Ableton Live already offered the option of different scales, but until Live 12 there were no different tuning systems available that didn’t adhere to the Western standard of 440 Hz. Microtuning was only possible with the Max for Live Microtuner, and then only with MPE-enabled MIDI instruments, which were quite limited.
This changed with the release of Ableton Live 12. Now all Live instruments are MPE-enabled. If you prefer a 432 Hz tuning, that’s easy. Want to try out different non-western tunings or scales invented by composers? No problem.
In this video tutorial we’ll look at how to work with different tuning systems. How to load one, adjust it or get rid of it. What changes when a tuning system is loaded. We’ll also look at how to load tuning systems from outside Live, where to find them and even how to create your own.
I’ve also created 16 tunings for you in the Ableton scale format, that you can download further below.
Watch the Video:
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:46 Basics
02:15 432 Hz
03:21 Settings
05:42 Features Gone
06:29 Features Added
08:19 Live Instrument & Plugins
08:38 MIDI Controllers
10:45 File Type
11:28 15 Free Tunings
12:26 Free Scale Archive
13: 07 Make Your Own Tunings
The default is still the 12TET tuning, which means that note pitches are divided equally into twelve parts per octave. This is the tuning that all DAWs have traditionally used exclusively. However, Live 12 now allows you to use any other tuning system that has ever been created, whether it be traditional systems from different cultures or artificial ones invented by composers.
The files that Ableton Live uses natively for tunings have the extension .ascl. It’s heavily based on the Scala format. And Scala files with the .scl extension can also be loaded into Live 12.
Ableton has a whole sub-domain dedicated to tuning systems. Here you can also easily create your own. Definitely worth a look, if only to learn more about the tunings available in Live.
If you’re interested, you can download the massive Scale archive, which contains over 5100 tuning systems, as well as a list of which ones are included. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find both.
16 Free Tunings:
Related Tutorials
As always, let me know if you have anything to add or ask. You’re also welcome to make suggestions in the comments below, if there’s a specific topic you’d like me to cover.
