Ableton has announced the launch of Ableton Live 11. As first revealed back in November, there are a host of new features for producers and DJ/producers, including “comping” (the ability to do multiple takes of a performance, and stitch them together) and MPE support (letting producers add bends, slides and pressure for each individual note in a chord).
Plus, there are five new devices, including once called “Inspired By Nature” – should be fun for making organic house…
But some of the features that caught our eye for DJ/producers are more practical. We love the new linked-track editing, which gives you the ability to link two or more tracks to edit their content simultaneously. We think “live tempo following” will be huge for DJs playing hybrid sets, because it listens to and adjusts Live’s tempo based on incoming audio, in real time.
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And we loved the addition of tools to add chance, including note chance (setting the probability that a note or drum hit will occur), and velocity chance (defining ranges for velocity probability for subtle variations in dynamics). Both could be huge for making more realistic, subtle beats.
For DJs who use Push as part of the set-up, a standout for us is the fact that the new key and scale sync feature in Live 11 is linked to Push and can be changed per clip.
Download versions of Ableton Live 11 cost €79/US$99 for Live Intro, €349/US$449 for Live Standard and €599/US$749 for Live Suite. Ableton says existing owners should log into their accounts to check upgrade pricing. More info on the Ableton Live website.
• New students of our Dance Music Formula and Laidback Luke’s Bootlegs, Mash-ups & Re-edits courses can claim a 25% saving on a purchase of any version of Ableton Live.
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Phil Morse
