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Obviously it works best with tracks that have a clearly defined beat, but use the right loop and you can re-contextualise a track in seconds. Loop slicing in samplers has been around for longer than Live itself, as has the ability to “play” and shuffle a loop with MIDI, but Ableton’s new Simpler has combined all the existing technology into something really concise and easy to use.
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In the same way that Live analyses and adds cue points to a track when dropped into an audio track, Simpler will automatically determine the peaks of the sample and map each one to your keyboard. The most impressive favourite mode is Slice. When Ableton demonstrated the mode at the launch they even made a sample of U2’s ‘With Or Without You’ sound unrecognisable. If you enable Glide mode you can even transpose a sample without starting from the beginning again, which allows for some really unique effects.
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As Simpler now uses Ableton’s timestretching algorithm however, the sample can be played at any pitch and maintain the same tempo. Drop a sample in and you have three key functions to choose from: Classic, One-Shot and Slice.Ĭlassic and One-shot are self-explanatory – one lets you play the sample as it is for as long as you hold the key down, the other will play the sample out to the end. It’s an instrument that’s always lived in the shadow of Ableton’s more powerful Sampler device, but now it’s about the most enjoyable sampler I’ve ever used. The big thing distinguishing the new Push from the original is the way you can work with samples, and it’s all down to the new version of Simpler.