Create a Live set with the Builder
Turn a folder of audio stems into a correctly marked Ableton set.
The Builder creates an Ableton Live project from your audio files, laid out song by song, with the locators SetStage needs already in place. It can target Live 11 or Live 12.
Name your stems
Use file names such as Track 1 Vox, Track 1 Music, Track 1 Click and Track 1 TC, or put one folder per song. The Builder splits the last word off as the stem type:
| Stem type | Recognised endings |
|---|---|
| INSTRUMENTALS | Instrumentals, Instrumental, Inst, Music, Backing, Backtrack, BT |
| VOX | Vox, Vocal, Vocals |
| CLICK | Click |
| TC | TC, Timecode |
It reads WAV, AIFF, CAF, MP3, M4A, AAC and FLAC files. Underscores and hyphens count as spaces.
1. Import
Choose an import method, then choose Choose audio files or folders. Add more with Import more audio.
| Method | How it groups |
|---|---|
| Smart Import | Infers songs and stem types from file names. |
| Folder = Song | Treats each selected folder as one song. |
| Prepared Names | Uses an unambiguous Song Stem naming convention, and warns you if it cannot. |
Files that could not be matched to a stem type are flagged, so you can assign them during review. Duplicates are dropped, and songs get a random colour.
2. Review
- Rename a song, move it earlier or later, or remove it. Song names must be unique.
- Rename a stem, remove it, move it to another song, or choose its bus. Every stem needs one.
- The output buses INSTRUMENTALS, VOX, CLICK and TC are always there. Add custom creates your own.
3. Set up the session
- Project name, which starts as “SetStage Session”.
- Ableton target: Live 11 or Live 12, whichever are installed on this Mac.
- Media: Copy into project makes a self-contained project, safest for moving the set. Reference originals keeps the original paths, so moving the audio can break the set.
- Timeline: tempo, pre-roll and gap in bars, and time signature. The defaults are 120 BPM, 2 bars of pre-roll, 2 bars of gap and 4/4. Clips stay unwarped.
4. Export
The page lists what needs fixing, or says “Ready to export”. Choose Create Ableton project and a destination folder. The Builder makes a folder called “Your Name Project”, with an Ableton set inside, and the audio in Samples/Imported. Then choose Open in Live or Reveal in Finder.
In the new set, each song is a group track containing its stems, and the buses are audio tracks sent to Ext. Out 1/2 at 0 dB. A locator carries each song’s name, with SONG END where it finishes, and songs follow each other with your gap between them, each starting on a bar.