Firstly, does anyone know if it's possible to have more than 7 Collections to favourites things into organised categories in Ableton Live 11 (the top left menu list)?

7 seems quite limiting, as my logic and workflow steers me towards wanting categories such as:

• Templates
• Drum Machines
• Synths
• Instruments
• EQs
• Compressors
• Reverbs

.....and then I'm already out. I'd ideally like to have more, to add it categories like M4L Devices, Channel Strips, Limiters, Delays, Echoes, FX, Mastering, ANalysers, Multiband, and so on. I feel like only 7 seems bery limited, and seems to be something that should be easily configurable to add more without it burdening Ableton any more as they're just essentially proxies for favourites folders in the menu.

Anyone know if you can add more?

And if not, anyone got any constructive tips on ways they manage to streamline their workflows down to only use 7 categories and how they're organised, particularly for users who like things to organised to speed up their own personal workflow?

 

Last edited: Jun 1, 2023

You can't add more. People used to make music when it had just one: Fav

For actual music making it goes quite simple:
- Instruments
- midi fx (velocity, harmonizer ...)
- audio fx (utility, eq, comp, clip, reverb, delay, chorus, distortion)
- max (separate because they're high cpu and must be used only when needed: lfo, envelope, ramp)

Your issue is rather too many plugs, not an unfriendly manager

Master bus chain and metering are all part of the template, no need to fav them

 

People also used to just make music with just a lute or symphonic music with just a big grand piano too. Times change. Technology evolves. Workflows change.

No need for you to fav them. Just because it doesn't fit your workflow, doesn't mean that applies to everybody. Everybody has their own workflow. In Studio One and Cubase, I have favourites set up and it speeds up my access to what I need, that I can use no matter whether I'm making techno, house, orchestral, or hybrid film score music. Having all my compressors, EQs, reverbs, limiters, and everything else under an "audio FX" collection makes no difference to just going to "plug-ins" to grab them as it's not filtering them in any helpful way. and making them more cluttered and worse if anything...for me.

As you can edit the collections list to show/hide and rename as you wish, I don't understand why Ableton wouldn't allow you to add as many as you wish up to a reasonable number, such as 15-20 (Studio One and Cubase have no limitations on how many you can create). If you only want to use 4 (as per your workflow above), then just show and use that many. If you want to use 15 (as may be the case for some), then they can use that.

 

Last edited: Jun 1, 2023

I looked at working with those but I changed perspective and work with ALS instead. This way I can create presets that carry over with Delay, Saturation, Reverb etc and keep my sound consistent...

In places I create a Folder (currently labelled 'Basic' but it needs changing) and inside that I create Bass, Lead, Drums Folders etc...

I was using ADG previously, creating a Group around all of the plugins and dragging that into these Folders, but ALS is so much better and easier. Just drag the track into my Places Folder and its ready for the next track...

You could add in Groups if you wanted more specific 'Collections' and create unique chains

 

Here's the thing: 3 daws (Cubase, Studio One, Ableton) with bonus yesterweek's attempt ProTools, using so many limiters (you think) you need a separate quick access category just for them. And on top of that orchestral and hybrid music on Ableton Live? Not saying is impossible but is very impractical, assuming that you actually know Cubase inside-out (which, with so many plugins, I kind of doubt it)

 

Ableton is a great starting daw. move on.

 

Here's the thing too, it's not wise to make assumptions and cherry picking words to try and argue why everything must fit your viewpoint. People are different and use tools differently for different reasons. Just accept it and try to be helpful instead of doing the fashionable thing of looking for the negative angle to have a pop at things and people for no reason

 

I agree for the most part, but I do find it stimulates creativity way more that other DAWs for me personally so I prefer Ableton for the production and creative part of the workflow, particularly for electronic based music. I tend to actually prefer Cubase for the hybrid film scoring stuff, just cos of it's MIDI and articulation handling features more than anything. I actually hate mixing in both Ableton (especially) and Cubase though, and find Studio One way superior in this regard, so print tracks from Ableton and Cubase and then mix and master in Studio One normally, as I find it helps me focus on the sound more and distracts me less with the more simplified UI compared to Cubase. So using the different DAWs for different purposes is what I've found gets me to my goals quicker and easier.

However, as I do prefer Ableton for the creative part as I said, and as I do some audio editing and mixing on the go, being a visual and organised type of user, I find having things set up in what is a logical fashion to me helps me do things quicker without interrupting my creative flow. Part of this is having things organised in a way that makes sense to me, hence the personal preference to break things down into categories, even if those categories only have 3 or 4 plugins in them, some of which will have many more obviously. The way I have it set up in Cubase and Studio One, in the main, is that I have mirrored the default 'type' of plugin category folders within my favourites, but have then only included the plugins that I actually use often and are my, well, favourites within them. That keeps out any plugins I don't use as often and ones that are only used sporadically, meaning it's more focused and less cluttered, making my workflow more focused and less cluttered, while not having to uninstall or remove any of the plugins I use less frequently.

I know of some that have gone further in Cubase, and have seen some users do things like break down their EQs favourites folder with further EQ type folders to house their SSL EQs, Neve EQs, Pultec EQs, Mastering EQs, and so on, so some clearly go way more organised than myself with this, but whatever works for them is what they should do, obviously!

 

So basically NO helpful responses here. Even I was looking for the same question a while back, and turns out, it's not possible sadly.
My workaround has been combining stuff into one category.
1) virtual instrument
2) time based fx
Etc etc.
For everything else, control-f! :p

 

I find the answer from @reziduchamp VERY helpful! https://audiosex.pro/threads/is-it-...in-ableton-how-to-organise.70610/#post-707354

 

You can use the Live Enhancement Suite to quick access your favorite plugins categories with double right click plus other useful custom shortcuts.
Another workaround is to create one or more project templates containing your plugins organized as you like and then load the plugins from the "Devices" dropdown under each track.

 

This looks very interesting! Where was the database on your WIndows machine? His is 550MB+ and in macOS' equivalent of the Documents folder in Windows, but I don't seem to have any equivalent database. I do have one in ProgramData\Ableton\Live 11 Suite\Resources\Database, but it has an entirely different name and is only about 8MB in size.

EDIT: Scratch that, found it at C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Ableton\Live Database

 

That's really useful thanks... I have my tracks hotlinked like this but I just drop the ALS into my tracks. I didn't realise you could just grab the sounds without the data

 

Absolutely love the simplicity of this! It actually let me fulfil some long-standing OCD issues with the likes of Gmbh at end of some Native Instruments, then Tone2 and Tone2.com and so on. Just tried this and cleaned up my vendor names and put things together correctly!

 

Yes, it's there. I suggest you make a backup (I just found the .rar file I quickly make as one). As said, even with Ableton updated, the structure remained. Guess it ports data to the new database, because it seems it gets regenerated as soon as you open Live.

I really hate how VST3 works in this regard in a sense that one has no control over what devs decide (or even fck-up).

Glad it helps.. and hope it won't break..;)

 

I don't like being limited. I guess I'll get used to it!