There’s so much more to MaxForLive than I could fit in a single video, so I’d encourage you to explore and ask questions if you need to. Are you already using MaxForLive? Drop a comment below 👇🏻 with some of your favourite tools and devices.
Ableton live is one of those programs that look super simple, but underneath is literally government grade wizardry. Bitwig and Ableton are the most intuitive DAWs to this day in my opinion.
Because, as a person wiser than I once told me, 80% of the world just wants to know what time it is, the other 20% are building the clocks 😂 [in context, I was interviewing for a job with the owner of an engineering firm]
I don't know why I hadn't seen this video hahaha I had it tagged, but finally saw it. Teach me your M4L ways Tom. There's so much to do and so little time.
MaxForLive is the thing that pushes me to change my DAW. But I'm not ready yet hahaha. Btw this is a great explanation video. Thank you for this great content!
I can´t find a single video or article explaining how to use Ableton without max for live. I really don´t want to use it cause it's expensive af. Any info or tips? Can you still use Ableton properly without M4L or did I make the wrong purchase?
Hmm, that's strange - I've never seen any video that properly talks about using Ableton WITH MaxForLive, which is exactly why I made this video. I'd wager that 95% of the videos about Ableton out there don't use MaxForLive at all. Maybe you've just seen the 5% that do 🤔 Check out just about anything from Production Music Live, Cymatics or any of the ADSR videos about Ableton Live. You absolutely, definitely do not need MaxForLive for Ableton to be amazing. In fact, even the cheapest version of Live, Lite Intro is fantastic and does pretty much everything you need to make great music 😉
Yeah, I've heard this quite a bit. It seems something in the update broke Device Randomiser and they never really updated it for Live 10 anyway... Maybe they'll get to it at some point in the future... In the meantime, I'd recommend checking out ClyphX, specifically the Macrobat functionality of it. It's pretty advanced stuff, but if you want to brave it, there are some seriously powerful things you can do.
Quick question! I downloaded the Grain-smearing device, and opened it thinking I had Max for Live installed already (I use Live 9) which I didn’t. Ableton then opened and the whole screen was bugged out and glitcy. Anyone else been there?
Can someone explain the difference between Max for Live and the other built in audio effects and instruments in Ableton ? Like is it just the fact that you can create your own thing with Max for Live whereas other audio FX and instruments aren't editable ?
The biggest difference between simple audio effects and Max For Live devices is that M4L devices can interact directly with Live, like the LFO device, so you can modulate elements within Live itself, or do various things that just aren't possible with simple effects. This might be something like controlling Live's playback, creating MIDI Clips, step sequencing parameters, loading and changing devices and presets and many, many other things that regular audio effects just can't do.
Awesome video! You have a very easy to listen to voice that's calming. Also, your visuals speed match your voice tempo and makes the whole watching experience easy to follow and enjoyable. Great job and thank you for making this vid!
Oh man, I adore M4L. It's basically the principal reason I stuck with Ableton. I struggled to learn Max/MSP for about a year, then stumbled through a couple M4L patch attempts before I found myself suddenly quite comfortable with it. That said, I wish the search function of the site would get overhauled. I highly recommend *not* using "# of downloads" as a search filter. The top 100 most downloaded patches are mostly from 5-10 years ago, with only a handful updated in the last year, and none created in the last couple years. Many are in desperate need of updates, and most have even inspired new patches with cleaner takes on the same ideas since then. People still gravitate toward the older posts just because they have a couple thousand downloads, but there are so many more hidden gems in the past year than the "# of downloads" list would imply. An example: I loved Crap Cassette for the longest time (and even posted a patch of my own which attempted to emulate some of my favorite features from it), and I have a lot of respect for it and the dude who made it, but the fact of the matter is that it's four years old, and a lot of better implementations of its features exist out there. The wow/flutter is more efficiently done using native Ableton effects, the "hum" feature is too loud and can really screw up mixing, and the drop-outs require a delay line that makes it relatively useless, whereas other M4L patches can process that effect in realtime. It sucks that there aren't more reviews on devices, and it would be nice if the actual review scores came with a description, but in the meantime, I really hope people take it upon themselves to look at newer patches, too!
Thanks for that awesome reply! 🙌🏻 Yeah, I agree that the M4L.com site needs quite an overhaul, but (and don't quote me on this) I've heard rumours that one might be coming 😉 Let's hope. It would really bolster the community to have a more modern platform. In the interim, there are lots of great 'round-up' style posts of people's favourite devices - this one is particularly good: docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vRngItA2PEDOI3yKraeBt_kh1DLwNDeAvOL2SslmXdDBdZupjcizvszVlGvaXJcgvWMpQh4NF_boY15/pub I still think sorting by # of Downloads or Rating is a good way to go for beginners, 'cause there can be quite a lot of crap that might turn people off, but totally agree that once you're more comfortable with the kind of things M4L can do and what's available, a little more digging is certainly required to find the best stuff. P.S: Also love Crap Casette 🤓
@@ELPHNT Oh man, I was looking for that list the other day. Thanks! I know it's kind of a vain thing to say, but it bums me out a bit that the only device of mine on that list is one of my least favorite patches I made early on. I heard the site was under new ownership. Any site improvements would be greatly appreciated. Honestly, it's already a great site as-is, but some quality of life improvements would probably help stimulate the newer community quite a bit.
@@GenteelCretin Haha, I feel you about being bummed out about the patch. I know from experience that whenever I put out a pack or tutorial that I'm totally stoked with the reactions ends up being, 'meh 🤷🏻♂️' and when I put out something that I'm kinda meh about, then everyone loves it! 🤣 One of my most popular videos is one that I'm REALLY not happy with and one of my most popular packs is one I threw together in like an afternoon 😂😂
@@ELPHNT Yeah, sure. I'm neither prolific nor am I a Max savant by any means, but I love sharing patches and getting feedback. The one I'm most fond of (and use the most) is actually my Crap Cassette inspired College Dropout patch. I feel like I'm constantly wanting to tweak it, though. www.maxforlive.com/library/device/4805/college-dropout I also did a pretty basic bitcrusher patch that probably isn't the most impressive thing, but I do think it's an efficient solution to what I always felt was the greatest weakness to redux-styled devices: the overstated resonant overtones. www.maxforlive.com/library/device/5153/high-school-crush I'm not going to say they're the most brilliant or original patches out there, but I am biased to thinking they're at least unique enough to stand apart from other similar patches. Check 'em out if you're ever bored. ;)
i didn't realize how i stayed away from max for live because i wasn't sure how to use it, and not sure how to jump right in. the way you explained it really helped me feel more at ease about it, and it almost makes me wonder if i'm ever going to need another vst plugin again. thanks for help. i can't wait to explore more of max for live.
If I have Live Standard right now and I buy Max For Live, will upgrading to Suite in the future be cheaper? Or would it make more sense just to upgrade to Suite, as far as value is concerned.
I’m still kinda confused on the whole purpose of Max for Live, and I’ve been using Ableton since 2016. Gonna watch this a few more times and look at other videos and see if I can’t figure it out.
Aside from just giving you access to a massive library of instruments and effects, the most important addition of Max For Live is the ability to interact directly with Live itself in ways that you can't with say a VST plugin. For example, you can modulate, step sequence or control parameters of any device like you could in a modular synth. You could control Live's playback or create entirely new MIDI clips. You could change devices and presets on the fly, perform video in Live and a whole host of other things that aren't possible with native Live or using VSTs.
I've been using MaxForLive for a while, but you actually explained things a bit more universally, and have definitely inspired me to go try some things, great videos thanks!
Haha, thanks. It was actually just something I put together for the video but never quite finished as a piece. It's essentially just a repeating 2min or so loop. You can grab it here though if you'd like: www.dropbox.com/s/0wihkmbgy5wrhu9/Peeky%20%28Loop%20Arrangement%29.mp3?dl=1
EboSuite from Isotonik Studios. I didn't mention it in the video because it's paid, but its really good! 🙌🏻 Check it out at isotonikstudios.com/product/ebosuite-video-ableton-live-clips/ Or, if you want something free, check out vizzable.zeal.co/
Ok one important question i have is, can i use nesting in max for live? That is lets say i need to use a premade delay effect in my new device, can i drag drop it into my device? If i do not own it its ok, and it would just not drop... or throw an error... whichever way Ableton sees fit...what i mean is i need to be able to reuse device inside the device im making, why would i want to make a delay/reverb/distortion etc from scratch if theres one already available....also if i make an effect myself and compile it as a device, i should be able to use it inside my other devices... kindly answer my questions, im currently in the mood to spend and im not sure if i should upgrade my reason or my Ableton Live with max for live...which upgrade would allow me to do the things i need to make a good live set...using only Ableton with max for live or using Ableton with Reason 12 which allows me a new combinator to make hybrid instruments using available devices or using only Ableton with max for live
I'm not actively using m4l or max so I cant answer your question directly - but what speaks against using the devices separated? Like little modules? For example like the LFO or the Reverb he's shown in the video. Should be more modular "opt-in opt-out" style.
I’ve had ableton installed on my laptop for a few months and gave up learning it (Seasoned FL user and figured what’s the point). This video just gave me motivation to stop playing and take the leap
Videos are simple and have a high production value. I like it. Currently thinking where to start on ableton. Had the intro version but many people said its not that good. So i gave it back. Now im thinking of buying standart or suite.
Intro is essentially exactly the same as Standard or Suite - you have pretty much all the same functionality, but with a few limitations like fewer tracks and fewer instruments and effects, but the core software is exactly the same, so its a good place to start. And Intro also supports plugins, so you can still get a ton of extra sounds with some free VSTs.
I found out about your channel through a podcast. This is the first video on your channel i watched. Your calm explaining voice paired with the minimalistic visuals makes everything so simple and clear. Subscribed!
You can get Max For Live as an add-on to Live Standard, but honestly the difference in price between getting that and just upgrading to Suite is small enough that I'd say just go straight for Suite. Then you get a bunch of other cool stuff as well.
That's awesome 🙂Building Max devices is super fun. Been getting a lot of requests about how to get started, so I might be making some vids on this soon 😉
Interesting video. btw; controlling Live goes much further than you may think, you can even control Push and make it do stuff which isn't even supported out of the box (yet?).
And also control anything else you could attach to your computer, really! Lights, robots, you name it. Or even the other way around, control your Ableton session with video game controllers, touch interfaces, etc. SO much fun to be had 🤓
So the audio effect from Ableton itself are all made from MAX/MSP?? If i want to build an unique audio effect, where should I start? MAX/MSP? And if i want to build an audio effect but "NOT" only for Ableton but also for other DAWs which program should I take? Can I make a odd visual from MAX/MSP? If i want to make visual ,does MAX/MSP a good choice?? BY the way really nice vids!!!
The native Audio Effects in Live aren't made with Max, those are custom made by Ableton, but any devices you find in the MaxForLive category will be made with Max. As far as getting started building your own audio effects goes, Max and MaxForLive are probably the easiest to get started with to learn the basics of digital signal processing. If you wanted to build something that would work across multiple DAWs (for example a VST plugin) then you'd need to use something like JUCE. Yes, Max can do visual things as well - it's pretty powerful and diverse. If you want to get into audio programming I'd recommend starting with Max because it's a little easier to learn and even if you do ultimately learn something like JUCE, Max is still useful for doing quick prototypes before building something with code.
Ableton are basically making a really user friendly version of Logic's environment window. I would use Ableton but its like Windows; So many versions! Mac has macOS, err, thats it.
Thanks 🙏🏻 The backing is just something I threw together for the video. It's sitting in my work in progress folder at the moment, so hopefully I'll get round to finishing it at some point 🙃
I wish I'd seen this before getting Bitwig 😢 The modulation options in Bitwig are pretty comprehensive, but being able to modulate things on a completely seperate track is amazing!
That's definitely something that would be interesting to do at some point in the future. I've got quite a lot of experience with linking Resolume and Live, but I've also been using EboSuite a lot recently - I'd recommend checking out their explainer videos, they give you a good bit of info on how to use Ebo Suite. Don't get your hopes up about a 'visuals video' anytime soon 'cause I've got a lot of stuff on the backburner 😣 but I'll add it to the list 🤓
Many people realize your song skills won't get any better with endless possibilities of fun modular stuff. Ask Berlins underground scene, Andrew Huang or Fl Studio.
The design sense in this video is spot on. Except the Max for Live website, they could really benefit from your services. But I digress, they're probably jamming
Hi Tom, love your work and have bought a few things on your site that have been super useful. Any chance you could do a video focused on the Push 2 and how you use it in your own workflow? I'm struggling to find ways to take advantage of what it offers outside of what you can do with any other standard MIDI controller. I don't like working in Session View personally and never get anything done when I start that way (and on your video about finishing lots of songs I noticed one of the tips was getting out of Session View ASAP). I use a lot of third-party plugins so parameter tweaking on the Push is limited, and I can't justify using any of the browser menus when CTRL+F will always be a faster way to find what I'm looking for. I recognize that certain things will just always be more feasible with the mouse and keyboard so I'm not trying to ditch it completely, I guess I'm basically just asking if you can highlight some of the ways that the Push can be more efficient than M+K and fit into a more standard workflow without forcing you to make loops in Session View etc. so that I don't feel like this $700 controller is going to waste after the first 30 minutes of starting a track.
Hey Dakota. I'll preface this whole thing by saying that Push 2 isn't for everyone. I absolutely love it, but it just doesn't fit into some people's workflows and there's nothing wrong with that. That being said, here are some thoughts. Push works totally fine in the Arrangement View. The only thing that doesn't work so well in Arrangement are the step sequencers, 'cause those lend themselves to working in loops, but I can see a workflow where almost everything happens in Arrangement and you just hop over to session when you want to step sequence something. Otherwise, you can still play notes and drums on Push, you can still mix, record automation, etc. so having an Arrangement focused workflow shouldn't be a problem. As for 3rd party plugins - yes, it does require a bit of initial setup to get the plugin's parameters set up nicely to work with Push, but you could easily spend a single session or a few hours getting that set up once and then you're done. I personally use tons of 3rd party stuff. Whenever I get a new plugin I just spend 5 or 10 minutes getting it configured nicely for Push and then it works great. Some plugins that have hundreds of controls don't work so well, but there's nothing wrong with going back to the mouse for those. The main reason I love Push is that it gets me away from the computer screen when I need it to. Some tasks, like finding sounds, are almost always going to be faster with the mouse and so I just let myself use the mouse for those, which is fine. But when I'm mixing, adjusting device settings, etc. the last thing I want is to be looking at a screen. I want to get away from a screen so I can just focus on actually listening. So Push is awesome for that. Sure, you could get hands-on control with another MIDI controller, but the fact that Push automatically maps to EVERYTHING makes that workflow so much quicker. Another thing I'll say is that I hear a lot of people saying how they're so much faster with a mouse, so why should they use Push? Well yeah, of course you're going to be faster with a mouse because you've probably been using it for several years and you've gotten really good at it, but when you started using Live you were probably quite slow to find where everything was with the mouse too. The same is true for Push - you're not just magically going to have an awesome workflow right off the bat, you HAVE TO spend time practising with it like any other instrument. There are many things that I do that I'm miles quicker with on Push because I've been using it for several years and I'm really good at the workflow. So if you've haven't really put the time in to practice Push, you need to do that. Spend a few sessions where you force yourself to only use Push - you can't touch the mouse. After a few sessions like this, you'll start getting used to the workflow and be able to do certain things much quicker. I actually find that sometimes I'm even able to load certain things from Push a little quicker than I can with the mouse. Anyways, I have a lot of thoughts on Push, so perhaps a video in the future would be a good idea. For now, I hope some of that was useful. Feel free to drop me an email if you want to chat more about it.
@@ELPHNT Wow thank you. I could definitely benefit from some more preparation and practice with it. If you do end up making a video with it I'd love to see some of the ways you use it with your favorite third-party plugins and your general songwriting workflow. I'm sure it'd be really inspiring for all the Push users out there.
i have never used it because i always thought it was for mega brain type nerds with unfathomable mental cosmic powers, and here i was just trying to make cool noises. 😅
@@Acprod99 Yup, none at all. I actually had a license for standalone Max for a while but canceled it 'cause everything I ever wanna do with Max is right inside of Live anyways.
There's a very good reason that most ableton users aren't using max for live other than the effects that come with ableton. Most ableton users are not programmers, and Max is a programming environment.
