Published 2024-02-02.
Last modified 2024-10-29.
Time to read: 6 minutes.
av_studio collection.
Ableton is based in Berlin, Germany, as are Beatport, LANDR, Lofelt/Meta, Neumann, Native Instruments, SoundCloud, and Universal Music Group. Steinberg is based 300 km (180 miles) away in Hamburg.
Ableton Live Simplified
For a fun, intuitive experience of the essence of Ableton Live,
try the learningmusic webapp.
Upgrading to Ableton Live 11
I started using Ableton Live, version 6, in February 2007. I upgraded to Live Suite for version 9.
Ableton Live v10 was an upgrade targeted at Mac users, certain control surfaces and internationalization. I am not a Mac user, I do not have any of those control surfaces, and I prefer to use English, so I did not upgrade from Ableton Live v9 to v10. Version 10 also has an upgrade for Ableton Link that makes the feature actually usable, but I had no need for that feature then. The need arose recently.
However, many Ableton Live v11 features addressed general capabilities, and that interested me. I decided to upgrade my Ableton Live v9 Suite to the v11 Suite. Live Suite v11 gave 9 more instruments, 7 times as many sounds (75 GB!), 40% more audio effects, and 2 more MIDI effects. All for $289 CAD, plus the Canadian and Quebec taxes, totaling $43.28. I found the upgrade experience to be very smooth.
The Ableton Live Help is one of the most user-centric and well-thought-out pages of this type I have ever seen. My hat is off to you, Ableton! Respect.
The Ableton Live Manual is available in HTML and PDF formats. I find the PDF version to be easier to work with.
😠 😠.nki, .eks, .sf2, and .gig files into Sampler.
This was not mentioned in the release notes.
Some of my older sessions use .gig files, and they no longer work properly.
This should have been mentioned! NOT HAPPY!
Upgrading to Ableton Live 12
I have been playing with Live v12 beta, which can be downloaded from CenterCode. Live v12 is quite solid; I did not experience any v12 crashes, and there are lots of new and improved features. I prepaid my license upgrade and got a discount.
You will notice an option to update your Live Packs at the bottom of the browser. While you should undoubtedly update them, if you plan to keep Live 11 or earlier installed alongside Live 12, please watch this video first to avoid issues. If not, you might discover that the previous version of Live will no longer support your presets.
Don't worry if you've already updated your Live Packs; I'll also go over how to resolve the issue where presets that were in Live 11 no longer function after you update them to Live 12.
Dentist-Friendly Ableton Live
Ableton Live and Push are ridiculously complex products from a user perspective.
Dentist-friendly versions would blow the market to pieces.
To quote Carl Sagan: Billions and billions! (of $USD)
Push 3 Standalone
I purchased a Push 3 Standalone 7 months after the product was released. It only supports a subset of Live. You can read more about the disappointing user experience this product currently provides. Kinda like a hazing one might experience when being initiated into a closed social group. My article on the P3S is here.
This is not a dentist-friendly product!
Directories
User recordings are stored in %UserProfile%\Documents\Live Recordings.
Crashes are stored in %AppData%\Ableton\Live Reports
I moved directories that cause a lot of I/O to individual drives as much as possible, to improve performance.
Directories of VSTs and media are documented here.
Mouse over to zoom
Mouse over to zoom
Max for Live
- The global library is at
%ProgramData%/Max 8/Library. - The user library is at
%UserProfile%/Documents/Max 8/Library. - The default folder for Max for Live devices is
%UserProfile%/Documents/Max 8/Max for Live Devices - The default folder for Max for Live projects is
%UserProfile%/Documents/Max 8/Projects. - Max for Live examples are stored in
%AppData%/Cycling '74/Max 8/examples. - Snapshots are in
%UserProfile%/Documents/Max 8/Snapshots.
Installed Ableton Live Data
I store Max for Live files in top folder of this directory tree.
These files have an .amxd extension, which stands for Ableton Max Patch.
I have another, very similar tree for Ableton Live v12 called E:\ableton12Library.
├── Clips │ ├── Construction Kits │ ├── Drums │ ├── Latin Percussion │ └── Suite 8 Demo ├── Defaults │ ├── Audio Effects │ ├── Audio to MIDI │ ├── Creating Tracks │ ├── Dropping Samples │ ├── Instruments │ ├── MIDI Effects │ └── Slicing ├── Grooves │ ├── Hip Hop │ ├── Latin Percussion │ ├── Logic │ ├── MPC │ ├── Notator │ ├── Other │ ├── Percussion │ ├── Quantize │ ├── Rock │ ├── SP1200 │ └── Swing ├── Lessons │ ├── LivePackBanners │ ├── Samples │ └── Sets ├── Presets │ ├── Audio Effects │ ├── Instruments │ └── MIDI Effects ├── Samples │ ├── Components │ ├── Loops │ └── Waveforms └── Templates
Factory Packs
I have another, very similar tree for Ableton Live v12 called M:\Ableton 12 Factory Packs.
├── 64 Pad Lab by Mad Zach ├── APC Step Sequencer by Mark Egloff ├── Beat Selection by Sample Magic ├── Beat Tools ├── BeatSeeker by Andrew Robertson ├── Bomblastic ├── Brass Quartet by Spitfire Audio ├── Break Selection by Sample Magic ├── Breakbeats by KutMasta Kurt ├── Build and Drop ├── Building Max Devices ├── CV Tools ├── Chop and Swing ├── Classic Synths by Katsuhiro Chiba ├── Connection Kit ├── Convolution Reverb ├── Creative Extensions ├── Cyclic Waves ├── DM-307A Free Pack by Heavyocity ├── Designer Drums ├── Digicussion 1 ├── Digicussion 2 ├── Drive and Glow ├── Drone Lab ├── Drum Booth ├── Drum Essentials ├── Drum Machines ├── Drumdrops Recording Hybrid Kit ├── Electric Keyboards ├── Expressive Choir by Spitfire Audio ├── Glitch and Wash ├── Grand Piano ├── Gratis Hits by Max for Cats ├── Guitar and Bass ├── Inspired by Nature by Dillon Bastan ├── Instant Haus by Alexkid ├── Kapture by Plastikman and Liine ├── Kasio by Oli Larkin ├── Konkrete Breaks ├── Latin Percussion ├── Loopmasters Mixtape ├── M4L Big Three ├── M4L Building Tools ├── M4L Granulator II ├── M4L Pluggo for Live ├── Max for Live Essentials ├── Microtuner ├── Mood Reel ├── Orchestral Brass ├── Orchestral Mallets ├── Orchestral Strings ├── Orchestral Woodwinds ├── PitchDrop by Mormo ├── PitchLoop89 ├── Probability Pack by Sonic Faction ├── Punch and Tilt ├── Retro Synths ├── Samplification ├── Schwarzonator 2 by Henrik Schwarz ├── Session Drums Club ├── Session Drums Studio ├── Skitter and Step ├── Sound Objects Lite ├── Spectral Textures ├── Stray Cats Collection by Max for Cats ├── String Quartet by Spitfire Audio ├── Surround Panner ├── Synth Essentials ├── The Forge by Hecq ├── Unnatural Selection ├── Upright Piano by Spitfire Audio ├── Vinyl Classics └── Voice Box
Lessons, Projects, Support
PDF manuals are saved in E:\media\Ableton\Support
├── Lessons │ ├── Demo Songs │ ├── Samples │ └── Sets ├── Projects │ ├── Celestina │ ├── Crazy Shit │ ├── GalleryProject │ ├── GardenWalk │ ├── House Funk Project v1 │ ├── House Funk Project v2 │ ├── IDM_Ableton_Practice_Ep_1_Remove_Creative_Block_Generate_ideas Project │ ├── Ninajirachi - In The Rain (Live 11 Suite Demo) Project │ ├── OMNIA Poetree - Grone Lunden Project │ ├── Opening the Arc Project │ ├── Push 3 Standalone Demo Set Project │ ├── ReChorder │ ├── Secret Eclipse Project │ ├── Surpassing Beside the Vortex Project │ ├── The Possessed Opulence Project │ ├── TogetherYeah │ ├── melodic_probability_fun Project │ └── noodling Project ├── Session Drums Studio │ ├── Ableton Folder Info │ ├── Ableton Project Info │ ├── Clips │ ├── Drums │ ├── Lessons │ └── Samples └── Support ├── ASK Video └── Live 8 Tutorial Bundle
Recording
Recording with Live is described in the Live manual.
To control Ableton Live recording behavior, type CTRL-, and adjust the highlighted preferences:
I like to change Record Session automation in from Armed Tracks to All Tracks.
Recording multiple takes is described in the manual in the Recording Into Session Slots section. The Live Info View panel has this to say about the session record button:
The above is not entirely accurate. A toggle alternates between two states. Instead of toggling its behavior, the session record button initially records audio or MIDI notes, and then for all subsequent takes of the recorded clips, pressing this button creates an overdub, not a new clip.
Pause Recording
- Press F9 to start recording.
- Press Space to pause recording.
- Press Shift-Space to resume recording.
Options.txt
You can create a file called
%AppData%\Ableton\Live 12.0\Preferences\Options.txt.
This file
controls a few experimental and unsupported Live features.
I am unaware of any interesting or useful Live 12 options that can be controlled in this manner.
Live 12 XML Schema
The Live 12 schema is 3.3 MB.
I created it by feeding the Ableton Live 12 demo project .als set file to
this online XML to XSD converter
References
- Search ableton.com
- Online Ableton forum
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Ableton directories
- Live file types
- Transport Time (Max4Live Device)
- GitHub.com/Ableton
- Ableton Live Ultimate Assistant, a ChatGPT application by Charalampos Tenis. Expert in Ableton Live guidance, troubleshooting, offering interactive, user-centric support for all versions.
- Notepad for Live
Keyboard Shortcuts
The Live manual shows the keyboard shortcuts. Here are links to the shortcut categories:
Showing and Hiding Views
Accessing Menus
Adjusting Values
Browsing
Transport
Editing
Loop Brace and Start/End Markers
Session View Commands
Arrangement View Commands
Comping
Commands for Tracks
Commands for Breakpoint Envelopes
Key/MIDI Map Mode and the Computer MIDI
Zooming, Display and Selections
Clip View
Clip View Sample Editor
Clip View MIDI Note Editor
Grid Snapping and Drawing
Global Quantization
Working with Sets and the Program
Working with Plug-Ins and Devices
Audio Engine
Using the Context Menu
Here are selected keyboard shortcuts for Windows:
- Space
- Start / pause playback
- CTRL-Space
- Restart playback from the Start Marker
- Shift-Space
- Resume playback from the current position
- F9
- Count in and record on all armed tracks. Pressing F9 again toggles recording but continues playing.
- CTRL-D
- Duplicate clip.
- CTRL-mouse wheel
- Zoom in and out
- Shift-mouse wheel
- Scroll left and right
- CTRL-+ and CTRL--
- Zoom the GUI larger and smaller
Defining Hot Keys
To cause the s key to stop playback and rewind to the start of the set:
- Press the Stop button twice to rewind to the start of the set.
- Click the Set button.
- Right-click on the marker at the start of the set and choose the option for Set Song Start Time Here.
- Enable the Key button.
- Press the s key.
- Click on the marker.
- Disable the Key button.
Now you can press Space or s to stop the set playing. Press s (again) to rewind to the marker at the start of the song.
Videos
lil miss beats Live 9 Manual and many more Live videos
SQLite3
Ableton Live uses an SQLite3 database.
For Windows, the database is found in %LocalAppData%/Ableton/Live Database.
The incantation to change to that directory from WSL/Ubuntu is:
$ cd "$( wslpath "$( cmd.exe /c echo %localAppData% 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\r' )" )"
$ pwd /mnt/c/Users/Mike Slinn/AppData/Local
$ cd 'Ableton/Live Database'
Ableton Live v11 uses a file called Live-files-53.db,
while Live v12 uses a file called Live-files-1218.db.
$ ls *.db Live-files-1218.db Live-files-53.db
Let's look at the v12 tables:
$ sqlite3 Live-files-1218.db SQLite version 3.42.0 2023-05-16 12:36:15 Enter ".help" for usage hints. sqlite> .headers on
sqlite> .mode column
sqlite> .tables ancestors plugin_modules devices plugins fe_values search_aggregation fe_values_record search_aggregation_content file_devices search_aggregation_docsize files search_aggregation_segdir keywords search_aggregation_segments metadata search_aggregation_stat metadata_values version places vfolder_patterns plugin_domains vfolders
Here is the schema for the files table:
sqlite> pragma table_info('files'); cid name type notnull dflt_value pk --- --------------- ------- ------- ---------- -- 0 file_id INTEGER 0 1 1 parent_id INTEGER 0 0 2 file_type INTEGER 0 0 3 subtype INTEGER 0 0 0 4 file_kind INTEGER 0 0 0 5 mod_date INTEGER 0 0 6 file_size INTEGER 0 0 7 aggr_id INTEGER 0 0 8 name TEXT 0 0 9 colors INTEGER 0 1 0 10 md_version INTEGER 0 0 0 11 scanner_version INTEGER 0 0 0 12 use_count INTEGER 0 0 0 13 place_id INTEGER 1 0 0 14 flags INTEGER 0 3 0 15 device_type INTEGER 0 0 0 16 device_arch INTEGER 0 0 0 17 device_id TEXT 0 0 18 edit_source TEXT 0 0 19 edit_date INTEGER 0 0 20 fe_version INTEGER 0 0 0
Here are the rows for the first 10 .adg files.
ADG stands for Ableton Device Group.
These files contain presets of virtual instruments or audio effect racks.
sqlite> select * from files where name like '%.adg' limit 10; file_id parent_id file_type subtype file_kind mod_date file_size aggr_id name colors md_version scanner_version use_count place_id flags device_type device_arch device_id edit_source edit_date fe_version ------- --------- ---------- ------- --------- ---------- --------- ------- ----------------------- ------ ---------- --------------- --------- -------- ----- ----------- ----------- ------------------------------------------- ----------- --------- ---------- 9067 9066 1633969965 0 32 1686173542 4689 94118 Keys & Scales.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9068 9066 1633969965 0 32 1686173542 6575 94119 MIDI to MPE.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9069 9066 1633969965 0 32 1686173542 3675 94120 MPE Invert.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9070 9066 1633969965 0 32 1686173542 3701 94121 MPE Note PB Range.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9072 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 4648 94122 Arp Autobahn.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9073 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 3192 94123 Arp Chance.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9074 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 3111 94124 Arp Chord.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9075 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 5729 94125 Arp Descending Note.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9076 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 3179 94126 Arp Double.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0
Here is the schema and the first 5 rows of the places table:
sqlite> pragma table_info('places'); cid name type notnull dflt_value pk --- ----------- ------- ------- ---------- -- 0 file_id INTEGER 0 0 1 folder_kind INTEGER 0 0 2 level INTEGER 1 0 0 3 name TEXT 0 0
sqlite> select * from places limit 5; file_id folder_kind level name ------- ----------- ----- ------------------ 79005 0 0 Drum Machines 78999 0 0 Digicussion 2 79011 0 0 Guitar and Bass 79027 0 0 Konkrete Breaks 79031 0 0 M4L Building Tools
Although there is an entry for User Library in the places table,
it seems that Push and Packs places are hard-coded,
because they do not have entries in this table.
Here is the schema for the plugins table:
sqlite> pragma table_info('plugins'); cid name type notnull dflt_value pk --- ----------- ------- ------- ---------- -- 0 plugin_id INTEGER 0 1 1 module_id INTEGER 0 0 0 2 dev_identifier TEXT 0 0 3 name TEXT 0 0 4 vendor TEXT 0 0 5 version TEXT 0 0 6 sdk_version TEXT 0 0 7 flags INTEGER 0 0 0 8 scanstate INTEGER 0 0 0 9 enabled INTEGER 0 0 0
Here is the schema and the single row of the version table:
sqlite> pragma table_info('version'); cid name type notnull dflt_value pk --- -------- ---- ------- ---------- -- 0 version INT 0 0 1 platform INT 0 0
sqlite> select * from version; version platform ------- -------- 1218 1
Here is the schema and the first 10 rows of the vfolders table:
sqlite> pragma table_info('vfolders'); cid name type notnull dflt_value pk --- ---------- ------- ------- ---------- -- 0 vfolder_id INTEGER 0 1 1 group_id INTEGER 0 0 2 name TEXT 0 0
sqlite> select * from vfolders where name like '%.adg' limit 10; file_id parent_id file_type subtype file_kind mod_date file_size aggr_id name colors md_version scanner_version use_count place_id flags device_type device_arch device_id edit_source edit_date fe_version ------- --------- ---------- ------- --------- ---------- --------- ------- ----------------------- ------ ---------- --------------- --------- -------- ----- ----------- ----------- ------------------------------------------- ----------- --------- ---------- 9067 9066 1633969965 0 32 1686173542 4689 94118 Keys & Scales.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9068 9066 1633969965 0 32 1686173542 6575 94119 MIDI to MPE.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9069 9066 1633969965 0 32 1686173542 3675 94120 MPE Invert.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9070 9066 1633969965 0 32 1686173542 3701 94121 MPE Note PB Range.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9072 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 4648 94122 Arp Autobahn.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9073 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 3192 94123 Arp Chance.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9074 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 3111 94124 Arp Chord.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9075 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 5729 94125 Arp Descending Note.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0 9076 9071 1633969965 0 32 1686173540 3179 94126 Arp Double.adg 1 3 10 0 5403 3 4 1 device:ableton:midifx:MidiEffectGroupDevice 0
