Native Instruments

Native Instruments' Reaktor 3 ($499; upgrade from version 2, $135) incorporates a completely new audio engine that is optimized for the SSE and AltiVec instruction sets, making the software more efficient for Windows and Mac computers. The program's user interface now supports drag-and-drop importing of audio files, instruments, and macros. The upgrade presents several new modules, too.

You can drag and drop multiple audio files into sampler and Beat Loop modules. Offline operations such as loading Ensembles or samples feature a new progress bar. All knobs, sliders, buttons, and toolbars are redesigned for greater visual clarity, and you can choose colors for the panel background as well as the selection color. Reaktor's Level Meters now offer coarse and fine resolution modes, and you can align meters horizontally or vertically.

Reaktor 3 also adds new filter modules: the Pro-52 filter is taken from Native Instruments' Pro-52 software synthesizer, and the Ladder Filter module emulates a classic Moog filter. Other modules include an x-y control object that lets you control two parameters simultaneously and an Audio and Event Array in which you can draw envelopes, sequences, and waveforms. Envelopes can have an unlimited number of curves.

PC users will need a Pentium III/300 MHz or faster computer with 128 MB of RAM; Windows 98, ME, 2000, or XP; and a USB port. Macintosh users will need at least a G3/300 MHz machine with 128 MB of RAM, OS 8.6 or later, and a USB port. Native Instruments USA; tel. (818) 678-5100; e-mail info@native-instruments.com; Web www.native-instruments.com

Ableton

Ableton's Live 1.5 (Mac/Win; $299.95; free upgrade) improves the loop sequencer's flexibility by adding the ability to serve as a ReWire master or client with Steinberg Cubase, Emagic Logic Audio, Propellerhead Reason, or MOTU Digital Performer. The updated software can serve as MIDI Clock master or slave and can be controlled with any programmable hardware MIDI control surface.

The program gets a sonic boost from a new reverb simulator that offers control of over a dozen parameters, including the input filter, diffusion, early reflections, and randomized movement. The Render-to-Disk function lets you export audio files to other audio programs.

With its support for Mac OS X, Live 1.5 offers lower latency and native support for multiple channels of audio. Mac users will need at least a G3/300 MHz machine with 192 MB of RAM and OS X 10.1.3 or OS 9.04 or later with OMS 2.38. The Windows version requires a Pentium II/300 MHz; Windows 98, 2000, or NT 4.0; and 64 MB of RAM. Midiman (distributor); tel. (626) 445-2842 or (800) 969-6434; e-mail info@midiman.net; Web www.ableton.com.