Using External Plugins in Ableton Live

Now we're going to look at external plugins. If you want to use an external plugin within Live, they need to be set up first, whether it's a VST or an audio unit.

Note: An audio unit is Mac only.

Benefits of Using Plugins

Using external plugins can give you access to more plugins and audio effects to play with. This is not a requirement at all, but you can give yourself new choices.

• If you don't have VSTs or audio units, don't worry about it.
• I don't actually suggest diving into the world of free VSTs right from the start.
• Learn what's in Ableton, and as you grow as a musician or producer, playing around with the program, great!

Once you gain complete control of the program, then you can add new choices.

Important Reminder: A bunch of new choices isn't necessarily going to help you at the beginning, so if you don't have them, don't worry about it.

Setting Up VSTs in Ableton Live

If you do have them, it is important to know how to make them work within Live. We do that within Live's Preferences.

1. Access Preferences:

   • Go to Options > Preferences (or Live Preferences if you're on Mac).

2. Configure Plugin Settings:

   • Navigate to File and Folder.
   • Here, you will see an option that says Use VST Plugin Custom Folder.
     • Set it to Yes if you want to use plugins.
     • If it's set to Off, change it to On.

3. Point to Your Custom Folder:

   • You just have to point to it anywhere on your computer.
   • Hit Browse to locate the folder where you saved your VSTs.
   • For example:
     • Under Local disc C, I have a folder named Music Making where I keep all my music-making programs and another folder labeled VSTs.

4. Organize Your Plugins:

   • In your custom folder, organize your effects and instruments.
   • I personally enjoy organization, as it's super helpful when you're producing.

5. Rescan the Folder:

   • After you point to the folder, you can rescane it to populate the VSTs into Ableton.

Navigating Your Plugins

Now that you have set this up, you can navigate through the folder to access your plugins. For example:

• Let's say I have a synth like Reaktor.
• I can quickly move this over into Razor, one of my favorite VST synths.

You can do things like come into your bass section where you might have a few plugins you love.

Let's hear that in context!

Using Effects Plugins

You also have the ability to not only use synthesizers here, but also effects. For example, I have Abic. Let me also throw in Crane, which I really like.

This is essentially just an extra plugin, another device that you can learn and use within your production.

Final Tip: All you have to do is go to Options > Preferences or Live Preferences and change your folder within Plugin Sources.