[microsound] why i'm not excited about Live

Mon Jan 19 13:22:36 EST 2009

that's really the only big one left to do...

On 19-Jan-09, at 1:07 PM, Michael Kuszynski wrote:

> Does anyone have any insight on why bezier automation curves are not a
> feature within Live?
>
> Seems like such an elementary DAW feature.
>
> Version 8 appears to finally offer crossfading.
>
> They seem to add a lot of whiz-bang features, and leave out crucial  
> ones.
>
> On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 1:03 PM, CraqueMat <craque at craque.net> wrote:
>> I've tried to embrace Ableton Live, I truly have.
>>
>> I grew up on "real DAW" before the D was even part of it (remember
>> before the Internet that thing called just "MOTU Performer" and it's
>> multiple copy-protected floppies?), so maybe I'm just being too  
>> inflexible.
>>
>> And frankly, I haven't explored Live beyond the versions I can  
>> get, uh,
>> "preview copies" of. However, it's such a delicate DRM matter that  
>> I'd
>> rather not bother, because it could stop working, so I don't.
>>
>> I like some of the GUI benefits of Live. It makes for a quick work  
>> flow,
>> maybe too quick, maybe too easy. When I use Live, I feel like I'm
>> playing with a toy, which may not be a bad thing, but in so many  
>> cases I
>> have gotten going in one direction and hit walls that I don't  
>> encounter
>> in DP or Logic. So much so, that it's been frustrating to the  
>> point that
>> I can't use Live because I know the walls are there, and Live will  
>> force
>> me to work in a certain Live-Paradigm that sometimes just isn't
>> complemented by my brain (and vice versa) or what I want to  
>> accomplish
>> musically.
>>
>> It's extremely cost prohibitive for me as well. Laying down several
>> hundred clams on a DAW means to me: you're using that DAW until  
>> you get
>> your money's worth. When I wonder about how many people I know use  
>> these
>> software packages illegally, I also wonder about how many people
>> actually pay for them, and what the real market demand is. In other
>> words, the sort of grassroots/DIY/homemade music (that I'm  
>> interested in
>> at least) isn't made by people that have a few grand of cash lying
>> around to buy software to help them make music. There's a weird
>> economical constant buried in there someplace, because I know  
>> software
>> piracy in the underground electronica world is pretty rampant. Is  
>> this
>> part of the "academic" dichotomy? I don't really know, but it  
>> feels to
>> me like academes probably have easier "legal" access to this software
>> than a grassroots musician does.
>>
>> In the end, I don't use things like Max/MSP and Live because they are
>> not the way I think about making music, in fact I often feel like  
>> they
>> get IN the way. I'm much more tactile, I get very easily frustrated
>> that, when using "software" to *create* music, I become lost in the
>> creation of the software and not the making of music. This is  
>> probably a
>> hangover from being a classical musician, where the means to  
>> create are
>> immediately at hand (or throat, as the case may be).
>>
>> Pluggo is plenty for me, in other words. While I know the DSP  
>> folks will
>> friggin love the Live/Max marriage, I don't see a use for it. I know
>> it's a flexible program, I have a good friend who uses it  
>> religiously,
>> and *I* was the one to get him to move off ACID onto Live.  
>> Personally, I
>> feel like Live forces me to work in a particular way with a
>> particular... well, "groove", for lack of a better word. That may  
>> be a
>> preset/customization argument, but when I see how cookie cutter  
>> Live has
>> gotten (it's not nearly as slim as it used to be, I get easily  
>> confused
>> looking at its interface nowadays, and now it seems like nearly EVERY
>> plugin has its own catalog of presets), it doesn't enamor me to  
>> use it.
>>
>> Neil Clopton wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 11:00 AM, <microsound-request at microsound.org
>>> <mailto:microsound-request at microsound.org>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Firstly, Live can be used in a more traditional linear way in
>>>> 'Arrangement' view at the tap of a button.
>>>
>>>
>>> I spend ~98% of my time in Live in the Arrangement view.
>>>
>>>> Just because it is
>>>> capable of undertaking loop based sequencing, does not mean that
>>>> the software is a one trick pony, and therefore should be
>>>> discounted without question.
>>>
>>>
>>> I think a lot of people are not aware of how Live's features and
>>> ambitions have grown.  Especiallly since version 6, Live has  
>>> become a
>>> full featured DAW with good MIDI, recording and ReWire support.
>>>
>>> --
>>> DJ Dual Core's Blog
>>> http://oldmixtapes.blogspot.com/
>>>
>>>
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
>>> ----
>>>
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>
>
>
> -- 
> Michael Kuszynski
> kuszynski at gmail.com
> www.planerecordings.com
> New York, NY
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