Ableton says THANKS with two free Live Packs........

[docprosper]

what did you all get Ableton for Christmas?

this really deserves its own thread. Another good response:
Dum's banishment

[Hoffoman]

I have to say that the beat loop-pack things do absolutely zero for me, I'm not that market at all. I assume somewhere out there is a giant squad of 14 year old boys still loving AbsTr4kt Breaks, bit reduction and beat-shuffling. Loops of stuff with a very "authored" sound does nothing for me. It's already finished, and by somebody who isn't me!

On a more positive note, I only just downloaded Ableton's (freebie) Partner Instrument Compilation, which is actually good. There's still a lot of Ab5Trakt BreAks, but also quite a few good presets for Tension and the like to make up for it, also a nice small Taiko sample set, and other stuff. Many of the more impressive presets are of course just big samples played back in Sampler with a ton of effects on, but still - worth getting if you haven't so far.

I have to say that other xmas gift around right now, the NI MicroPrism, was quite amazing to me. I held off downloading that because I'm generally not interested in 'player' instruments, but I was really surprised at the variety and quality of sounds it can produce. It sounds very different, unusual, and deep. It made me say "wow" quite a lot as I skipped through the presets and twiddled the dials.

It's double-worth it if you have Reaktor and can unhide all the knobs (they hid) so you can gain access to the fuller control-set
Thanks for that moment of laziness NI

+1 on all that.

I have to say in Ableton's defense that the minus livepack was great . It was either re-usable or educational.

I don't think we are entitled to some great freebie at xmas but if they are going to bother, the they should make it real.

I am very likely to buy Live 9 providing that it is somewhat stable and offers some useful new functions. I still love Live. I also understand that they have grown and with that, some changes to their culture where inevitable and probably needed on their end.

I just feel that they need to re-connect with their user-base in some meaningful way. Its like NI and Ableton switched places.

[Hervé]

Still waiting for that x-mass update as a gift ! (:

[Angstrom]

I just feel that they need to re-connect with their user-base in some meaningful way. Its like NI and Ableton switched places.

I think the truth of it is that the two companies are at different stages in their lives. NI had some years of innovation, then a big chunk of time where they were mainly famed for lack of imagination and letting their users down. Recently they've managed to turn this around with a range of lowered prices, and innovative hardware.

I think Ableton fell victim to the same thing that happened to NI in about 2001 - they grew very quickly and struggled with the inevitable transition from "new kids with their finger on the pulse" to "giant company with lots of people whose names they can't remember" . It takes a little while to manage growth like that and I'm guessing they mainly spent this year doing just that.

I'm making a bold prediction that next year will be a lot better than this one was for Ableton.
well, lets hope so eh? Other wise we will all be looking for a new DAW provider!

[necho]

well, lets hope so eh? Other wise we will all be looking for a new DAW provider!

[Tarekith]

It's interesting that these days a lot of people put so much stake in not only the software a company provides, but also the culture (for lack of a better word) that they help to create too.

[Anubis]

Those NI Loops are also lame. The mikro prism is nice though.... NI has a long tradition giving away good Reaktor tools on christmas...

That's what I call a REAL usable gift. Specially since I own Reaktor. At first I was disappointed with the lame Traktor loops- what a joke. The I saw the Prism, very nice NI. Very lame Abes. At first I thought they were referring to the obvious non-redistribution clause but no usage at all? That's an insult!

[Angstrom]

It's interesting that these days a lot of people put so much stake in not only the software a company provides, but also the culture (for lack of a better word) that they help to create too.

I think rather than 'culture' the users simply want a solid product that delivers on their needs.
But, Ableton sell ONE product to many different market sectors. That is the crux of their problem right there.

To a DJ-user Live has no scratching or vinyl timecode input
To a Live performer Live has no real preset management, no improvements to session
To a studio user the automation is lacking, comping is absent, etc etc

So when Ableton delivers something that reflects the "wrong culture" they get stick from their many users who feel unrepresented.
Meanwhile NI have many separate products. Are Traktor users up in arms about the MicroPrism freebie? probably not.

[hacktheplanet]

Did you ever think to make music as a fun hobby sometimes? You don't have to sell everything you create, you capitalist imperialist pigdogs.

[Angstrom]

Did you ever think to make music as a fun hobby sometimes? You don't have to sell everything you create, you capitalist imperialist pigdogs.

wait, you can SELL music?

when did this happen?

[Hermanus]

Really a pointless "gift".

Don't play bad jokes with users... We are bored, tired of those so called gifts that we have to take care not using comercialy.

Some more free partners sounds or intruments would have been a smarter choice...
Oh wait I had forgotten those extra sounds were for sale.. not for free...damn it!

[Angstrom]

I think the crux of this is:
The gift treats us as "consumers" glad to be given content by a famous Name Celebrity (whoever)

But in fact we mainly consider ourselves as "creators"

There is a big difference there, and it shows how ableton thinks of their customers. Not as creatives, but as fans. I don't really care what some celeb has made.


Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps the bulk of live users want nothing more than to receive "DJ Famous's turn things on and off" pack. But I prefer to believe in Lives customer base as full of people making their own shit up.

[8O]

Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps the bulk of live users want nothing more than to receive "DJ Famous's turn things on and off" pack. But I prefer to believe in Lives customer base as full of people making their own shit up.

You're on a roll, but anyway a +1 for this...


Out of interest, I haven't bothered downloading the packs yet as I saw that they use Suite instruments: anyone know which ones? (if it's just Operator then it's ok, if it's riddled with Tension, Analog, etc, then it'll be (doubly) useless to me as a non-Suite owner)

[twisted-space]

Perhaps next year Ableton could hire Deadmou5 to do some of the library content.

[polyslax]

it shows how ableton thinks of their customers. Not as creatives, but as fans.

That's an interesting notion. There's definitely some kind of disconnect here between them and us.

Could be that Scottish accounting firm the Abes have retained.