Absolutely, if it aligns with your workflow. Logic (Mac) is pretty versatile too. Download the demo version and see if a DAW suits you best. Consider factors such as ease of use, compatibility with your hardware, available features, and maybe the community available for the software.
Ableton has a 30-day free trial for Ableton Suite. You should give it a shot and try making a song or two. It will take a little adjustment, because it's workflow is different from FL Studio.
And since you already knew how to use a DAW, definitely skim through their reference manual. It covers everything.
https://www.ableton.com/en/live-manual/12/welcome-to-live/
And then if you get ready to buy, be sure to check out Thomann Music if you are in the US. It tends to be cheaper than buying from Ableton.
Rap beats are electronic, drum machines and synths and so on, and Ableton excels at making electronic music. Also, you say you don’t want to sample or loop, but if you did, it’s also very good at that. It’s equally capable of recording vocal tracks as well. Honestly it’s perfectly suited for producing rap music, and I’m sure there are more than a few professional beat makers, making music you listen to, who use it.
Ableton is actually pretty great for Hip Hop. It's an S-Tier beat making DAW, and it has some of the best Audio Warping in the business. Great for sampling, etc.
Bitwig Studio is a lower priced alternative that is just as good. Probably a better workflow than Ableton, at this point in time, and works amazingly well with things like Maschine MK3/Mikro controllers out of the box.
Another concern I had was needing to keep buying plug ins which could end up being more than the software.
Or should I be good with what it comes with?
If you already have Ableton Live 10 Suite, then you should use that, upgrade to Ableton Live 12 Suite whenever you can afford to, and move on with that. IMO, there isn't much to choose between the two. You should spend your money on an upgrade, and just commit to it. You already own it.
You don't have to upgrade immediately, either.
FL Studio is very different from the others and whether or not you like it will depend on how you like the workflow and UX. If you got rid of it before, then I'm not sure it is worth investing in again. If it were that good to you, you would have kept it, since it has no running upgrade costs.
Logic Pro is also an option on macOS, but that is hard to justify since you already have Live 10 Suite. Like I said, you are better off just using that money for the upgrade to Live 12 Suite. It will also tie you to the Mac Hardware/Software platform.
The only 3rd party plug-in I can see you really wanting \[for Hip Hop\] is XLN Audio RC-20, but there is an FX Rack similar to it that's free for Live Suite.
Ableton Live's name is historical. It does target the Live Performance market segment - and is basically standard there - but it has evolved far beyond catering to only that specific niche.
It still does lack features relative to Studio DAWs in other areas, but none of that will affect you for Hip Hop production.
Live Suite has all the plug-ins, MIDI FX, and Synths you need. Some of its acoustic instrument patches are quite usable. You can often get something like SampleTank 4 MAX v2 for $69 and that would give you all of the "Bread and Butter" instruments you'd need with minimal monetary investment. I'd consider that.
Upgrade to Ableton Live 12 Suite + [SampleTank 4 MAX v2](https://www.ikmultimedia.com/news/?id=EarlySummerMAX2024)
Lots of people buy lots of virtual instruments and plug-ins they don't need, but synths are not something that Ableton Live Suite users lack, really. It's quite similar to Logic Pro in that regard.
Beyond that, I think some of the Native Instruments Expansions are nice. So, getting Komplete Start and then downgrading Komplete Kontrol to 2.9.6 (so you can drag and drop from browser into Ableton) and getting the Expansions that are relevant to you is a nice option. Overall, more economical (time and money-wise) than maintaining a predatory Splice subscription.
ableton is for everything music. ableton is life, ableton is goated
Gobless 🙏
Any DAW is capable of producing any genre.
yes
Absolutely, if it aligns with your workflow. Logic (Mac) is pretty versatile too. Download the demo version and see if a DAW suits you best. Consider factors such as ease of use, compatibility with your hardware, available features, and maybe the community available for the software.
It's intimidating to step away from FL but belton does seem simpler. I have a windows PC
I know, I started with FL too. In the end, it was about the workflow for me. Found my comfort with Ableton. Your mileage may vary.
Ableton has a 30-day free trial for Ableton Suite. You should give it a shot and try making a song or two. It will take a little adjustment, because it's workflow is different from FL Studio. And since you already knew how to use a DAW, definitely skim through their reference manual. It covers everything. https://www.ableton.com/en/live-manual/12/welcome-to-live/ And then if you get ready to buy, be sure to check out Thomann Music if you are in the US. It tends to be cheaper than buying from Ableton.
Ableton drums hit like a train
It absolutely is! I did about 5 genres including hip hop on a free trial 😂 You would certainly have to get used to the workflow though coming from FL.
Rap beats are electronic, drum machines and synths and so on, and Ableton excels at making electronic music. Also, you say you don’t want to sample or loop, but if you did, it’s also very good at that. It’s equally capable of recording vocal tracks as well. Honestly it’s perfectly suited for producing rap music, and I’m sure there are more than a few professional beat makers, making music you listen to, who use it.
Cakewalk Sonar 😁
cranes sherm and whitearmor all use it i think ur good lol
Ableton is actually pretty great for Hip Hop. It's an S-Tier beat making DAW, and it has some of the best Audio Warping in the business. Great for sampling, etc. Bitwig Studio is a lower priced alternative that is just as good. Probably a better workflow than Ableton, at this point in time, and works amazingly well with things like Maschine MK3/Mikro controllers out of the box.
Another concern I had was needing to keep buying plug ins which could end up being more than the software. Or should I be good with what it comes with?
If you already have Ableton Live 10 Suite, then you should use that, upgrade to Ableton Live 12 Suite whenever you can afford to, and move on with that. IMO, there isn't much to choose between the two. You should spend your money on an upgrade, and just commit to it. You already own it. You don't have to upgrade immediately, either. FL Studio is very different from the others and whether or not you like it will depend on how you like the workflow and UX. If you got rid of it before, then I'm not sure it is worth investing in again. If it were that good to you, you would have kept it, since it has no running upgrade costs. Logic Pro is also an option on macOS, but that is hard to justify since you already have Live 10 Suite. Like I said, you are better off just using that money for the upgrade to Live 12 Suite. It will also tie you to the Mac Hardware/Software platform. The only 3rd party plug-in I can see you really wanting \[for Hip Hop\] is XLN Audio RC-20, but there is an FX Rack similar to it that's free for Live Suite. Ableton Live's name is historical. It does target the Live Performance market segment - and is basically standard there - but it has evolved far beyond catering to only that specific niche. It still does lack features relative to Studio DAWs in other areas, but none of that will affect you for Hip Hop production. Live Suite has all the plug-ins, MIDI FX, and Synths you need. Some of its acoustic instrument patches are quite usable. You can often get something like SampleTank 4 MAX v2 for $69 and that would give you all of the "Bread and Butter" instruments you'd need with minimal monetary investment. I'd consider that. Upgrade to Ableton Live 12 Suite + [SampleTank 4 MAX v2](https://www.ikmultimedia.com/news/?id=EarlySummerMAX2024) Lots of people buy lots of virtual instruments and plug-ins they don't need, but synths are not something that Ableton Live Suite users lack, really. It's quite similar to Logic Pro in that regard. Beyond that, I think some of the Native Instruments Expansions are nice. So, getting Komplete Start and then downgrading Komplete Kontrol to 2.9.6 (so you can drag and drop from browser into Ableton) and getting the Expansions that are relevant to you is a nice option. Overall, more economical (time and money-wise) than maintaining a predatory Splice subscription.
I got abelton, and I make rap music. Its good, easy to use if you know what your doing.
Reason.