Ableset stuck on "Waiting for Ableton to Start"

General
1

Hey all! I’m very new to the Ableset game and I’m having an issue with it being stuck on the “Waiting for Ableton to Start” screen while Ableton is open. I did some digging and it seems that Ableset may not have been properly installed on my laptop because I’m not seeing an Ableset folder in the User Library and also not seeing it pop up in the local network allowance section in my privacy/security settings. I’ve tried restarting the laptop, opening Ableton/Ableset in different orders, and uninstalling Ableset+reinstalling multiple times and it’s still stuck. My guess is it’s somehow now talking to Ableton but there’s no real clue as to why. I saw the other thread regarding this issue but I seem to be having the same problem that’s resulting from a different cause. Hoping to get some help!

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Hey @pandapanduro03, welcome to the forum!

This usually means AbleSet can’t talk to Live because its plugin (a Control Surface script) either wasn’t installed into the User Library that Live is actually using, or it isn’t selected in Live’s MIDI settings. Let’s check both:

1. Find the User Library Live is using

In Ableton Live, open Settings → Library and look at the Location of User Library path. Live doesn’t always use the default location (e.g. if it was moved to an external drive or another folder at some point), so this is the path that matters.

For reference, the default locations are:

  • macOS: /Users/[username]/Music/Ableton/User Library
  • Windows: \Users\[username]\Documents\Ableton\User Library

2. Install the AbleSet plugin

  1. Open AbleSet’s icon tray and click the gear icon.
  2. Select “Add AbleSet Plugin to Ableton”.
  3. Follow the assistant, making sure the plugin ends up in the User Library path from step 1.
  4. Once it’s done, check that the plugin is inside the Remote Scripts folder of that User Library.

3. Select AbleSet as a Control Surface

  1. Restart Ableton Live so it picks up the new script.
  2. Go to Settings → Link, Tempo & MIDI.
  3. In one of the empty Control Surface slots, select AbleSet.

After that, AbleSet should connect right away. If it still doesn’t, please check whether Live’s status bar (bottom of the Live window) shows any error message and let me know what it says.

You can also see this in action in the official tutorial: How to Install AbleSet – Connecting to Ableton Live

Let me know if this fixes it on your end :slightly_smiling_face:

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Tried all of those and still no luck. Followed the assistant and I found the Ableset folder ending up in the Remote Scripts folder but it’s not ending up in the general User Library. I tried manually locating the User Library folder in the install assistant as well. Also didn’t see any error messages at the bottom Ableton upon opening after completing all these steps.

4

Hey @pandapanduro03,

Thanks for testing!

Just to clear one thing up: the AbleSet folder living inside Remote Scripts is exactly where it should be, it isn’t supposed to show up at the top level of the User Library.

A couple of questions so we can narrow this down:

  • Are you on macOS or Windows, and which version?
  • Which version of Ableton Live are you running (Live 11 or 12, and the exact build)?
  • Which version of AbleSet is installed?
  • After restarting Live, does AbleSet actually appear in the Control Surface dropdown under Settings → Link, Tempo & MIDI, and is it selected in one of the slots?

If AbleSet does show up there and is selected but the connection still doesn’t come through, could you please create a Log Package? You can create a log package by opening AbleSet’s icon tray, clicking the gear icon, and then selecting “Create Log Package”. Please make sure to include your project files as well (just the .als files, no audio needed). To send the files, you can upload them to AbleSet’s support inbox.

I’m looking forward to your reply!

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Hey! I am on macOS Tahoe 26.4.1, Ableton Live 12 Suite 12.4.1, Ableset 3.1.5.

I figured out what the issue was. I recently inherited this rig, and there were multiple versions of Ableton Live that were installed on this laptop that all had unique names. Assuming because it was easier to decipher which was which. I found that Ableset couldn’t recognize the program because it wasn’t named “Ableton Live 12 Suite”. So after a simple rename of which version I am actually using for this show, Ableset fired right up and all has been well.

Thanks so much for the quick reply and the help! I’m happy to give more information on this if it is beneficial to you guys as well.

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