If you're a steadfast Ableton user, you've likely gotten used to the years-long hang time between releases. We had to wait almost four years for Ableton Live 9 and another five for Live 10, but today—not yet three years into our wait—Ableton has announced Live 11 for release in "early 2021."
As Ableton fans, we know that the wait is always worth it, with the company taking conscientious time to add super useful tools that their users will massively appreciate, and this release is no different. In fact, it's one of the most exciting updates to Live yet.
Ableton's video below gives you a taste of all of the new things you can do with Live 11, as well as the new sounds it's packed with. A new "PitchLoop89" soundpack, for example, is filled with digital glitches and shimmering delays. Another, called "Inspired by Nature," features six instruments and effects that were, well, inspired by nature.
One add in particular that stands out is the new MPE (MIDI polyphonic expression) support. Companies like ROLI and Moog have taken advantage of this MIDI protocol, which enables multidimensional instruments and devices (like the LinnStrument and ROLI Seaboard) to control multiple parameters (pitch, timbre, etc.) of every note—as long as you're working in MPE-compatible software.
Although countless other DAWs (Studio One, Bitwig, even GarageBand) have already added MPE support, Ableton hasn't—until now!
Comping is another majorly excellent and exciting feature add, simplifying a process that Ableton users could have only previously done manually (quite tediously). The features allows users to group multiple takes of audio/MIDI track into individual lanes, from which they can then stitch together just the best bits of each take for their final track. For even more convenience, Live 11 also lets users link tracks for synced editing.
As with every Live update, 11 also features a variety of new instruments and effects—like Hybrid Reverb (combining the convolution and algorithmic engines) and Spectral Resonator/Spectral Time, which allows players to turn almost anything into a playable instrument. A variety of smaller updates were also rolled out to go-to tools and features—like clip editing, core sounds, and scales mode—and some creativity-inspiring "randomization" tools, like note and velocity change, have been added as well.
If you're brand-new to Ableton or haven't yet picked up Live 10, now would certainly be the time to dig in. From now until the currently undetermined early 2021 release date, Ableton is selling Live 10 at a 20% discount with the promise of a free upgrade to Live 11 upon its release.