Here's all the new features included in Ableton Live 12

Ableton has announced its 12th version of its renowned digital audio workstation, Live.

Live 12 promises that "whatever music you make, and whoever you are as a music maker, there's always more to explore."

New features include an overhaul of its Arrangement view, plus the addition of a new Stacked Detail view, and new synths such as Granulator III, Robert Henke's latest granular synthesizer, and Meld, an MPE-capable synthesiser designed for variety, playfulness and character.

Ableton has now added its mixer in Arrangement view, which used to be exclusive to Session view. This allows users to work more intuitively, wasting less time on switching between screens and breaking their flow.

Read this next: 8 of the best AI tools for production

The new Stacked Detail view means that you can see everything that you need in one place, displaying the clip editor or automation and device parameters at the same time as the device.

Ableton has also changed its search system, where instruments are tagged by their sound, ie. Bass/Brass/Guitar & Plucked/Lead etc., and by their character: be it acoustic or analog, bright or dark. Users can also add their own tags, again helping to make the traditionally boring side of music production quicker so producers can focus on the creative aspects.

Another addition to Live 12 is a new colour and saturation device, boldly titled Roar. Roar gives producers the ability to "bathe [their] sound in subtle warmth – or break it down with wild distortion."

The device features three stages of saturation for serial, parallel or even mid/side and multiband configurations. On top of that, it has a built-in compressor and feedback routing, providing even more ways to shape sounds.

Users can also apply a variety of simple and complex variations to MIDI clips with the new MIDI Transformations feature, offering ornaments and articulations, acceleration and deceleration curves, note and chord connection and timbre simulations such as the strum of a guitar.

Read this next: The 5 pieces of kit every hardware musician needs, according to an expert

Inspiration can be found in the new MIDI generator, where original melodies, chords and rhythms can be conjured to the users' taste by setting instructive constraints. If producers want to get deep into MIDI generation, Max for Live is available for exhaustive MIDI creations.

The new Control Bar provides a visual aid to producers who don't have a traditional background in music, where users can see the notes of the piece's chosen key in any MIDI clip created.

Live 12 will come at a cost of £69, £259 and £539 for the Intro, Standard and Suite versions to new, available in early 2024.

Ableton is offering the chance to purchase the previous installment, Live 11, at 20% off with a free upgrade to Live 12 once its available, while previous Live customers will be rewarded with special upgrade prices for the new edition.

Buy Live 11 with a free upgrade to Live 12 in early 2024 here

Tibor Heskett is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter