How to add samples to Ableton Live
Ableton gives you two ways to bring in a sample pack: add the folder to Places in the browser, or copy it into your User Library. Here is how to do both, and where Live keeps the User Library on Windows and Mac.
Option 1: add the folder to Places
- Unzip the pack and keep it wherever you store samples.
- In Live's browser, find Places in the left column and click Add Folder. You can also drag the folder from Explorer or Finder onto Places.
- The folder shows up under Places. Live indexes it, and the samples become searchable.
This leaves the files where they are, which is the best choice when your samples live on an external drive or in one big Samples folder.
Option 2: copy it into the User Library
The User Library is the folder Live uses for your own presets, racks, clips and samples. Anything you put in it shows up in the browser under User Library. By default it is here:
| System | User Library |
|---|---|
| Windows | Documents\Ableton\User Library |
| Mac | Music/Ableton/User Library |
Copy the pack folder into the Samples folder inside it (create one if it is not there). You can move the User Library to another drive in Live's Settings, under Library.
Which one should you use?
- Places for big sample collections and external drives: nothing gets copied.
- The User Library for the sounds you use in most projects, and for racks and presets you build from them.
- Either way, keep one folder per pack. When files move after a project is saved, Live asks you to find the missing samples.
Using the samples
- Click a sample to preview it. Turn on Raw in the browser to hear it without warping to the project tempo.
- Drag a one-shot onto a Drum Rack pad to build a kit.
- Drag a loop into an audio track. Loops with the tempo in the file name are easier to warp correctly.
- Press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac) to search across Places and the User Library.
Free sounds for your next track
16 house drums, three guitar loops and five Serum 2 presets from our packs. Royalty-free, yours to use in music you release.
Questions
Where is the Ableton User Library?
By default in Documents\Ableton\User Library on Windows and Music/Ableton/User Library on Mac. You can change it in Live's Settings under Library.
How do I add a sample pack to Ableton?
Unzip it, then click Add Folder under Places in Live's browser and choose the folder, or copy it into the User Library.
Why does Ableton say samples are missing?
The files were moved or renamed after the project was saved. Put them back, or let Live search for them when it asks.
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