Midi Editor "smart" snap-give us an option to turn it off!

[Michael Hatsis]

Still using Live 8 because of a few changes that hinder my workflow. Was working on a project that a friend started in 9, so I had to use v9 ( in case forumites are wondering i have an NFR version, i would not pay for it, nor would I pirate it ). The "smart" snapping in the midi editor is super frustrating. I doesnt work all of the time.
I play in notes w quantize off, then drag them around to line them up a little better. this process takes more time than it should because of this 'smart' snapping nonsense.
There are times when the notes don't snap to the grid and I have to end up moving the note back and forth for a few seconds to get it to lock in place on the grid line. Also, i know when you drag the note past one grid value the 'smart' snap is temporarily turned off for that action. Not all the time though.
I dont have time to figure out exactly when it fails. Please just give us an option to turn this off. Lots of people complained about this change in the L9 Beta and you did nothing. People still complain about it and you have done nothing.
If you are going to ad features that don't work, or are controversial please add an option to turn them off. In the end, its about the user experience. and a simple feature to turn off this attribute is not going to make your software too complex for the average user.
Also, picture someone new coming over to Live from a different DAW. They see this 'smart' snap attribute ( not gonna call it a feature ) and see that it doesn't work, that its cumbersome...they figure the software is buggy and move on. A new user is not going to be figuring out workarounds for something he/she doesn't fully understand.

Mike

[Michael Hatsis]

Everyone is cool w this?

Mike

[siliconarc]

a search for 'smart snap' on here will give you the answer.
personally, i think it sucks. Live 8's snap behavior was perfectly fine: it snapped, or you held cmd to unsnap it.
no idea why they changed it to something seemingly less precise, and has zero benefits over the old system.
but ableton ignored the many protestings in the 9 beta and it's here to stay. suck it up mike!

[yur2die4]

Maybe instead of 'Smart Snap' they should call it 'AssUMe Snap'

[Michael Hatsis]

a search for 'smart snap' on here will give you the answer.
personally, i think it sucks. Live 8's snap behavior was perfectly fine: it snapped, or you held cmd to unsnap it.
no idea why they changed it to something seemingly less precise, and has zero benefits over the old system.
but ableton ignored the many protestings in the 9 beta and it's here to stay. suck it up mike!

Thanks the reply. i did a quick search, most of the "smart snap' stuff seemed buried in other threads. So i figured i'd start another.
And no! I will not suck it up. This is seriously ridiculous! I have other complaints about v9. But i just remember that so many people complained about this in the beta stage and I was working in 9 the other night and this came up. Suffice to say, it was infuriating... Trying to finish up a tune and getting bent out of shape because i have to waste time lining up a note on a defined and visible grid- and i can't make it happen without dragging the note all over the midi editor and back.
Not adding an option to turn this off just shows total lack of respect for loyal users and customers.


Mike

[siliconarc]

[Synthbuilder]

I'm going to bump this.

Let's have an option to go back to Live 8 snap please.

[timday]

Bump. Smart snap is horrible. It's marginally better in 9.1 (vertical movement now snaps to grid but you still have to be really careful with it)but it is still a piece of crap. What was wrong with using the alt key to disable snapping if you wanted to go off grid?

I know how to use the arrow keys but guess what I'd like to be able to use a mouse or trackpad without it screwing up like I can on every other MIDI editor in the entire world.

[SKerkewitz]

I'm with you. Ableton Live has so many places where you could improve the UX - but for some strange reason they decided it is much more important to break a completely fine feature.

I'm really hoping Bitwig will be a success. Not so much because I want to buy it - but I really hope Ableton get a lot more pressure to get there shit together.

[Michael Hatsis]

I'm with you. Ableton Live has so many places where you could improve the UX - but for some strange reason they decided it is much more important to break a completely fine feature.

I'm really hoping Bitwig will be a success. Not so much because I want to buy it - but I really hope Ableton get a lot more pressure to get there shit together.

You can turn 'smart snap' off in Bitwig

Mike

[ttilberg]

I personally would prefer an option. There's a lot of things in Live that I wish had the option to enable/disable.

I personally prefer the new snapping method, but it took me a while to come to terms with it, and I fully agree that it's not for everyone.

[yur2die4]

I feel that people who USE Live's midi editing a lot, like those posting their frustration in this thread, are those who would have the most accurate and qualified feedback of what does and does not work for it.

Clearly it is a problem. I also understand that a Ableton consider it to be a new 'feature' on their list of things which they use as a selling point for Live 9. And they probably invested a great deal of time putting it together.

But in the end it is all about usability. An extra option for people who find the new method intolerable would really be for the best. I see most people saying they want the 'option'. They see the potential benefits of the new feature, but they need a Normal method for getting things Done without having to curse at their computer.

From a business aspect, if you bought a bunch of pink toasters, thinking they'd be all the rage next season, only to find they aren't so hot after all, you need to Liquidate, and move forward with what Does work for people.

[Michael Hatsis]

I feel that people who USE Live's midi editing a lot, like those posting their frustration in this thread, are those who would have the most accurate and qualified feedback of what does and does not work for it.

Clearly it is a problem. I also understand that a Ableton consider it to be a new 'feature' on their list of things which they use as a selling point for Live 9. And they probably invested a great deal of time putting it together.

But in the end it is all about usability. An extra option for people who find the new method intolerable would really be for the best. I see most people saying they want the 'option'. They see the potential benefits of the new feature, but they need a Normal method for getting things Done without having to curse at their computer.

From a business aspect, if you bought a bunch of pink toasters, thinking they'd be all the rage next season, only to find they aren't so hot after all, you need to Liquidate, and move forward with what Does work for people.

exactly. I like how Ableton doesn't have a million options like other software ( or i did until Live 9 ) but sometimes you need one, especially when you have something that does not work properly and which so many people have complained about.


Mike

[pencilrocket]

Bump for renaming it Dumb-snap!

[Angstrom]

I would like an option for basic "notes are on a grid" snapping. As I greatly prefer the Live 8 snapping method, so I would prefer that as an option.