LFO-Sketch by Suzuki Kentaro is a free Max For Live that turns customizable sketches into complex modulators (LFOs) that can modulate up to 3 parameters.
Ableton Live has become for many electronic musicians the heart of their setups. If you look back at the various versions of Live, there have always been major milestones that have brought the DAW forward. For me, the introduction of Max For Live (2009) was a big step for Live, especially in terms of flexibility. It makes it possible to create Max/MSP patches (synths, effects, MIDI processors…) directly inside of Live.
This integration is probably one of the reasons why I’m still a big fan of this DAW. Part of this community is Suzuki Kentaro, a developer, and sound artist from Japan. Besides art projects, music compositions, he also develops very uniquely Max For Live devices that open new sonic worlds. At first glance, they are not cheap ($40…) but they are extremely versatile and different.
LFO-Sketch 1.0
In November, Kentaro celebrated its birthday (late happy birthday) with a free Max For Live device release. LFO-Sketch is an LFO generator based on M4L that is not a simple one. This device has no pre-defined shapes, neither sine, saw, nor triangle. It is up to the user how they should look and act. It gives you the freedom to draw your own sketches. From simple wave-like sketches to complete drawings, everything is possible. Thes are then converted into complex modulators, i.e. LFOs.
Then, three axes (X, Y, Z) are available where you can map up to 3 parameters. Here you can set the mod amount and mod range. The drawings serve here as a shape that is passed through with a pre-defined rate, direction, and more. If you have drawn several, LFO-Sketch will use them one after the other. Comparable with modulation chain where you have one single LFO that has multiple different waveforms. Further, Kentaro has implemented timeline operation and preset function. Very crazy. This could be also very exciting as an LFO generator with CV tools in your modular system.
Don’t miss Kentaro‘s other M4L devices which are also very experimental. These are not for free but certainly amazing experimental additions for Live with which you can discover new sounds.
LFO-Sketch 1.0 by Suzuki Kentaro is available now as a free download. It requires Live 10.1 or later and Max For Live.
More information here: SK
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