Complete Beginner - Live 11 Suite & Push 3 - Looking For Advice & Guidance

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Good Morning Everyone!

I’m new to the forum and looking for some expert advice and guidance on getting started as a new Ableton user.

After years of procrastination, I finally took the plunge and pulled the trigger on Live 11 Suite and the new Push 3. I can’t wait to get started! (Push 3 is only pre-order at the moment, so i’ll be waiting around for that)

I have a very basic setup. Will be running Live 11 Suite & Push 3 on a 2019 iMac 3.0 GHz Intel i5 6 core, which I’m hoping will suffice until I can afford a substantial upgrade.

I currently own a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and a set of Yamaha HS-80 studio monitors. I’m hoping to upgrade to a UA Apollo Twin MK 2 interface or something around that price range in the near future.

Rather than ramble on, I’ll get straight to the questions below.


1. Is it best to save Ableton Live 11 Suite to the iMac Fusion Drive and the 70+ GB of sample packs to an external SSD Drive … or is it best to save everything to the iMac?

2. Is it best to save all my samples and sample packs (non-Ableton) to the SSD and run everything from there rather than take up space on the Fusion Drive? Will this be more optimal?

3. Where do you all save your plug-ins and software synths? On the internal drive or external SSD? (Waves, UA, Soundtoys etc) What would be best?

4. Any recommendations on external plug-ins and things to consider for someone looking to make house music? (Dusky, Huxley, Richie Blacker, Paul Woolford, Overmono, Jansons style etc - just using a few examples here)

5. Any recommendations on Ableton Live 11 Suite beginner courses | Push 3 beginner courses? YouTube, Udemy or any other websites that provide great content? (I don’t mind purchasing them)

6. And finally, for now, any other tips based on your own personal experiences? Anything that would be beneficial to someone just starting out.


Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post, guys. Looking forward to hearing from some of you soon.

[Tarekith]

1 & 2 & 3 - If this is mainly a computer you're going to use for making music, I would try and keep as much of those tools on the internal drive as that's likely where you'll get the best performance. When it comes to plug ins and soft synths, I would just go with whatever default location the installers want to use. You're just getting started, keep it simple and don't try and make it more complicated than it needs to be yet.

4 - If you have Live 11 Suite, you have all the tools you need in that. Until you learn those and know for yourself why you want some other 3rd party option, best to learn with what you have already. The stock effects and synths are solid these days, more than capable of achieving professional results. And not to sound like a shill for Ableton, I'd honestly recommend the same course of actin for someone starting out in Logic, Studio, One, FLS, etc too.

5 - Have you seen the beginner videos Ableton made yet? https://www.ableton.com/en/live/learn-live/

6 - Don't get sucked into the trap of thinking you need a lot of other tools to make great sounding music. Live Suite and Push 3 is more than enough to keep even pros happy for a good long time, so just take the time to learn those well before you worry about what your favorite producer is using and recommends. Also, Ableton has a TON of content on their site showing how to use the program and how other artists use it, so that's always a good place to check if you're having trouble. The manual is actually really good too.

Lastly, just have fun and realize Live is like any musical instrument, it takes a lot of time and practice to get the most out of it. So don't get frustrated if it takes longer than you think, we've all gone through it

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Thank you, Tarekith!

Some great advice here.

I’ve probably jumped straight in at the deep end by purchasing Live 11 Suite and the new Push, but I wanted to get something that was ‘current’ and has a lot of scope for further development and upgrade in the future.

I’m going to be using the iMac solely for music production and general web browsing. I’ve just picked up a Samsung T7 SSD (2TB) for storing all my samples and sample packs (WAV files etc) and I have a 1TB Glyph Drive as a backup.

Would you advise downloading and saving Live 11 Suite and the full 70+ GB samples to the iMac Fusion Drive? I want the machine to run as optimal as possible as it’s only an i5 processor with 8GB RAM.

I’ll have a browse through the Ableton beginner tutorials when I get an opportunity. Cheers for that.

Are there are good YouTube channels you recommend in addition to the Ableton website? Specific to making house music?

[Machinesworking]

After years of procrastination, I finally took the plunge and pulled the trigger on Live 11 Suite and the new Push 3. I can’t wait to get started! (Push 3 is only pre-order at the moment, so i’ll be waiting around for that)

I have a very basic setup. Will be running Live 11 Suite & Push 3 on a 2019 iMac 3.0 GHz Intel i5 6 core, which I’m hoping will suffice until I can afford a substantial upgrade.

I currently own a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and a set of Yamaha HS-80 studio monitors. I’m hoping to upgrade to a UA Apollo Twin MK 2 interface or something around that price range in the near future.\

Tarekith covered most of it, but this one thing, Push 3 has a built in audio interface, that audio interface also has ADAT, so if you do in fact end up needing more audio in and outs than the Push 3 offers, you would IMO want a device that has ADAT so you don't even have to change up your interface.Basically you can sell the Focusrite.

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Thanks for your input, Machinesworking.

I went for the cheaper version with Push 3. I can always upgrade to standalone in the future if I really enjoy the workflow. Plus, there will be more options available then.

I just want to get started for now and learn the fundamentals. I’ll probably sell the Focusrite to be honest. I was going to get a UA interface in the near future as I believe they are excellent quality and come bundled with some superb software.

Getting to grips with Live 11 Suite and Ableton Push will be more than enough for a complete novice like myself, but I would like to add a few extra plug-ins to play around with. Is there anything Ableton doesn’t have that would be an excellent addition to the setup?

I’m hoping there will be some in depth tutorials on the new Push in the next couple of months as content creators begin to learn it’s full capabilities.

Should I save all of Live 11 Suite samples to the internal drive or to the SSD?

Any recommendations on sample packs, sample libraries for the genre / style of music I will be making?

I’d really appreciate any insight from members of the forum based on their own personal experience and approach to things.

Cheers, guys!

[Machinesworking]

I just want to get started for now and learn the fundamentals. I’ll probably sell the Focusrite to be honest. I was going to get a UA interface in the near future as I believe they are excellent quality and come bundled with some superb software.

Even the controller version of Push 3 comes with the audio interface included. So IMO the UA interface is just overkill.

IMO a super solid emulation of analog synths is a great addition to Live, so something like U-He Diva or Repro 1-5 works. Alternatively the Moog Model 15 AU3 is cheap and sounds great.

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Thanks again for your post, Machinesworking.

I’ll probably just sell the Scarlett 2i2 and use the Push. I’ll spend the extra money on a nice synth and some sample packs.

I can’t wait to get everything up and running. I regret putting this off for so long to be honest. Now I’m on a bit of a buying frenzy and I’m probably not the only one guilty of spending money when I really don’t need to.

Any recommendations on sample libraries / sample packs for the genre / style of music I will be making?

Any good free plug-ins that you find really useful?

[Pagoda-100]

Watching this thread as a guy in a similar boat.
After jumping back into 1-3 Elektron boxes to run with my modular setups it has become a non stop cycle of moving boxes in and out of the system and I cant keep up with memorizing and learning the workflow on multiple boxes. It feels like I am always needing something that does not exist in the hardware on the table and I end up pulling something off the shelf and it stops me dead in my tracks needing to look up how to do something with a box I have not used in ages. Not to mention mixing and sending clocks with those changing setups.
Im no pro. Just makin beats and sending a single stereo channel to Garageband.... Been wanting to learn Ableton from the beginning and push 3 feels like the perfect reason to do it as a Daw beginner. Worst case it improves my recording and mixing. Best case it thins my pile of gear to something I can focus on and learn less boxes.

[low_pass_filter]

Pagoda-100, Go for it!

If you’re in the market for a DAW and controller, then Ableton is a great place to start. There are so many famous producers and musicians using Ableton as part of their workflow.

I got an email this morning saying my Push 3 is ready to ship.

What style / genre of music are you creating at the moment?

[dougtheguy]

UA is a waste of money. It was important 10 years ago when computers were slow. New macs are so fast that outside DSP processors are not needed.

Third party plugins can be a pain.

I’ve used live for over 10 years. I used to have lots of plugins and a UA interface. I have dumped all my plugins. Live has almost everything you need. If you are a beginner, plugins will just interfere with what you are trying to do.

Spend the big money on monitors. If you spend $3000 for a Genelec sub and two monitors you will not regret it. I guarantee that!

Any new Mac will be awesome.

Good luck

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dougtheguy, thanks for your post.

I’m happy with the little set-up I have at the moment. I can always add new equipment in the near future.

I got a second email from Ableton today requesting payment for the Push 3. Should arrive within the next week.

I’ve decided to spend some money on a nice pair of open-back studio headphones instead. Any recommendations?

[dougtheguy]

I have a couple pair of headphones but I don’t really like wearing them but a lot of people do though so ask around. I could probably say don’t go for a consumer line. Get “top of the line” studio or live headphones from a company with a long history of making headphone for the pros (there are many to choose from). The more you spend on this part the less you’ll regret it. Good luck.

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Thanks doughtheguy!

I’ve been looking at the Audeze LCD-2 Classic Planar Technology Open-Back Studio Headphones.

Lots of great reviews.

Expensive at £699, but you only get what you pay for I suppose.

I’d like a nice set in the £500 - £1000 price range.

If anyone here owns a pair, it would be nice to hear your thoughts.

Thank you!