Ableton | A review for beginners

The Ableton Live series of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) dates back to 2001 with the release of v1.0 (Battino, David; Richards, Kelli, 2005) intended as a robust piece of software to be a companion to a musician during live concerts. It was with 2004’s release of Ableton Live 4 (Future Music, 2011) that added multi-track audio recording and MIDI Sequencing, turning it into the software it’s known as today and a benchmark in the beginner DAW field. Would I recommend Ableton Live to you right now as a beginner? The short answer is yes, but stick around and I’ll explain why, referring to specifically, Ableton Live 9 to more recently, 11. Live 9 was the one I started with and newer additions haven’t added enough to throw anyone off.

Ableton Live is pretty simple to use, without limiting you in the process. The layout consists of a file browser to the left, below is a panel used to edit any midi instruments you are using or to add any effects to a MIDI or audio track, then in the centre is your main work area, which depends on whether you have the software in the live or the sequencing mode, which can easily be toggled on and off at the right side of the screen. You can easily record your own audio track by just arming the track with the buttons on the right, or you can play with a MIDI Instrument by dragging it from the file browser, where you can then record just about any melody or chord with, via your computer keyboard, a midi keyboard, or you can just click and drag in notes.

In regards to the browser, Ableton also release sound packs, with many coming with Live versions 10 and 11. These are downloadable and installed with a click and drag, opening up the possibilities even wider for you, this alone could keep you going for a while, let alone the instruments ableton gives you. Yep. Every instrument in ableton is just a preset of an abelton instrument. There are many synthesisers included such as a dual oscillator wavetable, an analog synthesiser and ten others which should suit any need.

To quickly conclude, if you are a beginner recording artist, Ableton is likely your best bet. It has you covered for everything you’ll need from the start, being live or in the studio (bedroom) and with a wide array of sound packs to purchase, meaning you’ll never run out of sounds. Ableton is also the signature DAW of David Guetta, Skrillex, Diplo and many more big names in the EDM/Hip Hop scene, as well as an array of other genres. After all, ableton is for everyone.

Bibliography

Battino, David; Richards, Kelli (2005). San Francisco, CA: Backbeat Books. p. 3. Accessed January 24th 2023.

Future Music (2011). "A brief history of Ableton Live". MusicRadar. Accessed January 24th