Ableton is known as an excellent time-stretch application, but true sampling abilities usually had to come in the form of plug-ins from competing software producers, such as Native Instruments with their Kontakt sample module. Although the built in Simpler sample application covers the basics, it was about time the German software purveyor took sampling to the next level, especially given their ambitions to be an all in one composition-production and performance package.
The upgrade, which requires a separate purchase from the all new website, has novel processing and modulation options. Especially in combination with the tool’s new effect racks and sampled instruments, a new dimension of control is added. As Gerhard Behles, cofounder and CEO of Ableton has it, “Sampler is a powerful sound design tool that takes advantage of all that Live 6 has to offer.” “More importantly, Sampler’s interface is familiar to the Live user, which results in a painless learning curve and maximum fun inside the program.”
