How do you get the frequency and amplitude data from a waveform?
If I have a waveform that has overtones at 500hz, 1000hz, and 2000hz at -4db, how would I get that information?
this is a classic signal processing problem, solved most elegantly by the fourier transform-- probably the best place to start to understand and use this powerful technique in max is with these video tutorials:
https://cycling74.com/tutorials/advanced-max-ffts-part-1
or you can use fiddle or sigmund:
http://vud.org/max/
"reverse engineering" of a harmonic sample is indeed an FFT job, and it should work best when you loop the sample as in a wavetable. if it is not symyetric yet, make it symetric before or when looping.