Ableton Live 12 is available now

Ableton has officially released Live 12, the latest update to its popular DAW.

The new version, first teased in November 2023, adds a swathe of new features and tweaks to the revolutionary music-making software, some on the surface, others under the hood.

The most obvious change is the introduction of a new view in the form of the Stack Detail View that allows users to see multiple devices, the mixing window and the arrangement view simultaneously. It may seem like a small tweak, but it radically changes the fluidity with which music-makers can get hands-on with creativity, especially on smaller displays.

Other highlights include new instruments and effects like Meld and Roar. Meld is a bi-timbral instrument that combines subtractive, FM, granular and other sources to create a wide range of sounds and FX. It also features a complex modulation matrix for deep-diving into sound design. Roar is all about distortion, saturation and “colour”, as Ableton put it, allowing for subtle or destructive audio mangling with multiple modes: serial, parallel, mid/side and multiband configurations. 

Ableton’s MIDI functionality has been redesigned too, with new tuning options, key snapping and new editing features, while it wouldn’t be 2024 without an AI feature. Sound Similarity Search is a new tool that analyses your samples to help you quickly find similar sounds in your library.

There are numerous other new features, too. You can find out more on Ableton’s website. Ableton Live 12 is available now and costs £99 to upgrade to Standard, or £259 to buy new.

Ableton also recently announced that non-standalone Push 3 units could be upgraded to become standalone units via a new add-on kit.