Ableton Live and Ableton Suite are distinct products from Ableton, a German music software company established in 1999. The company first introduced Ableton Live in 2001 as commercial software for music production and performance. It became a huge success, and today, the company sells its 8th version, Live 8. Ableton Suite is another music software launched by the company, quite similar to Ableton Live. Let’s examine Ableton Live and Ableton Suite more closely.
Key Takeaways
- Ableton Live and Ableton Suite are two different music software products from the same company.
- Ableton Suite has more instruments and features than Ableton Live, making it a more complete package.
- Ableton Suite is more expensive than Ableton Live, but users can always upgrade and buy extra instruments later on.
Ableton Live
Ableton Live (Live 8) is a digital audio workstation that is the latest in the series by the company. It is software for producing and distributing music that operates on Mac and Windows platforms. It can be used for not only composing and arranging music but also for mixing tracks and giving live performances by artists. All along, Ableton Live has not just been a loop-based performance instrument while also being a recording and production software. There are two built-in instruments in Live 8: Impulse and Simpler. However, Live 8 can play additional instruments that can be purchased as add-ons or separately. Over the years, Live has been enriched with the latest features with every new avatar, and Live 8 typically has new exciting features like protection from piracy, collaboration with music on the internet, and the capability to work on the Max/MSP platform.
Ableton Suite
Ableton Suite is a software studio that is currently in its 8th version. It contains all the features that Ableton Live 8 has, plus a sound library with 10 Ableton instruments. Collision and tension are entirely new instruments, while sampler, synths, acoustic, and electric drums are already in the arsenal of Ableton. Suite 8 is a more complete package than Live 8 in terms of not just tools but also sound.
Differences between Ableton Live and Ableton Suite
- Live and Suite are two different music software products from the company.
- Suite has more instruments than Live.
- If you do not want extra instruments, Live may be a better option.
- You can always upgrade and buy extra instruments later on.
- Live is software, whereas Suite also has loops, plugins, and instruments.
- Suite is more expensive than Live.
