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Ableton on Apple Silicon

I've been using M1 Mac minis since they were released, and I LOVE these machines. But, I have realized, you have to get them optimized JUST right to have the best experience with Ableton Live.

Here's two things I've learned about optimizing Ableton on Apple Silicon.

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Setting the Buffer Size

One of the most crucial optimizations for using Ableton Live on Apple Silicon Macs is setting the buffer size to 256 samples or lower. This is contrary to the conventional wisdom of raising the buffer size to avoid dropouts on non-Apple silicon machines.

The reason behind this is the unique architecture of Apple Silicon Macs, which consists of performance and efficiency cores. When Ableton Live is idle or requires less power, the machine switches to the efficiency core, resulting in dropouts.

By setting the buffer size to 256 or lower, you can avoid these issues and ensure a seamless performance.

Use Ableton Live 11.2 or Open and Re-save your files in Live 11.3

The Ableton Live 11.3 update introduces a new warping algorithm and a rescan of ASD files, which can result in longer load times. However, by opening your files in 11.3 and resaving them, you can mitigate these issues.

Alternatively, you can downgrade (or stay on Live 11.2 and wait till this is cleaned up)

It is important to note that this optimization is not exclusive to Apple Silicon Macs but can significantly improve performance on these machines.

Want the rest of my optimization tips? Check out the full tutorial below