Description
Swingset is a Max For Live transformation tool that provides professional-grade quantizing and swing management with individual control for various note divisions. Super-intelligent note recognition allows you to swing, re-swing, and de-swing midi clips. It also allows you to correct the timing of recorded swung performances – something no other Ableton device can do.
1/8, 1/16, and 1/32 notes can be independently set to one of five settings: free, off, straight, swing, or both straight and swing. There’s a global swing setting along with individual swing offsets for each note division. Triplets can be realized by setting swing to 33% or 67%. The intelligent algorithm offers smooth performance and automatic base note recognition.
• Max For Live device – you must have the Max For Live application
• Operates on MIDI clips only
Swingset is available for sale on Gumroad
If you experience difficulty checking out on this site or prefer to purchase from an external marketplace, please try Gumroad.
A list of other available swing quantizing solutions is here – it’s smart to try these before buying Swingset.
tzapali –
If you’ve ever tried to add real character to Ableton’s timing, you know the Groove Pool gets the job done—but it’s not exactly the most refined approach, especially compared to other DAWs or classic hardware sequencers. I’ve always missed being able to shape different subdivisions independently within a single clip.
That’s exactly why Swingset turned out to be such a great discovery. It does what I’ve always wished Ableton could do natively: apply different swing values to different divisions inside the same MIDI clip—say, giving your 1/16 notes one kind of shuffle while your 1/8 notes move with a slightly different sway. On top of that, shifting individual divisions feels intuitive and reliable, and the device responds exactly the way you expect. No unpredictable timing weirdness, just clean, controlled groove manipulation.
Honestly, this is the kind of timing tool that should have been built into Ableton from the start.
Louis –
An absolute gem for those looking to add swing in Ableton, and a massive improvement over groove pool. For example, to dial in swing on hi-hats I would aimlessly drop groove presets onto my track, and rarely get what I was looking for. Swingset gives far more control and ease to tinker with. The ability to see notes shift as you adjust parameters was an unexpected bonus, and has helped me better understand what swing is. Couldn’t recommend it more.
Brandon Cole –
It’s not often that someone creates something like this that solves an issue so well and also so elegantly. Swing is the king of making things bounce and sound less robotic. Ableton’s groove pool is good, but I hate their implementation. This utility is just intuitive and works like a charm. Yes, you can build something like this yourself in M4L, but then, how long will that take you? A day? Is that day of not making music worth the cost of this device?
I am so happy that I found this. Thank you so much for sharing your work with the community.