Ableton’s Resampling feature is a convenient tool that allows you to quickly and easily capture whatever is coming through the master output and bounce it to a new audio track.
This feature is particularly useful because it enables you to bounce a clip, a track, or even a group of tracks with effects if desired.
Similar to the bounce-in-place(BiP) functions found in other Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), Resampling in Ableton allows you to render a track with its effects and attributes while still keeping the original track in your session.
The question is, does Resampling in Ableton lower the quality of your track?
Here’s Whether Resampling In Ableton Lowers Track Quality:
Resampling in Ableton affects audio quality depending on the sample rate and bit depth settings used. High sample rates and bit depths, like 96kHz and 24-bit, can produce better quality audio, while lower settings like 44.1kHz and 16-bit can result in lower quality audio.
How Do I Find the Sample Rate of a Sample/Loop?
When you’re working with samples and loops in Ableton Live, it’s always important to understand the properties of the audio you’re looking to manipulate.
Matching sample rates is a great way to maintain consistency in sound throughout your Ableton project.
But how do we figure out what our audio’s sample rate is?
Let’s jump into the simplest way to do this Ableton Live:
- First, you’ll need to open up your sample or loop. Do this by selecting your desired sample/loop in Live’s “Browser Window” and dragging and dropping it onto an open track in Ableton’s “Arrangement” or “Session” view.
- Next, double-click on the sample/loop to open up its “Clip View”
- The current Sample Rate and Bit Depth of your sample/loop can be found just underneath the “Sample Tab”, directly below the sample/loop name.
Alternatively,
- You can right-click on the sample/loop in the Live’s Browser
- Then choose “Show in Finder/Explorer”
- The file properties (including sample rate) can be found in the file’s properties window.
It’s important to know the sample rate of a sample or loop because it determines the quality of the audio and can affect how it sounds when played back at different speeds or in different contexts.
How Do I Find the Sample Rate of an Ableton Project?
In Ableton Live, the Sample rate refers to the number of audio samples taken per second during recording or playback. Higher sample rates result in better audio quality and fidelity, but also require more processing power and storage space.
Ableton Live supports a wide range of sample rates, from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz.
However, mixing audio clips with different sample rates can result in unexpected changes to pitch and tempo, so it’s important to use clips with the same sample rate as your project.
Understanding sample rates can help achieve the best audio quality in productions.
Here’s how to find the sample rate of your Ableton project:
- First, open your project in Ableton Live.
- Next, click on the “Live” menu for Mac (“Options” menu for Windows) in the top menu bar and select “Preferences”
- In the Preferences window, click on the “Audio” tab.
- Here you will find the “Sample Rate” dropdown menu located near the top of the window. This will display the current sample rate of the project.
It’s also important to note that changing the sample rate in the preferences window will impact the sample rate of all new audio clips created in the project.
You have to consider the implications before making any changes to the sample rate if there are existing audio clips in the project.
How Do I Change the Sample Rate of a Loop in Ableton?
When you work with files of different sample rates in Ableton Live, the software won’t let you know the difference. However, you can see the sample rate of a file by clicking on it in the clip view.
To avoid interruptions in your workflow, Ableton will automatically change the sample rate of a file to match your project rate when you consolidate or resample it.
This means that you can resample your original loop into a new one, which will contain the sample rate and bit depth of the project.
Here’s how to change the sample rate of a loop by resampling:
- First, drag and drop your desired loop into an audio track in Ableton Live.
- Next, open up and arm a brand new, clear audio track.
- In the input routing section of the new track, select “Resampling” as the input source.
- Next, solo the track with the loop you’re looking to resample.
- Begin playback and record the resampled output onto the new audio track.
- Once you’ve recorded the resampled output, you can edit and manipulate it like any other audio clip in Ableton. This new sample or loop will have the same sample rate and bit depth as your Ableton project.
Adjusting the sample rates of your loops to that of the projects is an essential step to take to ensure that your audio stays in tune and on time.
It helps to maintain consistent sound and quality throughout your Ableton Live project.
Check out our article for easy solutions to common problems with Ableton Live 11.
What is the Difference Between Resampling and Mixdown?
In Ableton Live, there are multiple different ways to get your audio into a single, consolidated track.
In this article, we’ve been discussing Resampling, but a lot of Ableton users prefer to export their project into a single bounce, otherwise known as a Mixdown.
You’re probably wondering what the differences between these methods are, which means you’re in the right place. Let’s jump into what the differences are between Resampling and Mixdowns in Ableton Live.
First, we need to define what each process means.
Resampling
Resampling in Ableton Live is the process of recording the audio output of a track or group of tracks in real-time and then saving it as a new audio clip.
This process allows you to create new sounds and manipulate existing ones by altering the pitch, time, and other parameters of the recorded audio.
Mixdown
A mixdown in Ableton Live is the process of creating a final audio file from a collection of individual audio tracks in a project.
It involves adjusting the levels and effects of each track, panning them in the stereo field, and balancing the overall sound to create a cohesive and polished final mix. The final result is an audio file that can be exported and shared or moved on into the Mastering process.
Now that we have an understanding of how these two processes are defined, let’s figure out what separates them, and what might be the right option for you.
First, we must consider the speed at which these two processes occur.
- If you have an entire track or song, consisting of a couple minutes or so, an export of your mixdown will be considerably quicker in this race.
- Resampling requires you to listen back to the entire track in real-time, as the process takes place, usually meaning it’ll take a lot longer.
Then, we look at quality.
- Quality-wise, there’s no real difference between exporting and resampling as long as you make sure that your sample rate and bit depth are the same.
- It’s important to note that Ableton’s playback bit depth is fixed at 32 bits, so to ensure consistency, you’ll need to render your audio clips at 32 bits as well.
Does Resampling Change Track Quality?
Resampling is a fairly simple and smart feature within Ableton Live, but does it affect the overall sound quality?
The short answer is that no, resampling doesn’t change the quality of the track.
This is completely dependent on the process you use.
As long as you take the necessary precautions, ensuring your sample rate and bit depth are identical, your final resampled audio file will maintain its tonality and quality.