Ableton Forum

I have been, and still am, a huge fan of Ableton Live. I started using it back in version 4, when MIDI was first introduced into the program. I used it intensively up until version 8.
I remember I had to create some orchestral music, and Live would crash on me quite often.
In the meantime, I started looking into Cockos Reaper and eventually decided to switch to it. I missed Live's workflow, but the stability and speed of Reaper won me over.
Now, after many years, I decided to give Live another chance. I updated my license to version 12 and started rediscovering it.
Unfortunately, its stability is still disappointing to me. Reaper got me used to stability and trouble-free VST handling, while with Live, I keep experiencing crashes.
I'm running a stable, well-tested system. I also use graphic and video software, and those work reliably. Only Live brings me a significant amount of anxiety because I never know if it will suddenly crash. Ctrl+S has now become my new habit.

I don't want my post to come across as a criticism of Live. It really is fantastic software — but why, after so many versions, is it still not stable?

I know this is not helping but for me Ableton Live 12 (latest version) is very stable, so it all depends on someone's individual setup + 3rd software

When I use no third party plugins, Live never hangs or crashes for me. I started with 7 and am now on 12.

I downloaded the Live 12 beta version and now everything works stably for me.

Same here, the beta 12.2b18 solved all my problems.
Thanks Ableton team!

Live itself is very stable when I don't use external plugins.

The plugins I use are proven and stable (except for Kontakt 7).
When using them in Cockos Reaper (or Adobe Audition), I haven't experienced any difficulties like those in Live.

I found a partial solution.
Before loading the project, I disable the “Use VST Plug-In Custom Folder” option.
Then I load the project, which loads without plugins.

I re-enable “Use VST Plug-In Custom Folder” and immediately stop scanning for plugins and reload the project again.

Only then does everything work as it should.

Chiming in to add my +1.

Live with only stock devices is indeed a joy to use. The moment I bring in a few plugins, a project is bound to crash at some point. I've reported crashes to various plugin developers, but eventually concluded that it's something about how plugins are handled in Live. The DAW must be making some assumptions about plugins which don't hold in practice.

Sometimes even M4L devices are problematic, so those could be sandboxed better as well.

Question, all of you that chimed in with issues, are you on Windows or Mac OS?
None of you mention AU, and OP mentioned control s for saving so he's obviously on Windows. Maybe 15 years ago I experienced some instability with Live with a few specific plugins, but Live has not been an unstable DAW for me for a very long time.

Plus are we talking VST2 or 3? On Mac OS I still find VST3 to be problematic in other DAWs so I don't use it much in Live either.

Machinesworking wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 22, 2025 1:33 pm

Question, all of you that chimed in with issues, are you on Windows or Mac OS?
None of you mention AU, and OP mentioned control s for saving so he's obviously on Windows. Maybe 15 years ago I experienced some instability with Live with a few specific plugins, but Live has not been an unstable DAW for me for a very long time.

Plus are we talking VST2 or 3? On Mac OS I still find VST3 to be problematic in other DAWs so I don't use it much in Live either.

I use VST3 on Mac OS. Thanks for bringing this up, I forgot to add this detail although I've noticed it too. I've reported multiple issues with VST3 stability both to Ableton and various developers over the years. I'm just surprised this is still going on.

Personally I've built up a whole lot of projects, presets, racks using VST3 so to switch back to an older standard or an Apple-only one feels unacceptable.

spiritofeden wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 06, 2025 5:50 pm

Personally I've built up a whole lot of projects, presets, racks using VST3 so to switch back to an older standard or an Apple-only one feels unacceptable.

and that quandary right there is why CLAP was needed 20 years ago.
Unless you have some absolute need for cross platform compatibility there's no real reason not to use AU. Well, except for plugins like Reason Rack, Blue Arp, or any that have MIDI sequencers that can send MIDI out to control other plugins. That's pretty much where I'm at, I use AU but VST3 for MIDI out plugins .

spiritofeden wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 06, 2025 5:50 pm

Machinesworking wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 22, 2025 1:33 pm

Question, all of you that chimed in with issues, are you on Windows or Mac OS?
None of you mention AU, and OP mentioned control s for saving so he's obviously on Windows. Maybe 15 years ago I experienced some instability with Live with a few specific plugins, but Live has not been an unstable DAW for me for a very long time.

Plus are we talking VST2 or 3? On Mac OS I still find VST3 to be problematic in other DAWs so I don't use it much in Live either.

I use VST3 on Mac OS. Thanks for bringing this up, I forgot to add this detail although I've noticed it too. I've reported multiple issues with VST3 stability both to Ableton and various developers over the years. I'm just surprised this is still going on.

Personally I've built up a whole lot of projects, presets, racks using VST3 so to switch back to an older standard or an Apple-only one feels unacceptable.

FWIW I also use VST3 on Mac and it's pretty stable over here. It rarely crashes I can't even remember when it was the last time it did. It might be a problem with one of your plugins.

Oh, look: another Reaper thread !