Built in MIDI sounds to audio
I don't assume I'm missing something that I shoudl have read, but...is there a way to take the built in MIDI-triggered sounds (say, generated from the noteout object) and feed the audio into custom processing effects? Mac or Windows? I can't find quite a satisfactory answer in the forums (so far!), and it looks though Soundflower is not a thing anymore. Suggestions, or direct me to the right information? Thanks
If I understand you correctly, the answer would be, "Yes, there is."
Close your patch and double-click on the noteout object - you'll see several outputs listed (e.g. from Max 1). Select that, and then set your softsynth to receive MIDI from that destination and you should be good to go.
Excuse me if I tell the obvious, but noteout and other MIDI related objects have nothing to do with audio. MIDI is just data, you cannot process MIDI in audio effects. MIDI can be used inside your patch and sent and received via external hardware and virtual MIDI ports of any kind.
To get an audio signal you have to trigger some synthesizer or other sound-source. Audio can be used inside your patch and sent and received via audio interfaces and virtual audio ports like Soundflower or Jack.
In other words:
Receive or generate MIDI notes, process the MIDI data if you want, then trigger a software- or hardware sound module and afterwards process the audio signal.
btw soundflower still exists:
Perhaps I did misunderstand. If so, I appreciate your lack of querulosness on the issue, Peter.
Peter is right when referring to issues related to audio output.
Some interfaces use their own output mixing, like RME's Totalmix. There you could find a loopback function, to route an output back to an input, after which you could process the audio in Max. But why not Soundflower?