I really wanted to go through this, replacing the 3rd party plugins with Ableton devices (As I have done for many courses on here). This course in particular, however, is really hard to follow along with if you don't have the plugins.
The instructor rarely plays the sounds. He will walk through, in detail, the settings of each plugin - which is great. But he will quickly move between plugins without giving hardly any examples of the sound (sometimes he will hit a few notes - but not always). If I had the plugins I could just input the same values, but without them I need audio to reference to at least attempt to get a similar sound with the plugins I have.
Why not provide stems of each track for reference? (As other courses have done) Then at least I could pop the stems in my set and try to match the sound after I watch the video.
It would be so much more helpful if stems were provided, or if the instructor just spent more time playing each track in between each plugin walk-through. Just playing 1 bar of the track in between each plugin would be a HUGE improvement.
Also, I don't think this course should be called a "How to Make" course, as its not a walk-through of making the track, its just an in depth explanation of the sound design and mixing that went into this french house track. More of a "How to sound like" course. I would also classify this more as a beginner-intermediate course, as the instructor spends a lot of time going over very basic topics like what side chaining is.
There is lots of good info in this one, and the instructor is extremely knowledgeable. But this is audio! Hearing the words and seeing the plugins provides some info, but hearing the sounds is key! I am going to watch the videos, but I really wish I could I hear the individual tracks in more detail so I could follow along (You know, like the other courses on here that use 3rd party plugins).