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Ableton Live 12.1 also features improved MIDI editing, automatic sample tagging and updated Limiter and Saturator devices, and puts real-time pitch correction within reach for anyone working with vocals.
Ableton has announced the latest update for the Live DAW. Ableton Live 12.1 is now in public beta. This free update for Ableton’s music performance and production software comes with significant additions like Auto Shift, a new real-time pitch correction device, Drum Sampler, a one-shot sampler for drums and more, and improvements to all editions of Live, including Live Lite, plus Push.

Live 12.1 introduces auto-tagging, making it easier to find the right sound in your user library. New tags are automatically assigned to all samples in the library less than a minute long, as well as to VST3 and AU plugins.

Auto Shift, Live’s new pitch correction and harmonization device, enables you manipulate and extract harmonies from vocals in real time. Choose a scale for Auto Shift to follow, and play and make harmonies from any monophonic signal with the dedicated sidechain.

Drum Sampler, Live’s new compact sample player is designed to be used in Drum Rack, enables you tweak and enhance drum sounds on the fly. Limiter and Saturator have been redesigned, and the MIDI Editor now allows you to filter and select notes by time, pitch, or a number of other criteria. Two new MPE-specific MIDI Transformations – Glissando and LFO – let you create curves for the MPE parameters of selected notes.

Auto-tagging for all your samples. You can now search your entire user library faster with filters – and there’s no need to tag the samples yourself. Live 12.1 automatically assigns new tags to any sample in your library less than a minute long. VST3 plugins will also be assigned tags based on metadata.

Live’s Limiter and Saturator devices have both received an overhaul, while the MIDI Editor benefits from an improved workflow that’ll let you search for and select notes using various filters.

Limiter gets a complete overhaul – with a smoother release curve making for less distortion, better metering with the improved UI, and the addition of Mid/Side routing, True Peak, Soft Clip, and Maximize modes.

Along with a more focused front panel, Saturator sees the addition of a Bass Shaper curve ideal for low end processing. Drive 808 kicks and sub basses as hard as you like and let Saturator keep the frequencies in check.

MIDI improvements. You can now filter and select MIDI notes by time, pitch, velocity, chance, duration or by a number of other dimensions using a new toolbar in the MIDI Editor. 12.1 also introduces two new MPE-specific MIDI Transformations – Glissando and LFO – allowing you to create curves for the MPE parameters of selected notes.

Ableton Live 12.1 and Push. Live 12.1 comes with a host of updates to Push. With Push 2 and 3 you can now design sounds with more detail and control by mapping Macros, and experiment with a range of different sounds using Macro Variations. Push 3 now also lets you add groove instantly to all the MIDI clips in your Set with a single twist of an encoder.

The new update also brings Live 12’s filtering system to the browser on Push 2 and 3, as well as auto-tagging for samples on Push 3 standalone. Plus, you can now save Default Sets and Template Sets on Push 2 and 3, and organize your Sets by moving tracks and scenes.

For a full list of what’s new, check out the release notes.

If you own a Live 12 license, you can join the beta program to test Live 12.1.

Once the beta testing period is over, Ableton Live 12.1 will be free for all owners of a Live 12 license. Ableton Live 12 is available for purchase from Ableton.com and, in some countries, through local retailers.   

Ableton Live 12 costs €79 / $99 / £69 for Intro, €279 / $439 / £259 for Standard and €599 / $749 / £539 for Suite. Owners of previous versions of Live can log in to their accounts to check upgrade pricing.

Ableton Push is also available through Ableton.com. Push costs $999 / €949 / £879, and Push (standalone version) costs $1999 / €1899 / £1669.   Upgrade Kits are also now available and cost $1049 / €999 / £879.

Today, Ableton released a new podcast series called Doing Music, which explores the techniques and strategies that artists use to generate their musical ideas. In each episode, host Craig Schuftan interviews an artist about the hands-on approaches they use to spark ideas in their work – and try to challenge the myth that creativity is something that some people have and others don’t.The podcast is for anyone with an interest in making music. Listeners will get to hear insights from artists on how they stay active in their creative field, and over the course of the series can build a toolkit of practices that can help them spark new ideas too.

At Superbooth 2024, synth guru Nick Batt caught up with Ableton Push co-developer Jesse Terry, who demonstrated how he’s integrating the controller with his modular synthesizer:

“Jesse’s setup featured a Trinity module by Modbap for drums, while showcasing the versatility of the* FH2 for CV generation and the *Expert Sleepers ES3 and ES6 for interfacing with modular gear.

The integration of multiple voices, effects, and instruments highlighted the flexibility and power of combining the PUSH with modular synths.”

Ableton introduced Push 3 about this time last year. The Push 3 has features that let it be used as a powerful ‘modular brain’, including standalone operation, CV/Gate outputs, expressive MPE pads and battery operation.

via Sonic State