Ableton has announced that Link is now available for desktop apps. By tempo syncing apps over a local network connection, the technology lets musicians forget the hassle of setting up gear and focus on playing together. Originally supported in Ableton Live and a number of iOS apps, Link is now coming to even more electronic instruments.
Propellerhead Reason, Serato DJ and Cycling 74's Max are the next to integrate Link into their desktop apps. Plus, Ableton has made the technology open source for developers to use Link in their own software.
The news means more musicians using more applications can jump straight into their performance, no matter what they're playing. Trigger effects on an iPad in perfect sync with a Serato DJ set, build visual and other interactive systems in Max and run them in sync with a Live performance. Or get together with others and jam with applications across devices. If you're connected to the same network, Link will keep everything in perfect time.
Check out the growing list of Link-enabled applications here.
And with Link becoming open-source, developers can explore new possibilities for the technology in their own desktop software or mobile apps. The source code has been made available alongside the SDK for iOS – both can be downloaded from Github.
Availability
Link comes as a built-in feature of Ableton Live and a growing number of desktop and mobile music applications.