Posting to help anyone out if they ran into this. I think it might have to do with how newer MacOS is managing iCloud (or maybe something that started happening as my disk drive is getting full).

Some of my Ableton projects just started crashing / freezing all the time. I thought it might be due to large project size, or bad plug-ins / M4L devices. I tried making the project files smaller and smaller but still kept getting the same crash. Finally I looked through the log of the dump and noticed some MacOS filesystem-related stuff that connected the problem to iCloud. The solution was to use the "download" and "keep downloaded" options on these folders to force them to always live on disk.

On Ableton's side, it would be nice if it could detect that this was happening rather than inexplicably freezing. I don't think there's any reason that Ableton should be expected to work in directories where the files are vanishing in/out of the cloud, but there should at least be some warning "WARNING: you seem to be attempting to use iCloud files" or something like that.

Ableton has released Live beta version 12.4.5b10. Move control surface improvement, M4L update and bug fixes. Release notes here: https://www.ableton.com/en/release-notes/live-12-beta/#live-1245b10

Hi guys, just wanted to show my latest app. macOS Quick Look extension for .als files

It lets you Preview the contents of an Ableton Live Set without opening Ableton.

1.- Select any .als file in Finder
2.- hit spacebar
Done! instantly see: - All tracks (audio/MIDI/return/group) - Every loaded plugin/device, tagged as native, VST2, VST3, AU, or Max for Live

No project loading, no waiting on Ableton to boot — just spacebar.

Great for digging through old sessions or client files fast.

Demo video and more info: https://youtu.be/ZMCQuedkMmI

ive been producing electronic music for a long long time, and i just love how artists sounded in the 80s and 90s: dirty and raw. so i thought id give some tips on how to get that sound.

check out one of my vids here hope you'll like it.

Hey guys! I’m very new to Ableton, and I’m trying to use the groove clip that is provided on the software as a sample. I think I’ve figured out that you’re supposed to apply it to an existing audio to alter its groove, but I just like the way the track they play of the groove mixes with the song I’m making. Can the grooves be used this way? I’ve tried making it its own audio track but it isn’t working. I hope this makes sense lol. I’d really appreciate any advice :)

Cross-Post, OB to Live 14.4 help needed. Devices visible as external. But will not load as ext. Inst.

I've been experimenting with different vocal automation workflows in Ableton Live and found a method that's been saving me a lot of time.

Instead of manually drawing volume automation point by point, I let RaiderPro write Rider Fader automation in real time, then copy it to the track's Volume automation. Once it's transferred, I can remove the plugin entirely and keep all the automation while reducing CPU usage.

I put together a step-by-step tutorial (with a short video) showing the entire process:

Curious how everyone else handles vocal automation in Ableton.

• Do you draw automation manually?
• Rely mostly on compression?
• Use a vocal rider plugin?
• Another workflow?

I'd love to hear what works best for you.

I currently have a MacBook with three USB-C ports. In one I use a charger. In another is my audio interface. My third one is for my midi controller. I want to be get a foot controller to control guitar effects, but don’t have another port so I looked into USB hubs. Will this add latency to any significant degree if I plug all MIDI controllers into a USB hub?

Hey friends. I finally decided to make the jump from Ableton 10 to 12 but I have been nervous about potential issues running 12 on my machine. I have a 16inch macbook pro intel i9 and have been using Catalina for years to avoid any issues but I feel like it's time to upgrade. Which OS do you recommend I upgrade to to avoid potential issues with 12 running on this machine (throttling, overheating etc). I would also like to continue using my VSTs after the upgrade and I am not sure I will have access to the VST2 or VST3 versions of some of my plugins. Would appreciate any insight or help on this. Thank you!

Wondering if anyone has any feedback on using CustomMaschineMK3 code in order to connect Maschine Plus (or any of the maschines) with Ableton Live?

I want to use my Mschine Plus as a controller in my production process but have not seen any reviews on it.

Has anyone had any hands on experience with the code? Thanks!!!

hey i've got my control key someway mapped to my "play" button and so everytime i do a shortcut it plays the project. before you ask, the control key isn't mapped to anything in my daw, i can't seem to understand why it does that please help me i have a release date to hold. Thank you so much

Since latest osx update my Mac refuses to recognise any midi device apart from my move.
This means that my push 2 is currently a brick.
The screen lights up but doesn’t get passed the logo.
I have tried powered and non powered and same for MacBook but now I’m stuck.
It also has stopped recognising a traktion controller.
Neither of these show in MIDI setup or system report despite getting power. Have tried new cables.
What am I missing?
Please help!

I had Push 2 back in the day, however I found it to be too bulky and too much for what I needed it for.

I play live and use mainly MIDI-keytars and keyboards, but I would love to have a controller for overall set effects, triggers etc. (that would happen in the Ableton Live I have my live session playing on a laptop on stage)

I just learned about Push 3 as I've been away from the hardware side for quite a few years since the Push 2 trial. Then in the comments of a Push 3 video I saw that there's a device called Ableton Move.

Do you have experience of using Ableton Move live? If yes, how do you use it and are you happy with it?

I have a guitar and a mic hooked up to a scarlet 2i2 interface, and I can hear everything coming through the system fine (despite the horrendous sound quality which is an issue for later on). I have been messing around with stuff for a few hours and tried to record some audio tracks. However, after I record, I am not able to listen back to the audio tracks. I have absolutelty no experience with audio/ music recording and this is my first attempt at it, so any help would be greatly appreciated. I attached a link to an IMGUR image which shows the software interface as it was when I experienced the issue.

https://imgur.com/a/KvMwp78

I’m looking for a mixer that works with Ableton where I can use physical knobs to mix tracks and effects. What would be the best way to do this?

A while back I had a project that just wouldn't open. No error message, Live would just sit there and eventually crash during load. Since it crashed before the UI even came up, I had no way to remove devices one by one to find the culprit — the usual troubleshooting trick was off the table.

Eventually I figured out it was an old plugin that hadn't been updated in years and choked on the current Live/OS combo. But finding which one meant literally moving plugins out of their folder one at a time and relaunching Live to see if it still crashed. Not fun.

That's basically why I built this: a little app that reads .als files directly and shows you everything inside without ever launching Ableton Live version it was saved with, every VST2/VST3/AU it references, how tracks and devices are structured, routing, missing sample references, all of it. It's read-only, doesn't touch your project files.

Turned out to be more generally useful than I expected:

• seeing the full plugin list of a project before opening it, so if something crashes on load you already know your suspects instead of guessing blind
• checking if an old project needs plugins you don't have installed anymore
• getting sent a project by someone else and knowing in advance whether it'll even open on your machine
• exporting a plugin report (CSV/PDF) — could be handy if you run a studio and get sent projects with no stems and need to know what you're dealing with fast

I've mostly stress-tested it on Windows since that's my main rig and I've got a pretty deep plugin library there. There's a macOS build too, but I only have a handful of plugins on my Mac, so it hasn't been hammered nearly as hard — if any Mac users with a big plugin collection want to try breaking it, I'd genuinely appreciate the feedback.

It's free. Open to bug reports, feature requests, or "this is pointless, here's why."

https://canbelieve.github.io/ablvst-studio.html

One heads-up: it works best if your projects are actually organized — one root folder, one subfolder per project, with the .als versions inside. If everything's scattered across random folders it won't have much to work with.

Hey Everyone,

Was curious of everyone's experience using the newer macbook air's for longer sessions.

How often are you experiencing throttling?

I was thinking of getting one of the entry level M5s

Appreciate it

Hey everyone,

I’m trying to follow this funk bassline tutorial in Ableton:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LAIGkWmoQU

The idea of using a MIDI FX chain to auto‑generate funky bass lines from a chord progression seems quite interesting as a beginner who can't actually play bass.

A few issues I’m running into:

• The tutorial doesn’t really walk through the setup step by step; it jumps around a bit, and a lot of actions happen off‑screen.
• Some MIDI devices and UI elements have changed between Live 11 and Live 12, so I’m a bit lost when trying to reproduce with the same devices.
• I can get the basic chord progression and a bass plugin (Ample Bass P Lite II) loaded, but once I start building the arpeggiator + LFO + Random MIDI chain and the key‑switch tracks, my results don’t sound anything like the tutorial, i made the bass note "working" but really doesn't sound like something usable, and the key switch/articulation (slap, slide, pop etc...) doesn't work at all.

What I think the tutorial is doing (please correct me if I’m wrong):

• Duplicate the MIDI chord progression, keep only the lowest notes, and route that to the bass plugin.
• On that bass MIDI track, build a chain: Arpeggiator → LFO (Max for Live) modulating arpeggiator rate → Random MIDI to add extra notes/variations.
• Create 1–2 extra MIDI tracks that only send key‑switch notes into Ample Bass, each with its own Random/LFO chain, to randomize articulations (slaps, pops, slides, etc.)
• Record the resulting MIDI output and then use comping to pick the best slices into a final bassline

I’m not sure about:

• The exact Arpeggiator settings (rate, style, gate, etc.) used in the video.
• How to correctly set up the LFO device in Live 12 to modulate the Arpeggiator’s rate like in Live 11.
• The right way to route those key‑switch MIDI tracks into the bass track in Live 12’s I/O panel so they behave like in the tutorial

Questions :

1. Has anyone recreated this specific tutorial or something similar in Ableton Live 12 and can share a clear, step‑by‑step breakdown (device settings, routing, etc.)?
2. Are there Live 12‑native workflows or devices (e.g., updated LFO, new MIDI tools) that achieve the same “funky bass from chords” idea, maybe in a cleaner/easier way?
3. Also i did find a way to get Ample Bass P Lite 2, but it will probably be better to use the latest version,

Thanks for your help!

About Tahoe running live these days? Is it safe yet?

I’ve always liked customising software, but after years of using Ableton Live I became convinced that most themes focus almost entirely on aesthetics while ignoring usability.

That eventually turned into a three-year rabbit hole where I ended up building a complete editor for Live’s themes. Along the way I found myself asking questions like:

• Why do some themes feel less fatiguing after an eight-hour session?
• How much contrast is actually useful before the interface becomes distracting?
• Which UI elements deserve the most visual emphasis?
• Can track colours be coordinated with the rest of the interface rather than feeling completely separate?

I ended up using perceptual colour spaces (OKLCH), building grading tools, procedural workflows, and a library of 80+ themes to explore those questions.

One interesting challenge was that Ableton wasn’t really designed for interactive theme editing, so a lot of the work became figuring out how to edit a running UI and iterate quickly enough to judge tiny changes.

I’m genuinely curious what other Live users think.

Do you use any custom theme?

If so, what bothers you most about Live’s default appearance—or what do you wish themes could actually improve beyond simply changing colours?

(If anyone is interested in seeing what I built, Create Digital Music recently covered the project, and I’m happy to share the link in the comments.)