One of the best qualities of Ableton is the possibility of integrating in different workflows. The most obvious and hyped is the Bridge collaboration with Serato, but there's also another easy way to connect. Propellerhead's ReWire concept was created originally to connect Reason, which despite of it's many great qualities, lacks in some ways (such as VSTs) where it is just easier to connect with others rather than work against the basic concept of the program.
From the Propellerheads website:
What is ReWire?
ReWire is a system for transferring audio data between two computer applications, in real time. Basically, you could view ReWire as an "invisible cable" that streams audio from one computer program into another.
So, what can ReWire do?
ReWire has the following features:
Real-time streaming of up to 256 individual audio channels (up to 64 with ReWire 1) from one application to another.
Real-time streaming of up to 4080 individual MIDI channels from one application to another (255 MIDI buses with 16 channel per bus). This feature requires ReWire 2.
High-precision synchronization - complete, glitch-free sync between the two applications, with no settings to make and no parameters to worry about.
Common transport functions - if both applications have built-in sequencers of some sort, you can play, stop, rewind etc. in any of the applications and they will both locate to the same position.
Additional querying - one application can "ask" the other about audio channel names, etc. This feature requires ReWire 2.
What is so great about ReWire is the easy setup.
Step 1: Launch the master program, which tells the slave what to do.
Step 2: Launch the slave program. Now they are connected, and aside from routing the audio you should be ready to go.
So how does this all apply to you again? Well, most obviously if you're into producing and are more at home with traditional instruments, Reason might be just for you. On the other hand, if you would just like to use Ableton as a sampler/sound mangler and/or VST platform, you could connect it with Torq. This way you don't have to warp your songs in Ableton and you gain the fluidity of a dedicated DJ program. You can then add your custom effects in Ableton and maybe a drum machine and all that. In my own tests the burden on the computer remained very usable and I experienced no glitches. You can also reskin Torq, leaving samplers and other unnecessary stuff out, giving you a clearer view.
Another alternative would be using Deckadance as it can be used as VST. Midi clock doesn't behave quite as nice as ReWire, but for those on budget you should at least check the possibility out. As I mentioned in my previous post, VJs can also benefit from the midi out option, as you can send BPM and commands out to all the major VJ software available. This with the dummy clips was my plan for a longest time, but the burden of mixing tracks and video was too much on my computer, plus the videos take a lot of space...
Click here for other related posts.
No comments:
Post a Comment