Transferring drum kit presets to Ableton Move is easy, and there are a few ways to do it.
The tricky part is converting the kits into the correct preset format in the first place. The new format is called .ablpresetbundle and can be imported into Ableton Move as well as Ableton Note for iOS .
Currently, converting your .adg Drum Rack presets manually is a long tedious process which Ableton explains on their website. The other option is to automatically convert your Sample Packs into Ableton Move drum kits using Kit Maker.
Kit Maker 2.3.3 beta allows you to convert your drum Sample Packs, or Maschine Expansions, into Ableton Move drum kit presets (.ablpresetbundle format). Simply drag and drop your packs into Kit Maker and the Ableton Move Drum Kits are created and organized automatically.
Although this output format isn’t in the current main release (2.3.2), Kit Maker customers can get the 2.3.3 Beta here and start making Ableton Move kits right now!
The article below focuses on how to transfer your presets to the Ableton Move once you have them created, either through Kit Maker or made manually.
Transferring Drum Kits to Ableton Move
Once you have some drum kit presets in the .ablpresetbundle format, there are a couple of simple ways to transfer them
Method 1: Transfer Kits to Move via WiFi
This is the easiest method for most users.
First, make sure your Ableton Move and your desktop computer are connected to the same WiFi network.
On the Ableton Move, hold Shift (three dots icon) and press the Settings button (gear icon).
(Optional: Check the URL) Using the physical wheel, choose the “Cloud” option. This will display the URL which allows you access the Move from your computer. It is move.local by default.
On your desktop browser, enter the url move.local (or http://move.local ). Follow the instructions to enter the displayed number and you’ll then have access the Move Manager. The Move Manager is a simple web interface that allows you to locally connect to your Move. It is important to remember that this is a local direct connection, not a cloud service, so your Move will need to be turned on and connected to the same network as your computer.
Click the Presets tab in the Move Manager. Transferring the kits is as easy as dragging the .ablpresetbundle files from your computer onto the Move Manager screen. It only accepts the .ablpresetbundle file format.
Note that folder directories that contain .ablpresetbundle files are also accepted. This means that if you have a folder like “Faded Reels” that contains your kits from that Expansion, you can drag the entire “Faded Reels” folder, and it will appear in the Ableton Move as a directory.
If you are a Kit Maker user and are managing your kits inside folders as mentioned above, remember to disable the ‘Include Expansion Name in Maschine Kits’ option in the Kit Maker preferences. (The title of the Maschine Expansion is not needed in each kit name if the kits are already organized into folders)
Method 2: Transfer Kits to Move via USB Cable
This is an alternate option for users that may be on the go or don’t have Wifi access.
Connect to your computer using a USB Cable.
Now, go to move.local on your desktop browser.
From here on, the rest of the steps are the same as the Wifi instructions above.
The official Ableton article on using Move Manager can be found here
Transferring Drum Kits to Ableton Note
Share your .ablpresetbundle presets with your device by using Cloud storage, or sending them directly to your device using Airdrop.
Use the iOS ‘Files’ app on your device to access the presets. Opening a .ablpresetbundle will automatically add it to your kits in Ableton Note.
Kits can be found in Ableton Note by navigating the presets browser. Go back until you can choose between ‘Core Library’ and ‘User Library’.
Navigate to ‘User Library > Drums’
Open your drum kit and start playing!