Ableton Live 12.4 is here, offering a host of new features and improvements. Among the updates, three familiar audio effects — Erosion, Delay and Chorus-Ensemble — have received attention.
Erosion has undergone the most significant overhaul, while the other two effects have gained some intriguing new parameters. In this video tutorial, we’re going to take a closer look at the changes in these effects and explore how they can be used for sound design.
Watch the Video:
Erosion
The interface of Erosion has been completely overhauled. The new Noise Blend control enables you to blend sine and noise modulation continuously. There is also a new Stereo control for adjusting the balance between mono and stereo processing continuously. The Frequency parameter can now be set as low as 20 Hz, whereas previously it only started at 300 Hz. The device also runs with lower latency. When loading older Live Sets, the previous version of the device appears as Erosion Legacy.
Delay
The Delay function now includes an expanded LFO section that can be unfolded. Previously, modulation was limited to Rate, Filter and Time; Time has now been renamed Delay. The Rate parameter can be set in hertz, milliseconds or tempo-synchronised beat divisions, triplets, dotted values and sixteenth notes. In addition to the previously only available triangle waveform, six further LFO waveforms are now available: sine, triangle, ramp up, ramp down, square, sample and hold, and wander. A new Morph parameter enables the shaping of the LFO waveform. These additions make it possible to create more weird and wonky delay effects, which can be particularly useful for synth sounds.
Chorus-Ensemble
The Classic mode has been renamed Chorus. This mode now includes two additional parameters. The Time control offers an Auto setting that matches the previous behaviour, as well as fixed delay times of 7, 10, 20, 35, or 50 milliseconds. Longer delay times can be useful for bass or guitar sounds. The new Taps option allows you to switch between one or two tap delays; two taps were the previous default. Using one tap produces chorus textures that are thicker and more similar to those of hardware pedals. The default settings ensure backward compatibility without the need for a legacy version.
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