Upgrading Aleton 7

neyko · Post by **neyko** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 7:18 pm

If this has been asked - sorry- is it worth upgrading to the Suite or would you invst in something else like Logic?

infiniteB · Post by **infiniteB** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:05 pm

Well, I don't have The Suite, and I haven't done must research into it. I would say, though, that it depends on your needs. The suite, obviously, would be a self-contained entity, less hoggish on CPU, etc... It would allow your workflow to remain constant. VSTs (AU's, etc), however, can give you much diversity, and allow a "different" entity to creep into your workflow, which could spark creativity / the need to learn new GUIs, techniques, etc... Personally, Live does all of the sequencing, MIDI, etc. I could ever want in a DAW, so I don't see me ever needing Logic. I would say, depending on your needs (types of sounds, variety of sounds, quality of sounds, uniqueness of sounds, types of FX, variety of FX, quality of FX, uniqueness of FX), demo/listen to/get as much info as you can about the Suite, and about various VSTs... compare, weigh what you really can use versus what you can't. I usually do a month of research / decision making / demo-ing / reading reviews / reading forums before I make any major purchase. Usually, the devices / VSTs / etc. getting "wow"s and praise from people over and over, usually get my attention, and so far, they've been right (Spectrasonics Stylus RMX, NAtive Instruments' Massive and FM8, Izotope Ozone)... A lot of things I pass on, though. And this decision I lhave to live with. Make decisions and go with them. But make informed decisions from thorough research / understanding of what you are doing.
As to your question again, Logic versus the Suite -- well do you want/need sounds, or do you need whatever else Logic can bring (yes, I know, it has sounds, midi-grooves, instruments as well)... Go to an Apple Store, if one is near you, and demo Logic on one of their computers...
Do you need/want organic sounds? Electronic sounds? Landscapes? Synth sounds? All? Look at Camel Audio's Alchemy;Native Instruments' FM8, Massive, Absynth, Kore; East-West Audio, IK Multimedia ... there's a world out there, beyond The Suite, and beyond Logic...
So in sum, I would explore beyond your question itself.
Just my 2 cents...

neyko · Post by **neyko** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:56 am

I am looking for more sounds - obviously - and synths. I looked into Native Instruments and only the FM8 has much appeal. Reason never lets me down.

I ask about Ableton because the limited selection included with Live 7 is appealing. I've been using Operator and am quite satisfied. I want more out of it. I have an upgrade so I do not even have Essential Instruments 2. I generally like what I hear and I enjoy the ease with which everything is used within one system. For four hundred dollars, though, I am not quite sure (despite having read quite a bit) how much I will really get out of what the upgrade offers. How extensive is the library that comes with Analog, Electric and Tension? Is there easy access to more sounds? I am busy writing and would rather tweak a ready made sound than stat from scratch. Especially when I consider what four hundred can buy.

Magazine reviews are good but after a number of reads of mags such as Sound On Sound, Remix and so on - I am quite sure the reviews are generally positive and that the more advertising space a company buys the better the reviews. (This is solely my opinion.)

So I guess giving examples of music might better help those interested in answering my question - big influences on my music are UNKLE, Portishead, New Order, Depeche Mode, Jesus and Mary Chain, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins and Michael Nyman.

blaugruen7 · Post by **blaugruen7** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:18 am

i would check out a big collection of synths.
maybe you only need one ass kicking good sounding synth and not a collection?

(maybe consider "sylenth" ? there is a group buy right now, you could get it for 80euro)

neyko · Post by **neyko** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:46 pm

I looked into slyenth. I appreciate the suggestions. The sound samples are dj based so it is hard to get a sense of what it offers.

http://www.lennardigital.com/modules/sy ... listen.php

RhythmSickness · Post by **RhythmSickness** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:49 pm

Things like reaktor seem to have more value to my mind.

whystyle · Post by **whystyle** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:47 pm

Personally I use Reason together with Live and I don't see anything in the Suite that I don't have in Reason or a refill. I haven't used Operator, but Thor is about all the synth I can handle, and to me sounds like it would match most of your influences. The NN-XT is still my favorite sampler over Live's Sampler.

That said, I do already own Lounge Lizard and Ultra Analog from AAS which is basically what the Analog and Electric instruments are, and they sound great. I just added Tension and it seems pretty good too. There aren't a lot of presets, but enough to get you going I think. Maybe someone else knows if there are 3rd party libraries of patches for them, but I'm into designing my own sounds and there are basically infinite possibilities.

If you're not happy with Reason's sounds, another alternative to the Essential Instruments in the Suite would be IK Multimedia's range. Sample Tank and Sonik Synth are pretty good for your bread and butter instruments.

Good Luck!

neyko · Post by **neyko** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:08 am

whystyle - I agree.

The External Instrument device is wonderful.

Upgrading Aleton 7

Would you upgade from Ableton 7 to the Suite?

Upgrading Aleton 7