NAMM is here and lots of good announcements. You could read about Ableton Live 8 et rest at the Ableton web site, or Create Digital Music has a good summary.
My short take is that of course I will upgrade. Secondly, I think Ableton had for a long time a somewhat lack of vision where to go with Live. Should it be a studio instrument, or a live one? Well, I think it should be an expressive instrument on stage with studio capabilities and this is where they are heading.
If I would record and mix normal rock/pop stuff, it would be tough even with Live 8. As for DJ use I still think Live is not really targeted for this. But for anyone doing electronic music on stage with improvisations as well as improvising material in the studio, this is the product to use. So in my case it’s perfect. For rock material I use Logic Pro, for wild electronic experiments Live.
The second good announcement from NAMM was that Roland is again producing their AX Keytar. I will get one when they are available here in US. To start with it would be fun going out jamming at various jam events using this one instead of dragging along a stationary keyboard + stand. It has a built-in synth module so even better! Secondly, the design makes it possible to even use it in the studio as a controller so that makes it for double-use.
I really want the world to have more expressive MIDI controllers, the new AX Keytar is one of those.
Now, combine the AX Keytar with Ableton Live 8 on stage….