Customer Reviews

Ableton Suite 8 Full Version Audio Software

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I bought Suite 8 to use mainly as a production tool but due to a power surge, my DJ mixer got fried. I had just bought a house and Live 8 was already a big purchase so I was going to be in trouble when it came time to make mixes for my college radio show. Turns out Live is a tool that I have always wanted. I started playing wth Tension etc. and found every one of them to be more than impressive for sound design but what really blew me away is how Live makes it possible to make blends that are technically impossible. If I have an idea, 99% of the time I can make it happen. As a college radio DJ, I have complete freedom to play whatever I want so anything goes. I actually mixed En Vogue's "Never Gonna Get It" with Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking" seamlessly which would be impossible with just the standard DJ setup. The best part is, when I do replace my mixer I can split up the tracks and actually cut them up myself with Serato. With "The Bridge" on the horizon, Live will probably become as essential as a turntable for me as a DJ. I know a few DJ's who think the digital revolution is bad and makes it so anyone can become a DJ, but really it depends on your level of creativity. If you want to just mix records and "Flash", you don't need this but if you want to do the impossible and flip intros and songs around on the fly....
I recently upgraded from Tiger to Snow Leopard which was causing Live and Garage Band to crash but within 2/12 days and three emails, Abletons tech support was able to solve the problem for both!!! This problem was related to Melodyne needing to be updated and I couldn't find any info on the internet. Excellent tech support!!!!
I can't wait until I have more time to delve into the real meat of the program but from what I've seen so far, I'll be blown away many times over. If you decide to get it, my only advice is to watch a tutorial on youtube, try it in Live and then go back and forth until it sinks in. Live has an initially confusing layout, but it becomes second nature quickly. Don't be intimidated.

I can't add much to what has already been said about Ableton Live except to say it really is everything everybody says it is. All you have to do to find out is down load a FREE FULLY FUNCTIONAL copy from their website (they'll give you a free 30 license) and try it for yourself. Including technical support. I ended up buying the whole suite and I'm really glad I did. So much stuff comes with the Suite version that I think I could play with it for the rest of my life without running out of things to try and experiment with. I use both the "composing/production" side (Session View) and the "recording" side (Arrangement View) which are seamlessly integrated. I suppose a hardcore Pro Tools person could list some obscure feature Pro Tools has that Live doesn't (and probably visa versa) but I am not aware of any feature you have a right to expect from a fully professional recording DAW that Live doesn't have. And the amazing thing is, that's only half of it - before you even GET to that half, you've got the most amazing, powerful, intuitive and un-invasive (it doesn't interfere with your natural working processes) composing and producing tool you could imagine. In addition, the customer service is excellent (though they need to start staffing up - the application's user base is growing exponentially and it shows in their response time (still way better than the nightmares I've heard about Pro Tools but it needs to improve)). In a world of software like "Sibelius" where despite the huge cost of the software, provides you exactly ONE call to customer support (that's right O-N-E !!!) and then they CHARGE YOU after that, these guys are definitely operating in the opposite paradigm. I'm telling you - don't believe me!! Just down load it and see for youself!!!