How to Set Default Behavior in Ableton Live

Defaults let Ableton Live load tracks, devices, and new Sets in a predictable starting state. Use them for choices that you make repeatedly, such as an EQ on new audio tracks or a preferred instrument configuration, but keep the defaults simple enough to remain useful across projects.

Video walkthrough

Choose the kind of default you need

Live supports different defaults for different purposes:

  • A device default preset loads a device with a chosen parameter state.
  • A default Audio Track or default MIDI Track loads a new track with its chosen routing and device chain.
  • A Default Set opens when you create a new Live Set.
  • A Template Set provides an alternative repeatable starting point for a specific workflow.

Decide whether the repeated behavior belongs to a device, one track type, or every new Set. Do not use a Default Set for a preference that only belongs to one device.

Save a device default preset

Load the instrument, MIDI effect, audio effect, or supported plug-in configuration that you want to customize. Adjust its parameters, then right-click its title bar or header and choose Save as Default Preset.

From then on, loading that Live device starts with the saved default. For third-party plug-ins, Save as Default Configuration saves the configured parameter panel, not the plug-in’s sound preset; save a Rack if you need to recall a particular plug-in sound with its Live configuration.

Save default Audio and MIDI tracks

Build the track that should appear when you create a new one. It can contain routing, monitoring choices, instruments, effects, and other settings that are appropriate for every track of that type.

Right-click the track header and choose Save as Default Audio Track or Save as Default MIDI Track. Create a new track of the same type to test it immediately. Return and Main tracks do not have equivalent default-track commands, so include recurring return-track routing in a Default Set or a template instead.

Create a Default Set or template

Create the tracks, return tracks, routing, devices, and mappings that you want at the beginning of every project. Then choose File > Save Live Set as Default Set. Opening a new Set with Cmd+N on macOS or Ctrl+N on Windows now uses that configuration.

Use File > Save Live Set as Template instead when you need several different starting points, such as separate recording, writing, and performance setups. Open the Templates Browser label to start from one of them, or right-click a template and choose Set Default Live Set to make it the main default.

Restore a useful baseline

Review defaults after a few real projects. Remove a device or routing choice that appears too often or makes new Sets slow to open. To restore the factory Default Set, open the Templates label, right-click DefaultLiveSet.als, and choose Set Default Live Set. To restore a device or track default, remove the corresponding saved default from the User Library’s Defaults folder.

Defaults should reduce routine setup without hiding important decisions. Ableton’s current Using defaults and Default Set and Template Sets guides cover the available types. The source walkthrough is Learn Live: Using defaults.