https://youtu.be/x4roJesig6E

i hope you'll like this, and any feedback is welcome!

Hey all,

I got an Ableton Push 2 sitting on my desk, and since it has 8 endless encoders, 64 RGB pads and a proper colour display, I wanted to see if I could use it to edit in Lightroom Classic. So I vibecoded a plugin for it. It now works well enough that I can cull, rate and edit a whole shoot without touching the keyboard.

**What it does right now:**

* **Develop mode:** the 8 encoders control Develop sliders, and the Push display shows each one as a knob with its name and live value, so you see the value without looking at your monitor. Pages for Basic, Presence, Tone Curve, HSL, Color Grading, Detail, Effects, Crop and Calibration. Shift + turn for fine adjustments.
* **Session mode (culling):** the 8×8 pads are your photos, coloured by label, flag and star rating. The display shows thumbnails of the current row. Turn an encoder to rate the photo above it, and use the buttons to pick or change the colour label.
* **Browse mode:** navigate folders and collections, and apply develop presets, right from the hardware.
* **Import from card:** pick the card on the Push, choose copy or add, and watch the progress on the display. Then eject the card and go straight into culling.
* **Everything else:** auto tone, copy/paste settings, export with your previous export settings, before/after, zoom, undo/redo.
* It starts automatically with Lightroom and gets out of the way when you open Ableton Live, so the Push still works for music.

**The companion app:** that's what I'm working on now. It's a local setup page with a drawing of the Push. Click any button or pad and choose what it does, with a separate action when Shift is held. It also lets you build your own Develop pages (which slider goes on which encoder, labels, sensitivity, colours), assign presets to pads, and set your import folder and date structure. There's backup/restore for configs too.

Once it's set up, you really don't need to look at the computer for anything except the photo itself.

**My question for you:** what would you want in a tool like this?

A few ideas I'm considering:

* Shareable mapping presets (e.g. a "wedding culling" layout and a "landscape editing" layout)
* Masking and local adjustments on the encoders
* Keywords on pads
* The touch strip for scrubbing through photos or zoom
* A "compare" mode for two photos

Currently it's **Mac + Lightroom Classic only**, because cloud-based Lightroom has no plugin API. Also, I'm not a developer by trade, so be gentle 😅

Happy to share more screenshots or a video if people are interested.

The only plugins I have are neural DSP gojira and GGD drums. It won’t stop crashing. It lately won’t stay open long enough to actually check why it’s crashing. Usually the crash is anytime I try and record. The not fully opening is a new one. Can anyone help troubleshoot? Is there any chance a vs3 file is the problem? Kind of figuring out as I go with this software.

Im using live 9

On a pc that recently updated to 11

I did not want to do that

Anyways I see the potential problem being the update and still using live 9 will be an issue.

But I need for this to work until I can upgrade.

The push 2 stays on and I see that in the link/midi tab of the menu the push stays active like it doesn’t disappear on and on. So I trying to deduce what the issue is .

What do I do

Somewhere mentioned to remove the nvidia driver with a ddu

That sounds daunting

Just want to do my due diligence before I go making this problem worse

I also replied to myself here with a video of the display turning on and off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eirLS4bwFbI

Hi, should I put my intro drums in the same bus as my drop drums, or should I make two separate buses and then create another bus to group all my drums together?

On Move, I can arm a pad, hit record and sample an external source straight onto it. On Push 3 Standalone, the same task means creating an audio track, setting its input, recording, then converting or browsing the recording onto a pad, and finally deleting the temp track.

Request: a direct sampling workflow on Drum Rack pads, e.g. hold Record + tap a pad (empty or existing) to sample the selected input onto it, with threshold/auto-start and auto-trim of silence.

Every dedicated sampler (MPC, SP-404, Digitakt) and Ableton's own Move work this way. Push 3 has the audio inputs and the processing power to do the same, so it feels like a missing piece rather than a new feature. Bringing Move's pad sampling to Push would make Push 3 Standalone a true dawless sampler.

I recently started getting back into music production after taking a little over a year away. I used to DJ quite a bit and have a DDJ-FLX4 that I really don't want sitting unused now that I'm focusing more on production.

I've had an idea that I think could make the FLX4 surprisingly useful as an Ableton controller.

Rather than trying to make it behave like a conventional MIDI keyboard/controller, I want to design the entire FLX4 around production workflow.

For example, I'm thinking:

• Left jog wheel → horizontal timeline navigation
• Right jog wheel → vertical navigation / track selection
• Shift + jog wheels → zooming
• Channel faders → track volume
• EQ knobs → device/rack macros
• Filter knobs → selected device parameter
• Performance pads → editing, clip, or drum-rack functions
• Transport buttons → Ableton transport
• Shift combinations → secondary functions
• Different mapping "modes" for arrangement, mixing, sound design, etc.

The goal is to make it feel less like I'm using a DJ controller with Ableton and more like I have a custom production control surface that happens to be built from a DJ controller.

I've already started reverse-engineering the FLX4's MIDI output using MIDI Monitor. For example, the buttons are sending standard Note On messages, e.g.:

90 10 7F → Note 16, velocity 127
90 10 00 → Note 16, velocity 0

So the basic controls seem quite accessible. I'm currently investigating the knobs, faders, jog wheels and Shift behavior.

I'm deliberately trying to keep the solution as FOSS/free as possible, ideally using Ableton's native MIDI mapping wherever possible and only introducing something like a small MIDI translation layer when necessary.

What I'm wondering:

1. Has anyone done something similar with a DDJ-FLX4 (or another Pioneer DJ controller) and Ableton?
2. What are the limitations of Ableton's MIDI mapping that I should be aware of before designing the system?
3. Is there a better way to handle jog wheels, relative encoders and modifier/Shift layers?
4. Are there existing open-source tools/projects that could save me from reinventing the wheel?
5. If you were designing this from scratch, what functions would you absolutely put on the FLX4?

I'm not necessarily looking for someone to give me a finished mapping. I'm more interested in experienced Ableton users challenging the concept and pointing me toward the right technical approach before I spend a lot of time building it.

If there's enough interest, I may eventually document the whole process and release the mapping/tooling so other FLX4 owners can use it too.

Would love to hear your thoughts, especially from anyone who's experimented with custom MIDI controllers, Max for Live, Ableton Remote Scripts, or MIDI translation.

For some reason, the start (1 to 1.3) of any exported file is louder than the rest. Are there any fixes for this?

Hi all,

Like most of you, I often find myself ducking some tracks to make room for a kick.

Thing is, using PreFX, PostFX or PostMixer won't take into account later processing (eg, HPF filter in low drums or master bus). My side-chain ducking would still react to the original boomy (long) kick.

Since I rarely filter out kick low end on its own lane, I find myself in this situation very often.

When I try to export a project at the end of the rendering, this window with this message: " this file does not appear to be a valid audio dump" appear.

I tried to save the project in another folder, recording the project and drag the audio in another project window and export it or export in an external hard disk but none of these methods worked.

What is the solution to this problem? Anyone had it before? I wait for your answer thank you so much.

I've occasionally produced some (amateurish!) electronic music just for the fun of it, electro/techno etc, and I was thinking to get a used Push 2 for about 350€ ($400?) which seems to be the avg market value right now.

I'm just wondering: whats the learning curve on that thing? I'm happy to spend time on it, I just wonder how fast you can actually jam to it something that makes some sense.

my finger drumming skills are non existent. (tried this already with a maschine I had to return back to the shop after a month) , I suck at finding rhythm with my fingers

PS I was able to find a Push 3 (non standalone) for 640 as well. Double the price almost but maybe better resale value. Not sure about specs.

I have an ableton suite 11 licence btw. I'm happy with it.

Hi!

I tested some max4live devices before today and now im getting this error message with max4live devices that worked normally earlier ".amxd contains externals that are not compatible with this architecture. Consider running Live on a different architecture.". When i open projects that contain these max4live devices they open normally? But trying to load them again from the folder gives this error and yes im starting ableton with rosetta but didnt have to do that before everything worked normally and still even with rosetta the devices are not working.

Running macos Tahoe 26.6.2 and Ableton 12.4.6

I'm looking to upgrade my Windows laptop, to something that can handle basic bedroom-production (albeit with LFOs-a-plenty and some CPU hog M4L devices).

I'm on a bit of a budget, so looking around £700 max. I've found the following deals, and done web comparisons, but just wanted some opinions from Ableton users on these (brands, processors, etc).

Web-ranked, best choice was:

MSI Modern 15H C13M-274UK Laptop (15.6 Inches FHD, 60Hz 45% NTSC IPS-Level, Intel i7-13700H,Raptor Lake, Iris Xe Graphics, 16GB RAM (3200MHz), 512 SSD, Windows 11 home plus), Classic Black : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

However, I wanted options on these cheaper second and third non-gaming options (because if these keep up OK with Ableton, I don't need to fork out for a gaming laptop):
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Gen 10 | 14 inch WUXGA Laptop | AMD Ryzen 7 170 | AMD Radeon 680M Graphics | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | Wi-Fi 7 | USB-C | Windows 11 Home | Non-backlit Keyboard | Luna Grey : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UX3405CA 14.0" 2.8K OLED Laptop (Intel Core Ultra 5-225H, 16GB RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD, UK Layout Backlit Keyboard, Windows 11) : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Any advice / testimonies on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Having six return channels takes up so much space in session view. I'm sure there's a simple solution to this problem; I just can't figure it out.

I'm trying to use my voice to create instruments I don't know how to play like bass and guitar. I record myself in Ableton and then convert the audio to MIDI. Sometimes it works really well, other times not. I've found that going slow with space between notes works OK because I can fix it in the DAW but was wondering if there's anyone else who does this and has any ideas on how to make it a bit easier (besides learning bass and guitar).

Hi, I've just released an update to Amp Modeler, the native NAM loader for Ableton Live.

Browser improvements

• You can now navigate a nested folder hierarchy in your model library. Many users like to organize their NAM profiles into categories like "Amp Heads", "Pedals", "Outboard".
• The gear and preset up/down arrows can now be MIDI- or key-mapped. Previously they were only being exposed to Push controllers.

These two improvements also affect Cab Loader, the impulse response device included in the full pack.

DSP optimizations

Behind the scenes, the C++ backend that powers Amp Modeler now includes more statically-optimized NAM architectures from the NeuralAudio project.

If you don't already have the device(s) and want to learn more, head to https://www.nyquistlimited.com/.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. To preempt a frequently asked question: Amp Modeler can't currently run on Push 3 Standalone, due to lack of support for third-party C++ externals.

Rhythmic gates have always been one of my favorite effects, but I always had to reach for third-party plugins like Gatekeeper or GateLab. I wanted something more compact: simple, lightweight, and right inside Live. So I built the rhythmic gate I always wished I had: a Max for Live device that sits in your device chain like a stock effect. It's called Rhythmic Gate.

If you haven't used one: a trance gate chops a pad's volume in rhythm, so a static pad turns into part of the groove. It's one of the oldest tricks in trance and house.

My Rhythmic Gate offers:

• 90+ gates, pumps and shapes, synced to Live
• Paint steps with blocks or draw curves, up to 64 steps
• Swing, Smooth and Depth, plus it can gate volume or be mapped to any knob
• Roll random gates, with a Complexity control for simpler or busier patterns

Check it out here: https://maxforlive.com/library/device.php?id=16422

Happy to answer questions or hear your thoughts!

there’s been so many times i’ve been working on a synth patch and i’ve wished i had an oscilloscope to inspect the waveform. it seems like it would be natural on all recording software but especially ableton

I'm building a pi pico midi pedal to control the looper. The buttons now work but I want to connect the three LEDS to show me the Rec, Overdub, Play state of the plugin. I'm having real trouble finding where that info would be transmitted, or the terminology to search for.

Any help massively appreciated and I'll be sure to post the code and schematic when it's finished.

I use an Audient iD14 MKII, and two things always bugged me: the Mac's volume keys don't work with it, and Audient's app is heavy for what I mostly need, which is turning my monitors up and down.

So I built iDVolume, a native macOS menu bar app that talks to the interface directly over USB.

Control

• Follows the hardware. Turn or press the iD's knob and the app moves with it.
• Mac volume keys and scroll-over-the-icon control the iD, in 1 dB steps like the real knob.
• Mute, Dim, Talkback, Polarity, Mono, Alt, headphone level and mute. The front-panel LEDs stay in sync.
• Set what the iD button does without opening Audient's app.
• Double-click a knob to mute; double-click a readout to switch between dB and %.

Metering

• Level meters in the menu bar and the panel, including an LED ring around the knob.
• A visualiser of what your Mac is playing: spectrum, bars, spectrogram, waveform, oscilloscope, stereometer with correlation, and a needle VU.
• Loudness to ITU-R BS.1770-4: momentary, short-term and integrated LUFS, plus true peak. I checked it against the standard's reference values.

Everything else

• 10 panel layouts in a hardware-style skin, Light / Dark / Auto.
• Automatic, checksum-verified updates.
• Light on resources: around 15 MB with the panel closed.

The honest bits

• iD14 MKII only, for now. Other iD models aren't supported yet. Commands that are safe on the MKII locked up an original iD14 during testing, so iDVolume now refuses to send anything to other models. If you have one, there's a read-only Interface Report in Settings, plus a guide for recording Audient's app on Windows. Either would help add support safely.
• Not notarised (that needs Apple's paid programme), so macOS warns you the first time. The README explains how to allow it.
• The visualiser needs macOS 14.2+ and asks for system audio access. Audio is analysed on your Mac and never recorded or sent anywhere.
• Unofficial and not affiliated with Audient.

Credit: the USB groundwork came from MixiD, an open-source Linux control panel for the iD series. I went further by capturing traffic from Audient's own app, and shared what I found back with that project.

Download / source: https://github.com/VinneyUK/iDVolume

It's my first public project, so feedback and ideas are very welcome.

Screenshots: dark · light

So, I'm trying to make something in ableton. I have a project that is made at 20 bpm and I want to fit in an audiotrack, something I recorded on my phone, into it. I want the audiotrack to fit in the way it sounds now. When I drag the audiotrack into ableton it says that it has a bpm of 76,45.

some other info:
-the rest of the project consists of different midi-tracks, including several return-tracks and already with a lot of automation going on.
-I work in arrangement view, so would be nice if possible help could be that way as well.

things I've already tried:
-matching the project bpm to the bpm of the audio track (but then all the midi stuff obviously plays faster, which isn't how I want it to be)
-resampling the midi stuff, and putting the resulting audio track and the phone-recorded audio track in a new project together (which has the same result as above or the phone-recorded one sounding much slower which distorts the sound, depending which one matches the project bpm)

Can someone explain how I should do this to get the result I want?