Ableton Live 11

build a new composite track. Anybody who
works with a lot of tracks, and a lot of takes, will
make use of this. Comping is most commonly
used with vocals, but works equally well for
experimental purposes, maybe cross cutting
between diferent types of source material.
Racks get a major update, with up to 16
macros available, which is outstanding, as the
original limit of eight was feeling a little bit
restrictive, but the rack news doesn’t end there,
as Live 11 introduces Macro Variations –
recallable snapshots of the current settings of
the macros. This will be great for performance
situations in particular, although we’d love to see
the ability to crossfade between snapshots, as
we’ve seen at least one iOS app do previously.
These new macro arrangements are supported
by Ableton’s Push controller, which gets a
irmware update that also allows us to toggle
between monophonic and polyphonic
aftertouch, bringing it closer to the full MPE
experience as we described earlier.
If you’re working with MIDI clips, look below
the MIDI Velocity Editor – there’s another row of
markers for each note; this is the MIDI
Probability Editor, which represents chance
values – the likelihood of a note being played.
Drag these up and down to increase/decrease
values. There’s also a Randomize button which
afects selected velocities or chance values. This
is all good, but we would’ve liked a ‘populate
clip’ command, inserting random notes into a
clip (within user-deined boundaries) – it’s one of
our favourite features on the Akai Force.
There are many other new features included
in Live 11; see our original review of the beta in
289. There’s the new Hybrid Reverb, which
combines convolution reverb with an
algorithmic approach; there’s Spectral
Resonator, and Spectral Time, with its delicious
Freeze function; there’s Tempo Follower, where
Live can listen to an incoming audio track and
set the project tempo from that. Redux has had
an update, as have some other devices – Phaser/
Flanger and Chorus-Ensemble are two devices
that combine previous ones, and Max For Live
has also received several updates, including the
ability to route MIDI to and from MFL audio
efect devices.
Conclusion
This update is typically Ableton. Much as we’d
like to experience more stimulating upgrade
candy, we know it can translate to ‘gimmicky’ or
even ‘unreliable’, and nobody wants that.
Ableton’s sensible approach is appealing in
itself, but it doesn’t do so much to entice new
customers. Long-term users will mostly see this
release as a no-brainer, especially if they need
something like comping, for example. We think
the truth is that development has plateaued for
DAWs in general, as has the demand for new
features – they’re already so powerful.
Ableton Live has over 20 years of
development behind it, and it’s still as good as
it’s ever been… which is very, very, good. Any
quibbles from newcomers might be more
around pricing and feature bloat; Live can still
be very easy to use, but there’s more digital
undergrowth to cut through to stay on the right
path. If you can accept that challenge, then now
is a good time to start.
Web ableton.com
Verdict
For Improved macros
Reorganised Browser audio efects
MPE for hardware or
automation envelopes
The much-requested comping feature
Against Nothing genuinely mind-
blowing in here
Another solid Ableton update, as we’d
expect. How about adding something to
blow our minds next time, though?
9/10
Alternatively
Bitwig Studio
275 » 10/10 »379
All you need for sound design,
arranging and live performance
Apple Logic Pro X
195 » 9/10 » £199.99
Another do-it-all (but Mac only)
DAW, at a low price, and the recent
addition of Live Loops, is equivalent
to Live’s Session View
We can’t get away without mentioning
Live 11’s new Spectral Time device. This
is technically an audio efect device,
and you’ll ind it located in the Audio
Efects/Delay & Loop folder, but it could
be thought of more as a sample-based
instrument. While it includes delay-
based controls such as Time, Feedback,
and Shift (pitch of the delay), it also
includes a Freezer section, which can
be used to freeze and hold a selection
of the incoming audio, whether that’s
from a software instrument or an audio
sample. Enter Manual mode and the
Freeze button can be used to capture
and hold a slice of the signal, or use
Retrigger instead, in order to take fresh
slices at regular intervals, either
synced to note values, or set manually.
If you like drones or other atmospheric
sounds, this will draw you in, and
simply by manipulating the Feedback
and Shift controls, it’s possible to get a
whole lot of sonic mileage from just
one frozen sound. The next step (in our
opinion anyway) would be to add the
Echo efect after it, and by using just
the two of those, you’ve then got the
basis of a deep, immersive sound piece
or live performance.
Spectral time hypnosis
Follow actions now include the Jump command, where
clip playback can skip to any other clip in the track
Spectral Time’s Freeze function and Live’s Echo tape delay go so well together
Much as we’d like
more stimulating
upgrade candy, it can
translate to ‘gimmicky’
or even ‘unreliable’
May 2021 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 73
ableton live 11 / reviews <
CMU294.rev_Ableton_11.indd 73 09/03/2021 14:22