Ableton setup

[BloodStar]

rhythmtech> they look wickid. Shame you couldnt wait for 6 months to get it. Absolutly lovely piece of gear. The construction is really solid, no plastics. + I have mine with a nice aluminium case as a bonus...

[p_brane]

i'm really liking the look of the bitstream. think i might splash out with next months bonus.

cheers guys

al

[trainspotter]

bitstream user here.

[RDR]

bitstream user here.

cmon then fess up, your critical evaluation please

[trainspotter]

well here goes! :)

it's pretty much my main thing in my set up right now, controlling everything from my old cz-101, multiface 2 mixer menu & overall anything i can send cc's to, oh something i left in review. It's goes really fast to assign in standard mode cc values so no need for using 3rd party software unless your doing advanced stuff.
Also wrote a review in gearjunkies, as per user wrote super negative about the unit. Have to assume the user hadn't really used it long enough, and hadn't even scratched on it's potiential.

Here 's review i wrote for nurser forum:

cons:
due to roland putting a stop on their patented d-beam infrared junk, meant they hade to also but in a ribbon control instead of d-beam, i hardley every use the ribbon could be good for some, more of a novelty thing in my book.

the buttons overall cost saving had to have gone in effect here, the button on the right hand side of unit don't feel very solid and and could of used some better push button feel to them.


pros:(ready for a long list)

1 x midi in,1 x midi thru,2 x midi out & 1 x din sync

usb and stand-alone powered with supplied power supply(believe it's a
regular 9 volt)

100 scenes = 100 presets

transport buttons if your in to that.

regular jump or latch mode so no jumping parameters changes with group changes(also visual arrows/values to show what direction you have to move to hit old value)

4 different setting modes for every group:
standard mode - all knobs faders send CC values printed on side of knobs and faders
mackie mode - for mackie emulation(admit never used this function)
reason mode - self explanatory good if your a reason user
user mode - my favorite, ability with editor to redefine everything including renaming knobs to custom names so no guessing what knob you moving, and using long sysex chains for multiple controlling knob action. of course every knob can send different midi channels etc.

midi configuration:
midi merge
using either separate or combined usb/midi in to send/block usb/midi out.
midi filter
want to block certain messages well you can.

lfo - assignable to anything and of course midi sync able, use your imagination

motion sampler - well not to most used function but i think it's like you can record 8 seperatate cc/parameter movements and playback.

arpeggiator - least used of all functions still to this day, arpeggaitor with list of presets no definable, and a bit cumbersome to get into.

joystick - this is also a very none used function but usable if you want some x/y midi controll action going on.

crossfader - nothing fancy but between the ribbon control and joystick this is by far the most used of the 3 assign to crossfade in ableton and done.

snapshot - send/save button for sending settings to hardware/software

not going into amount of faders,buttons and knobs on this, you can look at the picutre of it or the website at www.waveidea.com

ability to switch screen display in to modes regular/invert color scheme.

metal case - yes it's metal case and it black, never can go wrong with this.
if i dropped it on the floor it will still work.


how i use it, well it's the main controller for everything from the dsi evolver to vst soft synths, a great feature if you disconnect or lose power it remembers all settings. i at first when i got it was overwhelmed a bit and after diving into the great manual ( something like 80 pages for a damn midi controller) and using for awhile it's a breeze.
some features like midi merge/filter can be confusing at first as it wont let stuff through if it's not set right but again manual and also when using the editor for sysex stuff(have alot of gear using this arcane format) i needed to contact waveidea for some support and they answered really fast and timely.

it's now pretty much a must in my setup and i strongly recommend it for anyone who wants a none endless rotary controller who like to feel the knobs rather than guessing it.

the knobs feel really good actually on it, the faders not so great but nothing you cant live with.
i've tried everything from doepfer pocklet control, behringer nano, kenton phatboy, uc-33 and various other ones.

[p_brane]

sold.....

to the man writing this thread..