Ableton versus Acid -ACID Product Family - MAGIX Community Forums Archive

Subject:Ableton versus Acid Posted by: Spirit Date:11/6/2002 7:47:17 AM I've been playing with the Ableton Live 1.5 demo for a few days - what a stunning program. It does everything Acid does and in about one-quarter the time. The effects are excellent (all BPM-synced unlike Acid!) and the interface makes Acid look like a dinosaur. But I don't really want to shell out US$350 so I went back and had another play with Acid thinking "I wonder if I can get that sound with Acid" ? The surprising thing was that when I started to replicate my Ableton work in Acid it was incredibly easy. Turns out that AcidPro has almost all the functions of Ableton, but they're just harder to get to - three or four clicks versus one click. Perhaps even more important Acid sounded much better when stretching samples. And although Ableton beats Acid easily when it comes to GUI basics, it falls down on the details. For example, nowhere could I find the equivalent to Acid's easy scroll-mouse zoom in/out or chopper, looping section or ripple edits. Ableton's FX automation was certainly fun though. Ableton 2 is on its way and although everyone predicted VSTi integration it isn't going that direction - Ableton 2 might well be what AcidPro4 might have been. At the moment I think Ableton is Acid's most serious rival. Oh, did I mention that Ableton never crashes ?
Subject:RE: Ableton versus Acid Reply by: antistar Date:11/6/2002 12:16:58 PM Turns out that AcidPro has almost all the functions of Ableton, but they're just harder to get to - three or four clicks versus one click. Yes ableton has a completely other using philosophy. That's why you need only one click for many features. But I think ableton is only worth to buy if you have a Mac-Powerbook, as in that case you can use it live. (I would never dare to use a windows machine on the stage)
Subject:RE: Ableton versus Acid Reply by: bgc Date:11/6/2002 12:35:27 PM I checked out the Ableton demo. One word on the interface. Yuck. Enjoy Ableton, I think I'll stick with Acid. Doesn't look like it was written in Java.
Subject:RE: Ableton versus Acid Reply by: Iacobus Date:11/6/2002 2:48:14 PM While Live is a good program, I believe we're all comparing apples and oranges again. I believe Ableton markets Live for...erm...live situtations, while ACID is marketed towards those in a production environment. I've heard people using ACID in a live situation successfully. I would assume the same goes for Live in a production situation. If there's one strike against Live, it is its GUI. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but I just don't like it. It's way too artsy for my taste. Iacobus
Subject:RE: Ableton versus Acid Reply by: Spirit Date:11/6/2002 6:41:03 PM Yes, one of its marketing angles is live use, but the functionality also means almost all functions can be carried out while the song is playing. So it's not JUST for live, the point it can ALSO be used for live. IMHO Ableton (not Sonar) is the potential Acid-killer. And GUIs often come down to personal prefernce. One good point about the Ableton GUI is that it has a variety of skins - well, colour schemes. Skins for Acid ? That'd be interesting. Anyone know if that's possible ?
Subject:RE: Ableton versus Acid Reply by: dkistner Date:11/7/2002 7:08:34 AM I love the look of Acid. It's great for somebody with "old eyes." I uninstalled Fruity Loops within half an hour of putting it on because, even if it was the greatest program in the world, I just couldn't see what I was doing. I'm hanging in there for Acid's updates. I don't care about skins; just solidness and functionality and the ability to get work done.

Subject:Ableton versus Acid

Posted by: Spirit

Date:11/6/2002 7:47:17 AM

I've been playing with the Ableton Live 1.5 demo for a few days - what a stunning program. It does everything Acid does and in about one-quarter the time. The effects are excellent (all BPM-synced unlike Acid!) and the interface makes Acid look like a dinosaur.

But I don't really want to shell out US$350 so I went back and had another play with Acid thinking "I wonder if I can get that sound with Acid" ?

The surprising thing was that when I started to replicate my Ableton work in Acid it was incredibly easy. Turns out that AcidPro has almost all the functions of Ableton, but they're just harder to get to - three or four clicks versus one click. Perhaps even more important Acid sounded much better when stretching samples. And although Ableton beats Acid easily when it comes to GUI basics, it falls down on the details. For example, nowhere could I find the equivalent to Acid's easy scroll-mouse zoom in/out or chopper, looping section or ripple edits. Ableton's FX automation was certainly fun though.

Ableton 2 is on its way and although everyone predicted VSTi integration it isn't going that direction - Ableton 2 might well be what AcidPro4 might have been. At the moment I think Ableton is Acid's most serious rival.

Oh, did I mention that Ableton never crashes ?