Whats Ableton like?

[Trichome]

My friend has an ableton live disc he wants to sell me
I remember I got a free Lite version of it with my MIDI keyboard as well as a free vst and tons of soundbanks... I installed it, and didn't really like it.. but from what I am aware of it was a pretty outdated version..
Has it changed alot since then or has it mostly stayed the same?
Whats the workflow like?
Questions questions..
I would like to know how it works and how its arranged before I buy it
(Don't ask me to download the demo because I am already over my download limit for this month.. )

/wall of pretty text

[serox]

sigh x2

[DZA]

Ableton = the shittttttt

[paravrais]

It's good.

Never use colours again.

If you have the lite version why not re-install it?? Or watch some youtube videos? Or download the demo. If you've reached your usage limit how come your on dsf...

[djake]

Ableton = the shittttttt

this.

[ninjadog]

If you dident like it then, you probably still wont.

[corpu5]

dont think i can use anything else but ableton

[Basic A]

What DAW are you currently using?

If your about to tell me Cubase/FL/Logic

...your gonna find yourself on a foreign planet in live.

[Trichome]

@Pavarais

It doesn't charge you until you go 1gb over
And don't worry, I won't use colours again, I just wanted to see what it would look like

@Basic

This is exactly why I started this thread
Do you think its worth buying it and using it along with FL/Reason or should I just stick with what I have?

[narcissus]

what's ableton like? it's like a beautiful woman. who appears to you walking through the bottom of a 4000 foot waterfall.. she comes up to you and gives you a gentle kiss.. this is only a description of the first few devices..

[Disco Nutter]

If you dident like it then, you probably still wont.

Not exactly true. I remember I didn't like it (or most probably didn't know how to use it) the first time I installed it. The second time I did it though, I fell in love with it!

[samurai]

use the demo for 30 days. nobody here can tell you if you're going to like it or not.

[DJ Crackle]

I've been meaning to get Ableton. As much as I don't want to, as far as I'm aware, it's the only option I have for integrating live stuff into my performances. I really wanna get some duo shit going, where at least one of us (me or my homie) would be doing something other than mixing. Maybe playing a VST, or dropping acapella loops (PANTyRAiD style). And I think that'll be the easiest/only way I know of. I'm completely retarded when it comes to live performances, aside from straight DJing...
=|

[twentz]

the workflow is whatever you want it to be, that's the beauty of it. the session view is an incredible compositional tool, and a lot of the built in effects are inspiring and encourage experimentation. if you're into mad tweaking, can't beat Max for Live.

that being said, the arrangement features are lacking compared to the other, "traditional" DAWS. the same instant drag and drop creativity that makes it awesome inhibits finer adjusts (no crossfades and primitive automation as of vers. 7, current version 8 i hear is still very buggy). i'm not really a fan of the internal mixer either -- definitely looking at logic or cubase for a complement to abe's madness.

creative or LIVE tool

[contakt321]

A cold glass of water on a hot summer day

jokes...

In all seriousness, I think coming to Ableton from another DAW is kind of like getting your first Mac after being PC only for 20 years.

Some things are so intuitive and easy, it's almost hard to grasp. Then finally it will click and you can never imagine going back.

Yes, the other people are correct, some things are slightly lacking in midi editing, but considering there are 5 ways to do any task in Ableton, it's never too much of an issue.

[wayoftheworld]

If your about to tell me Cubase/FL/Logic

...your gonna find yourself on a foreign planet in live.

this wasn't really the case for me at all when i switched to live from using fruity loops. sure, switching to a any new daw is going to seem foreign until you learn it, but ableton immediately felt more intuitive to me than fruity, and i remember having quite a lot of "AHA!" moments from the very get go. ableton's workflow is just so much faster and efficient for me than fruity, and it didn't take long at all to get up and going with live.

i kinda feel that if ableton is your first and only daw, it might be kinda hard to appreciate what it has to offer over the other daws. and dont listen to those saying it's not good enough for use in the studio. sure, the midi aspect might be slightly lacking, but then ive always found fruity's midi capabilities to be a bit bloated and overkill for what i do.

[paravrais]

Dunno why everyone always says ableton is so different from the other DAWS :s I came to ableton from reason and found it really easy to pick up and really intuitive. Equally I can use reaper or cubase and they all feel fairly similar to me. Fruity and Renoise however, boggles the mind. Can't get those two programs to work for shit. They hate me.

[Sharmaji]

easiest comparison I can think of is if you imagine a sliding scale in which one end is a plate-glass window and the other, a trebuchet, ableton's like a nice veggie pad thai.

[DJ Crackle]

I'm currently looking into Ableton for my audio purposes. I <3 Reason and just want a DAW for all things live audio-related. Add on that the fact that it's good for live, and I've got pretty good reason to get it.
Especially 'cause the only other DAW i've got right now is FL and... eh.
Waiting to get mai Cubase back from my brother.

[ENNO]

its like......warm apple pie.