New entry level version of Ableton Live

[vieris]

Its beginner app. They have crap to sell. They want you to want more. What do you expect?

[aMUSEd]

That they might consider the needs of beginners instead of their profit margins. No wait - maybe that's too much to expect.

[aMUSEd]

A beginner wouldn't know what freeze is ...

It's easier to use than a full render and most beginners have less powerful machines than more serious users. I could have lived without lots of plugins running at the same time if I could freeze and then insert a new one but this makes it that bit harder and puts me off getting it (same for the cutdown Samplitude)

[beergeek]

Excuse my stupidity but does this really have $150 worth of value over the various Live Lite 6 Enhanced versions?

[shamann]

Excuse my stupidity but does this really have $150 worth of value over the various Live Lite 6 Enhanced versions?

Not for me. But then, apparently it does for "beginners."

[dougsyo]

That they might consider the needs of beginners instead of their profit margins. No wait - maybe that's too much to expect.

Exactly. As one person said before "Ableton 7's release will mean they need their annual fix of upgrade fees" or something to that effect.

Doug

[deaneager]

At that price it makes a great DJ app.

[epiphanius]

I have paid versions of live from v.1 through to v.5. I balked at buying v.6.

I don't find the limitations in this express edition a problem - I never use more than 8 vstis without rendering down. I wish I could exchange my full version for this stripped down one, and get the cash back (or perhaps Operator).

I like an awful lot about Live, but midi editing, and a number of other basic functions, are very frustrating to use - for me at least. You can't cut a midi clip, e.g. I find Orion, for example, a lot easier to use.

My list of complaints is long, I'm afraid. I'm staying with v. 5 until something compelling is added, or until I'm sure that the UI quirks are straightened out - an unlikely occurrence it seems.

My .02.

e.

[headquest]

Excuse my stupidity but does this really have $150 worth of value over the various Live Lite 6 Enhanced versions?

Well for one thing you don't have to buy a piece of hardware to get it

Seriously, if you are buying hardware that includes Live Lite bundled, go for it. If not however, Live LE provides an opportunity to get into Live, with a decent upgrade path, etc.

Other than that obvious point, IIRC the Lite version has a much lower track count.

[bullshark]

I'd pay 40 or even 50 dollars for something like that, but 200 dollars? Has to be a joke. You can get a full featured host for less than that.

[quincy]

At that price it makes a great DJ app.

I think thats exactly it.

it serves as a cheap entry into the live, gapless audio market (there's little to rival live in that department, lets be honest) and as long as the LE version has the "complex" warp mode it'd be ample for all but the most experimental DJs. 64 tracks of audio and a bunch of FX is plenty enough to get rolling from a DJ or production angle as a beginner.

Anyway, a good option digital DJs at the very least, and ableton are smart enough to know this is a growing market.

[shamann]

Other than that obvious point, IIRC the Lite version has a much lower track count.

Track count is pretty meagre on the Lite version, can't recall exactly, but something like 2 audio and 4 MIDI. My complaint is that the thinness of the LE version gives it very little utility above the Lite version.

But here's what really bugs me about this LE version: the bundled Lite version is clearly meant as a crippled taster for the bigger thing, but that's all the LE version is, too. If they really wanted to make a beginner app, they should have come up with a completely revised workflow for beginners based on the Live engine. As it is, it would seem their view of "beginner" is "short on cash," because a crippled version of Live isn't going to be any friendlier to the newbie than Live itself, just cheaper and less useful.

It reminds me of the Akai MPC line, the 1000 and 500 models are missing incredibly important and useful features because Akai views those models as beginner/entry-level instead of as different form factors serving different needs (I have a 500 because it is small and portable, not because the 2500 costs too much). In the end, it's just a cynical attempt at revenue generation that ultimately hurts their brand more than anything.

[saturdaysaint]

Man, the FIRST thing I did when I started learning sequencers was to play with effects and slather them on every track I could. Judging from the mixes I hear from high-school and college kids, I think the norm is for beginners to use too many effects if anything, in which case Live LE is going to get boring fast. I own Live 6 and know the benefits of the gapless engine and Session view, but I really think this will look like a rip-off for all but the most DJ-focused beginners (and even they might be better served by going straight to Deckadance or something along those lines). I

[deaneager]

I disagree, Live LE will allow the DJ to do far more stuff than you can with Traktor etc; if you're prepared to put the work in it is a far superior performance tool. I only use Live for DJ performance and for bouncing down the odd trick I can't do in other apps, I could do all that I do in LE for 1/3rd of the price.

[silicon/silicium]

At that price it makes a great DJ app.

almsot agree except you only have 10 scenes, wich is a bit low for a dj performance. Imho, limiting vst/effetcs to 2 per tracks (like samplitude se), and limiting tracks should have been less stupid.
I teach Live to teenage students, I can't even recommand them this lite version to go to the bath. I ll still say "I ll teach you Live because it's easier to use and learn, but if you have to buy something with your student budget, say hello to reaper, energyXT, etc...". In fact maybe I ll teach directly with Reaper... Nice politic from Ableton...