Ableton Forum

...of laptop's that don't work.
...of audio interface problems.
...of constantly juggling MIDI controllers to get the right combination.
...of Automap.
...of software bugs.
...of bloated software that is never optimised for performance over time, just requires faster computers to run it.
...of finding Live rather uninspiring lately.
...of knowing all of the above is within my ability to solve, but lacking the willpower to fight against it any more.

so what now? ukelele + kaoss pad?

Ha! Maybe. I already have a ukelele so...

I honestly don't know. If I stick with Live I definately need a new decent laptop/Macbook for music. Just the thought of spending around a grand on this is making me look at the alternatives.

Like I say, I know this isn't really a Live problem or a problem with making music on computers in general. It's how I feel about it right now.

I'll be watching Elektron at Namm very closely, and looking out for Octatrack reviews and user feedback in the next few months. Something appeals to me about using one box and getting the most out of it.

It's just January messing with you man!

Pull yourself together! *Slap*

Last summer I experienced some fatigue with Live as well and got myself MachineDrum and Monomachine. Now I'm back to Live again, using MD and Monomachine merely as sound modules. I just got myself Launchpad and I've been experimenting with numerology, which has so far been a lot of fun (although numerology pops and I'm wondering whether it's due that I'm running it in demo-mode).

Leon Tricker wrote:...of laptop's that don't work.
...of audio interface problems.
...of constantly juggling MIDI controllers to get the right combination.
...of Automap.
...of software bugs.
...of bloated software that is never optimised for performance over time, just requires faster computers to run it.
...of finding Live rather uninspiring lately.
...of knowing all of the above is within my ability to solve, but lacking the willpower to fight against it any more.

Man I hear you! I've been using computers for music for over a decade & it has been a royal pain! Fortunately, the pain comes & goes. Things change -& rapidly too in computer land. Stability swaps places with instability at an alarming rate. I've spent so much time troubleshooting that I truly resent it. C'est la vie...

But what I hate the most is the all bullshit marketing & denial that the industry perpetrates. The best thing they could do is acknowledge the issues & truly dedicate themselves to HELPING us.

My advice: balance your work by using non-computer based instruments. You'll keep your sanity this way.

Awwww man! I get so tired of making music on my computer sometimes! Solution: I joined a band. The band is not really my style of music but everyone is really talented. Just practicing together has given me a lot of new ideas!! You should try that......or at least find someone to jam with!!

oblique strategies wrote:But what I hate the most is the all bullshit marketing & denial that the industry perpetrates. The best thing they could do is acknowledge the issues & truly dedicate themselves to HELPING us.

Mate, I couldn't agree with you more. That's kind of the point I was getting at when I mentioned optimising software. But I guess there is no money in that.

I went into working with computers with my eyes open - I know it's down to me to troubleshoot all the issues I have - but I'm just getting bored with it now.

oblique strategies wrote:My advice: balance your work by using non-computer based instruments. You'll keep your sanity this way.

Yeah, I try and do that now. But I think I need to get away from computers completely for now.

aizo wrote:Awwww man! I get so tired of making music on my computer sometimes! Solution: I joined a band. The band is not really my style of music but everyone is really talented. Just practicing together has given me a lot of new ideas!! You should try that......or at least find someone to jam with!!

You're right, and again I do this. In fact if anything that's making my mind up even more about leaving Live. I just can't trust it live to do the kind of on-the-fly live looping I'd like to do with some collaborators. And that's not necessarily Live's fault - it's mainly down to my crappy set-up I'm sure. But if I'm going to pay out money I'm not sure I want to invest in another laptop. Hence why I'm watching the Octatrack closely to see how it could be used for live looping etc.

I was in the same boat....

Mac and Presonus Studio One Pro... Fixed most of your gripes in my world... I still use Live.. Live, but everything else is rock solid now. Killer deal going on now as well during the Namm show (Studio One Artist for $20.11... which can then be used to upgrade to Pro version pretty cheap)

big~C

Leon Tricker wrote: But I think I need to get away from computers completely for now.

Part of being a musician & artist is to trust your intuition.

I'm the other end.
Been using Cubase since the Atari ST, just converted to Live.
Workflow has been improved drastically for getting the ideas flowing, and on the fly edits and twists.
The sound quality isn't quite as good I don't think, but personnel opinion.

Way more stable than Cubase, on the same hardware/soundcard.

Bought two Launchapds for the tactile element, and happier than a pig in sh*t

Leon Tricker wrote:

oblique strategies wrote:But what I hate the most is the all bullshit marketing & denial that the industry perpetrates. The best thing they could do is acknowledge the issues & truly dedicate themselves to HELPING us.

Mate, I couldn't agree with you more. That's kind of the point I was getting at when I mentioned optimising software. But I guess there is no money in that.

This may well be the reason why they don't do it. I don't know enough about it really. I assume it is just easier to build onto what you've already got, not bothering about optimizing and just using the new technology as it comes. Shame really. I see that companies could actually make more money by optimizing for lesser machines. Like you said, it's quite off-putting having to shell out a grand for a computer. And then more for the software on top of that. Surely more people would get into it if they could do it just as well with cheaper hardware. Just my thoughts on it.

just take a break and do something else for a bit.

it happens to everyone. you just need to forget about it for a while and get some culture into your head. put the computer away and go and do pretentious things like hanging out in art galleries and watching foreign films.

then when you go back to it, you'll realize that all the technical shit doesn't really matter.

that's what I do, anyway.

necho wrote:just take a break and do something else for a bit.

it happens to everyone. you just need to forget about it for a while and get some culture into your head. put the computer away and go and do pretentious things like hanging out in art galleries and watching foreign films.

then when you go back to it, you'll realize that all the technical shit doesn't really matter.

that's what I do, anyway.

The technical stuff does matter, though, I think... It puts me off opening up my laptop or firing up Live because I know the first 15 to 30 minutes will be spent sorting stuff out.