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Hey guys, I recently got a midi controller and I've always made all my dubstep or other EDM all through ableton. All I really use my controller to do is just to jam out to a mix i make with a bunch of songs and layer some effects over it to make it more interesting. My question is, do people actually use controllers to actually produce music? Do you just put a bunch of samples and launch them through a drum rack or what?

Thanks.

whatever feels more natural to you, mang. some need keys and knobs to write, some don't.

it's never a bad thing to map out some parameters and jam with hardware though - because you'll come up with totally different riffs/sounds than if you programmed it just using your daw and a rack.

it depends.. with EDM and dubstep in particular alot of the most complicated parts are just one note being held out. All the musicality comes from programmed sequences and automation. so you don't really need good dominant 9th chord voicings to accomplish that..

If you were making rnb beats it might be a good idea to have some soulful laidback keyboard elements or melodies.. those would probably be best played out of a keyboard then written in with a trackpad..

I personally do. Not all the time however. Usually for chord progressions and melody i do. But i pencil in basses and arps.

Yeah i would say i do, i use my Uc-33 to map a few shortcuts and stuff. But honestly IMO theres no real use for them unless your performing.

besides that, i use my midi keyboards to create melodies, but rarely use the knobs/faders on the actual keyboard

Yes alot of people do but it doesnt mean that you have to. For the first 8 months I produced i just used my computer keyboard, FlStudio, and headphones. It just depends on what youre comfortable with, honestly.

Invader Slim wrote:Yes alot of people do but it doesnt mean that you have to. For the first 8 months I produced i just used my computer keyboard, FlStudio, and headphones. It just depends on what youre comfortable with, honestly.

couldn't agree more.. I specifically like using midi controllers when im "jamming", like playing everything live and improvising!

Depends on what part of a song I'm working on. For experimenting with notes in a synth, I absolutely have to have a keyboard. If I'm modulating parameters for a sound I don't a keyboard. I don't really use the knobs though, probably because I haven't really taken the time to learn them very well. But I'd definitely like to get a better grasp for them soon.

is this a joke? of course people use them.

big lurch wrote:is this a joke? of course people use them.

I meant like mainly to produce. Not if they use it in general. That's a stupid question

sorry man, just seemed like a funny question to me.

I do but i know loads who dont, its personal preference. I cant write riffs unless i can hear them in real time so obviously i have to

Sometimes. I have a song that's more musical that wouldn't have been possible without experimenting with chords and riffs. I don't think I could write a synth solo without being at a keyboard.

Since when EDM became a genre?

And yeah, I'm not going to straight up finger drum and launch clips, but being able to knock a pad to see how a drum sounds at different velocities and playing a chord to see how it comes together before sequencing stuff is nice.

Im not very good at playing a keyboard, but for automation i use it all the time. I know you cant do this with small controllers but ive got a Korg Kontrol 49 and its great. 8 sliders, 8 turn knobs and 16 pad hits, which can be set up in all kinds of configuration. For some of of the simplest purposes like testing out a filter its already awesome. Assign, tweak knob, and record.. or not. Faster and sometimes also better then drawing it all into a dull clip. Also recording drumloops going through several grossbeats with on/off knobs on the pad section can be great.

Everything I produce gets inputted by a midi controller. Well, not everything. Just samples and synths. I record live electric basslines and percussion sometimes.

Mousing around is not that fun or musical for me.

I've been a musician my whole life, primarily a bass player but semi-fluent on the keys, so drums, pads, bass, sounds and everything get played in with a keyboard.

Buttons and knobs for real time automation.

An APC20 to jam out on with the clips and an extra set of faders.

Faders for mixing.

midi machines and instruments are only good for decoration like this friend shows in the photo

I do. I use maschine mk 2 for live performance and production. I barely use my mouse and or keyboard anymore haha. I love it

Since I bought my midi controller, I can't make music without that. I like to play everything with my hands and have a feel when I press harder it's sounds louder or other modulated things.

of course we do