Ableton 10 and you - Andy Raynor nh

Ableton 10 is worth the upgrade. Thats it, end of article.

Andy Raynor nh - Ok, now really whats different and better about Ableton 10 vs 9.whatever. There are some fancy new devices which we will review, there are some new and improved audio effects, also pending a review. But perhaps most importantly, the sound engine has changed and to my ears it sounds like a big upgrade from Live 9. There are also improvements to Push 2 which offer polyphonic step sequencing and workflow enhancements and finally, last but not least - stability. I have had Live 10 running with no crashes for MUCH longer than my version of Live 9 with all of the same VSTs.

So with improved sound and performance, that should be enough of a reason to spend on the upgrade. But perhaps you want additional value. Enter some of these new devices - my favorite is the new drum buss. This device is a compressor, transient designer, saturator and low end enhancer in one gui with a dry wet control for parallel processing. Its perfect for toughening up drums that are otherwise lifeless. While these devices already existed with Ableton - having them within one interface really speeds up drum processing. I want to hear finished drums in the mix while I'm adding elements so I usually get them close to production ready early in the process of building a track, this tool helps me to do just that.

Another new device is Echo - Live has never had a great delay device in its stock audio devices and Echo changes that. If you are not a max for live user, prior to Live 10 you were stuck with a simple delay which was frankly, underwhelming. Echo offers more features and depth and a flexible GUI which should replace any delay VST in the market today. Andy Raynor nh

Push 2 comes with some upgrades as well to its sequencer, which I don't use much but can see its purpose. The key addition to Push is the new midi note view which gives you a visual representation of the midi notes on a track and lets you move them around - a vast improvement over previous firmware.

Until next time - Andy Raynor nh