Published
Wed, Nov 25, 2009, 11:30
- Ableton and Cycling '74's long awaited collaboration puts the modular possibilities of Max/MSP inside Live.
Ableton and Cycling '74 have announced the arrival of Max for Live.
For the uninitiated, Max/MSP is the brainchild of the San Franciscan software developer Cycling '74, based upon a visual programming language for music. Due to its endless modular capabilities, shared libraries and third party "external objects," a thriving community has sprung up around the program; one that could now see its number swell greatly thanks to Ableton.
Said to be two years in the making, Max for Live allows users to create and edit their own devices such as synths, effects and algorithmic composition tools, and slot them neatly into Live's interface as if they were already native. As is the case with most of these types of open-ended software developments (think Reaktor), Max for Live could seem somewhat daunting for beginners. Ableton and Cycling '74 have your back, though, thanks to a collection of premium instruments and effects. Straight out of the box Max for Live includes a step sequencer, buffer shuffler, loop shifter, tutorials and a button matrix step sequencer. For the full spec list head over to the Max for Live page on the Ableton site, or cast your eyes over the clip below.
Max for Live is available now priced $299/EUR249.