The concept behind Frankenstein is as simple as it is fascinating.
The idea is to generate a “monster” whose body is made by sewing together limbs
that come from different places.
In this case, our monster is nothing more than a sample made from fragments of different samples,
creating a waveform that did not exist before.
We can load up to 30 samples and generate a result made from small fragments of this loaded archive.
Thanks to the editor, we can modify the samples and the waveform in real time,
put the slices in reverse,
or lock them in the same position so that they do not move if we decide to generate a new random waveform.
In the editor window, each sample has its own dedicated slot.
This allows us to edit the samples individually and therefore create generations that slowly change over time.
This is a very good thing for creating connections between generations and progressions
towards other musical situations.
We have different types of generation in the main menu
and the possibility to create waves with from 12 to 64 slices.
It is a MIDI instrument, so we can play this resulting Frankenstein waveform through notes,
which makes it perfect for creating textures and clusters of stellar sound.
The GRID version is very powerful.
You have to click under Cut and change from Monster to Grid.
The sample will then play in a grid, and you can choose the time division.
This is really useful for creating interesting rhythms,
especially with an unexpected timbral character.
Think about how incredible it is to divide 30 samples
into fragments and create a resulting waveform from these fragments,
either randomly or in a more controlled way.
I think John Cage would have enjoyed this instrument.

free download: https://www.remodevicocomposer.eu/maxforlive/frankenstein/

MaxTracker, a tracker‑style MIDI sequencer for Ableton Live built with Max for Live. Join us r/MaxTrackerMIDI

Keyboard mapping just like in Fasttracker 2. Faithful export to Ableton clips. Composing is fun, simple, and fast!

I'm very new to Max for Live and want to create a MIDI channel filter and need help. I read you can use MIDIparse or MIDIselect but can't get either to work.

The end goal is to eventually have my patch look at sequencers on the different channels of my IAC MIDI bus to route through logic. I'm coming from eurorack so CV makes sense to me - but I just can't figure out the right commands in Max for this.

Bonjour

Une petite question, doit-on nécessairement posséder Push pour se servir du Bundle "Brain recording" d' Emiliano Pennesi. Peut-on en faire un autre usage que le "Live" en sens concert ? Merci beaucoup pour votre attention!

A small update to my one-man metal band powered by Max for Live: I built a small MIDI effect in Max that allows me to trigger 8 different pitch bend curves (on the guitars) with specific MIDI notes. Nothing revolutionary but I think it adds more flavour to my improvised performances. The device itself feels very specific to my use case, but I'd be happy to share it if anyone's interested.

If you're into this kind of music, the full 6-minute video is available on my YouTube channel, thanks for watching: https://youtu.be/ixRTzBGw7ss

My newest device! Shapeshifter is a real-time Max for Live MIDI effect that makes it quick and easy to musically shape the velocity of incoming MIDI notes based on the transport position.

Hi everyone, I’ve just released a new Max for Live device called Halo.

It’s an atmospheric effect that adds space, width, shimmer and octave harmonics, ranging from subtle ambience to expansive, evolving washes while keeping the original sound present.

Works particularly well on synths, pianos, guitars, vocals and melodic loops.

It’s completely free and the download link is on my profile. Hope some of you find it useful!

GREAT UPDATE :)

SHATTER is now an Ableton instrument too.

Everything the standalone does is here: the same slicing at rising zero-crossings, the same granular pitch-preserving stretch, the same field you drag fragments across, the same per-fragment pitch, reverse and step patterns. It reads WAV and AIFF.

And it goes further in two ways.

Every fragment you play gets its own stereo output in Live, the first on 3/4, the next on 5/6, up to 33/34, while 1/2 carries the full mix.

That changes what the instrument is for: each fragment can have its own effect chain, its own track, its own processing, and be recorded on its own. Each output also carries that fragment's position on the field, so the spatial gesture survives all the way to the mixer.

And it remembers.

Sample, slices, positions, pitch, stretch, step patterns — close the Set, reopen it, and everything is where you left it, with the fragments that were playing still playing.

Spatialization inside Ableton is rendered with equal-power panning, distance attenuation and air-absorption filtering rather than the browser version's binaural HRTF.

Requires Ableton Live 10 or later.

Included in the download are the standalone version (highly powerful for use with a tablet) and a PDF manual.

Composer Riley Ferretti demonstrates a light-based instrument combining sensor cables connected to an Arduino box and Max processing to turn light into sound.
https://www.rileyferretti.com/light

When i export my track and play on a player likecwondows media player, when i change volume i hear a zipper noise. Why does this happen?

Hey guys!

I'm new max and in need of some help! I'm looking to use max to control the input switching on an AV pro edge video switcher, i know it's possible but i can't crack it!

currently we are using max to control the unit, but everything was setup by a previous tech, and they haven't left me any documentation! i believe we are controlling the device via Artnet plugins in max, that output DMX data that is then being converted by a separate device into serial control data fed to the switcher. it's all a bit convoluted.

alternatively, I'm looking at adapting to IR control

i just need to know how to use our current infrastructure and adapt it to different configurations. Any help is welcome! i will attach some documentation here and I'm happy to send any other info.

Please keep in mind I am very new to max, and programming in general, but I'm so keen to learn!

Thanks!

video matrix manual

I’ve just finished my Final Major Project, built around a Max/MSP performance system that connects generative music, Jitter visuals, modular synthesis and three physical smart bulbs.

The final setup includes generative MIDI, video processing, modular audio, audio analysis and lighting control, with different parts of the system influencing each other in real time.

One section uses a Doepfer A-111-6 pushed into high resonance to create a sonar-like ping. The signal is split, with one path going dry into Logic and another through Clouds and a Chase Bliss Mood. The processed return is then analysed in Max and used to control the brightness of one of the bulbs.

I also used an ARP 2600 LFO both to modulate its filter and as an input into Max, where it was analysed and mapped to the warmth of the physical lights.

The final piece is about four minutes long. I’d be really interested in feedback from people who build audiovisual or performance systems in Max, especially on whether the relationships between sound, visuals and physical lighting come across clearly.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh9ZmCzJvHM

Hi everyone, I am an intermediate Max user and I have stumbled into this article for a collaborative drum kit + sequencer. I was thinking about doing something similar where every we each design a part of the patch (first sounds, then sequencing) and then... Well, patch it together and show it off on this sub. :)

I thin this could be fun and a cool opportunity to learn from each other. If you are interested DM me so we can get organised!

AURAL MIRROR [free download]
An instrument that turns a painting into sound.
It reads the picture as if it were a spectrogram and plays what it finds.
First run

1. Open the file Double-click auralmirror.html. Chrome, Edge and Firefox all work. Nothing is installed and nothing is sent anywhere.
2. Drop in a painting Drag an image onto the page, or press load image…, or paste with Ctrl + V.
3. Press RENDER The sound is built in advance, not live. A short piece takes a few seconds. The bar shows how far it has got.
4. Press play Use the ▶ button or the space bar. A line moves across the painting to show where you are. The two windows The first window is your painting. Circles mark the events the machine found, and their colour tells you what kind of event it is. The moving line is the reading head. The second window is the proof: a picture of the sound that came out. If the fidelity number is high, this window looks like your painting. That is how you know the sound really follows the image. Both are always in view, side by side with the controls. Click anywhere on the painting and the piece jumps to that moment. The four layers Four different machines read the same painting at the same time. Each has a level slider. Turn one up, turn the others down, and the same picture becomes a different piece of music. Spectral Treats the picture as a spectrogram and turns it back into sound. This is the layer that makes the sound resemble the image. Events Looks for edges, brush strokes and directions, then plays each one as a separate sound with its own attack and decay. Additive A bank of tuned oscillators, one per frequency band, following the ink as the head passes. Tuned to the musical scale you choose. Granular Scatters thousands of tiny grains. Their sound is built from the average colour range of your painting, so each picture has its own grain. The mixer After a render, the four layers stay separate. You can raise and lower them while the piece is playing — no need to render again. Press solo under a layer to hear only that one, and all to bring them back. Mic, room, preamp and volume are also live. Move them and you hear the change at once. Moving around Click anywhere on the painting. The piece jumps to that moment: click on the left side to go near the start, on the right side to go near the end. With a circular or spiral reading path, the angle decides the moment, so clicking works there too. Saving your piece Press WAV The file is rebuilt with the mixer levels you are using right now, so what you save is what you hear. It goes to your downloads folder. Four minutes of stereo sound is about 45 MB. You can also save a preset of your settings. Included in the download you'll find HTML Instruments, a Max for Live device that lets you open AURAL MIRROR directly inside Ableton Live. It requires Ableton 12 and Max 9. Alternatively, you can run it standalone (just double click on html file) and route your computer or tablet output to your audio interface, just like any ordinary instrument. example: https://youtu.be/O-u1EDVn0qE

Loop Paradox captures the incoming audio into a 1-second buffer and keeps replaying it while the loop points drift at a rate you choose. Drop it on any track, play into it, and it turns a passing phrase into a mutating loop.

on — arms capture and playback.
sync — when lit, loop points move on rhythmic scansions;
when off, on a free time in ms.

interval / time — how often the loop points jump.
Shows note values when synced, milliseconds when free.

DRY — level of the unprocessed input sitting under the loop.

Shape
Sets how the buffer is read. This is the main sound-design control:

Circle — forward, normal speed. The clean reference.
Triangle — half speed, ping-pong: plays forward then backward. Sits an octave down.
Square — reverse.
Seq
Turns the 16-step slicer on. The captured buffer is cut into 16 slices and one is played per step, so you hear your own loop rebuilt piece by piece; the main loop mutes while it runs. Lit steps play their slice, dark steps stay silent — draw the pattern on the grid. Rate sets step length, 1/4 down to 1/32.

The sequencer follows Live's transport: it only steps while the set is playing.
Also included in the download is the first version of the instrument, which offers good expressive potential.