We all have our favourite tools in our DAW of choice. For some that might be a synth used to craft every sound in a project, or a go-to reverb or compressor that provides the finishing touch for every track in a mix. Personally, I’m borderline obsessed with Ableton’s Auto Filter.
For those unfamiliar with Live, Auto Filter is far from the DAW’s most flashy or feature-packed device. It’s essentially just a simple multi-mode filter, albeit one equipped with an envelope follower and LFO, which provide the ‘auto’ elements of its name.
I’ve been a Live user for around 20 years, and it’s probably the device I turn to most regularly
While it might not be flashy, it is incredibly versatile. I’ve been a Live user for around 20 years, and it’s probably the device I turn to most regularly. Sometimes it’s used to add subtle modulation to avoid loops feeling too static, sometimes I’ll chain multiple instances to create a sort of DIY filter bank, and often I’ll simply add it at the end of a track’s effects chain and automate the cutoff to fade parts in or out of the mix.
Why am I telling you all this? Because Ableton has just unveiled its latest Live update, v12.2, out in public Beta as of today, and front and centre is a significant – and if we’re being honest, overdue – update for Auto Filter.
The new Auto Filter brings enhancements to every part of its toolset. Perhaps most significantly, it expands the range of filter types on offer, with additional emphasis on creative filtering.
The existing options – low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, notch, and a Morph filter – are now joined by a comb filter, vowel filter, resampling filter and bi-directional DJ-style filter mode. The Morph filter gains additional slope options, and the notch mode is joined by a notch + LP mode.
The LFO has been upgraded with a variety of new tools including additional waveshapes and wave morphing
There are improvements to the analogue-emulating filter circuits too. Auto Filter now features a clean SVF model, Sallen-Key inspired MS2 and Ladder-style PRD modes, and a new DFM mode that, according to Ableton, “internally feeds back more of its distortion, resulting in a broad range of tones from subtle filter sweeps to warm drive.”
The LFO has been upgraded with a variety of new tools including additional waveshapes and wave morphing, and the sidechain functionality has gained an EQ and mono mode. At the end of the chain, Auto Filter now has an output loudness control to compensate for fluctuations in volume, plus a soft clipping option and global dry/wet. The device also now has a real-time spectrum visualiser built into its UI.
What else?
Auto Filter isn’t the only element of Live to gain new features in v12.2. The DAW gains a new keyboard-based workflow for editing automation and modulation, which promises to aid Ableton's commitment to accessibility as well as potentially speed up the workflow of users up on their keyboard shortcuts.
There are new options for bouncing tracks to audio too, which means users can now both bounce a track in place – rendering the existing track to audio – or bounce audio down to a new track without overwriting the existing track.
The browser – which was significantly overhauled for Live 12 – receives a number of refinements too. These include a redesign of the tagging system, with a new layout for the filter view, plus quick tags that can be edited from a sound’s preview tab. Users can now assign custom icons to labels in the library, too.
There are also numerous updates for existing Live devices. Live 12 newcomers Meld and Roar both gain refinements, with the former gaining a new Chord oscillator and Scrambler LFO FX, and the latter additional filter and routing options.
Live’s Resonators and Spectral Resonator can now make use of the Scale Awareness functionality. Finally, Live’s much-loved FM synth Operator now has an increased voice count of up to 32 voices.
Push the boat out
It’s not just Live itself that’s seeing improvements with v12.2 - the standalone version of Ableton’s Push controller gains an OS update as well, which addresses one of the most significant missing features from its workflow – Follow Actions.
Follow Actions are tools used in Live to automate the behaviour of its clip launcher. At their most basic, they can be used to make clips play one after another, but they can also be set up to do more interesting things, such as randomise the playback of clips and scenes or add automated fills and breaks.
While Push is entirely focused on the clip launching workflow, until now users haven’t been able to set up Follow Actions on the device, which is a significant hole in its toolset. As of the latest beta updates – Live 12.2 and Push 2.2b9 – users can now set and edit these from the hardware itself. This has the potential to vastly improve Push’s functionality both as a tool for live performance and for studio creativity.
Push also gains a new 16 Pitches mode, which matches the functionality of Ableton’s compact Move hardware, and offers an easy way to play Simpler and Drum Rack sounds melodically. There’s also a new MPE-ready Expressive Chord Max device designed specifically for playing single-finger chords using Push (or any other controller).
Push can now access more of Live’s native functionality too, including the ability to bounce tracks to audio directly from the device, access the Groove Pool and load tuning systems.
Find full details of the new Live and Push updates in the official release notes.
Both Live 12.2 Push 2.2b9 are both in public beta as of today. Existing users can access both by signing up for the Beta program. Both updates will be free for all existing Live 12 and Push 3 users once the Beta testing stage is completed.
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