Newbie : Full Live 8 or APC40 with lite version

[Mapleking]

Hi,

My name is Nico and I am in my 40's and never did music except playing my huge vinyl collection on my turntable

I would like to start doing some production in Pantha Du Prince, Four Tet, Bonobo style mostly from samples of my vinyls and sounds recorded around as I don't play any instrument.

Actually I have a Macbook and a Mackie Spike for recording some LP's. I am planning to use Live with an Akai LPK25 as basic setup.

As I have budget for either Live 8 Full version or the APC40 with Live Lite, which woulb be the best to start with ?

Having full version will give me more functions, but playing with the APC seems to add some fun as I am already working the full day on a computer.

What you guys that have some experience think ?

Thanks,

Nico

[4.33]

buy the apc40 and pirate live8.. or... buy live8 and shoplift the apc40... wait, it's too big - go for apc20 instead!

but seriously you'd want full version, cuz it haz Sampler, which would be essential in your case. by the time you figure out the software - you'l have the funds for 10 apc40s..

[jtdj]

get the Air version of ableton until u can afford the official version....simples!

[Mapleking]

Thanks for the replies !!!

So It's not even Live full version, but rather the Suite I need ? Or the full version and just the sampler module ?

I was thinking a bit the same as once I know better Live, I will be able to buy the APC and toy around...

Now another dilemna : as I am new to all this, I was thinking getting the boxed version for the reference manual and extras. Is it worth the price difference or should I download and buy a separate book ?

Sorry for all these questions. I saw my first electronic concert two weeks ago : Trentemøller, wow !!! And since I feel the urge to make music rather than just listen to it

[jtdj]

id always recommend getting the cracked version before investing in the official release. its alot money afterall. I used cubase for years and wanted to try producing a few tracks in ableton, there was no way i was gonna pay hundreds of pounds for something i may not use, I got the Air version and loved it and bought the official version a few months later. Lets face it, Ableton and others know full well that the cracked copies arnt all negative, it leads to alot more exposure and allows people to try out the full product, they turn a blind eye to it because theyr are positives to it. Team Air release quality stuff and if you wanna try ableton you might aswell try it fully b4 u buy.

[Mapleking]

Good advice, thanks ! I will buy the LPK25 that I think I can't go without and get the free version for 30 days first. Should I try the suite or will it be just too much at once to start with ?

[jtdj]

Good advice, thanks ! I will buy the LPK25 that I think I can't go without and get the free version for 30 days first. Should I try the suite or will it be just too much at once to start with ?

suite just comes with all the sounds, drum hits etc and samples. actual features are no different.

[ao49]

Wow, I can't believe that people are actually promoting the piracy of ableton on ableton's official forums.

Try the 30 day trial. If you like it but can't afford the full version, get the lite version. You can always upgrade to the full version or suite when you have the budget.

As for the apc, it really makes using live a whole lot more fun. So if you like live, get the apc40 and live lite first. Upgrades can come later, as I'm sure you will probably buy more gear as you go along your music venture.

[Mapleking]

suite just comes with all the sounds, drum hits etc and samples. actual features are no different.

Ok I thought that the Sampler only came with the suite and that was something useful to what I would like to do. Anyway I saw that you have plenty options to upgrade later without loosing too much money, that's nice !

[Mapleking]

As the the apc, it really makes using live a whole lot more fun. So if you like live, get the apc40 and live lite first. Upgrades can come later, as I'm sure you will probably buy more gear as you go along your music venture.

I watched a video and for sure APC seems a lot of fun ! And the APC can give maybe more the feeling of playing music like with an instrument.

My goal is first to have fun, that's why I asked the question... I also have the feeling that it could be easier to work with the APC : my cat is a geek and he just not let me use the laptop quietly

Let's start with the trial version and it will give me one more month to make my mind and maybe getting budget for both

Thanks a lot for all the inputs, it helps a lot !

[ark]

It's not immediately clear what part of the world you're in.

In the USA, buying an APC20 or APC40, together with an upgrade from Live Lite to the full version, isn't all that much more expensive than buying the full version alone.

For example, NovaMusik, which is a well-respected retailer in Milwaukee, is selling Live 8 (full version, not suite) for $499. For the same price, they are selling an APC20 (with Live Lite) plus an upgrade to Live; so the APC20 is effectively free.

If you want an APC40 instead of an APC20, it's $729, so the APC40 is only $230 more.

Moreover, they have been known to negotiate prices if you call them and ask.

[Mapleking]

Hi,

I am in Switzerland

Good suggestion, thanks ! I just checked our local Ebay and there is one shop offering one APC40 for around $500 and in the description, it said it comes with a coupon for a free download of a patch for full version !!! So it seems to be the same kind of deal...

I will try to send him a mail to confirm as the description is in German and $500 seems low as other shops seem more around $600 without the full version.

However it seeems already that I made the good choice with Live as it looks like the community is very friendly here ! Cool

[Ableton_David]

buy the apc40 and pirate live8..

Hi there.

[darkmelody]

My 2c worth.

The APC is quite a specific tool and I would suggest, (not owning one myself) that it is more geared towards Live performance than production. I'm not suggesting it's not a lovely piece of kit, or that it wouldn't be useful for production, but the one thing that got me when I was considering it as an option was

no velocity sensitive pads.

Personally for me this was an issue, hence, I didn't get one.

Also, when I used live LE there was a limit on effects, (12 per set IIRC). That obviously gets used up pretty quickly, and though there are workarounds, render, reimport as audio etc.) it took away the flexibility which of course is one of the features of Live.

[Mapleking]

Peter & Darkmelody,

Thanks for spending some time to give me these good insights !

I've read some magazines and forums, but I find it's a bit difficult to find out what you need to begin ! From your posts what I understood is that maybe electronic music is the opposite of traditional music playing. For traditional music you wouldn't buy a Stradivarius at first, but having the most tools at your disposition for electronic one will give you more freedom and less struggles to try to achieve what you would like to do.

Also as I am a lot on travel, I will have more benefits from the suite than from the APC...

I will order the LPK25 today and try the free versions before probably go for the boxed suite which is a bit more than what I wanted to pay but it will be worth of it in the end

It looks like I will have a lot of sleepless nights on my laptop ahead

Cheers !

Nico