I was playing with a demo and am surprised how incredible Live's Wavetable synth sounds. I was initially not interested. At all and I wondered why we needed yet another wavetable synth but the sound and movement in the presets I sampled sorta changed my feeling about it. Curious what others think, especially you who have used wavetable synths for awhile. I wasn't planning on upgrading Live 9 to 10. Wish Ableton would sell Wavetable separately!
Curious how you would compare its sound to other top wavetable synths ( I don't own any except Wavemapper 2)
thank you!
Would love opinions on Live's Wavetable synth
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 2335 posts since 5 Oct, 2003
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 2335 posts since 5 Oct, 2003
P.S. also would love to hear comparisons with Reason's new offering. Mainly interested in the quality of the sounds produced. I really love the deep rich moving sounds of Ableton's Wavetable.
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- KVRAF
- 3897 posts since 28 Jan, 2011 from MEXICO
It is good but less flexible than Serum. Less modulation, you can't draw envelopes or LFO's. I do like the included wavetables, but you can't import your own.
What I like about working with Live synths is the GUI which remains integrated and makes the projects much more portable, since I don't have to install plugins.
For people who like to work just with the DAW and the included instruments and effects, I think Live 10 takes it a notch further with the new synth and more effects. But if you already have other plugins it isn't that exciting.
What I like about working with Live synths is the GUI which remains integrated and makes the projects much more portable, since I don't have to install plugins.
For people who like to work just with the DAW and the included instruments and effects, I think Live 10 takes it a notch further with the new synth and more effects. But if you already have other plugins it isn't that exciting.
dedication to flying
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- KVRAF
- 35276 posts since 14 Sep, 2002 from In teh net
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 2335 posts since 5 Oct, 2003
Thank you! Great info...rod_zero wrote:It is good but less flexible than Serum. Less modulation, you can't draw envelopes or LFO's. I do like the included wavetables, but you can't import your own.
What I like about working with Live synths is the GUI which remains integrated and makes the projects much more portable, since I don't have to install plugins.
For people who like to work just with the DAW and the included instruments and effects, I think Live 10 takes it a notch further with the new synth and more effects. But if you already have other plugins it isn't that exciting.
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- KVRAF
- 2418 posts since 9 Nov, 2016
I concur. It's technically a nice synth. As i have most covered, my most imprtant criterium is : does this synth have character or something unique.rod_zero wrote:But if you already have other plugins it isn't that exciting.
This synth does not. Same ( for me) goes for the max sound engine. I much prefer dedicated third party plugins that i handpicked then the ableton devices. ( operator gets a lot of praise though).
Live 10 ( for me) is nice for the many enchancements in the workflow.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 2335 posts since 5 Oct, 2003
yay! so glad. Now I don't have to feel the anguish of desire.Stefken wrote:I concur. It's technically a nice synth. As i have most covered, my most imprtant criterium is : does this synth have character or something unique.rod_zero wrote:But if you already have other plugins it isn't that exciting.
This synth does not. Same ( for me) goes for the max sound engine. I much prefer dedicated third party plugins that i handpicked then the ableton devices. ( operator gets a lot of praise though).
Live 10 ( for me) is nice for the many enchancements in the workflow.
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- KVRian
- 925 posts since 14 Dec, 2014
It has 2 Cytomic filters (4 models, can be set in parallel and split), which do add unique character that other synths don't have.
Also, comparable synths can cost almost the price of the upgrade from Standard to Suite, if you don't own those already.
Also, comparable synths can cost almost the price of the upgrade from Standard to Suite, if you don't own those already.
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- KVRAF
- 5818 posts since 9 Jul, 2002 from Helsinki
I don't have a wavetable synth yet, so Wavetable makes upgrading to Suite more interesting for me. Pretty sure I'd find use for Operator as well, but Suite would have to be my final software purchase- I could explore what I already have now and still not master it all in this lifetime. Then again, I could get rid of some fx plugins and just focus on Ableton stuff.
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- KVRian
- 1403 posts since 30 Mar, 2014
Wavetable can’t import your own samples… yet. There is a way to hack it so it does, and the devs are looking for ways to get it in there smoothly.
To whoever above said it doesn’t have character, I call BS. It has loads of character AND doesn’t take anywhere near as much CPU as Serum.
The interface is super easy to use too. There’s nothing to not like about this synth. Sure, you can’t draw wavetables or envelopes like in Serum, but very few synths have that feature anyway.
To whoever above said it doesn’t have character, I call BS. It has loads of character AND doesn’t take anywhere near as much CPU as Serum.
The interface is super easy to use too. There’s nothing to not like about this synth. Sure, you can’t draw wavetables or envelopes like in Serum, but very few synths have that feature anyway.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 2335 posts since 5 Oct, 2003
Listening to demos, I'd have to say that Icarus and Live's Wavetable sound best to my ears. And, I totally forgot that Massive is wavetable. I have it and forgot about it. I was never drawn to it for its sound but then again maybe I didn't give it a fair chance. Going to try it again.
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- KVRer
- 14 posts since 2 Nov, 2017
As you said, it doesn´t need much CPU and you can easily add some modulation devices from M4L, there is tons of free stuff. Also for the FX-Section, just add it to the chain, I think that is Live´s concept in general.dangayle wrote:Sure, you can’t draw wavetables or envelopes like in Serum, but very few synths have that feature anyway.
I like the new Wavetable and the visualisation (fullscreen and controlling via Push 2) is great. But for sure, there are several other Wavetable-Synths out there, which are great: Serum, Avenger, Icarus, Massive...
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- KVRist
- 476 posts since 20 Mar, 2015 from Nerima, Tokyo
I use Massive and fm8 mainly. I don't own serum, but demoed it.
I like wavetable, both in terms of sound and interface. Its easy to understand and fun to use.
Plenty of classic and experimental USABLE wavetables to play with.
Plus three modulation styles per oscillator like massive and serum have (bend, fm etc)
The integration with live interface is excellent. It doesnt feel like a plugin. No lag whatsoever.
The enveloppes are meh imho. Not bad, but standard and not enough to unlock wavetable's full potential.
For that I use the included m4l device "Shaper" (i edited it for larger grid) to create performer style modulations. No pdc issues means you get tigh crisp plucky sounds no problem (unlike automation curves which smooth attacks but thats another story)
The beta is still ongoing and plenty of suggestions have been made to improve wavetable so keep that in mind. (wave import being number one suggestion)
I will definitely use it.
I can see how it could be monickered a "poor man's serum", but from the point of view of someone who would start music from scratch, wavetables addition makes live10 an interesting all in one soft solution for electronic music imho, with all styles of synthesis covered.
I like wavetable, both in terms of sound and interface. Its easy to understand and fun to use.
Plenty of classic and experimental USABLE wavetables to play with.
Plus three modulation styles per oscillator like massive and serum have (bend, fm etc)
The integration with live interface is excellent. It doesnt feel like a plugin. No lag whatsoever.
The enveloppes are meh imho. Not bad, but standard and not enough to unlock wavetable's full potential.
For that I use the included m4l device "Shaper" (i edited it for larger grid) to create performer style modulations. No pdc issues means you get tigh crisp plucky sounds no problem (unlike automation curves which smooth attacks but thats another story)
The beta is still ongoing and plenty of suggestions have been made to improve wavetable so keep that in mind. (wave import being number one suggestion)
I will definitely use it.
I can see how it could be monickered a "poor man's serum", but from the point of view of someone who would start music from scratch, wavetables addition makes live10 an interesting all in one soft solution for electronic music imho, with all styles of synthesis covered.
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- KVRer
- 14 posts since 2 Nov, 2017
They anounced Live 10 for February the 6th today. Some improvements would be cool, but we will see, if changes are already included.Daru925 wrote:The beta is still ongoing and plenty of suggestions have been made to improve wavetable so keep that in mind. (wave import being number one suggestion) I will definitely use it.
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- KVRist
- 353 posts since 24 Dec, 2015
Serum is the king of wavetables, period. However, Live's wavetable synth is a great addition to the DAW. It's not as flexible as Serum and the engine is not as clean as Serum but it's not an issue at all. It just sounds great too, it's CPU friendly and super well integrated with a slick GUI. That is a major feature when you're working on big projects and you can have like 15 instances of Wavetable, multiple racks full of Live stock plugins, etc and your CPU doesn't struggle, it's a game changer.
