Patches With Jweb
Sometimes it's easy to forget that Max has its own embedded web browser called jweb that can be used inside the patcher window, and with Max 9 we also added jweb~ which enables patching sound from the browser into Max. We asked a few talented Max artists to show us what they would do with jweb. Like always, what we got back was totally unexpected.
Sebastian Tomczak / littlescale
littlescale: Over the years that I've used Max, there's always one thing that I come back to; the idea of touching sound. Playing with audio and manipulating it directly is always so intuitive and fun. This patch uses the jweb object to load a mediapipe hand tracking model into Max, using the data as a way of controlling a simple granular synthesiser. In an environment where using more traditional inputs is the norm, being able to reach out and touch the waveform is a gift.
h1data
h1data: This patch features a dynamic globe interface and WebAudio API. It demonstrates powerful JavaScript libraries related to GIS and Canvas API work in jweb~.
Emiliano Pennisi / Avenir
Emiliano: Envion4Max is a procedural ecosystem for algorithmic composition, contemporary musique concrète, and gesture-based sound transformation.
Originally developed in Pure Data as an envelope-first environment, Envion does not “play” sound through notes, but articulates audio material through sequences of ternary envelopes (amplitude, duration, offset), drawing dynamic trajectories directly onto sound.
The system is rooted in two core principles: de-authoring, where sound is treated as an autonomous entity rather than a personal artifact, and procedural sonic excavation, where material is gathered from the web and the local disk as living, uncurated matter.
The Max MSP version inherits the full logic of the Pd system and expands it into a richer and more integrated ecosystem, including:
- EnvionSeeder — procedural sound fetching and depersonalisation (local + web)
- Terna — ternary envelope engine
- DeepScan — recursive scanning of local folders
- Dynagran — procedural granular engine
- Sequoia — probabilistic sequencer
- Ambience — spatial processing module
- Multisoundscape — complex soundscape builder (Granola / gen~)
Web integration is handled via jweb~, which acts as a local console bridging Envion with a secure PHP + API service used to query Freesound.org. User credentials remain hidden while Envion receives clean, depersonalised JSON streams directly inside Max.
Envion exists to offer a non-linear instrument where gesture, trajectory, and envelope — rather than samples or notes — are the true drivers of composition.
Note: On Mac OS, php will need to be installed using Homebrew or following the instructions here. This patch also uses shell and freeverb~ externals.
by Andrew Benson on 2025年12月18日
