Ableton Live 8

As from the above title Live has now reached version 8. It seems like only yesterday when Live 3 was talk of the town!
For those who have no idea what Ableton Live is or what it actually does please read on. Firstly Live is split into 3 main versions:

Ableton Live 8 – Live is the “Large” version. It provides a comprehensive environment for writing, producing and performing music plus a basic sound set.
Ableton Suite 8 – Suite is the complete package, the “X-Large” version. Suite gives you the tools and the sounds, with a packed sound library and 10 Ableton instruments
Ableton Live 7 LE – Live LE provides a focused feature set—it’s the “Medium” version of Live. Just the essential tools and basic sound content for making music

The Ableton team see their software as the following:

Ableton Live is about making music; for composition, songwriting, recording, production, remixing and live performance. Live’s nonlinear, intuitive flow, alongside powerful real-time editing and flexible performance options, make it a unique studio tool and a favorite with live performers. If you’d rather be “making music” than just “using music software,” Ableton Live is for you. Live 8, the latest version, includes a wealth of new techniques and improvements with a new groove engine, revamped warping, live looping, new effects, crossfades in the Arrangement View and a reworked MIDI editor 

Having used Live myself, I have to admit you can come up with ideas in minutes. It is very fast and intuitive and lets you compose in a ‘nonlinear’ way, which is alien if you have never worked like that before. So what does Live and Suite 8 have to offer over previous versions?

New in Ableton Live 8

Version 8 enhances the Ableton vision of creative, real-time digital music with a wealth of new techniques, effects and most-wanted workflow improvements.

New Groove Engine Groove patterns can add life and swing to straight sequences. Live 8′s new groove engine lets you apply groove patterns in real time, extract grooves from audio or MIDI sources, quantize audio and MIDI in real time. It also comes with a new groove library.

New Warping Engine Live 8 introduces a new, more direct way of working with warping and some important Warp Mode enhancements. You can now warp audio events by adjusting the events themselves on the timeline. Beats Mode has been updated, and there’s a completely new Complex Warp Mode. Plus you can slice audio files to MIDI tracks based on transients.

Looper A much-requested feature, the Ableton Looper effect gives you classic sound-on-sound looping without the limitations of a hardware device. Looper is set up for remote operation, so you can record, overdub, undo and more without touching the computer.

New Effects Live 8 includes five powerful new effects: Vocoder, Multiband Dynamics, Overdrive, Limiter and Frequency Shifter. These effects cover all the well-known aspects of these devices, but really shine due to some innovative features and enhancements from the Ableton labs.

Workflow enhancements Version 8 makes Live easier with a number of most-wanted enhancements and some deceptively simple detail work including real-time crossfades in the Arrangement View, enhanced MIDI editing, group tracks, a screen magnifier and more.

New in Ableton Suite 8

Ableton Suite 8 is a package which gives you a rich world of sound, perfectly complementing the tools and features in Live 8. Suite 8 provides all the instruments a musician could hope for, including a wide range of synths, a powerful sampler, electric and acoustic drums, mallets, numerous sampled instruments: 10 instruments in all. Here’s what’s new in Suite 8:

World-class library Ableton Suite 8′s library completely surpasses everything that Ableton has ever offered before. With the creative professional in mind, Ableton has put together a well-balanced and comprehensive tool set and, above all, a wide-ranging set of beautiful sounds.

Collision is a unique instrument for authentic mallet sounds and creative percussion. Co-developed with AAS, it uses physical modeling technology to reproduce real-world instruments such as xylophones, marimbas and glockenspiels, but also provides enough depth to create truly dramatic new instruments and sounds.

Latin Percussion is a collection of acoustic percussion instruments such as congas, bongos, timbales, claves, shakers, tambourines and bells from the worlds of Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and African music. It also comes with clips and grooves, so you don’t only get the drums, you also get the drummer.

More Operator, more power Operator, Ableton’s renowned do-it-all synthesizer, has been given a major overhaul. We opened up the hood, took a long hard look inside and did some serious hot-rod stuff. New filter types, more modulation routing options and additive wavetable synthesis with drawable partials make Operator more powerful and flexible than ever.

Obviously we need instruments with all this content above. So please have a look below:

Ableton Software Instruments

Sampler is a sampling instrument that brings powerful multisample playback and import, as well as profound sound design capabilities to Ableton Live.

Operator is a frequency modulation synthesizer that delivers an eclectic spectrum of sonic possibilities and musical inspiration.

Collision is a unique physical modeling instrument for authentic mallet sounds and creative percussion.

Electric offers the sounds of classic electric pianos through physical modeling synthesis, allowing you to dive inside and play with the guts of the instrument.

Tension is a physical modeling string synthesizer capable of creating incredibly accurate reproductions of real stringed instruments or otherworldly hybrids.

Analog emulates the unique circuitry and irresistible tweakability of vintage analog synthesizers. Able to produce everything from silky pad sweeps to earth-shaking bass.

Ableton Sampled Instruments

Essential Instrument Collection 2 A choice selection of acoustic and electric pianos, guitars, bass, drums, orchestral instruments and more.

Session Drums is a meticulously multisampled library of acoustic drums that reproduces the nuances of a recording session and puts you in the engineer’s seat.

Drum Machines offers a choice selection of classic drum machines, meticulously sampled to faithfully reproduce the original sounds.

Latin Percussion is a collection of acoustic percussion instruments such as congas, bongos, timbales, claves, shakers, tambourines and bells from the worlds of Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and African music.

Orchestral Instrument Collection brings rich symphonic sound to Ableton Live, combining Orchestral Strings, Brass, Woodwinds and Percussion in a comprehensive bundle.

Orchestral Strings A comprehensive selection of naturally rich and dynamic stringed instruments. Features solo and ensemble violin, viola, cello and double bass, all recorded in their natural positions within the orchestra, complete with a number of articulations.

Orchestral Brass A thorough set of vivid and colorful brass instruments. Features solo and ensemble French horn, trombone, trumpet and tuba, with a unique set of articulations in multiple section sizes.

Orchestral Woodwinds Delivers a variety of clear and vibrant wind instruments. Features solo and ensemble flute, clarinet, bassoon, oboe and English horn with a broad selection of articulations.

Orchestral Percussion Captures the true essence of symphonic percussion instruments in pristine quality. Features vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, crotales, glockenspiel, tubular bells, cymbals and timpani with a variety of articulations.

I would highly recommend you try Live out if you have not done so already. Ableton now offer an unlimited 14-Day demo: http://www.ableton.com/downloads
If you also have the time, download their movie tutorials which I would highly recommend for any user whether they be a beginner or pro. http://www.ableton.com/movies

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