Ableton Live 10 Standard vs. Suite

[spendthrift2]

You've seen the side by side comparison, now you're ready to decide. That's where I am, and I'm wondering what your thoughts are on Standard vs. Suite. Several people have mentioned Suite. I don't know that I'll use Max4Live or some of the other features in Suite, so I'm leaning toward hanging onto that extra $200 that it would cost, with an educational discount of course.

So which one should I get if I buy? I already have an Live Intro 8 license, and I'm nearing the end of my 30 day free trial of Live 10 Suite.

[mgw38]

Imho, Max4Live is the killer feature of Suite. Have a look at some of the companies who produce Max4Live devices. If none of them tickles your fancy, Suite might be overkill.

A good place to explore Max4Live devices is the Ableton site. I also like the stuff on the Isotonik Studios website:
https://isotonikstudios.com

[spendthrift2]

Imho, Max4Live is the killer feature of Suite. Have a look at some of the companies who produce Max4Live devices. If none of them tickles your fancy, Suite might be overkill.

A good place to explore Max4Live devices is the Ableton site. I also like the stuff on the Isotonik Studios website:
https://isotonikstudios.com

I'll be honest; and I know it kills you guys who are synth experts and production specialists, but I don't know how to use my DAW at all; let alone Max4Live. It kind of feels like it's over my head.

[mgw38]

Imho, Max4Live is the killer feature of Suite. Have a look at some of the companies who produce Max4Live devices. If none of them tickles your fancy, Suite might be overkill.

A good place to explore Max4Live devices is the Ableton site. I also like the stuff on the Isotonik Studios website:
https://isotonikstudios.com

I'll be honest; and I know it kills you guys who are synth experts and production specialists, but I don't know how to use my DAW at all; let alone Max4Live. It kind of feels like it's over my head.

You can pretty much think of Max4Life as a Ableton specific plugin format that is extremely flexible. You do not have to know the details of Max4Life in order to use it. Max4Live devices work exactly like native Ableton devices. No need to program it.

[RichieWitch]

I've been using Live for over four years--it was my firsts DAW, and I was completely lost when I first launched it. After stumbling across a copy of Jake Perrine's excellent book on Ableton Live, I decided to upgrade to Standard before my intro price ran out.

I've never regretted it. It did ultimately buy Sampler (definitely a must-have once you know how to use Live) but I've never felt like I was missing out on anything else. For me, Standard was a better path because I was able to slowly build my own arsenal of instruments and plugins that helped me to develop my own sound and workflow.

[mgw38]

And don't forget: you can always upgrade from Standard to Suite later.

[spendthrift2]

And don't forget: you can always upgrade from Standard to Suite later.

That's part of my rationale. I'm leaning toward standard, but asking around to see if anyone has reasoning to opt in for Suite.

[Winstontaneous]

Note that you should be able to find a secondhand license of Suite for around the same price as Standard. I get a lot of mileage from Suite's extra instruments, FX and Max4Live goodies (as well as sample packs included), which together with Push 2 is the most inspiring DAW setup I've used.

[mgw38]

There is also an Ableton Summer sale overdue. But Ableton sales usually don't include educational licenses.

[spendthrift2]

There is also an Ableton Summer sale overdue. But Ableton sales usually don't include educational licenses.

The educational offer is hard to beat. It's 449 Suite 269 Standard. I think that's 40%!

[thecontrolcentre]

You get an incredible number of instruments, effects & samples in Suite for the extra $180. The new Wavetable synth sounds great. The Convolution reverb, Sampler & Operator are top notch. Max4Live is the icing on the cake.

[mgw38]

There is also an Ableton Summer sale overdue. But Ableton sales usually don't include educational licenses.

The educational offer is hard to beat. It's 449 Suite 269 Standard. I think that's 40%!

$404.10 and $242.10 in cart at JRRShop:
https://www.jrrshop.com/catalogsearch/r ... ducational

These are also the prices you can get for regular licenses when you buy second hand.

[spendthrift2]

There is also an Ableton Summer sale overdue. But Ableton sales usually don't include educational licenses.

The educational offer is hard to beat. It's 449 Suite 269 Standard. I think that's 40%!

$404.10 and $242.10 in cart at JRRShop:
https://www.jrrshop.com/catalogsearch/r ... ducational

These are also the prices you can get for regular licenses when you buy second hand.

that's a very useful link. Thank you

[voidhead23]

i've been thinking about this for some time. i got an educational discount + summer sale for Suite years ago and, at the time, really wanted Operator so i pulled the trigger on the whole deal. Over time, i realized i wasn't using a lot of the built-in instruments (the effects are another story...i rarely use 3rd party plugins for effects or processors). i could get away with Simpler and Drum Rack and be fine, which are included in Standard. When Ableton got to 10, i was thinking about downgrading to Standard.

But i stuck with Suite mainly for Max4Live, but not for the reason a lot of other people rave about it. i don't go in and build my own synths and effects with it, but it adds a user customization factor to the program that nudges Ableton more into Reaper territory, where a user base can address needs the developers aren't. If there's something i need Live to do, but it can't, i can more than likely find a Max4Live device that can do it and it'll be free. i've found helpful devices for getting the session view follow actions to behave radically different for live performance, to humanize MIDI timing for drums, more experimental distortions...and Henke's Granulator II is honestly the best granular synth i've tried. More than being a playground for sound design, i find Max4Live to be a solutions machine for when i hit a frustrating limitation (and i'm not an advanced user at all, i just find that Ableton wasn't designed for all the things i need it to be).

However, if you make more straight-ahead EDM/electronic or minimal techno stuff this will be much more of a non-issue.

The instruments that come with Live Suite aren't dazzling, apart from Sampler and Operator, which are both fantastic (i think i'm the only person who isn't impressed with how Wavetable sounds). And the Suite effects aren't essential.

[spendthrift2]

i've been thinking about this for some time. i got an educational discount + summer sale for Suite years ago and, at the time, really wanted Operator so i pulled the trigger on the whole deal. Over time, i realized i wasn't using a lot of the built-in instruments (the effects are another story...i rarely use 3rd party plugins for effects or processors). i could get away with Simpler and Drum Rack and be fine, which are included in Standard. When Ableton got to 10, i was thinking about downgrading to Standard.

But i stuck with Suite mainly for Max4Live, but not for the reason a lot of other people rave about it. i don't go in and build my own synths and effects with it, but it adds a user customization factor to the program that nudges Ableton more into Reaper territory, where a user base can address needs the developers aren't. If there's something i need Live to do, but it can't, i can more than likely find a Max4Live device that can do it and it'll be free. i've found helpful devices for getting the session view follow actions to behave radically different for live performance, to humanize MIDI timing for drums, more experimental distortions...and Henke's Granulator II is honestly the best granular synth i've tried. More than being a playground for sound design, i find Max4Live to be a solutions machine for when i hit a frustrating limitation (and i'm not an advanced user at all, i just find that Ableton wasn't designed for all the things i need it to be).

However, if you make more straight-ahead EDM/electronic or minimal techno stuff this will be much more of a non-issue.

The instruments that come with Live Suite aren't dazzling, apart from Sampler and Operator, which are both fantastic (i think i'm the only person who isn't impressed with how Wavetable sounds). And the Suite effects aren't essential.

Thanks for your reply. I don't know what to think about Wavetable. It's clever, but I don't know how I'd use it tbh because I don't have very good command of the keys (I stink). lol

I rehashed the side by side and I see lots of extras for that relatively small amount of money. I suppose I'll be better off getting Suite.

Thanks everyone.