NAMM 2005Ableton releases Operator

Ableton has announced the worldwide release of Operator, a powerful new software synthesizer instrument optimized for use inside Live 4 (actually 4.1). Operator brings an eclectic spectrum of sonic possibilities and musical inspiration to Ableton Live users. True to Ableton's philosophy, Operator invites creativity through the fusion of depth and usability, allowing even the most complex sounds to be created quickly. Whether you long for evolving synthetic textures, rich expressive leads, gritty percussion, rhythmic atmospheres or anything in between, Operator has the cure.

Easy to Operate: Like Live, Operator's design is geared toward promoting creativity and maximizing workflow efficiency. A set of highly varied and musical presets, sorted by category, is provided for quick access to Operator's sonic spectrum. At the next level, two intuitive macro controls called "Time" and "Tone" can be used to modify the overall characteristics of the sound, handling complex operations through a single action. The most essential parameters of Operator's synthesis engine are individually represented on the front panel. Musicians who enjoy detailed sonic surgery can use Operator's central display to access the instrument's graphic envelope editors and other advanced controls.

Hearing is believing: The core of Operator's voice architecture consists of four oscillators and a resonant multimode filter. This setup allows for both subtractive and frequency modulation (FM) synthesis. In addition to a wide selection of sine waveforms, which faithfully emulate the aliasing artifacts of classic hardware FM synthesizers, each of Operator's oscillators can also generate "virtual analog" synthesis waveforms such as saw, square, triangle and noise. Each oscillator can either deliver audio signals to the output or modulate other oscillators. To allow further dissection of your sound, Operator's filter section, LFO and pitch envelope add great flexibility and expressive modulation possibilities.

Integration: Following Live's refreshing design philosophy, Operator is powerful without demanding screen real estate. Every parameter of Operator can be automated or remote-controlled via MIDI, allowing you to get completely hands on. Parameters can also be controlled via Live's clip envelopes.

Learn to Operate: To learn Operator is to love it. Operator includes several integrated lessons, complete with screenshots and sound examples, so that you can quickly discover the power of Operator's flexible sound design ability. The Operator lessons even take you through creating a variety of sounds from scratch. Each lesson is accessible via the Live 4 Help menu.

To purchase or try Operator, simply download the 4.1 update of Live from the Ableton website. An activation code for Operator can be purchased online for EU€129 / US$149.