Using Ableton's Collections & Folders to Organise Your Entire Library

[@JimmyCooperAustralia]

Thank god I found this video. I was about to go on a rampage organizing my instruments and you saved me from going in the wrong direction!

[@jackrorystaunton4557]

This is extremely helpful. I am constantly annoyed by many somethings about the way Ableton is organized. Your approach looks worth the upfront effort.

[@gregsilver_official]

BY FAR the best tutorial on YT about organization inside Ableton. Subbed, liked and very grateful!

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Thank you! :)

[@movieklump]

This was extremely helpful and well put together video. Thank you.

[@DaveTherrien]

Excellent video - you have created a universal Virtual Instrument and Effects Manager with User Library. I've organized my instruments into folders as you did and once I did that, I had no need for Collection tags. The first level of my User Library essentially looks like your collections names, and I just have folders beneath that. I now use the collection tags to assign the state to various project - In Progress, Completed, Performance and Instructional projects. so when I click on Ableton Live Projects, I can filter on the various types of projects. Anyway - thank you Andrew - I love this organization!

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Ah, now I like the idea of using the tags for project states! Although I think if I did this I'd just end up with everything in one 'unfinished' collection! But seriously, that's a really nice way of organising things. I would never have thought of using Collections for this. :)

[@PerryLevy]

What I like to do is create user presets with Instruments and plugins dialed in so that I can access them another time. Work smarter, not harder!

[@sashazlobin]

The Best video about structure in Ableton, thank you!

[@noahherman991]

Best idea I’ve seen on organization yet

[@klarazubonja]

I like this idea, I might play around with it, thank you!

[@richardridings1126]

Wonderful, thank you Andrew.

[@philipcarroll7151]

Hey man! This is an EXCELLENT way to organise the files and folders...great tutorial...It would be good to see Ableton offer a full colour range for collections but perhaps only having seven is good for all our sanities...lol...still great advise on an aspect of Ableton that confuses people. Cheers

[@SK-od6et]

Thank you. Succinct and helpful.

[@studiovalby4827]

Mega useful :) Thanks for sharing !

[@brianbarrow8017]

Thank you sir!

[@ziggy___moon]

wonderful video thank you so much!

[@ATMAN-bs8re]

Thank you!

[@TheDonDuff]

you changed my life

[@defgecd9861]

man you just solved my life

[@MichaelLevine]

Thank you! Best Ableton organization video I've found so far. I have a question - have you found a way to map a key or MIDI command to open a specific folder? For instance, I'd love to press a button on a midi controller (or key on keyboard) and have my EQ folder expand on the left. Thanks!

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Yeah, that's a really good idea. I'd love to be able to do that actually! AFAIK, you can't MIDI map browser functions. Possibly with MaxforLive though? I don't know. You do get access to certain parts of Live through Max but I'm not sure about the browser. I'll certainly have a look into this though. I'm guessing you could do this with Python scripting too, but that's way beyond my capabilities! :)

[@gabrielemariotti5780]

Hey, thanks for sharing these tips....was wondering, do you know if Ableton (12) let you orginize Plugins by folders in the plugin vertical tab?

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Not in the 'Plugins' section itself, no. You can use tags / filters here though I think.

[@jona8659]

Thanks so much for this

[@adrianlara5045]

Good tut!

[@airfixx_8952]

I have a problem in this area. I can no longer add to or edit my collections. When I right click the only options that display are "show in finder" or "show in places"....... Even if I go to the source folder, the colour tabs still don't show when I hit right click. [I'm running Abe V.11.2.7 on Mac OS 12.5] Has anyone found any solutions? When i go into the "Ableton Folder Info" folder in my library there there are 100+ .xmp files...... Would I be correct in assuming that Abelton only reads the current one?

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Yeah, that's strange. I only have one .xmp file in my 'Ableton Folder Info' folder. I've no idea what's causing the problem though and wouldn't like to guess. Have you contacted Ableton support about this?

[@xminusplus.]

Thanks a million!😮😅

[@aevin_io]

hey there ! im pulling my hair trying to find how to create those folders you got on your collections - cant find any info on how to do that. Im on version 10.1.43 - The only "folders" i can add to a collection are the ones appear under "places". Do i need to edit that file on which ableton is saving all that? i definitely not see anything like "new folder". thank you :)

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

You can't create folders directly in your Collections. You need to create a folder through your User Library > Presets folder in Ableton and *then* assign it a Collection colour for the folder to appear in Collections. The User Library is in your 'Places' area. Browse to the place you want to add the folder, right click and select 'New Folder. Example pic here: drive.google.com/file/d/1OECjMnpVNTd9nMwZ4t3XRaaEeoTXifGf/view?usp=share_link

[@aevin_io]

@@AndrewNorrisMusicTech thanks for the quick answer 🙏!

[@klarazubonja]

I've tried to go and set this up for myself, but there is just one part of the process I'm not understanding how to do exactly. So you have your folders you created within the user library presets folder.. but how do you actually put what you want in them? Like do you still do this within finder and find the original file and move it into the new folder?

[@-ukiyo]

1. Create folder in abelton user library (in ableton or finder) - 2. Give map color of the collections you want - 3. add, for example audio effect in midi track en drag the effect from the device bar in the folder you created in the user library

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

You can either do it within Finder or from Ableton Live by just dragging what you want in there. Bear in mind that if you do it through Finder though, it won’t show up immediately in Ableton in the User Library. Ableton needs to scan the new content first. It does this when it first starts up and periodically while Ableton is running.

[@woah3108]

Thank you, I love you

[@johncitizen8828]

Thanks once again for this video Andrew - this has proved one of the most valuable videos I have seen on Ableton. This has vastly improved the speed and ease of my workflow. A couple of quick questions: Is the 'Core Presets' Collection slightly redundant, seeing as you can easily navigate directly to either Sounds, Instruments or Audio Effects in the top most level of the Push browser heirarchy? Is this not the exact same content? Secondly, when I load my Maschine VST, both my keyboard and Push only play the 1st pad tonally, instead of each successive key/pad triggering Pad 1-16 from Maschine. How do I fix this? (I normally use Maschine in standalone)

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Yes, the 'Core Presets' Collection is exactly what you'd see in the Push browser. I've only added this because I never use my Push for browsing. I still find it easier to use a mouse for this, tbh! But yes, this is redundant if you're using the Push for browsing. To use an Ableton Drum Rack to play each individual pad in Maschine rather than the first pad tonally, there are 2 things you need to do. First, in Ableton, add an empty Drum Rack. Load Maschine into the C1 pad, expand the Rack so you can see the Chain, then click the 'IO' button. Set the note 'Receive' to 'All Notes'. Then in Maschine, load a kit, go to the CHANNEL/MIDI settings, then set Group > MIDI > Input > Key Mode to 'Manual'. You should then be able to play the Drum Rack in Ableton and this will trigger the corresponding pads in Maschine. It should look like this: drive.google.com/file/d/13H5VbxVsOfQaJrg4FhwDXdGHXYaA_pIW/view?usp=share_link It's very fiddly to set up, especially if you also want each pad to come through its own Audio Channel in Ableton (you need to set up an External Instrument on each Drum Rack pad too if you want to do this), but once it's set up, you can save it as a Template in Ableton so you can access it easily in the future. This took me a while to figure out initially and the process is not at all intuitive! So if you're having trouble, please feel free to email me ([e-mail]) and I should be able to help. :) Also, I'm not sure if this will work for you but here's my Ableton Template Set with all of this set up: drive.google.com/file/d/1vA8ATySldRRXUraBo9YieiZG51zxyXqX/view?usp=share_link

[@drcross]

damn... now i know what to too.. tryn to find a way to do that ^^

[@DaveTherrien]

Andrew - I recently got a PUSH 2 and was disappointed by two things - .alc files aren't displayed in the Push Browser, and User Library sounds can't be played. Have you experienced the same issues?

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Hi Dave, yes, exactly the same issues! I don't tend to use Clips / .alc files much though, tbh, so that's never really bothered me. But yeah, as far as I know, you can't preview/prelisten to anything other than stock Ableton sounds (and just standard samples from your User Library).

[@jad8610]

great idea man ,but when i put some drums to user library it duplicate ! is there another way to do that so the sample don't duplicate ?

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Depends where you're getting the drums from. Without checking, but as far as I know, anything you copy to the User Library directly from Ableton's Core Library will be duplicated (so you end up with 2 copies: the original and the one you've copied to the User Library). Other things that aren't part of the Core Library won't be duplicated.

[@createmusiktv]

Hello what theme are you using? Could you share?

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

It's just the default Dark theme from Ableton Live 11.

[@VentureNW]

nice structure... I especially liked that the Battery 4 plugin is inside of a drum rack vs just a group. I haven't figured out how to use battery inside of Ableton yet... but I think I just learned something? Do you pull different sounds/instruments right into your drum rack, from Battery, like you would samples?

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Not quite. You need to map your Drum Rack to each of the cells in Battery. Just drop an instance of Battery onto the first cell in the Drum Rack, then open up the Chain List, select I/O and select 'All Notes' from the 'Receive' drop-down list for that cell. Doing this will map each of the MIDI notes in the Drum Rack to their respective pads in Battery. You can then drag/drop samples into Battery itself. This video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJO4pGqDbNiMaLs explains it much better that I can though!

[@osmancolak]

Hi, old content but really useful nonetheless and close to my setup but I have a Q. Did you copy the Live Packs for Session Drums and Latin Percussion to the User Folder?

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Not the entire pack, no. Just the contents of the 'Drums' folder in both cases (so just the .adg / preset files).

[@osmancolak]

@@AndrewNorrisMusicTech Thank you

[@johncitizen8828]

Amazing! I’ve always felt my usage of ‘Collections’ was sub-optimal. I think this is the best system I’ve seen yet. 🙌 Besides setting up all your Battery presets, how long did it take to setup your Collections in this way - with creating all the sub folders in the Presets folder, and then creating the Collections? Looks like quite a task! 🤔

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Yeah, it took a while! Not taking the Battery presets into account though, it probably took about 2 hours for the rest. So not too bad. It's daunting at first but worth it in the end though as you only have to do this once. :)

[@johncitizen8828]

Oh, wow - thats amazing. I thought it was at least a few days work. Might have to put aside some time this weekend for this. Thanks again!

[@EtonFisch]

Best use of the ableton collections I've seen online! Is there a specific reason you are using the default preset folder of the user library?

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Do you mean the 'Core Presets' folder I mapped to Collections? Sorry, I'm not sure I understand the question! If you do mean this, it's just so I have quick access to Ableton's stock presets in with the rest of the Collections, without having to go to Packs > Core Presets.

[@EtonFisch]

@@AndrewNorrisMusicTech Hey, thanks for your fast answer. No I mean you are using the folders audio effects, midi effects and instruments from the preset folder of the user library. (You deleted the empty folders from ableton first) I wondered if there is a specific reason behind this. Or can I use/create any folder to put my presets into. Thank you

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

@@EtonFisch Ah I see! Apologies for my misunderstanding! I kept the original folders because it something I was already used to, having them named this way. But yes, you can name and arrange folders however you like in your User Library folder. You can choose any folder to use as your User Library too. Just select this from Ableton > Preferences > Library > Location of User Library. :)

[@EtonFisch]

@@AndrewNorrisMusicTech thank you :)

[@johnmulholland8630]

Maybe this is a really silly question, but how are you getting your NI instruments to show up as adg's? I feel like I am missing something obvious.

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Not a silly question at all! :) It's not immediately obvious. You just need to put it in a Group / Instrument Rack. Load the VST onto a track first. Click the VST device, then CMD + G on Mac, CTRL + G on PC to place it in a Group. Then rename the Group to the name of your VST and drag it into your User Library.

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Check the video at 6:09 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJOpmXh5mZaMa6M

[@johnmulholland8630]

@@AndrewNorrisMusicTech Sorry for not responding sooner. I just wanted to say thank you. This is a game changer for me. You have REALLY helped me out here. Thank you.

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

@@johnmulholland8630 No worries! :)

[@matt_canon]

Very helpful! Wish I had seen this sooner.

[@drmoog8951]

Where is actually save all the collections infos? I need to be able to backup and import my collection directory settings and organisation before spending hrs in this :D

[@drmoog8951]

Moving user library didn't help

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

@@drmoog8951 I *think* Ableton saves this info in the 'Ableton Folder Info' folder in the User Library. Have a look at the 'Syncing collections between two computers' section here: help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000268570-Using-Collections

[@stevenr222]

THX ++++

[@ItsWesSmithYo]

Imagine if someone at Ableton thought wow, let’s allow custom collections 😂 maybe like Apple OS 😂

[@Alexander-Tkachenko]

How to remove a tool from a collection?

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

Remove single items or folders that have been added to Collections: right-click > Clear All Colours. Items *inside* a coloured folder can't be removed individually from Collections though. You'd have to remove the whole folder.

[@Alexander-Tkachenko]

@@AndrewNorrisMusicTech Thanks

[@Submersed24]

Loading presets becomes a mess if new presets are added… then you need to literally find the ones not added yet

[@naizondj]

Can you send me this template? Is insane!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

I don't think it would actually work if I was to share it, as all the files and folders in my User Library are specific to my own computer. It's something that will only really work if you build it for yourself using your own collection of VSTs, MaxForLive devices, etc.

[@sleep4103]

Its just absurde what Ableton puts its customors, who are professionals, through

[@Michael-mk6sm]

The only thing is that if I don't need those groups, the plugin window is now so wide and you need to spend time to ungroup them all when you open the plugins. I don't understand why Ableton devs still didn't make a decent browser at least like in FL.

[@AndrewNorrisMusicTech]

I agree. :) For all its greatness, Ableton is still very much let down by its browser.