Ableton Live and MP3

["ben dixon" <bend@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

When I found Ableton Live, I thought I'd found exactly the tool I'd been
searching for for ever.  Very impressed - it does everything I need it
for, simply and effectively.  Then I found the one fatal flaw.  It
doesn't seem to handle mp3's.

Since when I play, I use samples and field recordings in both wav and
mp3 format, this cuts my palette in half.  I suppose I could get a very
large external hard drive, and convert all the mp3's into wav's, but
this seems excessive.

Especially since it wouldn't be hard to build mp3-wav decoding into Live
(like may other audio manipulation software does - it doesn't even have
to be done on the fly - decode to the scratch disk when you load the
sample...)

After reading the various arguments on Ableton's forum, there seem to be
as many people requesting that MP3 support *not* be added, as there are
people asking for it.  Which seems strange to me - is a less than
perfect sample to be discarded, just because it isnt perfect?  How many
recordings are degraded by wind or other noise, or poor recording
technique?  (some might balk at calling this 'degradation', and label it
as 'atmosphere'...)

If one is going to bend, warp and filter the sample anyway, what
difference does it make if it isnt pristine?  

And of course, there is content.  A given sample that is available only
as an MP3 (downloaded from the net, for eg) may be perfect from a
content perspective.  

Recycle. Re-use.  But neither extreme to the exclusion of the other.
Why deny onself every opportunity and resource available.

Any thoughts from people on Microsound that make music and do sound
installations?  

Cheers,

ben

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