How to make your own VST plugin for Ableton Live

Add Studio 56 to Ableton Live

Download Studio 56 and set it up. Then open Live and go to:

• On a Mac: Settings › Plug-Ins › Audio Units › Rescan
  Turn the Audio Units switch on (Audio Units v2 in newer versions), then press Rescan. Settings is called Preferences before Live 12.
• On Windows: Settings › Plug-Ins › VST3 Plug-In System Folders › Rescan
  Turn the switch on, then press Rescan. Settings is called Preferences before Live 12.
• Browser › Plug-Ins › Studio 56
• Drag it onto a MIDI track

Sign in inside Studio 56 with the account you use in your browser and it’s ready.

Make your first sound

Open Studio 56 in your browser and type the sound you want, like “a wide pad that slowly opens up over each chord,” and the AI builds it there. You can play it in your browser the moment it’s made and ask again for a change. Effects like reverb and delay go inside the sound and play with it.

When it sounds right, press Send to my DAW in your browser. Then choose it in Studio 56 on your MIDI track and play it from your keyboard or from the notes in a MIDI clip. Your first 3 sends to your DAW are free, and Pro sends as many as you want.

Your Live Sets keep their sounds

Every sound you send stays in your Studio 56 library and on your computer, so your Live Sets open with the same sounds and play without a connection. Making a new sound needs a connection.

What it costs

Building a sound by hand is free with no limit, and your first 3 asks to the AI are free. Pro is $10 a month, and the AI builds about 70 sounds a month on it. You can use what you make in songs, videos, live shows and commercial releases. The one thing you can’t do is sell the sounds themselves.