Ableton has launched Live 11 Lite, the latest major update to Live Lite, the cutdown version of Live often included with hardware purchases like soundcards and MIDI controllers. Live 11 Lite is a free upgrade for current Live Lite owners, and includes some of the features added to the full version of Live 11 including support for MPE-compatible hardware like ROLI devices, three new devices – Phaser-Flanger, Limiter and Saturator – and can now host up to 16 scenes in Session View. 

Native Instruments has updated Traktor Pro to version 3.5, adding integration with Beatport LINK streaming and integration with Pioneer DJ’s latest CDJ-3000s. 

The update – announced back in May 2021 – has gone through a round of public beta and is now available to download for free for Traktor Pro users. 

Roland has introduced a new mixer for livestreaming, recording podcasts, music videos and more – the GO:MIXER PRO-X. The original GO:MIXER was a popular choice for DJs and musicians throughout 2020 who wanted to live stream their sets and performances as it connects straight to your iOS and Android device. 

The PRO-X offers expanded support for Android devices, as well as a guitar and bass pad switch and the ability to use headset and in-ear mics like Airpods as an input. 

Spotify has launched a new Clubhouse competitor service called Spotify Greenroom. The new service mimics Clubhouse’s functionality of live audio discussion ‘rooms’, allowing listeners to ask questions live to any host or guests, or take part in the discussion. Spotify says Greenroom is “built for artists and creators to enhance fan relationships.”

Moog Music has denied claims by a former employee in a lawsuit that reportedly outlines cases of misogyny, abuse and discrimination. A post on a local website, The Asheville Blade, outlines the case against Moog Music, which reportedly describes mental, verbal and physical abuse by Moog Music staff, as well as misogyny and discrimination against former employee Hannah Green. 

Splice is expanding its subscription plans, adding new custom-built Splice-branded plugins, as well as new video tutorial videos with artists and producers as part of Splice Skills. We already reported last week that Splice has launched Bridge, a plugin that lets users communicate with their DAW directly from the Splice sample browser. That means samples will be previewed in the BPM of your track and the key can be shifted too.

Arturia has announced a new series of plugins – FX Collection 2. The new bundle adds seven more plugins to the existing 15, taking the total to 22 individual plugs. The new FX units include a clone of the Juno chorus, Mu-tron Bi-phase pedal and what appears to be a clone of the SSL buss compressor – busFORCE. 

The Head of Apple Music, Eddy Cue, has said he “can’t tell” the difference between lossless and compressed audio in blind tests with the Apple Music team. In an interview with Billboard, the Apple Music boss said: “The reality of lossless is: if you take 100 people and you take a stereo song in lossless and you take a song that’s been in Apple Music that’s compressed, I don’t know if it’s 99 or 98 can’t tell the difference.”

ODD ball is a musical instrument disguised as a ball – hook it up to the included app and you can create sounds by bouncing and catching the rubber device. You can use the app to trigger sounds and then loop them and layer the sounds to create track ideas using just a ball. There’s also FX within the app to tweak your loops and get them sounding unique. There’s a library of sounds within the ODD ball app including disco, grime, rock, arcade and more as well as quantising any of your bounces to lock down the timing and keep the process fun! 

Spatial Audio – Apple’s immersive audio concept that launched on their Apple Music streaming platform this week – is coming to Logic Pro X in the form of new mixing tools. In a post by Apple Music 1 host and figurehead Zane Lowe introducing the Spatial Audio concept, he claims “Apple is building immersive music-authoring tools directly into Logic Pro later this year.