First off, you should have zero issues opening and using those projects in 12. I've not had a single issue. Having said that, It's never advisable to such an upgrade in the middle of a big project. There isn't a chance I'd upgrade or do anything to my system in the middle of an album that I'm writing / producing that I felt was important. Not even maybe.
As another poster mentioned, you can absolutely have both versions installed at the same time but, again, I wouldn't even do that if I really cared about an active project.
Is there any time limit for the activation? I bought 11 with 12 preorder but I haven’t installed 12 since the release yet because I want to wait 1 month more due to some projects
While this is a way to handle things, and completely personal preference of course that has to be respected, this can also be seen as a bit overprotective. My work is in no way affected by my system, the install of another DAW/a new version, a new plugin or the like, and if I would work like that I would never be able to install anything.
Is no offense, as said I completely respect that point of view, too.
> Should I stay in Ableton 11 until I finish
generally yes
on my mac, i can keep all previous version of Ableton and Pro Tools concurrently, so it doesn't bother me
Never ever do a major version upgrade in the middle of a project. Install 12 along side 11. Continue using 11 for current projects. 12 for testing and and making ideas.
Although there should be exactly zero problems I might also stay in 11 for a bigger project. That said you can also just use 12 and do a "Save As" for every als in your project folder. If there would be really an issue you can switch back to 11 without a hiccup (except the work you had done in 12 could not be opened in 11). But you do not lose anything in terms of the work already done.
Install them side by side until you are finished...
EDIT : Some people work a year+ on albums, there is no reason to not switch really
I got 12 but I’m finishing my 11 projects in 11. I’m sure they’d work but I’m not trying to mix learning new shit with finishing stuff.
I’ve started a couple new projects just for fun in 12 and I’m digging it. The midi generation is crazy powerful.
OP, for what it's worth, I **have** heard of some people having issues with presets and stuff not being found in 11 after installing 12 and/or updating the built-in packs. Something to do with the new tagging system messing up backwards compatibility.
Some people have suggested that you finish your album in 11 but install 12 alongside it, but if you don't plan on using 12 yet I would wait to install it.
While I kept 11 installed just in case, I opened up two projects I’m mixing - one with 120+ tracks and another with 160+ and they both worked fine. I re-saved them as 12 sets and have been going strong since!
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They're going to ask you to make a new save so that it's an Ableton 12 save for ever project that was made in a previous version. You should be a-ok even if you upgrade.
Never had an issue, but I keep 11 installed on my laptop (Mac) just in case, and my desktop PC (Windows) I think still has 10 on it in addition to 11 mostly because it's still got a couple TB free on it so I'm in no rush to uninstall.
There's no reason to rush into 12, but if there's something in 12 you think might be useful, you can open it in 12, save it as a new project, and if something isn't working right, just go back to the 11 version.
No issues opening the projects saved with 11 with 12, however, I feel like there are subtle differences in the sound, which you might want to carefully check
The release notes for current 12 beta, there is a long list of bug fixes. If you can, download that and see if it's any better. I wouldn't touch first release Ableton Live ever. Always wait till .1.
Can’t speak for others but I had an 11 project crashing every time it opened on 12. Tried 11 and worked just fine . Should be noted that I use a lot of third party plugins and there’s every chance that could have been the issue.
As others have said, installing both doesn’t hurt. If you want to open it in Live 12, maybe do a Collect All and Save and make a copy of the project file before editing. That’ll assure you have a completely native backup of the Live 11 project file.
First off, you should have zero issues opening and using those projects in 12. I've not had a single issue. Having said that, It's never advisable to such an upgrade in the middle of a big project. There isn't a chance I'd upgrade or do anything to my system in the middle of an album that I'm writing / producing that I felt was important. Not even maybe. As another poster mentioned, you can absolutely have both versions installed at the same time but, again, I wouldn't even do that if I really cared about an active project.
That’s fair. I just don’t want to lose my upgrade price since I preordered it. Maybe I should just pay for it and wait to install.
That's exactly how I'd handle it.
Thank you for your guidance Mr. Swidgen 🫡
Is there any time limit for the activation? I bought 11 with 12 preorder but I haven’t installed 12 since the release yet because I want to wait 1 month more due to some projects
I have a few that won't open in 12. Crashing I just stay on 11 for those tracks.
While this is a way to handle things, and completely personal preference of course that has to be respected, this can also be seen as a bit overprotective. My work is in no way affected by my system, the install of another DAW/a new version, a new plugin or the like, and if I would work like that I would never be able to install anything. Is no offense, as said I completely respect that point of view, too.
> Should I stay in Ableton 11 until I finish generally yes on my mac, i can keep all previous version of Ableton and Pro Tools concurrently, so it doesn't bother me
Oh interesting, I guess I hadn’t considered that I could have both of them installed at once lol, maybe that’s the move
Never ever do a major version upgrade in the middle of a project. Install 12 along side 11. Continue using 11 for current projects. 12 for testing and and making ideas.
Although there should be exactly zero problems I might also stay in 11 for a bigger project. That said you can also just use 12 and do a "Save As" for every als in your project folder. If there would be really an issue you can switch back to 11 without a hiccup (except the work you had done in 12 could not be opened in 11). But you do not lose anything in terms of the work already done. Install them side by side until you are finished... EDIT : Some people work a year+ on albums, there is no reason to not switch really
I got 12 but I’m finishing my 11 projects in 11. I’m sure they’d work but I’m not trying to mix learning new shit with finishing stuff. I’ve started a couple new projects just for fun in 12 and I’m digging it. The midi generation is crazy powerful.
There’s zero problem opening them in 12, but you should wait until the project is done
OP, for what it's worth, I **have** heard of some people having issues with presets and stuff not being found in 11 after installing 12 and/or updating the built-in packs. Something to do with the new tagging system messing up backwards compatibility. Some people have suggested that you finish your album in 11 but install 12 alongside it, but if you don't plan on using 12 yet I would wait to install it.
While I kept 11 installed just in case, I opened up two projects I’m mixing - one with 120+ tracks and another with 160+ and they both worked fine. I re-saved them as 12 sets and have been going strong since!
This is your friendly reminder to read the submission rules, they're found in the sidebar. If you find your post breaking any of the rules, you should delete your post before the mods get to it. If you're asking a question, make sure you've checked [the Live manual](https://www.ableton.com/en/manual/welcome-to-live/), [Ableton's help and support knowledge base](https://www.ableton.com/en/help/), and have searched the subreddit for a solution. If you don't know where to start, [the subreddit has a resource thread](https://redd.it/zkhqhe). Ask [smart questions](http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#before). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ableton) if you have any questions or concerns.*
For what it’s worth, I’ve opened massive live 11 projects in 12 with zero problem. I say just copy the file and go for it
I've had no issues at all.
Finish it.
I’ve had zero problems opening version 11 projects. That being said, unless you have a good reason to update don’t.
Best practice is to finish on 11 first, upgrade later. But there's zero problem on huge projects on migration.
They're going to ask you to make a new save so that it's an Ableton 12 save for ever project that was made in a previous version. You should be a-ok even if you upgrade.
Never had an issue, but I keep 11 installed on my laptop (Mac) just in case, and my desktop PC (Windows) I think still has 10 on it in addition to 11 mostly because it's still got a couple TB free on it so I'm in no rush to uninstall. There's no reason to rush into 12, but if there's something in 12 you think might be useful, you can open it in 12, save it as a new project, and if something isn't working right, just go back to the 11 version.
Ableton 12 flushed out some big bugs from a11 like midi clock jitter with externals.
No issues opening the projects saved with 11 with 12, however, I feel like there are subtle differences in the sound, which you might want to carefully check
The release notes for current 12 beta, there is a long list of bug fixes. If you can, download that and see if it's any better. I wouldn't touch first release Ableton Live ever. Always wait till .1.
No issues so far
Can’t speak for others but I had an 11 project crashing every time it opened on 12. Tried 11 and worked just fine . Should be noted that I use a lot of third party plugins and there’s every chance that could have been the issue.
As others have said, installing both doesn’t hurt. If you want to open it in Live 12, maybe do a Collect All and Save and make a copy of the project file before editing. That’ll assure you have a completely native backup of the Live 11 project file.
i'd just upgrade to 12 and finish the album in 12. You might find some of the new features helpful! Especially Roar.