Your set, read channel by channel.

How it works

From a set file to a page you can test by ear.

1. 01

   Give it your set

   Drag the .als file onto the Breakdowns page; your browser reads it on your computer.

2. 02

   SoundAssist reads it

   Every channel, its devices and racks, the groups, the sends, the tracks that take their audio from another track, the automation and where the clips sit.

3. 03

   Read it, test it, save it

   The breakdown opens channel by channel. Each thing worth checking comes with a way to test it by ear. Save the whole page as a PDF.

What it reads

Everything the set file says about the sound.

• Every channel, with its device chain in order, from the first device to the last.
• Racks, such as an Audio Effect Rack, with each of their parallel chains.
• Groups, and which channels sit inside them.
• Parallel copies: the channels that take their audio from another channel, such as a drum bus feeding a crushed copy of itself.
• Sends and returns, and how much of each channel goes where.
• Automation, and which parameters move over the song.
• Where the clips sit on the timeline.
• The settings inside a plugin, where the plugin stores them readably. Some plugins keep their settings private; the breakdown says so per plugin and never guesses.

An example

Three channels of an invented set.

This is how a breakdown reads, channel by channel. The set here is made up for this page.

• Kick bus

  • Drum Buss
  • EQ Eight
  • Glue Compressor

  TechniqueParallel drum compression: a second channel takes its audio from this bus and crushes it, then sits quietly underneath.

  Worth checkingA processed copy sums with its source: both play the same audio, so they can cancel in places. Solo the group, flip the polarity of the copy with Utility, and listen in mono.

• Pad

  • Wavetable
  • Chorus-Ensemble
  • Auto Filter
  • Reverb

  TechniqueA wide pad whose filter cutoff is automated across the chorus, so the pad opens slowly.

  Worth checkingStereo width is stacked: the Chorus-Ensemble and the Reverb both widen the pad. Check the pad in mono or with a correlation meter.

• Sub

  • Operator
  • Saturator (off)
  • Utility

  TechniqueA sine sub kept in the centre by Utility, with a Saturator sitting in the chain.

  Worth checkingIs Saturator on Sub off on purpose? Toggle it and listen.

What it never does

It reads settings. Ears do the rest.

Never: judge the sound

It reads settings. Whether the mix works is for ears: yours, and the people you play it to.

Never: take your set off your computer

Your set file stays on your computer. Your browser reads it, and only the breakdown is saved. For a version Connect already syncs, SoundAssist reads the copy in your own private archive.

Never: show it to anyone else

A breakdown is private to you.

Which DAWs

Ableton Live today.

Ableton Live 11

Tested on real sets. Live 10 and 12 use the same format and are read the same way; tell us if one reads wrong.

Reaper, Studio One

Next

FL Studio, Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase

Not supported yet. They keep their projects in closed formats.

A bounce or a podcast file has no set to read, so there is no breakdown to make from it.

Your next set, read.

Bring a set, and read what is on every channel.