should ableton break their ties with maudio ?

HD1 · Post by **HD1** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 3:16 pm

just curious what the general forum populace think....I think maudio sucks rotten eggs, and generaly they make ableton look bad through association. So why do business with them ? Thats another topic, so just vote how you feel

if you dont know either way, just vote NO

rbmonosylabik · Post by **rbmonosylabik** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 3:29 pm

Even when they're not top quality, M-Audio has very good compatibility and driver stability, which for some is priceless.

Look at Edirol. Their interfaces are sweet, but when you get into their drivers world and more often than not run into a brick wall. Same can be said about other companies and product lines.

I think they associate because M-Audio has a huge product line which covers almost every need of the semi pro musician and maybe some of the pro market, and Live is a very easy to get into and flexible DAW, so they kind of get along with each other. Sure, there are better hardware developers, but if I was Mr. Ableton

I think I'd be doing the same.

robert che · Post by **robert che** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 3:43 pm

I am with RopeyPunter on this. It might not be the best marriage but the drivers and so forth do work and M-audio is good gear for people just starting out and don't have a lot of knowledge and money.

The M-Audio Ableton lite is not too great. Yes they finally did add Midi support but it only supports four tracks and four songs or clips per track. It also doesn't support 3-4 audio outputs either. Someone starting out might be better served by just sticking with the demo and using audio Hijack or something like that to record till they can step up to the plate and buy the retail Ableton.

Willyum · Post by **Willyum** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 3:47 pm

I like M-Audio, I've had other controllers and even though M-Audio is not perfect they usually work well and the price is right. For instance I'm selling my Novation ReMOTE25, right now caused I replaced it with a Axiom 25...I Also have a Trigger Finger and a FW410 and I'm waiting for my Axiom 61 to be delivered. Other controllers have had to come down in price because of M-Audio so that us non profiting musicians can still do our thing.

djadonis206 · Post by **djadonis206** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 3:57 pm

Doesn't M-Audio distribute Ableton in the US?

If they didn't go through M-Audio who would they go through?

M-Audio ain't so bad - I had 1 issue out of the 3 or 4 or 5 M-Audio products I've owned and I got that one fixed ok so...

I don't know, no, why would they

If it ain't broke don't fix it right?

HD1 · Post by **HD1** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:26 pm

well...looks like I'm biased so far, I used a firewire maudio audiophile with live 5 and it royaly sucked ass, with no conclusive solution to solve the popping and glitching without so much as a single vst or warped clip.

truth is, I had a bad experience with maudio and now I'm gonna stay away from them for as long as I possibly can. The other thing is, when ableton acts glitchy, most abletonians have blamed the hardware instead of the software....so if they are right, then maudio sucks, if they are wrong, I hope live 6 is coded better.

at any rate, the imprint is in place and I wont be buying most maudio stuff

but I am biased...

I must say I'm surprised that the NO vote is ahead so far

fsk · Post by **fsk** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:28 pm

I think m-audio are decent. Looking thru their catalogue theres some great stuff I wouldn't mind getting and seeing the people that use it, kinda shows its not exactly crap gear.A lot of people also knock behringer as well, yet I also think they are great. T

hing with m-audio their budget range gets most of the exposure, like the x-session or the ozone / radium keyboard controllers which feel all plasticy, they also do much better quality midi controllers though, such as the Axiom keybaords.

leisuremuffin · Post by **leisuremuffin** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:29 pm

I do think that m-audio's products are pretty poor quality.

But i also think that a lot of people buy m-audio stuff cause it's cheap and "does it all."

My gut reaction was to vote yes, so i did. But now that i'm typing this, i dunno, maybe it makes sense just because of the size of m-audio's market share.

.lm.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:40 pm

I think M-Audio, like Behringer, is great for the beginner, hobbyist, or bedroom musician/DJ/producer in the studio.

I wouldn't want to rely on it live, though. Not without a backup.

Having said that, I've been using a Midiman (now M-Audio) MIDI interface for years without a problem. (It IS pre-Chinese sweatshop plastic, though...)

headquest · Post by **headquest** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 5:16 pm

Hardware/Software bundles/links is becoming an industry standard, and without being linked to a major hardware company Ableton would be at a real commercial/promotional disadvantage.

There is surely no doubt that M-Audio have done a great job of marketing Ableton over the past couple of years, whatever one thinks of their hardware (and personally I do like the sound produced by their audio equipment and the range they offer),

The link also places Ableton alongside GMedia, Izotope and ProTools in terms of image/marketing coming from one stable, which ain't bad!

orage · Post by **orage** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 6:24 pm

I'm primarily a ProTools user but use Live quite a bit either as a stand-alone or Rewired into PT. I need to keep my rig compact, so I've been using an Ozone for years without any complaints (as long as I don't use it for audio I/O). Digidesign/Avid acquired M-Audio, so any Ableton relationship with M-Audio also means stronger ties to Avid. IMHO, if the three companies that I rely on most to pay my bills have a close relationship, then it means less headaches for yours truely.

HD1 · Post by **HD1** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 6:32 pm

not entirely so old bean....
ableton have quoted the maudio WEBSITE (not a colleague mind you, but a public source of info) when attempting to explain audio glitches and pop problems, putting it down to some firewire/maudio problem....so much for their links being of any benefit. its not like they are sharing the same R&D space, they're going to the maudio WEBSITE for details...

and also, a few people here have bought direct from ableton and when they experience problems with their delivery times or hardware...its the usual 'its maudio's fault' ....so where exactly is the benefit of them being so 'closely knit' ?

i see what you're saying, but the proof is in the pudding not in what you or I guess should be.

edit: I mean to say, where is the benefit to you the consumer (tangible results) , I know where the benefit is for the corporate identities and the CEOs (marketing)

rbmonosylabik · Post by **rbmonosylabik** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 7:10 pm

It seems more like a sales relationship. Ableton puts a limited version in M-Audio's gear. People try it and maybe go get Live full version. Same with Live bundled with M-Audio gear. In either case both get $$$.

From then on, each company handles it's own tech support independently. Ideally each support team should be able to handle issues of both, or at least both working together, but this is how things are.

IslandInTheDistance · Post by **IslandInTheDistance** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:00 pm

Sure the m-audio gear is not the most expensive, top of the line, but the gear works when there are no conflict in the sytem they are running on and the device is installed and configured properly.

I remember when Reason took their distribution and support from m-audio to line 6, that did not work out too well for customers needing support.

I would hate to see Ableton make the same mistake.

Ableton doesn't handle support, they have m-audio do it. So maybe that is why they tell customers to call m-audio when they are having "problems with their delivery times or hardware"

Ropey Punter: What Platform is your system that is getting pops and click on? MAc or PC?

dCross · Post by **dCross** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:45 pm

IslandInTheDistance wrote:Ableton doesn't handle support, they have m-audio do it. So maybe that is why they tell customers to call m-audio when they are having "problems with their delivery times or hardware"

You sure they don't do their own support?

should ableton break their ties with maudio ?

do you think ableton should cease marketing with maudio ?

should ableton break their ties with maudio ?