Dougie Jones - Allen & Heath Xone:4D & Ableton Live Part 1

[Adz1184]

Hey Dougie. Were you previously a DJ before using the 4D, just I'm a beginner but really want a 4d. In your eyes is it an easy device to learn, and if not how steep is the learning curve?

[DougieJonesDJ]

@Adz1184 Hey, yeah I was. Mixing digitally is quite different to manually but the 4D itself is really straightforward to set up and use. The main thing that you need to learn is the software itself e.g Ableton.

Hope this helps!

[Adz1184]

@DougieJonesDJ Cheers for the heads up! I've just received Ableton so starting to learn it before I get the 4d. Do you find it easier or harder DJ'ing without the platters for track search, are you able to map in to make it do that? Just I feel the wheels at the bottom are going to waste otherwise?

[DougieJonesDJ]

@Adz1184 No worries! And I very rarely use the platters to be honest. They're designed more for use with Traktor than Ableton I think.

[undrtow2188]

Le sigh

[undrtow2188]

I think me dreaming is about as close to it as I will get

[DougieJonesDJ]

@undrtow2188 Maybe one day...

[undrtow2188]

It looks like so much fun. All those amazing effects at your fingertips. Gahhhhh why can't guitar center have a demo of it

[DougieJonesDJ]

@undrtow2188 Haha! Yeah that's true! There's no shop that I can think of that has it on display.

[undrtow2188]

Thank you so much. Would you do this or the DB4. And this is all hypothetical for me, or at least until I get some money

[DougieJonesDJ]

@undrtow2188 I'm yet to play on a DB4 yet - would love to have a go though - looks a fantastic beast!

[undrtow2188]

That thing is a monster of a mixer. I am really wanting to get one, but I am not good at ableton, and I don't know how I would use all the MIDI customization on it. Did it take you a long time to map it, or was it just over time you said "oh, lets make this do that!" or what? Thanks man! ~East Coast

[DougieJonesDJ]

@undrtow2188 Hey man, yeah it took quite a while to map it all and I'm constantly changing the functionality of the different faders etc the more I use it. Its all part of the fun though. I can understand you being sceptical as to whether you'd use all of it especially with the two layers but when you get really stuck into it its really worth it. Hope this helps.

[therytee]

It's just a loop...

[DougieJonesDJ]

@therytee There's a bit more going on than just that mate... would be one hell of a long loop if that's all it was ;-)

[therytee]

@therytee I rewatched your video and I realized it's not a loop I dont know why I said that. :O

[DougieJonesDJ]

@therytee Haha!  No worries mate :-)

[DjJackAshcroft]

hey Doug, loving you setup, I use Traktor with my Xone3D, and was thinking about upgrading to a Xone4D, do you think there is any point as the Xone4D is pretty much similar? I think its just the look of the Xone4d that makes me fall in love with it, but I would'nt know how much they differ in performance wise.. would really like to start getting into Ableton too.

[DougieJonesDJ]

@DjJackAshcroft Hey Jack, thanks for the message. Both the 4D and the 3D are very similar to be honest, however with the 4D you can operate the mixer over two layers therefore doubling the amount of MIDI controls. This obviously allows you to assign more effects but it also has the downside of getting a little confusing (especially if you've had a few in the club before your set!) The other big benefit is the UV paint as it makes using it in a dark venue a lot easier! Hope this helps. Cheers

[DJRedSky1]

Wassup dude. Nice music. lol Hey I have a question! Can you make your own musics from scratch with this Allen & Heath Xone:4D ??? Please Reply Im begging you! :(

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hey dude, thanks for the comment - glad that you like the vid! You can use the 4D to control any kind of music production DAW software that uses MIDI (which is all of them I believe) and I have used it for this purpose myself using Ableton and Logic. However I also use a MIDI keyboard in conjuction with it as I don't find the 4D very useful when it comes to playing different notes on the virtual keyboards within the software. Hope this helps.

Cheers

[MONKEYFONDLE]

Hiya bud, can I just ask who to get Ableton running properly, my 4D works ace with Traktor scratch pro with coded vinyls, as a mormal mixer with vinyls, but with Abe it does not show more than one stereo/mono channel in prefs, which means no headphone monitoring and no channel faders or uv meters, on refs are on the screen ???

Its got the latest drivers, midi mapping and Im on Live5.05

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate, sorry for the late reply - I've been away so I've only just read your message. The best way to get it set up initially is to download the template from the Allen & Heath website and then develop it yourself from there. It will already have everything pre-assigned to it for cueing and basic functions etc but still give you enough scope to assign your own effects to it as well.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[MONKEYFONDLE]

@DougieJonesDJ Thanks for the reply

Ive had A&H and Ableton on it

Figured it out myself

Turns out Ive got to fork out for Live 8

Bah humbug

[DougieJonesDJ]

Ah right, well I'm glad that you've managed to sort it anyhow. And don't worry too much about forking out - Live 8 is awesome!

[MONKEYFONDLE]

I've just won Live 8 intro (medium sized software) on ebay for 72 quid, 5 had all the features i needed, I would not use 8 (big version) fully, I'm mainly a vinyl spinner so my Abe requirements are basic no frills mixing too

[DougieJonesDJ]

Fair play man, I've gone back to mixing with decks recently too but I've just been using Ableton to remix some of the tracks I want to play beforehand - there's just something about hands on mixing that software can't quite capture... yet.

[Hooligan2099]

what song is this?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate, its called Urban Sub Machine by Glocal.

[montyladd]

Nice mixe mate !

is it easier to use the xone 4d on traktor or abelton?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks mate! Good question as well... I'd say that Traktor is perhaps a bit easier to get up and running with quickly but if you spend time learning how to use Ableton you can do more with it as its got loads of extra effects... hope this helps!

[montyladd]

aye it does! and when using abelton do u sync using the xone 4d ? im saving up for the xone 4d at the minute aswell and im not sure weather to buy it or not , is it the best or is their better ?

and do you know anywhere to get it cheaper , it would be great if you can help mate !! ;)

[DougieJonesDJ]

It is probably the best overall mixer if you intend to use it for both digital & turntable mixing together & the audio quality of A&H surpasses any other mixer I've tried but when it comes to choosing a mixer everyone has their own criteria as to what they want so some would understandably dispute this. Also it wouldn't surprise me if Pioneer come out with something awesome soon to go with the new CDJ2000. Price wise I'd ring around many retailers as poss & ask for a quote... that's what I did.

[montyladd]

aye i suppose !!!

and pionner may more than likely bring out a mixer , but the djm 800 won the best club mixer by dj mag of 2009 so i rekon they wont bring out a new one fer a year and a bit , but thats coming form me ?

yeah mate ill try that , how much was yours ?

and by the way mate , i was lookinat some of ure vids pretty sweet stuff !

[DougieJonesDJ]

You're probably right... I used to have the DJM-800 and its a cracking mixer - the main downside to it was that it could be a pain to set up with Ableton because it required an external soundcard etc. That's why I got the 4D. Can't remember exactly how much I paid for it though tbh - it was about £1300. And I'm glad you've enjoyed the vids. I'll be putting a new mix online in January so once its done I'll let you know :-)

[montyladd]

yeah i seen your vid with the xone 4d and djm 800 , and that was pretty sweet man !

awryt , costly enough :(!

yeah mate , tell me !!

and , if its awryt with you , when i get my gear could you give me adive ?, ive already had very good advie , but its great to get some more of experinced djs ;)!

[DougieJonesDJ]

Yeah no worries mate, that's cool with me - I'm always happy to help out when I can!

[djbassmint]

nice video!! Im thinking of getting the xone 92 alongside with Ableton. Does anyone know if I still need to get an audio interface for the 2? If so what would be a good one for this set up? Suggestions?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks mate - glad you enjoyed the video! I'm not too sure about whether you would need anything else with a 92 or not though. The 92 is a cracking mixer overall though, the Penny and Giles faders on it are just a joy to use.

[lilmo5398]

are the volume channels on either side for the effects and is it easy enough to get the hang of and set up because im thinking about getting one, thanks

[DougieJonesDJ]

It depends on how you set it up to be honest but as default the volume channels on the side are for each channel on Ableton. And yeah its easy to get used to - in fact its a joy to use!

Hope this helps :-)

[lilmo5398]

thanks, is it easy to set up with the computer, like simple enough to set the channels on the side into different tracks and samples or does it just come with time, thanks again

[DougieJonesDJ]

Sorry for the late reply mate, I haven't been online for a while and I'm just catching up on emails. It is easy to set up though, there are some templates that you can download from the Xone website and then customise them from there. That's what I did initially and have then just developed it over time.

[FYICREW]

newb question, and yes ive searched;)

traktor scratch pro is seeing my xone 4d midi-wise, but its nowhere to be found in the inputs and outputs. do i have to run the setup wizard again? and if so how do i do it in osx?

[DougieJonesDJ]

I'm not too sure to be honest man as I don't really use Traktor. Sorry!

[NoelBenson8029]

Is there anything much greater than the 3d? it does seem if your going to spend over $2500 you may as well get the 4d, Allen & Heaths website is messed up right now (I have the Xone 32 for 3 years now, its a beast).

[DougieJonesDJ]

Good question. I'd say the two biggest things off the top of my head that make the big difference are the fact that you can have two layers on the 4D (this is really handy because it allows you to have a load more effects to hand) and the UV paint does help in dark clubs.

The 32 is a cracking mixer though although I'm never got used to having the gains on the back of it.

[NoelBenson8029]

trust me, I use 2 cd's, 2 TT's, and a PC, I'm pretty good at switching from vinyl to cd with those funky blue/white buttons. ;)

[DougieJonesDJ]

Sounds cool man! Nice work!

[FYICREW]

what are you doing besides playing a loop/track? i didnt notice any parameter shifting or unusual phrasing.

[DougieJonesDJ]

I can't really remember to be honest mate - I did this video about a year ago now.

[onemoorysdj]

struppiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa so sol sord ittat rammella a me sta rob

[drumandbasschozee]

thats one of the sickest setup's ive ever seen

[drumandbasschozee]

WOW, that is some really nice equipment!

[DougieJonesDJ]

Cheers mate - appreciate it!!

[couger666]

can scratch live do anything this and ableton cant?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Good question mate - I haven't really used Scratch that much to be honest but as far as I'm aware Ableton has more tools on it as it can be used for production as well as live performance.

Saying that though Scratch has that cool vinyl control feature which can't be done with Ableton...

[couger666]

unless your scratching, its over rated, and i bet its possible to assighn the jog wheels in ways so that they will work like cdjs, in the non scratch way

[DougieJonesDJ]

Fair play. And yeah the jog wheels would be ideal for Scratch or Traktor but with Ableton I don't tend to use them that much to be honest.

[kalieck]

very very nice equipment ...

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks mate :-)

[miguel88ms99]

Hi mate, got my 4D last week.. I´m using traktor as my music source but how can I connect ableton to 4D for using only the effects? thanks!

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate,

That's a good question and to be honest I'm not exactly sure of the answer. I know that there is a way of doing it (as Hawtin does) but I tend to just use Ableton for both my music source and effects in one.

Sorry that I couldn't be any more help.

Cheers

[jakethesnakebro]

fuck man, how much that set you back?

[DougieJonesDJ]

I've had mine ages now dude but at the time it was about £1500 and I'm quite sure that they are still about the same now.

[FYICREW]

i just got my set (4D/cdj1000mk3 x 2/ableton8suite/traktorpro)

under 7000$

[Philldopuma]

4D/cdj1000mk3 the fucking set of my dreams i alredy have the ableton8suite ahah! One day soon i will have one like yours, best of all! Peace Azores, Portugal

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hope you do mate - you won't regret it ;-)

[DougieJonesDJ]

Nice :-)

[WavesOfColor]

what's that first track??

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate, its a track by Glocal called Urban Sub Machine.

[WavesOfColor]

what's that first track??

[lakhosameer]

help if possible. currently im using traktor pro with numakr omni and im planning on buying xone 4d in a few days this might sound stupid but i wanted to know if its possbile to manually beatmatching wiht the xone. i mean i wanna use my mac wiht traktor pro and mp3;s as my audio source and the xone 4d period.nothing else..... . buti dont like using the auto sync button/ beatgridding thats available in traktor. so can i still beatmacth using the jogwheels and adjust the pitch/tempo.

thanks

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate,

I haven't got a huge amount of experience of using it with Traktor to be honest as I mainly use Ableton but from what I know about it I'm quite sure that you would be able to assign the jogwheels to create a manual beatmatching method. Hope this helps but as I say I'm not 100% certain!

Cheers

[FYICREW]

no not currently. what you can do is (if for some reason) you dont like the sync in traktor you can midi sync traktor thru ableton live rewired style with script. then loops played sync'd to trak and songs sync'd to ableton

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hey mate,

Yeah the 4D does allow you to combine them all really easily. One thing that I tend to do quite a lot is mix using CDJs or Vinyl but then route the audio through Ableton and apply any effects on top at this point. Because of the amount of controls on the mixer it allows you to do this comfortably.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[techking00107]

Hey what hardware do you use to have the laptop connected to the headphones and have and audio out for the speakers?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi,

I just use the 4D for the whole lot mate. I've set up Ableton so that I can cue using the mixer and then just have the speakers set up through the master out.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[techking00107]

Thanks mate it really helped. Do you have 2 soundcards on your laptop? I am sure you have fun with those gear, i so wish i had one.

[jackbennett011]

How are you setting up abeltton through the mixer mate?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate, I tend to use the two side pods for effects and channels in the software and then the middle part of the mixer for my decks.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[3214rory4123]

Im talking about the 4D mixer...

[DougieJonesDJ]

You're probably looking at around £1500 mate. Have a shop around though and see what deals you can get from individual stores.

Hope this helps.

[3214rory4123]

How much approx. would one of these set me back..!!!

[jay851038]

good shit man! I be picking one up soon after I get rid of my cdj-1000 and djm-800. Can't wait been a while since I last spun on Ableton with a Xone. BTW nice of you to help out others, clarifying things up.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks for the postive comment mate - appreciate it! Let me know when your 4D arrives - always happy to help with anything when I can.

Cheers

[brianmaxkim]

do you have any recomendations on what sight i should buy this online? and what do you need to connect the 4d to a pc laptop

[DougieJonesDJ]

I'm not sure about which specific retailers are doing the best deals on it at the moment to be honest mate - its been a while since I got mine. My advice would be to have a shop around and call up the individual stores to see what deal they can do for you. And all you need to connect the 4D to the laptop is a USB cable - hope this helps!

[brianmaxkim]

thanks a lot dougie jones. i love your set up by the way. too awesome.

[DougieJonesDJ]

No worries at all mate - always happy to help when I can!

[togor]

it's amazing!!!!!! im saving $ to get a 4d!!! By the way, what is the track ID?? and what style is it? is it progressive something?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate, thanks for the message. The track is called Glocal - Urban Sub Machine. And yeah I suppose it could be called Progressive, somewhere between Techno and Prog I would say.

Cheers

[bruintjebruin]

hey, maybe a stupid question but do you can mix the 2pioneer cdj1000 signals with ableton midi signals?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate,

Yeah you can and the MIDI clock on the 4D is really useful to help out with this as it works in a similar fashion to the platter on a turntable. It's quite hard to explain in words and it takes some getting used to but it can be done.

Cheers

[MAST3REX]

hey dougie mate...

I recently got a gig at one of the clubs in adelaide city which is a start but I suppose its who u know really!.. anyways was thinking about getting this baby round christmas time, I have a xone 62 at the moment but want to get that little bit more 'style' in my mix... and just wanted your opinion in the xone 4d? is it worth it? I know its a lot of money but I feel the urge to splash out on something like this... its also very sexy to haha!

thnks

jacko.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hey Jacko,

Think I just answered one of your questions on the next vid. Sorry for the delay in reply by the way (had a lot on recently) and congrats on the gig! I've been very impressed with my 4D overall to be honest and I'm glad I took the plunge and went for it. The live editing that Ableton allows is really cool and the 4D really takes advantage of this. I would recommend one for sure and yeah it does look great. Going to get some clearer vids of it on here soon so please check back!

[mauvehed]

What track is that? I love it.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate, its a track by Glocal called Urban Sub Machine... its an absolutely wicked tune that causes serious dancefloor damage!

If you like this kind of music please check out my mixes on my website - the link is in the more info section.

Cheers!

[jimmyhayers]

dougie! i was with harry when we met you at urban gorilla, i can still remember how awesome this set up sounded it takes the piss lol i think i might come down with harry next time he comes down for a bit of warping n mixing haha. best mixer ever you lucky, lucky bastard lol.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Haha! Cheers man! I've had a noise warning issued to me since you visited believe it or not!! But yeah you're more than welcome if you want to come round and have a blast on the decks if you want. Harry has visited a few times since lol.

[rob909e]

The 4d is crap! I got mine a few weeks ago and there are a lot of issues. If you are a mac user your screwed and the customer support is horrible! If you are thinking about buying one of these you might want to check out the xone forums. The analog part of the mixer is spot on but once you start using the internal soundcard, you'll be lucky if you mac even recognizes it.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Sorry to hear that you've been having trouble with it man, mine has been fine so far in general and I found the support I got from A&H was excellent when I called them. What OS are you running on the mac?  I'll see if I can help.

[slink8403]

i agree, ide give up anything for that stuff haha!

[DougieJonesDJ]

Cool man, I did have to give something up myself for it... namely my life savings!

[slink8403]

haha, well its all good. i would give mine up aswell :D

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks mate!

[getntheredj]

Hey man was the bank you robbed easy cause you must have got a lot look at all that sexy shizz!!! Lovn the 4d just complete dj package all in 1.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks man glad you enjoyed the video. And yeah robbing the bank was quite easy, all you need is a balaclava and a banana ;-)

[fumamonourequiem]

and i quote Mr. Clarkson when i say this, "i want that!! i want that in my life!!"

[DougieJonesDJ]

Haha! Go for it mate - its worth the saving!

[DswitchupzU]

wow thats a beautiful machine.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks mate!

[Ravenn88]

mamma mia come sei brutto...una capatina dall'estetista non ti farebbe male :-D

[DougieJonesDJ]

I'm not sure what you mean mate...

[mougabo]

hi brother! thanks for posting this videos cause i´m also saving money to get this wonderfull machine... so ableton works just fine with it? and you haven´t used tracktor with it yet? i´m trying to find a dealer to get it here in spain.... do you know who´s giving the best deals for the D4 over there?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate,

Thanks for the message. Yeah Ableton works really well with it but I haven't used Traktor with it yet to be honest. I do want to integrate it into my set up soon though so keep checking back because I'll get a video on here soon with it in action. With regard to getting one in Spain I wouldn't be sure, most of the UK dealers are selling it for around £1500 but if you call them individually I'm sure that you can negotiate a good deal.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Dougie

[fatphilb]

nice poster/equipment panning ;o)

[DougieJonesDJ]

Haha! The cameraman is up for an oscar ;-)

[funkyharry5]

Show some more effects pleas :)

[DougieJonesDJ]

No worries mate, I'm already on the case. A more detailed video will be on here soon. Keep checking back.

Cheers

[axelvs7]

I waaant thaaaaat miiiiixeeeeeerr. Thanks for doing this video dude

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks for the comment dude. Glad you enjoyed the video! Check back soon because there will be more on here over the next couple of weeks.

[MalibuKeeper]

Sup dougie, watched your vids and this mixer looks pretty promising. Can you list your goods and bads about this mixer? Would be awesome, cheers m8!

[DougieJonesDJ]

I'm all good thanks mate, how about yourself? I've kind of written a review on the mixer and its best points but its far too long to post on here. If you send me a PM with your email address then I'll send you over a copy.

Cheers

[thekillerbee123]

sweeeet mixer. the camera man is annoying.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Haha! Thanks man, and I'll pass on the comment to the cameraman ;-)

P.S - You are not the first person to mention that lol

[Neztha]

don't you use Traktor? i would like to know how to set up the 4D with Traktor, and if it works well before buy it...

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi Neztha,

I haven't used Traktor with it yet to be honest so I'm unable to let you know yet. I do have a copy of it though and I'll get a video of the 4D and Traktor on here soon.

Keep checking back.

Cheers

[thekillerbee123]

Thinking of adding ableton to my set up. How easy is it to get to grips with??? Sweeeeet mixer by the way.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks mate. Ableton takes a bit of getting used to but once you are up to speed the amount you can do with it is incredible - I'm sure more and more DJs will follow the digital route in the future but I still like using vinyl/CDJs in conjunction with it.

[ktakytzu]

the best mixer in the world.Congrats!

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks! Its an amazing mixer to use and I would recommend it to anyone.

Cheers!

[morpheux2]

Excellent video and that track was sick fine tune, please do more videos about the Xone 4D.

[DougieJonesDJ]

Cheers mate, glad that you enjoyed the video. There will be more on here very soon... keep checking back!

[StillWords]

what is the first song? anyone? its mint

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate, its Glocal - Urban Sub Machine - always does the business on the dancefloor!

[jaredcook100]

sweet track .. what is it?

[DougieJonesDJ]

Hi mate, its Glocal - Urban Sub Machine

[cvsgtr643]

yeah!!!! 1st video abaut the Xone 4D..!!. i wil be saving to buy one myself during the next 3 months.good luck and nice videos m8

[DougieJonesDJ]

Thanks for the comment mate, I really do rate the mixer - its well worth three months of saving!  Let me know how you get on with it.

Cheers