That is kind of what I figured. I've been reading lots of online articles and it seems as though fruity loops is childs play. Not that I'd be using a torrent, but I've read that abelton slowly shuts down bits and pieces of the software until it is unusable if it is downloaded illegally. Is that true?
I'm pretty sure hathbanger has live, so you could probably go with that. Read up on it via google, then go to your local music store to test drive it. As for buying your gear.... You will always use something more if you shell out some cash for it. Good software can be confusing and complicated, but if you pay for it you'll force yourself to use it.
I think you need to mail a copy of your student card or a proof of enrollment to get the discount. Just ask your school to fax it or whatever.
Live 8 should be fine I think. You don't really need live 8 suite unless you're after the operator synth and some other instruments and all the samples/loops that it comes with. If you're primarily using plugins I think live should be fine. I have the demo for both, so I can check out live for you to see how it works compared to my version of suite. I'm in the same boat as you and saving $200 on software is sorta appealing.
You can torrent the full version of live 7 and its all set and ready to go, if I get an APC40 I think it comes with a version of ableton that I'd be willing to pass along, might just be a demo though.
i think i jinxed myself here. FUCK. a bunch of my instument racks now crash the program. Probably just a little hiccup and restarting my computer should take care of it
The apc version sucks. It only allows a total of 4 plugin tracks, and 4 audio effects. And it doesn't come with its own synth, so you need to use plugins. Basically if you want to produce anything more than mediocre you will be upset with that version. I used it on my laptop though on my boat to get a rough idea of what I wanted, then transferred it to live 8 and fixed it up. It was good for that at least.