Ableton have announced Live 11 – its currently in Beta testing and a release date expected for early 2021. And it’s a really exciting release. Packed with loads of exciting features to help you in all aspects of music, from writing to mixing and performing.
When Live 11 is released, all current Liveschool students and past graduates will receive a free knowledge upgrade and detailed training on the new features from our team of trainers, covering all the new features and changes.
Until then, here’s what you can expect from Live 11 in 2021…
Comping and Linked-track editing:
This has been one of the most anticipated features from Ableton users over the years and, with Live 11, it’s here. Comping allows you to record multiple passes of audio or MIDI data and compile the best moments of each pass into the perfect take. For vocalists, instrumentalists and recording engineers this will be one of the biggest workflow enhancements for how much it will speed up the process of recording and editing. Linked-track editing allows you to edit two or more tracks at the same time, which will give a huge workflow boost to people recording with multiple microphones (eg recording a live drum kit) allowing those time-consuming edits to be done extremely quickly.
MPE Compatibility:
MPE can most easily be understood as an updated version of MIDI. It lets you apply expression to single MIDI notes within a chord or other polyphonic MIDI events. MPE allows extremely expressive and nuanced control of digital instruments, opening them up to a world of expression once limited to acoustic instruments. MPE can now be recorded and edited directly in Live 11 when used with a compatible device (Roli Seaboard and Roger Linn’s Linnstrument) – but also pressure compatibility with Push. Or you can draw the expression in using the newly updated MIDI editor.
New & Updated Devices:
Ableton Live 11 will introduce a host of new devices which will bring into Live things that were previously found in Max For Live or third party plugins. These include new Spectral Resonators, Hybrid reverbs, experimental glitch loopers and a host of devices inspired by processes found in nature. Existing devices have also received significant upgrades – and we’ve been loving the Flanger, Chorus, Phaser and Redux which all received significant improvements.
Tempo Following:
If you have ever played a live show with Ableton this one is for you, Live 11 will now be able to listen to incoming audio and sync its tempo to what it hears. This will open up interesting options for using Live in DJ sets without having to mess with complicated syncing techniques, or allowing a live drummer to lead the tempo instead of follow a click-track.
Rack Workflow:
At Liveschool we LOVE our Macros! We use them extensively in our drum sample packs and we are stoked to see that there will now be up to 16 Macros (and as few as 1). Plus the new Randomise function for scrambling your macro dials to quickly create new possibilities, and the Macro Variation function that saves “snapshots” of the positions of individual macro dials – effectively creating a list of custom presets within any rack preset. This allows for a huge degree of flexibility with sound design within racks and we’ve obsessively using this feature during our testing.
Chance Composition Tools:
Create evolving and unpredictable patterns with new probability tools. You will be able to set the probability of the occurrence of a note or drum hit, enabling you to easily create dynamic patterns, breaking you out of repetitive loops.
And MORE:
There are a whole host of updated sounds, updated implementation of scales, various refinements of the user interface and a bunch of other great features that will make your music production a more joyful and expressive process than ever before.
Can’t wait for the release and keen to try it out?
Sign up for the beta version.