Kit Pro guide · Ableton Live
How to create Ableton Drum Racks from samples
Build a 16-pad Drum Rack from your samples with Kit Pro, export an ADG preset and load it on a MIDI track in Ableton Live.
Before you start
- Kit Pro 0.3 or later on an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 12 or newer; an activated license to generate racks.
- Ableton Live 12.4.5 or later. This guide covers Live’s .adg Drum Racks.
- A folder of WAV, AIFF or FLAC drum one-shots. Start with mono or stereo WAV files for your first rack.
Step 1
Scan a folder of drum one-shots
Put the sounds you want to use in a folder, then drop that folder into Kit Pro’s Scan screen. You can also click the drop target to choose a folder. Kit Pro reads WAV, AIFF and FLAC files, including files in subfolders.
Use recognizable file or folder names such as kick, snare, clap and closed hat. Kit Pro sorts sounds by names, rather than listening to the audio. Keep loops and unwanted samples outside the folder you scan.
Step 2
Choose the Drum Rack format and layout
On the Build screen, name the kit and choose Output → Format → .adg · Ableton Live Drum Rack. Set Kits to 1; turn off One program per folder if you want a single rack from the whole selection.
Choose Ableton-style or General MIDI (36–51) as your layout. The rack uses Bank A’s 16 pads on MIDI notes 36–51 (C1–D#2 in Live). For custom placement, use Manage Layouts. Give open and closed hats the same mute group to turn it into a Live choke group.
Step 3
Audition and arrange the 16 pads
Click each pad to hear its sample and drag to swap positions. Use Shuffle picks if you want another selection. Empty pads remain empty in the exported rack, so check that the sounds you need are present.
Each populated pad becomes one Simpler in One-Shot / Trigger mode with Warp off. Velocity layering, MPCe expression and XPM templates do not apply to ADG output. If your source set has velocity variations, they can occupy separate pads.
Step 4
Generate the ADG preset with its samples
Choose an output Folder and click Generate kit. Activate through Unlock if the button says Unlock to generate. Wait for the export to complete and resolve any reported errors.
The generated kit folder contains your .adg preset and a Samples folder. Keep them together when moving the rack: the preset refers to those copied samples. Kit Pro leaves your originals untouched.
Step 5
Load the rack on a MIDI track in Live
Open Live 12.4.5 or later and drag the generated .adg from Finder onto a MIDI track. Play MIDI notes 36–51 from a controller or clip, or click the Drum Rack pads to audition them.
Check every populated pad and test the hats’ choke behavior. Save your Live Set. If you transfer the exported rack later, move the complete kit folder with Samples beside the .adg, then load it from its new location.
Troubleshooting
Live cannot open the preset
Check that you are using Live 12.4.5 or later and exported .adg. The .ablpresetbundle option is for Move and Note. If export reported an error, resolve it and generate a complete rack again.
Live reports missing samples after I move the rack
Restore the Samples folder beside the .adg, keeping the generated structure intact, and load the preset again. Transfer the complete kit folder rather than the preset alone.
My controller plays silent pads
The exported rack occupies MIDI notes 36–51. Check your controller’s note range or octave setting, and confirm those pads had samples in Kit Pro’s preview. Empty source pads stay empty.
Open and closed hats overlap
Put the hat pads in the same nonzero mute group in Manage Layouts, then generate and reload the rack. ADG export converts layout mute groups into Live choke groups.
Some samples do not export
ADG export stops on unreadable, empty, unsupported or multichannel audio. Start with readable mono or stereo WAV one-shots, replace the file named in the error and generate again. Use the new completed export rather than an incomplete folder.
Why do I only get 16 pads?
Kit Pro’s ADG export uses Bank A on notes 36–51. Sorted layouts stop at 16 pads and can warn about sounds that do not fit. Generate additional kits to cover a larger selection.
Still stuck? Contact DorDSP support with your export format, app version and the error message.