FAQ: Max for Live

Max for Live is sold by Ableton as an add-on product to Live 8.1 (or later) or as part of Live Suite 9. You can purchase Max for Live exclusively at Ableton’s online shop. Cycling ’74 sells a Crossgrade to Max, if you own Max for Live or Live Suite 9 and then also want Max.

• Download and install Live 9 (or later) from Ableton.
• Download and install Max 6.1 (or later) from Cycling ’74
• If you want to purchase Max for Live or Live Suite 9 (which includes MFL), visit the Ableton Shop.

Ableton Live 8: If you own Max 6.0, you may use it as your Max for Live device editor. If you only own Max for Live, or Max for Live and Max 5, you will use Max 5 as your device editor.

Ableton Live 9: Max 6.1 is required to run and edit Live 9 Max for Live devices.

No, it is only available as a download.

Find current purchasing options and prices on Ableton’s website. There are Full Versions and Crossgrades, depending on what you own currently. If you own Max 5 (or later), you are eligible for a reduced price CROSSGRADE of Max for Live from Ableton.

• Need to upgrade to Max 6 to get the Max for Live Crossgrade? If you own Max 4 or 5, you can use this opportunity to take advantage of Ableton’s special crossgrade price on Max for Live. Look through your upgrading options. (Your upgrade price may vary depending on which products you already own.)
• If you purchased a temporary 12-month Max 6, you are not eligible for the Crossgrade of Max for Live from Ableton. You need to purchase a Full Version of Max 6 first. Remember: You can apply $39 of your temporary 12-month purchase to a new, full purchase of Max 6. E-mail academic@cycling74.com for details.
• If you represent a school e-mail Ableton’s Edu Sales Team for details. (If the school owns Max 5 (or later) and you don’t know the serial numbers, contact our edu sales department first to get details.)

• Find articles and tutorials related to Max for Live.
• Participate in the Max for Live forum or browse the archives.
• Visit MaxForLive.com’s device library to see what other Max for Live users have been creating.
• Browse Ableton’s Max for Live FAQ page for valuable answers to common questions.
• Hear what people are creating on the Max for Live Soundcloud group.

Max for Live requires Live 8.1 (or later) and Max 5.1 (or later).

Max for Live adds the ability for the Max application to be used as an editor for building Live devices. Existing Max users can continue to work with Max as they always have. To work on Live devices, you start by editing an existing device from inside Live.

For users who only own Max for Live, the Max application will have the following limitations:

• no built in support for audio and MIDI (Live is used for audio and MIDI I/O)
• restrictions on seeing Jitter images in the Max application (Jitter is fully functional inside Live)
• no ability to build standalone applications

Ableton is the best source for information about using Max devices in Live. Cycling ’74 support can answer questions about the Max authoring environment. There are many resources for learning Max, such as our interactive tutorials, classes and workshops, and our online community.

The first release of Max for Live does not prevent users from opening Max devices. You are free to distribute devices to the Max for Live userbase. However, a person who does not own Max for Live will not be able to open your device.