Ableton Live Tutorial: Rewire with Logic

Ableton Live can be both Rewire Master and Slave. However, Logic can only be Master. This tutorial will explain how to get Live rewired to Logic. So let’s cut right to the chase…

  1. If you have never started Live before, it needs to be launched once in stand-alone so it can install the Rewire engine. You then need to quit it again.
  2. Since Logic will have to be the Rewire Master, it needs to be opened first.
  3. Once Logic is up and running, you can start Live. It will automatically detect that another audio software is already open and assume that you want it to run as a Rewire Slave.
  4. In Logic, open the Mixer and from the Options menu choose ‘Create New Auxiliary Channel Strips…’. A drop down window will appear.
  5. Choose either Mono or Stereo as the Format. Stereo is the more likely choice as any audio within Live is passed in stereo. Although you can of course opt for mono anyway.
  6. Under Input choose ‘Ableton Live’ and the desired Input. To get the Master Output from Live, choose ‘RW:Mix L/R’.
  7. If you want to route individual tracks from Live into Logic, you need to create the appropriate amount of aux channels and then choose the busses. What actually is sent through a particular bus is determined in Live.
  8. Now within Live: For each track in Live that you want to rewire separately in Logic, you need to set the ‘Audio To’ choosers to ‘ReWire Out’ and to the desired bus (e.g. Bus 3/4 (stereo) or Bus 3 (mono)). The Master Output in Live is automatically set to Mix L/R unless you choose otherwise.
  9. You can use Live’s MIDI instruments when rewired to Logic. In Live, make sure you have a MIDI track with the desired MIDI instrument set up.
  10. Now create a New Track in the Arrange area in Logic.
  11. In the drop-down window choose External MIDI, keep ‘Open Library’ checked and click Create.
  12. In the Library tab, double-click ‘Ableton Live’ and choose the desired MIDI track.
  13. You can route the audio output from the MIDI track in Live back to Logic as described in step 8 for Live and steps 4 to 6 in Logic.
  14. When quitting, the Rewire Slave needs to be first. So quit Live and only then Logic.
When running Live as Rewire Slave, the following things are different compared to using it as a stand-alone:
  • Live’s tempo and transport will be locked to Logic. So playback and tempo changes will need to be done in Logic.
  • Third party plug-ins are disabled. You can use them in Logic though.
  • Live won’t have audio inputs available as the audio interface is used in Logic and all audio in Live is handled by Rewire. The sample rate is set by the Rewire Master as well.
  • If you want to rewire another application, you’ll need to do it through Logic as it’s the Master.
  • You can still control Live via MIDI and MIDI can be sent from Logic to Live’s MIDI tracks. No sync or controller messages are sent in Live to the MIDI output though.

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11 Responses

  1. hi, i was wondering if i can run ableton and logic together and record (not slave) logic instruments in live? i have some tunes in live that i want to use the organs etc from logic on. i would use logic as master but i have recorded guitars etc with 3rd party plugins (amplitube etc) , so when i use logic as master, the plugins disappear and it doesn’t sound any good……………! i read somewhere you could run logic out into one of the channels in live. any help would be great. thanks jeremy (Australia)

  2. Hallo Madeleine,
    eine Frage, besteht in Live 8 die Möglichkeit Rewire irgendwie abzuschalten?
    Ich arbeite noch mit Logic 5.5 und Rebirth.
    Live verschiebt dann die Rewirekanäle in Logic nach hinten,und damit sind dann alle Einstellungen von Rebirth weg.
    Deinstallation von Live behebt das Problem ,aber dieser Weg ist nicht wirklich gangbar.
    Vielen Dank, für Deine Antwort!
    Rico

  3. Hi, I am looking for a way to have clips in Live play sounds from instrument tracks in logic. For example, let’s say I created a nice piano pattern on track 1/ clip one in Live and want this to be played back by my favorite Logic piano on track 5. Any idea how to do this on a Mac?

    1. You can export the MIDI clip from Live by right-clicking and choosing the respective command from the context menu. Then you can import it in Logic to be played back by whatever Logic MIDI instrument you want.

  4. Hi Madeleine

    I want to use the orchestral instruments collection in Live via Digital Performer or Cubase. I know how to get MIDI from DP or Cubase to Live to drive for instance a string section in Live.
    Would you know how I can control the articulations of the Live instrument used via the master DAW either DP or Cubase via rewire?
    I would imagine it would require a patch change command sent from the master DAW over rewire?

    Best Wishes

    Marcus

  5. HI Madeleine, I’m trying to route my master track on Ableton Live 10 onto a single channel in Logic Pro X. Any help would be appreciated!

  6. Hi Madeleine,

    Maybe you can help. I’ve got Live rewired with Logic. It seems to be impossible to use midi mapping. Everytime I start Live, Logic will crash. Without midi mapping in Live there is no problem. Is there a way to use midi mapping in Live without Logic crashing?

    Thanks!

    Kees.

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