Ableton has unveiled the Live 12.4 Beta, featuring a significant addition called Link Audio, aimed at facilitating real-time collaboration among devices within a local network. This innovation enhances cross-device collaboration by enabling streaming audio between connected devices. While the current version of Link Audio is limited to supporting audio streaming exclusively, it simplifies the collaborative process that typically involves exporting and sharing project files.
Link Audio extends the functionality of the existing Ableton Link, known for synchronizing BPM across devices over a local network. Although Ableton Link enjoys broad hardware and software support, including popular products like Akai’s MPC line and Logic Pro, Link Audio currently only integrates seamlessly with Ableton Live, Ableton’s Note app, and specific hardware devices such as Push and Move.
Users will be able to utilize Link Audio-enabled devices as inputs in Live and on the Push Standalone, allowing for monitoring and recording capabilities. While wired connections are recommended for optimal performance, Link Audio can also operate over Wi-Fi, albeit with potential latency and dropout issues, particularly during extensive usage.
In addition to Link Audio, Live 12.4 will introduce enhancements to the stem separation feature introduced in the previous version, offering improved workflow and quality of life improvements. For instance, users can now separate specific audio selections from arrangement view and merge stems into single tracks for better organization.
Source: The Verge