#Ableton suite 8 live packs software

#Ableton suite 8 live packs software

But this elegance of design tends to fly in the face of the software industry, where an arms race pushes vendors to add more and more features to their products to win on press release bullet points. Thirdly, Live's interface is clear and simple: one window, two views, and fixed panels for instruments and sample browsing.Ĭombining sophistication with ease of use is incredibly difficult, but Live manages to do so, with an interface that promotes flexible working without clutter or distraction. Secondly, it implements a number of powerful and versatile features in a clean and reliable manner: instruments and drums can be 'racked' and chained in infinite combinations, audio can be routed and mixed in ways an actual mixing desk can only dream of, and the automation support is obsessively thorough and rock solid. Firstly, it knows about looping, and works very hard at cueing, synchronising and aligning looped material, and providing a sophisticated editing interface for loop‑based music.

Live's remarkable success comes down to some simple but well‑considered design choices. Live has always been something of a two‑headed beast - a loop‑based performance instrument on the one hand, and a linear recording and production platform on the other - and with the arrival of MIDI sequence support, opening the door to VST Instrument and effect hosting, Live became a serious contender as a studio production platform, while still enjoying a position on practically every performer's laptop on the planet. The landscape eight years ago was dominated by well‑established, complex linear sequencing packages that were geared towards multitrack studio recording and production, but the newcomer quickly gained popularity by aiming at a slightly different part of the market: live performers and DJs. Since its arrival on the audio software scene in 2001, Ableton Live has carved out a niche as a hugely popular music production and performance tool. The challenge was to add yet more features to Live without compromising its legendary ease of use.