What’s New in Ableton Live 12

Ableton Live 12 introduced new ways to create and find musical material, work with tuning and scales, and organize the workspace. This overview covers the original Live 12.0 feature set highlighted in Ableton’s November 2023 preview video. Open Ableton Live and a new or existing Set before following along.

The video predates the public release and later Live 12 updates, so its interface and device details are not a complete guide to the current version. Use Ableton’s current Live 12 release notes when checking features added or revised after version 12.0.

Video walkthrough

Establish the release scope and your edition

The source video is a two-minute visual overview published on November 14, 2023, before Live 12 was released. It introduces the original 12.0 themes: MIDI Tools, Browser improvements, scale and tuning features, more flexible views, and new sound-design devices. It does not cover features introduced in later Live 12 updates.

Before looking for a device or tool shown in the video, check the installed Live version in the Help menu and compare the edition with Ableton’s current Live edition comparison. The original Live 12 features are not all included in every edition:

  • Live Intro, Standard, and Suite include the new Browser workflow, sound similarity browsing, Keys and Scales, tuning systems, and screen-reader support.
  • Live Standard and Suite include the broader collection of MIDI Tools. Intro includes a more limited set.
  • Live Suite includes Meld, Granulator III, and Roar.

Feature availability can change through point updates, so use the comparison page rather than relying on the edition shown in an older video or project.

Create and reshape MIDI with scale-aware tools

Live 12 added Scale Mode controls to the Control Bar. When a scale is active for a MIDI clip, the MIDI Note Editor can highlight or fold to the selected scale. Pitch-related controls in compatible MIDI Tools and devices can then work in scale degrees instead of semitones.

To explore the workflow:

  1. Create or select a MIDI clip and open Clip View.
  2. In the Control Bar, enable Scale Mode and choose a root note and scale.
  3. Use the MIDI Note Editor to enter or select notes. Turn on Highlight Scale or Fold to Scale if either option helps reduce visual clutter.
  4. Open the Transform or Generate panel in Clip View. A Transformation changes existing note material, while a Generator creates new notes in the clip loop or selected time range.
  5. Adjust the selected tool’s controls and listen to the result. When Auto Apply is off, use Apply to commit the result; use Undo if the change does not suit the clip.

MIDI Tools are separate from real-time MIDI Effects. They edit the MIDI notes in the clip, so save the Set or duplicate the clip before making broader experiments. Ableton’s MIDI Tools manual section explains how transformations, generators, selection, Auto Apply, and Undo behave in the current version.

Find sounds with tags and similarity functions

Live 12 reorganized the Browser around filters and tags. Select a Library label such as Sounds, Instruments, Drums, or Samples, then use the Filter View to narrow the content pane. More than one tag in the same filter group can be selected with Ctrl on Windows or Cmd on macOS.

The Browser can also search for sound-similar content. Select a compatible item and use the Show Similar Files control to view similar items. Sound similarity can compare samples up to 60 seconds long, instrument presets, and drum presets; Live analyzes the Core Library and User Library in the background. Similar Sample Swapping is an additional option in compatible samplers and Drum Racks.

Use tags and similarity results as a starting point, then audition material in the context of the Set. The current Browser documentation and Sound Similarity documentation describe the supported content and controls.

Load a tuning system when 12-tone equal temperament is not appropriate

Live 12 introduced the Tunings label in the Browser and support for Scala tuning files. Choose a tuning from the Core Library, or add compatible .scl or .ascl files to a Browser folder in Places. Double-click a tuning file, or select it and press Enter, to load it into the Set.

When a tuning system is active, Live’s built-in instruments and compatible MPE-enabled devices follow it. Scale Mode controls are hidden while a tuning system is loaded, so return to the default 12-tone equal-temperament tuning before continuing scale-based MIDI work. For the current limitations and controller considerations, refer to Ableton’s Using Tuning Systems guide.

Explore the Suite sound-design devices

The release video highlights three Live 12 Suite devices. Add Meld or Granulator III to a MIDI track from the Instruments label, or add Roar to an audio or MIDI track from Audio Effects.

  • Meld is an MPE-capable, bi-timbral synthesizer with two sound engines, filters, and a modulation matrix.
  • Granulator III is a Max for Live granular instrument for transforming short portions of a sample into new textures and rhythmic or sustained material.
  • Roar is a saturation and coloration effect with configurable processing routes, shaper curves, filters, feedback, and modulation.

Begin with a factory preset and make one adjustment at a time. For Roar, lower the output or use its Dry/Wet control when comparing heavily processed sounds to the source. These devices have evolved after 12.0, so consult the current Meld, Granulator III, and Roar documentation for the controls in the installed version.

Show Clip View and Device View together

Live 12 made it possible to open Clip View and Device View at the same time. Use the triangle controls beside the Clip View and Device View selectors in the lower-right corner of the Live window. The shortcuts are Ctrl-Alt-3 on Windows or Cmd-Option-3 on macOS for Clip View, and Ctrl-Alt-4 or Cmd-Option-4 for Device View.

Keeping both views open is useful when adjusting notes while listening to an instrument or effect. If space is limited, switch back to a single view with the relevant selector, and use Shift-Tab to move between Clip View and Device View.

Continue from the original Live 12 release

Use the original 12.0 features as a set of connected workflows: select a scale or tuning, create or alter MIDI notes, locate fitting sounds in the Browser, and refine the result with a device available in the installed edition. Then check the current release notes for additions made after the video was published.

For more detail, see Ableton’s Live 12 release notes, the Live 12 reference manual, and the canonical source video, Ableton Live 12: Explore what’s new.