Can Ableton Live 11 Suite make REX files or is there a 3rd party plugin to use in Live that can make them? Or will I need another program to make these?

My search results are mostly very outdated or talk about working with existing REX files in Live, when I want to make my own.

Thanks.

 

Hi. You pretty much need a program named "Recycle" by Propellerhead software. This is what makes REX and RX2 files from WAV or AIFF files. Whoever made your REX files used it. It's their patent. It's kind of dated by now, though. The REX format as a whole is aging.

 

Ah.. I was afraid that would be the answer. So there is no other option but to get Recycle and learn how that works separately from Ableton - or does it have a VST plugin option I can use inside Live?

I like being able to build my own loops library that I can quickly drag in to projects to test out at the project BPM without having to Warp and set points each and every time. I don't always like Warp results, its inconsistent, but REX always seems solid to me. I am not talking about huge leaps in BPM. Probably no more than +/- 5.

 

I don't know of any way to create REX files other than with ReCycle. It's their proprietary format. It exists on the sister site, but it's old af.

 

Yeah, I was just looking for it to try before buy and the last one is v2.2.4 from 2013!? One comment said it doesn't work on Win 10 / 64, which is what I use.

 

I just read on the developers website it says v2.2.4 is the last update (2013) but is both x86/x64 compatible. Does anyone successfully use SS v.2.2.4 ReCycle on Win 10 x64 system?

 

The last thing I would recommend to someone is to buy Recycle. Unless you have a SCSI hardware sampler (or really like Stylus Remix) , I wouldn't even use it for free.

There are many better ways to accomplish what you are trying to do with samples. You want some type of hitpoint detection to slices, so that way you are not warping a full file with it's empty space included, so the stretching effect on the actual waveform material is reduced. Or a better Time Compression/Expansion algorithm.

 

Last edited: Apr 15, 2023

I'm surprised by these reactions because I see many sample packs including REX files and I have always found them very useful and better quality easier to use than using WAV and Abletons Warping.

I do have 2 fully expanded Roland S-760 samplers here that I occasionally use for coloring samples and loops.

Which other plugins or methods would you recommend for what I am trying to accomplish?

 

I used to work in the sample library industry. There is nothing quite like ReCycle and nothing else will export compatible loops in that fashion. I'm sorry.

 

personally my samples do not leave Logic. At all. But many people use Serato Sample, because it is said to have the same algorithms as Pitch N' Time; which is often rated the highest. Or Zynaptiq. For SCSI transfer, iirc you cannot even use Recycle v 2.2. You have to use 2.1. Logic's Drum Machine Designer does exactly what Recycle does, except directly in your DAW with the midi loaded to one Group and a seperate Sampler instance with every slice on it's own mixer strip (no scsi though) ;)

I think you are probably just being too picky about Ableton's warp results. You'd hear way too many people complain about it; and you really don't. This is almost like comparing RipX results with Demucs. Maybe it is a *little difference....but not one that amounts to anything worth changing your workflow over. And certainly not purchasing what should really be considered Abandonware by now.

 

Last edited: Apr 15, 2023

I've always wanted to try Logic, seems like a good choice for my gear and workflow, but I dont use Apple so..

Live's Warping is OK for some things, especially when only moving the BPM a couple notches at most, but a lot of the time the results are warbled or whatever regardless of the algorithm selected from the menu (and yes, I am OCD picky af so I can set and forget move on and never worry about even slightly sub par things stacking up later on in a mix, peace of mind I guess) so I end up manually cutting, pasting, consolidating, adding swing, resampling etc just to get a clean non-warped loop in the project BPM. Then I have to repeat this process each time a loop and project BPM differ. It works, but takes a lot of time and kills the inspiration and workflow for me. The whole idea with building custom REX or similar library is obviously having that quick drag and drop in any BPM to test things out.

Anyway I guess my only option is ReCycle old school or look around for something as good or better. Serato Sample? Never tried it and not familiar with the file formats it renders for building a library and later drag and drop recalling in various BPM's. Hmm..

 

I do everything on the spot within the context of the song. Otherwise it is duplication of effort and work I may not even end up using.
One in the hand is worth two in the bush. Rather than chasing something "that fits", you just make something fit. It's much easier and also, you do not over-process your samples in ways you will later wish you could undo.

 

Last edited: Apr 15, 2023

Transient material is where REX really shines, and even though time-stretch algorithms have advanced considerably, none of them are better than none at all.

Probably the closest thing would be to embed markers at the transients, then split into slices that adjust position based on the tempo but without changing the playrate (time-stretching). Then you could fill any gaps with the trailing/leading edge of adjacent slices.

Most DAWs should be able to do this. Reaper has transient detection/splitting, but a script like MK Slicer is better IMO.

 

this is not my video, but this is using Flex time to insert Transient Markers. It's basically what DMD also does, but DMD's playback is controlled via Midi, which means you can use piano roll to write the playback. True Flex Time editing is more precise, but it is nowhere near as fast. skip to like 5min in. In the 10.5 update, they fixed just about every nuisance for chopping on a 20+ year old list of stuff. None of it re: Apple loops though, i hate them.

 

I just saw this. Looks pretty easy with Reason 12. You should be able to load Reason as a plugin in most DAWs.

 

Propellerheads Recycle works brilliant on Win 10 64bit even last update is from way back 2013. I own that program and use it from time to time.
You have to practice a bit, but the speed increases with experience and you can then produce a large number of Rex files in good quality in a short time.

 

Last edited: Apr 15, 2023

Actually, any Reason since v6 can produce REX Files, in fact since they reunited Reason & Record.
It's dead easy and really funny to do but I don't think the Reason plugin can do that, you must be in the full software.
Don't forget that Recycle and Reason were created by the same developper, aka Propellerhead.
Moreover, I find Reason more precise because of the zoom fonctions than Recycle, which, even if still functionnal, is a bit outdated in manipulation.
Funny thing, long long time ago, I used to send the results of Recycle in my Yamaha A3000 hardware sampler just using a single MIDI cable.
Never understood how audio could travel in that kind of cable but that worked. You sliced in Recycle, transfered your sliced loop and bang, a few minutes after (all the same), you could work with it in the sampler. Very cool.

 

Last edited: Apr 15, 2023

On both Win and Mac, REX and RX2 files have been the only format that was supported reliably in a DAW that supports the REX shared library, and most DAWs do.
WAV and AIFF support slice markers too but apparently different developers couldn't agree on how to embed them in the file so it can be a matter of luck if slices in your files are recognized or not. Some files might work in one DAW, others only in a different DAW.

I'm still using the old ReCycle on an old Mac, it just works.

 

Reason is solid in making REX files. If you create something with midi, select pattern, right click bounce in place, click new clip to expand, right click to bounce to REX loop, loop appears to the left file browser pane, right click on the file name to export to disk. It's that easy. Of course you can adjust transient points.