So, how long have YOU been using Ableton Live?

[Tarekith]

Just curious, anyone remember about when they first started using it?

[Kent_in_CO]

My first experience with Live was around 2006/2007. Reason was my gateway drug into production. Once I discovered Ableton I never looked back. My first DAW was an old windows program called N-track way back in the late-90's.

I remember being frustrated with the learning curve in Ableton. One of the old editions of the Ableton Live Power! books was a big help.

Kent // seven7hwave // www.seven7hwave.com

[chapelier fou]

I was using an illegal version of 4. I started enjoying it and decided to buy when they launched live 5.

[mmorgan]

The later part of Live 8 life cycle.

[Angstrom]

I think I tried v2 and didn't get the interest because at the time I was using Cubase and acid, I couldn't make Live V2 do what I needed (no midi). I grabbed version 4 because it could actually do midi!

In fact, I think at the time I had just seen Jamie Liddell performing live and thought "I really need to find a way to perform as fluidly as he is doing". Some of his friends told me he used Ableton Live to perform, so I looked at it again. Turns out they were completely wrong because he actually used a really basic Max patch and some actual talent, but their mistaken assumption got me in the door.

2004 was the year, and we wore onions on our belts, which was the style at the time.

[TomViolenz]

My sign up date here, is pretty close to my start.

About a year before I had dabbled with the Garageband install that came free with my MacBook. Thought it would be fun, but it didn't click with me at all.

Then I suddenly happened upon a lot of free time and a Live 8 install on a roommates MBPro, took a sample he had of some bird singing, put a PingPong Delay, a BeatRepeat and some other effects on the track and played like in trance with all the parameters for hours.

Got Live 8 for myself immediately after and I don't think there has been one day since that I have not wasted at least an hour with it

[borg]

v1.5 around signup date. Cubase on atari with minidisk as medium before that... Tried cubase VST very briefly, but never liked it (G3 era)

[koranek]

I think it was around 2003.

The requirements on the back of the box. There is no version on the box.

Mac: G3 or faster; 128 Mbytes of ram; CD-ROM drive, Mac OS 8.6 or higher; 256 color monitor; 800 x 600 pixels.

PC: 300 Mhz CPU or faster; 64 Mbytes of RAM (128 MB recommended); Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, 2000, or later;

[yur2die4]

Probably version 2 or 3 around '03/04?? Not exactly sure. I saw Brian Transeau using it, messed with it, had no clue what was going on.

Now I'm pretty familiar with it

Prior to that:
Mtv music generator on Playstation
And a little bit of fruity loops.

Once I got the concepts of Live, it was pretty cool, but the addition of midi arrangement blew my fucking mind.

[UncleAge]

Dabbled mid 2006. Took a real interest in 2007.

[agent314]

Was a Cakewalk/Sonar user from 2004 til 2010 or so.

Downloaded a torrent of 8 around 2009 or so, couldn't make heads or tails of it and thought it was a clumsy, counterintuitive workflow. Didn't know the difference between Session and Arrangement view, so clicking the clip launch button and having it not start until the next bar made no sense to me. I couldn't stand it.

One day in late 2009/early 2010, I decided I was going to figure out what the hell the big deal with Ableton was once and for all, since so many people were so enthusiastic about it.

Sat down and started poking around with clips, and somehow Session view just clicked for me. It blew my mind, and I was immediately hooked by the possibilities.

I got a new job in spring 2010, and used my first paycheck to buy a legit copy of Suite 8.

Haven't looked back since

[Matt_Quinn]

I was using an illegal version of 4. I started enjoying it and decided to buy when they launched live 5.

Same for me except 7 & 8 instead of 4 & 5, so 2009 for me. The addition of Looper pushed me over the edge, I was into hardware loopers before Live.

[oblique strategies]

Version 1
2002

Before that:
Multiple cassette decks
8-track cassette deck
About a thousand cassette tapes
CD decks
Analog mixer
External signal processors
Percussion instruments
Mics
SKB rack cases for hauling most of it around for performances...

Synthesizers & keyboards appeared & disappeared, & were represented primarily on tape.

The occasional Pro Tools session.

[infernal.machine]

I use Bitwig

[chrissobo13]

Well I first got into DAWs in college. I was on Logic having a blast. So I thought I'd look into what is available for Windows, since I didn't have a Mac, and came across Ableton. I downloaded it, loved it, bought it, and here I am now I didn't know anything about electronic music, but I took a intro class my final semester. That pretty much opened the flood gates, and I haven't written any concert or purely acoustic music in 6 years.