April 2 - 2:35pm EDT   Ableton has launched Live 8 and Suite 8, upgrading the real-time music creation software with new techniques, effects and workflow upgrades. Both packages have been given a new groove engine, as well as improved warping techniques and live looping. Five new effects are present, as well as a reworked MIDI editor; Suite 8 adds a new Operator plus two new instrument sets, Collision and Latin Percussion. [full story]

January 17 - 11:45am EST   Alesis has announced first shipments of its MasterControl audio interface and control surface. Designed as a professional audio interface and recording control tool, the device provides 44.1kHz to 192kHz recording capabilities. The input section consists of two XLR inputs with phantom power and channel inserts, six TRS line inputs, and expansion capabilities. Master Control also comes complete with a talkback microphone, a full MIDI interface, and the ability to review knob, button, and fader settings before sending them to the DAW software. [full story]

January 16 - 3:10pm EST   At the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) expo, Akai showed the APC40 MIDI control surface it has developed in conjunction with Ableton, making it the first such device to be ready to run out of the box with the Ableton Live music editing software. As there is no need to load drivers, users simply plug in their notebooks via a USB port and can begin mixing or otherwise modifying their music using Ableton Live. The APC40 is being touted as the simplest, most direct hardware interface with the popular software, yet still allows advanced users to assign the board's 40 buttons, knobs and fader controls to any virtual controls in the software. [full story]

January 16 - 9:40am EST   Ableton has announced the next version of its professional sequencing software, Live 8. Upgrades include a new groove engine, able to extract grooves from audio or MIDI elements, and apply patterns or quantize in real-time. A new warping engine, meanwhile, allows control of effects through the timeline, and incorporates a new Complex Warp Mode. [full story]

September 19 - 11:25am EDT   Stanton for the first time released a touch-sensitive device through DaScratch, a new advanced MIDI control pad. The device centers around a large, central touchpad that replicates the functions of analog DJ controllers and lets DJs scratch or scrub as well as use the device as though it were a multi-touch notebook trackpad. All the buttons and faders to adjust the final output have similarly been replaced with touch-sensitive controls and will recognize multi-tap commands to quickly bring down a sound level or apply an effect. [full story]

June 13 - 12:00pm EDT   Korg late yesterday previewed a new set of music controllers for artists whose studio or live work centers around notebooks. The nanoSeries attaches through USB and is small enough to sit in front of a portable on stage or in a tight recording environment either to play software instruments or to control MIDI devices. The nanoKONTROL caters most to electronic artists with stand-ins for mixers, including nine equal sets of fader and knob controls as well as 18 switches. It also comes with a discount for Ableton Live to get new DJs started on live electronic performances. [full story]

May 14 - 1:50pm EDT   Ableton has released Live 7 LE, its affordable professional-grade music-making solution. Built on the Live platform, the single-screen music production and performance solution offers most of its Ableton Live 7's new features for recording, songwriting, remixing and DJing. It includes studio-quality recording up to 32-bit/192 kHz; 64 audio tracks and unlimited MIDI tracks per project, MIDI sequencing for software instruments; and more than 20 built-in audio effects, including a host of creative delays, filters, distortions, studio compressors and EQs. The software also offers two software instruments-Simpler for creative sample-based synthesis, and Impulse for dynamic, ... [full story]

April 2 - 11:50pm EDT   Ableton today unveiled Live 7 LE, a major update to its simplified music creation tool that adds many new features and enhancements. Ableton Live 7 LE adds studio-quality recording at up to 32-bits with 192 kHz quality, and supports 64 concurrent audio tracks, as well as unlimited MIDI tracks and powerful sequencers. The update also introduces 20 effects, including delays, filters, and others. Ableton Live 7 LE is available for $150 as a download, while the boxed version costs $200. [full story]

November 29 - 12:00pm EST   Ableton today released Ableton Live 7, several new add-on instruments, and Ableton Suite. Ableton Live 7 enhances the audio engine to improve fidelity with 64-bit mix summing, POW-r dithering, optimized sample-rate conversion, and more. A new compressor device integrates three compression models, one of which is based on a feedback design commonly found in the most most praised vintage compressors, according to Ableton. Ableton 7 is priced at $500, and new add-on instruments are available for $160 each. The Ableton Suite is priced at $800. [full story]