Ableton Forum

h3rtz wrote:

jestermgee wrote: I love the drum rack even more than using battery and normally wrap all my other drum machines (battery, EZ Drummer etc) into a drum rack first.

Sorry for the offtopic, but would you mind elaborating on how you do that? I'd love to have battery in a drum rack.

Back on topic, i use operator and analog for bread und butter sounds that dont get highlighted in the mix. More prominent stuff is done using cakewalk, sugar bytes, ni.

edit: and korg, lots of klc!

Found it myself

In case anyone cares:

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=197796

Does anyone actually use Abletons built in instruments?

No.

slicedbread wrote:regarding the tiny ui's for the built-in stuff... i'm also a bit mixed about that. i love the consistency and ability to use macros, but it is limiting for some busy ui's, especially some ml4 devices. i wish there where an option to pop up a larger version in a modal/modeless window so you could park the whole device/rack on another screen... maybe with a dummy rack grayed out in its place when the window is opened. sounds like a huge ui challenge to allow for re-render at a different aspect ratio/size though.

oh yueah the other thing is I have to use the magnifier in windows when I spend alot of time designing on operator or analog.....so it would be nice to zoom on those but I just use the magnifier......i've downloaded other plugin synths and actually i find the analog and op are much better guis than the others, they are very simple and bland and thats what I like...I dont like all the wood ppanelling and scrtipty writing and screws there all unnessarery/

you could use the zoom on display within live itself

With m4l devices there is always there is always the option of creating a floating window interface. I've found that if I use Live as a grid of clips to be triggered using a simple controller having lots of windows open gets in the way of a performance. So I get why there aren't more floating window devices in Live. Ui design is always a compromise, I'm glad that ableton haven't skeumorphed everything.

Absolutely, the floating windows is what makes me not use vst's except on sends (where I never see them after the set up).

I think the way Ableton treated EQ8 is the way to go for a GUI redesign.

TomViolenz wrote:
...and they all have that weird reality imitating approach to their design...

I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Have to admit I really don't get that whole design philosophy, I like Ableton's approach to unification. Something of a noob to Live but I use the Drum Racks and Collision.

Regards,

Hell yeah and I believe that topic has been covered eons ago. just use a little thing called search.

9white5 wrote: Are they worth learning\using at all, and do they bring anything to the table that vsts dont? I'd just like to know if im missing out on anything by not using them

I use Operator for much, not only FM but also Analog type sounds. I also have FM8, but it's taking longer to explore.

I use Electric, mostly for presets that I tweak, when I need electric pianos mainly.

I thought I'd be using Sampler, but so far I haven't used it for much, but exploring some sliced drum loops now, so will try its features. I do have Kontakt as well, but haven't even fired it up. Simpler is in use when I don't need more.

I use Drum racks all the time and love it, but I'm disappointed with I have to workaround its limitations when I want to trig sounds in my drum machine plugs. I have MIDI on one track that also have samples and send MIDI events to the drum machine on another track (also use grouped individual outputs there). You can use the plug on the pad, but then you need one instance per pad, which is wasteful.

I thought I'd be getting into Tension, but after I got Razor, I don't have the need.

Sampler is brilliant. It's one of the reasons I still use Live. Operator is rather useful too - for pure FM stuff I prefer FM8 but Operator does that draw your own waveform thing which is great.

Analog is just horrible. It just annoys me every time I see it in the side bar of Live. Never was a plugin more incorrectly named. Do the designers even know how envelopes on a synth work?

Tension is interesting. I don't use it that much but it can do some way things that other synths just don't do.

Tony

I would use Operator if I could afford it. I use all u-he Synths and IL Harmor.

I use them quite a bit out of laziness and CPU. Operator for synth, analog for mono leads mainly. Sometimes I'll just cruise the browser and if I find an interesting sound I'll load it regardless of what's making it. Then I'll see it's collision and delete it haha. ...I should really learn collision.

9white5 wrote:I love ableton, but find that i rarely use its host instruments.
I do like operators wave editing capabilities, samplers alright too for standard resampling, and i use drum rack and analog occasionally, but the rest get absolutely no use from me. (Collision, Electric, Impulse, Simpler and Tension)

Are they worth learning\using at all, and do they bring anything to the table that vsts dont? I'd just like to know if im missing out on anything by not using them, Ive been spending so much time invested in plug-ins that i've completely forgotten about the ones that i own by default

Thanks a lot!

If u use the drum Rack then u probably also use Simpler.

Simpler is great for what it does.

Most of Abletons instruments are kind of obscure. I think the synths aren't bad, it is just the presets. Reason's synths are probably worse (although Malstrom and Thor are nice) but the presets are better if that makes sense.

But Operator is cool. Analog is okay. Sampler is good for Abletons built in sounds. The other synths are more experimental.


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

The Suite sounds could be a lot better though. I do like the Orchestral stuff though.

Logic (and even Reason) comes with better sounds.

jlgrimes wrote:
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!

TomViolenz wrote:But Reverb, Amp, Phaser, Flanger?! No way!

I agree. The phaser and flanger are really quite disappointing. Shame really.

I quite like the reverb. It does that late 80s Yamaha reverb sound quite nicely. Less useful for other stuff though, and these days I prefer Valhalla.

Tony