Ableton Link v3 Adds Start/Stop Control

Ableton has updated Link – its technology for syncing across multiple applications and devices – adding Start/Stop control.

Here’s what they have to say about the new feature:

As of Version 3, Link allows peers to share information on the user’s intent to start or stop transport with other peers that have the feature enabled.

Start/stop state changes only follow user actions. This means applications will not adapt to, or automatically change the start/stop state of a Link session when they are joining. After a peer joins a session it exposes and listens to all upcoming start/stop state changes. This is different to tempo, beat, and phase that are automatically aligned as soon as an application joins a session.

As every application handles start and stop commands according to its capabilities and quantization, it is not expected that applications start or stop at the same time. Rather every application should start according to its quantum and phase.

Ableton Link 3.0 is backwards compatible with earlier versions and is already available in Audiobus 3, and Audiobus compatible apps get Start Stop Sync support ‘for free’.

Developers can get details via github.

6 thoughts on “Ableton Link v3 Adds Start/Stop Control

  1. This is great. I hope they will also add song position, as an option that can enabled/disabled. I think I would much prefer using Link to midi clock, MTC/MMC, or Rewire for inter-app sync. I’d love to have Live chasing pro tools–which it can with midi clock, but not with very tight sync if you have tempo changes. Oh, whoops… Avid would have to support Link. I’m not holding my breath. OK, then how about a Rewire client app that does nothing but provide Link functionality from any rewire host? Yeah, baby.

  2. Yeah, I sort of get what the article says on the one hand, on the other hand I really don’t. And if you put down to one sentence, is anything being explained? They need a version of Link that breaks into apps that don’t yet have Link implemented, and just makes itself at home. Squatter Link, now available. No more need to beg the developers on the forum.

Leave a Reply to Analog Fire Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *