Ableton Forum

I use live and it's brilliant but I find it annoying that I need to export it to logic or cubase on a friends computer just to do a few tiny things on the mix. Some high quality master channel plug ins are the only thing that are missing and if Ableton had them in the next version then I (and no doubt thousands of others) could get rid of logic or cubase and be completely reliant on ableton. The racks are really great but a plug in designed specifically for the job is what I'm really after.
A dynamic eq, a limiter, multiband compressor and the like would be amazing. Honestly, I love ableton and I hate the hassle of using another piece of software just to add a tiny bit of sheen. Please

And also, the ability to crossfade two samples when you consolidate (ctrl J) them would be great as well.

bobtfb wrote:I use live and it's brilliant but I find it annoying that I need to export it to logic or cubase on a friends computer just to do a few tiny things on the mix. Some high quality master channel plug ins are the only thing that are missing and if Ableton had them in the next version then I (and no doubt thousands of others) could get rid of logic or cubase and be completely reliant on ableton. The racks are really great but a plug in designed specifically for the job is what I'm really after.
A dynamic eq, a limiter, multiband compressor and the like would be amazing. Honestly, I love ableton and I hate the hassle of using another piece of software just to add a tiny bit of sheen. Please

A VST like Izotope Ozone 3 works perfectly for general mastering.


IMO, The main DAW things I think Live should work on is,

1. Midi Quantization (Better input quantize, Better control of swing quantize (swing on individual tracks, groove quantize).

2. Improving Automation and midi controller editing, (Snapshot style automation, more curves and draw tools, glue tools and cut tools for midi notes).

3. Improving arrange style loop recording.

4. New session view clip length defaults (What is the percentage of users who use 1 bar clips as opposed to higher bar counts and such. A feature for users to customize this would save time for people who don't default to one bar).

5. Offline processing

6. Freeze options, You should be able to decide if you want the freeze to be mono or stereo.

I think mastering plugins should be the last thing a DAW should add. These can be done with third party plugins and even after the export of a 2 channel track.
One flaw that happens when you include mastering plugins in a DAW is that work done in the DAW all tends to have a similar sound. (Take Reason for example)

+1 for mastering plugins. It would be great if Ableton could provide a complete DAW solution.

Mastering facilities would be a very popular addition because mastering software is so expensive. There are so many 3rd party plugins available and some of them - though expensive - don't even really work. Even REASON (for God's sake) has excellent mastering tools.

zaphodb wrote:+1 for mastering plugins. It would be great if Ableton could provide a complete DAW solution.

Mastering facilities would be a very popular addition because mastering software is so expensive. There are so many 3rd party plugins available and some of them - though expensive - don't even really work. Even REASON (for God's sake) has excellent mastering tools.

I wouldn't call Reason's mastering excellent. Good effects yes, but the only things Reason really have over Live is that it has a Limiter (Loudness Maximizer), and Stereo Imaging plug-in.

Live probably could use a Limiter and Stereo Imager, but I would be careful on trying to master my own stuff esp if I mixed it myself. It is good to have another set of ears go over your stuff.


Mastering plug-ins are expensive because they are supposed to sound transparent with very little coloration, and they must be able to do precise cuts and boosts with very little coloration. Most hardware mastering equipment is even more expensive than a lot of mixing hardware esp the EQs.

+1 for Mastering plugins
+1 for MIDI quantazer

Also I would like to see spectral stereo field analysis plugin (just like Spectrum only for stereo field analysis).

-1

No mastering plug ins please -If you need to be doing 'proper' mastering, then - no offence - you ain't going to do a decent job using the built in tools on a DAW in your bedroom. Leave mastering to the pros (IMVHO). Quite a few mastering engineers I've had a session with use expensive analog EQ and compression. And they always have an amazing sounding room (ie not just an untreated bedroom/living room/garage!)

If you just want to do a quick 'make it louder' comparison, there are loads of simple free VST/AU brickwall limiters that do a really good job. No real need for Ableton to get involved in this..

-1 for mastering plugins..

There are plenty of good "mastering" plugins out there, so please, spend the time on improving Live itself.

Live lacks a bit of plugins, that's true, but "mastering" plugins are useless. Mastering is a thing useful only when you have a bad mix, a good mix needs only a loudness maximixer, and there are lots of third party plugins out there. And as a matter of fact mastering should be left to the pros, and however there's plenty of complete mastering plugins much better than any plugin included in a DAW.

Any "multiband" stuff, including compression, can be done directly in Live, with a effect rack within which every chain is limited to a selected range of frequencies (using EQ Three for example, leaving only the range you need). Then, in every chain you can put all the plugins you need, they'll affect only the freq range range related to that chain.