Ableton Forum

I'm trying to apply one instance of an effect across multiple tracks. I know how to do that via sends/return or applying the effect to the master track.

The problem is that I want to print (or freeze/flatten) the effected tracks while keeping them as separate tracks.
The other problem is that the effect has some randomization that I want to keep the same on each track - so if I did them separately, I would have different randomizations - which I don't want.

When I try to set up new tracks to directly record any of the effected tracks (by setting the input from the original track), it doesn't record the effect! This seems to be the case whether I use an effect send/return or simply apply the effect to the master output. The only time it can work this way if if the effect is applied to the individual track - which is useless in this situation since I want multiple instances of the same randomized effect.

I hope I'm explaining this well enough. Any help would be SO appreciated!

I feel like I've tried EVERYTHING! I'm hoping somebody has dealt with this sort of situation before and can give me some new ideas. Thanks!!!

would grouping the tracks together first help? if you have live 8, select the tracks you want to be affected by the same effect together, then press ctrl G to group them, then stick the effect on the group.

if you have live 7 or below, you can send the outputs of all the tracks you want to effect to one track, then put the fx on that track

Put the effect on a track set monitoring to In - then set the 'Audio from' choosers of whatever channels you want to record with the effect to that track.

thank you jimmynitcher and globalgoon for the suggestions. Both work for applying the effect as I am trying to do, but neither suggestion helps in trying to print or freeze/flatten so I can have bounced down tracks of the effected audio.

I'm wondering if what I am trying to do is impossible...

Sorry I for some reason thought you were recording - I think the only way to do this is to record new clips onto one or more 'Record' channel/s while your playback channels tap the audio from an effect channel.


That record channel should be armed..

Again, thanks so much for the response!

This has really been driving me insane over the past couple of days now!!! - and I've been using Live since version 4! -so with all of this frustration, your advice is greatly appreciated!

Anyway, would I still be able to keep each track separated on the printed effected channels? ---or would it all be on one single track?
I will try this a little later today....