Published
Mon, Nov 2, 2015, 10:18
- The software maker has dropped Akai and rebuilt their dedicated controller themselves, and the software itself is gaining a handful of new features.
Push 2 and Live 9.5 are now available from Ableton.
The announcements came at the tail end of Loop, Ableton's inaugural music summit in Berlin this past weekend. First off, they've rolled out a new version of Push, their dedicated Live controller. Though Push 2 doesn't look vastly different from the original, there are some key differences, including a new color display that shows waveforms, device parameters and other information about the mix. Push 2 also brings more sampling power directly onto the device, including the ability to slice up samples across pads. The pads themselves have been rebuilt, which speaks to a larger change pointed out by Create Digital Music: Ableton is now building Push themselves, not in collaboration with Akai, their previous hardware partner. The article also points out that Push 2 will be able to control third-party plug-ins, not just Live's own devices. Should you decide to trade in your old Push for a new one, Ableton will refurbish and donate the old device to education, and they'll give you a 30% discount on your purchase.
The new controller is accompanied by a 9.5 software update of Live. The free upgrade for existing users features a new version of their Simpler sampler device, new analog filters from the people who brought you the Glue bus compressor and improved meters and waveforms. For Live 9 Suite owners, a number of new synthesizers round out the update.
Another new feature was announced in tandem with the new Push and Live: Link, which will allow users to play Live sessions in time across multiple devices without wired connections. (They just have to be on the same Wi-Fi network.) Ableton says the feature will be available as part of a free update to Live users, and the functionality will also be found in a "growing number" of iOS apps. Check out the teaser for Link embedded below.
Push 2 is now available from Ableton for a suggested retail price of $799.