Ok I'm gonna do a pro's and cons style review of this software.

We'll start with the pro's..

Its really easy to pick up and you can create any kind of beat you want with it. You can use any sample you want to create a drum or instrument with. Which gives you the ability to make truelly unique sounds and beats. The standalone is really awesome to work with. And you can come up with unique beat in minutes. If you know what your doing(which doesnt take much learning) you can come up with some really awesome stuff. You can get any style beat you want out of it. Whether your looking for hip hop, rock, dubstep, or really fast heavy metal with double bass and hard hitting snares.. it is all completely 100% achievable with LR. The only limitation in that area is your imagination and your ability to create samples.

Now the cons..

First off the biggest downfall of Liquid Rhythm is it is specifically designed to work with Ableton Live. So if you dont have Ableton Live the VST portion is really irritating to work with in any other DAW... I use Sonar X3. For instance most drum/beat VST have a built in loop to make it easier to refine certain parts of your beat. With the Liquid Rhythm VST you have to use the one that comes with your DAW and it is extremely frustrating and I feel makes the VST nearly useless. The standalone has a built in loop I have no idea why they dont keep it in the VST.

The support isnt very good for Liquid Rhythm especially if you dont have Ableton Live, it takes them a long while to get new updates onto Steam, and since I've bought this software it seems every update only adds to more functionality with Ableton Live adding very little for people who use other DAWs.

There is a bug that really hurts the VST that should have been fixed long ago but still has not been. You can't set each drum track to its own track within your DAW. The options are there to do it but it doesnt work. I have reported this bug and so have others. It doesnt cripple the vst or anything but it does make it a lot more time consuming to properly record a beat than it should be. The only way to successfully record each drum/instrument on its own track for proper mixing is to completely build your whole beat within the VST. When finished mute all instruments except for one and record them one at at a time. Doesnt sound like a big deal but if you've got a 5 minute song and your beat within LR consists of 15 instruments.. multiply 15 times 5 minutes per instrument... Thats 75 minutes or an hour and 15 minutes just to record a 5 minute beat(of course it will take more time than that as you have to create a new track and set the track you want to record on which will take a minute or two extra for each instrument). When you get that done you still have to take the time to mix it all. This bug may only be in Sonar X3 but if I remember right people with other DAWs were reporting the same trouble.

The DLC. I feel some of them should be part of the standard version like the randomizer and groovemover. It is completely functional without them but a randomizer should be standard equipment for any drum/beat plugin/software.

I really wish Steam had a thumb sideways, as I dont want to give it a thumbs down or up. It may look like I had more bad than good to say about it, but the way I feel about it is the Standalone is awesome, you can come up with a totally unique beat in just minutes and just keep adding to it. But the VST I feel is just so horribly integrated with your DAW it will make you want to pull out your hair before you get a complete beat done with it. This probably isnt the case with Ableton Live but a lot of people choose to use other DAWs like Sonar, FL Studio, and Pro Tools..

Another thing that I find really irritating about the VST is the VST still kind of runs as a standalone it is not brought up within your DAW like most other VST's. Its brought up in its own seperate window. So you have to work within two seperate windows. Most VSTs you have them both right in front of you. With LR you have to constantly maximize and minimize between your DAW and LR.

Long Story short the Standalone is awesome, but the VST is just a pain to work with.

If you are wanting a fun Standalone Software to create beats, then by all means buy it. But if your wanting a good addition to your plugin library, then steer clear if you arent using Ableton Live.

I'm going to give this a thumbs down. As I cant say its a practical VST to buy if your a serious producer. I will gladly change it to a thumbs up if they start making it more useable within other DAWs.

This is an revolutionary program for anyone interested in Music creation. I don't need a drumkit or a midi keyboard to create professional sounding loops for many different genres! Once you try this approach you won't be able to do it any other way without feeling like your wasting time. Also the Dev Teams really support the product well, replies to emails arrive within a day and they've got a good set of videos for learning how to use it.

Works well with whatever DAW you might be using and theres even videos on how to integrate with many of the big ones.

P.S. If your finding the program is slow to start there are a number of FAQs regarding audio drivers etc. For me I had to choose wait for audio engine to start a couple of times and it worked.

The controls are very simple, all the tools are understandable even for a novice like me.
Btw the random generator is simply amazing! But yea, most of beat makers are actually straightforward and beat programming has no shortage of tools.

I've tested the demo for weeks before buying. I really liked how the patterns are displayed and notes can be easily edited, this is where I think LR shines.

It seems they will add new features in DLC model. The complete pack can have these extras without any fees. Upgrades are the main reason which convinced me to pay a little more. The -35% for each extra (summer sales) made the bundle cost less than 50% in complete pack, leaving the full package with the best cost/benefits.

Some tips for Windows users:
Update Java to latest version: 'Java 7 Update 60' (for both x86 and x64 versions)
and force run with admin rights: Right click -> 'Properties', at 'Compability' tab settings: 'Run this program as an administrator'
"\LiquidRhythm.exe"
"/plugins/com.wavedna.audiolauncher.win32_1.4.0.1/MaxFramework/LiquidLoops.app/LiquidLoops.exe"

optional (recommended to install it once with admin rights):
"\vst-installer-x64-1.3.3.0.exe"
"\vst-installer-x86-1.3.3.0.exe"

Also I recommend to disable Steam Overlay, it creates a copy of toaster popups in every damn LR window =_=
At Steam's 'Library' -> 'All Software', right click on 'Liquid Rhythm' and select 'Properties', uncheck "Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game".

I hope they release Linux version at Steam.
(ew Java sucks, specially on Windows... geez)

When I first started working with music making programs creating a nice drum line was the most difficult part. Other programs offered all the capabilities, but each program was like wandering a maze at night. Even with extensive tutorials online by both the creators and the various users whom used said programs. It still took at least an hour for me to even begin to create a simple drum line, and when I had finally figured out the controls I had lost interest in the drum line I was thinking of. When I finally stumbled upon this program I couldn’t believe my eyes. I quickly installed the demo and from there on I was in love. Everything was so simple! No more maze like interfaces, no more having trouble getting the correct timing, no more problems! I still cannot believe how easy this program is to use! Sure it’s not as advance, but who gives a flying f%^k when you can easily create a beat in as much as five minutes. As a musician with no drum capabilities, or the space to own a midi drum set if I wanted; this program resolves all those issues. Now I can (in less than five minutes) open up this software and create a very catchy beat. I highly recommend this software to anyone interested in music (particularly the drum aspect).

Easily compose/generate some rhythms, but not worth the full price (only buy when this is offered at a discount)!

The tool you should get is Liquid Music as the functionality of Liquid Rhythm is too limited in my opinion.

It sucks how the achievements are reserved for internal developers of the program.

That does suck. Take a -1 review.

Making your achievements reserved for internal developers only DOES INDEED SUCK.

It makes programming drums super easy. I bought all the plugins, but I find the Tumbler and the Randomizer to be the most useful. I don't think I "get" the Beatweaver yet, but it looks like it could be useful in the future. Occasionally, when I use it as a "controller" for Session Drummer 3, some drums aren't picked up, but I'm sure this is something I just haven't figured out yet. I generally use it to produce .MID files, and import those into Session Drummer 3. It's also really good for taking drum loop .mid files I've purchased and making them into a song.

This is an excellent rhythm sequencer. It is intuitive and flexible in a way that most rhythm programmers lack. What I really enjoy about it is the concept of rhythm evolution, where the atomic parts of a more complex rhythm can be refined individually, either globally or over time.

It's surprising, too, in how well it caters to various genres of music. A lot of rhythm generators tend to really focus on 4/4 time signatures and duple/triple divisions, but it's pretty easy to take this into experimental territories. Check it out!

garbage. paid $99 for an unlicensed piece of software? ♥♥♥♥ you steam

First of, i haven't used the software for 200+ hours as Steam implies. I have the bad habit of leaving software open, and i almost never turn my PC off so, hours piled up.

PRO:
- Quick way to prototype/sketch a rhythm/beat
- You can use your own samples
- You can export to midi, and you can even drag and drop to your DAW
- I would say it really would work well if you're making rap/hip-hop beats, but i can't vouch for that, it's just my impression.

CON:
- Very counter intuitive
- Works somewhat poorly, i blame it on the fact that most (if not all) its components are made in java (if you're wondering, Java in this kind of "setting" is just as bad as it was in 2007"
- I ran into many issues when i tried to use it as a VST in Ableton 11 Live, Fruity Loops, Mixcraft, Sonar, and when it finally started working i realized it's very poorly integrated, so i just used it separately.
- Randomizer is quite bad and pointless. You'd imagine the arrangements would have some sort of logic, but they don't.

Concept is interesting, it's a good tool to have in your digital shed, can save you a lot of time.
Personally, i got it for a month because i wasn't sure if it was as good as it was advertised.
Due to issues i mentioned above, including it in my workflow is like carrying a bike on the train just so i can get to a place where i can ride it.

Keep in mind, this is not a music making software (some reviewers were.. ehm.. angry). It's purely a beat and rhythm designer. You could technically make a full song with it, but.. why?

Final words, it's a cute tool, but it isn't worth the price tag. If it will drop to a more fair price i will consider buying it.
I do advise you to try it though, maybe you will be able to include it in your workflow better than i could. And luckily, you can buy a 1 month subscription and try it instead of just throwing a stack of cash at it.