Looks like Long & McQuade here in Canada used to carry them. But, no more:
This is the same boat Iām in. M4L is particularly interesting to me, because Iāve tried to make stuff in in PD & SuperCollider alone and itās been really fun, but I tend to end up with half-finished sketches of things. I could see how having that integrated into a DAW with a timeline that enforces structure would encourage me to finish stuff. Itās weird saying that as I used to be a bit DAW-avoidant.
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Totally. I donāt have much time to work on these things, so I end up with a bunch of half-baked Pd/SC patches and synthDefs just to glue stuff together with a DAW or some other music softwareā¦ Having MIDI and audio I/O right there seems very convenient, especially if you donāt have all the time in the world to work on your toolbox.
I really wanted to like Bitwig, but I donāt. I love a lot of things about it (like modulation and the Grid), but donāt enjoy the basic experience. Simple things like audio editing just piss me off, do I donāt use it enough. Live seems much less annoying. I only wish Live ran on Linux, but macOS will do. I think Iāll take this opportunity to jump over and join the millions and millions of people whoāve been using it for decades 
Iām always late to the party. Lol
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I was in danger of overspending on paid M4L devices and plugins before v12 was announced.
Iāll probably preorder, then invest the time to learn the new MIDI editor and MIDI tools when itās released. Iāve been meaning to sketch out song ideas on my Yamaha arranger keyboard, and export the songs as MIDI file to Live for further development. The advertised improvements to the editor look promising.
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I managed to get Big Sur installed (a lot less hassle than I thought it would be) on my unsupported 2012 iMac so Iām ready for the future again 
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Nice updates, theyāre slowly catching up in more traditional DAW features. Mixer in arrangement is a biggie and I really like new automation mode. But still no plugins in mixer itself? Iām just so used having this in Logic and Renoise.
I am tempted with current upgrade prices to Push 3 standalone+suite. Still very expensive, but now maybe actually worth it for pure sound quality and flexibility. Just not sure if Ableton has quite reached the level that would make me switch from Logic, and Push still seems more like working with controller for (integrated) software than with dedicated hardware. Also no linear tracks/arranger seems like an oversight - it could be a unique, maybe even killer feature for hardware.
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I also like the update and am especially looking forward to the new MIDI stuff. However, I still wish I could rename the MIDI in and outs just like the Audio channels. Would be helpful when using a bigger MIDI interface.
Whatās new about automation?
And where do you put plugins if not in the mixer? Seems like a major oversight. How do you then handle parallel mix channels with different inserts if you canāt actually put them on the mix channel? As a Reason user, it makes little sense but Iām guessing there must be a workaround or the daw wouldnāt be this popular.
Iām on the exact same boat as you. My rationale is the integrated experience from sketching all the way down to mixing, and then the sound quality of the synths and effects.
Sorry, I meant modulation, not automation. Although it is related - now you can automate parameters relative to the modulation, just like CV & automation works in Reason. I understand this was possible before with Max4Live devices (never tried it because I only have Lite version), but not native in Ableton.
With plugins in mixer I mean you canāt see them as slots in mixer like in Logic, so thereās no quick overview of whatās going on in the project. Instead you need to click each track/channel to see whatās on there in the bottom plugin panel. This is even better in Renoise, which combine both - you can see them as effect slots in mixer and at the same time you see Ableton-like effect panel at the bottom with all the parameters.
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If you use the Options.txt āhack,ā you can have the plugins show up in the mixer channels, and enable/disable them from there.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ableton/comments/p6t209/huuuuge_hidden_feature_optionstxt_showdeviceslots/
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Are you referring to plugin slots in the mixer to show you what you have on each track? Is this what youāre referring to?
Looks like @Mistercharlie posted about the same thing at the same time 
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This is definitely what I was referring to!
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Yeah I tried that, but it was buggy and for some reason it disappeared on my Ableton (maybe after some update or something). Really canāt understand why they donāt implement it properly, especially if they had it half-done since v4.
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I have it enabled, but you have to remember to switch it on every time you launch a project.
I think this might be less essential now we can view the arrangement, the mixer, devices, and clips all at the same time in 12
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It certainly is a significant improvement, but still sort of case of āclose, but no cigarāā¦ it did probably save me 2 grand, so itās not all bad 
Not sure how it does it, but the software Auracle which the Mio interfaces use allows you to rename the midi ports and then these are reflected in Live, which I love.
Like I say not sure how it does it I havenāt changed any settings they are just there, so it is possible.
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Cool, thank you! I will give it a try 
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Very true, works like a charm. If you donāt have this, you might be able to change the names in the midi settings of osx.
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What you can easily overlook if you donāt work with clip-envelopes often is that there are two different implementations or concepts of how to automate or modulate parameters.
Ableton help describes it like this,
Clip envelopes can be used to automate or modulate mixer and device controls. Whereas automation envelopes define the value of a control at any given point in time, modulation envelopes can only influence this defined value. This difference allows the two types of envelopes to work together in harmony when controlling the same parameter.
Whatās interesting about the 12 update is that we can now also modulate parameters with devices like LFO (M4L); in the sense of modulation (see above); and still retain manual control over the parameter.
As described in the promo,
Stay in control of a parameter, even after itās been mapped to a modulation source; Max for Live devices like LFO, Shaper and Envelope Follower now let you freely adjust a destination thatās being modulated.
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Roar looks great, but I havenāt tried it yet nor did I ever used the AH. Iām not a fan of Abletonās distortion plugins and recommend āKrynnā by HIDE productions instead.:
