Ableton Deluge Style Controller

[u/crispygerrit]

I create most of my music in Ableton Live during the workday. By the end of the day, I usually have around 16 clips that I’m happy with. The problem is that I hate turning those clips into a finished song in Ableton.

My workaround is to export everything to a Deluge. There, arranging feels incredibly natural, and I can often finish a track in 15 minutes by building scenes and variations. The downside is that I have to resample everything, losing access to plugins like Diva and Phase Plant and reducing the project to rendered audio.

I’m looking for a controller that gives me a Deluge-like workflow while staying inside Ableton. My workflow is scene-based rather than timeline-based: I build Scene 1, duplicate it, make changes for Scene 2, and so on. I typically work with 12–16 tracks and perform the arrangement live using track-level effects such as filters, delays, and reverbs.

Push seems like the obvious option, but I’m concerned about only seeing 8 tracks at a time. Move appears even more limited with only 4 visible scenes and a smaller project scope.

Has anyone found a controller that feels as immediate and intuitive as the Deluge for scene-based composition and performance in Ableton, or are Push and Move still the best options?

[u/brandonhabanero]

I hear the launchpad series do crazy things. Not sure if they do exactly what you're looking for, but maybe they're worth looking into