Best Non-Stock Plugins for Ableton Users

While Ableton Live comes equipped with a great collection of stock plugins, many producers and musicians seek additional tools to enhance their workflow and expand their creative possibilities. The plugin ecosystem offers a wealth of third-party options that can complement and extend the capabilities of Ableton Live. In this article, we explore some of the best non-stock plugins that Ableton users should consider adding to their arsenal.

FabFilter Pro-R2

Ableton’s stock reverb is a great plugin, but it may not be the best option in most cases. It might need quite some tweaking every time to provide the sound you are looking for. FabFilter Pro-R 2 is a great alternative. The FabFilter Pro-R 2 is a reverb plugin that makes it easy to achieve the desired reverb sound without needing extensive technical knowledge. It has user-friendly controls like Brightness, Character, and Distance that allow you to adjust the reverb’s characteristics intuitively. The Space control lets you seamlessly blend between different room models, automatically setting an appropriate decay time for a natural result. The plugin offers a unique Decay Rate EQ feature, which provides flexible control over the decay time across different frequency ranges using parametric EQ bands. This innovative approach makes it simpler to shape the reverb’s decay characteristics compared to traditional crossover systems. Pro-R 2 also includes algorithms for emulating vintage digital reverbs and plate reverbs, as well as features like saturation, compression, and ducking for better integration with the mix.

KNOW MORE

---

D16 Phoscyon 2

Ableton does have an Operator through which you can create an acid bassline, but it is nothing compared to other emulations and the features they provide. One such option is the D16 Phoscyon 2. Phoscyon 2 is a powerful and authentic emulation of the legendary 303 “silver box” synthesizer. It offers an unprecedented level of accuracy in recreating the original sound while also providing advanced controls and features beyond the original hardware. The plugin includes a convenient built-in sequencer with randomization options, live override capabilities, and easy drag-and-drop export to DAWs. Additionally, Phoscyon 2 boasts a state-of-the-art effects chain with various distortion models, reverb, EQ, delay, chorus, and limiting options. The vibrato effect is a unique feature that replicates a distinctive 303-style vibrato sound. Overall, Phoscyon 2 is a comprehensive and flexible tool for creating authentic acid basslines and exploring new sonic territories beyond the limitations of the original hardware.

KNOW MORE

---

FabFilter Pro-Q 3

Ableton has a great EQ plugin in the form of EQ Eight, but the only thing it lacks is dynamic EQ. The Pro-Q 3 by FabFilter has a great visual interface along with a plethora of controls that make it a much more convenient option than the Ableton stock EQ plugin. With up to 24 bands, you can meticulously shape the audio by boosting or cutting specific frequencies. The optional Dynamic EQ mode allows for dynamic equalization with various slope settings, perfectly matching the analog counterpart and enabling external side-chain triggering. The plugin boasts a gorgeous Retina interface with a large interactive EQ display, making multi-band selection and editing a breeze. New ultra-steep ‘Brickwall’ slope settings for low-pass and high-pass filters provide precise frequency filtering. Pro-Q 3 also supports full immersive Dolby Atmos surround sound up to 9.1.6 channels, with intelligent speaker selection. Another noteworthy feature is the ability to visualize the spectrum from other Pro-Q 3 instances, including collision detection. Additionally, you can process the mid/side or left/right signals separately, allowing for targeted equalization of specific components.

KNOW MORE

---

XLN Audio Life

Life by XLN Audio is a unique plugin that allows you to create beats instantly from sounds captured in your everyday life. The companion Field Recorder app lets you record anything with your mobile device and instantly import it into the plugin. You can also record directly from your DAW or import existing audio/video files. Once a sound is loaded, Life automatically slices, processes, and generates beat variations from it using machine learning. You can then audition and tweak the beats to your liking using features like Sound Variation, Pattern Variation, and detailed editing of slice points, effects, and sequencers. Life enables you to find inspiration in the mundane sounds around you and easily transform them into creative rhythmic elements to add a personal touch to your music productions. Something like this does not exist within the Ableton Live stock plugin spectrum.

KNOW MORE

---

Oeksound Soothe 2

Soothe2 is a powerful dynamic resonance suppressor plugin that helps smooth out harshness and problematic resonances in your audio sources. It automatically identifies and reduces harsh frequencies on the fly, saving you from having to manually notch out problematic areas with an EQ. The reduction is applied transparently, only kicking in where needed and preserving the original timbre of the sound. This makes Soothe2 incredibly useful for taming sibilance in vocals, managing harsh overtones in instruments like guitars and violins, clearing muddiness and boominess from suboptimal recordings, and generally rebalancing the tonal character of any sound source. With intuitive controls like hard/soft modes, attack/release, and mid/side or left/right processing, Soothe2 offers both simplicity for beginners and advanced features for more surgical tone-shaping tasks. Widely praised by top producers and engineers, Soothe2 is an essential mixing tool that can save you significant time and effort compared to manual EQ notching.

KNOW MORE

---

iZotope RX 10 Standard

RX 10 Standard is a comprehensive audio repair and cleanup toolkit trusted by professionals to restore problematic recordings to pristine condition. The new Repair Assistant plugin uses machine learning to automatically detect and fix audio issues with simple dial controls. The dynamic De-hum mode adapts to remove hums and interference on-the-fly. The Music Rebalance feature lets you adjust the levels of vocals, bass, etc., to rebalance mixes or create stems. The Spectral Editor, integrated with many DAWs via ARA, enables surgical removal of unwanted sounds. Other highlights include text-based navigation of dialogue files, improved selection feathering, and a new interactive tour for first-time users. The RX 10 Standard provides intelligent and reliable tools to quickly clean up audio and deliver clear, broadcast-ready sound for music, post-production, podcasts, and more.

KNOW MORE

---

Antares Auto-Tune Pro 11

Auto-Tune Pro 11 is the most advanced version of the industry-standard vocal pitch correction plugin. The major new feature is a 4-part Harmony Player that lets you create, tune, mix, and MIDI trigger up to four harmonies within the plugin itself. It also introduces smart MIDI mapping for easily controlling parameters via MIDI controllers, streamlined pitch editing tools in Graph Mode, and a refreshed user interface. Auto-Tune Pro 11 retains its core automatic real-time pitch correction in Auto Mode as well as the precise manual editing capabilities of Graph Mode. Other highlights include ARA2 support for tighter DAW integration, a multi-view feature for working on multiple vocals simultaneously, artist presets, and optimized performance on Apple Silicon chips.

KNOW MORE

---

While Ableton Live’s stock plugins are powerful tools, incorporating these non-stock plugins can significantly enhance your workflow, creative possibilities, and overall production quality.

Tags: Ableton stock plugins, best plugins for Ableton, non stock plugins for Ableton, acid plugins for Ableton, Reverb plugins for Ableton, Auto-Tune in Ableton Live.