Ableton Live 11 The Ultimate Guide

Ableton have just announced Live 11! We’ve had exclusive access to the beta release for some time now to bring you all the inside detail…

There are several types of DAW update. The first is the complete rewrite, where a DAW is completely rebuilt from the ground up – a rare but revolutionary update that takes the best bits of an older system and re-imagines them without any of the old code holding the new version back. Then, at the other end, the point update which adds nice features or workflow improvements to gently nudge a DAW forward. Somewhere in between is the major update that offers significant changes across the board but doesn’t reinvent the wheel. And that’s where this latest update to Ableton Live sits…

Version 11 is a significant update, even though it is so because of the sheer number of additions rather than any main headline-stealing features. Live 11’s additions include many user-requested upgrades, new workflow tools, new content and plugins, but it is not revolutionary in, say, the way that Logic Pro X was.

In Ableton Live’s case, this is a good thing. The core of the software hasn’t changed since v1: arranging clips, throwing loops together, playing live and creating music in a fun, featurepacked environment. That philosophy is what made it so successful, so why change that?

Instead, what we’re getting is very much a smooth and rounded Live experience, with all of the pro features you’ll find elsewhere wrapped up in that comforting Ableton blanket. Any Live user from the last two decades will be at home with Live 11 and welcome these new additions. And talking of two decades; can it really be so?

It’s nearly 20 years