Ableton Live Lite 10

[jayhosking]

So I bought a Novation Circuit in the summer, and it came with an Ableton Live Lite 10 license. I hadn't thought twice about it, but then I got a reminder email from Novation and thought, "Well, this is currently the hot DAW, so I might as well see what it's about." Plus Reason is still not able to send MIDI clock out to multiple instruments at the same time, so I thought this might be a solution.

And... I think maybe I'm missing something? The software is hideous. They've laid out tracks, mixer, instruments, and effects all in one window and it's a busy-but-also-somehow-minimalist mess. Increasing the font sizes made the whole thing even blockier. There was, in general, a distinct lack of visual cues when searching for sounds or effects, which made me realize how much I appreciate Reason's browser by comparison. The Live stock sounds that come with it are hoo-golly terrible, and there are basically no instruments, only samples. The patches themselves have, on average, six parameters that can be manipulated. The effects sound fine but are just your bread and butter. I really don't get it. What am I missing here? How can this be the cool thing?

I nearly wrote off Live entirely but then bumped into two interesting features. One: I like how it handles audio fades, how it's quick to set both the length and slope of fade with one click and drag, and how, when two audio clips overlap, it's trivial to make a cross-fade. Two: at least one of the reverbs had a "freeze" function on it, which instantly led to some absolutely beautiful ambient loops when I ran one of my hardware synths through it. Why hasn't anybody in Reason created a "freeze" parameter for their RE, or even just a freeze RE on its own? Or maybe someone has? Is freeze common in the VST world?

Anyway, if Live Lite is somehow supposed to entice users to upgrade to a fancier version of Live, then it's totally backfiring. This experience made me thankful for the Reason environment. I can't imagine buying into Ableton Live after my experience so far, and it seems as though all their interesting stuff is locked up at the highest tier rather than at the "standard" version. So what do you think? Am I missing some critical information here? Is there something I don't get about this software?

[Marco Raaphorst]

I think it's about personal taste. Some people hate certain workflows, others hate it.

I am a huge Live lover since version 1.2. Audio editing in Live is like superb imo.

[guitfnky]

it’s just a different workflow and environment. I got a demo of it a few months ago too, and found it confusing as well, but only because it’s a totally different design philosophy than most other DAWs and Reason.

I remember thinking the way it handles sequencing is sort of brilliant, even though there’s a bit of a learning curve. I kind of want to give it another play now, actually.

[Marco Raaphorst]

that 2D look of Ableton is a piece of art imo. a classic. not mimicking hardware. Kraftwerk.

[jayhosking]

Hey, for what it's worth, I don't have any issues with its workflow, or being confused by its workflow; I had issues with its cluttered design (why not at least use different shades of gray for tracks vs. mixer vs. sequencer vs. browser? Why not organize plug-ins by type instead of one big list?) and terrible stock sounds. I'm sure the stock sounds and effects are far better on the Suite version, but nothing about this Lite version would make me want to pay the hefty upgrade to find out. There's no tease to the Lite version, you know? And I'm past any era of pirating things to try them out.

And yeah, while I prefer Reason's skeuomorphism, I can certainly appreciate minimalism. But if the screen has eight different components and no visual separation, and every time I scroll over a parameter text blinks in the corner, I think they're not doing a great job of selling that minimalism.

But yeah, I liked the way it handled audio, and how it integrated some of ProTools' smart-tool ideas into clip manipulation.

I'll probably tinker with it more, because it can do some things that Reason can't (yet?), but it's certainly been enlightening.

[Oquasec]

I feel like reason is just a 3d ableton.
I stick to enough daws as it is and all I need to remember so I can

make room for other stuff

is FL Studio and Reason.
Protools would most likely only be used for serious work and certifications.

[Loque]

I tried Live a few years back and i liked it, but i thought the same as OP when i saw it the first time. How could they fit all that stuff into one view? But after a few days and with lots of help from that little window i become faster and more comfartable with the GUI and workflow. It finally takes 2-3 days to make you feel "home". Everything is always in the same place, very fast to reach, no window is suddenly somewhere else, i could worked blind...

Reason took me longer to feel "home" and a few DAWs never made me feel "home". I am eying Live for a while, but i have bad feelings to coordinate 2 DAWs to make 1 song and using Reason just in ReWire would destroy all the benefits of Live and there were no easy routings with audio signals between Live and Reason.

I mainly miss a few things from Live: The fast browser, the clear and fast workflow in the sequencer and "rack", sample editing, the "live" feature for clips to make a raw cut of your song/idea.

[VariableX]

I also have a live lite licence, I ran through all the tutorials and I could make music in it if i chose to, but it would feel more like a job... I find im more creative with Reason because i find it fun. I think Live got big, because its great for live performances, its probably reached it popularity peak in my opinion.
Plus I dont want tons of VSTs installed all over the place....