• The enhanced audio engine improves fidelity with 64-bit mix summing, POW-r dithering, optimized sample-rate conversion and other advances.

• The new compressor device integrates three compression models, one of which is based on a feedback design commonly found in the most praised vintage compressors.

• Fully integrated side-chaining capability is available for the new Compressor as well as Gate and Auto Filter.

• High-Quality modes have been added to Operator, Dynamic Tube and Saturator for anti-aliased processing, reducing typical "digital" artifacts.

• EQ Eight has an improved user interface and a 64 bit mode for increased accuracy.

• The new Spectrum analyzer provides visual feedback for any audio signals within Live (and it looks really cool!).

• The MIDI engine has been reworked to minimize timing error (jitter) of recorded MIDI.

• Hardware integration has been streamlined—hardware synthesizers and effects can now be inserted into device chains just like software plug-ins.

• New memory management technology allows users of large sample libraries, such as Ableton's new sampled instruments or third-party libraries imported via Sampler, to run an impressive number of instruments at the same time. This happens automatically, with no setup changes required.

• New Audio and MIDI fact sheets explain exactly how signals are (or are not) being modified when using specific features in Live and provide tips for achieving the highest quality results.

Live 7 brings the features most frequently requested by our users.

• Time signature changes can be inserted in the Arrangement timeline and tied to Session scenes.

• Warped and unwarped video can be exported to files.

• Multiple automation lanes per track can be displayed and edited at the same time.

• A new "tempo nudge" function makes it easier to synchronize to live musicians or DJs.

• REX files can be dragged, dropped and played just like WAV or AIFF files.

• Live, Operator and Sampler have received many small improvements and additions based on users' requests.

The new "Drum Rack" streamlines beat production via an easy drag-and-drop interface and brings endless creative possibilities.

• A familiar drum pad interface allows dragging and dropping of samples, instruments and effects.

• Every pad can have its own Sampler, Simpler, Operator, or any other virtual instrument or plug-in, and its own individual effects chain.

• The slicing feature fills a Drum Rack with the individual hits from REX or audio loops. The original sequence is represented as a MIDI clip, making it easy to replace, reshuffle or re-record the events and process them individually.

• A Drum Rack can have its own sends, returns and sub-mixes.

• Every pad can be shown as a mixer channel in the Session View.

Thor, Polysonic Synthesizer, takes sound creation to a new level delivering a veritable "museum" of synthesis techniques wrapped into one instrument. With six open "slots," Thor brings together six different oscillators with four different filter modules plus wave shaping, enveloping and effects. Thor offers a plethora of modulation routings that enable users to exchange audio and control signals just like original analog synths. The result is a fantastic, full-sounding instrument that is extremely light on CPU usage.

The ReGroove Mixer takes traditional groove and swing quantization from sequencers to a more flexible, user-friendly paradigm of a mixing console. Using the ReGroove Mixer, users can apply in real-time varying amounts of swing, shuffle and groove to tracks. This revolutionary hands-on approach gives users 32 "groove channels" that can be assigned to sequencer lanes, providing individual settings for groove strength, timing shift, velocity, duration and other parameters nondestructively. Users can create their own templates. In addition, Reason ships with a large selection and variety of grooves-extracted from live recordings, famous beat boxes and even vinyl funk gems of the 70s.

Reason's sequencer has been completely redesigned and rebuilt into a more intuitive and powerful tool, giving users unprecedented control while maintaining Reason's simple streamlined workflow. Users can quickly make global edits using "clips," assign notes and controller events to different "lanes," manage multiple takes, and edit events numerically-to name but a few of the hundreds of enhancements. Controller data now uses vector automaton for the smoothest of transitions. Users can manage tempo and time signature changes through a transport track.