Ableton Forum

Hi everyone
I'm looking for an alternative for Ableton's Looper (for 64-bit Windows).
(Hopefully a free one..)
There are some core problems with Ableton's Looper, the main one being the pitch-shift during tempo changes, which is devastating for live jam sessions..
I've looked around but haven't found any suitable alternative yet.
Million thanks <3 <3 <3

That's actually a tough one to find a replacement for, given the specific problem.

You could try using Live Clips instead of the Looper. Really wish they had a way to convert loops to clips hands-free without a workaround.

I think Traktor might have some kind of loop recording tech also. If you don't already have it, I wouldn't go out of my way to seek it out. But if you do have it I'd look into it.

It's amazing there are no up-to-date looper plugins on the market considering how widespread looping has become in the hardware market. Live's looper will spontaneously bug out on me 1 out of 10 times. Sucks for live performance because of that.

Thanks for the replies.

This sucks ):

What's the downside using audio clips? I'm building songs without stopping, though in the studio. I don't use Looper. It's probably the only Live device I haven't even opened once.

Stromkraft wrote:What's the downside using audio clips? I'm building songs without stopping, though in the studio. I don't use Looper. It's probably the only Live device I haven't even opened once.

It just doesn't work the way I want it to (for live performance).
However, I've started experimenting with ClyphX, and I think this is the answer to all my problems. \o/

Nirnir wrote:

Stromkraft wrote:What's the downside using audio clips? I'm building songs without stopping, though in the studio. I don't use Looper. It's probably the only Live device I haven't even opened once.

It just doesn't work the way I want it to (for live performance).
However, I've started experimenting with ClyphX, and I think this is the answer to all my problems. \o/

It's a wonderful tool. I also use his PXT Live, though maybe not the performance aspects so much.

Hey - it's an old post but maybe peeps are still looking for an alternative to the Ableton Looper. I built a Max for Live device which creates clips on Audio or MIDI tracks but has a visual interface similar to the Boss RC-505.

There are a few advantages using this method. E.g. you are able record every layer individually into the Arrangement View and edit everything after your performance.

You can check it out here: https://blog.abletondrummer.com/live-lo ... eton-live/

ToBe wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 25, 2023 7:41 pm

Hey - it's an old post but maybe peeps are still looking for an alternative to the Ableton Looper. I built a Max for Live device which creates clips on Audio or MIDI tracks but has a visual interface similar to the Boss RC-505.

There are a few advantages using this method. E.g. you are able record every layer individually into the Arrangement View and edit everything after your performance.

You can check it out here: https://blog.abletondrummer.com/live-lo ... eton-live/

it has a few quirks but i'm loving this device so far! i'm using it with your auto-metronome thing too. i do understand why you limited the circular loop progress display to the first 2 tracks but an option to display more tracks would be great. i was teetering on buying one of those Boomerang hardware loopers recently because of it's variable loop length feature — now i'm really glad i didn't as this device ticks those boxes and more.

i think more detailed written documentation would be handy for less tech savvy people too, especially around initial setup (routing, MIDI mapping, etc.).

Great - thx. Yep there are more tutorials planned. But a lot of things e.g. MIDI Mapping are covered in the long run-through vid here: https://youtu.be/5wCiUkaXJvU?t=582
Regarding the visual feedback: I have more unreleased devices plus I do custom devices as well. Just drop me an email https://blog.abletondrummer.com/service ... n-drummer/

Cheers

I'm also gonna jump on the bandwagon and plug a little plugin i wrote:

Snapback & AutoArm was born because I love using the RC-505 and it's clip quantization.
You don't have to hit the record button before the bar ends, a little later will also do.
In Ableton Live, this always resulted in an extra bar being recorded, completely breaking the flow.

That's where the plugin comes in:

It will snap the end of a recorded session clip to the nearest bar instead of the next one. This works for MIDI and audio clips.
It also respects your global quantization setting, so you could also snap to the nearest 1/2 bar etc..

Another thing it can do is enable the somewhat hidden "Implicit Arm" or "Auto Arm" feature, not to be confused with the Options.txt trick.

I'm working on a video demo, but this manual also covers all the details.

You can get it on gumroad!

Hope this helps someone, I for one was looking for something like this for years.
Live looping in Live feels much closer to using an RC-505 now <3