Page 65 - Zone Magazine - Issue 033 - Jan Johnston

ABLETON LIVE 11
It’s hard to believe it's been nearly 2 years since Ableton released version 10. Released in February 2018, it was an update to the much loved, and divisive DAW that, before that, users had waited 5 years for. Now it has been officially announced that Ableton version 11 will be released early in 2021.
At first glance, you would be fooled into thinking there has been some minor tweaking with the interface and look of Ableton, but don’t let that fool you, dig just beneath the surface, and you will find a whole host of new features, devices and capabilities that will allow your workflow to increase, and your creativity to run wild. Let's dive in and check out some of the key new features.
One of the characteristics of live that has made it a favorite with performers from the offset, is its real-time performance features. It has always encouraged musicians to jam out and see what happens. With this, Live 11 can now automatically follow the tempo of an incoming audio stream. This opens up a whole new aspect of preforming within Live alongside, say a live band or a DJ. On top of this, lives Macro features have been upgraded allowing users to snapshot record and recall Macro settings on the fly. Alongside that you can now assign up to 16 Macros to entire racks, giving musicians even more opportunity to customize their midi settings and controllers.
Ableton have also listened to the cries of its users with regards to features that are available in other DAWs. Two main new features for 11 have given fans what they wanted. Firstly Comping, allowing users to record multiple takes in one session, and edit them to create the perfect version. It has been a feature of Pro Tools since its earliest incarnations and is finally here to allow speedy recording and editing. Secondly Linked –track Editing is a feature that allows users to group a selection of two or more tracks and edit the content together with sample accurate timing.
Midi has been given an overhaul, with full integration of MIDI Polyphonic Expression, or MPE. With MPE supported, you can record and edit multi- dimensional performance data from Rolis, LINNstruments, Keith McMillen controllers and many more that support it. This coupled with the new
Expression View gives the user a whole new dimension regarding their midi editing.
Musicians wanting new toys, rest assured there is plenty of new stuff to play with in Live 11.
Instrument wise we have String Quartet, Brass Quartet and Upright Piano. More than enough to get some new creative juices flowing. Whilst in the effects department, Live 11 brings us a whole host of new toys to mangle your sounds with. Hybrid Reverb combines algorithmic and convoluted reverbs to as Ableton put “create any space”.
Pitch Loop 89 saw Ableton enlist Robert Henke, the renowned AV and audio artist to create an audio processor that will meet all your glitch needs. Spectral Resonator is a unique granular processor that slices audio into microscopic pieces and allows you to create individual spectral resonances. In a similar vein, Spectral Time applies effects to the individual audio slices.
One aspect of the new update that Ableton are keeping quite close to their chest is the new Live Suite Inspired by Nature. It is a new collaboration with long time partner Dillon Baston. Aswell as this we have new sound sets Voice Box, Mood Reel and Drone Lab.
Aswell as this we’ve been reassured there are also several performance tweaks and optimization of the user interface and cpu metering. We’re all looking forward to getting stuck in and seeing what we can come up with the new version of Ableton, and from the looks of it we won't have to wait too long.
Ableton Live 11 will be available early next 2012, and will cost €79 for Live Intro, €349 for Live Standard and €599 for Live Suite. Preorders will be subject to a 20 percent discount, and upgrade paths for owners of previous versions are, of course, available.
Words By John Ricketts All images courtesy of Ableton
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