Ableton Live 12 Intro - ESD

Ableton Live has secured itself in the industry and is THE standard DAW for both studio use and live performance. The Prodigy, Skrillex, Rachel K Collier, Vicky O’Neon, Orbital and many more use live setups built around previous iterations of Ableton Live.

Performance, Studio, or both:

All DAWs share common areas, it can be hard to decide what’s best for you. Ableton’s speciality is that it fuses both the live environment and the studio environment together into one package. Clip and Session view share two roles. The Grid-based Clip view allows you to launch audio and midi clips however you choose, building up live performances and changing your sets at will, the Session view is your traditional left-to-right recording timeline. The two integrate seamlessly, allowing you to record your live set as you perform it, or maybe you have some ideas for a bassline? Clip view will let you audition your ideas and swap out components until you find the right one for your current session.

Hardware and effects:

If you have a range of hardware instruments, Live’s midi integration is crazy good, having the ability to control or be controlled by other equipment, you could run your entire session or live set via live, using it as the master sequencer and master effects processor, or hidden away as a brain to be controlled via your existing hardware to allow your existing hardware units to do even more than before!

Live LINK:

Live Link is a networking-based syncing system. This allows all units on the same WIFI network to send and receive tempo information + be linked to a master start-stop quantize. A prime example is if you’re running live and a friend joins your studio with a LINK-compatible device, once they’ve plugged in, they hit play and their unit will automatically sync to Live + Start in time, the bonus here though is if your friend wanted to change the tempo, with normal midi sequencing only the master could change the tempo, but LINK would allow your friend's device to change the tempo and Live would adjust. Pure, unrestricted jamming.
Some examples of LINK-enabled devices include most KORG iOS and Desktop apps + Modern AKAI MPC hardware sequencers.

What’s new in Live 12?

• MIDI Transformations and Generators:
  Use MIDI Transformations to add ornaments and articulations, draw acceleration and deceleration curves, connect successive notes and chords, and simulate the strum of a guitar. Take advantage of MIDI Generators that let you conjure up playful and original ideas for you to develop and turn into your own. And go even further with advanced Max for Live Transformations and Generators.
• Sound Similarity:
  Start with a sample and tell Live’s browser to find comparable sounds and instrument or drum presets – with the help of a set of advanced machine-learning algorithms. Or use Sound Similarity to find and swap comparable samples in Simpler or Drum Rack.
• New devices:
  create everything from subtle and precise mastering-grade warmth to wild and unpredictable sound degradation with Roar, Live’s new saturation and colouring effect. Explore new textures and timbres with the twin sound engines of Meld. Or get even more expressive with the latest iteration of Robert Henke’s granular synthesis device, Granulator III.
• Workflow improvements:
  Stack Live’s Clip and Device Views to see more of what’s going on in your track at a glance. Use Live’s Mixer in Arrangement View to get more information and control without moving to Session View and breaking the flow. Discover new sounds and find them again more easily with the Browser’s new tagging system and search history. And freeze and flatten a track in just one step.

Key Features:

• One of the industry’s best samplers:
  Ableton Live has set the standards for time and pitch stretching and manipulating audio. Think of it as one giant sampler, by default, any audio is already set up and ready to go.
• The best software for live performance:
  Ableton Live doesn’t restrict you, it can adapt to how you want to perform, triggering drum samples or audio clips from your drumkit? It can help that, just need it for a setlist and selecting which instruments? Yup, controlling an entire modular rig? That too. Live fits around your workflow, not the other way around.
• Hardware Royalty:
  If you’re working with hardware like drum machines, samplers, synths and other sequencers, Live helps bridge everything together helping you bring your best ideas to life.

Specifications:

• Operating System:
  - Mac: macOS 11 Big Sur or later
  - Windows: Windows 10 (version 22H2) or Windows 11 (version 22H2 and later)
• Processor:
  - Mac: Intel Core i5 or later, or Apple Silicon
  - Windows: 5^th Generation Intel Core i5 or AMD Multi-Core Processor.
• Memory: 8GB Ram
• Display:
  - Mac: 1280 x 800
  - Windows: 1366 x 768
• Disk Space: 3Gb for basic installation (8GB recommended), up to 76GB for additional sound content.
• Software specifications: 
  - Amount of Audio + MIDI tracks: 16
  - Amount of Scenes: 16
  - Send + Return Tracks: 2
  - Mono Input + Output capability: 16
  - Software Instruments: 13
  - Packs: 8
  - Audio effects: 4
  - MIDI Tools: 0
  - MIDI Effects: 12
  - Modulators: 2