Supported sample formats

Ableton Live supports the sample loop formats listed in this guide.

Supported formats

  • REX files are available in Live Standard and Suite. They can be loaded into audio tracks and will adapt to the tempo of the Set. In addition, REX files can also be sliced to a new MIDI track. 
  • ACID Loops are .wav files that contain additional ACID loop tags which, however, can not be used in Live. 
  • Soundtrack Loops are .aif files equipped with Soundtrack loop tags. Note that Live can not use specific Soundtrack loop tags.

Conversion

In case a sample format is not supported or if the file cannot be imported, you may need to convert the file. We recommend to research online to find the file conversion tool that suits you the most.

Screen_Shot_2018-01-25_at_15.00.58.pngNote: As of Live 11 it is no longer possible to import .nki, .exs, .sf2, or .gig files into Sampler.

Sampler supports the following third-party sample formats:

Live 10 and earlier:

  • GigaStudio
  • EXS
  • SoundFont
  • Kontakt

Live 8 and earlier:

  • AKAI S1000
  • AKAI S3000

Kontakt .nki files can only be imported from .nki files that have been created in Kontakt 4.2.1 or older due to a change in the Kontakt file format implemented by Native Instruments with Kontakt 4.2.2.

 

Ableton offers these in-depth help and learning resources:

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