Ableton Live

File Format
Name	Ableton Live
Ontology	Electronic File Formats Audio and Music Ableton Live
Extension(s)	.adg, .adp, .adv, .agr, .alc, .alp, .als, .ams, .amxd, .asd, .ask
Released	2001

Description

Ableton Live is an audio production workstation for Windows and OS X. As the name suggests, the emphasis of the software is on live musical performance.

Live uses a range of proprietary formats to store audio files and playback information.

Formats

Ableton Device Group

Ableton Device Group (.adg) files hold preset data for Racks (chains of instruments, audio / MIDI effects, etc.).

Ableton Device Preset

Ableton Device Preset (.adp) files hold preset data for individual devices (instruments, effects, etc.).

Ableton Groove File

Ableton Groove Files (.agr) are used to modify the timing and "feel" of audio and MIDI clips. According to the Using Grooves section of the manual, these can be essentially converted to and from MIDI clips.

Ableton Live Clip

Ableton Live Clip (.alc) files contain references to audio samples (in WAV or AIFF format) used for a specific clip, along with FX and channel settings where appropriate (according to this forum thread)

Ableton Live Pack

Ableton Live Pack (.alp) contain packs of content (samples, loops, presets) or packed Ableton Live Set files.

Sample Files

• Sub-Division Music - Free Ableton Packs

Ableton Live Set

Ableton Live Set (.als) files contain the layout of a set (tracks, devices, audio clips, etc.) created using the Ableton Live audio production software. The format appears to vary significantly between major releases and sometimes even between minor releases (Live 8.1 introduces a new file format!).

As of release 8.2.1, .als files appear to consist of a Gzipped XML file

Information

• Live 8.1 introduces a new file format!
• Decoding ALS file format
• Crooked Hideout - An Ableton Live Set is gzipped XML + a Ruby gem

Tools

• AATranslator claims to be able to convert Ableton Live 8 .als files. (Windows, commercial)
• guard-live-set converts Ableton Live Set files to XML as they are saved, allowing the use of version control systems such as Git or Subversion

Ableton Meta Sound

Ableton Meta Sound (.ams) files contain data relating to a microtonal, additive synthesis waveform. They are simply TXT text files with the extension .ams, and contain no audio data as such.

Information

• Meta Files: Uncovering the .ams format, Part 1
• Meta Files: Uncovering the .ams format, Part 2
• Meta Files: Uncovering the .ams format, Part 3
• Ableton Meta Files (French)

Tools

• AMS File Utility for Ableton Live
• Operator by Ableton

Ableton Max for Live Device

Ableton Max for Live Device (.amxd) files contain custom instruments and effects created in the Max visual programming language

Information

• Cycling 74 Wiki - Programming in Max for Live
• Creating Devices that use the Live API

Sample Files

• https://github.com/LividInstruments/Max/tree/master/examples

Tools

• Max for Live

Ableton Warp Analysis

Ableton Warp Analysis (.asd) files contain information about analyzed audio data, including warp marker positions.

Information

• Ableton Reference Manual Version 9 - Audio Clips, Tempo, and Warping
• Teragon Audio - Warping tips in Ableton Live

Ableton Skin File

Ableton Skin Files (.ask) contain data relating to the colours used in Ableton Live's GUI.

Tools

• Ableton Live Skin Editor

Information

• LOM - The Live Object Model
• Ableton Matryoshka
• Ableton appears to use some proprietary version of AIFF