IRCAM SOMAX2 Max4Live under windows
SOMAX for Live on Windows — a working setup (unofficial)
SOMAX2 is a beautiful piece of Software from IRCAM
and it is even much more fun, controlleable and workeable with Ableton Live.
Unfortunately , so far, while SOMAX2 runs fine under Windows, SOMAX2 Max4Live has only a MacOS installer.
So I tried a workaround:
The Somax for Live README states: "The included Python server is compiled for macOS." That's true — but it turns out this is the **only** macOS-specific part of the package. The Max for Live devices themselves work fine on Windows, and a Windows build of the server already exists in the Somax2 standalone distribution. Here is how I got the full Somax for Live setup running on Windows 11 with Live 12 / Max 9. Total effort: about half an hour, no compiling required.
Here is what I did to make it run anyway on WIndows:
1. Install Somax for Live into your Ableton User Library as per the official instructions.
2. Get the Windows server from the **Somax2 standalone win64 package** (`somax_server.exe` **plus its _internal folder** — they belong together).
3. Start the server manually (double-click, a console window opens and stays open).
4. In Live, load Somax Server.amxd and press **Initialize**. The device connects to the already-running server via OSC on localhost.
## Details and pitfalls
### 1. The devices load fine on Windows
Dropping the Somax For Live Project folder into C:\Users\<your Username>\Documents\Ableton\User Library\ works as documented. All externals used by the devices (`yin~`, bc.yinstats, bc.virfun, bonk~, ircamdescriptor~, shell, MuBu) load without complaints on Windows — check the Max console after loading a device, you should see their version banners.
### 2. Don't fight the launcher — bypass it
The Somax Server.amxd device contains a launcher (`somaxforlive.interpreter`) with modes for macOS, Windows, conda, etc. In the frozen device I was not able to switch the mode away from its default — every launch attempt ended in:
```
"file:///C:/Users/<you>/Documents/Max 9/misc/launch_local" could not be found
```
(`launch_local` is a macOS shell script; the path also reveals that Live 12's bundled Max searches Documents\Max 9\Packages, so a Somax2 package installed under Max 8 will not be found.)
The launcher seems not to be relevant here. The actual device↔server communication is OSC on localhost, and the device does not care who started the server. So: start the server yourself, then press **Initialize** on the device. That's the whole workaround.
### 3. Where to get the Windows server
The Somax2 standalone package for Windows (from the Somax2 GitHub releases, e.g. Somax-2.x-win64) ships a compiled server at:
C:\Users\<Yourname>\Documents\Max 9\Packages\Somax-2\somax_server.exe
Please make sure you mark that server executable as as trusted with a rightclick on the .exe file and mark it as trusted. Otherwise , the server will get an "launch URL err = 1223" error.
This is a PyInstaller one-dir build (currently Python 3.11). **Important:** the .exe is only the bootstrap loader — it needs the _internal folder sitting right next to it. If you copy the exe alone you will get:
```
Error loading Python DLL '...\_internal\python311.dll'.
LoadLibrary: Das angegebene Modul wurde nicht gefunden.
```
Either start the exe in place inside the Somax2 package, or copy **exe + _internal** together (e.g. next to Somax Server.amxd in ...\User Library\Presets\Audio Effects\Max Audio Effect\Imported\).
### 4. First launch notes
- The first server start can take a while (JIT compilation) — let the console window sit for a minute.
- If Windows SmartScreen blocks a freshly downloaded exe: right-click → Properties → Unblock. (Same fix as the known launch URL. err = 1223 issue with the Somax2 standalone launcher.)
- Once the console shows the server is up, press **Initialize** in the Somax Server device. The status display confirms the connection, and from there the guided Somax For Live.als session works as on macOS.
## What an official fix would need
Very little, as far as I can tell: ship the win64 server folder (exe + _internal) alongside the macOS .app in the Imported folder, and make the launcher default platform-aware. The Windows code path already exists in the device — it resolves somax_server.exe through Max's search path.
Happy to test a beta. And thanks for Somax2 — having the agents inside Live is worth the detour.