Moving: LOGIC -> LIVE SUITE - Any tips?

[Pathos V2]

Hello,

I´m new to Ableton Live Suite 7 and was previously working with Logic (still 5.5.).

I guess there have been more people doing this step before me.

Are there any tips, that you could share. I am especially interested in the best possibility to transfer my whole EXS 24 Library (many 1000 instruments) over to Live. What would be the easiest way?

I also have some older projects (midi/audio/VSTi) - that I would want to transfer to LIVE. What do you think would be the best way to transfer those projects - balancing out midi-editing possibilities and the soundquality if rendering midi tracks to audio files?

Anything else I should know or be aware of?

Many thanks for help?

Pathos V2

[Pitch Black]

I am especially interested in the best possibility to transfer my whole EXS 24 Library (many 1000 instruments) over to Live.

If you navigate to your EXS24's "Sampler Instruments" folder (sorry, not sure where it lives on PC) using Live's built-in browser, you just double-click on the EXS24 presets and they will automaticaly import as Sampler presets.

As far as I'm aware, you can't batch-convert all your EXS presets to Live's Sampler in one hit, you just open them as you need them, and they are translated and stored as Sampler presets.

The usual caveats apply when platform-shifting sample libraries, some things will need tweaking due to differences in filters/voice arcitecture etc, but in my experience the sample mapping comes out spot on.

Navigating to the original EXS presets:


Now translated into Sampler presets:


hope this helps!

[Pathos V2]

The EXS import works great - have to rebuild the original folder structure - but it´s OK - conversion is fast.

Thanks, first baby steps made -

so I recorded some midi clips in arrange view - now I want to quantize them together (or pitchshift the clips by 5 semitones),

I found out that quantize is possible by clicking on the clip - which opens the "key editor" and if I select the notes, I get the quantize option by right clicking. But what if I want to quantize all selected midi clips in one go...
Lets say to test a 51%swing against a 53%swing.

Thanks again for any insight.

[Pepehouse]

Are you mad? You know how to work Logic and are you going to move to Live? You'll miss lots of things from Logic specially the plugs and EXS Have you heard how Live sounds?

[Pathos V2]

Well, to me Live sounds great, as far as I can judge it from the first impressions, that I got playing around with plug-ins and synth. I wouldn´t say that Logic sounds better - maybe different - because the plugs/instruments do have slightly different math. But it´s all OK for me. I have multiple choices of mixing here in the studio - from analog to SSL-Soundscape-DSP .

So I found out about global groove - hey it can be automated, that´s cool for breaks, smile. I also found out, that I can select multiple audio clips at once and transpose them with different algos - so that is great.

However still no luck with selecting multiple midi clips and changing pitch or velocity for all.

So that is really one thing, that I miss already coming from Logic - the playback parameter boxes... but maybe I overlooked something? Or it is a different kind of workflow?

[Tarekith]

MIDI Editing in Live is just plain stone ages compared to Logic, you cna't do what you want basically. For the most part your editing options are limited to whatever you can manaully drag and drop, and adjusting velocity and CC's manually, that's it.

[Pathos V2]

Thanks for your judgement, however in the meantime I found out about the possibility to put "Midi-FX" with transpose and velocity parameters upfront the instruments. This is indeed pretty different - but it works on whole tracks and has - despite the more complicated nature - even more creative use under circumstances (compares a small bit to an "environment"-like function in logic.)

I´m open to go new ways, that´s not a problem.

What I still do not get is, how to create or record new tracks with the same instruments (but on a different track).

Lets say a got a drum programm and would want to record BD/SD on one track and than add the hihat with the same instrument on another track.

Sorry, forgive me if this sounds dumb to you, but any help would be apreciated.

[ThrowAway]

MIDI Editing in Live is just plain stone ages compared to Logic, you cna't do what you want basically. For the most part your editing options are limited to whatever you can manaully drag and drop, and adjusting velocity and CC's manually, that's it.

I thought it was something i was doing wrong, i cant stand it any more, Im getting logic.

[wiffbi]

What I still do not get is, how to create or record new tracks with the same instruments (but on a different track).

Lets say a got a drum programm and would want to record BD/SD on one track and than add the hihat with the same instrument on another track.

Sorry, forgive me if this sounds dumb to you, but any help would be apreciated.

The thing is, in Ableton you do not have channel strips and tracks, they are both the same. But there is something similar you can do: create the MIDI-track with your drum-instrument and set input monitoring on. Then create several empty MIDI-tracks and route their output to the MIDI-track with the drum-instrument on it.

[Pathos V2]

Hi Wiffbi and Pitch Black,

many thanks for your to the point answers - those helped me.

To the others:

I´m bored by Logic and V.5.5 on PC is giving me trouble - and the new Logic V 8.0 seems to have many stability problems. I will not jump to Apple. Live has been running fine so far without a glitch.

I also use the SSL Soundscape Editor for standard audio recording and editing (remote recordings, orchestra, choir etc).

Sow now I will check into the session view - am curious.

Looking forward.

[smutek]

Sow now I will check into the session view - am curious.

Looking forward.

Yes, please do! Session is what sets Live apart. It's what makes Live Live.

In my humble opinion at least.