Project tempo resets when dropping in a sample

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marmalade
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2005 4:27 pm

Project tempo resets when dropping in a sample

Post by marmalade » Mon Jul 14, 2025 7:00 pm

I have an issue with my project bpm automatically changing when I drop an audio sample in (wav for example) into an audio track.
For example, if the audio loop is 126bpm, the project bpm changes from 120 to 126bpm. Is there a way I can fix my project tempo to 120 bpm irrespective of which sample I drop into the project. Ideally I would like Ableton to automatically warp the sample from 126 to 120 bpm.

What is strange is that it is not happening with every sample.

I am on Ableton 12.2, MacOS 15.5.

Rivanni
Posts: 905
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 12:30 pm

Re: Project tempo resets when dropping in a sample

Post by Rivanni » Wed Jul 16, 2025 10:51 am

Live 'assumes' you want to set the tempo of a new set to that of the first created clip. So in your case, the tempo of the sample that creates the first audio clip.
If you don't want to reset the tempo after dropping the sample, you can lock the tempo by first adding an empty MIDI clip. Adding an empty MIDI clip is also an extra click, but you could add this empty clip to your template.

Do you see the tempo changes also when the set is not empty?

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