What do you think about Ableton as a beginner starting point

pacheko · Post by **pacheko** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:49 pm

Ableton Live kicks butt.

use it with lots of pluggins & vst's and have fun with it...

will schiller · Post by **will schiller** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:21 pm

Went round my mates yesterday and had a play on ableton live 6 again. Had forgotten how god dam fun it is! I still reckon the effects rack is better in logic and I personally get a more professional sound but its no way as fun.

Horza · Post by **Horza** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:28 pm

My house mates just got a sexy beast of a Mac on the way so Im forcing her (at gun point) to Logic. Would you reccomend getting hardware to put your beats in or do you just "draw" them in.

And I've got a sexy beast of a PC on the way which Im gonna stick Ableton on! Our house is gonna be kitted out sooon enough hehe!

Tangka · Post by **Tangka** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:37 am

Citizen wrote:In the past I've mucked around on things like Garage Band and Fruity Loops, but I want to actually invest a bit more time into actually making some half-decent tunes.

here we go again with people talking about fruity loops like its only capable of creating car insurance jingles.

i see you're on a mac, but if i were a beginner to the field, first of all, i sure wouldnt have my mind made up about what programs are good or not, and secondly i'd take a closer look into fruity loops' reputation as a good starting point!

i also would be running windows. to have both windows and mac is great. but just mac alone is unadvisable.

i guess you've used garage band, fruity loops, and ableton, and you liked ableton, so that says something.

dont mean to be emo about fruity loops but it has served me well and i wouldnt want it overlooked as a very practical tool for a beginner!

best wishes for your desire to produce good music bro

Tangka · Post by **Tangka** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:09 am

also i would recommend against reason i think that program is crap

i initially wanted it because of the sequencer being more dynamic than fruity's, having the ability to edit more detail all in one window etc, but what i found is that, as said earlier, it doesnt support VSTs, its still limited to the same bit depth that fruity is (16 or 32 cant remember off the top) and it uses the rack system interface, which is :ahem: IMPRACTICAL! and i find practicality a must, which seems to be something ableton has. my next software inquests will be ableton and cubase, but holding off on logic because i dont have a mac (had one but i had to take it back and i refuse to buy a different one)

then again as i said in another thread, i never went to school for any of this stuff

self love · Post by **self love** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 2:17 pm

i've seen dudes with every imaginable piece of software and gear make the shittiest music. likewise, i've seen kids rock a dope track out of a casio keyboard.

they're tools that's all.

you like ableton. go get yourself ableton. to say that one program or another is better for a certain type of music is absolutely ridiculous.

you've gotten some sound with ableton so see where that leads you.

btw, i made this using ableton 5.2 if you're interested.

http://dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=36480

Sharmaji · Post by **Sharmaji** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:13 pm

i work in logic. i'm using ableton, atm, for a freelance project and fucking loving it... seriously, this program is so deep, so immediately useful on so many levels, so outrageously intuitive...

i still love logic because i can work shit-fast in it and have a ton of presets, channel strips, etc. saved-- but ableton' definitely gonna wind up being part of my creative arsenal. it's a bit of an idiosyncratic tool, but a great one nonetheless.

i personally don't like how reason sounds (though haven't used 4), but if Mala, Logistics, Trent Reznor, Evol Intent and god knows how many others can get great sounds and serious tunes out of it-- i'm not in a position to diss it.

Any of the 3 are fine places to start. the most important thing is that you start!

xi · Post by xi » Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:33 pm

Having used Ableton for a time (since v4 came out) I gotta say only now am I experiencing it's limitations (which are few, but some are glaring).

I do still love Ableton's workflow, and how 'quick and easy' everything is. Now I'm of the mind that one program just isn't enough to give a track all it really needs in terms of sonics. Ableton 7 does come with alot of nice features, and it looks like they're taking care of advanced routing limitations by building extra parts onto effects etc...

Basically, it's the best thing I've found yet, but it could be better, as with anything i suppose.

I test drove Logic Studio though, and I pretty much shit my pants, though for the sake of this topic, i wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.

citizen · Post by **citizen** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:13 pm

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Don't gt me wrong, I've got nothing against FL, it's an easy and fun program to use. But, I'm not really going to buy a PC just to use it.

citizen · Post by **citizen** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:27 pm

What's the deal with Ableton Live LE?

I understand that it has some limitations re. the amount of audio inputs etc. and such.

Is it really that much different than the full version?

serox · Post by **serox** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:53 am

Citizen wrote:In the past I've mucked around on things like Garage Band and Fruity Loops, but I want to actually invest a bit more time into actually making some half-decent tunes.

I've played around with the Ableton interface a handful of times, and it seems quite logical.

I'd just be keen to hear your thoughts on the program as a starting point to get into production, or if you can suggest any better alternatives.

Thanks!

(sorry if this has been covered - I couldn't find the thread)

Oh, and I'm on a Mac.

I am new to production but have started with Cubase, Reason, Orion and FL. I have recently tried to use Ableton and found it very good for putting together loops/samples but not very good for actually making my drums! I found it more fun and achieved better results using a standard 909 kit and adding my own FX in Cubase. I think it is down to what you actually like though! Play around with the software/hardware and see what works best for you. You might be after something different to me so Ableton might work better for you.

djshiva · Post by **djshiva** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:34 am

Will Schiller wrote:Went round my mates yesterday and had a play on ableton live 6 again. Had forgotten how god dam fun it is! I still reckon the effects rack is better in logic and I personally get a more professional sound but its no way as fun.

that's really the key to ableton for me. it's fun. i don't wanna sit and draw boxes in grids for hours; i want to jam out some beats and be smiling as i play.

if the process isn't at least semi-enjoyable, i will always find an excuse NOT to do it. so ableton helps keep me happy and focused.

and rewiring with reason is also just sick as hell.

serox · Post by **serox** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:37 am

sapphic_beats wrote:
that's really the key to ableton for me. it's fun. i don't wanna sit and draw boxes in grids for hours; i want to jam out some beats and be smiling as i play.

if the process isn't at least semi-enjoyable, i will always find an excuse NOT to do it. so ableton helps keep me happy and focused.

and rewiring with reason is also just sick as hell.

Writing music using a mouse is not fun. A monkey can put notes on a grid on the screen so what the point in that?:) I cannot make music without a controller at all. If I try and make music using a mouse I get bored and it just sounds generic and robotic. No flow or feeling imo.

whineo · Post by **whineo** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:09 pm

Serox wrote: Writing music using a mouse is not fun. A monkey can put notes on a grid on the screen so what the point in that?:) I cannot make music without a controller at all. If I try and make music using a mouse I get bored and it just sounds generic and robotic. No flow or feeling imo.

eh?

Its whatever method your used to. What about trackers??
always used a mouse to get flow and feeling

serox · Post by **serox** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:31 pm

Whineo wrote:
Serox wrote: Writing music using a mouse is not fun. A monkey can put notes on a grid on the screen so what the point in that?:) I cannot make music without a controller at all. If I try and make music using a mouse I get bored and it just sounds generic and robotic. No flow or feeling imo.
eh? Its whatever method your used to. What about trackers??
always used a mouse to get flow and feeling

Sorry, I was not saying my way is best and you should follow. I was just saying what I find best for me and how I work.

Not sure what you mean about Trackers?

whineo · Post by **whineo** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:08 pm

"A tracker's interface is primarily numeric"
A monkey can also tap keys on a controller and drink tea whilst wearing a suit

serox · Post by **serox** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:14 pm

Whineo wrote:"A tracker's interface is primarily numeric"

Duh

/slaps forehead

Whineo wrote:"A monkey can also tap keys on a controller and drink tea whilst wearing a suit

That I would pay to see hehe.

whineo · Post by **whineo** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:38 pm

Serox wrote:
Whineo wrote:"A monkey can also tap keys on a controller and drink tea whilst wearing a suit
That I would pay to see hehe.

no worries mate ... if I find a picture Ill post it up on Squatjuice for you

manray · Post by **manray** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:23 pm

I dont really view Ableton as a production program. Yes it can make music but if you want to make music you would be better off looking at a dedicated sequencer type program like Reason (to start) or if you feel like going deep try Cubase or Logic.

Ableton tends to be more suited towards LIVE playing, so taking pre-made loops-sounds and so forth and sticking them together and mashing them up along with live synths and so forth.

whineo · Post by **whineo** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:42 pm

manray wrote:I dont really view Ableton as a production program. Yes it can make music but if you want to make music you would be better off looking at a dedicated sequencer type program like Reason (to start) or if you feel like going deep try Cubase or Logic.

Ableton tends to be more suited towards LIVE playing, so taking pre-made loops-sounds and so forth and sticking them together and mashing them up along with live synths and so forth.

What do you think about Ableton as a beginner starting point

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