Ableton Live 9. How would you rate it (1 to 10) ? 10 being Awesome.

[JoeCat]

User since 8.

If I were buying it new, I'd probably give it an 8 or 9 - it compares favorably to Logic, etc., and while it has its share of bugs and issues, so does every other DAW (though I agree that the PDC problem can be huge and almost a showstopper, depending on what work kind of work you do).

As an upgrade, I'd be inclined to give it a or 6 or 7. The addition of automation curves and recordable clip automation is awesome - especially clip automation being a nod to users who rightly felt it was a huge oversight for an app named "Live" with an arrangement paradigm (Session View) rendered almost useless in some cases without it.

A new compressor (glue) may seem like small change to some but given how well regarded it is (and priced at $99 US) it contributes significantly to the value of the package, as does the update to EQ eight.

Besides the addition of Max to the Suite, there are some nice (and hardly mentioned) updates, like the new piano.

On the downside, I agree about the browser - had high hopes about the "virtual" folders but for user content (which is mostly what I rely on), it's just not as intuitive as it should be. There are also some new bugs with AU preset loading, etc. Mixer improvements were largely ignored, and the entire UI is begging for a more customizable interface (dockable windows, etc.)

As a developer (not in the music industry however), I understand how things that may seem easy to customers are often very difficult (especially in legacy software, where a seemingly insignificant change can have far-reaching affects). Still, for the money and the time, it just feels a bit unfinished.

I hadn't considered how much of what we're seeing was done to support Push, but given it's price and unavailability, I'm inclined to agree - Ableton might have driven too much of the development towards an interface a small percentage of their users will pay an already high price for.

I agree about CM/MusicRadar - I find their reviews very informative but not great at predicting the real value of a product.

[ghettosynth]

Interesting feedback so far !

I'm not a Live user. I thought getting some direct feedback from Live 9 users would be a good thing, and to make it simple. I used the (1 to 10) rating to make it simple, and easy to get an overall picture of the degree of satisfaction Live 9 users are experiencing.

If I'm not wrong, I remember many Live 8 users complaining about it, and hoping to see a lot of improvements in Live 9, so it is surprising that users ratings here seem to indicate their dissatisfaction with Live 9.

Is the consensus here that Live 8 was better than Live 9 ? Kind of odd this would be the case, given all the time Ableton has spent working on Live 9.

Oh.. well, let's keep those user ratings coming in !

Thanks for your contributions to this post.

Cheers,
Muziksculp

I like some of the new enhancements, I don't like the new browser. That said, I'm back on Reason now that it has midi out and I'm seriously thinking about ditching live as just another distraction. While I like a lot of how it works, I find that both Reason and Reaper are my goto tools for many things and that sort of leaves live without a solid use case in my workflow.

I thought that I wanted push, but, I'm not convinced.

Also, the pitch to midi thing, blows!

[Muziksculp]

Interesting feedback so far !

I'm not a Live user. I thought getting some direct feedback from Live 9 users would be a good thing, and to make it simple. I used the (1 to 10) rating to make it simple, and easy to get an overall picture of the degree of satisfaction Live 9 users are experiencing.

If I'm not wrong, I remember many Live 8 users complaining about it, and hoping to see a lot of improvements in Live 9, so it is surprising that users ratings here seem to indicate their dissatisfaction with Live 9.

Is the consensus here that Live 8 was better than Live 9 ? Kind of odd this would be the case, given all the time Ableton has spent working on Live 9.

Oh.. well, let's keep those user ratings coming in !

Thanks for your contributions to this post.

Cheers,
Muziksculp

I like some of the new enhancements, I don't like the new browser. That said, I'm back on Reason now that it has midi out and I'm seriously thinking about ditching live as just another distraction. While I like a lot of how it works, I find that both Reason and Reaper are my goto tools for many things and that sort of leaves live without a solid use case in my workflow.

I thought that I wanted push, but, I'm not convinced.

Also, the pitch to midi thing, blows!

Hi ghettosynth,

Thanks for your feedback.

So... from (1 to 10) what would give Live 9 ?

Cheers,
Muziksculp

[machinesworking]

User since version 3, haven't upgraded yet. Partially because of the fact that I picked up Suite which makes upgrades brutally expensive, $299, and partially because of issues with the browser I had during beta. Mostly I'm gonna wait until the dust settles and Ableton address the browser in terms of speed etc, then jump in on a proper update.

I give it a 7 when the browser gets sorted, Session automation recording and including Max for Live into Suite were both positive moves. but I'm not a fan of embedded plug ins in general and Max for Live still is inoperable when Live is a reWire slave, that's lame beyond belief.

[tetsuneko]

User since live 3.
ATM I give live 9 a solid "2" for releasing a version of the program that is worse than the previous version (ie. live ).

The browser redesign is a massive fail. Session automation is now recordable but has a stupid logic in the way it functions. Audio to MIDI is cool but needs more work.

These are just the biggest reasons why I will not upgrade to live 9 anytime soon.. Perhaps by version 9.1.9 they'll have their stuff sorted? YMMV as usual!

PS: If it turns out that the live API has improved on the key areas of annoyance, might upgrade sooner.. M4L is the best new function of live IMO.

[marvotron]

Underwhelming upgrade and the browser is a massive step backwards for me.

It's still my main tool for making music but I don't think it's going to stay that way for too much longer unless the focus changes.

I'd give 8 an 8, but 9 a 5.

as for M4L, its good but it just feels like a missed opportunity. The API is too clunky and limited for my tastes.

[shanecgriffo]

I started on v6. Spent a little time on 8 before getting the upgrade to 9 ..
To be honest there isn't as much new from v6 to 9 as I would have expected..
V6 was on a pretty old laptop and now I have a newer one so I'm happy to be able to do more.
I had quite a lot of crashes and trouble getting the latest update going but it all seems ok now.
One thing- didn't you use to be able to just drag an audio file in from an explorer window or desktop on to a track? I don't seem to be able to do that any more.. So it is annoying if you render a file out then want to audition it to make sure it's ok.. Don't seem to be able to do that easily in live now..
Still spending time with it so the score might change but I'll give it a 7 out of 10 as I do love using live mostly, it suits my work style.. But yes it seems a bit slower on some things compared to v6 even.

[Harry_HH]

I usually trust these guys:

http://www.musicradar.com/gear/tech/com ... e-9-571865

Why do you "usually trust THESE guys"? The challange with ALL the commercial special magazines (and 99 % of these are commercial) is the tight connection between advertiser/manufacturer and the media economy - therefore you very seldom find really critical evaluations in these publications. You have to learn read between the lines if you wan't to get some deeper information. H.

[penguinfromdeep]

I actually like the new browser in live (when the kinks are ironed out) though it could be even more flexible. Would be for example nice to rename the links in the browser. I have some big sample folders and it's nice to have them immediately in the browser, also nice to do searches etc. Otherwise it's ok so far, I like some of the changes like in midi editing etc ... There are still some bugs though and it feels sometimes quite slow, I get also that beach ball spinning quite often. So I give it a 7 at the moment.

[mcnelson]

One thing- didn't you use to be able to just drag an audio file in from an explorer window or desktop on to a track? I don't seem to be able to do that any more.. So it is annoying if you render a file out then want to audition it to make sure it's ok.. Don't seem to be able to do that easily in live now..

Works ok for me in Live 9 - can drag an audio file from explorer into session view or arrangement view.

My rating? I've been using since v8 for the past two years, so I missed the initial problems people had when v8 was released. I have suite so I was quite glad to get M4L in the new suite; the upgrade was a bit more than I was happy with, but you got a lot of content with it, plus M4L.

I rarely use the browser so I haven't noticed any speed issues with it. I actually really like the audio to midi functionality - sure, it could be better, but it's never going to be perfect. The plugins getting an overhaul, plus "The Glue" were what I was really looking forward to - mainly EQ8 and Compressor, which I use a lot.

If I had to rate Live 8 without knowing about Live 9, I'd give it an 8. In retrospect though, I'd give Live 8 a 7 rating, and Live 9 an 8 rating. There's plenty of room for improvement, but so far it works really well for my workflow.

YMMV. Guarantee void in Tennessee.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

[DELETED]

[Synthbuilder]

I've been a user since version 4. This is the worst 'upgrade' I've seen. Although I've bought Live 9 I'm staying with Live Suite 8 for the moment. But 8 is not without its little quirks and since these have not been addressed in this latest update, I've just bought Studio One.

Live 8 would be an 8/10 for me. And Live 9 a 5/10. I really can't see myself using it until they sort the browser out.

Tony

[aMUSEd]

As an upgrade, I'd be inclined to give it a or 6 or 7. The addition of automation curves and recordable clip automation is awesome - especially clip automation being a nod to users who rightly felt it was a huge oversight for an app named "Live" with an arrangement paradigm (Session View) rendered almost useless in some cases without it.

Exactly - I have owned Live twice before and each time been disappointed by a series of updates that failed to address this long standing issue so sold it again. Now finally we get an update that actually addresses it and people say it's a step backwards. That's crazy, this is the best update Live has had since it introduced plugin instruments and midi. Finally we can use plugin instruments and effects in a way that befits the Live paradigm, before that it was only really "Live" with regards to samples. Sure they still need to address some other issues like PDC (not an issue for me though tbh) and the browser is a bit clunky but works once you get your head round it (I hated it at first too) - the main problem is it still slows down startup due to scanning various hard drives - turning off sleep for external hard drives helps a lot though. On Windows you can also use shortcuts to plugins to speed up startup - I haven't tried this on Mac as AU would make that redundant sadly so have to put up with it scanning each time. I haven't really got into M4L yet beyond downloading lots of stuff for it but I like having access to devices like Granulator and the Pluggos now. So I would give it an 8/10.

[thecontrolcentre]

User since v5.

The only issue I have with v9 is how long it takes to boot up. Can be up to 3 mins on my dual core XP laptop. I have my samples, etc, shared over 3 different HDDs, so perhaps that slows things down.

Other than that I am happy enough. Would give v9 8 out of 10 at this point. Still can't imagine moving to another DAW.

[marvotron]

Exactly - I have owned Live twice before and each time been disappointed by a series of updates that failed to address this long standing issue so sold it again. Now finally we get an update that actually addresses it and people say it's a step backwards.

Adding session automation and automation curves aren't a step backwards, although I still find the automation editing system itself to be quite poor (no snapping, can't set precise values among others)

The step backwards for me is the browser. I understand how it works and why it works the way it does because of PUSH, but its significantly worse for me.

Arbitrary heirarchy without a clear mapping between parts (unless you've actually looked at the config, which I have).

Only one folder open at a time. This one really drives me nuts.

Previews that stop when you click on anything else.

Im sure for others, perhaps even a significant majority, its a step forwards. FOr me its not. Thats the way it goes