The Best Version of Live Yet!
Live has been a favorite of electronica and remix artists for both stage and studio work, and Ableton has been building towards attracting a wider audience. The latest version, Live 6, may be the biggest upgrade in its history, opening the doors for a much wider group of users to take advantage of its creative power. Live 6 boasts several performance-boosting features that allow Live to integrate seamlessly into a variety of music production and post-production tasks.
Related Videos: Live 6
Ableton Live 6 At a Glance:- QuickTime Support
- Support for Multiple and Multi-core Processors
- New Essential Instrument Collection
- Improved Processing Tools
QuickTime Support
Arguably the biggest new feature in Live 6 is the ability to import QuickTime files into Live sessions with drag-and-drop ease. The audio portion of the clip can be processed like you'd process any other audio file. Support for video has been one of the most requested features, and its realization opens Live up for broader use by film scorers and commercial composers.
Support for Multiple and Multi-core Processors
Live was one of the first to jump feet-first into the Universal Binary platform, and Live 6 takes it a step further. Now users with multiple processors and multiple-core processors will experience a dramatic increase in performance. In Live 5, Ableton introduced Clip Freeze, which creates and plays back sample files for all clips in the track, preserving CPU. New in Live 6, Deep Freeze expands the Clip Freeze function by allowing you to edit, copy, paste, duplicate, cut, and trim sections, as well as add automation. Deep Freeze will also render virtual instrument tracks into audio tracks.
New Essential Instrument Collection
The boxed version of Live 6 adds a new Essential Instrument Collection. This assortment of new instruments covers everything from classic pianos to plucked instruments to simulated choirs. The multi-gigabyte library of sounds is from the SONiVOX (formerly Sonic Implants) premium collections and integrates seamlessly into Live 6 using the included Simpler instrument. On the creation side of things, Live 6 also boasts instrument and Rack effects for tweaking sounds. There are very few limitations when working within a Rack - you can have parallel device chains, VST/AU plug-ins, and even other Racks. Any number of effects, plug-ins, Racks, or instruments can be utilized inside a single Rack. To get you started, Ableton included several preset Rack configurations ranging from synthesis to mastering. Your favorite custom settings can be easily saved with drag-and-drop ease.
Improved Processing Tools
Finally, Live 6 brings improved processing tools to the table. EQ Eight doubles the number of previously available EQ bands and leans more toward a professional studio than its predecessor. Dynamic Tube mimics vintage tube distortion and also lets you create your own tube-flavored distortion. Saturator has been upgraded to include a user-defined waveshaper, and you can create custom distortion sounds. No matter how hard you push the Saturator, the second saturator stage prevents the signal from peaking higher than 0dB.
- Multi-core and Multiprocessor support
- Movie Import
- Essential Instrument Collection
- Instrument and effect racks
- New and Improved Devices
- Deep Freeze
- Project Management Tools
- Complete sequencing, combination and reorganization of MIDI clips.
- Straightforward MIDI recording, editing and pattern creation.
- MIDI bank and program change settings for individual MIDI files.
- Graphically represented MIDI controller data for intuitive drawing and editing.
- Versatility- play MIDI notes anywhere with no equipment other than the computer keyboard.
- Manipulation of MIDI timing through quantization and swing/groove settings.
- Drag and drop import of Standard MIDI files and their individual tracks.
- Export of MIDI tracks and patterns as Standard MIDI files.
- Preview and combine AIFF, WAV and SDII audio files of any sample rate, size and bit depth with no prior conversion.
- Real-time time-stretching of any audio file to play in sync with the project tempo.
- Sample reverse of individual audio files.
- Rhythm and time warping for notes and sections within audio files.
- Real-time swing and groove manipulation of audio files.
- Complete control of volume, pitch and timing for segments or notes within audio files through drawn curves.
- Detailed audio file exporting.
- Nonlinear audio and MIDI file organization and triggering for imaginative recombination and improvisation.
- Audio and MIDI files can be mapped to MIDI keyboard ranges and computer keys for instant triggering.
- Detailed control over the launch and play properties of individual files.
- Automatic jamming - Create groups of files that can trigger each other to generate specific or random output.
- Configure groups of files that play simultaneously, store tempo changes and advance automatically.
- DJ-style crossfading between any number of tracks.
- Hands-on control of any interface element with a MIDI controller or the computer keyboard.
- Flawless recording of all aspects of a set for later in-depth editing.
- Comprehensive audio and MIDI recording and sequencing.
- Unlimited 24-bit/192 kHz multitrack hard disk recording.
- Detailed on-the-fly recording and editing of automation for mixer, effects control movements and the song tempo as continuous breakpoint envelopes.
- Complete nondestructive editing with unlimited undo.
- Drum machine-style loop/overdub recording for building MIDI patterns.
- Punch-in and punch-out points for recording.
- Creation of perfectly cut samples and loops through optional record quantization.
- Instant resampling of audio and MIDI while the music plays.
- Wide array of innovative Ableton audio and MIDI effects.
- New Ableton instruments: Simpler, for creative sample-based synthesis and Impulse, for dynamic percussion sound design.
- Endless expansion through VST and Audio Units Plug-in instruments/effects and ReWire.
- Automation and remote control of all instrument and effects parameters.
- Unlimited variations from single samples and loops through user-definable effects, mixer, volume and pitch curves.
- Track-to-track I/O routing for complex mixes, post-effects recording, MIDI-to-audio conversion, submixing and synth layering.
- Individual instrument outputs and multi-timbral instrument input and output routing capabilities.
- Private cueing and previewing through separate audio outputs.
- Complete MIDI control of ReWire clients.
- Intuitive signal flow management of effects and instruments by drag and drop.
- Pre- or post-mixer effect grouping/bussing on up to twelve sends/return tracks.
- Tempo sync to any external source through MIDI clock master or slave; MIDI time code slave.
- Audio and transport sync through the ReWire protocol as master or slave.
- Unlimited audio and MIDI tracks.
- Unlimited audio and MIDI inputs and outputs.
- ASIO, MME, DirectX, Sound Manager and CoreAudio audio interface support.
- Hundreds of one-shot drum samples for use in Impulse.
- Built-in program tutorials and starter sets.
- Multilingual program help and PDF manual in English, Japanese, German, French and Spanish.