Ableton 8

[memly]

So......
Anybody had a play with it yet?
What are your thoughts?

I must say it looks good but its so unstable, it is constantly crashing on me. Really gutted as I had no problems at all with 7.

[user name]

so glad you said that! i'm using 7 at the moment and am about to go out live after not doing it for a while . i was thinking of updating to 8 before i go out , so i wont bother now! what computer are you using? im dong a mac , don't know if that makes any difference.

[memly]

Hi Username,
The added features really do look stunning (the totally overhauled warp engine looks amazing) and I have high hopes for it...

Well heres my laptop specs:
I have a Dell Studio 1737
Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53Ghz, 1066Mhz, 6MB)
Memory: 4096MB (2x2048) 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel with a 500GB Serial ATA (5.400RPM) dual HDD.
OS:Windows Vista SP2 (32bit)... I know!!!
I run it through an M-Audio Firewire audio box which has always been really good.


This laptop is more or less brand spanking new (about 2 months) and as I said before I have had no issues at all with Ableton 7.
I have been waiting to buy the Akai APC40:

This got released on Friday, so I popped up to my local music dealer and got one. I also decided to upgrade my Ableton as my version 7 was only a "trial" version
So I thought I would splash out and download version 8 from the Ableton website.
After everything was installed and running I road tested the APC40 (which was sooooooo much fun) with a few samples and a couple of VSTi's running.
On the second project I opened up I noticed that 8 seemed to be eating up a lot more CPU and the audio signal had a few glitches in it.
Then it crashed, so I had to reboot the system and then I reopened the same project... same thing.
I then systematically went through all my version 7 projects, and they all crashed after a relatively short amount of time (5-10 minutes).
I wondered whether there was a conflict with my Akai (or even certain VSTis I use) so I created a new project using only inhouse samples and instruments.
This too crashed after a while and I was extremely disappointed to have spent well over a grand and get no instant gratification out of my purchases.

There is however a beta patch (v8.0.4) on the Ableton site which I may try tonight. But looking at the bug fixes for that patch, it looks unlikely that it will remedy any of my problems!
I should have read the Ableton forums as there is a lot of chat about the unstablilty and general disappointment that 8 was shipped with so many bugs.
Although I have spoken to quite a few people who have had no issue at all with 8.
I really dont know whther Macs are having the same issues, I suggest a snoop around the Ableton forums

Anyway I am considering re-installing 7 until 8 becomes more stable. This does mena that I cant mess about with my AP40 for a bit, but it looks nice sitting there with all its flashy lights!

I would seriously stay with 7 until 8 becomes more stable. I know there is no way I would take 8 out and about just yet... I wanted to play at a mates party over the weekend, but it was never gonna happen!!!

As I said before Username, keep an eye on the Ableton forums, but going by my experience of 8, I would not guarantee a smooth transition!

[user name]

7 for the summer it is then!

thanks

i'll let you know how it goes...

[bentley]

Using 8.03 (or whatever the latest update is) and it's been fairly rock solid for me. Live 7 would crash quite a bit for me but I think I narrowed it down to certain plug ins. Only one crash in live 8 after one week's use. Love the new groove features and am also patiently awaiting the arrival of my APC40. Even if you upgrade, version 7 will still be on your pc if you find 8 too unstable.

[Loopz]

I also had loads of problems with Live 7 (working on a XP O/S). I have yet to try version 8 though.

p.s. anyone using Vista or tinking of moving to Vista, should install Windows 7 instead. I've ran it for a few weeks on 4 machines and It's pretty solid, fast and reliable....so far!

[memly]

Using 8.03 (or whatever the latest update is) and it's been fairly rock solid for me. Live 7 would crash quite a bit for me but I think I narrowed it down to certain plug ins. Only one crash in live 8 after one week's use. Love the new groove features and am also patiently awaiting the arrival of my APC40. Even if you upgrade, version 7 will still be on your pc if you find 8 too unstable.

Its a lot better now I have d/led the beta patch.
There are still a few issues (it crashed again last night!) but its a LOT better than before, I must say though, version 7 was solid for me...
Your gonna love the APC40, I have had soooo much fun with it.
Still getting my head around the new groove feature.
Do you find 8 eats up more CPU?? It seems that way to me.

I also had loads of problems with Live 7 (working on a XP O/S). I have yet to try version 8 though.
p.s. anyone using Vista or tinking of moving to Vista, should install Windows 7 instead. I've ran it for a few weeks on 4 machines and It's pretty solid, fast and reliable....so far!

I've got Vista on my laptop, and I am thinking of moving to Windows 7. Its just I really cant be bothered to install everything back on it! I probably should though as I hate waisting way over a whole gig of RAM just for an OS.

[bentley]

Using 8.03 (or whatever the latest update is) and it's been fairly rock solid for me. Live 7 would crash quite a bit for me but I think I narrowed it down to certain plug ins. Only one crash in live 8 after one week's use. Love the new groove features and am also patiently awaiting the arrival of my APC40. Even if you upgrade, version 7 will still be on your pc if you find 8 too unstable.

Its a lot better now I have d/led the beta patch.
There are still a few issues (it crashed again last night!) but its a LOT better than before, I must say though, version 7 was solid for me...
Your gonna love the APC40, I have had soooo much fun with it.
Still getting my head around the new groove feature.
Do you find 8 eats up more CPU?? It seems that way to me.

I've heard about the CPU increase from several users but I'm not seeing a difference yet. Running a large project right now that seems to behave the same in both versions. I'll keep my eyes open for anything odd...

[bentley]

I also had loads of problems with Live 7 (working on a XP O/S). I have yet to try version 8 though.

p.s. anyone using Vista or tinking of moving to Vista, should install Windows 7 instead. I've ran it for a few weeks on 4 machines and It's pretty solid, fast and reliable....so far!

Steve,

Do you know if Windows 7 allows for driver aggregation(I think that's the term) allowing for the user to address several audio interfaces within a program? I heard mention of it somewhere at one point but can't seem to find the reference.