5 ways to make Ableton Live 9 the best DAW ever!

[prime_id]

Im a old and loving user of Live and have converted 8 of my friends to it (seriously) , but I have read so much different wishes for live 9 lately.

I know development cost alot of money and Ableton will never be able to make a "perfect" application, but here is my attempt to write down what will make Live no excuse to change to from any other daw...

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1.Ghost clips.. why not?! As a programmer I know that in software..most is possible. Workflow will work 10 times better in arrangement window.

2.Curved automation.. Logic and Fl Studio has the overall advantage here! (I know it takes alot of cpu, but let us adjust the level of presicion).

3.Internal macro commands. (cubase and logic has the advantage here). Ableton should not be afraid that this will be too advanced for most users. I feel that most ableton users have a overall coverage of its common features already.

4.Automation clips inside track. Copy, paste, cut.. you name it.! (including midi automation). Including track internal "ghost" feature.

5.Macro controls: Midi envelope and Editable curved control!

(for sound designers this will be such a big breaktrough when making "new" moving sounds that is not possible with most vst and insternal instruments today.
---------------------------------------------------

I feel that clip envelope recording and better send features etc. also will make live better, but my list is what I see as crucial features that have no workarounds today. I feel that ableton should focus on this kinds of features. We can live with workarounds! but not impossibilities!
This is of course my words, but I want you all to write your ideas here...

Please ask if you dont understand what im trying to explain.

And please edit my list with anything you want, but keep it inside "5 ways"...


Thanks for responses in advance. Pausing in music making and drinking wine


Magnus
http://soundcloud.com/prime_id

[hatefish]

simple and effective...

I would add clearer interface:

1. better font definition

2. there are too much "straight lines" in the track view. they don't help in driving the eyes and keeping the focus on what you are doing (ghost tracks like in protools could help as well)

3. some standard curves for automations they will speed up a lot the job of macking tons of automation during the mix

4. exporting the mix console in the track view

here you are my two pennies of wisdom

[prime_id]

Bump

[prime_id]

Bump 2x!

[friend_kami]

i've said it a thousand times and i will continue to say it another thousand times if neccessary; if you can click it, you should be able to map it.

also include something like clyphx, please. maxforlive is great but not everyone would like to sit down and read a manual the size of a country in order to make something simple that they need on the spot. in short, maxforlive stops workflow. it of course adds to workflow when the devices are finished, though.

clyphx scripting is dead simple and will not stop workflow at all. just too bad that it's limited to certain things right now because it's basically a workaround instead of something completely integrated.

better arrangement view in general. talk to cockos and ask them if you could co-develop your arrangement view with them.
reaper is simply amazing. it also has jesusonic, making it even more amazing.

i use live 100%, but not by choice really. working with several dws and bouncing back and forth stops workflow, so i settle for the lack just about everything int eh arrangement view to get the benefits that live offers; racks, modular sound design and audio fuckery. however it is painful, and as soon as someone comes up that has the same approach with the racks and the devices (+ a minimal interface to boot) i will be out the door faster then you can say "kewl, a new daw", simply because live doesn't cut it.

either focus on the studio part of live more, or simply drop it and focus on the live performance part. an halfassed almost-live almost-studio package is just bad for business, as we've seen lately.

edit: oh, and the freaking ability to insert devices via a richclick context menu. going through that freaking browser finding the device is a pain in the ass. i know i can use the search, but have you seen how unergonomic those shortcuts are?

which brings me to this; customisable shortcuts. seriously.
also the ability to select collect all and save as default. i know you can do that via keyboard settings on a mac, but my hackintosh desktop died and i'm stuck on windows, so don't tell me dammit.

[hec]

Totally agree with what's been said about enhancements to the arrangement view, and focus on the studio side of Live.

1. Design. The previous poster is 100% correct. There are too many lines and the eyes wander, some thought in that regard would be nice.

2. The ability to HIDE clips in clip view. Sometimes you want to focus on your faders and MIX. Live's flexibility is incredible and I wouldn't change it for the world but there does come a time where we need to stop producing and focus on faders.

3. That brings me to the next point - improved faders. It's hard to take Lives faders and metering serious right now. I don't know if it's the design or what but they're by default so small and secondary. Volume is SOOO important in music production and mixing, it would be nice if that was considered.

4. Custom shortcuts. This is just a no brainer, there are things like muting/turning off clips that need shortcuts. Zooming on laptops is annoying because you have to use shift. Everything in Live is so flexible it's a surprise shortcuts are left out.

5. More accurate timeline. When a session gets busy Live starts to fall apart and one of the main annoyances is looking at the timeline. The cursor will be completely out of sync and when you're trying to edit automation etc it's a nightmare. So I guess overall stability is what I'm really suggesting here.

Otherwise, Live is amazing. I'm an ex Pro Tools user and while I miss the refinement of Pro Tools, Ableton just offers more innovation but they need to get to that level of professional quality Avid has achieved and then skys the limit.

[beubbo]

1 - 1000x agree with the "too many lines" - a.k.a JAIL feeling - in Arrangement View.
I would add to that the same lack of visual comfort for Midi clips when doing some deep editings in a busy clip.
One way to soften this Jail-feeling would be to have the downbeats, or depending on the zoom level, the strongest subdivisions in bold lines and all the other subdivisions in much, much more thinner lines almost like some shadow lines... well, you get the picture.
It could be even customizable per Live's set - depending if you're doing production (less/thinner intermediates lines) or live gigs (more/bolder lines) - to suit each user's need.

2 - 1000x agree for Live's Browser that could greatly benefit from some smart enhancements.
First thing first : more browser's buttons, at least 2x more (6 instead of 3). BUT, this could be specified in Preferences for those who can't afford screen estate (13" laptops) to stay at 3 buttons and for those with >23" screens to specify 6,9,12... buttons !
Second : COLORS !! Yes, colors like in Mac OS X Finder (don't know for Whinedoses sOS...). It could greatly enhance the Browser's experience by code-coloring all those annoying "single-look" folders or make some samples (loops/one shots) more obvious & distinguishable from the horde or revealing some important custom made clips/presets, you name it...
Third : editable Browser's Bookmarks. IOW, the possibility to reorder them and ultimately to put them in sub/contextual menues.
And last but not least : comment like in iTunes! Would be gr8t to have a space where to write some useful annotations for any sample/clip/preset... even folders!

3 - Smart zooming. There should be a way to zoom in/out in a much more effective/smarter way. Something like a kind of Undo/Redo list of the 5 or 10 last zooming steps. That is, when you zoom in (with the mouse or +/- keys) pressing on some modifier key or a combinaison of keys while clicking sequentially should allow to zoom out backward by the respective zoom in steps in reverse order.

4 - 1000x agree for including Track's Playlists feature, a.k.a Virtual Track, Alternate Take... simply mandatory for serious recording sessions !

5 - I would add to that shrunken list of "only" 5 ways to make LiVE the best DAW ever : "Composite Take" feature like in Motu Digital Performer 7 which has one of the most simple & effective way to compile the best takes from a bunch of virtual tracks after a cycle-loop recording session.

[mrdelurk]

Being able to specify separate "Audio Devices" in Preferences for input and output. (As an option)

Right now, if I use the Yamaha MOX8 synth as an audio interface for Ableton Live with the Yamaha Steinberg USB ASIO driver, I can plug an external audio source into the MOX8's A/D inputs, and sling it right out the USB port into Ableton Live, which records it promptly. But I won't be able to hear what I'm doing, as the Steinberg driver routes Live's master out right back out to USB instead of the computer's audio out/s.

To hear what I recorded, I can set "Audio Device" in Preferences back to the computer's standard driver, then the recorded snippet (and everything else) will play on the computer's speakers. But then the MOX8 won't send audio to Live anymore through USB, only MIDI information.

The only way (other than a better Steinberg driver...) to make this work would be to be able to select separate "Audio Devices" in Preferences for input and output: the Steinberg driver for input, and the standard driver for output.

[Muzik 4 Machines]

detachable mixer in multitrack view please
ability to have headers on the left
program changes to scene
curved enveloppes
user defined keymapping of functions+apple/alt/shift click actions/alternate tools(a la logic)
splice tool, consolidate tool
ability to select only clips and not whitespace when shift selecting

[aj1978]

5 things that would improve ableton

1.pattern/step sequencer like in FL studio, Sonar, Cubase. with ability to play slices, add Fx to indivdual parts etc
2.abilty to use max for live devices without having to buy max for live.
3.better quality sound engine. i dont know about anyone else. but i think ableton doesnt sound as good as cubase and even fl studio.
4.improved layout. some of the fonts can be hard to read.
5.cant think of anything else....yet

[Steo]

Custom mapping with OSC !!!

If you can click it you can map it. Right But I need to map it with OSC !!

((Steo))

[radiokoala]

Custom mapping with OSC !!!

If you can click it you can map it. Right But I need to map it with OSC !!

((Steo))

http://createdigitalmusic.com/2010/03/h ... e-control/

Uhm, you haven't seen this already, right?

[RumbleMonk]

I sooo want better freeze track functionality. I just posted what I think is a good solution on this thread:

http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php? ... 5#p1348975

Actually if we'll get good macro commands freezing will probably be easier as well..

[petit nuage]

imo live will be the best with that features :


- BOUNCE IN PLACE /audio destructive with the possibility to apply an fx to a clip and cliC apply to transform it in a new audio clip, printing the fx directly.

- FX AUTOMATION IN SESSION VIEW.


- AUTOSLICE FUNCTION : whan you put a long audio file in arrangement you could auto-slice it by transients or grid and after that maybe you want to throw the micro samples into drum rack..or just arrange it directly here .


- MULTIMIDI LINES : possibility to have ALL midi part in one arranger window ,color coded ,which is very important for couterpoint and arrangment in general .


- BETTER VIEW and RESOLUTION in arrangement/ and CONVOLUTION DEVICE :make the arrangement view more clear ,precise, smooth, friendly, with better waveform resolution and a convolution device with a library of good hardware and vintage impulses from eqs ,comps ,reverbes ,amps ,cabinets etc...


soo i hope ...

[sashazane]

i've said it a thousand times and i will continue to say it another thousand times if neccessary; if you can click it, you should be able to map it.

also include something like clyphx, please. maxforlive is great but not everyone would like to sit down and read a manual the size of a country in order to make something simple that they need on the spot. in short, maxforlive stops workflow. it of course adds to workflow when the devices are finished, though.

clyphx scripting is dead simple and will not stop workflow at all. just too bad that it's limited to certain things right now because it's basically a workaround instead of something completely integrated.

better arrangement view in general. talk to cockos and ask them if you could co-develop your arrangement view with them.
reaper is simply amazing. it also has jesusonic, making it even more amazing.

i use live 100%, but not by choice really. working with several dws and bouncing back and forth stops workflow, so i settle for the lack just about everything int eh arrangement view to get the benefits that live offers; racks, modular sound design and audio fuckery. however it is painful, and as soon as someone comes up that has the same approach with the racks and the devices (+ a minimal interface to boot) i will be out the door faster then you can say "kewl, a new daw", simply because live doesn't cut it.

either focus on the studio part of live more, or simply drop it and focus on the live performance part. an halfassed almost-live almost-studio package is just bad for business, as we've seen lately.

edit: oh, and the freaking ability to insert devices via a richclick context menu. going through that freaking browser finding the device is a pain in the ass. i know i can use the search, but have you seen how unergonomic those shortcuts are?

which brings me to this; customisable shortcuts. seriously.
also the ability to select collect all and save as default. i know you can do that via keyboard settings on a mac, but my hackintosh desktop died and i'm stuck on windows, so don't tell me dammit.

I COULDN"T AGREE MORE Jonh c. Dvorak predicted the mouse would never succeed.. well it succeeded.. succeeded to give a generation carpal tunnel!! I, in 2015 am looking to BUY, not steal or get for free. a piece of software that incorporates all the shit you need to patch together as in ikey and the others, doing so leaves the hand so fucked why bother.