Product Reviews

The list of restrictions in this limited edition of Ableton's Live 7 is long and, in some cases, bafflingly restrictive. No ReWire? Not even Rex file support? And despite the fact that the Internet is awash with decent free or low-cost third-party VST and AU plug-ins, we can only use two in a Live Set. And there are only two virtual instruments.

Fair enough, the entire Live 7 plug-in collection is included - honourable mentions here for the Compressor, EQ Eight and Spectrum - and we can use up to 12 of these in a Set, but if Ableton is pitching this product to the terminally short of cash, why restrict that user's ability to use whatever tools they can lay their hands on?

Other notable omissions can be understood in the context of Ableton's commercial concerns, as it walks the fine line between attracting new users without cannibalising take-up of the full edition. The lack of video import or export in LE won't affect a recording or performing user, but will prevent someone experimenting with putting music to pictures. Support for only two channels of audio I/O is also acceptable, although for anyone who wants a separate cue mix to feed the headphones while simultaneously sending the main mix out to the speakers - such as DJs - this will prove to be problematic.

For every

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user, it's a shame that the excellent Racks feature introduced in Live 7 has been omitted entirely from LE, even in a cut-down incarnation. There isn't any provision for audio slicing and no track freezing of any description, which is dire news for anyone with an older, less powerful machine. LE users are also limited to eight Scenes per Set.

However, this isn't to denigrate the broader appeal of Live 7 LE. For about £100, it's ideal as an adjunct to an existing sequencer or as an opportunity to explore the Live concept. It's certainly more effective and better equipped than the Live Lite edition often bundled with third-party hardware.

It may also be that for many users, having the full edition of Live 7 on hand as a post-production remix lab is overkill. If the audio has already been perfected elsewhere, LE is an eminently suitable, low-cost version of Live offering nearly all of its renowned audio time-stretching and warping tricks.

You still get both of Ableton's core VSTis: Simpler and Impulse (samples and beats). Live's engine is also the same in LE, supporting 32-bit/192kHz resolution audio and is also multi-core- and multiprocessor-ready. A total of 64 audio and unlimited Midi tracks are possible. In addition, LE Sets support multiple time signatures, multiple automation lanes and greater tempo control. If you opt for the boxed version, you also get a massive wodge of loops and sampled instruments. In many respects, it's the same as Live 7. Of course, in many other respects, it isn't and therein lies the rub.

Competition is fierce among prosumer entry-level music apps - from Pro Tools LE to Logic Express - and Live 7 LE holds its own in such illustrious company. However, it will struggle to fight its way any further up the software food chain: there are simply too many limitations. Beyond LE, of course, the full version awaits.