EQ Magazine - March 2008 - (Page 68)

Soft Machines ABLETON LIVE 7 to edit Acidized files, or lock sample starts to particular SMPTE times. Conversely, Live has attributes DAWs generally don’t have, such as encouraging improvisation and being able to capture multitrack live performance gestures. If all DAWs disappeared tomorrow except for Live, I wouldn’t lose too much sleep. I’d miss some pretty important features, but Live can serve as a DAW for many, if not most, users. On the other hand if you don’t need Live’s unique features, it’s more expensive than some other DAWs, which may take care of your needs more completely anyway. Regarding (2), thinking of Live as a replacement for what you’re doing instead of as a supplement is limiting, particularly because you can ReWire Live (which can serve as a client or host) into most DAWs. Then again, if you compare Live’s feature list with what you’re using from your current DAW, you may not need more than what Live has to offer. As for (3), Live represents a different take on the musical process that’s optimized more for composing/improvising than simply capturing a performance. As a result, its interface may seem odd, and take some getting used to. If you’re not into loop-oriented music, Session View probably won’t make much sense but for me, Session View is the coolest part about Live—once I figured it out! And when you do figure it out, it’s all very logical. CONCLUSIONS Live is an original, unique program that has carved out its own niche—and been rewarded with much success, as it can be used by many different types of musicians for many different applications. Of course, this review only scratches the surface but downloading the program will answer any questions you have in far greater detail. Live impressed me when it first appeared; over the years, it’s only impressed me more. PRODUCT TYPE: Digital audio/MIDI sequencer with groove and live performance orientation. TARGET MARKET: Laptop musicians, DJs, audio-for-video, remixing, live performance, recording studios. STRENGTHS: Unique paradigm encourages improvisation. Effective, built-in time stretching. Supports multiple time signatures. Good roster of effects and instruments. Video export. Some effects support sidechaining. SmartPriming uses RAM more efficiently. 64-bit resolution for mix bus. Inspiring. LIMITATIONS: Still can’t record solo button presses. Optional-at-extra-cost instruments add up. MIDI editing, while fast and useable, lacks depth compared to most DAWs. LIST PRICE: $599 boxed (including Essential Instrument Collection 2 content) or $499 download with no EIC. Ableton Suite (Ableton Live 7 and six instruments, EIC, and Session Drum sample set) $999; for other options and upgrade prices, see the Ableton website. CONTACT: www.ableton.com 68 EQ MARCH 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.ableton.com http://www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - March 2008

EQ Magazine - March 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Tool Box Dream Theater Nick Drake LO-FI Recording Tricks Guitar Trax Bass Managment Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Tascam Gigastudio 4 Cakewalk Sonar 7 Crane Song Avocet Cad Signature Series Mic Packs Waves GTR3 Kjaerhus MPL-1 Pro SE Ableton Live 7 Centrance Micport Pro, Tapco LINK.midi 4x4, Multi-Gigabyte USB 2.0 Memory Sticks Digital Redux Electrotech, Nine Volt Audio Action Drums, Big Fish Audio Hadeeth 2 Room with a VU

EQ Magazine - March 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.