Ableton Live 9 now available!

[MBTC]

I'm always thinking about Live as a possible next path.. I like that it's cross platform and seems to be gaining big in momentum. I wish I could just learn one fucking DAW and be done with it, it's been so long since I've actually written music that I feel like chucking the technology and getting a kazoo or something just to allow me to focus on what used to be important to me I get enough techlust satisfaction developing software, when I do music I mostly just want to unleash the creative side and minimize workflow.

Has it gotten any better with regard to hardware integration Berni? Every now and then I see people saying "works great except in ________" fill in the blank with Live, Pro Tools, Logic, Reaper whatever... Seems like Cubase + VST is the one thing nobody every complains about so I thought seriously about going that route.

[oscillator]

Originally Posted by MBTC

Every now and then I see people saying "works great except in ________" fill in the blank with Live, Pro Tools, Logic, Reaper whatever... Seems like Cubase + VST is the one thing nobody every complains about so I thought seriously about going that route.

Just consider the unique Ableton workflow. You can record let's say 40 different takes of different instruments, and reorder them with just a click (pushing play on single takes), listening to unlimited kinds of layer/orders of musical ideas. This for me is a creative potential with no boundaries.

All the other daws do recording in a linear way, from a to b.

I lost many hours with other daws until i discovered Live that changed my (music) life.

If the music ideas childbirth is what is very important for you, you should consider it.

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by oscillator

Just consider the unique Ableton workflow. You can record let's say 40 different takes of different instruments, and reorder them with just a click (pushing play on single takes), listening to unlimited kinds of layer/orders of musical ideas. This for me is a creative potential with no boundaries.

All the other daws do recording in a linear way, from a to b.

I lost many hours with other daws until i discovered Live that changed my (music) life.

If the music ideas childbirth is what is very important for you, you should consider it.

That really appeals to me, the handling of takes. Logic handles takes pretty nicely I think, at least compared to FLStudio. One of these days I need to get the demo and start learning, I guess.

[Berni]

Well it's early days yet but so far so good. It has been out on beta for quite a while & ableton have a good rep. when it comes to software & are not the kind of company that puts out half finished, half arsed crap like a certain synth company I could mention but don't really need to.
Funnily enough it's because of access that I started to get really into Live. I have had it since Version 6, starting out with a freebie LE version but never really got that into it. I just used it to make a few DJ mixes & mess around with loops. I'm a long time pro tools user & know it like the back of my hand so it has always been my DAW just because I'm too lazy to learn another one properly. After many years of trying to get VC working in PT I gave up because it probably never will work properly & there is nothing I can do about it. The VST version in Live works fine for me however so a few months back I started to learn Live properly & now I'm totally into it. It was quite a bit to get my head around at first as it is NOTHING like pro tools (or any other DAW for that matter) but I did a ton of tutorials, joined some forums etc. & now I can honestly say that I will be using it for all my composition's & use PT for mixing down, mastering & any live recording.
I looked at the Push controller but decided not to bother for several reasons. 1. I already have a midi keyboard & the Maschine. 2. This is Ableton's first hardware controller which makes it a bit of an experiment & finally it looks a bit confusing & I don't want to have to learn ANOTHER thing.
Whats blowing me away right now are the max 4 Live devices, worth the asking price alone. I haven't tried out the audio to midi functions yet but they do what Melodyne does pretty much just not as many bells & whistles. Melodyne incidentally have been giving large discounts to people to upgrade there versions. I'll write another update as I get more into it but right now I'm like a kid at xmas with all this inspiring software. You can try it for free for 30 days so what have you got to lose if you are curious

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by Berni

You can try it for free for 30 days so what have you got to lose if you are curious

But it is working well with Virus Control for you as I understand? That's what I wanted to confirm.

It is saying a lot if so, because you've been one of the more vocal opponents of the TI's integration I've seen (and that opposition basically mirrors my brief experience with it). So, if they've got everything worked out, at least with regard to running stably in Live, maybe I should check out Live.

I could try the trial of Live for 30 days but I don't have a Virus TI to try it with so I'm more inclined to get as much feedback right now from those who have.

Long term I just want a DAW that works the same on either Mac or PC (obviously FLStudio is PC only and Logic is Mac only and that's what I use today) and is hardware integration friendly, specifically with the Virus and Ultranova plugins (although I'm somehow less concerned about the Ultranova plugin).

Do you use the VST format plugin inside Live or some other format?

[Berni]

Originally Posted by MBTC

But it is working well with Virus Control for you as I understand? That's what I wanted to confirm.

It is saying a lot if so, because you've been one of the more vocal opponents of the TI's integration I've seen (and that opposition basically mirrors my brief experience with it). So, if they've got everything worked out, at least with regard to running stably in Live, maybe I should check out Live.

I could try the trial of Live for 30 days but I don't have a Virus TI to try it with so I'm more inclined to get as much feedback right now from those who have.

Long term I just want a DAW that works the same on either Mac or PC (obviously FLStudio is PC only and Logic is Mac only and that's what I use today) and is hardware integration friendly, specifically with the Virus and Ultranova plugins (although I'm somehow less concerned about the Ultranova plugin).

Do you use the VST format plugin inside Live or some other format?

Yes I finally got the VST version working at least BUT here's what I had to do to get there (I am not saying all these steps/equipment are necessary but this is just my set up)
I bought a brand new macbook pro, late 2011 model. Installed a solid state hard drive in place of the optical drive which just about triples the speed of the computer. I also bought a thunderbolt 27" display that has a hub on the back for all my usb stuff, mouse, keys etc. So now the ONLY thing in the usb port of my lap top is the virus. Depending on your set up your mileage may vary, but right now it plays great in Live. Arp's are synced & no pop's, crackles, or just plain flaking out like it used to.
It's only because I'm a stubborn SOAB that I've kept at it so long TBH.

Live works with VST & AU plug-ins so your Logic stuff should work with it

[accvi242]

I am most excited about the new clip automation recording. It works for the track in which I have virus control as an insert. Normally I add new MIDI tracks to play all 16 internal parts of the Virus. But how is it possible to record clip automation by turning knobs for these other tracks which have no virus control inserted? I didn't get it.