Ableton Live 12 Is BETTER Than You Think

[@pickyourselfofficial]

FREE Guide - Learn how to finish at least one great-sounding song per month: pickyourself.com/framework

[@morizanova]

Something I want to see in Ableton will be quality life improvement for mixing session . Auto gain staging and level calibration solution - unmask freq monitoring tool , one click (multi) parallel processing setup, phase correction tools , quick refference setup and so on

[@TeddyBaas]

All this should of been in 11. I’ll update because of the piano too but I don’t feel great about having to fork over more money for something that should of been implemented years ago. Ableton knows what they are doing, just do the bare minimum and charge money to upgrade so they can rinse and repeat. Small basic updates and taking your money.

[@vincentaugustus2748]

Bro, I’ve been waiting for someone else to say this. I’ve been on all these videos looking for someone to admit this.

[@craigtillman5988]

I understand they've pulled sales from vendors and selling direct. I was able to (no pun intended). I believe this gives them more freedom with pricing? I upgraded from 10 to 11 as soon as it debuted and advanced ordered 12 less than $200.

[@willespalazzo]

Then don't update. Jfc.

[@M2K1]

Kurz und knapp um zu erfahren ob ein Upgrade sich lohnt. Danke Philip. Die Videos sind immer sehr gut und hilfreich.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Freut mich sehr dass zu hören! Die Deep-Dive Videos kommen demnächst ;-)

[@robinr22]

This definitely looks better than 11 and I have pre-ordered - but only because I bought standard a few months ago, wanted to upgrade to Suite and the current discount + free upgrade meant that it was only about £50 more than if I had bought it for the first time today. So it made sense - but, while I appreciate the UI updates, it would definitely not be worth it for these minor changes. I've heard people say this is 11.5 and I'd totally agree.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Upgrading to suite alone will be a game-changer for you. It's unlocking so much creativity thanks to the deep M4L integration. That is one of the main competitive advantages of Ableton Live (in my opinion).

[@robinr22]

@@pickyourselfofficial good to know, thanks! Never really looked at M4L but will start to have a play!

[@robinminkster]

As a former ProTools user, the upgrade in Ableton with the mixer underneath the arrangement window would be a game changer. I don’t care about the synths. I have Arturia Analog LabV and V Collection 9. But I suffer with the workflow…constantly wishing I was back in protools but loving the ease of making electronic music in Ableton for live performance. Hmmm Thanks for your videos🎶💚🎶💚🎶💚🎶🎶💚

[@pickyourselfofficial]

My pleasure! Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I feel you! Personally I didn't vibe that much with ProTools but the Cubase speed of use is definitely something that still feels unrivaled. But the current Ableton 12 upgrades definitely brought it closer :)

[@jonathanbennett4535]

Thanks for the insight. I’m an Ableton 11 user and will be upgrading. Yes, there is maybe not a huge amount in Ableton 12 that is new, but if you look back at 11.1,11.2 and now 11.3, then I reckon the “free” journey from 12 to 12.3 will be a blast over the next year or two.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

I think that even if Ableton gets a lot of hate these days (mainly by people who experience serious bugs/ performance issues), I still find it quite fair that they provide major updates between full versions for free. Steinberg (Cubase) charges users for that.

[@craig552uk]

Agree with this point. Some of these features look like "first steps" in new directions for Ableton, in particular the AI integration. It'll be good to see this develop in the point releases over the next year or two. Though much of the changes looks like work to catchup with competitors, piano roll, library, UI layout, LFO control are all overdue enhancements IMO. But having done that work, this now puts Ableton in a good position to push ahead of the pack. @pickyourselfofficial Perhaps do a video on the features you'd want to see in Ableton that you like form other DAWs. You might influence their roadmap...???

[@ed_ms]

I use FL from time to time, but always end up returning to Ableton. An important reason for hopping over to FL was the piano roll. Needless to say I am very happy with the piano roll improvements and additions in 12. Ableton is pretty close to being on par with FL on that aspect, and makes upgrading worth it for me. I don't care too much about the added synths/effects, but ok, nice to have. Those plugins seem more aimed towards sound designers and people who like experimenting with weird sounds and effects. I am more of a preset guy mostly.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

I never really vibed with the FL Studio workflow but that's just me. A ton of people seem to find exactly what they want in there.

[@ed_ms]

@@pickyourselfofficial same here, I tried but it just doesn’t sit right with me. I always end up with Ableton again

[@xtaltheo170]

I use both FL and Ableton, and I really love both programs. I think they can adopt a lot of ideas from each other. I really hate to deal with Ableton's piano roll, though. Also, damn, Ableton could feel so much better to me, If they would allow just a bit more visual customization! @@pickyourselfofficial

[@azimpradhan]

Thanks for making this video. Based on what you've shared, Ableton 12 feels like a "just in case" purchase, not a "just in time" purchase, so I'll hold off.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Very happy to hear that it’s helped you decide! That was the goal.

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

I love the updates. It’s all about inspiration and fast workflow. Ableton offers that and more.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Word!

[@pixelcomet]

the graphics fraction moves to node based modifiers/tools. would be cool for fx too.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

That's an interesting one!

[@taxiwilliams]

I think people are forgetting that you’re paying for 2-3yrs of updates… what we see now is just the beginning of 12… you will get 12.1, 12.2. and maybe 12.3 free. Ableton does make pretty significant point updates in my opinion.

[@JayDeeOfficialx]

When is Ableton’s 12 release date?

[@playamaqui]

Thank you!

[@NebulaeAbletonCertifiedTrainer]

Yes, please do a deep dive in the midi tools!!!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Recorded this week :)

[@MULTIMAN-MUSIC]

Good review, I agree I will upgrade only for the built in MIDI editing options.

[@astrovicis]

As someone interested in microtonal music, I am tempted to upgrade for the global tuning functionality.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Yeah, definitely a niche feature but super powerful!

[@Marczking]

The microtonal feature I thought looked interesting as well. Though they have their own Microtuner-Max4Live Device from Ableton they released a year ago. So why not just use that? Most of this update feels like either importing M4L devices and making them baked in "features", or they finally let some UX-designers change a few basic things. The midi-changes are good, but those should've been a given long ago, so for me, I won't pay for an upgrade. I've paid too much money to them recently anyways for very little in return. I bought the standalone Max version this year, which is a rip-off in itself, since you "have" it in Suite. In theory. I don't mind skipping, as since my upgrade to 11 I've not needed most of their changes. All nice-to-haves, but fine without, so no problem skipping. I like how he highlighted & worded it as "shiny-object-syndrome". Definitely at play with these things. Same applies STRONGLY for the world of VST & whatnot.

[@djtenebrio]

I'm about to finish a track on it, so far, I love it, the bowser needs to improve but that's about it...

[@christiankennedy2212]

I think the key question for a lot of us is actually, is this upgrade worth the PRICE POINT imposed by Ableton.The only thing I can personally say is, thank God it's not some jive-ass subscription model, or worse; some quasi 'let-us-break-your-existing-setup-until-you-give-us-more-money-while-simply-tweaking-the-UI' thing, like what Waves does. But in my opinion, this doesn't feel like a $200-ish upgrade.

[@CinoPORakaDjCino]

As a Aleton user, some updates are real interesting like the mixture and sample view that should appear more early like Cubase, the arpeggiator MIDI effect, the filter search could be usefull if you not worry about space disk requirement, but honestly I think the big boom update as 11. For those who are more seriously about production, its a good investment, or the wise its better stick to 11.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Agreed!

[@axiomcrux]

@pickyourselfofficial I want to know more about these 3d immersive sound installations!

[@Ebbelwoy]

I was a 11 standard user but really wanted suite so the 20% Discount for suite + free 12 update was a no brainer

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Yesss!

[@9Lumberjack6]

Hey, thanks for your video! I'm currently still a FL Studio user but I'm currently looking for another DAW. I've been looking at Ableton for a while but also Bitwig. For cost reasons I would buy the standard version of Ableton, is it worth it or should I (I'm an advanced beginner) go for the suite version? Unfortunately, I can't really say after the test phase. I would also be interested to know what the performance of Live 12 is like, because Live 11 was interestingly more performance-hungry than FL Studio. :,D

[@pickyourselfofficial]

I’d say if you’re ready to make the switch, go all in and get Suite. It’s just so much more powerful thanks to the deep max for live integration. In terms of performance, I’ve never had an issue but I also always use dedicated studio computer builds so that’s a non-issue for me. In any case: Use less plugins :P

[@s_v6294]

Thank you. Great and helpful video us usual

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks so much! Glad you found it helpful.

[@eighteenthful]

I like your perspective on this, totally agree about modulation. Great videos in general, keep goin!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks so much! I’ll keep them coming, some good stuff is already filmed and being released week by week :)

[@gepmrk]

But I'm reasonably sure that they still haven't enabled automating the sample / loop start parameters in Sampler. I don't know why they continue to ignore this as it is already implemented in Simpler.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

I should test it in the beta. Thanks for reminding me of that.

[@arnulfschnitzler4695]

Please Show new Arpeggiator Features. Thanks!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Will do, thanks for requesting!

[@iamherotv]

🤑Put in my preorder of Ableton 12 Suite. I’m excited for the new MIDI tools and updated piano roll workflow updates.💯✨Though I do feel this paid update could of included more. However, I can respect that it costs Abelton to continuously develop the platform and I wanted to support further development. Lets go Ableton!❤

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Niiiice, congrats! I'm sure you're not gonna regret it ;-) Make sure to watch this space, I'm about to publish some in-depth videos on the new features.

[@tntshuffle-9799]

Ableton live 12 is a complete and total, asio and sound engine nightmare. Im sticking with FL Studio and might give protools a shot.

[@mrnobody0983]

But still.......HTF do you put anything in the track of Ableton??? I'm a FL Studio user and I never got how to make anything in Ableton live.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Well, I guess if you're used to a certain workflow it can be tough to jump into a different thing. For me it's the same when I look at FL Studio (but I still think all DAWs are quite capable in their own way).

[@vroteg]

Please allow me to disagree on modulation. On larger scale interfaces like serum it is very visual and intuitive. Serum nailed drag and drop modulation in my opinion. But on smaller UI it needs to be executed properly. I came live from bitwig were in native devices modulation is kind of drag and drop style but not quiet. But in bitwig this executed very poorly. It’s fiddly and you quickly lose control over it. When I tried out live and had few dedicated envelopes and LFOs plus few external LFOs I made more sounds in a week with native stuff than I made in bitwig devices for years. Honestly at some point I just stopped using bitwig native devices other than not modulation dependent at all. So my point is if ableton want to develop drag and drop modulation they need to execute it properly. But I really like to see mod matrix style of modulation. I can quickly change things very visually. Unlike in bitwig who knows what modulating what. But that’s my opinion. I know bitwig users are usually blind fanboys who disagree with everything negative said about it.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

That’s super interesting, thanks for sharing! Yeah I guess I’d just like to have a „quick and dirty“ handle for the main parameters and the whole mod panel for finetuning and more exotic parameters. I guess I never ran into the problem you’ve described because I only work on large screens.

[@paradoxic1888]

Personally I've never had any issues with the modulations in Bitwig. In fact, if you click on the modulated device, you can see everything highlighted that is being modulated. If this isn't enough, you can see and tweak each modulation point in the inspector panel. In the arranger view, you can pin the important modulations so you never loose them. I've built some crazy things using modulations.

[@DustinDynastyNelson]

Probably going to take a bit for Slate to have an update for the raven mti on live 12.... Going to stall for a bit and stick with live 11 until this happens.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Yeah, that's an interesting one. Haven't tried the Raven with Ableton yet. Are you getting major workflow benefits from it?

[@hypoxiatrix9347]

Q: I have 11 Live standard. Do I have to re-buy my license to get 12? The Ableton website has 0 info on this. Basically how to I get 12.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Right now it’s still in beta so you can’t really get it (yet). But check your account there, typically you can purchase updates from there.

[@hypoxiatrix9347]

So its not a lifetime license its a one shot purchase and you have to pay for update? hmmm not sure if i would buy it today If id known that. thx@@pickyourselfofficial

[@Ebbelwoy]

You have 2 options: you upgrade from 11 standard to 12 standard once it's out which will cost probably half than new (just an estimate) or you upgrade to 11 suite now for 20% off and get the update for 12 Suite for free

[@PFitty]

i just got ableton suite 11 and 12 for 386 euros this black Friday i got a smile on my face i cant seem to get rid of😂 cant wait for 12

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Nice one :P

[@rebelinc]

For me it seems like a great workflow enhancement features. I dont use the synths in ableton only the sampler/simpler. I have been an ableton user since version 5 and are also using Cockos Reaper since many years. Recently got it into Logic Pro since I purchased a Mac. Being a PC user for years I have struggled to get the best performance out of Live. But running on my new M2 its a dream :-) I agree with the modulation features could be much better.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Great comment! Thanks for sharing. I'm a big fan of knowing/ using more than one DAW. At least once you're really competent in one of them.

[@dalil260175]

Ableton just is the ultimate DAW for electronic music. The update won't change it. I'd even say that this update won't be worth the update price but i will update anyway

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Haha nice one! I’m just such a fan of the wonderful world of max for live devices… that’s what makes Ableton so strong in my opinion.

[@nomad1517]

Bitwig: (puts lube in both hands) Alright, let's do this.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Hahaha, that escalated quickly 😂

[@wolfgangdevries127]

I'm still on Bitwig 1.3.16 and this made me chuckle 😊

[@thatcipher]

The generative midi tools aren't even AI They're just algorithms. I mean on a technical level an AI can also be called an algorithm but this doesnt generate "aware" of what you have or its creating it just follows some rules you set and puts out some midi.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Agreed. But it's the start of something bigger, I'm dead sure.

[@thatcipher]

​@@pickyourselfofficial I'm totally with you - just wanted to clarify this because AI is such a buzz word and especially artists react really allergic to that word. So it would upset anyone curios enough to watch a video like yours but not curios enough to double check if its actual AI. 😄

[@pickyourselfofficial]

@@thatcipher so true!

[@allancerf9038]

Pick Yourself - I had to switch to BW HAD to...but BW doesn't scrub - or if it does, please show me how. I can't say which is worse, no comp lanes for 22 years in LIve (though I had a workaround) or no scrubbing, LOL. Live Version 12 looks to have some cool features but I don't think they're "whoo-hoo" ground-breaking features. ' I agree no DAW is likely to have all features of every DAW but believe this is because of ill-conceived notions of "marketing differentiation" not because of any coding difficulties! I sincerely believe Ableton is horribly misguided (as are other DAW companies in this way). Just my opinion. Good video!

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Totally valid opinion, thanks for sharing your perspective:)

[@candyproductionssouledout9682]

The Best DAW: It's the same you would say: This is the best Synth..... It's not that simple😀. In terms of the possibility what you can make, Reaper is the Master. BUT: Very steep learning curve, setup and customizing time is a pane in the a.., but after that you will not find a more complete DAW on the planet (just my opinion, nothing wrong with ableton!). What has always bothered me about Ableton is the way you are almost forced to produce. The software tells you exactly how to produce and not the other way around. This is relatively difficult to describe with my English...... But I don't want to be forced into a pattern in the creative process. You said 'best DAW for electronic music', so please don't misunderstand my words! And Reaper is definitely not a DAW to sit down and start producing...... You make good content! Go on Dude👍

[@pickyourselfofficial]

That all resonates with me. I'm definitely NOT thinking that there is something like the perfect DAW (not even in one genre). Yes, for electronic music production, I mainly use Ableton Live but there are tons of features I prefer in Cubase or Bitwig, for example. And yeah, Reaper is a beast when it comes to customization. I like it for 3D audio/ multichannel stuff especially.

[@Phazze_music]

I'm simply happy with this update, I like ableton and all that new features are some kind of freshness so why not

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Great to hear! I’ll be dropping some proper deep dives on the new functions as well :)

[@CREATEEDUCATEINSPIRE]

Give Bitwig a try 😉

[@pickyourselfofficial]

I have and it’s a great DAW! A bit more specialized but like all of them, it has pros and cons :) I’m no 100% fanboy of any DAW.

[@binarysun_]

You forgot Studio One. Ditched Ableton Live for it and I am sure I will not look back ever.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

I like how the Studio One team challenges the status quo of the DAW landscape. Good to hear that you've found your place in the DAW landscape!

[@clearwaterentertainment]

Reason is better than Abelton especially when it comes to Audio Quality

[@pickyourselfofficial]

I’ve yet to see legit A/B tests for this statement. But I’m naturally curious. Have you found any? All I’ve seen is SRC tests.

[@JaymeSilverstein]

The main thing that’s lacking from ableton is hiding and deactivating tracks and a professional sound engine. Literally every Daw has a much better sound engine. Protools and Cubase especially. Ableton has the best work flow and the worst sound 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@wurlitsyzer9810]

realy so bad ?

[@cristiansosa1512]

4:30 Those are called lazy, without being politically correct. It's necessary to know music theory, and it's really not that hard...

[@Krille_K]

Dude, weak click bait. We are all going to eventually upgrade whether we like it or not. 😂😂

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Hahaha, well the dark side of the force is strong 😂 But hey, I don’t think we’ll regret upgrading at the end of the day.

[@johnymst]

Pathetic from ableton. Should have all been a free update especially considering most of the stuff is already available in maxforlive devices. Not getting 12.

[@pickyourselfofficial]

Thanks for sharing! Valid points. I'd say the UI/UX improvements should've been free. The rest, I understand that this (deeper) integration of Max for Live stuff and the general rework of the piano roll was a major effort in terms of development.

[@oscillatorstorm]

​@@pickyourselfofficialThe piano roll improvements are also based on modern sequencers. Meld and Roar don't feel powerful enough for me to upgrade.

[@johnymst]

No.