Ableton Move is the all-new instrument and controller and it is seriously powerful for creating on-the-go…
This little machine is surprising on two levels: how powerful it is for such a portable device, and how the natural limitations of the small form-factor actually enhances its usefulness. Ableton Move is a compact and portable way to play and create tracks. It has 3 modes of operation: use it on its own (with its rechargeable battery or with its charger), or connected to Ableton Live, and / or wirelessly synced with other instruments.
Does it replace Ableton’s Push instrument?
We feel there’s two answers:
- If you’ve been looking at Push and your budget couldn’t stretch, then yes Move could be that Push substitute – it’s less than half the price of Push and has many of the hands-on workflows: finger-drumming, playing notes / chords / melodies, step sequencing, clip and scene launching, effects, automation and more.
- But really, Move is its own thing and it opens up a completely different creative headspace. While Move definitely has crossovers with many of Push’s functionality, Push can do more (much more) and truly is both an instrument in its own right and a full-production powerhouse – so Push is our workhorse, Move is for quickly jamming out ideas, especially on tour. Ahead of our next Perform Live course we’ll be road-testing Move extensively for its place in touring shows.
Here’s Liveschool trainer Moss sharing some workflows with Ableton Move:
What gets us moving
In the first hour playing with Move it was clear this is not Push-lite. It does have some very clear limitations, and the main ones you notice first are:
- 4 tracks per project. Although melodic drum rack pads and multi-track resampling means four “tracks” is not really a hard-limit on how many sounds / patterns / ideas you can layer.
- 4 instrument types: Drift, Wavetable, Drum Sampler and Melodic Sampler (Simpler)
- 2 audio effects per track
- 8 Audio effect devices: Reverb, Delay, Saturator, Chorus-Ensemble, Phaser-Flanger, Redux, Channel EQ and Dynamics (which includes Live 12.1’s new Limiter)
But these limitations is exactly what makes Move shine. If you already use Ableton Live and / or Push you’ll know both are both endless. Literally endless. Which is great because they give you so many production capabilities… but Move’s limitations make it easier to stay in a flow-state and not get distracted by all the production / sound design possibilities. With endless possibilities you can derail your tracks before you’ve finished the all-important writing stage.
With Move it’s so quick and easy to get a whole track sketched out, and then you can air-drop the project into Live and dive into the detail.
Tech specs
- Compact and portable design, measuring 30 x 15 x 2 cm and weighing 1000g/2.13 lbs
- Built-in rechargeable battery providing up to 4 hours of use
- Built-in microphone, speaker plus 3.5mm stereo input and output ports
- 32 velocity-sensitive, backlit silicone pads with polyphonic aftertouch (no MPE)
- 9 touch-sensitive rotary encoders for sound tweaking and recording automation
- 16 multi-function step buttons for sequencing
- OLED display (128×64 pixels) with touch-sensitive clickable wheel
- Wi-Fi connectivity for transferring projects via the Move Manager website
- Ableton Cloud for storing projects – and then work on them more in Live or Note
- Ableton Link for wireless syncing
- USB-A (MIDI in/out)
- USB-C ports for connectivity and charging
On the software side
Move came out the same day as Live 12.1 came out. Live 12.1 is a free update for Live 12 users (see our feature dive here)
However, to use Move with Live as a controller, you don’t need the latest software (Live 12) because Ableton have made Move backwards-compatible with versions upwards from Live 11.3 (a free update for Live 11 users).
This brings up a small but important difference if you’re on Live 11 or 12.
- Live 12.1 comes with a bunch of great new tools including a native auto-tune device called Auto Shift, plus a new Drum Sampler. Working in Move makes extensive use of Drum Sampler.
- Live 11.3 doesn’t have Drum Sampler, so opening your Move projects in Live 11 will replace any Drum Samplers with Simpler.
TL;DR
If you already have everything Ableton: “Live” software, “Push” instrument, “Note” iOS app then you’ll get it when we say that Move is like Note in a backpack-sized Push form factor. It’s a groovebox that makes creating fun, spontaneous, and immediate. And it has the stand-alone battery operation that only the fully-upgraded version of Push has.
Here’s a clip from a recent collaboration session at Liveschool Studios, sampling instrumentalists and synths directly into the Move:
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