
Great & easy way of explaining !
Thanks for watching! Glad it was useful!
This is practically the same way I've done it for years, the third track is a good idea!
Nice one mate!!
Thank you brother, you gained a subscriber here. Stay blessed.
Thank you for the kind words ☺️
thank you! for the one song I'm trying out, Wrapping in Beats = 1 bar worked for me, but I didn't even know that could be changed.
Great Vid Glad a found this !
Glad it was helpful. Thank you for watching.
This was really informative thank you
Thank you for watching and the kind words. Glad it was useful!!
Really helpful video. Thanks 👍
Glad it was useful! Thanks for watching
Great tips bro, that's a good idea doing a mix on ableton instead of live on the decks as it saves valuable time!
Thank you mate! I think so too!! Hope you are keeping well?
super helpful!
Nice one mate thank you for watching
Great video!
Thank you for the kind words!
To the point you make about conversing your time, I’m completely understand and I think most people here watching this video understand that’s why I looked it up in the first place I know my mixing skills are good I don’t need to prove that anymore to people but I want to put out quality mixes fast on SoundCloud without wasting two or three hours of my day to get the perfect recording there’s nothing wrong with working smarter I’m not harder 👍
Exactly that! Thank you for your comment and for watching!
When recording the final mix, is there a rule of thumb for the audio levels? I know having a limiter on master track prevents clipping, but do you typically have all the tracks individually at a specific level, or do you keep them at 0DB and have a level set for the master? With all individual tracks going to master of course. Thx
thanks for sharing!
Glad it was helpful!
Bravo Karl. So very helpful to me as I just bought suite 11 and was looking how to send a video mix. Great clear and precise . Thanks a million. Looking forward to more of your helping us out videos. Top cookie buddy. :)
Thank you for the kind words and for watching. Glad it was useful!
The future is now, old man 😎😎😎
Thank you for taking the time to make your video. It has been very helpfull. I was able to use this work flow to a point. My clips are vinyl rips and I have used the tap function to guage a rough bpm and then warped to that number/ adjusted with markers to fix drift. I have saved the clip warp data. When I drop these same clips into arrangement view however I cant add a limiter to the master...its says no clip selected. Should I re importing the clips?
If I am honest, I am not entirely sure....you should be able to add a limiter to the master regardless of if there are clips on the channels or not. Sometimes this is the first thing which I do before I add any music. Sorry- I know that is probably not the most helpful response. Have a look on some Ableton forums as there may be more information on here.
ID LIKE TO ADD TO THIS...
take it even further, come at this from a production stand point and not just djing. Use ableton to its fullest potential. Ive been doing this since ableton 5, and while i am a nobody, i have created some amazing mixes in my humble opinion. This video shows you the very basics you need to do it, so get exploring and be creative with it, i hope this video unlocks a lot of creativity for everyone, the possibilities to hear somthing truly unique and earth shattering from a djing standpoint are immeasurable by creating a mix this way. I wish i could listen to every mix this videos inspires. Really explore the fx and tools at your disposal, look in to free and paid for plugins to use in these mixes. Think of samples you can use from whatever source available, do your own remixes, create your own synth hooks to add in between and during mixes, add in tatseful drum tracks or fx tracks. Be creative.
Great insight here! Thank you for sharing and for watching
Thank you Karlo
Thanks for watching
Defo gunna try this 👊
Love that. Glad it helped
Hi I was wondering how you got round copyright laws playing other peoples music do you have to have a licence as I play other peoples music on FB and get silenced ?
@IanHart I never livestream or post mixes on FB really so have no issues with copyright. On Facebook this is something you cannot really avoid. In the case of this video- this is more showing you how to make a mix which you will then share with your audience. My preferred platform for sharing mixes is Mixcloud- they have a license in place which allows you to share mixes and livestream without copyright. I have made a video here which explains Mixcloud in a little more detail czcams.com/video/bQQFKK0N6Hs/video.html
@3:23 by "tune dump" they mean "staging area" : )
very helpful, i always end up with a messy arrangement lol
Thank you for watching!
This really helps when you are on an accidental LSD dose at a party and you are playing a dj set in 2 hours 😂😂😂
Oh my 😂
Thank you for the video! Everything works great. Only thing is when I have the finished mix its way quieter than all of the other podcast radio shows that I listen to. Im thinking because I have it down to -0.6 DB? How do I get this back up to normal loud volume so its the same as all the other radio shows I hear. (Tiesto, Martin Garrix) Thanks!
Thank you.
Thank you for watching
Thank you very much.
No worries thank you for watching!
Thank You :)
Glad it was useful!!
Thanks!
Glad it was useful!!
Thx. Was trying to do this in Logic Pro X but it's really not a simple job. This looks great in comparison.
Nice! Thank you for watching and I’m glad it was useful
Do you mind explaining why you think so? What features of Logic are lacking?
8ve now set up a template in Logic which makes it easier. But each time you import a song you have to edit the settings for the beat detection or it goes a bit weird. Ableton just does it with few hiccups.
Thanks for the video. The only think which took a lot of time explaining are very basic things of how to use Ableton automation, etc. Surely people that watch this video already know Ableton a little at least. Or they can search the basics... imho
You would be surprised
Agreed!
Yes but let me see you change the tempo slightly and still keep those track quantized. If you zoom in to the end of every track, it's most likely off. That's what I'm trying to figure out how to fix. Maybe setting a warp marker at the end of each track as well and nudging.
My rule of thumb is just make sure you can dj live just as well as with an Ableton mix. Live mixes are hard to get perfect. You can do some incredibly creative things in live also. Blur the lines between DJing and producing. I add all sorts of samples and mashups.
Completely agree with this!
Hey great video, thank you! Would be awesome if you could make a multi-tempo mix as well :)
Good idea! Thank you. In the meantime it's quite easy to adjust the tempo using the range on the master :)
Just made a video to address your question czcams.com/video/VRwixVBdYuc/video.html
Very helpful! One quaestion:
I am very new to Ableton and try do make a DJ Mix.
When i try to move fE two Tracks: One from Deck 1 and one from Deck 2 at the same time, i have the problem, that parts of a third track move with them (when the third Track is overlapping ). Is there a way to only selcts the Tracks and not the a range so i can only move the selected tracks instead of everything in that timespan?
And one more Question: Is there an easy way to the the Key of a Track? In Traktor it is just shown after analising …
I’ve put together a few tracks, when I export I’d there something I need to click or check or uncheck so it expirts as I’ve mixed it
Thanks for the tutorial, my only criticism is that it takes time to watch basic Ableton use tips (like how to make automation, etc). I think people either know how to work in Ableton or they should watch a starter tutorial. Otherwise, cool info! Thanjs
Hey super helpful but I have some questions.
I’ve just started mixing and use my cotnroller, but sometimes I feel very limited as I can’t fine tune some drums, hats, etc that I get picky about. I was listening to some of my favorite sets and thoughts maybe they used a DAW for the set and came across this lol.
I use Serato and access my music via Tidal on Serato, I know this is not viable but with such a huge music catalogue on Tidal, how do you suggest I go about this, thanks again for your vid man
You really need to download tracks to use this method of creating a mix in Ableton as you own the files. With a service like Tidal as its streaming you don’t own the actual file and therefore wouldn’t be able to use those in Ableton.
If you want to use Tidal to record a mix, it’s probably best to record the mix live using a controller.
I know exactly what you are talking about. This is because I used to do my mixing on MK2 from Tehcnics ehehe
Nice!
Hi Karl, what version of Ableton are you using? Live, Standard or Suite? I just want to make DJ mixes, that's all.
Thank you for the video by the way
Glad it was useful. Just Ableton Live, not the Suite version and not the intro version.
Been doin this since 1999 with sound forge.
Thanks a lot
Thank you for watching
@@djkarlthomas Is there a specific reason that the limiter is set up at 1db gain and -0.05db ceiling ?
Thank you :)
No reason specifically- it just works for me to get the desired output
I like to 'record' live in Ableton so I can be in the flow then fix anything afterwards in arrange view.
Nice one buddy!
Thanks a lot for the video! I was wondering, if live 11 intro would be enough for beatmix too. I just want to create some simple mixtapes and start slowely spening money :D Would you have a recommandation for me?
Should be enough for the basics. If you find you need more features, ableton do an upgrade system so you don’t have to pay the full amount for the next version up…you just pay the difference from what intro to standard would be
I'm using Ableton Live 11 Intro and I can't find any of the Tempo options on my Master track (shown at 14:24). My Master track has a drop down menu but only shows options for Audio Effects that I've dropped onto the Master track. The option for 'Mixer' or 'Song Tempo' or the BPM ranges aren't shown. Any ideas on what I might be missing or getting wrong would be much appreciated!
Did you figure this out? I don't know whether to buy intro or the full version
@@mike7920 Yeah, it sorted itself out in the end. Not sure what I did or what changed, but the options did become available after testing out a random series of possible solutions.
I can't tell you what it was that fixed the issue, but I can confirm that these options are available in the Intro version.
Hope this helps!
@@filmsbysi that's awesome, thanks for getting back to me. I literally can't find this information anywhere online
How you dump all the tunes in the 3rd audio track? I tried putting two songs in the 3rd audio channel but they end up overlapping each other or get clipped if I try to make them fit in the channel...
It’s always just worked for me. Make sure you are zoomed out of the view completely as this might cause some issues?
I’ve been djing for a while and always wondered how the pros are using ableton to DJ. So are they genuinely not DJing live whatsoever? (Other than effects and whatnot) because I’d love to utilise this for festival gigs and whatnot! Many thanks
I mean I dj live at gigs- I just use this method to make mixes quickly for posting online.
So the BPM on every track you bring in will be the same, already synced together, unless u adjust it manually, wherever specifically you want it to be different, correct? But if I’m going from a 95 BPM on deck A, and bringing in a 135 BPM on deck B, would I utilize a “transition” song to the region of the 135 BPM I want my mix to transition into? Or sound FX such as an Echo Out on A while dropping in deck B? I’m used to my transitioning on my mixdeck where I would typically utilize the echo out on A to bring in B at a different tempo, or use a loop on A and adjust tempo on the loop while brining in the faster tempo deck B, and so on…just trying to visualize how I would do that on this software instead of my mixdeck…thx for the tutorial and for any additional input, much appreciated!
I have another video on how to mix on ableton with songs that have different tempos. In the example in this video, everything will be mixed to one bpm which is in the top left corner. Video link is here; czcams.com/video/VRwixVBdYuc/video.html
@@djkarlthomas awesome I will check that video out next, I appreciate the quick response and your time to help us out!
Do I need to buy Ableton Live 11 "Standard" or "Suite" to mix like this? Can I go with just the "Standard" instead?
I’ve always owned standard
I've been using Ableton Live to mix my weekly Radio Show since 2017, and I use it with Mixed in Key, an amazing combination really. I've been trying to find a way to Master my mix for podcasts and especially Apple Music, they advice a -14 RMS, but honestly it is a bit hard to do since all tracks are already mastered, and using -14 RMS will make the peak volume go way down to -4 or -5 dB, let me know if there is a good way to do it! Thanks
Hmm I don’t actually have a lot of experience in mastering. I always send my mixes to a mastering engineer as it’s quite a specific skill in itself. I’ve always found it to be quite affordable too. Thank you for watching and sorry I can’t be of more help.
Normalize the whole mix to -0.1db. Then, inspect it for the waveform spikes... apply a very gentle hard limiter just to cut the overwhelming spikes...when you see that the whole of the set is a somehow steady waveform, normalize again to -0.1db. That's your absolute limit in terms of volume while not ruining your sound at the same time. Always use your ears as the absolute guide. If it starts to sound dull or distorted, undo the hard limiter and apply a lesser value in order to cut the spikes, until you reach a happy medium between reducing the spikes to allow you gain a few DBs on the final master normalization and the sound quality preserving.
but what if u want to mix a variety of bpms and do the natural transitions of slowing and speeding up two tracks ?
I also have a video on this
Hi Karl! Thank you for what you have shared means a lot to me. Please tell me, I don't quite understand about changing Bpm from high to low and vice versa. 14:27 Do we set the exact Bpm of the path or the estimated distance of the bpm on the Master bar? Many thanks bro 🙏🏻
Don't adjust the master in the top left- set the range on the master channel. You can set the range to what you want it to be and adjust the tempo on the timeline to what you want it to be :)
@@djkarlthomas Many thanks bro ❤️
Just made a video to address your question in more detail czcams.com/video/VRwixVBdYuc/video.html
@@djkarlthomas Oh this is awesome!!! Thank you so much it means a lot to me ♥️
No worries
Hello. Does it work in Ableton live intro version?
You should definitely be able to put a simple mix together in intro yes! Might be pretty limited and check what EQ is included with intro, but you should be able to put something together
Thinking of getting this just to create some fun mixes for home, but what's the best source for the individual tracks. I use spotify but know that won't work, so where do I get my music from?
What type of music are you after?
Ah nice! So for electronic music I would recommend beatport as your best bet. For a bit of a back catalogue I would recommend mastermix dj. There are also several record pools out there but unless you are working regularly as a dj this is unlikely to be good value for money for you. All the best!
@@djkarlthomas Great. Thx for the help, I'll be studying your videos.
Thank you for the kind words!
How do you change tempo in the mix? Say you are going from 122 BPM to 124 BPM. In a live mix we would use the pitch slider. Ableton seems to always want to sync the track to the master tempo.
For a simple mix in Ableton all tracks will be set to one BPM however if you want to transition, you can use the tempo range on the master channel to speed up/ slow the mix down.
Just made a video for more detail on your question czcams.com/video/VRwixVBdYuc/video.html
Listen we are not here to decide if Ableton is a good way of creating a DJ set. Even though I think recording live is best because of the processing power in CDJs, XDJ-XZ etc... There are valid reasons to do an Ableton mix. It's also great for planning a set that you want to understand the mix in and out points and play with it. THen actually play that set live with cue points.
Every time I fire up a DAW I get overwhelmed with how stupid I feel. It's fine being an ipod user but I feel like I could make a sweet mix if I only had the patience to figure everything out.
Can you make a tutorial of tracks that vary. I'm open format and never stay in the same BPM for the entire mix. Could you make a demo going from 80 bpm for a couple of tracks, then up to 90, and then 100? I'm still new to ableton and I haven't fully grasped how to sync tracks.
Already one on my channel. czcams.com/video/VRwixVBdYuc/video.html
@@djkarlthomas Thanks. Time to subscribe.
in a club, do you just press play?
Nope
The only thing that matters is the final product, I don't care how it was made.
Its like mixtape if finish all thats track right?!
Yes that's right- just using Ableton to make a mix rather than recording live
@@djkarlthomas you know skrillex 2010. He is using like this. Just a laptop and mixer. And something like didgdidgdidegedi.. .. but thats cool hah..i want try this.. on the coffe shop shwocase.. like didegedidegdi...
As someone that used to play actual sets over a decade ago, by actually using the equipment in front of me on stage putting myself at risk of error, it's extremely disappointing to see that it's being normalized to do this shit to fake your sets on stage and pretend to be a DJ. We had one guy that would travel with us and he faked his sets, and no one respected him. One big show, he accidentally hit a button and cut the music back to the beginning of his track, then spent the next 5 minutes trying to figure out where in his 1 hour track he left off. Don't do this to yourselves, avoid the embarrassment. Actually learn how to perform so you have full control.
tracklist?, great video
Thanks for the feedback! I will get a track list for you shortly!
and for me pls tracklist))
Sure apologies I haven’t sent so far!
Tracklist:
1. R3wire- Pop That Drum
2. Late Replies- Hold Up
3. Kevin McKay- Work It
4. Cloonee- Like What?
5. Robbie Doherty & Keees - Pour The Milk
6. The Bucketheads - The Bomb! (Ben Rainey & KHAOS remix)
7. Gok Wan & Craig Knight - Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Tempo Elektrik Remix)
8. John Summit - Deep End (Back V Neck Remix)
9. Stuart Ojelay - Deeper Love
@@djkarlthomas Thanks so much!!
Is there btw a good way to give volume automation? Some people say use a Utility for it, because it’s better, some people say just automate the volume faders. What do you suggest? I can’t find a lot of vids on CZcams that covering this, maybe you should :)
It’s a good question! Let me look into this and come back to you.
i remember when the BRIDGE was the most awesome collab. and then its gone!!! makes no sense..
Don't be sorry bro all professional dj are editing their mixes afterward. It's a part of the process, except for rarities but it is what it is now.
Thanks mate!
This just feels way more complicated and boring, than creating a "live mix". Not to mention, It takes all the fun out from djing...
But thanks for the informative video. I rather do this the "classic 2 hand way" :)
Once you started it’s actually okay. Just showing an alternative way to doing things. When I play live gigs of course I still mix live. Thank you for watching and commenting.
is better off ripping it off on CZcams instead of buying the songs
Absolutely not! Always buy your music or subscribe to a record pool.
@@djkarlthomas same for mashups
@@djanthonyrap8222 many dj pools offer mashups
@@djkarlthomas making my own mashup is it better off ripping off on CZcams or record pool
Great video!
Glad it was useful! Thank you for watching
@@djkarlthomas If 2 tracks has different bmp like 123 and 125, should I use master bpm as well?
@@oscarhetakmusic all depends if you want the tracks to be the same bpm or sound like they were originally recorded. If you want to change the bpm I have a separate video on how to adjust this in the mix in ableton
@@djkarlthomas would prefer to keep the original bpm, I’ll try to find that video now thanks