Ableton Live

Live has ten internal effects that can be applied in real-time, all of which, bar the compressor, are excellent. You can also use VST-compliant plug-ins that can be displayed using Live's interface, which allows you to assign two parameters to an X-Y graph for twiddling - again, very useful for live work.

Live's not without its fair share of problems, however. Its interface is clearly designed with an Apple Macintosh in mind, and the lack of right mouse button support is infuriating. There's no rewind or fast-forward on the transport bar, and dragging a selection within an automation envelope window doesn't scroll the screen beyond what's already visible. Nor can you define a clip's original tempo by typing in the value as the manual claims, though this will apparently be fixed in version 1.5, due shortly.

It's only after using Live for a few weeks that you begin to realise its versatility. It can be used by DJs for laptop sessions; you can export audio from your sequencer to perform live, dropping clips in and out to suit the crowd; or you can construct entire tracks rapidly, provided you have the loops in place. The audio engine is superb, and version 1.5 should fix the few problems and tidy up the interface.

At £186, it's in the same ballpark as Sonic Foundry's ACID PRO while offering a unique live advantage, and as such is well worth considering.

Author: Tim Ponting