showstack / software / ableton-live
Ableton Live
Clip and timeline based playback software, widely used to run backing tracks, click and guide vocals on tour. Strong on network tempo sync through Ableton Link and extensible via Max for Live, but it neither chases nor generates SMPTE timecode natively.
Protocols it speaks
| Protocol | Direction | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ableton-link | bidirectional | Peer-to-peer tempo, beat and phase sync over the local network. There is no master: any peer can change the session tempo. Tempo Follower and External Sync are mutually exclusive. |
| midi | bidirectional | MIDI in and out for control surfaces and instruments. MIDI Clock can be sent to an external sequencer or received to slave Live, set per port with the Sync switch in Link/Tempo/MIDI preferences. |
| mtc | in | Live slaves to MTC and reads it as an Arrangement position, with MIDI Timecode Frame Rate and Offset settings. Ableton state Live can only act as a MIDI sync device, not a host; MTC carries no tempo and tempo changes cannot be tracked. |
| osc | bidirectional needs licence |
No native OSC. Reached through Max for Live, included in Suite and sold as an add-on for Standard; Ableton cite OSC as a Max for Live use case. |
What to watch for
Ableton state plainly that Live does not sync to incoming SMPTE timecode, and does not generate SMPTE natively. A rig that must live on house LTC needs a workaround, not a preference change.
The standard workaround is an LTC audio file printed onto a track with Warp off and routed to a spare output. Solid, but frozen: change the arrangement, tempo or start time and the timecode file has to be regenerated.
Live chases MTC but cannot host it, and MTC carries no tempo information, so tempo must be set by hand and tempo changes are not tracked. Slaving Live to MTC does not make its grid follow the master.
Ableton's recommended timecode-generating Max for Live device requires Suite or the Max for Live add-on, and Ableton list that workaround as macOS only. A Windows playback rig cannot take that route.
Max for Live is not in Intro or Standard by default, so any show-control patch you build assumes a Suite or add-on machine. Check what the depping player actually has installed before handing over a set.
Link is tempo, beat and phase only, with no master and no absolute position. It will keep a band together and will not lock them to a video server timeline.
Typical use
- Backing tracks, click and guide/cue feeds for touring musicians
- Keeping several laptops, tablets and instruments on one tempo with Link
- Triggering lighting and video by printing an LTC audio file onto a track
- Max for Live devices bridging Live to OSC-controlled show systems
- Session view playback where set order and tempo change nightly
Sources
- Live 12 Reference Manual - Synchronizing with Link, Tempo Follower and MIDI — Ableton AG primary
- SMPTE Timecode FAQ - Live does not sync to incoming SMPTE timecode — Ableton AG primary
- Ableton Link: now available in Live 9 - Link shipped in Live 9.6 — Ableton AG primary
- Live Minimum System Requirements - supported Windows and macOS versions — Ableton AG primary
- Ableton shop - Live editions and licence structure — Ableton AG primary
- Max for Live - controlling external things including OSC — Ableton AG primary
- ClipSMPTE introduction - Max for Live device that outputs an LTC audio signal — Showsync
Understand the mechanism
Something wrong, or missing?
Every entry here is maintained by people who run shows.
Edit this entry on GitHub — one file, editable in your browser, and your handle goes on it permanently.
Work at Ableton AG? Confirm or correct this entry — it is free, it stays free, and nothing about it is for sale.