Richie Hawtin shared this video tour of his live performance rig.
His setup is based around a Model 1 analog mixer (which is his own design), Ableton Push, three decks in NI Traktor, a modular synthesizer & keyboard controller.
Hawtin also shared a live studio performance using this rig:
This is what I aspire to and beyond. Decent set up and loving the mixer. Can’t stand those effects on the DJM. Not that I really use them anyway.
What? No you can’t leave a set hanging like that! More!
always interested to see how people go about making live electronic music…thanks
I’ll second that. Always get something from watching, learning about other people’s set-ups, what they choose to use, and how they actually use their gear.
Great stuff.
DJ’s get ripped on a lot for ‘just pressing play’, but it’s obvious that Hawtin has put a ton of thought into what he does – even designing his own mixer – and that he puts a lot of importance on live remixing.
Very cool gear walkthrough and the live performance was too short.
and when the music he is?
Strange. I always thought his live rig would just be one big eq knob that he’d tweak with inaudible effect.
You’re mixing up David Guetta and Richie Hawtin.
respect to Richie Hawtin, he has been a pioneer in the development of DJ technology since the very early days. “Decks, EFX and 909” was a dj set back in 1999 following the same principles of this video. I like the idea of a modest rig focussed on the result and not the possibility.
Got to say that I never liked this sort of music… it just never grabbed me and I brushed it off as someone playing other people’s music. Pretty arrogant I know but it was based more on ignorance than anything.
I still don’t really go for the whole DJ mega-set thing but having watched this video has given me a whole new outlook on the whole thing … I just didn’t know and have never seen just how this music is put together from individual elements … it’s incredible … like taking a range of different ingredients and making a fantastic meal.
This video gives a great insight and I have a whole lot more respect and understanding now.
Great comment. As a techno artist myself, I can say that Richie is one shining fish in a sea of turds. An innovator, to be sure. And the ones who stand out in this genre are the ones who forge new paths.
This really does not interest me.His work as Fuse was great then plasticman….but the digital realm seemed to stop his grooves. He made some great tracks.
In the meantime Mr. Guetta is still trying to find the play button.
Would love to see a similar video with Octave One’s live setup.
I wonder why he didn’t show much of the software end of it, where it seems most of the magic is happening. If I didn’t know that Push needed Ableton Live, I’d have assumed it was another audio box. It would be cool to know how he’s working with Live under the hood. I suspect this will become a bit more common when Ableton Link is in Traktor. I like that he’s showing his process, even though it still feels like an ad for his new mixer. I remember the 3 turntable setup he used to use years ago and he’d select all these minimal tracks so he could weave them together, he’s come a long way. I think it’s worth discussing that the style of music that he plays also affords him the ability to mix with more freedom. Playing tracks that are fully layered/mixed seems like a limitation to a live performer/DJ like Hawtin as opposed to the many press-play and throw cake DJs. It seems that with NI stems and Ableton Live/Bitwig clip launching, DJs have more tools at there disposal than ever to mash and mix a set together of existing material. I think I have a bit of bias against DJs who don’t go the extra step to perform a bit. DJs like Hawtin who add/show elements of live P.A. are far more interesting to me. DJs who surround themselves with stage spectacle and pretend to do all the work that a musician might, not so much.