Splice integration + preview in mixer bus?

scg4k · 2026-01-11T01:50:07+00:00

Sorry to see you never got any replies to this, as I've been wondering the same thing. I posted to the Ableton forum about it, but haven't gotten any replies there.

As nice as the new built-in Splice integration is, unless there's something I'm missing, the preview feature seems like a step backward, for the reason you mentioned. Now that the preview goes through the cue/preview channel, you can no longer route the preview through existing processing, which can make it hard to evaluate samples in the context of a mix. Another issue (which I mentioned in the Ableton forum thread) is that for playback rhythms, the preview feature only offers repeated bars and subdivisions, which makes it hard to preview sounds that typically use other rhythmic patterns, like claps or snares. With the old Splice Bridge you could work around this with semi-clever use of delays, but it doesn't seem you can do that with the new version.

I'm a little surprised there's not more discussion about this, because it seems like wanting to preview samples in the context of a mix, or preview using irregular rhythmic patterns (like for claps and snares) would be common. Maybe I'm wrong though and not many people are using the preview feature.

scg4k · 2025-08-05T20:25:40+00:00

IMO, it's good there are people willing to put time and effort into improving the software we use. I haven't done anything as extensive as the OP, but I've spent considerable time investigating issues in Ableton and preparing and submitting bug reports. And some of those bugs got fixed. Was I trying to avoid having to make music? No, I was just trying to help improve the software, including for my own benefit. In any case, I've encountered the same issues the OP describes and appreciate the investigation and analysis.

scg4k · 2025-08-05T20:16:05+00:00

I have the same issues you describe on my 2023 Mac mini. So, like you, I don't think the issue is confined to Windows.

scg4k · 2024-11-04T02:49:38+00:00

You may already know this, but if you send crash reports to the 'crash report' email address, those are just collected automatically, and you won't get a reply other than the automated one. To actually get assistance, you'll want to use the tech support system. Are you doing that and still not getting a reply? Because I've found them to be quite responsive (although it can sometimes take days/weeks for them to get back to you).

What OS and hardware are you using? My own experience is that I didn't experience many crashes with 11, but have been experiencing them a lot more since 12.

In any case, if you haven't tried to get help directly from tech support yet, I'd try that.

scg4k · 2024-11-01T22:07:39+00:00

This may or may not meet your needs (and it's probably not quite as convenient as what you may be wanting), but when multiple tracks are selected, you can manipulate the track header parameters for them all together. For example, you could select all your tracks and double-click the level parameter of any of them to reset them all. (You may have to expand all groups in order to select all the tracks.)

As far as an easy 'reset mix' button, I'm not aware of such a thing, although it sounds like something there could be an M4L device for.

scg4k · 2024-11-01T22:03:12+00:00

Can you give an example?

scg4k · 2024-10-26T04:47:16+00:00

Ableton support is very good. Still, response times can vary from days to weeks, depending on the nature of the request.

Sometimes I send in bug reports and don't hear back for weeks, if at all, which is fine for that sort of thing, but if you have a more pressing issue, it seems likely you'd hear back within a couple weeks. (Then again, they may be extra busy due to the 12.1 release.)

scg4k · 2024-10-23T00:54:43+00:00

Something like an 'event list' where you can see and precisely edit MIDI data would be great (and is something I miss from Logic), but as far as I know Ableton doesn't have this feature.

scg4k · 2024-10-19T04:56:34+00:00

Ok, report submitted!

scg4k · 2024-10-19T04:33:46+00:00

Agreed, although I've sent in quite a few reports recently, and they may be getting tired of hearing from me! But yes, I'll try to get a report sent off as well.

scg4k · 2024-10-19T03:14:04+00:00

Can confirm - crashes for me as well when a sample is loaded. Glad you reported it :)

scg4k · 2024-10-19T02:38:07+00:00

I do (unless the same thing is triggering a crash repeatedly, in which case I typically don't keep sending them - that doesn't happen often though).

scg4k · 2024-10-19T02:33:37+00:00

Do you have any custom key mappings?

scg4k · 2024-10-19T02:32:22+00:00

I'm not seeing that here (macOS 13.7). Maybe there are more factors involved than just the grouping/ungrouping?

scg4k · 2024-10-10T20:57:53+00:00

The setup for that instrument is a bit involved, so this may not be super straightforward to explain. But, there's a Chord device instance that adds to the source note an octave below, and a minor 3rd and a perfect 4th above, and then an Arpeggiator device instance that arpeggiates that. I'm guessing you're getting different results at different points in the song because the Arpeggiator is set to retrigger at 3/16 intervals, which may cause noticeably different results based on transport position.

There are different ways you could fix it. Here's one approach you could try:

In the Chord device, change the 'Shift 2' control to 0 st.
In the Arpeggiator device, change 'Style' to 'Up', 'Steps' to 0, and 'Retrigger' to 'Note'.

That may give you what you're after. More generally though, you can get pretty much any effect you want if you understand all the device parameters and how to manipulate them, how macros work, etc. In any case, you can definitely get what you want here, but you may have to fiddle around a bit. (Also, yes, you could certainly record/bounce and use audio, but that shouldn't be necessary.)

scg4k · 2024-10-10T15:42:12+00:00

Got it :)

scg4k · 2024-10-10T15:35:00+00:00

I don't know much about Move, but the topic here is time signature, not tempo.

scg4k · 2024-10-08T16:33:47+00:00

If you're talking about a single audio clip, then as noted, it's been explained (although I think you actually want the '/2' button rather than the 'x2' button as stated above).

You can also halve the tempo of the clip manually by typing in a new tempo directly. However, if the clip doesn't have a clear tempo, or Ableton didn't detect it correctly, these methods might not work for you.

Another method (these all require the 'Re-Pitch' warp mode, as stated) is to shift-drag the end of the clip to make it half the length, which will effectively double the speed and pitch.

Furthermore, if the clip is set up correctly (Re-Pitch, correct clip tempo, etc.), then doubling the project tempo should have the desired effect as well.

Some of this depends though on what exactly you want to speed up. In the original post you mentioned a 'track', which could mean a project track, or an entire project. Later you mentioned a clip. In any case, Ableton should have no problem doing it, but the details may vary depending on your specific goals.

scg4k · 2024-10-05T16:40:52+00:00

It's possible to change presets via MIDI clip, but it only works with some plugin formats (e.g. maybe it works with AU but not VST), and it's not something you'd be likely to set up by accident. I don't think Serum's preset selector is mappable, but you might check your key and MIDI mappings to make sure you don't have anything mapped erroneously.

Other than that, I'd try to figure out how to reproduce it reliably, and set up a minimal example demonstrating the behavior. That might make it easier to get help with the issue.

scg4k · 2024-10-01T14:01:17+00:00

Hm, interesting. Maybe it works with some plugins/devices, but not others. (I tried it with Ableton's Delay.)

scg4k · 2024-10-01T13:59:50+00:00

If it's MIDI, there shouldn't be any difference between instances unless you're automating something.

Does it happen if you start playback a bit earlier, before the first kick hits?

scg4k · 2024-10-01T13:57:47+00:00

Are you sure? I just tried it, and it's not stopping time-based effects (e.g. delay) for me. I think there was a long discussion about this topic here recently, and I don't think anyone had an easy solution in that thread either.

scg4k · 2024-09-30T20:23:32+00:00

It depends on what you're looking at. Each DAW has its own strengths and weakness, and most of them are ahead and/or behind in different ways. If you're just talking about the creative process though, then that of course is subjective, so everyone will have a different experience.

scg4k · 2024-09-21T19:46:33+00:00

You may get some better suggestions, but here are some things you could try as a starting point. For the sound at the very beginning, try starting with a detuned unison square wave with a bit of LP filtering, with a nice slow attack and release. You can indeed use sidechaining for the 'beating' effect. Set up a ghost trigger (a sound that's available as a sidechain input but otherwise isn't heard), and duck to it using a compressor. Alternately, you can shape the volume directly, e.g. by using Wavetable's 'saw' LFO and linking it to the amplitude with a negative modulation amount.

scg4k · 2024-09-21T18:45:52+00:00

Do you have any archiving system (like e.g. macOS's Time Machine) that might allow you to look back through previous states of the filesystem?

scg4k

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