This summer, Ableton is offering a free Partner Instrument (of your choice) for every purchase of Ableton Live 8 ($449) or Suite 8 ($699) software.

Partner Instruments are custom-made software instruments for the Live 8 digital audio workstation, and are called Partners because they are created not by Ableton, but by the company's partners / friends in business -- Soniccouture, Sample Logic, Puremagnetik, SonArte, e-instruments, Flatpack, Toontrack, and so forth. A rather large collection of Partner Instruments is available from the Ableton Web site. Choose which one you would like to accompany your purcase of Live 8 or Suite 8.

This offer is good between July 1 and August 31, 2010 and purchases must be made from the Ableton Web shop or at any Ableton dealer. Other fine print: the limit is one free Partner Instrument per purchase; this offer is not valid for upgrades from Live LE, Intro, or previous Live or Suite versions, as well as educational or not-for-resale purchases.

Don't fret if you already own Ableton Live 8, Suite 8 or Intro, because Ableton is offering current owners a free download of the Partner Instrument Compilation. This 4.4 GB Live Pack provides a selection of content taken from the Partner Instruments, and includes everything from acoustic pianos and electronic drums to exotic instruments and cinematic soundscapes. All in all, the Partner Instrument Compilation includes 58 Instrument Racks, 16 Drum Racks, 5 Live Sets, and 80 Live Clips.

Note that Ableton Live 8, Suite 8, or Intro 8.1.3 or higher is required to run the pack, as is 4.4 GB of available hard drive space. Again, the free Partner Instrument Compilation audio package offer will be available until August 31, 2010.

To choose your Partner Instrument or get your free Partner Instrument Compilation pack, please visit Ableton online at ableton.com before August 31st.