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Ableton announced Live 11.1, now available as a beta release, an update that adds support for Apple Silicon Macs and a variety of other improvements.

Ableton Live 11.1 adds native support for Apple’s M1 Silicon Macs, and you can try it right now. And if you have been waiting for it, its arrival is good news.

We are referring to native support for Apple’s M1 Silicon Macs, the first batch of which was released almost a year ago. This means that owners of M1 13-inch MacBook Pro will now be able to run Ableton Live without the need for Apple’s ‘translation’ software Rosetta, unleashing the full power of their computers in the process.

Whereas, owners of Windows machines and older Macs may be nonplussed by this news, Live 11.1 does also give them an updated Shifter device to play with. This adds a new mode for real-time monophonic pitch shifting, as well as delay, an envelope section, an LFO and glide functionality.

In addition, there are two new Max for Live utilities: Align Deay and MIDI Shaper. Align Delay enables users to compensate for lag when sending signals through their system, while MIDI Shaper generates modulation data that can bring more expression to MIDI performances.

Other tweaks include improvements to comping, updates to Clip handling and more.

Live 11.1 is available now in public beta.  You can sign up to the beta program on the Ableton website, where you can also view the release notes.

Full details are available at the Ableton website.

Roland has announced a free update for owners of the Roland Fantom 6, 7, and 8 Synthesizers.

Fantom Version 2.5 adds classic organ sound and playability with Roland Virtual ToneWheel engine, plus extended DAW control with integrated support for Ableton Live music production software.

New Fantom  Virtual ToneWheel engine emulates the sound-generating process of a real tone wheel organ and includes several tone wheel types with adjustable percussion, key click, leakage, and more. There is also a rotary effect, with variable speed, brake control, and tube distortion characteristics. Fantom touchscreen, sliders, knobs, and keyboard action are automatically configured to provide hands-on sound control and playability.

Now, Fantom also features official integration with Ableton Live, expanding on the previously included support for Apple’s Logic Pro X, GarageBand, and MainStage software platforms. Via Fantom high-resolution touchscreen, it’s possible to view and launch clips in Live’s Session view, access Live’s mixer parameters, and trigger transport functions. And with Fantom knobs, sliders, and pads, users can operate Macro Controls, control mix levels, play Drum Rack, and more.

To download the Roland FANTOM 6, 7 and 8 Version 2.5 update, see the Downloads section of the Fantom section of Roland website.

The latest version of Live 11 Lite is  now available.

Just announced by Ableton, this is a cutdown version of Live that contains several of the most recent update’s new features.

These include support for MPE-capable hardware and the MPE Control device – this enables you to edit the pitch, slide and pressure envelopes of each note.

Key new features include:

• MIDI Polyphonic Expression: MPE lets you add bends, slides and pressure for each individual note in a chord, add subtle expression variations, morph between chords and create evolving sonic textures more easily.
• Sounds and effects: Four effects – Chorus-Ensemble, Phaser-Flanger, Limiter, Saturator – bring a much wider range of sound shaping possibilities to Live Lite. The upgrades to the Live Core Library that came with Live 11 are also now available for Live Lite, new sounds, drum kits, Racks, Grooves, loops and MIDI clips.
• More functionality: You can now add up to 16 Scenes for more varied arrangements and space to experiment with ideas. And with Tempo Following, Live listens to and adjusts its tempo based on incoming audio from another musician or other gear like drum machines in real time.

There are new audio effects, as well – Phaser-Flanger, Limiter and Saturator – and you can now use up to 16 Scenes in the Session View, giving you scope to put down ideas and create more varied arrangements.

Another useful addition is Tempo Following – Live will ‘listen’ to incoming audio and adjust its tempo accordingly – and the core Live library has been expandedwith more sounds, drum kits, Racks, Grooves, loops and MIDI clips. Some of the device updates made in Live 11 like, Redux and Chorus-Ensemble are available.

You can also add some new Follow Actions – these can now be linked to a clip’s length and applied to Scenes and the good news is that it is a free one for existing Live Lite users.

Live Lite is included in the purchase of a wide range of hardware products. But, owners of any previous version of Live Lite can upgrade for free.

Find out more on the Ableton website.