When creating music in Ableton Live, the built-in metronome is an essential tool that helps keep your rhythm on track. However, the default metronome sounds may get annoying or not match your personal preference. Fortunately, changing or replacing the metronome sound in Ableton Live is relatively simple and can enhance your workflow. Let’s walk you through the steps to change the metronome sound, whether you want a classic click, a wood block sound, or your own custom audio. Let’s dive in!

Changing the metronome sound

You can select from three Metronome sounds: Classic, Click, and Wood. To change the sound, open the Metronome settings by clicking the drop-down menu.

To replace the default audio files with your own:

For Mac:

  1. Right-click (or control-click) on the Live application in Finder and select “Show Package Contents.”
  2. Navigate to Contents/App-Resources/Misc/Metronome/Samples/ and locate the files named “Metronome.wav” and “MetronomeUp.wav.”
  3. Rename your existing “MetronomeUp.wav” and “Metronome.wav” files to “MetronomeUpBackup.wav” and “MetronomeBackup.wav” (keep these backups if you wish to revert later).
  4. Save your custom Metronome sounds as “Metronome.wav” and “MetronomeUp.wav,” and place them in the same folder mentioned above.
  5. To restore the original Metronome sounds, delete your custom files and rename the backup files by removing “Backup” from their names.

For Windows:

  1. Locate the original Metronome sounds at the following path:
    C:\ProgramData\Ableton\Live x\Resources\Misc\Metronome\Samples\
    (Note: This is a hidden folder)
  2. Rename “MetronomeUp.wav” and “Metronome.wav” to “MetronomeUpBackup.wav” and “MetronomeBackup.wav” (keep these backups if you want to revert later).
  3. Save your custom Metronome sounds as “Metronome.wav” and “MetronomeUp.wav,” and paste them into the specified folder.
  4. To restore the original sounds, delete your custom files and rename the backup files by removing “Backup” from their names.

Remember – RouteNote Create subscriptions start from as little as $2.99. You also get 10 FREE credits to spend on samples along with access to our FREE sample pack bundle when you sign-up!

try free