RealignClips

A ClyphX Pro User Action that realigns out-of-sync session clips in Ableton Live.

The Problem

Session clips in Ableton Live can end up playing out of sync. This happens when clips are launched with quantization set to None, when a clip is scrubbed or nudged to an off-grid position, or when clips are triggered at different quantization boundaries. The result is an audible phase offset between clips that should be playing in lockstep.

The Solution

RealignClips calls move_playing_pos(0) on playing clips, which triggers Ableton Live's internal audio engine to resync the clip's playback position to the global transport. This snaps clips back into alignment without stopping or re-launching them.

Actions

Action	Type	Description
realignall	Global	Resync all playing session clips across every track
realign	Track	Resync the playing clip on a specific track

Usage

Trigger via X-Clip

Create a MIDI clip and name it:

[SYNC] realignall

Launch the clip to realign all playing clips.

Trigger via X-Control

Map a MIDI button to fire the action:

sync_button = note, 1, 60, 0, 127, realignall

Track-Specific Examples

SEL/realign          # Realign the playing clip on the selected track
1/realign            # Realign the playing clip on track 1
1-4/realign          # Realign playing clips on tracks 1 through 4
"Drums"/realign      # Realign the playing clip on the track named "Drums"

Installation

1. Copy RealignClips.py into your ClyphX Pro user actions folder:

   <User Library>/Remote Scripts/ClyphX_Pro/clyphx_pro/user_actions/
   

   The exact path depends on your OS and Ableton installation. On macOS this is typically:

   ~/Music/Ableton/User Library/Remote Scripts/ClyphX_Pro/clyphx_pro/user_actions/
   

2. Restart Ableton Live.

3. Verify the action loaded by checking Log.txt for any import errors.

Tip: For a folder that survives ClyphX Pro updates, use the _user_actions/ folder instead. See the ClyphX Pro documentation for setup instructions.

Requirements

• Ableton Live 11 or 12
• ClyphX Pro

Technical Notes

Ableton's Live Object Model (LOM) exposes clip.playing_position, but this value is grid-aligned and does not reflect the actual sub-sample drift that causes audible sync issues. The calculated delta between a clip's reported position and the expected transport position is effectively zero, even when the clip is audibly out of sync.

Calling move_playing_pos(0) works because it triggers an internal resync in Live's audio engine regardless of the delta value. This is the simplest and most reliable way to correct clip drift from a control surface script.

License

MIT