the time comes to shift into "production" mode, my experience is I just waste too much time particularilly when it comes to simple basic tasks, like
tracking/editing audio and midi, and mixing.
I have been using it extensivelly for instrumental production for the last 2 year and a half, I feel I gathered a fairly deep knowledge of it's mecanics.
So here's a list that I think most people coming from more "regular" environements will understand... If you started in Live from the get-go the
following won't ring any bell I think... but trust me, you don't know what you're missing then
- No Nudging of clips (by the sample/millisecond etc)
- Poor Fades/Crossfade implementation, makes users work too much to edit audio clips, and having to turn fades on feels like the whole thing has been
"hacked in"
- Midi note editor is tied to midi CLIPS, and not to midi TRACKS, so confusion takes over quickly when editing a track containing multiple midi clips/regions
that have not been bounced and consolidated together. It's kinda forcing you to commit very early-on in order not to be constantly switching from clip
to clip in the arrange window to edit the whole midi part.
- No disabling of automation... your only option is to DELETE it if you need to do without it temporarily for this or that reason/task
- There's no way to have a global view of all the plugins that are in your project, ableton limits it to all the plugins on one track, at all times.
Somewhat of a solution : About devices overview, this might help: http://www.resoundsound.com/ableton-liv ... on-tracks/
Unstable and causes LAG in loading/unloading of plugins and plugin navigation within the browser
- No usable zooming of waveforms in any view (actually some people use the CLIP GAIN function in order to see what they`re doing, I wonder how many speakers
have blown up by inadvertence with that misfeature
- Having to turn "on" audition for every single midi clip manually when editing midi events...
- No proper customization of keyboard shortcuts... record button is :F9! ... deal with it users!!
- Awckward step recording mode... so much so that it`s actually easier to enter the notes by mouse than by step recording, wich is a feature other DAW`s
have had right for decades. I don't think there was no need to try change the basics of it but by wanting to allow users to also control duration of
notes while step recording, they made it a bit too clunky, loosing it's purpous -
- No numerical reading of peak volumes in arrangement view
- Audio browser/preview browser can`t be freely routed, thus disregarding basic issues like people who are using a room correction vst, or people who
are working with a masterchain and need to hear whatever additional audio they want to add IN CONTEXT of their production.
- Extremelly limited zooming possibility in arrangement view and overall it`s difficult to see what you`re doing most of the time compared to other
daw`s, precise layering tasks are quite painful in Live, and above all : No scrollwheel zoom in arrangement view!
- Since even in arrangement view you`re actually dealing with clips and not regular audio tracks, sometimes when slip-editing tiny portions of audio you
will find yourself limited to a certain range! it`s impossibe for example to work with tiny tiny regions, wich is pretty common when doing sound design.
you`ll have to cut the clip because there's a limit to the slip editing
capability.
- In mixer view when full screen it`s easy to make mistakes because track labelling is high up there on top of the clip row and faders are all the way
down, having to loop up/Down constantly gets you to make mistake and gets confusing quickly.
- No Layering of midi/audio within single midi/audio tracks, hence limiting the editing capabilities of Live quite immenselly... I rely on another DAW for this task.
- No bounce in place
-When consolidating clips, Ableton normalizes audio, then drops the gain to adjust to the pre-consolidation level... and if you Ctrl-J like a maniac
like me you start wondering about the amount of math being applied to your audio. and there's no way around that...
-Enveloppe points don't snap to the grid in Arrangement view
The preceding is not a feature request list... But I'm just stating things that many of us struggle with while using AND LOVING Live and I think the more general
question is this:
WILL ableton be moving towards a more "pro" and ALL IN ONE application/solution so that some of us don't feel like we have to export our sessions outside of
Live in order to complete them more quickly in another more "production tailored" environement, or not?
Personally, I just want an answer! wether the answer is Yes/No doesn't matter...
but since I'm investing a lot of time in the software, I would like to know.
