The new Freeze command has two purposes: freeing up CPU power and easing the transfer of projects between computers. "Freezing" a track transparently creates sample files for all clips in the track. These sample files are then played instead of CPU-intensive real-time instruments and effects. While a track is frozen, you cannot change the details of its clips - but, unique to Live 5, "frozen" clips retain their real-time launch capabilities. This means that you can improvise, perform and sketch out song arrangements even while tracks are frozen. You could transfer a project from your big studio PC to an older PowerBook and keep working - even though the laptop is not powerful enough to handle all the virtual instruments and effects in the project, and even though the project is using plug-ins that are unavailable on the laptop!

Plug-In Delay Compensation

Live 5 now automatically compensates for delays caused by Live effects and plug-ins, including those on the return tracks. The compensation algorithm keeps tracks in sync while minimizing delay between the player's actions and the audible result. In addition, both audio and MIDI tracks have a manual delay setting, adjustable in milliseconds, that can be used to compensate for human, acoustic, hardware and other real-world delays.

Launchable Arrangement Locators

Live 5 offers locators with MIDI mapping and quantized recall. Using the mouse, computer keys or MIDI messages, you can drop locators on the fly during playback or recording. Each locator can be named and assigned to a computer key or MIDI message. Jumping to a locator is subject to real-time quantization, just like launching Session View clips and scenes. Previous/Next buttons allow you to jump from locator to locator.

Mackie Control Support

Live 5 brings dedicated support for Mackie Control-compatible mixer surfaces such as Tascam's FW-1082/1884, Yamaha's 01X and Mackie Control, allowing for mouse-free program operation. Using the mixer surface's controls, you can navigate arrangements and the Session View grid; launch clips, scenes and locators; and access instruments and effects. Through bank switches, one surface unit can control any number of tracks in a Live Set. Live feeds data back to the control surface to make the faders move and the displays report values.

MP3 and Automatic Tempo-Matching

Live 5 guarantees instant remix and mash-up gratification. Not only is your music library in MP3 format immediately accessible to Live, but the music also automatically synchronizes to the project tempo. State-of-the-art signal processing automatically tracks the tempo of imported songs and sets Warp Markers for you. This works well not only for electronic music but also for songs with human tempo variations.

New "Complex" Warp Mode

Now that Live works with your entire music collection, there is a dedicated Warp Mode to accommodate all types of music. Live 5 introduces "Complex," a new real-time Warp Mode to complement Beats, Tones, Texture and Re-Pitch. Complex is a frequency-domain warping method specifically designed to accommodate composite signals such as mixed-down music.

New Clip Transport

Navigation within Live's Clip View has become much easier. Just click anywhere in the waveform to jump there - in sync and subject to real-time quantization.

In Live 5, the clip start and end points ("In" and "Out") are now decoupled from the loop. You can prepare a clip to run into a loop or use the new "Set" buttons to catch a certain part of the music in a loop as it plays. The Set buttons, the loop switch, the loop position and other Clip View controls can now be mapped to MIDI controllers to allow for mouse-free loop tweaking using your preferred controller.

Individual clips can now be exported to disk in Live 5's new "Live Clip" format for easy retrieval and reuse in any project. The exported Live Clip not only retains MIDI, audio, envelopes, warping and other clip settings but also the associated instrument, effects and plug-ins. In Live's Browser, Live Clips are as easy to browse and preview as samples. Once you drag them into a Set, you regain full control, so you can take the original idea wherever you want.

Using Live Clips, you can build your own personalized library of:

• MIDI sequences with matching instrument and effects, e.g., a MIDI drum pattern with associated Impulse and effects settings;
• Different regions or loops referencing the same source file;
• Variations of a sample loop created by applying Warp Markers, clip envelopes and effects;
• Ideas that may not fit your current project but could be useful in the future. Never lose ideas again!
  
  

Better Browsing

Live's built-in Browser now features a search field. Search for a word (bass, for example), and the Browser will return a flat list of all matching sample files, Live Clips and Live Sets in the selected folder and its sub-folders. The Browser has been improved to support standard file organization tasks such as creating folders and dragging files into folders.

In the Browser, Live Sets (.als files) can be "unfolded' to reveal their tracks and clips - which can then be selectively previewed and dragged in. It is also possible to drag a Live Set from the Browser into the currently open Set to merge the two.

New Preset Management

Presets for Ableton instruments and effects are now managed through the Browser as well. You can organize presets in folders at will and search for presets across folders using the search field.

Live 5 also introduces a new workflow for browsing and recalling presets. Every device has a "Browse" button in the upper right corner.

Clicking this button temporarily links the Browser to the device. You can then recall presets from the Browser by double-clicking them or using the arrow and enter keys on the keyboard. You can even load a device via its presets. In this case, Live saves you the extra step of manually replacing the device.

Device Groups

Device Groups allow you to save powerful multi-effect creations, effectively adding all the capabilities of Ableton's MIDI and audio effects to Simpler, Impulse and Operator presets.

Say, for example, that you have transformed a simple Simpler patch into a massive lead sound by processing it through a complex chain of Live effects. In Live 5, you can group the Simpler with the effects and save the entire group as one new Simpler preset. Recalling this preset automatically recreates the effects chain along with Simpler and the associated settings.

Beat Repeat is an inspirational, expressive and addictive audio effect that is useful for subtle-to-extreme reorganization of beats and vocals. You create short loops on the fly and control their lengths either manually or via random functions - delivering endless variations of grooves and stutter effects.

Here is an example of a two-bar loop being "shredded" with Beat Repeat. The first two bars are unprocessed. Listen.

Phaser and Flanger

Live 5 offers new Phaser and Flanger devices, both modeled after classic '70s guitar effects and augmented with a beat-synced LFO (with variable waveforms) and a unique envelope follower function. The results range from classic phasing and flanging to drastic sound manipulation.

Auto Pan

The new Auto Pan effect offers LFO-driven manipulation of amplitude and panning. It can create everything from automatic panning with various curves to tremolo and amplitude modulation and beat-synchronized chopping effects.

Saturator

If digital is a little too clean for you, if your sound is crying out for some dirt or punch, or if you are missing some warmth, Live's new Saturator has the cure. Five different shapes and a set of powerful tone controls create subtle-to-drastic distortion effects.

Arpeggiator

Ableton have fulfilled a top customer request with the release of the Arpeggiator. It does everything you would expect - and a lot more. Beyond classic applications, Arpeggiator can chop chords, strum notes like a rhythm guitarist, morph velocities and create scale-corrected pitch progressions.

Simpler Updated

Simpler now includes independent envelopes for filter, pitch and amplitude, a glide control, and an improved LFO.