In FL Studio you program drums in the Channel Rack. Every sound has a row, every row has a line of steps, and you click the steps on and off while the pattern loops. The whole beat is on screen at once.
Ableton Live does not have a Channel Rack. It has three ways to get close to one, and they suit different people.
What a step grid gives you
- One row per sound, with the sound’s name beside it.
- Steps you switch on and off with a click, and paint with a drag.
- The pattern keeps playing while you edit it.
- Every row visible at the same time.
Keep that list in mind for each option below.
1. A Drum Rack clip in Live’s MIDI editor
This is what Live gives you out of the box, in every edition.
- Put a Drum Rack on a MIDI track and load a sound on each pad.
- Double-click an empty clip slot to make a MIDI clip, and set its loop to one bar.
- In the clip’s editor, each pad is a row with its name on the left. Turn on Fold to hide the rows you are not using.
- Set the grid to a fixed 1/16 and press B for Draw Mode.
- Launch the clip and click in the grid.
It works, and it costs nothing. What you give up compared with a step sequencer: every note is a note in a clip, so taking one row to 32nds means changing the grid for the whole editor, there are no step lights to follow, and there is nothing to roll a pattern for you.
2. Push
If you own a Push, its drum layout has a step sequencer. Pick a pad, and the upper pads become that sound’s steps for the bar. It is fast and it is hands-on.
The limit is that you see one sound’s steps at a time. You move between sounds to see how the kick sits against the hat. It is a step sequencer, but it is not the all-rows-at-once view of the Channel Rack.
3. A step sequencer device
Max for Live devices can put a real step grid on a track. Loop Sequencer is ours, and this is it. Press Play and click the grid.
Edit the pattern as a table
It sits in front of a Drum Rack as a MIDI effect. The rows take their names from the rack’s pads. Against the list above:
- One row per sound. Up to 24 rows, eight on screen at a time.
- Click and drag to paint. Shift-drag or scroll on a step for velocity.
- It plays while you edit. The clock runs on Live’s transport.
- Every row at once.
And three things of its own:
- A resolution for each row. Click a row’s name and press ×2 to take that row to 32nds or 64ths, or ÷2 for 8ths or quarter notes. The other rows stay as they are.
- A randomizer that respects mutes. RANDOM rolls every unmuted row. Mute the kick you like and roll the rest.
- To Arrangement. One click writes the pattern to the track as a MIDI clip, so you finish the song in Live’s own timeline.
It needs Max for Live, which is part of Live Suite and an add-on for Live Standard. Loop Sequencer in detail.
Which one to use
| If you | Use |
|---|---|
| Have Live Intro, or Live Standard without Max for Live | A Drum Rack clip with Fold and Draw Mode |
| Own a Push and like programming on pads | Push’s step sequencer |
| Want the whole beat on one grid, with rolls on one row and a way to generate variations | A step sequencer device |
Questions
Does Ableton Live have a step sequencer?
Not as a built-in device in the way FL Studio has the Channel Rack. Live’s MIDI editor can be set up as a step grid, Push has a step sequencer for one sound at a time, and Max for Live devices such as Loop Sequencer add a full grid to a track.
Can I use FL Studio’s Channel Rack inside Ableton Live?
No. The Channel Rack is part of FL Studio. A Max for Live step sequencer gives you the same way of working inside Live: rows of steps, one row per sound.
Do I need Max for Live?
For a step sequencer device, yes. Max for Live is included in Live Suite and sold as an add-on for Live Standard. Without it, a Drum Rack clip in Live’s MIDI editor is the closest you can get.