Ableton Forum

Hello everybody. I got the Live 9 Lite license and I wonder if I could use it for recording my own stuff from a Microphone. I want to record some Ocarine and Clarinet sounds as they are the instruments I can manage, however I am not sure -nor find on the internet, whether I can or not record them into Ableton to mix up with the other audio and MIDI tracks, or do I have to upgrade to Standard version?

I know I can only use 8 tracks, but well, I'd prefer to invest on Hardware for my Home Studio rather on an Software upgrade.

Thanks a lot friends

You should not have any trouble.

The best way to find out if you hit any limitations is to begin recording and see how things work out

Hi,
if you want to record unlimited and professional, switch to reaper ( http://www.reaper.fm )
The license is about 60 $, not to compare with live's costs.
horst

Clavelio wrote:Hello everybody. I got the Live 9 Lite license and I wonder if I could use it for recording my own stuff from a Microphone. I want to record some Ocarine and Clarinet sounds as they are the instruments I can manage, however I am not sure -nor find on the internet, whether I can or not record them into Ableton to mix up with the other audio and MIDI tracks, or do I have to upgrade to Standard version? I know I can only use 8 tracks, but well, I'd prefer to invest on Hardware for my Home Studio rather on an Software upgrade. Thanks a lot friends

An option when you hit the 8-limit track on Live 9 Lite is to save the project to a new set, then start bouncing the used-up tracks into stereo track freeing 6 tracks leaving you room to record, then save it to a different set. If you need to go back to the previous recording, you have the old set that you can always open and get the old tracks. Hope this helps!

siehorst wrote:Hi,
if you want to record unlimited and professional, switch to reaper ( http://www.reaper.fm )
The license is about 60 $, not to compare with live's costs.
horst

Yes... there are a number of solutions that can record audio (Live, Reaper, Cubase, Logic, Protools, Wavelab, Bitwig, Sonar) to name a few, but since we are in a Live forum and the question is about Live itself, doesn't seem pertinent to recommend another DAW.

What you have is perfectly capable as a starter and will get you on your way. Hook up your mic, set your inputs and press Record.

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/artic ... ding-audio

Use that as a start5, Google has the rest of the answers you will need.

jestermgee wrote:... doesn't seem pertinent to recommend another DAW....

Sorry, but I disagree:
I own Live Suite and Reaper. And if it is for recording I never will use Live but Reaper. Just as in this case the workflow is so much easier and clear.
But if it is for 'computer based' music, I will prefer Live.
And if Clavelio is asking for a recording solution with a small budget,

I'd prefer to invest on Hardware for my Home Studio rather on an Software upgrade.

I really can't recommend Live.
horst

siehorst wrote:

jestermgee wrote:... doesn't seem pertinent to recommend another DAW....

Sorry, but I disagree:
I own Live Suite and Reaper. And if it is for recording I never will use Live but Reaper. Just as in this case the workflow is so much easier and clear.
But if it is for 'computer based' music, I will prefer Live.
And if Clavelio is asking for a recording solution with a small budget,

I'd prefer to invest on Hardware for my Home Studio rather on an Software upgrade.

I really can't recommend Live.
horst

Invalid in this context.

How about this idea: If you're starting out recording why would you want to learn 2 DAws when both do recording? Am I successfuly using Live for recording vocals and the odd acoustic instrument all the time? Yeah!

You can get a new microphone for those $60. I'm just saying.

And why not do this in every single discussion and recommend another DAW for everything also when Live already do this? C'mon, I'm sure you can find the time.

siehorst wrote:
Sorry, but I disagree:
I own Live Suite and Reaper. And if it is for recording I never will use Live but Reaper. Just as in this case the workflow is so much easier and clear.
But if it is for 'computer based' music, I will prefer Live.
And if Clavelio is asking for a recording solution with a small budget,

I'd prefer to invest on Hardware for my Home Studio rather on an Software upgrade.

I really can't recommend Live.
horst

You may be making assumptions as to what the user wishes to do though and thinking more complicated than it needs.

I know what you are driving at. There are better solutions for multi-track recording and editing. Live does lack a little in this area which is known But you probably need to keep a user's level of skills in perspective vs what they can use to get the job done.

The user isn't asking for a complete multi-track audio recorder and sequencer, just if they can record a microphone. I have recorded vocals, instruments (guitars/keyboards), DJ scratching, sound effects etc. all directly in live with basic edits without having to leave lives environment and had no issues or limitations. Therefore, live can certainly record audio to work with no issues.

Now, if you want to start doing multiple takes, auditioning, chorus layers it's still possible but way more complex to do nicely. I use Cubase for that kind of stuff (being a multi-DAW user also) and Wavelab for doing sound editing and processing but for a basic recording and sequencing session I wouldn't waste time switching DAWs for a simple task such as recording an input.

As Stromkraft said, for someone getting a handle on it all (and we both make this assumption based on the users questions and level of detail) learning a single DAW is all one needs until they discover themselves where the limitations are... They may actually learn enough though to creatively work around or within these limits rather than purchasing more software or hardware that is possibly not even required.

There's nothing wrong with using multiple Digital Audio Workstations - I think it makes you more versatile and what if a situation came up where you had to use a DAW you had no idea how to work. As someone whos just learning Live 9 after using Reason, Reaper & FL Studio for ever - every new DAW changes the way I think about making music.

Plus Live was esp. made for Live performances, another good reason someone would own Live and another DAW. Why discard the old for the new?

Also, It doesn't matter what you have, it's how you use it!

I've Reason, Reaper, Live 9 Suite, MPC's Daw, FL Studio and hell I even cut most my vocal samples up in Audacity! Just because its simple, find your sample, cut, delete, paste - boom done any tweaking eq etc I can do in another program.

Some of them are really similar but the ones that stand out are nothing alike. Look at Propellerheads Reason - it's like having a rackmount on your PC - compared to FL Studio then to Pro Tools** & Reaper then to Live. It's like day and night [besides Reaper & PT...lol] and I'd still like to play around with Sony's Acid & Bitwig.

**Industry standard or not; Reaper vs PT = Cockos Reaper wins [I esp love that its open source - so anyone who knows what they're doing can modify reaper and they'll add it to the official program, and updates are constant - thats the way to make amazing DAWs/Controllers - let the smart fans fix and improve it - instead of letting the "IT Professionals" MAYBE fix it...you know when they get around to it, or just wait for Live 10 and Push 3!!

I love my Push 2 & Live 9, but theres alotta Push issues that need to be addressed... like shoulda been day 1 patch addessed - not being able to use alot of the plugins that come with Live! Not even talking about packs/racks bought from the store comes with the software.

Peace