Subject:why i'm thinking of switching to ableton live

Posted by: mactac

Date:2/2/2005 1:07:16 PM

Ok SOny, get off yer butts & get acid out of the 'toy' category & make it a serious production tool by:

1- fixing the midi start issue
2- fixing the midi output losing sync when there are repeats in the acid file
3- make it able to RECORD MORE THAN ONE STEREO TRACK AT A TIME
4- fix the crashing bugs that make it almost unusable

#1 & #2 make using external sequencers impossible. every other DAW software can do this properly. SOny?SF have know about this for 2 versions & haven't fixed it. How can a software company claim to have a professional product when something as simple as this is left unfixed?
#3 would make it so I don't have to use cubase or sonar every time i want to record more than one track at a time. Come ON, it can't be that hard to do! FOR EXAMPLE, i want to record a drum machine along with my track... i can't record the kick on a seperate channel without having to do multiple takes (of course these takes won't be in sync because of #2, meaning that I have to do it 20 times to get it right). is this for real musicians or for "play" musicians? NOBODY doing professional music records all their drums on one track.
#4. where the heck is 5.0a ??? i can't run the software for more than 2 mins anymore, can't scroll whil playing back, oh, and of course can't load these projects into v4 . SO, i have projects that i can't edit anymore.... great.

SO, the only solution right now that I can think of is switching to ableton live. it seems to do all of these things and a LOT more. it's stable enough to use for a show (HAHAHA would ANYONE consider using ACID live? i think not).

COme ON sony, it's been years. how long does it take?

Subject:RE: why i'm thinking of switching to ableton live

Reply by: Martian

Date:2/2/2005 1:38:15 PM

Just wanted to tell you that I´ve been using acid for backline (im a drummer) over a year now. I combine it with my M-Audio 410 and it works fine.

Subject:RE: why i'm thinking of switching to ableton live

Reply by: mactac

Date:2/2/2005 1:51:07 PM

.... and do you sync external sequencers to it with repeats in the acid file?
because that's what i'm referring to

Subject:RE: why i'm thinking of switching to ableton live

Reply by: mactac

Date:2/2/2005 2:16:53 PM

this thread (or the midi timing issues anyways) is continued under the thread "timing issues"

Subject:RE: why i'm thinking of switching to ableton live

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:2/2/2005 4:33:25 PM

Not for nothin’ but Ableton Live is NOT a competitor to ACID. ACID is not a DAW and Ableton is NOT a looped based music composition tool. Sure Ableton tolerates loops, just like SONAR and other DAW’s, but it can’t touch ACID in terms of workflow for composing with loops. In fact, products like Ableton, SONAR, Tracktion, etc. are excellent companion applications for ACID via ReWire.

Microsoft Word has a Draw tool but I still do all my graphics in PowerPoint. The right tool for the right job is ALWAYS better than a Swiss army knife tool. I don’t know what the obsession is with using one big bloated application but ACID now fits nicely into whatever DAW you want as a ReWire device.

~jr

Subject:RE: why i'm thinking of switching to ableton live

Reply by: coolout

Date:2/3/2005 1:56:47 PM

johnnyroy's right for the most part...although acid is my DAW of choice.

call me unconvinced but i've tried every version of Ableton since 1.0 and still don't like it.

i don't see what the hype is about...the live's workflow always pisses me off, yet when i first used acid (version 3.0) i went for about 4 months before i had to crack open a manual.

i won't get all huffy again and curse another person out about complaining about acid instead of just asking for help. i will offer this solution for mr.mactac...

if all you trying to do is record a track from your drum machine into your acid project and have each drum sound on a different track, this is how you do it.

1. YOU DON'T NEED MIDI!!! just set the tempo of your drum machine the same as you acid project and record the full drum pattern WITHOUT SYNC.

2. line up your first drum note and you're done.

oh you wanted seperate tracks...

3. just split your drum track at each hit (using the S-key) and then copy the track (control-c then control-v) however many times you want to seperate. erase the notes you don't want on each track.

if your drum pattern isn't too complex this only takes about 10-20 seconds. not to mention it has many advantages:

A. it uses less hard drive space. if you could record each instrument on a seperate track it would eat 3-5 times the space.

B. you'll have control to shift and move the drums around to fit the groove of the other tracks better plus you can apply different groove templates to different instruments in your pattern.

C. you'll get in the habit of using key commands effectively. you'll be able to chop up loops, comp/stack vocals, and generally edit at great speed. i often have friends that use protools or nuendo that are amazed at how quickly i can move audio around in acid pro.

Subject:RE: why i'm thinking of switching to ableton live

Reply by: TRANCEBOY

Date:2/3/2005 7:10:01 PM

PLEASE go and buy Live 4. you'll be pulling your hair out within minutes.

Subject:RE: why i'm thinking of switching to ableton live

Reply by: neanderthal

Date:2/4/2005 1:29:26 AM

i have enjoyed working with acid4 but too many features i wanted were missing. i hear so many bad things about acid5 that i did not want to spend money on it. i tried ableton demo but did not like it. also a cpu hog.

this past week i have bought sonar 4 producer !!!!!

to all those people who were disappointed that so few professional features on the "acid wishlist" were made true, i say try sonar.

i find that everything i was hoping that acid might one day have is already in sonar as standard features.

acid was fun, but i now i feel i have a tool as big as my ideas ! he he

good luck to all, whatever you choose. ciao. find me at the sonar forum :-)

Subject:Using both Acid and Live (rewired)?

Reply by: _zerobae

Date:2/4/2005 1:54:43 AM

I've thought about rewiring Acid 5 to Live 4. Personally, I find Live's workflow very convincing, for me it's a dream for getting past the "8 bars barrier". On the other hand, I've recently read a lot of complaints about Live being too cpu hungry and its audio engine delivering rather poor sound compared to others.

So, is anyone here using Acid rewired to Live - and how do you think do they complement each other best? Would you use Acid as master or slave?

Thanks for your suggestions,
Zerobae

ZEROBAE.com - Enchanting Electronic Music

Subject:RE: Using both Acid and Live (rewired)?

Reply by: pwppch

Date:2/4/2005 7:45:46 AM

>>Would you use Acid as master or slave?

The nice option is that you can work either way. ACID to Live or Live to ACID. What ever works for you.

Peter

Subject:RE: Using both Acid and Live (rewired)?

Reply by: Rednroll

Date:2/4/2005 12:15:04 PM

"and do you sync external sequencers to it with repeats in the acid file"

Mac I have synced my external sequencer with Acid. My external sequencer is on a seperate PC, and I have laid off multiple passes of drum tracks as audio to Acid. The sync is not perfect, but it does not drift from track to track either, it's probably as solid as midi sync can be.

Can you better describe what you mean by having "repeats in the acid file"? I'm not sure what you're describing here. Give us more details of what you're talking about, and I will try to reproduce it with my setup.

"COme ON sony, it's been years. how long does it take?"

It takes as long as for you to come in this forum and type up a descripton of your workflow along with a Step by Step repro of that workflow which creates the problem. Coming in here and screaming to "fixing the midi output losing sync when there are repeats in the acid file." just informs them that there's a possilbe midi sync issue. Midi sync has been tested out in AP5. Maybe it hasn't been tested out using your workflow methods or your system setup, but I know it's been tested out using mine. So as soon as you can come up with a step by step repro of your workflow creating a midi sync problem, then I'm sure others will be glad to confirm if they are seeing the same thing on their system. It could very well be your midi interface, and you're barking up the wrong tree. That's why we need the repro steps, so other users with other setups can confirm the same behavior, which would then point the finger at Acid.

Subject:RE: Using both Acid and Live (rewired)?

Reply by: Rednroll

Date:2/7/2005 7:16:51 AM

No reply huh? I guess flawless midi sync in your workflow just isn't as important as you said it was.

Subject:RE: Using both Acid and Live (rewired)?

Reply by: pwppch

Date:2/7/2005 7:24:28 AM

Red,

Chill out a bit. I am working with mactac off-line currently to determine what the problem is and what can be done about it.

Peter