The company Cycling74 announced Max/Msp 6 which will arrive fall 2011. Prices have been lowered, starting from $59 for a student 12-month license. Upgrade prices for existing Max5 users will be $199, if there will be a "max for live" upgrade fee is not known at the moment.

Main news are:

1. Performance: code generation, HTML5 and a new 2d Graphics API in Javascript has been announced.
2. Quality: "output gaps" should not be audible anymore when working on running patches, as well as "an advanced toolset for high quality rendering 3-D objects" has been announced. Jitter comes with a new physics engine and better support for 3D model and animation files. Better support for cameras and lighting, as well as a new "materials" systems have also been introduced.
3. Workflow: a new attribute monitoring and editing workflow, as well as a "new project feature, where you can see all the patchers, code, and media files you’re using" has been announced.

You can read the full announcement at the Cyling74 website, as well as read the @cycling74 twitter feed for more recent updates.

The release notes according to Ableton:

Improvements and feature changes

• Added bank names for Amp instant mapping, which in turn fixes a problem with the Axiom DirectLink control surface.
• Fixed problems with the Mbox2 related to non-integer sample rates.
• Added control surface support for Akai Professional LPD8.
• From now on, betas will ask to check for updates only once a week, and starting a week after first run.
• the "Peek" button on the Axiom Pro now works as a momentary control

Max for Live improvements and feature changes

(Note: Most of these changes require an update to the latest version of Max, which is available from http://cycling74.com/downloads/)

• Devices inside Racks can now be accessed via the Max for Live API
• Return tracks can now be observed via the Max for Live API

Live devices and parameters can now be much more easily mapped to controls in Max devices. Devices can safely be moved within a Live Set without breaking any existing mappings. Also, devices and Sets can be saved and loaded without breaking existing mappings. The following changes make this possible:

• There is now a simple way to observe the selected parameter via the Max for Live API, using "live.path live_set view selected_parameter." This can be used, for example, to build a custom "map mode" to quickly map parameters in your Live Set to controls in a Max device.
• Live objects like tracks, clips or parameters retain their identity (id nn) during operations like move, save/restore, cut/paste, delete/undo, the identity is global and can be communicated via Max's Send and Receive objects.
• live.object, live.observer and live.remote~ are now able to remember their target objects when Live sets or presets are saved and restored or when objects are moved within the Live set.
• Ableton protected samples can now be used in Max for Live device, via the Live.drop object
• fixed a bug where clip slots would lose their id on moving a clip
• fixed navigating and observing control surfaces via the LiveAPI
• Repeatedly calling "goto control_surfaces" on a live.path object was producing a different id each time
• Fixed a crash that occurred when deleting a Rack containing a Max for Live device, where a Remote~ was controlling one of the Macro knobs, and then Undoing the delete action
• Navigating the Live Object Model is about two times faster
• Fixed a crash that occurred when moving tracks that contained automated Max for Live devices
• Fixed a crash that occurred when replacing one Max for Live device with another if certain modulations existed
• If a native Ableton device has parameters that are mapped to a Max for Live device, the mappings will be preserved after hot-swapping the Ableton device
• The Track/Chain Activator and Song Tempo are now accessible via the "selected_parameter" property and their path can be queried
• "live_app" and "live_app view" can now be persistent in the Max for Live API
• Mapping some mixer component on the APC40 (for example) through the Max for Live API wouldn't work without pressing the Pan or Send button on the APC40, which reset the component. This has been fixed.
• "goto live_set tracks 2 devices" in a set with one track produced id -1, which is wrong. Now it produces id 0.
• If the LOM id of the observer is persistent, the property of an observed LOM object is persistent, even if it is dynamically changed using a message.
• Max for Live devices that control the Application objects (e.g. live_app (live_app view)) or which get information about the Live version and document name (e.g. get_major_version (focus_view)) will work when loading the Set, without requiring user interaction.

Bugfixes

• Fixed a problem with nested Macro mappings when the range of a mapped ON/OFF switch, or of a selector switch (such as a filter type switch), is not at default values. In such a case, the right value would be displayed, but the wrong value would be used internally.

Note: with this fix, you will now hear what you see, although this may mean that previously saved Sets that contained the bug may sound different.

• Deleting time in the Arrangment View could delete crossfades in certain cases.
• When using an APC40 and Scratch Live, Scratch Live would sync to the APC but would not initially show the return tracks .
• If the VST plug-ins folder contained shorcuts/aliases to files in another location on disk, the folder would be rescanned each time Live starts. This has been fixed.
• When launching a scene with via Key/MIDI mapping or a control surface such as the APC40 while "Select on Launch" is enabled, the Master track became selected. This would result in the selected device switching to the device on the Master track. Now, launching a scene via remote control behaves the same as when launching with the mouse; the device selection doesn't change.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when clicking the status bar, while it displays "Media files are missing", and just after having adjusted a Macro knob.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when adding an audio clip, scrubbing in the clip detail view, and pressing Undo while the mouse was still down for scrubbing.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when switching between certain audio interfaces on a Mac
• updated Complex Pro libraries to prevent a potential crash
• fixed Transport button behavior for the Akai MPK61 and 88
• fixed a crash that could occur when opening very large Live Sets
• fixed a crash that could occur when a clip referencing a sample was in the clipboard and when pressing the Edit button (in the File Manager or Clip View) to set the sample offline and then on again
• Holding a note while recording a MIDI clip and stopping the transport while the note is held would result in a silent note during play back
• If a clip was in Gate Mode, releasing the trigger key within the launch quantization period would still launch the clip
• Fixed a bug that caused a clip in Gate launch mode to continue playing after clicking another clip for a very short time
• Fixed a bug in how MIDI effect Racks handle latency. Now chains compensate properly against each other

Instruments, Audio Effects, Midi Effects - but of course, this is not all of the cake. Imagine you can create user-interface elements however you please and also assign MIDI to that interface parts. This brings Ableton Live huge steps forward: the possibility to extend ableton to include a full featured audiovisual prototyping environment and to interface with the world: be it sensors, webservices or other Ableton Live installations.

1. Installation and Setup

Ableton Live Suite 8.1 (1.4GB download size!) and max/msp 5.1. are out in final versions as of today. As a happy Ableton and max/msp owner, the crossgrade was only 79€ for me (including VAT).

Right after Live starts up it has to be authorized, so all the extensions would be usable. After everything is set up, the following popup should be visible:

2. Overview

There are 3 different ways to include Max for Live patches into Ableton.

a) Instruments
Instruments would be a Synthesizer, a Sampler, etc.
Input: MIDI, Output: Audio

b) Audio Effects
Imagine any Audio Effect you can build here - let's say a Reverb for now.
Input: Audio, Output: Audio

c) MIDI Effects
Controlling and modifying the MIDI flow - like arpeggiators, mathematical functions, midi-sequencers, whatever.
Input: MIDI (or controller values), Output: MIDI

Of course, the whole bandwidth of max/msp is much more than only that. With Max for Live, now it is possible to use sensoric interfaces directly with Ableton Live: such as the i-cube, the arduino microcontroller board and so much else (for example the wireless MIDI Glove).

Interfacing to the "outside world" is also quite easy with max/msp: the netsend and netreceive objects let you connect via socket to e.g. a webservice, RSS-feed, whatever.
See also: Max for Live and twitter integration, the shoutcast~ and netsend~ objects for sending your audio stream around.

3. First Steps

In the screenshot above you see where the "Max Instrument" can be found in Ableton Live. In the right corner you can also see the first Instrument example I built: a sine wave oscillator.

a) Example: Sine Wave Oscillator Instrument with Signal Oscilloscope [download the patch]

This is a very basic patch: notein gets the MIDI note played, ddg.mono simplifies monosynth creation by dealing with last-note priority and note-on/note-off pairing, mtof (MIDI to frequency) translates the MIDI note to a frequency which is pushed to the cycle~ object (sine wave generator). The cycle~ then sends its audio-output to plugout~ which gets routed back to Ableton Live. Play the Sine Wave Oscillator as you would play any other instrument in Ableton Live: either via keyboard or via MIDI tracks.

b) Example: Simple Delay [download the patch]

This is also a rather simple patch. The incoming signal is delayed for a specific amount of time using the tapin~ and tapout~ objects. The tapin~ object is a continually updated buffer that stores the most recent signal it has received, and tapout~ accesses that buffer at one or more specific points in the past. The sound is mixed with its delayed version to create a sort of reflection.

What you can see in the screenshot below is how to implement images in patches that get loaded also to Ableton (using the fpic object) and which part is actually displayed in Live: everything below the black line is "invisible".
Test out the patch with the presets and also try to change the tapin~ and tapout~ values (use it as an audio effect on any soundfile. percussion or drums may be the best to hear the difference).

c) Example: 8-Step-MIDI-Repeat [download the patch]

The patch is also really simple: a line object counts from 1 to 9, resetting itself to 1 when it reaches 9 (=8 step), the select object checks for values between 1 and 8 and sends the according bang messages to the lights on top. the lights also trigger the int object, that saves values and outputs them on demand. this int objects are used to save the state of the checkboxes.
everytime an int object outputs a 1 (checkbox=checked), the select object on the right side sends the last notein event to a noteout object, causing the last note to be played again.

The difference between the two above screenshots is: hidden objects. Objects that you don't want to be visible in your Ableton Live surface you can hide with Object -> Hide on Lock (Apple+K).

Patch No.3 repeats your last played note in a step-sequencer style: however you checked your checkboxes, every time the light is active over a checked box, the last note will be played again. Test the 3 different presets and also the freestyle option (entering numbers on your own). Be careful with too low and negative numbers.

3. Conclusion

Max for Live is not only a very huge extension to Ableton Live (as stated above, a lot is possible now, from interfacing with hardware to webservices) but also finally a step in the right direction for the said to be lazy "ableton users": while the mainstream of ableton users use similar effects and instruments, this will change from now on. Instrument-directories such as on maxforlive.com feature lots of already available patches.
Another positive point is since max/msp is there much longer than Ableton Live and there is lots of educational content, tutorials etc. around. This could bring more people to look and learn about DSP and sound engineering als well as the physics behind audio.

Max for Live has still a few bugs - but what is there already is really something! Maybe one has to see it like this: in the end max/msp got a really cool sequencer ;)

4. Ressources

* ableton.com maxforlive product page
* cycling74 product page for max/msp
* maxforlive.com
* cycling74: the edit button has been pressed
* max 5 help and documentation

Technorati Tags: ableton, max msp, live, max for live, sound, review

Most of all, 20% off Live 8 and Upgrades, some users even get free Upgrades, and 10 Free Downloadable Live Packs from Various Artists. Sadly for Ableton Suite owners there is no special discount or goodie - but for people owning Live 8 or 7 - or even the Lite versions - now it's a good time to Upgrade! The release for Max for Live was set on the 23rd November 2009 and a new stripped-down Ableton for starters is ready: Live Intro.