Can someone please recommend another software program other/easier than ableton that I can use with my op-1?
What are you trying to do?
Stick at it. I was the same, coming from reason(v1-8) it was a steep curve. But watching videos on YouTube and doing some online lessons - tom cosm for example. Really helped.
All DAW’s will have a learning curve and flaws. Each one is unique but have a similar idea behind them. I had fun with Ableton, plugins, and my OP-1. I had multiple tracks. I’d play in a something and set it to loop, then I’d move onto the next track and do the same. I think this combo is enough to do a complete album on.
Good question @Overseas_Territory… What are you trying to do exactly @mdungee?
Can someone please recommend another software program other/easier than ableton that I can use with my op-1?
Ah yes, Ableton’s UI. You can turn much of it off. To stick with it is the best advice. All DAWs are now incredibly complex, which is one reason e.g. Logic’s advanced tools are off by default. A good place to start with Ableton is audio clips. Figure out how warping works - the markers, start and end of clip and loop. Then scenes. MIDI sequencing didn’t land in Live until v4 so don’t worry about midi tracks until you’ve got the hang of warped audio. Then to use it with your OP1 you’d maybe want to sync it e.g. via MIDI and to route or record the OP1’s audio back in with the mix. Then, knowing about clips, you could start layering parts and improvising, and maybe you can do it all live one day. A long road but, man, it’s so rewarding! Good luck!
I have a different approach : before Live I had been using Cubase mainly for heavy recording sessions with parallel tracks you have to mix and chop a bit, not much looping…
For me the Arranger view is the most straightforward, a bit like the OP1 Tape, and you can totally make a song without the Clips, that are just loops.
The Arrenger view is where you can create a whole track, and it’s not that hard…
But to really help you you really should describe exactly what it is you want to do !
Live is deep, but I found it the easiest DAW to learn, like most of it totally makes sense.
Maybe try Cockos Reaper? It’s a classic DAW with a slim installer and a really fair price. Plus you can try the software without any restrictions, there’s only a nag screen at startup.
I also had Ableton Suite, but never got used to the unflexible GUI, so I sold it.