The quick answer
Add BUFFR to the Live track, group, or Main channel whose audio you want to remember. While capture is active, the plug-in keeps a rolling history for up to two hours. After the useful moment happens, select it in BUFFR and drag the audio or MIDI back into Live.
BUFFR is a retrospective audio and MIDI recorder plugin rather than a replacement for Live’s normal recording workflow. It must already be loaded, active, and receiving the source. It cannot reconstruct audio or MIDI from before it was running.
What Ableton Live already captures
Live’s built-in Capture MIDI is always listening on armed or input-monitored MIDI tracks. It can turn the phrase you just played into a clip and, in some situations, infer tempo and loop boundaries. Ableton documents the exact behavior in theLive 12 manual.
For audio, Live can route its Main output into an audio track withResampling, but you arm that destination and start recording before the material you want. See Ableton’sResampling documentation. That is deliberate master recording, not an audio equivalent of Capture MIDI.
What BUFFR adds to Live
- Retrospective audio from the track, group, or Main channel where the plug-in is loaded.
- A separate stereo System Audio source for a browser, media player, call, or another application.
- Host MIDI delivered to the plug-in, or one selected hardware controller through Global MIDI.
- All 16 MIDI channels, including CC, pitch bend, pressure, MPE, and host note expression.
- Up to two hours of selectable history, plus waveform editing, Smart Quantize, and Spectral Grab.
- Audio and Standard MIDI File drag-out into Live, with file export when drag-and-drop is not the right path.
One Main-channel instance remembers the summed Main signal; it does not turn the mix into automatic stems. Put BUFFR on individual tracks or groups when separate audio histories matter.
Set up the VST3 recorder in Ableton Live
- Install BUFFR and make sure Live has scanned its VST3 build.
- Load it on the Main channel for the mix, on a group for that section, or on a track for isolated audio.
- Choose Always, On sound, or Manual capture and set a history length from 1 to 120 minutes.
- Play normally and confirm the wanted source is moving in Capture Sources.
- After the performance, select the useful range and drag it into Live or export it to a file.
On macOS, Live can also load the signed Audio Unit build. VST3 is the common format across macOS and Windows. The BUFFR manual has current installation, source-routing, and drag troubleshooting.
Capture MIDI or use BUFFR as a MIDI recorder?
Use Live’s Capture MIDI when you want Live to create a clip from a monitored MIDI track and apply Live’s phrase and tempo logic. Use BUFFR when you want a longer visible event history beside audio, raw timing available for Smart Quantize, or the same recorder workflow in other DAWs.
Host MIDI follows what Live routes to the BUFFR instance.Global MIDI listens directly to one selected physical controller, which lets BUFFR remain on a group or Main channel without requiring that channel to be MIDI-armed. A Main-channel BUFFR does not automatically receive every MIDI clip in the Set. Use the host route for MIDI generated inside Live.
Record browser and System Audio in Ableton Live
Enable System Audio in BUFFR’s Capture Sources and play the other application. Its output appears on a separate stereo history lane beside the DAW signal. You can then recover only the useful range and drag it into Live without first constructing a loopback or aggregate-device route.
Windows and macOS System Audio can also contain audible Live output. Linux excludes the DAW host process family. Platform permissions and PipeWire requirements are covered in the dedicatedSystem Audio recording guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is BUFFR an audio version of Ableton Capture MIDI?
It fills that practical gap by keeping recent audio available after it plays, but it is a separate plug-in with its own timeline and editor. Live’s Capture MIDI remains the fastest built-in way to create a MIDI clip from a monitored track.
Can BUFFR recover a take from before it was loaded?
No. The plug-in must already be active, receiving the source, and retaining that moment in its history.
Can it record audio and MIDI at the same time?
Yes. BUFFR can retain host audio and MIDI together, plus Global MIDI and a separate System Audio lane when enabled.
Does this replace normal Live recording?
No. Use Live’s normal recording when you know what you want in advance. BUFFR is the safety net for choosing afterward.