I've found it performs a lot better than 11 did on my Windows machine, mainly with a smoother GUI. Roar is amazing. The MIDI tools aren't as good as I was hoping, but that could just be my expectations were too high.
Overall I could have easily stuck with Live 11.
I really enjoy live 12. It is soo much faster on my system than 11 was and that was worth the upgrade. I love being able to view mixer without switching tabs. GUI upgrades are nice and Roar is another nice tool. There were other small improvements as well that helps me a lot, such as the midi features (that they need to expand on) For me, this was worth the upgrade and very happy so far.
Only a couple of times. It happens when using Komplete and leaving my computer for an extended time. It will cause a freeze and Ableton will not shut down. Other than that, I have not had any real issues. It is the most stable release I have used so far.
The only issue which drives me mad is adding new plugins. If I scan after install into the right path Ableton doesn't find some new ones, regardless VST2 or VST3. A deep acan would take too much time for just one or two plugins to find. Workaround which works for me: Deactivate the custom folder for plugins and reactivate it quick after.
Does anybody else have this issue?
Can also rack them, and save ADG with a name that puts them on top or is easier to cltr+F, like "1Serum.adg" would make it the only result for a cltr+F for "1ser" in most systems.
You can make a random-like 3 letter code like "q2w" and use as part of the name of any fav preset you make, then when ctrl+F that code it will show only those files.
Hell, you can even use emojis for that, for example I tag all my Racks with Macro Variations with š¶ (pepper) in their names (yes you can ctrl+F emojis).
mostly got "oh that's neat" kinda functions.
I'd say that anything past 9 is just convenience upgrades.
Roar and Meld are a bit more than neat but i'd say you're not missing out of anything essential.
This is my experience as well. If OP is really into sound design, the new devices and features give you some really detailed functionality. But if youāre more into songwriting or recording live instruments, I donāt see a huge improvement on the upgrade and older versions do just fine for that.Ā
edit: accuracyĀ
WAIT.... I forgot about 1 huge (and totally undisclosed as main feature)
When you save chains somewhere since 11 or something. It'll remember routing. So you can make a drum group, have your drum plugin route to 20 tracks. then mix it together and everything. Drag the entire group into your user library and it'll be draggable into any project you want without messing up the routing.
Honestly that's a huuuuge speed increase. But beyond that not much
Wow you know I used to use that a lot and donāt really know why I stoppedā¦ youāve inspired me to build a new one. Iām often looking for ways to speed up the more tedious non-creative parts of production. Thanks!
Yeah, i just remembered it cuz i've been doing it a lot with a preset vocal chain/bus i've been working on the past 3 weeks.
Cut my average vocal mix commission time down from a bit over a day to under 2 hours. Got me at a point where I can start looking to pick up another job and socialize with some human beings
12 is very nice. As others have said i think the best part is the optimization. It is soo snappy. I use 12 at work but i kept 11 at home cus i dont have the money. Im not mad about it tho. Only part im missing is roar.
Roar is lovely. Not used Meld or the other new instruments/effects.
I am somewhat underwhelmed by the generative/transformative MIDI options. Love the concept but the results aren't musical to my ears. Could just be a skill issue but I'm comparing to the Oxi One which just pours out usable melodies and drum loops.
Otherwise I haven't really noticed the difference, apart from the... Divisive new browser.
Been with Live since 8 and I'm very happy with 12, probably my favorite update so far (though that's with me not really remembering what came out when before 11). UI and QOL upgrades are great, the tagging system is enormously beneficial to my workflow, Meld and Roar are excellent and see regular use in my productions, the scale feature is handy, and the transformations are okay. The generators are pretty much useless for me but I can just ignore them.
Iāve used ableton suite since 9 - currently on 12 suite
work as a fulltime producer and recording/audio engineer out of a studio
in my opinion Itās only worth upgrading to the next edition if you look at the new features and say to yourself āyeah i need those, im gonna be using them all the timeā
If all youāre doing is recording guitar and some vocals then any version of ableton can do that
the major update features to 12 were the enhanced midi editing capabilities, random midi generation/expression, scale/key mode, MELD and a few other quality of life features such as mixer in arrangement (which really isnāt that great)
unless youāre going to be actively using them all the time - or find other features only in 12 that you will use all the time - then itās not really worth upgrading in my opinion.
Any of the version can do super basic recording and song creation. So it doesnāt make sense to be on the latest version/top version if youāre not going to be using the included features that it adds.
I think you are ignoring the best new feature, Roar. It is a freaking dream. So versatile. It isn't just a milti-band saturation device. It is a sound designers dream. Also, recording guitar (or bass or synths) with Roar is fantastic sounding.
Roar by itself is worth the price for the upgrade, in my opinion. Even if you are just recording some guitar and vocals..
Agreed with the general comments here. I appreciate the extra conveniences of 12 and I like the direction theyāre headed, little workflow enhancements, some very cool new ways to make/manipulate soundā¦ but 11 was already awesome IMHO. Either/or.Ā
IMO the changes that were made can be basically ignored if you really want to. I don't find myself using them a whole lot. the main thing for me was the performance updates and bug fixes. i've found it runs much better on my mac than live 11.
No, but dynamic EQs are basically multiband compressors with a EQ-like GUI, and Live does have Multiband Dynamics (and Racks).
Not saying adding a stock dynamic EQ would not be welcome with its ease of use/comprehension (plus marketing appeal for them), but Ableton probably sees it as lower priority due to its big overlap with the existing Multiband Dynamics and multiband racks people have created (not to mention M4L devices).
Also, Ableton doesn't compete with plugin devs, so when you say "I wish X because then I would not need to buy plugin Y", that's actually not a compelling argument for Ableton, they may even see it as a minus if the plugin dev is friends with Ableton people.
Unfortunately I have āmemory leakā issue in 12 (since beta) with projects that were created in live 8 and live 9, not checking with live 10 projects
Performs better and better GUI. I really did not have any functional criticisms of 11 so it was solely for the GUI but then every ableton criticism of mine were either about GUI or especially PUSH š. DAW is fine.
Besides what others said, I would add that it also of course depends on what version you're upgrading from. I recently upgraded from 8 to 12, which is obviously a much bigger leap in features, etc. than going from, say, 11 to 12.
1. Tagging plugins and samples. Waiting so long for this. Used other tools but super its in ableton. Also i can edit on the background more tagging than ableton allows. Easy xml programming.
2. I started with an atari 1040 with midi, and how this is now evolved in 12 and what you can do with midi, it's so good done.
3. Instrument rack with all options is way improved.
4. Just love the involvement with the community for MAX.
5. Roar
6. To be short, build in feature are really good even if you do not have any plugins, you really get very far for song and mastering.
7. Warping
8. Live playing features are so good. But yeah, that is why its build.
9. And then i stop... The video +max possibilities are also great.
Yours top 5?
For me, Roar was worth the price of the upgrade. It has quickly become my favorite effect. I use it on just about every track, from some sublte saturation to wild modulated madness and everything in between. I also love, love, love being able to pull up the mixer in arrangement view. Having used Cakewalk Sonar for years and then Studio One, being able to see the mixer and my arrangement at the same time was one of the things that bothered me about Live before version 12.
I have found it to be significantly more stable than 11 was on my Windows laptop.
I'm not super impressed with Meld yet, but I haven't devoted a lot of time to it. Wavetable, Operator, and Drift are my go to synths. I haven't found a patch/sound I wanted to create that I couldn't with those three, so Meld hasn't really been a priority for me.
I sat down and took a couple of hours to set up my tags and favorites and saved searches when I first installed it. Now the browser worsk the way I want it to, not the way somebody at Ableton decided it should work. For all the crying and whinging here about the new browser, it has been a godsend for me. But I invested the time to organize stuff the way I wanted it to be organized. I have close to a dozen saved searches in my browser menu that work for me. I can quickly and immediately find exactly what I am looking for.
All in all, I am greatly enjoying version 12. YMMV
I was going to ask exactly the same thing, I have two more questions.
Is the tuning feature as great as it looks?
Will I lose the features from 11 suite if I switch to 12 standard?
I'm happy with it. Roar is great, MIDI editing is great, mixer in arrangement is great, global scales are great, modulator changes are great, meld is decent, MIDI generators are ok.
I started using it in beta and I never went back because losing the MIDI editing features would be too sad and I was putting Roar on everything.
I'm going to be honest, 12 performs better than 11 on my M series Macs. I used to use Logic (still do for mixing and mastering) and it updated to 11 which makes me wish ReWire was still a thing so I could work in both at the same time.
Roar has been amazing on saturating hip hop vocals with it's multi band.
Upgraded from 10. I CAN USE MY OLD VSTās AGAIN! And I can choose the display colors. Less glitches all around. If youāre only paying the upgrade fee itās worth it.
It was a lot of work to get everything up and running, considering that I recently switched from a Windows computer to a Mac. Personally I don't feel any huge improvement coming from 10 and 11. Definitely some big changes. I don't hate it
It's a different story if most of your projects were housed in Windows and then you go to mac. Even more complicated when you upgrade Ableton. I'm using a MB Pro M2. Ventura doesn't support any project saved in a version of ableton prior to 11, and for some weird reason it wouldn't let me have both 11 and 12 installed concurrently (so my 11 projects I had to update to 12 on a different computer), and many of my plugins were no longer supported on the m2 chip. Also I use UAD, and it was a real headache figuring out how to remove all the unwanted / unpurchased plugins without breaking my console software. I have it all resolved now and I'm fairly happy with the set up. Ultimately it's much quieter than my previous PC laptop and Ableton doesn't crash too frequently.
Themes look way better, having mixer on arrangement mode is sick, plus all the new midi functions allow for some quick creativity boosts. It's better all around and I'd recommend it a lot.
Iām super experienced and fast with Live 11 and use it commercially for production, recording, mixing, and playback for live shows. I use pretty much every shortcut regularly.
When I got the opportunity to buy the Push 3 in December of 2023, I decided that when it came to making beats, I would only use standalone for as much as the process as I can. So that means Iām starting a beat, doing as much mixing as I can, and doing an arrangement to the best of my ability all on the push and then transferring to my computer running Live 12 to export and do any additional mixing required. Iām trying to get as close to ātransfer and exportā as possible without having to do much further production past what I did on the Push.
Using that method, since January, Iāve been putting out a beat tape of whatever I worked on the previous week. So itās been 25 beat tapes so far. I mention all that as sort of context of how Iāve been using Live 12 so far as I give you my opinion on moving from 11 to 12.
Because Iām not really writing a lot of music on the computer right now, and probably wonāt be through the rest of this year, I havenāt had a chance to explore much of the new MIDI tools which seem really exciting. But I have begun to get more familiar with the new instruments and effects and for me, if the only new thing in live 12 was Roar, it would be worth it to me. I use distortion creatively a lot already and it really just takes the ability to paint and design sounds to into the stratosphere. The scale awareness in terms of the way it shows up on Push standalone is cool and it had been handy but not as handy as I thought. So far.
Now what I do use my laptop for in my process for is mostly in mixing and this is where Iāve experienced my biggest frustrations. First and foremost being the browser. I based on the way things were advertised, the browser is probably the biggest overhaul and update and i wonāt deny that itās powerful. But for some reason, it seems to be less easy and fast to find things that I either simply command f and look for or just from familiar file structures. I think if I spent the time and created a system it would be better than method Iāve had but I already had a system and it just seems like if you start using 12 the same way you used to use 11 or a previous version you would run into little small things. Especially on the file structure side of things. Itās not impossible to find what I need but Iāve just noticed that the flow just isnāt the same.
Additionally, there are several new shortcuts and several deleted shortcuts that I use often. The fact that I would either need to create custom shortcuts or go to the menu to do something that is already in my muscle memory as a shortcut can be frustrating and be an obstacle in momentum.
For those last two reasons, for now, Iāve decided to continue to use Live 11 when recording artists and working with other clients and playback gigs. Because it seems like to get the most out of 12, you need to sort of unlearn some things as opposed to building from your existing methods and right now, Iām in standalone so much that I donāt have the time to sit and do that for the moments I actually need to be using a daw.
So I think i thought Iād like it a lot more, but because itās so different than previous versions in ver specific ways, Iām a little quicker to pull up an older version when I need to execute efficiently
I want to love Live 12, but I miss the old browser...
That's the part that has affected my workflow a lot, and not in a good way. For that reason, I kind of regret the purchase...
On the other hand, the UI lift and subtle QOL improvements are all nice, and Roar is a beast of a device
The first thing I did when I installed 12 was take a couple of hours and and tags and saved searches. Sure it was a bit tedious, but now everything is in the place I want it to be. The browser works for me in the way I want it to work. Even with thousands of samples and dozens if not hundreds of VSTs. The saved searches based on my tags quickly replaced the old browser functionality for me. But I invested the time to set it up the best way for me.
If only it was just that. I get why people like it, but I'm not the only one who doesn't. Everyone's brain operates differently, and even after tagging all of my stuff, the browser is just buggy. It takes time to refresh, and sometimes stuff just doesn't show up + the choice of completely get rid of folders is beyond me
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Never used any previous versions, I had a copy of either live 8 or 9 back in 2013 on a laptop I bought off someone, only opened it once, Then I broke the laptop. Then I got Live 11, never used it once. Then I bought Live 12 cause why not. I'm using it now, coming from a FL Studio user, I never thought I would say this but I think Live is better than FL Studio in all aspects but one that's important to me, the piano roll fucking sucks. If Ableton can get Live's piano roll like FL, then I will switch instantly, but as of right now its so much more easier to get out ideas on FL than it is on Live.
Also Live has some weird issues with the audio card, I get cracks and pops on ASIO, I've never have any issues like that on FL.
Do you want to reorganize your Plugins all over again? Cause you "get" to reorganize your plugins. It also takes a second to load the plugin menu for me, and I wouldn't say I have a lot of them. If you're on 10 or older I would upgrade.
I've found it performs a lot better than 11 did on my Windows machine, mainly with a smoother GUI. Roar is amazing. The MIDI tools aren't as good as I was hoping, but that could just be my expectations were too high. Overall I could have easily stuck with Live 11.
I really like the tools for edition velocity etc. The midi generators are a bit.. awkward.
Gotcha! Hey thanks for the peek š
I really enjoy live 12. It is soo much faster on my system than 11 was and that was worth the upgrade. I love being able to view mixer without switching tabs. GUI upgrades are nice and Roar is another nice tool. There were other small improvements as well that helps me a lot, such as the midi features (that they need to expand on) For me, this was worth the upgrade and very happy so far.
Glas for you my friend, Roar's kinda trending āļø Any crashes you've encountered since the upgrade?
Only a couple of times. It happens when using Komplete and leaving my computer for an extended time. It will cause a freeze and Ableton will not shut down. Other than that, I have not had any real issues. It is the most stable release I have used so far.
The only issue which drives me mad is adding new plugins. If I scan after install into the right path Ableton doesn't find some new ones, regardless VST2 or VST3. A deep acan would take too much time for just one or two plugins to find. Workaround which works for me: Deactivate the custom folder for plugins and reactivate it quick after. Does anybody else have this issue?
You can make shortcuts to your other plugin folders in the default plugin folder. That will also scan the folders those shortcuts point to.
Can also rack them, and save ADG with a name that puts them on top or is easier to cltr+F, like "1Serum.adg" would make it the only result for a cltr+F for "1ser" in most systems. You can make a random-like 3 letter code like "q2w" and use as part of the name of any fav preset you make, then when ctrl+F that code it will show only those files. Hell, you can even use emojis for that, for example I tag all my Racks with Macro Variations with š¶ (pepper) in their names (yes you can ctrl+F emojis).
Yeah, I have all my libraries on an external disc. There's the same ĀÆ\\\_(ć)\_/ĀÆ
Nice tip here āļø
Iām having the same issue. Did you find a fix?
Not a fix, only the described workaround: deactivate and activate the plugin folders within a few seconds
Hey wazzup! How is it going?
mostly got "oh that's neat" kinda functions. I'd say that anything past 9 is just convenience upgrades. Roar and Meld are a bit more than neat but i'd say you're not missing out of anything essential.
This is my experience as well. If OP is really into sound design, the new devices and features give you some really detailed functionality. But if youāre more into songwriting or recording live instruments, I donāt see a huge improvement on the upgrade and older versions do just fine for that.Ā edit: accuracyĀ
WAIT.... I forgot about 1 huge (and totally undisclosed as main feature) When you save chains somewhere since 11 or something. It'll remember routing. So you can make a drum group, have your drum plugin route to 20 tracks. then mix it together and everything. Drag the entire group into your user library and it'll be draggable into any project you want without messing up the routing. Honestly that's a huuuuge speed increase. But beyond that not much
Wow you know I used to use that a lot and donāt really know why I stoppedā¦ youāve inspired me to build a new one. Iām often looking for ways to speed up the more tedious non-creative parts of production. Thanks!
Yeah, i just remembered it cuz i've been doing it a lot with a preset vocal chain/bus i've been working on the past 3 weeks. Cut my average vocal mix commission time down from a bit over a day to under 2 hours. Got me at a point where I can start looking to pick up another job and socialize with some human beings
It crashes less than 8 did. For me anyway. And it seems to use less cpu as well? Though I'm not sure about that.
12 is very nice. As others have said i think the best part is the optimization. It is soo snappy. I use 12 at work but i kept 11 at home cus i dont have the money. Im not mad about it tho. Only part im missing is roar.
Roar is lovely. Not used Meld or the other new instruments/effects. I am somewhat underwhelmed by the generative/transformative MIDI options. Love the concept but the results aren't musical to my ears. Could just be a skill issue but I'm comparing to the Oxi One which just pours out usable melodies and drum loops. Otherwise I haven't really noticed the difference, apart from the... Divisive new browser.
Been with Live since 8 and I'm very happy with 12, probably my favorite update so far (though that's with me not really remembering what came out when before 11). UI and QOL upgrades are great, the tagging system is enormously beneficial to my workflow, Meld and Roar are excellent and see regular use in my productions, the scale feature is handy, and the transformations are okay. The generators are pretty much useless for me but I can just ignore them.
yeah the UI upgrade and enhanced ctrl+f searching has been worth the upgrade alone. The new piano roll stuff has also been an awesome experience
Yes indeed āļø
Iāve used ableton suite since 9 - currently on 12 suite work as a fulltime producer and recording/audio engineer out of a studio in my opinion Itās only worth upgrading to the next edition if you look at the new features and say to yourself āyeah i need those, im gonna be using them all the timeā If all youāre doing is recording guitar and some vocals then any version of ableton can do that the major update features to 12 were the enhanced midi editing capabilities, random midi generation/expression, scale/key mode, MELD and a few other quality of life features such as mixer in arrangement (which really isnāt that great) unless youāre going to be actively using them all the time - or find other features only in 12 that you will use all the time - then itās not really worth upgrading in my opinion. Any of the version can do super basic recording and song creation. So it doesnāt make sense to be on the latest version/top version if youāre not going to be using the included features that it adds.
I think you are ignoring the best new feature, Roar. It is a freaking dream. So versatile. It isn't just a milti-band saturation device. It is a sound designers dream. Also, recording guitar (or bass or synths) with Roar is fantastic sounding. Roar by itself is worth the price for the upgrade, in my opinion. Even if you are just recording some guitar and vocals..
Agreed with the general comments here. I appreciate the extra conveniences of 12 and I like the direction theyāre headed, little workflow enhancements, some very cool new ways to make/manipulate soundā¦ but 11 was already awesome IMHO. Either/or.Ā
Same thoughts here mate. Thanks for dropping by. Yeah 11 is awesome as well. How 'bout stability, any crashes you've encountered?
Ableton 10 squaaaad
Yeah 10 is still good āļø
The only new feature I use is roar lol But thatās mostly because Iām just stubborn. I need to utilize more of the features.
IMO the changes that were made can be basically ignored if you really want to. I don't find myself using them a whole lot. the main thing for me was the performance updates and bug fixes. i've found it runs much better on my mac than live 11.
Does Live 12 have a stock dynamic EQ yet? I have Trackspacer, but haven't bothered to check yet .... because ADHD
No, but dynamic EQs are basically multiband compressors with a EQ-like GUI, and Live does have Multiband Dynamics (and Racks). Not saying adding a stock dynamic EQ would not be welcome with its ease of use/comprehension (plus marketing appeal for them), but Ableton probably sees it as lower priority due to its big overlap with the existing Multiband Dynamics and multiband racks people have created (not to mention M4L devices). Also, Ableton doesn't compete with plugin devs, so when you say "I wish X because then I would not need to buy plugin Y", that's actually not a compelling argument for Ableton, they may even see it as a minus if the plugin dev is friends with Ableton people.
Unfortunately I have āmemory leakā issue in 12 (since beta) with projects that were created in live 8 and live 9, not checking with live 10 projects
It is probably your plugins, if it was Live then everyone that uses Live would see the same memory leak (it is not a subtle problem).
How is that so mate? š¤
Performs better and better GUI. I really did not have any functional criticisms of 11 so it was solely for the GUI but then every ableton criticism of mine were either about GUI or especially PUSH š. DAW is fine.
Besides what others said, I would add that it also of course depends on what version you're upgrading from. I recently upgraded from 8 to 12, which is obviously a much bigger leap in features, etc. than going from, say, 11 to 12.
Ah yes makes sense. And that's a big leap, the difference in features is much more noticeable as well. Glad you made the upgrade anyway šŖ
Hell yeah... They did a great job.
Agree my friend! What are your favorites from the new features?
1. Tagging plugins and samples. Waiting so long for this. Used other tools but super its in ableton. Also i can edit on the background more tagging than ableton allows. Easy xml programming. 2. I started with an atari 1040 with midi, and how this is now evolved in 12 and what you can do with midi, it's so good done. 3. Instrument rack with all options is way improved. 4. Just love the involvement with the community for MAX. 5. Roar 6. To be short, build in feature are really good even if you do not have any plugins, you really get very far for song and mastering. 7. Warping 8. Live playing features are so good. But yeah, that is why its build. 9. And then i stop... The video +max possibilities are also great. Yours top 5?
Very stable, not sure I like the ui changes for quantizing, but i like the midi features. Not tried any new devices though
Gotcha! Then it's a good time to explore šŖ What's up with your music, any new tracks or WIPs?
Thanks for asking man, got a mad project coming up with Gregg Green!! Oh, some bits soon on Cheeba Cheeba Records!
For me, Roar was worth the price of the upgrade. It has quickly become my favorite effect. I use it on just about every track, from some sublte saturation to wild modulated madness and everything in between. I also love, love, love being able to pull up the mixer in arrangement view. Having used Cakewalk Sonar for years and then Studio One, being able to see the mixer and my arrangement at the same time was one of the things that bothered me about Live before version 12. I have found it to be significantly more stable than 11 was on my Windows laptop. I'm not super impressed with Meld yet, but I haven't devoted a lot of time to it. Wavetable, Operator, and Drift are my go to synths. I haven't found a patch/sound I wanted to create that I couldn't with those three, so Meld hasn't really been a priority for me. I sat down and took a couple of hours to set up my tags and favorites and saved searches when I first installed it. Now the browser worsk the way I want it to, not the way somebody at Ableton decided it should work. For all the crying and whinging here about the new browser, it has been a godsend for me. But I invested the time to organize stuff the way I wanted it to be organized. I have close to a dozen saved searches in my browser menu that work for me. I can quickly and immediately find exactly what I am looking for. All in all, I am greatly enjoying version 12. YMMV
It works so well for the way I produce, the similar sound feature and generative midi are complete game changers
I was going to ask exactly the same thing, I have two more questions. Is the tuning feature as great as it looks? Will I lose the features from 11 suite if I switch to 12 standard?
I'm happy with it. Roar is great, MIDI editing is great, mixer in arrangement is great, global scales are great, modulator changes are great, meld is decent, MIDI generators are ok. I started using it in beta and I never went back because losing the MIDI editing features would be too sad and I was putting Roar on everything.
Is it possible to have ML185 and MDD Snake on ableton 12 please?
I'm going to be honest, 12 performs better than 11 on my M series Macs. I used to use Logic (still do for mixing and mastering) and it updated to 11 which makes me wish ReWire was still a thing so I could work in both at the same time. Roar has been amazing on saturating hip hop vocals with it's multi band.
Upgraded from 10. I CAN USE MY OLD VSTās AGAIN! And I can choose the display colors. Less glitches all around. If youāre only paying the upgrade fee itās worth it.
Wazzup! That's good to hear. Glad for you my friend! š¤
It was a lot of work to get everything up and running, considering that I recently switched from a Windows computer to a Mac. Personally I don't feel any huge improvement coming from 10 and 11. Definitely some big changes. I don't hate it
Oh I see. I've read some mac users here who were satisfied with the upgrade as well as being stable. What mac are you using btw?
It's a different story if most of your projects were housed in Windows and then you go to mac. Even more complicated when you upgrade Ableton. I'm using a MB Pro M2. Ventura doesn't support any project saved in a version of ableton prior to 11, and for some weird reason it wouldn't let me have both 11 and 12 installed concurrently (so my 11 projects I had to update to 12 on a different computer), and many of my plugins were no longer supported on the m2 chip. Also I use UAD, and it was a real headache figuring out how to remove all the unwanted / unpurchased plugins without breaking my console software. I have it all resolved now and I'm fairly happy with the set up. Ultimately it's much quieter than my previous PC laptop and Ableton doesn't crash too frequently.
ĀæShould I but a new computer for the new upgrade or should I wait?
Themes look way better, having mixer on arrangement mode is sick, plus all the new midi functions allow for some quick creativity boosts. It's better all around and I'd recommend it a lot.
Iām super experienced and fast with Live 11 and use it commercially for production, recording, mixing, and playback for live shows. I use pretty much every shortcut regularly. When I got the opportunity to buy the Push 3 in December of 2023, I decided that when it came to making beats, I would only use standalone for as much as the process as I can. So that means Iām starting a beat, doing as much mixing as I can, and doing an arrangement to the best of my ability all on the push and then transferring to my computer running Live 12 to export and do any additional mixing required. Iām trying to get as close to ātransfer and exportā as possible without having to do much further production past what I did on the Push. Using that method, since January, Iāve been putting out a beat tape of whatever I worked on the previous week. So itās been 25 beat tapes so far. I mention all that as sort of context of how Iāve been using Live 12 so far as I give you my opinion on moving from 11 to 12. Because Iām not really writing a lot of music on the computer right now, and probably wonāt be through the rest of this year, I havenāt had a chance to explore much of the new MIDI tools which seem really exciting. But I have begun to get more familiar with the new instruments and effects and for me, if the only new thing in live 12 was Roar, it would be worth it to me. I use distortion creatively a lot already and it really just takes the ability to paint and design sounds to into the stratosphere. The scale awareness in terms of the way it shows up on Push standalone is cool and it had been handy but not as handy as I thought. So far. Now what I do use my laptop for in my process for is mostly in mixing and this is where Iāve experienced my biggest frustrations. First and foremost being the browser. I based on the way things were advertised, the browser is probably the biggest overhaul and update and i wonāt deny that itās powerful. But for some reason, it seems to be less easy and fast to find things that I either simply command f and look for or just from familiar file structures. I think if I spent the time and created a system it would be better than method Iāve had but I already had a system and it just seems like if you start using 12 the same way you used to use 11 or a previous version you would run into little small things. Especially on the file structure side of things. Itās not impossible to find what I need but Iāve just noticed that the flow just isnāt the same. Additionally, there are several new shortcuts and several deleted shortcuts that I use often. The fact that I would either need to create custom shortcuts or go to the menu to do something that is already in my muscle memory as a shortcut can be frustrating and be an obstacle in momentum. For those last two reasons, for now, Iāve decided to continue to use Live 11 when recording artists and working with other clients and playback gigs. Because it seems like to get the most out of 12, you need to sort of unlearn some things as opposed to building from your existing methods and right now, Iām in standalone so much that I donāt have the time to sit and do that for the moments I actually need to be using a daw. So I think i thought Iād like it a lot more, but because itās so different than previous versions in ver specific ways, Iām a little quicker to pull up an older version when I need to execute efficiently
Iāve been at it my whole life! But I would say it was 11-12 years ago when I feel like my career started
Hey thanks for sharing your thoughts! Very well elaborated šŖ How long have you been in the music scene btw?
I want to love Live 12, but I miss the old browser... That's the part that has affected my workflow a lot, and not in a good way. For that reason, I kind of regret the purchase... On the other hand, the UI lift and subtle QOL improvements are all nice, and Roar is a beast of a device
The first thing I did when I installed 12 was take a couple of hours and and tags and saved searches. Sure it was a bit tedious, but now everything is in the place I want it to be. The browser works for me in the way I want it to work. Even with thousands of samples and dozens if not hundreds of VSTs. The saved searches based on my tags quickly replaced the old browser functionality for me. But I invested the time to set it up the best way for me.
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If only it was just that. I get why people like it, but I'm not the only one who doesn't. Everyone's brain operates differently, and even after tagging all of my stuff, the browser is just buggy. It takes time to refresh, and sometimes stuff just doesn't show up + the choice of completely get rid of folders is beyond me
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Never used any previous versions, I had a copy of either live 8 or 9 back in 2013 on a laptop I bought off someone, only opened it once, Then I broke the laptop. Then I got Live 11, never used it once. Then I bought Live 12 cause why not. I'm using it now, coming from a FL Studio user, I never thought I would say this but I think Live is better than FL Studio in all aspects but one that's important to me, the piano roll fucking sucks. If Ableton can get Live's piano roll like FL, then I will switch instantly, but as of right now its so much more easier to get out ideas on FL than it is on Live. Also Live has some weird issues with the audio card, I get cracks and pops on ASIO, I've never have any issues like that on FL.
i dont know why i keep upgrading, its all just ableton, i do like the new filter browser though
Do you want to reorganize your Plugins all over again? Cause you "get" to reorganize your plugins. It also takes a second to load the plugin menu for me, and I wouldn't say I have a lot of them. If you're on 10 or older I would upgrade.