Ableton releases Live 9.7 beta

Ableton has launched a beta for the next version of its Live software today and shared details about the incoming update.

Live 9.7 is a free update involving minor bug fixes and improvements, especially around integration with the Push controller. The biggest changes are the addition of new options for slicing beats by beat divisions, regions, transients or manually.

These slicing options are available in the Simpler device and can be triggered from the Push, allowing for more versatile, seamless live beat chopping. Even those without a Push can take advantage of these updates to the Simpler device, though naturally, Push owners will see the most benefit.

Other updates include a new drum layout with 16 levels of velocity sensitivity and better visual feedback, and workflows like color-coding and audio routing can now be controlled directly from the Push.

Ableton released its latest major update, 9.6, back in February. The final version of 9.7 is expected later this year, but with the beta already out, hopefully we'll see what artists can do with these new sampling tools sooner than that.

Neal Rahman is Mixmag's Los Angeles Digital Intern. Follow him on Twitter