Ableton

Ableton Live is about making music; for composition, songwriting, recording, production, remixing and live performance. Live's nonlinear, intuitive flow, alongside powerful real-time editing and flexible performance options, make it a unique studio tool and a favorite with live performers. If you'd rather be "making music" than just "using music software," Ableton Live is for you. Live 8, the latest version, includes a wealth of new techniques and improvements with a new groove engine, revamped warping, live looping, new effects, crossfades in the Arrangement View and a reworked MIDI editor.

Key features

Multitrack recording up to 32-bit/192 kHz
Nondestructive editing with unlimited undo
Powerful and creative MIDI sequencing of software and hardware instruments
Advanced warping and real-time time-stretching
Supports AIFF, WAV, MP3, Ogg Vorbis and FLAC files
A comprehensive selection of built-in audio and MIDI effects
Built-in instruments: Simpler for sample-based synthesis, Impulse for sampled drums
Instrument, Drum and Effect Racks
New groove engine; apply and extract grooves in real time
VST and AU support; automatic plug-in delay compensation
REX file support plus built-in audio to MIDI slicing
Video import and export for scoring, video warping
Simple MIDI mapping plus instant mapping for selected hardware
Full ReWire support; runs as Slave or Master
Single-screen user interface for simple, creativity-focused operation
Multicore and multiprocessor support