Ableton vs. Logic mixdown; also a question about pan law

Manic Harmonic · Post by **Manic Harmonic** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 10:45 am

I know there is plenty of information on the internet that has come to the conclusion that you can do an equally good mixdown in any DAW. BUT, I swear my mixdowns in Logic sound better (it's possible I'm just spending less time on the mixdown in Ableton). I've also read some things about Ableton's pan law being different than other DAW's but I can't figure out what the difference is. So:

-Assuming all DAW's are equal, there must be something about Ableton that I don't know that is affecting my mixdowns/sound quality. Can anyone shed some light on this?

-What exactly about Ableton's panning law is different than other DAW's, and how does this affect the sound and stereo width of the mix?

This is referring to transferring finished tracks over to Live. I'm using the same equalizers, compressors etc. for the most part, and any Logic plugins I'm using are bounced to audio and sent to Ableton unmodified. The only difference is I'm using ableton's compressor for sidechaining, and I'm using a different reverb for my sends, however I'm using Logic's IRs in another convolution reverb with the same attack/release/decay/eq/stereo width settings.

Am I just not used to using a new program and I'm being judgemental of it?

Refuzed · Post by **Refuzed** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 10:50 am

i think it could be because a lot of people have this thought that logic sounds better. maybe you've jsut got this stuck in your head and now you think you can hear it?
regarding the panning i'm not really sure i'm sure someone else will be able to help you on that one though

Manic Harmonic · Post by **Manic Harmonic** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 11:08 am

Refuzed wrote:i think it could be because a lot of people have this thought that logic sounds better. maybe you've jsut got this stuck in your head and now you think you can hear it?
regarding the panning i'm not really sure i'm sure someone else will be able to help you on that one though

That's highly possible. There seems to be this general consensus among professionals that Ableton Live is nothing more than a "toy" for amateurs and thus has lesser sound quality, and I might just have that idea in my head subconsciously.

by the way, when i said "something I don't know" i meant something that i may be doing wrong, just to clarify.

mitchAUS · Post by **mitchAUS** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 3:58 pm

Refuzed wrote:i think it could be because a lot of people have this thought that logic sounds better. maybe you've jsut got this stuck in your head and now you think you can hear it?
regarding the panning i'm not really sure i'm sure someone else will be able to help you on that one though

I'm probably doing this. I switched to logic and i swear it sounds so much better before i even start delving into logics built in effects. I understand I'm probably crazy but it sounds better to me and therefore inspires me more. So I'm just going with it.

bmills · Post by **bmills** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 7:49 pm

hmm I would check all your export settings in both daws and make sure they match up. Besides that I've heard this rumor too but I really think it comes down to logic's raw samples. Maybe someone should upload a ableton export vs. a logic export of the same tune and we can A/B it.

travis_baker · Post by **travis_baker** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 4:27 am

yeah do that

Mushroom Buttons · Post by **Mushroom Buttons** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:49 am

curious about this too. keep us posted.

Warwolt · Post by **Warwolt** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:55 am

Also, make sure that both software have the same output, even just something like a 2db difference probably could be audible, it'll sound slightly better if its slightly louder.