Does anyone actually use Abletons built in instruments?

[Nick Shepherd]

used "Operator" a lot in the past, not so much since i got a Yamaha TX7

"Sampler" is still my bread&butter go-to sampler aside from Kontakt

not so much into the other Suite instruments, aside from the good old "Drumracks" that i still like a lot

[jlgrimes]

Now Abletons effects are dope though and IMO compete very well with other DAWs including Logic if u get Suite.

Really?! Which ones do you mean? I would agree with EQ8 and both Compressors. But Reverb, Amp, Phaser, Flanger?! No way!

Now that you mention the Reverb, you are right I don't use that at all. The Convolution is okay though for Max4Live. I'm not a heavy Reverb person though. Logic's Reverb is better. If Ableton could just pick one effect to improve one IMO it should be the Reverb.

Don't use phaser that much either, but the Flanger has its sweet spots (as well as the Chorus). Most DAWs tend to have mediocre Flangers and Choruses anyways.


Live's Compressors and EQ8 though are some of my favorite DAW compressors and EQs. I also love the Saturator, Ping Pong Delays, Vinyl, Beat Repeat, and a few other ones for the weirder stuff.



That said I'm pretty new to Logic so I haven't tried all of its effects but alot of Logic's effects seem pretty old (although Delay Designer and Space Designer seemed pretty cool), but I remember back like 10 years ago when most folks agreed Logic pound for pound had the best effects out of any DAW (it probably still does because of the instruments, but I think the effect gap is closing now).

[regretfullySaid]

I like Live's reverb but it wouldn't be my choice if I wanted a traditional 'real' sounding reverb. It's still really great for adding some presence and dimension to sounds and is rightfully famous for cutting through a mix, which makes it great for an impact effect.
As an exception I think it's very capable as a room reverb

Flanger and Phaser always sounded thin to me, even when my ears were green. Maybe they'd be good for making risers but even synthedit freebies are better.

I'd say give Live's reverb a chance when you just want a little extra something though, especially for individual drums.
Know what all the controls do and keep the Wet low.
Same for a whole mix, actually. If everything is really dry, just a touch of reverb, maybe even on it's default setting but turning the Wet down, will give it a nice sense of space, like it actually sounds like it's playing in a room or small club.

[IP]

right now i use all of them and exclusively. 100% ableton live.
very happy especially after the conv. in MAX (i still want a better algorithmic but ok)

[TomViolenz]

I like Live's reverb but it wouldn't be my choice if I wanted a traditional 'real' sounding reverb. It's still really great for adding some presence and dimension to sounds and is rightfully famous for cutting through a mix, which makes it great for an impact effect.
As an exception I think it's very capable as a room reverb

Flanger and Phaser always sounded thin to me, even when my ears were green. Maybe they'd be good for making risers but even synthedit freebies are better.

I'd say give Live's reverb a chance when you just want a little extra something though, especially for individual drums.
Know what all the controls do and keep the Wet low.
Same for a whole mix, actually. If everything is really dry, just a touch of reverb, maybe even on it's default setting but turning the Wet down, will give it a nice sense of space, like it actually sounds like it's playing in a room or small club.

I have the Valhallas now and there is luckily never the need to anymore. The reason Lives Reverb cuts thru (IMO) is because it's so obvious, almost tacked on. That's not a sound, I look for. The only reason why I tried it just lately again, was because I thought it might be low on CPU usage, but it's really not all that low. An instance (just loaded) took up 1-2% of my CPU while the much better sounding Valhalla Vintage takes up less than 1% (it doesn't even move the CPU meter when you turn it on/off).

I admit though that this is comparing a DAW included Reverb against one of the best in the lower price segment.

But if they look to updating their effects to the high quality standard that they have set with EQ8 and the Glue Compressor, Reverb is certainly the one to look at first!

[regretfullySaid]

Right well like I said, not to think of it as a traditional reverb ie Valhalla, but I still find it useful for light ambience or impacts.
Obviously a high-quality algorthim like Valahalla or convolution is the way to go for more realistic simulation, but I still find it useful, just not when I want to use as an intended-to-sound-as-a-reverb reverb.

Between the decade of impulses I've collected and Toraverb, I'm set for traditional reverbs, though I expect to add ValhallaRoom at some point.

[NoSonic822]

the reverb is awesome and the flanger is awesome too. people down lives fx and operator because they look very bland, but sonically theyre incredibly well built and powerful

but some of them, like the chorus, i dont find it very good. and chorpus and erosion i dont find useful

[eyeknow]

Interesting you said that about the chorus because I too find it a little weak.

[TomViolenz]

the reverb is awesome and the flanger is awesome too. people down lives fx and operator because they look very bland, but sonically theyre incredibly well built and powerful

I'm not sure wether I want to have your ears, or don't.....
Would make life easier I guess.

[NoSonic822]

actually i take it back, chorus is reallly good, you just have to know how to work it

[mikb]

I use the Live reverb and delay for the recording monitor, but am more inclined to other reverbs and delays for mixdown. In the end it's not about how the effect sounds on it's own, it's more about how it sounds in the mix. Subtle is often better and as always you need to know how to work it.

I can't say about the effects in Logic as I haven't used it since version 8, but I remember them as pretty good, but still not my choice.