Live 2.01 Impressions, or "ableton listens, users rejoice" Options

[filarion]

Paid my 80 Euros to upgrade to Live 2.0 a couple of days ago. Awesome new features like different timestretch engines (acoustic guitar tracks actually can be used in Live now), ability to turn those engines off for individual samples, better automatization, etc.

Performance looks to be the same like 1.5 - which means that it still isn't Altivec optimized, and faster on PCs, but the Ableton guys are Mac users themselves and are promising to add this (requiring a bunch of rewrites) for the next upgrade. Anyways, especially with software like Live the performance is nowhere near as important as creativity.

[charlieb]

when working with melodies within Reason you will always input notes and values with the mouse (unless you own an external midi keyboard like the Midiman Oxygen 8), something that may work for dance music (not in my opinion, but that's another topic), but you end up with "quantized" music that doesn't groove/swing/whatever unless you reallyreally know how to construct melodies in a software sequencer or know how to write sheet music.

I'm also a declared enemy of "factory presets" - and Reason comes with 2 CDs of samples and patches other people made. they sound great, but spotting a track made with Reason is pretty easy... I prefer to make my own (even though they may be of worse quality), but that's just me. again though, Reason also lets you do that. for the 450€ it costs you can almost get a used Logic Platinum on ebay here in Germany though...

filarion,
I am definitely planning on buying a midi keyboard, and will most likely go with either a Radium or a Edirol PCR-50.
I understand (I think) how "quanticized" sound is different than the "real" thing. What is the way for someone like me to get around this?

To me at this stage, two CD's of samples sounds great.
And you say for the cost of Reason at 450Euros- The websites I looked at have it for about US$250.

Thanks again,
charlie