Is Ableton Live the right tool for me?

[kena.cwb]

Hi. Looks like a silly question (maybe it is, but...) ... well, I'm a guitar player
and I need a sw where I can build backing tracks so I can practice over them.
Most musicians use sw that uses the tradicional 'Arrangement View Mode', but
after testing Live for a while I think the Session View Mode is really something
special. At this point I finished all the basic Lessons and understand the main
principles behind Live and actually finished a small backing track with success.

I also tested my Midi Controller along with Keyboard, and recorded audio sent by
the guitar and they all worked perfect with Live.

But Live goes way beyond and have tons of things I may not need or eventually
I 'think' I don't need until I really understand their usefulness.

If you're a musician and use Live, please let me know your thoughts.

[0n]

Hey there.

I keep hearing how live isn't "professional" enough but I know plenty of big time (and lesser) musicians using it for its unique creative flow.

In terms of non-electronic musicians, Devin Townsend does some amazing sounds with Ableton.

Though I might use pro tools or logic (or actually Reaper) to finalise things Live is amazing for ideas.

I make metal and record initially with ableton, using loop recording to double track and using the fx + nature of live to "jam" out the song once I've recorded a heap o clips, I love it (you can hear it at http://soundcloud.com/stepstone)

Though I'm not quite there with production, I'm getting a decent enough sound.

I love Ableton for electronics, and despite what everyone keeps telling me, I intend to produce my electronic stuff 90% within Ableton too (http://soundcloud.com/0nau) , no program is the be all and end all of all DAWs but for musicians that love to experiment, Ableton seems the best imo.

[0n]

Get some wicked beats, jam out some riffs, get some cool sounds and samples, and jam out your own metal/rock song, I love it

[The Carpet Cleaner]

I use Live and i Just bought my first Porsche.

[kena.cwb]

... no program is the be all and end all of all DAWs ...

Yes that's right. I think if you feel confortable with the sw, enjoy using it
and if the sw don't block your creativeness, then you're actually using
the right one. (Despite what someone says)

I'll stick with Live 'cause I see great potential here.

Regards, Ken.

[wehkah]

I can really recommend you to use Live. Very creative workflow, easy to use. The clip function is very good to sketch some ideas and jamming live.

cheers
T

[chapelier fou]

Yep. perfect tool. I am feeding it with violin, guitars, bouzouki and all sort of instruments. Instruments and live are friends.

[kanuck]

are you making backing tracks only to practice over?

if that's the case I can't see a justification for a $500+ software. Do you have a mac? Garageband is free and has a bunch of loops with it.

Again, this is if you only want to use it for practicing.

[wehkah]

You could use Reaper, but Live is much more fun.

I use reaper too, very great it beats logic/cubase/samplitude, it's more a classic type of a DAW but very versatile an configurable. Live is more intuitive and more focused on live playing. I love to play with the launchpad.

Cheers
T

[simmerdown]

i found my way to Live for exactly the same purposes, i thought...wanted tracks to jam along with on bass, so i used a few free drum machines for a bit, then reaper, then found Live and never looked back...

whatever you are thinking you 'need' it for, i'll bet a dollar you will find 100 things to do with it you had not (could not) forsee...

Live has a way of expanding horizons