Ableton Forum

Not everyone reads the manual!

i used to never read manuals unless there was just something i couldn't get past by trying myself. nowadays i pretty often actually do, but considering that i didn't before, it's a small wonder that i can actually use the software i work and play with.

(i still have to print the part of the live pdf manual that has all the kb shortcuts though)

I never read the manual...

I skimmed through the manual when I first got it, but Live lets you get started without really refering to it.

It was only about 4-6 months later that I was looking for something specific and I started turning up all these little gems ... I started thinking 'I didn't know you could do that' a lot , as I found each new item.

I realised I was missing out on a lot of stuff - so I determinedly read it from front to back.

I don't know how to read but when I need to know something some one hasn't already asked and answered on this site I refer to the manual

but honestly I haven't looked at it in a looooonnnnnggggg time

I feel so wack.

today, I downloaded the manual to the new Waves Maxxbass maximizer. I read it end to end, or at least skimmed it. I have downloaded the manuals for about 25 or 30 DJ mixers when I was in the market for one, and I probably downloaded the manuals for around a dozen keyboard controllers.

I have read each and every one.

Advertisements are bullshit. Manuals tell you what a product can do, and more importantly WHAT IT CAN'T DO. I print 'em off and read 'em on public transit, on the can, or whenever. My girlfriend thinks I've got OCD, but in reality I just like knowing EVERYTHING about a product before I buy it.

When I finally get around to upgrading my MOTU 828, I guarantee I'll download at least a dozen manuals, and read / skim them all, then make "pro/con" tables for each one.

Same goes for software, only doubly so.

So, when I see somebody too lazy to read a manual, I have no pity on them whatsoever. Manual reading has made me a better producer - not just the manuals of the stuff I own, but the manuals of the stuff I don't have, since there's often a lot of similar processes but different interfaces and ways of doing things.

My point?

RTFM's!

There's reading a manual, and then there is reading yourself to sleep with one.
I am perticularly fond of the ableton manuals, though I often get so engrossed in it that I just keep reading it, and forget to apply certain interesting steps before they escape my short term memory.

Some manuals I put down half of the way through because it's just counter productive.
To read the logic 7 manual straight through (between the plugins and basic manuals) is something I have tried several times. Hundreds upon hundreds of pages, read and reread. UNfortunately though now matter the girth of the books the explanations are vague and don't cover enough. It should be thoudands of pages, and unfortunately most tutorial publications are consolidated regurgitation of the same stuff. George Leger iii's tutorials are pretty bad-ass though.

I can't wait to get the Live 5 from the mail. I refuse to kill the trees right now on the PDF.

i used to sleep with the manual, and had it with me at all times..reading it at cafes
waitin for friends, in the buss etc and ofcourse having it besides me at all times when
working with the program..it just makes more sense, to learn what youre about to do
as quickly as possible so u cant start makin beats and twerk it..

I read manuals of new products too. I at least skim throug them.

Ableton REFERENCE manual is one of the best manuals I've ever seen. Everything is well explained, a few tips to mess with your stuff,...

Best of it. It is seperated in chapters and sections very nice. So looking up something should be done in less than one minute. And that's why I hate people so much that don't take the time to read the manual and just come popping in here asking their questions on the forum. There's also a very good FAQ on the website. I'm a member for only about two weeks now here and I've seen stupid questions asked (and repeated time and time again). Every forum suffers from this. But this one has got it very very bad.

mosca wrote:Not everyone reads the manual!

you'd have to be some kind of dum-dum not to!

kind of wish I'd ordered the box version so I could have a hard copy to carry around and read.

bluedad wrote: you'd have to be some kind of dum-dum not to!

Now, that's funny! ...and true!

Cheers,
Mikael