Live Reviews

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120 Reviews

- Industry: Entertainment
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Great DAW - Has a learning curve but powerful and creative
Reviewed on 2023/04/24
Live has really been useful in generating sound content more efficiently. Compared to other...
Live has really been useful in generating sound content more efficiently. Compared to other software there are more composing features and I can produce more at a cheaper cost.
Pros
I love that it has both a session and arrangement views. When I can think in terms of short ideas instead of entire constructions it's easier to be more creative.
Cons
Everything is really great but I want there to be more than 7 collections to group sounds and instruments. That amount of groupings isn't nearly enough.
- Industry: Media Production
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Ableton Live - High performance DAW
Reviewed on 2022/12/01
From audio design to performing live music, recording, and editing, this software has been my...
From audio design to performing live music, recording, and editing, this software has been my favorite platform for over a decade now. I do not plan on changing any time soon.
Pros
What I like the most about Ableton Live, is the ability to switch between the arrangement and session view. This allows a workflow that is fast and efficient. The software is fully expandable thanks to its 3rd party plugin integration and its rewire function.
Cons
I would like to see an improvement in the mixer section. A more "old school" or analog approach would allow different ways to mix down a project. Although this can be achieved in its current state, it would be nice to see some more routing, bus, and group options.
- Industry: Education Management
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 5.0 /10
Complicated interface
Reviewed on 2023/10/30
Pros
It has lots of tutorials online and good for sound design
Cons
Confusing to look at and to understand compared to studio one
- Industry: Music
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Cutting Edge Creativity, Workflow Catching Up
Reviewed on 2021/05/24
Overall, when I do reach for Live it’s for compatibility with others’ projects and its sound design...
Overall, when I do reach for Live it’s for compatibility with others’ projects and its sound design capabilities. For this it is excellent. Also it’s live show elements and integration with creatively-oriented controllers. Live is like a fun modular synth with a lot of quick patching and patterns on hand. The downside is that it is a fairly basic mixing, editing, and composition experience, but it’s hard to specialize in everything so that’s only a downside if those functions (think Pro Tools, Cubase, and Studio One) are important to you.
Pros
In Live, there is no shortage of features that have a creative and inspirational application. The control surface application is great (the caveat being that the feature set is geared towards performance, not mixing). The included plug-ins are wonderful and easy to deploy, as well as stable, and all of the features related to on-the-fly manipulation of patterns are very developed. The software has a great feel of cohesion about it. Horizontal inspectors (effects racks) aren’t totally my thing but you can’t deny that they have really streamlined the sound design / midi effects / pattern manipulation parts of the program (the “live show” element is included in that).
Cons
The program is fairly underdeveloped in the realm of mixing, audio editing, assisted music composition, and audio export. Also I’ve never really enjoyed their approach to the browser and especially searching in the browser.
Alternatives Considered
Studio OneReasons for Switching to Live
I did not choose Live solely over Studio One. In fact, I have both and use Studio One much more frequently due to its better feature set in editing, mixing, and exporting. I found song creation happens fairly quickly in most DAWs (Live has the benefit of lots of fun creative sound design possibilities integrate beautifully) but where I really need the features to be present and streamlined is in the mixing and editing phase and Live is still a little short there.
- Industry: Music
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Live 11 update made this my default digital audio workstation
Reviewed on 2021/03/17
Pros
For most producing, arranging, mixing, and mastering tasks, Ableton Studio's stock plugins and software infrastructure make for an effective, efficient music creation environment. What makes this program invaluable, though, is its endless possibilities for sound design (especially with new randomization features built in to each track) and, perhaps obviously, its optimization for live performance. As a solo musician and producer, being able to create complex tracks on the spot is deeply liberating, and no other DAW (digital audio workstation) that I've used allows for this (although, I've read other DAWs are beginning to implement more live-looping and tempo syncing features).
Cons
It takes a little work to organize 3rd party plugins, but Ableton Live gives you multiple ways to approach this, which is more than some DAWs provide.
Alternatives Considered
Studio OneReasons for Choosing Live
Much more efficient workflow for midi and audio quantization. Integrated comping in Live made that transition complete.Reasons for Switching to Live
Live performance capabilities and large stock sound/plugin library- Industry: Design
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Rethink How You Want to Record Live Sessions
Reviewed on 2021/02/05
Extremely enjoyable late night sessions. Have purchased an Ableton Push because of the greater...
Extremely enjoyable late night sessions. Have purchased an Ableton Push because of the greater flexibility to get away from the computer and this has enhanced my creativity (and my rhythm!).
Pros
As a dedicated Cubase User for years, I used to loop between markers and build up tracks on an interrupted recording session of my musical ideas.
If you take that looping concept and apply it to Ableton Live you'll soon realise how limited Cubase was.
Ableton opens the door to create as many different loop sections as you want in live mode. You can navigate between loop sections without interruption! You can only experience this level of creativity after using Ableton to realise what the potential is.
Cons
Setting up MIDI tracks and connecting with external MIDI hardware or software synths was a bit tricky however - you need to spend time either watching Youtube or at least reading the manual as a way to understanding what the capabilities are. I opted for a couple of private sessions with experts who are available on an hourly basis - acheived a great deal.
Alternatives Considered
Pro ToolsReasons for Choosing Live
Different concept of recording but with the optional linear view of old Cubase recording window. The Pro Tools switch was a no-brainer - Pro Tools crashes too many times - Do your research!Reasons for Switching to Live
Offers the complete source of sounds depending on which version you use, is modular and expansive to more sound libraries and easy to use after you have learned the shortcuts. A joy to use now!- Industry: Music
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Ableton Live Review
Reviewed on 2022/02/24
I have enjoyed every project i worked on in Live so far. I will never stop pushing it and recommendi...
I have enjoyed every project i worked on in Live so far. I will never stop pushing it and recommending it to my friends who just started producing.
Pros
I think Live is the only DAW that truly allows you to be creative with a really use to use interface and plugins that inspire. But it also allows you to dive deep into the program if you want to with advanced midi routing and modulation.
Cons
I don't want to sound too optimistic but there's very few things wrong with this program. Ableton has done an amazing job perfecting this software over the years and with extra additions like the Live Enhancement Suite the possibilities become limitless.
- Industry: Information Technology & Services
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Ableton Live is by far my favorite DAW.
Reviewed on 2021/09/29
I LOVE ABLETON LIVE!! I have t-shirts, stickers, a hat... All things ableton.
I LOVE ABLETON LIVE!! I have t-shirts, stickers, a hat... All things ableton.
Pros
I've been using Ableton since version 4. I have other DAW's on my machine for integration with collaborators. My go to for music production is 100% Ableton. VERY good with MIDI and audio the same. I just recently switched my dad from HIS favorite DAW. He is 69 years old and caught onto Ableton very quickly.
Cons
I would say my LEAST favorite thing about Ableton is that I'm not sponsored by them yet. hahaha!!
- Industry: Design
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Still the best for live tracks playback
Reviewed on 2023/11/08
Overall I find Live is the best option I've found for live tracks playback and manipulation on the...
Overall I find Live is the best option I've found for live tracks playback and manipulation on the fly. Its a steep learning curve but well worth the time and effort.
Pros
The flexibility and adaptability for live workflows is outstanding, the warp and transpose features, plus the auto trigger functions are something I can't do without!
Cons
The interface isn't great, and depending on your sample structures the requirements on disk and memory are a bit overblown.
- Industry: E-Learning
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Amazing software for recording and editing music
Reviewed on 2023/10/27
Pros
The session view is a great way of writing music
Cons
Maybe an additional mixing view might be nice to add as well
- Industry: Arts & Crafts
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Ableton the best!
Reviewed on 2023/06/28
Super!!! Zupā!!!
Super!!! Zupā!!!
Pros
In Live, it's easy to manipulate instruments. What's important to me as a musician... It's important to me to create a new, unprecedented sound.
Cons
Live doesn't have a lot of good synthesized instruments, but it's not that bad because I can synthesize myself.
- Industry: Newspapers
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Monthly for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Great software, if that’s what you’re looking for
Reviewed on 2023/02/06
Live is indeed a great tool, but be sure to understand beforehand it’s philosophy (use a demo or...
Live is indeed a great tool, but be sure to understand beforehand it’s philosophy (use a demo or look on YouTube videos). If that’s what you’re looking for, it’s an amazing tool used by many professionals. If you’re looking for a more classic audio editing, recording and mixing app, I would personally look elsewhere, especially since Live middle and top tier are priced as much
Pros
Live’s best features, other than it’s reliability, are all catered towards live performances and real time playing and editing. This is a really unique way of operating, if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s powerful, effective and funny to use. Instead, if you’re looking for a more traditional audio editing application, in my opinion it is still lacking a few notable features and the interface is clunkier and less pleasant than other alternatives, especially at the beginning
Cons
Pretty much the other side of the pro’s: Live is catered towards live performances of electronic music, which it does in a pretty unique and creative way (look for live track creation videos with Live on YouTube!), but is lacking behind when it come to more usual audio recording and editing on a track by track basis. To each his own, and it very much depends on your activity and objective

- Industry: Entertainment
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
The Industry Standard that Keeps Improving (despite minor bugs and high price)
Reviewed on 2020/12/11
I have used a few music production programs before Ableton Live and now after 2+ years of using...
I have used a few music production programs before Ableton Live and now after 2+ years of using Ableton almost on a daily basis, I can confidently say that there is no other music software that I would use. Ableton meets all of my needs with ease of use with plugins and midi, live recording, and collaborating with other artists. Despite the minor bugs that are here and there, Ableton keeps improving and I'm looking forward to Ableton Live 11 when it releases.
Pros
Ableton Live's ease of use with a variety of genres and production processes is one of the most impactful features. Some DAWs such as FL Studio are great for techno/hip hop music, while others like Garage Band are great for singer/songwriters, but Ableton Live is the DAW for anything. Recording instruments and vocals can be seamless and the same goes for anything MIDI related. Ableton Live is very convenient in relation to collaborating with other artists and producers since it is an industry standard.
Cons
There are not many things I dislike about Ableton, but the biggest problem I have that I deal with on a regular basis is something very simple: my audio input and output glitch to the point where I have to save and exit out of the program to fix it. If I switch from my headphones to my studio monitors, Ableton will say it doesn't recognize my monitors. I exit the application, open it back up and it recognizes my monitors. It's a minor bug but extremely inconvenient if you're in the middle of some creative energy.
The most negative aspect of Ableton Live would be the price. There are many free music production software that are half the price or free that offer many features that Ableton has, but still nothing comes close to Ableton. I understand the price difference but I hope in the future the company takes their extremely high prices into consideration, especially since it is the most popular production software and an industry standard.
- Industry: Music
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Excellent software for music production
Reviewed on 2022/12/01
The main benefit I have received from the software is it reliability. If I am in a hurry with a...
The main benefit I have received from the software is it reliability. If I am in a hurry with a project, I can count on this software to work, even if I am introducing new plug-ins.
Pros
I am very impressed with the number of tasks I can do in the software without any glitches. I’ve used other music production software, and had crashes because I do unique instrument recording. This software is extremely reliable and flexible and offers for more options for a creative musician, or a music producer than others. It also plays nicely with third party plug-ins. Easy install. Instructions are readily available because it is so popular.
Cons
There was a bit of a learning curve coming to this software. I was a logic user who composes classical music. I wasn’t familiar with the layout, but in a short period of time I adjusted, and I’m very happy with the software. The other con is that it’s pricing is very high.

- Industry: Media Production
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
A must have for producers, regardless of how small or BIG their production needs are!
Reviewed on 2022/04/05
While I have used multiple other DAWs for recording, none of them were able to provide the...
While I have used multiple other DAWs for recording, none of them were able to provide the flexibility to use in a live performance environment. This is where Ableton Live comes in. It has one of the most useful sets of built-in features and instruments that taking production to a whole new level. Not only does it take care of the audio side of things, but it also helps us automate/live-sync multiple other devices - in live video production, lighting, lyrics and cues. Overall, it replaces the need for multiple pieces of software which for our use case, is a BIG WIN!
Pros
Our biggest advantage is in terms of automation. Instead of having 6 different people-dependant processes, taking up manpower and adding points of failure, we now need only person to take care of the entire production. It's not just cutting down on wasted resources but also helps streamline the entire process of live media production.
Cons
The biggest con with Live is that it has a steep learning curve. After having used multiple DAWs over the last couple of decades, it still took a while to catch up and use Live to its full potential. There are however tons of resources online to help along the way.

- Industry: Computer Games
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Weekly for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Am Incredible software for my needs.
Reviewed on 2023/01/23
If I would rate my experience with this software it would be 10 out of 10
If I would rate my experience with this software it would be 10 out of 10
Pros
What I like it’s that it captures sound and I can manipulate it in several ways .
Cons
To be honest I don’t dislike anything about this software.
- Industry: Biotechnology
- Company size: 5,001–10,000 Employees
- Used Monthly for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Ableton Live: Changing the world of music production one clip at a time.
Reviewed on 2021/03/06
My experience with Live is I used it as an effect module of sorts. I would alter the speed / pitch...
My experience with Live is I used it as an effect module of sorts. I would alter the speed / pitch of sample inside of Ableton then export those files to my hardware digital samplers for further sound manipulation and composition.
Pros
What drew me to Ableton Live is it's ability to change the pitch of a .wav file without affecting the tempo, and without adding distortion to the file. Ableton also has swing templates that allow you to duplicate the swing settings of vintage drum machines, like the E-mu SP1200. This is a game changer because it allows producers to program drum tracks with a more natural, human-like feel.
Cons
Ableton is one of the higher priced music creation programs on the market, and with good reason. The program contains numerous pro level audio processing tools that has made it the choice of music producers worldwide. Though they offer a "Lite" version of their software, it's limited to 16 tracks, which may not be enough for producers and engineers completing large projects.
- Industry: Marketing & Advertising
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Ableton LIVE. The only DAW you need in the studio!
Reviewed on 2022/09/13
Pros
I like how simple and easy to use it is and the efficiency of the workflow.
Cons
It is still a little pricey at close to $1000 for the full
Suite and LIVE plug-ins and Live packs.

- Industry: Music
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Perfect for producing and creating live sets!
Reviewed on 2021/01/22
In fact, it is an indispensable tool for music, organic or electronic producers. For me it helps me...
In fact, it is an indispensable tool for music, organic or electronic producers. For me it helps me a lot in "inbox" production I use samples and vst's. Because it's simple to use, I create my music faster!
Pros
Simple and organized interface, it is a very intuitive DAW, both in the session view and in the arrangement session. It has fantastic native instruments, synthesizers, wavetable instruments, compressors and equalizers! Perfect!!!
Cons
So far I haven't had a lot of problems, the only thing I identified as a failure is that in the clip view, when I use the "beats" mode, there is no way to automate the transient envelope (0 to 100).

- Industry: Education Management
- Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Live with the music
Reviewed on 2021/07/09
The time I used it seemed good to me, I had no problems with it and it mainly served me to make...
The time I used it seemed good to me, I had no problems with it and it mainly served me to make songs with few instruments.
Pros
The layout panel was something that captivated me, without a doubt the minimalism of the interface is something that I like a lot from the way it is used, to uploading a story to Instagram.
But among all the best was the ability to capture sound quickly, with almost no latency and with good quality and then be manipulated with the sampler and finally export it to either an MP3, WAV or AIFF form. even to my own soundcloud
Cons
The integration of plugins and samplers to be used in arrangements and tracks. It makes me somewhat complicated at the time of producing the power to add some sound

- Industry: Computer Software
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Ease of use, VST support, TIME-STRETCHING!
Reviewed on 2019/05/08
I have yet to utilize Live for live performance (ironically). I have seen several artists use to to...
I have yet to utilize Live for live performance (ironically). I have seen several artists use to to great affect.
Pros
I moved from Reason to Live due to the time-stretching abilities & VST support of Ableton.
Using Ableton reminds me of the ease of use I had back in the day when I started on Acid Pro (over 20 years ago). This software has the power to support recording in live and plays nice with all of my VSTs. Highly recommended, top tier DAW.
Cons
Nothing really. There is always a learning curve with DAW's. Ableton is no different. That said, you expect something of a learning curve when you're using such a powerful application.
- Industry: Music
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Game changer
Reviewed on 2021/06/10
It has been awesome working with this software and it has changed my sound from amateur to pro
It has been awesome working with this software and it has changed my sound from amateur to pro
Pros
[1] The software has got high quality sample sound
[2] the provision to convert audio file into piano role [and this has been a prayer answered to beat makers.... sampling has not been difficult anymore
Cons
[1] It has got profession sound
[2]you use one tool whether live or recording session
[3] the color is perfect for eyes
- Industry: Pharmaceuticals
- Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Easy software for effective audio project
Reviewed on 2022/11/16
My experience with Live is absolutely positive and has allowed me to learn a lot about computer...
My experience with Live is absolutely positive and has allowed me to learn a lot about computer production
Pros
Ableton Live is a powerful daw, with many features already available with the intro version. It is a home recording studio where a lot can be produced with little.
Cons
There are no aspects that in my experience can be classified as weaknesses. More likely the difficulties may arise due to personal lack of training and education in some areas (e.g. Max for live)
- Industry: Music
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
For any recording solution, Live is your software!
Reviewed on 2020/03/03
I am not a pc experience user but i easily start using Live for my demo recording sessions and i...
I am not a pc experience user but i easily start using Live for my demo recording sessions and i love it!
Pros
I tend to write a lot of songs, and have to make demos of it, which sometimes we have to in our industry to remember what the melody or how did the song go. That's where Live comes into play for always, its flexible, musical software you can get for production, recording, mixing, mastering and live performance. A very straight forward, easy to use DAW you can get out there compared to the others i have seen my brother used in the past.
Cons
For now i can't really say anything I don't like about the software as I started out only using this so far, but with my experience of it, i surely love using it.
- Industry: Music
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Amazing workflow for Non-linear thinking music producers.
Reviewed on 2019/12/06
I have become a more confident music producer because of the workflow introduced by Ableton Live.
I have become a more confident music producer because of the workflow introduced by Ableton Live.
Pros
- Innovative Music creation method
- Amazing UX and UI
- MIDI control and mapping is quick and intuitive making for a very interactive and immersive music creations process
- A huge plus that one can use the same for both studio as well as allowing for the live performance of the music with just a few setting changes. Truly awesome
Cons
- Definitely needs a powerful CPU
- Expensive
- A big learning curve for those who move away from other DAWs for music production.