A Comprehensive Guide to Ableton Live 11 Preferences

Ableton Live 11 preferences can be daunting, especially for beginners. In this series of posts, I’ll step through each preference screen in Ableton 11 to explain what the options do. I’ll also include the settings that I personally use.

Disclaimer: These blog posts are specific to Ableton 11, but many settings and explanations will likely translate to more recent versions.

While these posts might seem a bit technical, they’ll serve as an invaluable reference – especially for details not thoroughly covered in the official manual.

Note: As a Mac user, there may be some settings I don’t cover extensively. I’ll assume you have a basic familiarity with your operating system and will focus on Ableton-specific instructions.

Want to start from a specific section? Check out the table of contents in the sidebar to the right.

Jump to a specific preference section. Items in italics will be posted soon.

1. Look and Feel
2. Audio
3. Link / Tempo / MIDI
4. File / Folder
5. Library
6. Plug-Ins
7. Record / Warp / Launch
8. License / Maintenance

Resources:

• Ableton Live 11 Manual
• Preference Settings Guide