sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

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adamsfan
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sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

Post by adamsfan » Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:20 am

Is it possible to send sets (.als),created in AL5 or AL8 on different computers, to AL10 on my main computer? This would be using a USB stick.

Or do I have to save an AL5 or AL8 set as a .mid or .wav file before I can send them over?

I have 3 little DAW "studios," each on different computers with different Windows OS: AL5 on XP, AL8 on 7, and AL10 on 10 (because I have 3 different digital keyboards hooked up to each of them and often want to use the native sounds of the keyboards).

I guess what I'm asking is, will AL10 accept .als sets created on AL5 or AL8?

Rivanni
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Re: sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

Post by Rivanni » Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:40 pm

Live is backward compatible so chances are big it will work. But you have the whole setup at your disposal, so why don't you simply try if it works?

adamsfan
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Re: sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

Post by adamsfan » Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:47 am

Well, I was about to do that, then I thought it might corrupt something in the later versions of AL.
If that's ridiculous ( I hope it is), I will certainly try it :)

Tarekith
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Re: sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

Post by Tarekith » Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:33 pm

If you still have access to the computers that created the older sets, you might want to first open them and choose File -> Collect all and Save first. Just to make sure any audio files you’re using in those get transferred to the new computer too.
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adamsfan
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Re: sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

Post by adamsfan » Sun Jan 23, 2022 10:56 pm

I saved an .als file from AL5 Lite, on an older Windows XP computer, to USB stick, to be sent to AL10 Intro on my main Windows 10 computer.

I then sent the .als file from the stick to the Music folder on the main computer, then was able to open it up from there to AL10.

It's there! BUT...

When I tried to play it I got a "Missing Files" notice. I tried the "Automatic Search" function, no go. So I tried the Manual Search from File in AL Browser, and a clip showed up in the field. So I tried dragging it to the Missing Files list according to the instructions, but it wouldn't drag and drop.

It's frustrating to see the set right there on the screen, everything appearing intact, but not able to do anything with it.

Any suggestions as to what's going on here?

jestermgee
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Re: sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

Post by jestermgee » Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:07 pm

adamsfan wrote:
Sun Jan 23, 2022 10:56 pm
I saved an .als file from AL5 Lite, on an older Windows XP computer, to USB stick, to be sent to AL10 Intro on my main Windows 10 computer.

I then sent the .als file from the stick to the Music folder on the main computer, then was able to open it up from there to AL10.

It's there! BUT...

When I tried to play it I got a "Missing Files" notice. I tried the "Automatic Search" function, no go. So I tried the Manual Search from File in AL Browser, and a clip showed up in the field. So I tried dragging it to the Missing Files list according to the instructions, but it wouldn't drag and drop.

It's frustrating to see the set right there on the screen, everything appearing intact, but not able to do anything with it.

Any suggestions as to what's going on here?
Did you to a "Collect all / Save" operation as this should locate any samples you have used and copy them into the live project folder. There could be a lot of other things to consider as some plugins too may have a hard coded location to their sample content (like NI Battery) so if you open a project on another system and the content is in a different place it can be missing and this is not resolved by Live, needs to be done via the plugin.

Although backwards compatibility is possible it cannot account for the large changes in your system and management of files over 15+ years so you need to carefully organise as much as you can to migrate over such a span.

adamsfan
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Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2020 8:50 am

Re: sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

Post by adamsfan » Wed Jan 26, 2022 5:17 pm

Thanks for the response! I see the possible complications now.

I don't remember a "Collect All..." in the AL5 Lite file menu, but I'll look again.

In this set, these are all Midi clips with default AL Instruments. I also saved the set as a rendered .wav file (I want to send it to a few people) but haven't tried opening that up yet, afraid that something weird might happen.

If I saved the set again as a .mid file (is that possible?), open it up again in AL10 Intro and just re-assign the instruments, would that do the trick?

I would have to turn off looping and create end points before saving, right?

jestermgee
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Re: sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

Post by jestermgee » Thu Jan 27, 2022 12:06 am

Live 5 was way before my time, I started with L8 and that was over 12 years ago I believe now.

Maybe there isn't a collect/save option in L5?

I have moved from many different DAWs over the decades and have had to sadly say goodbye to many projects. Some I rendered out just a mixdown to save with the project so I could recreate it by ear if I liked it, which I have done a few times.

If you are able to open the files in L11 but files are missing, you could reassign them that way anyway, shouldn't need to export the MIDI and import track-by-track?

However, not sure if it works with older sets but from within the Live browser if you select a Live project you can "expand" it and drag in tracks from it to a new set. Not sure if that is possible or helpful but it's a thing. I'd post a screenshot but this forum makes that process far too tiresome to bother.

adamsfan
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2020 8:50 am

Re: sending AL5 and AL8 sets to AL10

Post by adamsfan » Fri Jan 28, 2022 3:55 am

jestermgee: If you are able to open the files in L11 but files are missing, you could reassign them that way anyway, shouldn't need to export the MIDI and import track-by-track?

I will try that. Wish I had thought of it lol.

Having just spent a goodly amount of time trying every which way to save and transfer from Live Lite 5, reading the relevant sections of the manual etc. etc., I think you're right. Way older versions just don't make it easy.

But it's all good. I wrote out chords, melodic phrases etc. on music paper (always good to practice my notation skills) and the set structure on a big yellow legal pad, to assign everything to AL10.

There are other things I can try, but I won't post any more about this particular dilemma. I mean, I have a perfectly good working AL10 system!

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