Ableton Live brings to music creation, production and performance the flexibility of loop based software plus the power of full fledged music production suites.

Live's interface has two different views that offer an interactive workflow and give Live its unique power — the Session View and the Arrangement View.

The Session View brings to Live some of the spontaneity and flexibility of loop based software, but with additional twists. The grid-like cells of the Session View can hold files called Live Clips.

A Live Clip holds a musical idea, not just loops. Any audio or MIDI that is recorded into Live, or any file on your hard disk including entire songs, can be saved as a Live Clip. Any number of Live Clips can live in the Session View, and each has its own play button, allowing it to be launched on the fly. Live ensures that everything plays in sync, leaving you free to improvise or jam with existing musical ideas. The Session View and Live Clip concepts are unique to Live and transform your computer into an expressive instrument for stage or studio.

The Arrangement View offers a timeline-based approach similar to that of other music production software, but with several unique differences. For instance, at the click of a button, the Arrangement View can record every action you perform while jamming in the Session View. All clip launches, effects tweaks, and other improvisations are captured as they occur, and the resulting creation can be edited to perfection later. In the Arrangement View, you will find an environment for multitrack recording, MIDI sequencing, automation, nondestructive editing and other production-related tasks.

Live has won a ton of awards and sold a zillion copies since its introduction in 2001. Its combination of an intuitive interface with deep power has made it a favorite not only with studio and home bsed musicians, but also with live performers.

Features

MIDI

• 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
• Graphical MIDI controller data for intuitive drawing and editing
• Play MIDI notes with the computer keyboard
• Manipulation of MIDI timing through adaptive 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

Audio and Remixing

• Preview and combine AIFF, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC and MP3 audio files of any sample rate, size and bit depth
• Real-time time-stretching of any audio file to play in sync with the project tempo
• Auto Warp — automatically detects the tempo of audio material and sets Warp Markers
• Sample reverse of individual audio files
• Rhythm and time warping for audio tracks, notes and sections within audio files
• Real-time swing and groove manipulation of audio files
• Clip Envelopes — complete control of volume, pitch, timing and effects for segments or notes within audio files through drawn curves
• Flexible audio file exporting
• Clip Transport — scrubbing, nudging and navigation within files
• Live Clip format for easy storage and retrieval of musical ideas, including associated devices and settings

Recording and Sequencing

• Comprehensive audio and MIDI recording and sequencing
• Unlimited 32-bit/192 kHz multitrack hard disk recording
• Detailed on-the-fly recording and editing (with continuous breakpoint envelopes) of automation for mixer, effects control movements and song tempo
• Complete nondestructive editing with unlimited undo
• Track Freeze for conserving CPU resources and simplifying project sharing
• Track Delay controls for managing human, acoustic and hardware delays
• Drum machine-style loop/overdub recording for building MIDI patterns
• Punch-in and -out points for recording
• Count-In recording
• Creation of perfectly cut samples and loops through optional record quantization
• Launchable Arrangement Locators
• Instant resampling of audio and MIDI while the music plays
• Multi-selection clip editing
• Mackie Control support

Playing and Performing

• 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
• Follow Actions — create groups of files that can trigger each other to generate specific or random output
• Scenes — 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

Effects and Instruments

• Ableton Audio Effects: Auto Filter, Auto Pan, Beat Repeat, Chorus, Compressor I, Compressor II, EQ Four, EQ Three, Erosion, Filter Delay, Flanger, Gate, Grain Delay, Phaser, Ping Pong Delay, Redux, Resonators, Reverb, Saturator, Simple Delay, Utility, Vinyl Distortion
• Ableton MIDI Effects: Arpeggiator, Chord, Pitch, Random, Scale, Velocity
• 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
• Device groups for saving multi-effect combinations together with instruments
• Plug-In Delay Compensation automatically compensates for delays caused by effects and plug-ins

Routing and Sync

• 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 Timecode 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 and CoreAudio audio interface support

Also includes...

• Valuable Live Pack library of clips, device presets and Live Sets
• Built-in program tutorials and starter sets
• Printed reference manual*
• Multilingual program help and PDF manual in English, Japanese, German, French and Spanish

Requirements

Macintosh System Requirements

• Any G3 or faster
• 512 MB RAM recommended
• Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later

Windows System Requirements

• 600 MHz CPU or faster
• 512 MB RAM recommended
• Windows 2000/XP
• Windows-compatible sound card