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Ableton Live 7
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Ableton Live 7

General Sequencer from Ableton belonging to the Live 7 series

songboy songboy
Published on 11/07/09 at 09:19
Ableton 7 works flawlessly with my Macbook and Presonus firebox setup. 
As for the Manual, I looked through it a few times and found some answers here and there, but I only used it to find answers to questions I knew.  I got some video tutorials online that showed me things in Ableton I might have never known from just fingering thru the Manual.  So over all, I would say its clear, but not really sufficient. 
The general configuration and setup is a little daunting at first.  This is my first installment of Ableton and at first, I didn't have a clue what to do.  The session view was such a new concept for me, but, after plugging around for an hour (before I looked in the manual) I was able to grasp the basic concepts.  So I would say, alone, its not simple if you have never used any ableton's before, but if you poke around for a little bit you will get a good general idea of what to do.  Throw in a tutorial or two and you mind is going to blow!!!  Once I got used to the interface, yes, most all the functions are very accessible.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

Yes, it works very good with my Macbook.  No problems.  
I have not had any stability issues with the program yet.  All updates have worked well too. 
Performance??  This thing is effing amazing.  I bought an Boss RC 50 unit 2-3 years ago to get the 1 man band thing going.  It functioned fairly well but had some serious limitations.  Ableton 7 has put my RC 50 to shame, and what I have read about 8 with the looper built in, well, I can't wait.  If you are looking to do the same, this is the software for you.  11 out of 10!!!
I have been using this program for about two months now.

OVERALL OPINION

What I like most is the great time stretching ability.  I don't know any hardware/software that is better than Ableton at doing this.  There are a lot more things I love, but I could go on forever.  What I don't like, well, I wish there was an option to setup midi control buttons to operate whatever track is highlighted.  Instead, you have to assign each button to one track, ends up using a lot of buttons.
I got ableton with an artist discount and paid around $250, which was an amazing deal. 
The sound quality sounds great, even when I set the samples way low (for latency issues).  Very happy with the sound.
Ableton 7 was the first I have used and as far as I know, there is no other program that does what Ableton does.
I would make the same choice in a heart beat.  This is essential to any electronic musician or even regular musician who wants an amazing tool to be a one man band.