Ableton Live 12.2 is now in beta and brings bounce to track, new and updated devices, and more

Ableton has announced Live 12, a major upgrade for its DAW with all-new MIDI-transforming power, new devices, and more. 

Two years ago, on March 5, 2023, Ableton Live 12 was released. Now, Update 2.2 is in the starting blocks and already in beta.

The new update, 12.2, is a free update for existing Live 12 users and brings new handy features.

Ableton Live 12.2

One highlight is the new Bounce To New Track feature. Live now lets you bounce clips or time selections on any MIDI or audio track, including all processing, to a new audio track with just a few clicks – or use Bounce Track in Place to convert the whole track to audio.

A very useful feature, especially when you have resource-hungry projects and don’t have a very modern computer. It’s also applicable for sound design and converting that specific sound directly into audio instead of keeping a huge signal chain for a single sound.

Then, the new Live 12.2 update ships with new and updated devices. Expressive Chords is a new MPE Max For Live device that lets you play interesting progressions intuitively, one key or pad at a time. This works on Live and Push.

Meld, the MiniFreak-like synth device introduced in Live 12, now has a new chord oscillator and a scrambler LFO effect. Roads also benefit from a new routing mode, filter type, and external audio and MIDI sidechain.

Auto Filter has been completely redesigned with creative new filter types, real-time visualization, and a revamped modulation section. As a bonus, users of Ableton Move and Note can also use this effect.

In addition, Ableton Live 12.2 also improved the browsing experience with a new Quick Tags panel that lets view, edit, and assign tags directly in the Browser. The built-in filter view has got a makeover, and its hidden feature made more discoverable.

You can now customize the look of your labels and user folders, and the Browser lets you view multiple columns of metadata at once.

New Push Standalone Features

Ableton Push standalone also gets new features with Live 12.2. Expressive 16 Pitches lets you play samples in Drum Rack melodically and with added fine control from Push’s MPE-enabled pads.

Follow Actions is a new function with which you can structure songs, perform Sets, and explore flexible ways of sequencing clips and scenes. The new Bounce to New Track function is also available on Push. The same applies to the groove pool and Live 12’s tuning systems.

And in addition to Expressive Chords and the updates to Auto Filter, Meld, and Roar, Live 12.2 brings the External Audio Effect device to Push – enabling you to use hardware audio effects wherever you like in your Push Set.

It’s a nice update with some neat new features. Ableton Live 12.2 is now in beta, and once the testing period is over, the update will be a free download for existing Live 12 users.

Update From October 8, 2024

Alongside the new Move “sketchbook” hardware, Ableton has also published the free Live 12.1 update.

Update From July 3, 2024

Ableton Live 12 has been on the market for almost half a year now. I really like the new update. The new synth Meld and the new MIDI transformation tools are especially fun. 

Good news for Live 12 users today. Ableton has released the free Live 12.1 update with additional features that are now in beta. Push 3 users also benefit from new goodies.

Ableton Live 12.1

Live 12.1 introduces auto-tagging, making finding the right sound in your user library easier. New tags are automatically assigned to all samples in the library less than a minute long. This also applies to VST3 and AU plugins. A nice extension for the new browser in Live 12.

The new update is very focused on devices. There are four devices news, two of them completely new and two redesigns. 

Auto Shift is Live’s new pitch correction and harmonization device. It lets you manipulate and extract harmonies from vocals in real-time. Choose a scale for Auto Shift to follow, and play and make harmonies from any monophonic signal with the dedicated sidechain.

The results can vary greatly, from little correction to extreme robotic effects like”Cher.” It’s a creative FX and up to you how you use it in your project.

Then, a little surprise: there is a new drum sampler in Live 12.1. It’s a new compact sample player device designed for tweaking and enhancing drum sounds on the fly. 

It offers various parameters, including one-shot mode with start, length, and gain for the sample and attack, hold, and decay for the built-in envelope. It also includes a filter and a built-in effects processor—certainly not a game-changing device, but a useful one that speeds up the workflow with drum sounds.

Besides this, the Limiter and Saturator received new designs and improved specs (smoother release envelopes for the Limiter, hard clipping for the Saturator…). That’s not all. The MIDI editor now allows you to filter and select notes by time, pitch, or other criteria.

Also part of the new Live 12.1 update are Glissando and LFO, two new MPE-specific MIDI transformation tools. They let you create curves for the MPE parameters of selected notes. Not to forget, there are also many improvements:

• chop MIDI in new ways: 
• envelope follower now hosts a sidechain option
• and more

Push 2+3 Computer/Push 3 Standalone & Live 12.1

Not only Live 12 but also the Push 2/3 have received new features. On Push 2 and 3, you can now map macros and experiment with macro variations. Further, you can organize sets more easily and take advantage of Live 12’s browser filters.

Another new feature for the Push 3 is the ability to add groove instantly to all the MIDI clips in your set with a single twist on an encoder. Lastly, Push 3 standalone adopts Live’s new sample auto-tagging feature.

An excellent update for Live 12.

Update From February 22, 2024

We have an official release date for Ableton Live 12. After a long beta test, the new version of the Berlin digital audio workstation will be released on March 5, 2024, to the public.

Until then, you can still benefit from a 20% OFF discount on a purchase of Live 11 with a free update to 12. 

Article From November 14, 2023

I want to write: Does Ableton now publish Live updates every year? Nope. Ableton Live 11 was announced in November 2020 and released in February 2021. Ouch, how quickly time has passed. It felt like it was 2022. There is a reason why I introduced you this way in my article. 

Ableton announced Live 12 today, a new version of their popular DAW with major new features, improvements, content, and more. Here’s a detailed overview of what’s new. 

Ableton Live 12

Live remains Live also in version 12. It’s not a revolution but an evolution of Ableton’s DAW. There are no new mega headlining features this time, like in Live 11 comping or MPE. This time is more about smaller features that turn Live into a more accessible, creative digital audio workstation.

When you open Live 12 for the first time, you see a new user interface. Still a familiar picture, though, but the team has created a cleaner and more modern look for it.

It removes visual complexity and keeps the focus on your music, says Ableton. For me, it seems more melted together, less in recognizable blocks like Live 10 or 11. 

An Endless Playground For Ideas

Audio manipulation using effects… is an absolute standard in every DAW. MIDI manipulation, on the other hand, is a topic that DAW developers have only been exploring in more depth for several years. For example, Ableton introduced probability (chance) to its sequencer in Live 11.

They continue this MIDI focus consistently in Live 12 with new MIDI transformation and generator tools. With these, you can turn any simple MIDI sequence into a deeper and more complex variation. 

You can add ornaments, connect successive notes and chords, and simulate guitar strums. Live 12 also hosts a set of inspiring, fully customizable generative algorithms that create melodies, rhythms, and chords. Often seen as a plugin or M4L device, now embedded in Live.

Ableton also updated the MIDI editor with new functions and a better workflow, including the option to rearrange the order of a selection of notes by pitch, velocity, or duration. You can also stretch, split, chop, or join notes in new ways, shape the velocity of notes more easily, and more.

The team also found an answer to the question: “are my tracks in the right key?” Live 12 includes a new function allowing you to choose a key and scale in the control bar to stay in key across all devices.

A scale guide is built into the clip editor, allowing you to transform, sync, or generate new ideas. On top, it comes with new tuning systems for working outside the 12-tone equal temperament system, all accessible in the Live’s devices.

The first part of the Live 12 update is very MIDI-heavy and opens up many new possibilities for crafting ideas. Live 12 also has some new exciting devices.

New Synths, Effects, and Content

Then, Live 12 introduces three new devices, one of which is almost legendary. 

The first new addition is Meld, a bi-timbral MicroFreak-like MPE Synthesizer powered by two easy-to-use macro multi-synthesis oscillators. It also has a noise generator, dual-mode filter section, various LFOs, envelopes, and more. Just like in wavetables, you can expand it and work with a deep modulation matrix. 

Let’s stay with instruments. Robert Henke’s almost legendary Granulator device has also received a major update. Now integrated into Live 12 as Granulator III with MPE support for expressive control over parameters. A big plus, you can now capture audio in real-time and are no longer forced to import it. 

Another powerful new device is Roar. It’s a creative distortion device with various types. They range from more subtle ones like soft sine, diode clipper, or tube pre-amp for adding warmth, to crazy ones like noise injection, shards, or fractal. 

Roar consists of three saturation stages that can run in series or parallel. Do you need more control? No problem. You can also work in mid/side and multiband configurations, giving you full control over your distorted timbres. And you get to go even deeper using the built-in modulation matrix.

There is also a new performance pack featuring four new Max For Live devices from sound designer and developer Iftah (ex skinnerbox). Made for capturing snapshots of your sets, creating micro-performances with multi-layered automation, loops in arrangements, and more.

It also ships with a new Lost and Found collection with sound sounds created from unusual materials, percussive trinkets, and more.

Workflow Improvements

Live 12 users can benefit from many workflow improvements. The Ableton developers have added a new stacked detail view. This gives you an overview of everything a track is doing at a glance. This is intended to avoid constantly switching between views and let you focus more on the track.

Further, Live’s built-in mixer is now also available in the arrangement view. Finally, it also comes with improvements, making it more accurate and easier to read and control.

Handy is the new tagging functionality in the browser. Use the included tags or custom ones to search for sounds without the constraints of the browser’s built-in categories. Very good if you are looking for a sound quickly. I’ve never been a big fan of the browser in Live, but this looks like a good upgrade.

Also neat is the new sound similarity search. You can take a sample and tell Live’s browser to find comparable sounds and instrument presets related to timbre. This saves you a lot of time and I’m excited to see how well it works. 

Finally, Live 12 ships with accessibility and navigation improvements. Control core workflows in Live 12 using assistive technologies like screen readers, and use new keyboard shortcuts to navigate to nearly every part of Live.

First Impression

At first glance, a very exciting update. As said at the beginning: no revolution and no features that can now be used as headliners. The stars of the 12 update are the smaller add-ons that trigger inspiration or make the workflow smarter. Including the new MIDI manipulators or key and scale functionality.

I’m pleased about the update to Robert Henke’s Granulator device. I am a huge fan of this device and the new live sampling ability is a feature I’ve been waiting for a long time.

Availability 

Ableton Live 12 will be available in Q1 2024. It will cost $99/79€ for Live Intro, $439/279€ for Live Standard, and $749/599€ for Live Suite. A discount offer is running from now until the release of Live 12.

During the promotion, all new Live 11 editions are 20% off as well as the Push 3. Purchasing any new Live 11 edition automatically entitles customers to a free upgrade to its corresponding Live 12 edition upon release. 

Existing users can log in to their user account and check their upgrade price. From Live 11 Suite to Live 12 Suite, it’s currently 159€ instead of 199€. 

More information here: Ableton

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