Whether you’re an experienced Live user or you’ve always opted for other DAWs, today marks a major milestone for Ableton, the Berlin-based company founded in 1999. Ableton Live 10 is out of its beta test and is now available at Ableton.com and at local retailers worldwide.
The new Live 10 is not a revolution but a significant evolution. It delivers four new devices, workflow refinements and a re-designed sound library. Live 10 also brings new functionality (we love the new Zoom feature, our aging eyes say thanks!) and high-res visualizations to Push. Plus, Max technology is now fully integrated into Live 10 Suite for faster, more stable performance.
What’s missing? I’m sure each of us would have a different answer to that question, but we’re going to say full MPE-support (MPE stands for MIDI Polyphonic Expression). On this regard, Ableton is still behind other DAWs such as Logic, Bitwig, etc. We’re confident something’s cooking in Ableton’s labs though, especially now that MPE has been officially adopted by the MIDI association. Anyone taking bets for MPE support in one of the next 10.x updates?
We’ll have more on Live 10, but in the meantime let’s see what’s new.
New instruments and effects
- Wavetable is Ableton’s latest synth—immediately playable with a vast sonic palette.
- Echo produces delay sounds from classic textures to soundscapes, wailing feedback and experimental atmospheres.
- Drum Buss is a one-stop workstation for drums, capable of adding subtle character or completely bending and breaking drums.
- Pedal brings the character of analog stomp boxes to Live with separate circuit-level models of overdrive, distortion and fuzz guitar pedals.
Watch Wavetable in action here:
Workflow improvements
- Capture recalls an idea after it has been played and turns it into a MIDI clip with groove and feel intact.
- Multiple MIDI clip editing allows users to see the content of two or more clips in one detail view.
- Groups within groups allow for greater flexibility when mixing and improves Set organization even with lots of tracks and a detailed arrangement.
- A multitude of refinements including improvements to Arrangement View workflows, Browser Collections, I/O renaming, note chasing, and much more.
Learn more about the workflow improvements with this video:
New library of sound
- Curated Collections capture the musical threads that tie together evolving styles and scenes
- Four all-new Essential Instruments include synths, and multi-sampled electric keys and drums
- Live 10’s Core Library gets a sonic upgrade with richer, more detailed sounds
Improvements to Push
- A new step sequencing layout allows simultaneous note sequencing and real time playing.
- MIDI note view allows navigation and refinement of the notes in a pattern in context directly on the Push display.
- Richer visualization with more feedback of key Live devices including Wavetable, Echo, EQ Eight and Compressor
- Workflow improvements to layouts, building and extending patterns, track arming and more
Max for Live
- Deeper integration with Live 10 Suite means devices now load faster, use less CPU and feel more like Live’s native devices.
- Sonically upgraded Drum Synths, improved modulation and mapping Devices and more
- Multi-channel audio routing means mixing using multi-channel speaker setups is now possible
- Max for Live devices can send and receive SysEx, allowing deeper access to external gear
Price and Availability
Ableton Live 10 is available for purchase now from Ableton.com and at local retailers.
- Download versions of Ableton Live 10 cost
79 EUR / 99 USD / 69 GBP for Live Intro,
349 EUR / 449 USD / 319 GBP for Live Standard and 599 EUR / 749 USD / 539 GBP for Live Suite. - Boxed versions of Ableton Live 10 cost
99 EUR / 99 USD / 89 GBP for Live Intro,
399 EUR / 499 USD / 359 GBP for Live Standard and 649 EUR / 799 USD / 579 GBP for Live Suite.
- Download versions of Ableton Live 10 cost
As usual with Ableton, you can try Live 10 free for 30 days.
