Published
Tue, Jul 18, 2006, 19:10
- The latest version of popular production and DJ tool Ableton Live will be released in September.
The latest version of popular production and DJ tool Ableton Live will be released in September.
New features include support for Quicktime video, a multisample library, customizable instruments and effect racks, enhanced project management tools and improved MIDI control. Ableton CEO and co-founder Gerhard Behles describes Live 6 as “our most versatile and powerful version to date. We spent significant development resources on workflow improvements to make sure Live continues to feel good as the functionality grows.”
Quicktime video support will allow users to use Live for video post-production. The Essential Instrument Collection provides Live 6 users with a library of multisampled instruments including orchestral strings and brasses, classic guitars, electric keyboards to instruments like the harp and the glockenspiel. Samples can be loaded into Ableton’s sampler Simpler, which comes as an optional extra.
New Instrument and Effect Racks enable users to save and control customized groups instruments, effects and plug-ins. The Rack can be used to adjust any number of parameters with a single knob or fader. Live 6 comes with preconfigured racks of both instruments and processing tools like distortion, drum processing, and mastering.
Multicore and Multiprocessor support allow the computational workload from instruments and effects to be distributed to other processors, speeding up system performance.
Deep Freeze expands editing functionality with frozen tracks (temporary rendered files created to free system resources). Automate mixer and clip envelopes, record frozen Session View clips into the Arrangement, and drag frozen MIDI clips into audio tracks, all without missing a beat.
New and Improved Devices in Live 6
• EQ Eight has replaced EQ Four, with improvements that turn it into both a sound-shaping and a mastering tool.
• Add analog richness with the warm distortion of Dynamic Tube. Like many of Live’s effects, it can be used for subtle coloration or drastic sonic manipulation.
• Saturator has been improved with the addition of a true analog saturation curve, a user-definable waveshaper, and an optional second output saturator stage.
• Automate and “play” incoming MIDI notes with Note Length. This MIDI effect can generate new notes when incoming notes are released, emulating the release behavior of instruments like the piano or the harpsichord.
• Operator has been augmented with a set of 24 dB filter modes, as well as new FM algorithms, giving users more sonic possibilities than ever.
Conveniently organize collections of Live Sets, Live Clips, presets, samples, and movie files with Live 6’s new Project Management Tools. Self-contain a project and pack it with lossless compression for archiving or transfer using Project Folders. Search for missing files and purge the disk of unused files with ease.
Live 6 is scheduled for release in September 2006. It will be available for $599 (549 EUR). Users who do not need the Essential Instrument Collection and Live 6 box can purchase a downloadable (serial only) version for $499 (469 EUR) from the Ableton webshop. Click for upgrade pricing details.
To learn more about Live 6, take the interactive tour