Ableton announces Live 13 with step sequencer and new drum synth

Ableton announced Live 13 on Tuesday, the next major release of its digital audio workstation, according to The Verge and RouteNote. The company expects the full release in early 2027, and a public beta is open now. The update adds a dedicated step sequencer, a new drum synth, an experimental looping instrument called Looplet, and ARA 2 plugin support.

The step sequencer offers per-step control of velocity, timing, chance, note length and repeats, The Verge reports. Per-step pitch bend is also available, RouteNote notes. Each sequence row can have its own length, playback speed and direction, allowing evolving rhythms and polyrhythms, RouteNote notes.

Looplet is a Max for Live device with four independent playheads that loop different parts of a single audio sample, RouteNote explains. It provides granular controls for pitch, speed and filtering, and each of the four playheads can be routed to separate tracks, The Verge says. The new Drum Synth has more than 20 models across nine categories, from classic drum machines to experimental abstract percussion, The Verge reports.

ARA 2 support lets compatible plugins such as Melodyne edit audio directly inside Live, eliminating the previous round-trip workflow, The Verge says. Live 13 Suite will include Melodyne Essential, Attack Magazine reports. According to the initial beta documentation, ARA support is limited to Arrangement View for now, and certain third-party plugins may not be fully compatible, RouteNote reports. The update also adds Capture Automation, which records parameter movements as editable automation even when not actively recording, RouteNote notes.

Racks now support as many as 32 macros, up from 16, Attack Magazine says. Each macro can serve as a remote control or modulator with its own mapping curve, Attack Magazine explains. New Multiband and Mid-Side Racks let users process specific frequency ranges or the stereo centre and sides independently, RouteNote reports. Round Robin cycles notes across the chains within Instrument and MIDI Effect Racks to add variation, Attack Magazine says.

The mixer gains Device Slots so producers can view, reorder and toggle a track's devices without opening each track individually, RouteNote notes. Two new Suite effects, Clipper and Transient Shaper, help control peaks and shape attack and sustain, Attack Magazine reports. A Classic Dynamics & EQ Pack by Softube offers five Max for Live effects modelled on analogue hardware, Attack Magazine says.

Ableton Push 3 gets Custom Layouts, which let users combine mixers, note grids, step sequencers and more on the pad surface, The Verge reports. According to Attack Magazine, these layouts can include note areas, Session View, faders and XYZ controls, and can be saved per Set. A new Performance Mixer puts Session View above touch-sensitive pad faders, aimed at DJ sets and dub-style improvisation, Attack Magazine says. The step sequencer also runs on Push's pads with Expressive Step Editing, Attack Magazine notes.

Ableton's US pricing lists Live 13 Intro at $99, Standard at $349, and Suite at $749, according to RouteNote. Until Live 13 is released, Live 12 licences and upgrades are discounted by 20%, and each Live 12 purchase comes with a free upgrade to the equivalent Live 13 edition, Attack Magazine says. Ableton also cuts 20% from Push 3, Move and the Push Upgrade Kit through 30 November, RouteNote adds.