Hi Live users!
I´ve a trouble here, and maybe someone can help me.
I´m a post rock / ambient lover and I´m always looking for samples and multitracks from the bands I like, to learn about mixing stuff. I watch a lot of the tutorials posted in Audioz (THANKS btw..) but they´re oriented to 'more commercial genres' most of the time, so I found useful to 'hear' directly the individual tracks from artists I like, and figure out in that way how they work in the mixing stage, for learning purposes.

This is the thing:
I downloaded recently the Ableten Artist´s Pack from Mùm, and I´m NOT a live user. I get REALLY lost in Live.
I want to know if there´s a way to extract the samples used in the .alp/.als file, without any filter/effect applied. Just the original instance of the samples.
I installed Live Micro to open the files, and I can enter to the folder with the used samples in the session, but they´re in AIF format and I can´t manage them. I can´t play them with any player (including VLC, that should works), I can´t convert them to .wav (I´ve tried with some converters like cdXtract, audacity and other freeones).. everything gets me to an error message.

So.. maybe someone can give me a hand. Maybe there´s a way to export the sample library in .wav format directly from the live session.. but I NEVER used live before.

Thanks in advance.

Carl.

 

Try the awesome xrecode II, one of my favourite audio converters [just google for it]. It's shareware, but even after the trial period it's perfectly usable (just with an intrto splash and a few seconds wait time). This marvel can handle 16/24/32bit anda long list of linear, lossless and lossy formats. You may also build your own presets ("to AiFF", "to WAV", "to MP3 Demo", etc). Definitely recommended!.

All the best!.

 

@ Carl,

Below you have my approach to manage that, but perhaps it exists another more easy approach to do it (?). Others more experienced Ableton LIVE's users will perhaps explain you their own method...



First, choose the desired .aif file (clip) to be exported, then 'drag & drop' it to the desired 'Audio Track' (on the right side - circled in red). In my example, this .aif file is named 'Ob Saw C4'.
Then, when you scroll the menu of the first column : 'File' (as I use a French version, mine is named 'Fichier' instead), you can find the option 'Exporting Audio' (left red circled item + red arrow).



Once you have selected 'Exporting Audio', you get the same menu as depicted in the snapshot, where you can choose the main options to export and render your desired .aif file.
It will certainly be more understandable with your chosen language, but just as an example, you have :

* Converted Track (in this case : 1-Audio because my .aif file was placed on the first Audio Track)
* Loop (the audio file) or leave it as in its original form (e.g. one-shot)
* File Format (for exporting) : either .wav or .aiff
* Sampling Rate & Bit Depth
* Length of the converted file (e.g. between measure 1.1.1 --> 1.3.3 in my example). You can add 'Markers' to define the desired portion of the file to be exported (in case you want to only get a small portion of a long audio file).
...among others.

As previously told, maybe others users will give you a better and easy 'trick' to export (convert) your Ableton LIVE audio files, but at this moment, I do it this way.. and as sung by Frank Sinatra : "This is my way... "


Hope it help !

 

+1 what ArticStorm said +1ing what StudiBro said.

 

Hey!! Thanks for answer.
But I´ve to say that it´s not my lucky day..

There are more than 140 samples in the Múm´s folder, so export one by one is not a chance. Thanks Studio 555, now I know more about Live, but in this case I´m going to try Xrecode.

This is what happened:
I downloaded Xrecode, drag and drop the aif files, and everything looks fine.. but the button for start conversion appears disabled. I don´t know why.

I tried 1.0.0.193 / 1.0.0.192 / shell extension.. and the portable versions, but the button does not work.

Any idea???

 

This is what I get..

 

@ Carl,

I never used this 'Xrecode' application, but one thing catches my eyes at a first glance when looking at the provided snapshot, it's the length (duración) of the sample 'BD1Amp-mum.aif' that's stated as '00:00:00' !!!
Even if it's a short sample, as is the case here (0,03 Mb), it's rather strange that its length (duración) is ZERO !

Could this be one of the reasons why you can't to achieve the full conversion process ?

 

Well not necessarily better but I would just highlight the clip and press CTRL + J to consolidate, it then saves it to the project folder (in wav) under samples/processed/consolidate

Nice presentation btw lol


Anyway, surely you can just grab the original samples from the project folder and use an audio converter, they all can't give you error messages. Sorry I can't suggest one, I don't use them, but google seems to offer loads of free ones.

Good luck!

 

I think is something wrong with xrecode.. I can´t use the convert function with any sample.. I loaded all of them to the list, just a few, and one by one, but it still does not work (other samples shows more lenght).

I don´t know what to think..

Here´s a link to the Múm´s samples: http://www(dot)mediafire(dot)com/?anfvvbnf4e8vss9
They can be downloaded also in the Ableton´s webpage for free. There´re other artist´s packs so if someone is interested maybe should take a look.
I´ll be glad if someone can test the samples with his own xrecode or any converter. I tried a few with no luck.
It´s not a heavy pack, just a bit more than 40mb.

Greetings and thanks for helping me.

Carl.

 

@ Carl,

I've converted some of the samples included within your 'AbleTen - Mum' Project for you to have an idea.

These have been converted as follows :

* .wav Format
* 44,1kHz
* 16 Bit
* One Shots (as the originals are, not looped)
* No changes of any kind done on them (apart the conversion from .aif to .wav, of course !)


Content of the folder

The process done is identical to this explained within my previous comment. As you know it, it will take you a few time to convert the full content of this Ableton Project as desired, but in some sense it worth it, above all if you really need to get these samples in .wav (or .aiff) format for use them outside this Project... *yes*


I've also noticed that another member : 'Smartlad', told about the keyboard's shortcut : 'CTRL + J' (to consolidate these samples within a New Ableton Project : 'Temp Project'). He's right and it's used for that purpose, and also to avoid to scroll down your 'File Menu' each time to 'Save' or 'Save As',... but the problem here is that it doesn't change in any way your main trouble : get the desired samples usable outside Ableton LIVE !
If you use this method, and I encourage you to do so to get your conclusions, you'll end as at the start of your trouble : samples in .aif (or .wav) format playable under Ableton LIVE, but totally unusable outside it because detected as 'corrupted' by a large part of the usual 'audio players'... *yes*
This shortcut ('CTRL + J') is the main (and quick !) method used by many Ableton LIVE users (I do it also !) to save their samples before to ending their Project(s), then to save it (them) as Ableton LIVE Project(s) exactly in the same form that you got this 'AbleTen - Mum'.


As it seems that 'Mediafire' has some troubles temporarily, here you have a 'Filefactory' Link to get these converted samples that I've done for you :

http:***//www.filefactory.com/file/3jzbahytjcyx/n/AbleTen_-_Mum_rar
Don't forget to either delete (if you copy it), or to omit (if you type it) the 3 asterisks (*) and voila !

 

They save as wav files, in your project folder, why can't you use them outside of Ableton? Never had a problem with this, or have them corrupt, I do this to send out stems.


If you can't use a converter, you could load them all in live in their own tracks (1,2,3,4,5 etc) at the same time, select all and consolidate them as a batch in 1 go, but they will all be as long as your longest sample.. Eg if your longest is a 4 bar loop, any 1 shots will be the same length but with just silence at the end. Am sure you could live with that, any sample player you use to play back should be able to crop it and remove the silence if you even need to at all. I guess once they are all layed out infront of you in arrangement mode you could group them by length and batch consolidate that way to keep them all as they are in size.

Plenty ways to do it and shouldn't take that long tbh.

 

THANK YOU GUYS!!
Converters just get me to error messages.. so..
I´ll batch the samples. I can remove the silence after, when I use the samples. That´s a minor task.

I´ll upload the result of the conversion when I finish, as a way to say 'thank you'.

Greetings.

Carl.