ableton user need logic?

[macaco]

Hi

 

I'm an ableton live user. I use it on my mac book pro, both live and as a daw. My type of music is ambient, I record guitar and I use absynth quite a bit.

 

I'm looking at getting Logic as I keep reading so many good reviews and also the price tag is very appealing!

 

I was wondering what advantages there are using Logic Pro Studio 8 over Ableton Live as my main daw. I don't find ableton restricts me in any way which is the only thing thats putting me off buying Logic.

 

Any comments on this would be really appreciated. Also want to check that absynth runs okay as a plug-in through Logic?

[manofra]

I have both Logic and Live, and here's my take on it.

 

Live is:

 

- as stable as a rock;

- excellent for live looping/processing;

- very easy to use, compared to Logic;

- less resource-demanding; (CPU, memory, etc)

- excellent when you use multiple plug-ins (and as stable as ever).

 

but

 

- not so good for audio editing

- has fewer instruments (although the new ones are great, they are not a match for Logic's)

 

Logic is:

 

- very good for audio editing;

- very complicated, and demands a lot of study time on the user's side;

- loaded with EXCELLENT instruments;

- a great buy for the price,

 

but

 

- has not been so stable lately (CPU spikes, etc)

- not ideal for live looping processing

 

So, you have to look at what you want to do with it. Perhaps Live does that already?? On my side, I love the instruments that come with Logic, as well as the effects (far better than Live's). However, everything I do with Live takes less CPU and such.

 

So, there's a trade off there. My guess is that, with the current price tag, Logic is an interesting software with loads of options. But, at the present, I'm using Logic for some things (record and mix, create pads/sounds, etc) and trying to play live only with Live, even if I have to re-sample a custom sound from Logic's instruments to use it with Live's Sampler.

 

Mano

[djals]

I have the opposite situation to yours macaco, I've been a Logic user for sometime and recently bought Ableton.

 

I would say that they offer different approaches to music making.

 

While Ableton offers a unique way to manipulate audio and record in a very improvised way using Session View, I find it lacking in the editing and sound creation area.

 

If you invest the time learning Logics many features and instruments, and combine it with Abletons flexibility, you can't go far wrong. Don't expect to open up Logic and be able to get straight into it though. There are some similarities in the Arrangement area, but Logic goes much deeper. Its probably one of the main reasons why some people opt for an easier alternative.

 

But with a bit of help from this forum, macprovideo and the now legendary "David's book", the learning process is not so daunting, not discounting the fact that Logic 8 is quite a bit easier to learn than previous versions.

 

As far as I know you can run any third party plug-in through Logic, certainly no problem with the NI stuff.

 

Finally, I don't think there's anything better you could buy for the money that is already geared to work with Ableton.

[macaco]

thanks guys, well this just confirms my thoughts about Logic and I've just gone and ordered it online!

 

I must admit that it's quite fiddly editing audio in Ableton, but I just though it was down to my limited experience. Really can't wait to get started on Logic, thanks for the advice.

 

This is the music I have created so far, using Ableton Live http://www.myspace.com/mahakalpa

[manofra]

I must admit that it's quite fiddly editing audio in Ableton, but I just though it was down to my limited experience. Really can't wait to get started on Logic, thanks for the advice.

 

Audio editing is not the strong point (nor the main purpose) of Live.

 

This is the music I have created so far, using Ableton Live http://www.myspace.com/mahakalpa

 

Very nice, by the way.

[xlm]

While I occasionally fire up Live in standalone mode and use it like a DAW, I mainly use it as an instrument plugin, just like I would with Stylus RMX. I hook it up via Rewire, but in a sense it is no different than if I were instantiating an AU plug.

 

I find this a great combo. You can take advantage of all the elastic audio features of Live while working in a Logic session. And now with Logic 8, you can record the rewire channels onto audio tracks in Logic if you decide to jettison Live for that particular session.

 

One thing to note, you can't load AU plugs into Live when it is running as a Rewire slave. This isn't an issue for me as I prefer sequencing and mixing in Logic. But just something to keep in mind.

 

Congrats on your Logic purchase! I think you'll really enjoy the combination of Logic and Live.

[anti-banausic]

While I occasionally fire up Live in standalone mode and use it like a DAW, I mainly use it as an instrument plugin, just like I would with Stylus RMX. I hook it up via Rewire, but in a sense it is no different than if I were instantiating an AU plug.

 

I find this a great combo. You can take advantage of all the elastic audio features of Live while working in a Logic session. And now with Logic 8, you can record the rewire channels onto audio tracks in Logic if you decide to jettison Live for that particular session.

 

One thing to note, you can't load AU plugs into Live when it is running as a Rewire slave. This isn't an issue for me as I prefer sequencing and mixing in Logic. But just something to keep in mind.

 

Congrats on your Logic purchase! I think you'll really enjoy the combination of Logic and Live.

 

Ah, but you can use LIVE's own effects. So, some of the cool ones, like grain delay, beat repeat are in effect!!!

[Shaul]

damn its hard to say I have both and the pros and cons for both have been pretty much covered. id say have logic in your arsenal especially with the price tag of studio 8, its well worth it i think its a great money spent. and do maybe as most may do here, you may be bored producing in one and jump into the other program for visual "inspiration"

[macaco]

Thanks again. I'm sure I'll have loads of questions once I start using logic.