Ableton Live 11 is a combination of new features and enhancements designed to help users record, perform, and experiment with sound. Download via torrent and try this update! More than three years after the last edition premiered, Ableton has decided to introduce another release of music creation software version 11 to the world. Competition with major sequencers such as Fl Studio 20 has forced the company to constantly work on improving.
Ableton Live 11 Overview.
This means that, as with any civilized DAW, Live 11 can now record multiple versions of a given approach on a single track in the arrangement window and then compile the final perfect version. In addition, this option is implemented very elegantly. You just need to mark the given track in the loop, put it on lock and just record as much as you want. Then right-click on the track title and select the “Show Take Lanes” option (or Ctrl + Alt + U), and our eyes will see all the approaches one by one. Now all you have to do is run the “Drawing Mode” tool (“B”) and mark which pieces from each version you are interested in. Moreover, you can refine your choices by manipulating the edges of the selected slices.
Another thing that made it very difficult to edit multitrack recordings in Ableton Live 10 was the inability to link tracks. Fortunately, this unpleasant stage is behind us. Just “Shift” to select these tracks in the arrangement view, right-click on one of them and select the “Link Tracks” option to be able to take advantage of moving, copying, cutting and fading on multiple tracks simultaneously.
MPE
Ableton Live 11.0.1 – img1Another new feature is support for the MPE protocol, which has long been used in competing Bitwig. Now and Live users have access to a painless experience with this advanced MIDI protocol that allows each voice to be controlled independently (hence the acronym “Polyphonic MIDI Expression”).
This means that each note in a chord can have its own set of parameters: “Pressure,” “Shift,” and “pitch bend,” controlled in real time or at the clip level. The protocol itself would be worthless without the appropriate MPE-enabled synthesizers. However, you don’t have to immediately invest in expensive Serum or Aalto combines – Ableton programmers have adapted several on-board classics to work with MPE, so the whole procedure runs painlessly. I plugged in my MPE Sensel Morph controller, and within seconds it was up and running. All you have to do is enter the MIDI parameters in the settings and select “MPE” next to your controller name. At this point, MPE works in arpeggiator, sampler, and waveform table. This invention works particularly well in the latter. In the modulation matrix, you’ll now find an additional “MPE” tab where you can assign a pressure envelope, slide, pitch change, and velocity to any parameter. As a result, even the most ordinary timbres suddenly acquire a unique expressiveness close to that of live instruments. Among the MIDI effects, there’s even an “MPE Control” plug-in that lets you fine-tune the response of each of the three parameters. Interestingly, the Push controller has a new, albeit somewhat limited, MPE functionality. After automatically updating the firmware in the “Setup” section, we now have the ability to choose between the standard “Mono” and the extended “Poly”, that is, independently for each voice.
MIDI
A lot has also changed at the clip level. Maybe even a lot, because the new options cause a certain accumulation of parameters, which means that the transparency of the interface has suffered, although on the other hand such a division is very logical. Something for something. “Detailed View” has changed. Instead of the “Gain” slider in audio clips, there is a window to change that value. There’s also “Warping” elsewhere. The view in MIDI clips is divided by tabs on note properties (“Note Parameters”), “Follow Actions” (you have to click the little triangle next to the clip activation icon to see them), automation (“Envelopes”) and “MPE”. Editing in this last section is a bit tricky because in addition to “Velocity” I also have a separate path for the “R Velocity”, “Pressure” and “Slide” parameters. Consequently, any meaningful edit requires some expansion of the detailed view window. Fortunately, you can decide on the left side which ones are visible, but, again, the icons used for this are very small, so you can’t do without a lacy discussion.
New features are also hidden in the MIDI edit window itself. The user can now decide to use the selected scale without engaging the MIDI “Scales” effect and without using Push. On the left we have the “Scale” icon – just activate it and select the appropriate scale.
New options in Ableton Live 11
I was also pleased to welcome the new “Note Chance” and “Velocity Chance” randomization options, which allow you to bring a little spirit of human unpredictability to beats and melodies. The random fluctuations here are at the “Velocity” parameter and the notes. The range of the former is adjusted with the “Random Selection” icon on the “Notes” tab, while the latter is triggered by clicking on the tiny dot icon just below the “Speed” parameter, which leads to the new “Probability”.
A big improvement is also the ability to edit multiple MIDI clips simultaneously. You probably know this situation. We compose a bass in one clip and then a harmony in another clip on another track, but something doesn’t suit us, so we have to constantly switch between views. Click, click, click … Now it is enough to select both clips with Shift to see their contents in the same window (even the name of the clip is displayed on them, so there is no doubt). It also allows you to simultaneously transpose the entire arrangement in a few clicks, if, for example, the singer said that “for her, really, too high” …
The improvements at the rack level also proved to be a serious challenge. a great move that should especially be appreciated by artists who use Live for Live playback. I’m mainly referring to the ability to change the number of “Macro” controls from 1 to 16 (that’s right – we can now have up to 16 macro controls without using an external jack). As if that weren’t enough, macros can be randomized and their status can be saved with the “Snapshot” option. It works fabulously simply and efficiently. There are three additional icons in the macro handle window. In addition to the tool and chain overview, there are also “+” and “-” icons that allow you to add or remove additional knobs. Below we have an icon that opens a neat “Snapshot” window. Hidden here is the “New” icon. After clicking on it, we save the state of all the macro knobs. Then we modify them and click “New” again, adding a new “Snapshot” to the list. Now we can change up to 16 parameters at once in the blink of an eye – with a single click. And did I mention that both snapshot creation and activation can be mapped to a computer keyboard or MIDI like any other parameter? That’s a really big deal.
New plug-ins in Ableton Live 11
Among the tasty new features was also the effects and instruments section. First and foremost is Hybrid Reverb, which is clearly superior to the good old Reverb. As the name implies, we are dealing with a hybrid reverb that combines the advantages of algorithmic and pulse technologies. This gives the user access to the sound engineer’s paradise, because in addition to the realistic spaces Hybrid Reverb allows you to get completely unrealistic, distorted clouds of sound, and so you can even treat it like an instrument. The effect can be set up in any mode – as algorithmic reverb, pulse, or a combination of both technologies in series or parallel mode. It’s also very easy to use.
The Spectral Resonator is just as tricky, although the service here will require reading a manual. On the other hand, it is such a creative and interesting-sounding effect that you can get the original sounds from the experimental area very quickly, even by shooting “on scandal”. The spectral resonator is a bit like a pelletizer – it breaks the incoming signal into microparticles and then stretches and transposes them to achieve a radical color change. What’s more, with its built-in MIDI effect, you can play it like an instrument. Spectral Time works in a similar way, except that the fragmented signal cloud is handled by a multiband delay. With the transpose and freeze capabilities, we can get original, metallic, twisted effects on the border of delay and reverb. Simply set the freeze frequency (it can be triggered automatically in the tempo grid or manually) and delay parameters to get a futuristic groove out of even the most worn-out samples. We’re also pleased with the availability of Dillon Bastan’s six-charge batteries, whose creations I’ve described many times in these pages, but there’s no point in describing them now because they’re so interesting that they deserve a separate review. Suffice it to say that there are instruments and effects inspired by the forces of nature …
And let’s not forget the new and improved versions of old classics. Redux has undergone some reconstruction and now offers a broader palette of old school digital grime, from killer distortion to long aliases to eight-bit madness. The Phaser-Flanger also boasts new forms – a larger modulation range and expanded bandwidth, and the familiar “Earth” and “Space” modes are also joined by “Doubler,” a short modulated delay useful during a thickening operation. sound or expanding its stereo bandwidth. I especially like the Ensemble-Chorus, which mimics the chorus effect of old string machines, since I’m a big Solina fan. Just add a cap to the string sounds, and there’s more sunshine in the window.
Conclusions
And these are actually the most important improvements, but not all. There are some cosmetic changes, such as an improved browser structure, the introduction of tempo and timing signatures in scenes without having to enter them manually, or an improved CPU meter. There are quite a few, and while you may feel overwhelmed by the flood of improvements at first, they make your work much easier in the long run.