Ableton Forum

I am still using Live 6, but thinking about doing the discounted 8 -> 9 Upgrade before Live 9 is released.
Unfortunately the beta is only open for Live 8 users this time, so I am not able to check Live 9 out myself
before the official release.

I know about the features of Live 9 and all information that is available to the public.
And I know that beta talk belongs to the beta forum (which I don't have access to), but it
would be great if someone could share his impressions concerning stability of the recent beta
which should be close to RC by now...

Personally I am mainly interested in experiences on Windows XP and 7.

Stability is not good, new features are just a few, lots of very handy features have been removed.
But if you have the money and plan to use Push, the beast looks great.
BTW, if you have the money, the upgrade to 8 is well recommended, a lot of terrific things have been added between 6 and 8 and it's worth the upgrade, really.

honestly, it just depends who you ask.....there is no "one answer" to such a question. everybody's setup varies, and stability depends much on what + how many plugins, which plugins, system, external gear, etc etc etc....

Valiumdupeuple wrote:Stability is not good, new features are just a few, lots of very handy features have been removed.
But if you have the money and plan to use Push, the beast looks great.
BTW, if you have the money, the upgrade to 8 is well recommended, a lot of terrific things have been added between 6 and 8 and it's worth the upgrade, really.

you really should post your system specs

and what are the very handy features that have been removed?

I personally have no problem with stability, but there's a lot of complaints on the beta forum.
I only use native Live+m4l devices.
Removed: - "print" automations in arrangement view, that is a real pitty, that means you can't set your plugin parameters and hit record to print the values on a region anymore. Now, if you need to automate let's say 8 parameters (with a fixed value) for a clip, you have to set the desired value while recording, i.e launch record before the clip, move your knob and praise for reaching the good value before the playhead reach your clip, and repeat the operation for all of your 8 parameters. Until now you just had to (loop) the clip and set your parameters; and when you had the sound you want, just hit the record button during the region you need those values to be printed on.
- alt-arrows to navigate in the program,
- the ability to create shortcuts for the different browser locations (at least possible with osx in previous versions), the volume transpose and pan easy access buttons in the clip editor (now you have to scroll the menus, and there's a lot of blank space in the panel)
these are just a few on the top of my head...

It is more stable then any version so far.
Actually very FEW topics on the Beta forum are about stability.
If there is a stability issue, they are mostly concerning one persons specific setup, but really nothing general or applicable to more persons.

Valiumdupeuple wrote:...
Removed: - "print" automations in arrangement view, that is a real pitty, that means you can't set your plugin parameters and hit record to print the values on a region anymore. Now, if you need to automate let's say 8 parameters (with a fixed value) for a clip, you have to set the desired value while recording, i.e launch record before the clip, move your knob and praise for reaching the good value before the playhead reach your clip, and repeat the operation for all of your 8 parameters. Until now you just had to (loop) the clip and set your parameters; and when you had the sound you want, just hit the record button during the region you need those values to be printed on.
...

This is an annoying change to be sure, but wouldn't a better work around be to save the settings as a preset?

The early versions were pretty unstable espceially with some of the Max devices, but it now seems pretty solid. As you'd expect from beta testing I suppose.

My main problem is with the new browser, which has a couple of good points but is mostly a huge pain in the arse. But I guess if I'm reduced to whining about the browser the rest is probably pretty good.

This is an annoying change to be sure, but wouldn't a better work around be to save the settings as a preset?

Ok, you didn't get what I mean, but it might be because of my english.

Look at this:
http://tete-de-son.com/L9/Gone%20Automa ... eature.mov

This is not possible in L9 anymore...

I think the new clip automation will serve live performers better than the old method. After all, it's called "Live." Arrange view is useless to me since I perform my arrangement live and use arrange to simply record my sets. Clip automation is awesome.

Yep, but theres's also people who use the arrangement view extensively. I use both, for very different tasks. The new features are really great for the session view. But the arrangement has just went backward.

Valiumdupeuple wrote:

This is an annoying change to be sure, but wouldn't a better work around be to save the settings as a preset?

Ok, you didn't get what I mean, but it might be because of my english.

Look at this:
http://tete-de-son.com/L9/Gone%20Automa ... eature.mov

This is not possible in L9 anymore...

+1

this specific matter has been reported on the beta forum.

I agree that it seems obvious a lot of such will not be resolved for the 5th march release.
I even think they keep some feature request for live 10.

Don't expect multiple monitor display support for live 9.
just an example amongst lot of others.

Valiumdupeuple wrote:Yep, but theres's also people who use the arrangement view extensively. I use both, for very different tasks. The new features are really great for the session view. But the arrangement has just went backward.

Uh-oh! I've just been watching videos of session view and presumed that similar improvements were made in arrangement view. But if arrangement has gone backwards, then ouch. Being a songwriter, arrangement view is crucial to me. Why would they worsen features? That misses the point of upgrading and software development.

The browser was also a key improvement, I thought. Now people are saying it's no good. My excitement is fading!

The increase in stability from Live 8 to Live 9 was one of the main reasons I ended up getting Live 9. The beta has been solid as a rock for me through who knows how many dozens of hours of use. There was a huge bug between Live 9 and a VST I was using, and it was the VST that was the issue. Other than that non-Ableton-caused crash, I haven't had a single one. It's been like a dream come true after all the trouble I've had with Live 8.

So yes, for me, a maaassssive increase in stability.

If you're using live and live devices only it should work well. I use Arturia spark and I get CPU spikes and audio drop outs when trying to use the oberheim filter in live. I am running an i7 920, 9 GB of ram, 1TB windows 7 x64 system. Arturia Spark works well with Studio one V2. There are no dropouts or CPU spikes. Spark runs a little more stable on 8 for me. So my current workaround is to write my loops in studio one and rearrange those loops back in live to build pattern ideas.