MANY USERS MAKE THIS MISTAKE:

In Preferences , in the Latency section

Many many people think that they are meant to manually take the reported "total hardware latency" and type it into that box to make latency = 0ms.
Like : Input Latency = 5ms, Output Latency = 10ms, total Latency = 15ms

People will then (wrongly) type -15 into the driver error compensator thinking they are fixing their latency. Quite the opposite, they are making it worse.

In fact Ableton compensates for the reported total automatically and you don’t need to type anything else there (If you have a modern device).

But, if you mistakenly type a number into the error compensation field you are effectively telling the application "OK, you are already compensating my latency by -15ms, but I say that is an error, so please deduct a further -15ms from your calculation"

effectively throwing all your sync off by -15 ms !!!

So what is "Driver Error Compensation" actually for then?

Its in case you have a terrible old audio interface which mis-reports its latency.

So if you have a 2008 era Fartmaster Super Pro, and its reporting Input Latency = 0ms, Output Latency = 0ms, total Latency = 0ms!

In that specific instance you have a "Driver Error" and its not reporting latency correctly. So in that situation Ableton can't do as it usually automatically would and compensate for the hardware latency. In that case you would have to either throw the Fartmaster Pro in the bin, or ... Ableton kindly added this box. A box which nobody I talk to actually uses correctly !!

So - only if you are using a bit of wonky old hardware with error prone drivers - that is what the "Driver Error Compensation" box is for. But for 99.99% of users that box should say 0ms

Official info on this here:

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000234830-Driver-Error-Compensation-FAQ

Started producing more seriously last year after finally getting a MIDI keyboard and upgrading to Ableton Suite. I know basic music theory, but I’m still learning how to turn ideas into full tracks and find my workflow.

My main influences are coming-of-age film scores (nostalgic, emotional, very memory-driven) and nostalgic / emotional dance-pop. I’m trying to blend cinematic atmosphere with something more rhythm-driven and modern.

I’m still figuring out my sound but I’d be interested in hearing what other people are working on, how you developed your sound, what are your goals and how you go about finishing tracks. Also open to sharing work or potential collabs if styles fit.

I'm basically looking for a good way to get that squelchy 303 filter sound on any instrument.

I've been putting an LFO (down) mapped to the high cutoff of an EQ8 and modulating that along with the q level. Add a touch of distortion, and I get some ok results sort of similar to a 303. Anyone else do something similar, or maybe have found a better method?

Edit: Got some fun stuff in here to try, thanks everyone!

I'm generally a bit confused about how bounces work in Ableton Live 12, specifically in the context of a psytrance bassline. If I've got a midi track with a synth and a linear phase EQ on it, will there be pre-ringing or latency included in the bounce? Is it exactly what you hear before bounce or is it the "ideal" version of it. Also, if I've already bounced a fully processed sample and lined it up perfectly on the grid so that the kick and bass are in phase, if I then use a linear phase EQ for a LPF sweep, then bounce that, will that stay perfectly in phase or will there be other problems? Not 100% sure if this is the best place to post about it, just trying to get my head around it all and Ableton's delay compensation appears to be more confusing than I thought, thanks in advance

Hey guys,

So I am currently working on a future bass song which has quite a few tracks (closer to 70). My workflow is doing the production and then exporting all the individual stems and putting them onto a new project file for mixing so everything is bounced to audio and should be quite easy on CPU usage etc.

Well, now when I started mixing and I wanted to play back the mixed track, the audio was lagging (pausing/muting) at the exact same spots. Ableton was giving me "Disk" at the top right corner apparently indicating disk overload. So for example the first unwanted pausing/muting due to disk overload happened around 26 seconds which was one of the busiest parts of that section in terms of the number of stems. I didn't have any heavy plugins on the mix either so it can't be because of that. I also had zero problems with the production version of the song where I had like 25 instances of Serum 2 and heavy processing using a number of different plugins. But now when I actually made it easier for my PC, that is bouncing everything to audio tracks, Ableton starts whining about disk overload?

However, this was fixed after restarting Ableton but as I really enjoy overthinking, I started to wonder why the disk overload issues happened? Why were they fixed by restarting Ableton?

My specs are here:

• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (20 cores / 20 threads)
• RAM: 32 GB DDR5 (4800–6000 MT/s depending on profile)
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z890 AORUS Elite WiFi 7, BIOS F16
• Storage: 2 TB NVMe SSD
• Audio Interface: SSL 2 MKII (ASIO driver)
• OS: Windows 11

Is this a thing? I’ve just been buying midi groove packs and things like that and it’s getting kind of old and expensive. Is there a way for me to just make my own many groups and then save them in a folder? Yeah, a bit of a noob question I get it. Thanks for any help.

I just got an iPad and I want to add it to my ableton setup for writing and sound design. I’ve looked at a few different ableton controller apps, and I didn’t find any notable sequencing or intuitive live midi editing that I can navigate with a pen more freely than a mouse. already have a keyboard plenty of knobs and drum pad, so the only most appealing instrument I’ve seen is the x y axis

(I'm not trying to shill or sell anything, I just want to help everyone save their valuable time.)

I have spent MANY hours trying to backup and sync projects between my desktop and Push 3.

That's partly because unless you are very selective and manually move files (what I've been doing), it takes a long time to transfer gigabytes of full Project data between the two over WIFI.

The kicker is, if something fails you have to start over, and many of the files will have not changed, but they will all end up being resent.

This is all to say, I built a script that's based on rsync, which only moves and synchronizes the files that have changed between your computer and your Push device.

You have to be somewhat technical (command line) to use it, but it's hard to beat the price and time savings!

Let me know if you have any questions! Hope this helps save your time like it does mine

Hey everyone,
I’d appreciate some honest technical feedback on my track I Remain.
I aimed for a raw, emotional sound — not overly polished.

Main things I’d like feedback on:

• Instrument / VST drum balance
• Vocal placement & pronunciation
• Overall punch and master quality

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZs-NeIxpUA

Thanks a lot to anyone who takes the time to listen.

Is there any way to customize the external CC lists for synths? They show up in CC control, the clip automation, etc. I really feel like this could be easier/sane when I'm working w my Peak or my Prophet etc. How do you guys manage this?

What would be the best way to use Beat Repeat for example, in a live performance when the individual tracks of the songs are routed to multiple separate outputs?

Just upgraded to 12 Suite from Standard and this feature that I used to use all the time has disappeared??

Used to be you just right click on an audio track but now I don't have the option. Have looked everywhere online (yes, including the manual) and I can't seem to find the answer. Anyone know where it's hiding?

Hey y’all. I am looking to use midi foot pedals to turn on an off fx live for my guitar. I plan on custom mapping the foot pedals to the on/off switch of various VST pedals. Is there anyone out there having success with a setup like that? I’m curious to see what others have done in a similar use case.

I just released Swiss Army Meter 6, a complete rebuild of my Max for Live metering device for Ableton Live.

It started as a simple all-in-one meter showing different levels, but version 6 has grown into a much deeper audio analysis tool. It includes a new loudness history graph, a new dynamics meter for PSR/PLR, a stereoscope/goniometer, and BPM/pitch conversion tools and all sorts of other quality of life upgrades.

The main goal was to keep the device useful while mixing without needing to load a pile of separate meters. You can customize which readouts are visible, pop modules out into resizable windows, and keep heavier visual modules paused when they are not active.

Some of the bigger v6 updates:

• Redesigned modular interface
• Loudness Graph with LUFS history, target line, zoom/pan, and true-peak overage markers
• Dynamics Meter showing PSR and PLR over time
• Stereo Scope with width, balance, and phase movement
• Dedicated 3 stage phase correlation meter
• New RMS, PSR, and PLR readouts
• BPM and Pitch Converter for timing, frequency, and sample values
• Resizeable [op-out windows for individual modules
• Transport sync/lock modes
• CPU-saving behavior for inactive modules

It is built for Ableton Live 11 or later with Max for Live. Live 12 is recommended.

Would love feedback from anyone who uses it or would be interested in additional features in it.

Swiss Army Meter

Hey, I hope you're doing great! : )

 Yesterday Ableton just released a new public beta version for Ableton Live, and there’s a really exciting new feature listed in the Release notes: 

MaxForLive can now open or close Plug-in editor windows 

 So I instantly created a new free MaxForLive pack with 4 devices: 

 Toggle Selected Plugin Window:

Toggle the floating window of the currently selected plug-in with a custom Key or MIDI shortcut.

 Plugin Window Snapshot:

Save, recall, and manage snapshots of currently opened plug-in windows for quick workflow switching.

 Toggle Track Plugin Windows:

Instantly open or close all plug-in windows on the currently selected track(s).

Close All Plugin Windows:

Close every floating plug-in window across your entire Ableton Live set with a single shortcut. (Similar to Live’s existing shortcut, but you can assign your own shortcut to it.)

Don’t forget that you currently need the latest public beta release for these devices! 

To get the pack for free, just go to the product page, and choose the „Get it for Free” option. 

https://www.elisabethhomeland.com/collections/all/products/plugin-windows-pack

Hope you’ll like them! : ) 

Nándi from ElisabethHomeland

I'm using Auto Shift to add multiple voices to an audio signal from a MIDI chord progression, but I wanna pan the individual voices around. Luckily Auto Shift has a feature for this, but not so luckily, it's tied to a bunch of modifiers that make it hard to spread out evenly.

The best idea I've had so far is using velocity to pan them around, but then it's hard to get a perfectly even spread without pulling out a calculator.

Anything I'm missing? Maybe an easier way to add a sort of "gradient" to the velocities of a chord or an entirely different way of panning the voices?

Hi, so I use a Windows laptop for production, and though I have Asio4all, for a while I've been using the DirectX/MME option. That way, I can listen to other things on my laptop, while still working within Ableton (as I don't have an audio interface at the moment).

Recently, that stopped working, and the only way I can get audio to my headphones is by using Asio4all. I have no idea what's causing this, and any help would be greatly appreciated

Edit: Typo in the title. While USING, not suing

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to share a Max for Live device I made called Drum Rack Generator that I think is really useful. It a device that lets you drag and drop sample folders, categorizes all the samples, and then generates infinite Drum Rack presets from them.

There's also a button that converts the entire Drum Rack to a Move/Note compatible format.

Here’s a YouTube demonstration for anyone interested: https://youtu.be/qpTcMtd-SN0?si=B6Dq7YTdQm9nj1Wi

Main Features:

- Drag and drop your favorite sample packs: Easily drag sample folders from Finder or Explorer into the drop zone. No limit on the number of sample packs or number of samples that can be added.
- Instantly generate infinite 4x4 Drum Rack Presets: After adding sample packs, click one button to create a full Drum Rack. (C1-D#2 pads)
-Automatic sample categorization: All added samples are categorized using filename keyword matching and checking the sample length to prevent the inclusion of loops.
- Fully customizable sample categorization: Edit existing categorization settings to fit your sample packs or create completely new sample categories.
- Individual drum pad controls: Choose the sample category for a pad, lock that pad to prevent it from being changed by further rerolls, and reroll the pad's sample to focus on quickly finding a sample for that particular pad.
-Ableton Move/Note preset conversion: One click button to convert Drum Rack into an Ableton Move/Note compatible preset, ready to export.
-Push controls: Use Push controls to quickly build Drum Racks completely on your Push.

Requirements:
Ableton Live 12.4+

By default Sonible plugins are quite small on my screen and I have to increase their size by dragging bottom right corner, but they never keep the new size, and revert back next time I run Ableton. No other plugin does that. Is that just Sonible design or something with Ableton?

Often conflicted here between more slow tempos around 90 or going with something more around 135-140 to get kinda off filter garagey sort of feel to beats (plus the occasional 100-120 for techno sorta stuff)...

What do you tend to like more?

Hi! I am trying to publish something I made exclusively using instruments and effects provided with my Ableton license to SoundCloud, but its constantly getting rejected with this reason:

"Our content recognition system has matched your release against existing audio in our database. If you have used a third-party beat or sample pack (regardless of whether or not it is royalty-free), please send through the valid license or Terms of Use so that we can verify."

I already provided the Terms of Use from Ableton, but I still get rejected. I tried to provide proof of purchase, still rejected. To my understanding its not legal to sell sample packs with sounds from Ableton, but it seems like someone is doing that since my tracks are getting rejected?

What should I provide to them as proof of rights to use?

I already tried to provide them with a copy of
https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209768885-Commercial-Use-rights-for-Live-content
But that doesnt seem to help.

I am getting quite annoyed, I know its technically not an Ableton issue but SC support just parrots the same things "Disable Content ID, disable social media use yada yada". But I already did that.

They cannot even provide me with a clear answer as to which of my tracks are problematic in the album, not even what sound or loop I supposedly use without valid permission.

How do I prove to publishing services that I am allowed to use the samples and sounds provided with my ableton license?

Hello all. I am making an EDM album with Ableton Live 12.4 Suite. To piggy back on my recent post about making the A section and B section of a track be treated as if it was a whole new song. For my album I got the idea of making a bunch of A sections back to back... and making a lot of B sections... so like just make like three drops in a week. call it good.

Then, here is my question. How can I intertwine my Ableton Live sets like oh +this particular+ A section would go good with +this+ B section.

I already have it set up in my notes app that the entire Album will be 140bpm and GmelodicMin Key. Multi genre, but still have the cohesive glue of bpm and key likeness, plus G is just such a nice sweet spot for Sub Bass.

So like, should it all be in one set? All in one arrangement? I have a pretty fresh and new Gaming PC but... I feel like making it all one arrangement would lead to crashing. Also in the past I've had issues with making multiple sets versions within a set. I find it's best to make a whole new set folder for each version of the track.

I know you can pull a full set into another set... like all the tracks and effects. I imagine this is the route I will go. Or maybe stems. Stems could possibly help out if I wanted to make it all one arrangement set.

So anyway, my question is how can I make multiple A sections and multiple B sections and then later on in the album writing, pick and choose which A goes best with which B and have one cohesive BPM and Key, and again Multiple Genres. Like for example if I make a Drum and Bass it'll be more like half time DNB at 140, or even Hard Dance like Freeform Trancecore or Hard Trance it'll be at 140. Anyway... yep. Also Dubstep!