Ableton Forum

I am not at all unhappy with Live, the session and arrange are great. But I find that I don't use the session view much at all. In fact the sessions view was the reason that I got Live. Now I have my act together I put ideas straight into the Arrange view. But since session not so important for me now, I can use other linear sequencers and gear lust is upon me.

If you use other sequencers, how do they stack up with Live? Any additional features that Live can't do? Or talk me out of Cubase !!

Cheers,
B

LivePsy wrote:I am not at all unhappy with Live, the session and arrange are great. But I find that I don't use the session view much at all. In fact the sessions view was the reason that I got Live. Now I have my act together I put ideas straight into the Arrange view. But since session not so important for me now, I can use other linear sequencers and gear lust is upon me.

If you use other sequencers, how do they stack up with Live? Any additional features that Live can't do? Or talk me out of Cubase !!

Cheers,
B

I used Logic, Digital Performer, Cubase
It really depends on what you want and your styleofmusic and work flow so it is really impossible to anser the question as to what is best for you with the very little info you gave.
For me I like Live.. Logic is a brain masher it is extremly hard to get your head around for me.. Live was easier.. Digital performer was easy but i found a little flakey Cubase I found of all the liniar sequencers to be the easiest to get around .. the interface is quite simple.. Digital performer is harder from an interface but has the consolidated window so you can set things up more to your liking as cubase just has lots of windows.. If i was you I would try and grab a copy of cubase LE thats the free version that comes with just about any hardware.. I am sure you can find a copy around someone will have one they dont use. It is not crippled.

Thanks, actually me and sequencers go a long way back and I know exactly what you mean by workflow. I use Live on PC, but I used DP, Logic and Cubase on a Mac in a past life. I have been away from the software world for a few years. For example, I'm still shuddering from the floppy disk copy protection of Cubase 5, but of course its USB dongle now.

DP, Logic and Cubase used to be the big 3. Any other heavy weights these days?

Cheers,
B

LivePsy wrote:DP, Logic and Cubase used to be the big 3. Any other heavy weights these days?

Mac: nope. Windows: Sonar.

Ooh yes, copy protection free Sonar!

One of the great things about Live is that you don't have windows all over the screen, its just one big screen with fold away bits like the browser. info view and clip/track thingy... Nice and simple for navigation.

B

i've used em all and ableton owns it, linear or session, it's the shit.

Its great and still...

The controller editing is a bit weird, I mean you can only see one at a time and there's no general event editing to see everything in the track. I wouldn't want to edit in an event list but it sure is nice to see what is in there when you can't figure out what is going on.

And there's no sysex recording or editing. Not a killer but sometimes useful.

Last annoyance is that you have to click on a clip before you can control-click drag to copy it. Click once, then control-click for copy. Doesn't stop me making the best music I've ever done, am I too picky???

Cheers,
B

The Phat Conductor wrote:i've used em all and ableton owns it, linear or session, it's the shit.

Groove quantize. Cubase had it in 1997, I'm STILL waiting for Ableton to implement it. So for me, I am considering other sequencers, and if Live 6 doesn't have it I simply won't bother upgrading...

But otherwise I'ld agree with you.

you can just use the global grooveto shuffle it up. i write a lot of that kind of thing with the quantize off anyway, it's not a big deal. it's worth it to write a full on tune in half the time imho.

LivePsy wrote:I am not at all unhappy with Live, the session and arrange are great. But I find that I don't use the session view much at all. In fact the sessions view was the reason that I got Live. Now I have my act together I put ideas straight into the Arrange view. But since session not so important for me now, I can use other linear sequencers and gear lust is upon me.

If you use other sequencers, how do they stack up with Live? Any additional features that Live can't do? Or talk me out of Cubase !!

Cheers,
B

When I bought Live, I didnt like 1000 of things and was thinking to give it back/reselling , since SX 3came out. I was so used to Logic and Cubase, I could work blind with them.
Yet with the time I took advantage of what Live has and that overpowered, in the work speed flow, what Live misses. Now, I open Cubase once a month perhaps for some MIDI or Surround jobs. I get irritated, hate doing it. It is all so XX century..
If Lives midi would come out of the kindergarden.... Anyone knowing good pure midi editor - no Logic or Cubase, Sonar please, let me know.
i hope Live 6 will have some better midi.

I like live for performing. I like live for sketching in the studio.
I want logic for mastering and finalising tracks.

Two Macs with DP, LIVE rewired into DP and a MUSE Receptor.

Loves it!

I still flirt with other sequencers, but I have made a conscious choice to restrict myself to Live. It forces me to be really good with one tool and find my workarounds to its limitations. In turn, this approach keeps me making music rather than just evaluating tools all the time.

I do miss some features of other sequencers, but mainly, it's the video sludginess and the choking of power past 60% that I have issues with. Fix that, and Live is golden. Oh yeah, don't forget groove quantize and other basic midi functions too.

i'd settle for the marketing spiel and the final product being the same thing. it's all golden so long as I dont feel cheated.

One sequencer
One synth
One drum machine
One love

the best thing I could have done for myself was try 'em all and never look back.

As long as you got the itch might as well scratch it - but make a decision unless you're really talented at working 3 or 4 different sequencers - I'm not and I was just holding myself back wondering "what if I had blah blah blah?"

The nice part about having 1 sequencer is I have no idea what the limitations are etc etc - I just do it not thinking to myself well Logic does this better or Cubase has this and sonar has that - fuck it, I don't even know what "that" is.

I just want to write jams and Ableton makes that possible - when I get to a point Ableton can't do something I want it to do then maybe I'll start shopping around again.

Then again, I'm not as talented or have classically trained in digital audio like the rest of you so my needs are simple