Quote Originally Posted by Ritzi Lee
2 g: I also use Ableton. But only as a production tool.
It's just about the trend where most people use Ableton for a 'Live PA'.
you're totally missing the point. ableton can be and often is used as a Live PA tool -- not just a hdj/'digital edit' tool. it's what ableton was created for. it's arguably the best tool ever invented for Live PAs in the hands of someone who really knows how to use it. like, say, monolake....

your first post is wrong-headed in using the examples of recent surgeon, regis, ruskin performances. i'm sure they would be the first to say these are hybrid sets. they aren't being billed as Live PAs in the traditional sense. these are just artists taking advantage of a new technology without tackling the serious amount of work that goes into preparing a "real" Live PA.

you've further missed the point in that 98% of Live PAs in the last 10 years are sample based. this includes the best of the best, people like Speedy J, Stewart Walker, Plastikman. everything is some degree or another of playback, it's just a matter of how granular you get with the pieces and how hard you work to rearrange them or make the elements of your original compositions fit into new contexts. hate to tell ya but Ableton is the best thing ever invented for this very thing. the fact that it's become concurrently popular to hybridize hdj sets with some original material is just a testament to the flexibility and power of the app... not what the world now defines as Live PA across the board. If you look at what hawtin did for the recent Plastikman show, THAT'S a Live PA -- even if he hadn't chosen to use any outboard equipment. Likewise what Speedy J does today could easily be done with a computer or two, he just prefers the su700s and mpc. which incidentally are just computers that play samples.