Ableton just quietly dropped updates to its iOS app Note and mobile hardware Move, with still more on the way in Move beta. They didn’t talk much about either with the focus on the public beta for their flagship Live, so — let’s talk about Move and Note!
Note 1.5
If you slept on Note, now might be the time to give it a second look, as you can now run one of Ableton’s best-ever synths on your iPhone. Yes, Drift is coming to note as an in-app purchase. And you can expand the device for full parameter access. This also means for those of us synth patching obsessed, we can do some programming on the go (or, let’s be realistic, staying up in bed, too) and then drop it back on the desktop version.
I have not tested this, so it’s not a review, but it’s Drift, so … it can’t be that bad. I’ll have a look at it.
There are some other fixes in this build, too, with MIDI editing and Melodic Sampler, plus some extra fixes to Drift launched today.
Move 1.6/1.7 beta
To me, the hardware updates this week are as big a deal as the software updates. That’s especially true of Move, their cute, affordable, but surprisingly capable mobile hardware, both in its use as a standalone device and as a controller.
Move 1.6 adds a few nice features:
- Drum Rack samples finally get a Reverse function. (Shift, press the wheel, choose Reverse, press the wheel again. Pictured, above.) Drum Sampler has been a slow burn, but I do think its simplicity can make sense — patching this already does wonders.
- Upload Sets via Move Manager. This also deserves a loudly shouted “finally!” (Pictured, below.)
- Use connected USB-A Devices. So, you’ve got your Move connected to your computer in Control Live Mode. And then you’ve also got a USB MIDI interface connected to the USB-A port. Now you access can both the Move and the connected MIDI interface from your computer. (Ableton calls this by its technical term “bundling,” but I call it “oh, good, I’d run out of free USB ports.”)
- Set refresh rate so your videos don’t flicker.
There’s more; check the full release notes:
There’s still more in the 1.7 beta.
Just as in Note, you’ll now get full access to Drift’s parameters on Move.
And you can dim the brightness.
Ableton support documentation, I’ll see your OG Corey Hart “Sunglasses at Night” and raise you one Tiga & Zyntherius remix. And correct, you won’t have to wear your sunglasses at night to avoid glare from the Move screen, but you’ll still be able to do it to keep track of visions in your eyes.
Of course, that’s only in the beta, but already in 1.6 you can do this with Drum Racks. (Uh, explicit lyrics warning.)
Now, let’s talk about the really important stuff, like whether you prefer the original Corey Hart or the remix. I mean, I guess, more like talk about Note and Move. Maybe.
I need to patch this guide with the latest updates, but here you go: