I've tried all the major DAWs and Ableton Live is my absolute favourite - and it's 25% off for Cyber Monday

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If you're thinking of switching DAWs, today is the day to do it, with savings of more than $150 on Live Suite, Standard and Intro

ableton
(Image credit: Ableton)

Electronic musicians can be an argumentative bunch, and there are few subjects that inspire more heated debate than the question of which DAW reigns supreme. Different tools suit different styles of working, and it goes without saying that there's no one DAW that's best for everybody. For me, though, it has to be Ableton Live.

I've tried out most of the major DAWs in my role as MusicRadar's Tech Editor, and while there's some seriously stiff competition, nothing has managed to convince me to drop Live as my day-to-day DAW: its intuitive, user-friendly workflow, combined with the sheer breadth of its feature set and the quality of its instruments and effects, have made it an indispensable tool for me and many, many others.

Live 12, the latest major update to the software, not only introduced a new soft synth and a raft of generative MIDI tools, but also marked the debut of Roar, a phenomenal saturation and distortion effect that's swiftly become one of our favourite stock effects in any DAW. Since then, Live 12.1 brought Ableton users a new MIDI-controllable vocal tuner, Auto Shift, and a dedicated Drum Sampler device with built-in effects.

Whether you're considering switching DAWs or just beginning your journey into music production, Ableton Live is 25% off this Cyber Monday at Sweetwater, with discounts of up to $160 across Live Suite, Standard and Intro.

Ableton Live 12 Suite
Ableton Live 12 Suite: was US$749 now US$562.50 at Sweetwater Sound

Suite is the top-tier version of Ableton Live, giving you access to all 20 of Live's software instruments, 58 audio effects, 14 MIDI effects and 71GB of additional content. Highlights that you won't find in Standard or Intro include Meld, a bitimbral and MPE-enabled synth introduced in Live 12, and Roar, an exciting new multiband saturation effect that's capable of everything from subtle colouration to wildly modulated, feedback-laced distortion. Suite gives you Max for Live, too.

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Ableton Live 12 Standard
Ableton Live 12 Standard: was US$439 now US$329.25 at Sweetwater Sound

A step down from Suite, Live Standard edition nonetheless brings you pretty much everything a music-maker could possibly need from a DAW. If money's no object, Suite is certainly worth the asking price, but the extra synths and effects it offers certainly couldn't be described as essential. For just above $300, Standard is an incredible deal - and if you end up deciding you can't do without Suite's additional tools and content, you can always upgrade for a discount.

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Ableton Live 12 Intro
Ableton Live 12 Intro: was US$99 now US$74.25 at Sweetwater Sound

If you're intrigued by Ableton but not quite ready to drop three figures on Suite or Standard, Intro gives you access to Live's core components at a price that's far easier to stomach. There's a surprisingly generous amount of additional extras here, too, including Drift, a recently released virtual analogue synth, and a host of 27 audio effects that includes Auto Shift, the new vocal tuning plugin released with Live 12.1.

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Matt Mullen
Matt Mullen
Tech Editor

I'm MusicRadar's Tech Editor, working across everything from product news and gear-focused features to artist interviews and tech tutorials. I love electronic music and I'm perpetually fascinated by the tools we use to make it. When I'm not behind my laptop keyboard, you'll probably find me behind a MIDI keyboard, carefully crafting the beginnings of another project that I'll ultimately abandon to the creative graveyard that is my overstuffed hard drive.