Ableton Forum

Currently running Live 7 + Operator. I got an email from Ableton for 33% off upgrades from 5/31 to 6/2. That gives me three options:

1. upgrade to Live 8 for $100
2. upgrade to Suite 8 for $200 (dl) to get the Ableton instruments
3. upgrade to Suite 8 for $233 (box) to get Ableton instruments plus Session Drums

Question #1: Getting the extra instruments for $100 is tempting but I don't hear much talk about them (third party VSTs get all the buzz). I know AAS has a rep for great sound. I own three hardware synths (Motif, Evolver and a dotcom modular) and some VSTs (Absynth, A.C.E., Synplant) already so not sure what I'm gaining for my money.

Question #2: Is Session Drums worth $33 extra for the box (already have EIC2, never use it)? I already have quite a few sampled acoustic drum loops and hits.

if you have the money, yeah spend the extra 100 and get the suite....for sampler if anything....(you already have operator).....i haven't messed too much with the other instruments aside from operator and sampler and amp....but if you buy those separately, those instruments go for a hundred bones a piece..and i am sure they are all pretty awesome once i take the time out to learn them..if you do go for suite, spend the extra 33 bonez for the box, for the MANUAL.....reading that ish on PDF is annoying as hell.

Maybe I should add Question #3: With all the talk about Live 8 bugs am I going to be sorry if I upgrade?

its funny....i am not a seasoned user like a lot of people around here, but i have never had a problem with live8...i have only been using it for about almost a year now.....it has crashed on me only once....and it has only been what i would consider "buggy" once, while i was trying looper out.....other than that, i have had no issues with live/suite8....for me it works exactly like i want it to work.....but again, i am not a seasoned user....i am not rocking 64+ tracks at a time.....and i started in 8...i didn't upgrade from an earlier version...so i didn't have to learn a drastically different version of live.....so yeah you might be sorry.....but you might not....have you tried out a free download of live8 yet?

....main issues with 8 are all on vst and au in use....

Ableton works best and on stage most stable with ableton tools only...
So the suite is always a good idea...

Skip the session drums for sure...
If you paid for a single operator, it's a pity....
But anyway, analog and sampler are huge tools...

I skipped ableton the last years and jumped from vers3
straight to suite 8....so i don't know what else is missing in comparison to the simple version...

But apart from the session drums it's a pretty massive package....200 bucks ?......do it....

reeloy wrote:If you paid for a single operator, it's a pity....

No, it was free...a promotion that Ableton ran when I was buying Live 7. I haven't used it for anything, though.

What is wrong with session drums? IMO they sound great. Am I mad? (probably)

crumhorn wrote:What is wrong with session drums? IMO they sound great. Am I mad? (probably)

I find session drums extremely useful, sound good and well integrated into the Live setup. For the extra $33, it's a complete bargain.

Scaper7 wrote:

crumhorn wrote:What is wrong with session drums? IMO they sound great. Am I mad? (probably)

I find session drums extremely useful, sound good and well integrated into the Live setup. For the extra $33, it's a complete bargain.

i like em too....

@ doghouse - i believe the EIC 2 (Essential Instrument Collection 2) comes with the Suite box version. i don't think you get that with the download only version. its a lot of sounds for an extra 33 bucks.
EDIT - i just re-read your original post. i see you already have it.

sessions drums sounds really good for me! a printed manual is awesome too and i need it very often
to have something physical is awesome

can't wait to see what they roll out on Tag der Deutschen Einheit. if anything a sale based on an American holiday would probably make worldwide sales go down.

I use Session Drums in all my stuff. I made a multi-sample MPC kit out of them too. $33 is a great price.

I have almost all the other Ableton instruments and Operator is my favorite because I know the interface pretty well and it sounds great. love it for basic bass tones. for more 'out of the box that preset sounds great' stuff Sylenth delivers. playing with Zeta+ these days, not quite as good as Sylenth but there are some good starting points. sales happen, be patient.

if you already have EIC2... look for the 'coldtightroom' drumkit. it's a sample from session drums (the 'standard', non-multimic kits) and will give you a feel for the overall sound quality and how working with them will be.

i think session drums is good for what it is, and definitely worth the $33 if you are going for suite anyways.

Well I went for the Suite box...thanks to all.