I think Ableton started supporting the VST3 standard only in v11. However, the implementation was not perfect. Two main problems that made me rather not use VST3 in Ableton (despite the advantages of VST3, if properly implemented):

• VST3 plugins' presets are not available within Ableton, so any plugin without a dedicated preset management system (hello Plugin Alliance plugins and many others) will not show its presets

• When using an offline oversampling setting to prevent aliasing in the final mix (while keeping the realtime CPU drain low) Ableton will not apply the offline setting, since it fails to recognise the offline status of VST3 plugins in particular

Can any of the Live 12 users tell me whether these issues have been solved?

 

Following, as curious myself...

 

Where did you ever see evidence that offline oversampling is not working in Ableton?

 

VST3 presets are located here: C:\Users\YourNameDocuments\VST3 Presets

Example: C:\Users\YourName\Documents\VST3 Presets\Plugin Alliance

VST3 presets can be found in the browser pane if you navigate to the path of the plug-in.
Click the triangle next to the name of the plug-in to reveal its presets.

 

Last edited: Nov 25, 2025