Sitting here hitting F5 on the beta waiting for a version with Max 9, it looks like a hell of an update:
Ableton Audio Objects (ABL) will steal the show right away. Cycling ’74 has built direct access to Ableton’s sound tools directly into the Max environment. That means you can open up versions of complete devices like the Roar distortion/shaper/modulation effect, gorgeous Drift synth, and multi-faceted Echo, and integrate them with your patches. There are also lower-level DSP building blocks so you can construct your own devices using the same materials Ableton uses. You’re basically getting access to Ableton’s kitchen of DSP. What’s in there:
10 Devices: Drift, Roar, Compressor, Limiter, Reverb, and more… (abl.device.xxx~)
Yeah, I’ve never really felt the need to buy a full version of max seeing as I’m only ever really patching for Live anyway - it’s not exactly cheap. I guess it’ll be a while before Max for Live 9 is bundled in? Not sure how this works, but it seems like there’s normally a week or two gap between Max being updated and it coming to Live?
Also don’t really know Max well enough to pinpoint what’s going to be in this for Push users - the potential of Max patches with Ableton devices/algorithms is pretty obvious, but I couldn’t see at a glance is there going to be updates for stuff like dropping audio files into devices in standalone which iirc was supposed to be a Max limitation.
It seems it will be finally possible to fix missing Ableton devices parameters on Push 3 Standalone (like missed “to F2” in Analog).
But too expensive, let’s wait for a discount.
I love Max. Love it. But as it expands its reach, I keep finding other, more focused tools. I already go to Bitwig’s grid for synth stuff. I started using Cmajor for max-like DSP I can write in code. After bouncing off jitter a few times, I’ve started gaining traction with Touch Designer. I don’t use Live so all of that integration is useless to me. I’m really interested in RNBO, but not pay-for-whole-new-independent-license-plus-Max interested.
I don’t know. I’m probably just jealous of the fun my Ableton brethren are having. But I’m excitedly looking for a reason to jump into 9 and haven’t found it yet.
Could someone explain for a newbie what this means for Max for Live? Will Max 9 (or whatever subset of it constitutes M4L) be part of Live 13? Or are we more likely to see it in something like 12.2 whenever that happens?
Live usually adds support for whatever the latest version of Max is. Since 12.1 just came out and Max9 just came out i’d expect Max 9 to be supported sooner rather than later but definitely in Live 12.x and not a whole version later…
edit: also, i think Max9 had a pretty long Beta and since Live and Cycling are more or less the same company i’d be surprised if it isnt’ already working (unofficially) fine in Live 12.1 but don’t quote me on that
anyone using Max for video? I’m seriously considering Max9 Jitter over Touchdesigner but damn $400 is pricey… just wondering if it’s as good as TD or maybe even better
Yeah on the Max Discord they said this timeline is up to Ableton, but you can already use it by downloading Max 9 then setting your Max application path in Ableton settings to point to that. Seems to work very well for me, and obviously unlocks the ability to use it without a trial.
Super cool update. Very excited by the improved JS integration, for me it’s the best way to do some complex things but the old language version was a pain. Hopefully they can modernize the underlying APIs next. The ABL devices seem very cool for building “systems” without having to dive into all the gory details. The new parameter connect function is awesome too!
Installed Max9 and got a hang yesterday at C74s Discord where Tom Hall and others shared their ideas and possibilities.
What an amazing update… @chapelierfou you are right; using meld and roar inside max9 is so awesome. Now I don’t have to route my patches from max to live.
when you consider what you’re getting for that I’d say that its very reasonable- Max, MSP, Gen and Jitter. Its heavily updated throughout its lifespan and the inbuilt help files and tutorials for Max, MSP and Jitter (but not for gen) make it an absolute pleasure to work with and learn as you’re going along. Maybe give the 30 day free trial a shot and see what you think.
oh no the price is reasonable for the whole package for sure, but I don’t intend to use the audio part at all, just the Jitter, I already tried Max long time ago and it’s too deep for me to dig in anytime soon, so I’m just interested replacing the TD with Jitter…
I’ll try a trial with different email because my usual one already used I think
Well Max and Jitter are broadly the same in how you use them/how they are programmed so id say if you didn’t like Max for its depth then you’d feel no differently about Jitter. But see what you think with the trial. It looks like Max 9 might be set up to be more intuitive/less austere than previous versions so the depth thing might not be that much of a hurdle this time round?
