Ableton Live 12 review

Ableton Live stands out for its Session View, a grid where you trigger loops and clips in any combination without stopping the music. That suits producers who build tracks by layering ideas, and Ableton pitches Live for performance as well as creation. When a song takes shape, the Arrangement View works like a standard timeline, with take recording and comping. Capture MIDI saves notes you played before pressing record, and audio-to-MIDI turns drum breaks or melodies into editable patterns. Ableton sells three editions: Intro with 16 tracks and 5+ GB of sounds, Standard with unlimited tracks and 38+ GB, and Suite with 71+ GB, Max for Live and all instruments and effects. Suite can also be paid in 24 monthly rent-to-own installments. The 30-day Suite trial includes saving and exporting. A license covers up to two of your computers. Ableton's shop showed EUR prices from our location, so check the US shop for current USD prices.

Who it is for

Electronic producers and live performers who sketch ideas as loops.

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Session View for playing loops and ideas without a timeline
• Arrangement View with take recording and comping
• Capture MIDI records notes after you have played them
• Audio-to-MIDI turns drum breaks, melodies and harmonies into MIDI
• Max for Live and all instruments and effects in Live 12 Suite

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Session View is a fast way to try out song ideas
• Strength: Three editions, from 16-track Intro to the full Suite
• Strength: 30-day Suite trial includes saving and exporting
• Weakness: Intro is limited to 16 audio and MIDI tracks
• Weakness: Max for Live and the largest sound library are only in Suite
• Weakness: Ableton showed EUR prices from our location, so we could not confirm USD prices

Key facts

• Editions: Intro, Standard, Suite
• Tracks in Intro: 16
• Sounds in Suite: 71+ GB
• Free trial: 30 days of Live 12 Suite
• Installs per license: Up to two computers

Where it ranks

Ableton Live 12 is No. 3 in our Best DAW Software verdict.