Welcome to Max 8

Max 8 Features

  • Tap into sonic complexity with MC
  • Noticeably improved performance
  • Simplified MIDI and keyboard control with Mappings
  • Vizzie 2, completely rebuilt for performance with OpenGL

  • Open your patches to the world with Node for Max
  • Experience a streamlined patching workflow
  • Uncover the secrets to Max mastery with search
  • 37 more features including VST3 and Gen for events

Discover a new landscape of sonic possibilities

With MC, objects and patch cords contain multiple audio channels. MC will transform how you imagine sound design, effects processing, and mixing. It might be the closest thing to a mind-expanding drug Max has ever had.

MC builds on how you already work with Max

With MC, patches with 100 channels of audio look as simple as those with a single channel. The ability to manipulate so many audio channels and operations with so few objects will open up a previously hidden world of ideas.

Simply type mc. before the name of any MSP object

Connect MC objects with multi-channel patch cords

Mix to any number of audio outputs

Create complex soundscapes with MC

With MC, you can easily apply controls across a space of audio channels.

120 oscillators

60 delays

4 Max for Live Devices

Everything you love about Max... multiplied

Edit multiple Gen instances simultaneously

Multi-channel signal probe with selectable visualization modes

Build polyphonic synths by assigning MIDI and MPE to individual channel streams

Layer evolving sounds with multiple automation curves

Experience noticeably faster performance

For Max 8, we profiled real-world, messy patches to discover what we could optimize. You'll notice the difference the moment you launch the application.

Max 8 launches between 2x (Mac) and 20x faster (Windows)

Large patches will load up to 4x faster

Complex UI operations are significantly more responsive

Control your patch with hardware — no patching required

Max 8 includes a Mappings feature inspired by DAWs such as Ableton Live.

Assign physical controls to your patch in just three steps:

1. Enter Mappings Mode

2. Select a slider

3. Move your controller

Build your own visuals faster than ever

Vizzie is our collection of over 80 high-level modules for interactive video. It's already a perfect launchpad for learning Jitter, but now it's ready for serious use.

Vizzie is now powered by OpenGL for dramatic improvements in performance and flexibility.

Expand beyond 2D by mixing Vizzie modules with OpenGL Jitter features.

Join forces with NodeJS

Use NodeJS to build custom servers or run small applications directly from your Max patch. With support for the vast NPM library, Node for Max connects your patches to thousands of possibilities.

Launch Node applications from within your Max patch, then control and interact with them.

Refinements that support your creative flow

Max 8 offers a more fluid and optimized patching experience. You'll notice numerous thoughtful refinements in addition to increased responsiveness. A few highlights:

Move objects into and out of patch cords in one step

Manage objects in groups

Filter and timestamp events with a redesigned Max console

Gain immediate insight on your patch with event probing

Choose a color theme to customize the Max interface

Use Operate While Unlocked to move seamlessly between editing and playing

Uncover Max's secrets with the Search Sidebar

Using Max doesn't need to be about knowing or remembering every detail.

Start typing into the new Search Sidebar to immediately access the thousands of Max examples and tutorials that ship with Max, along with results from web forums and in-depth articles.

You might be surprised what you discover.

More features and workflow improvements

Javascript, coll, and other text-based objects can open files in an external text editor

The Max console toolbar icon shows when new messages or errors have arrived

Post messages to the Max console from any patch cord in one step with new Print Watchpoints.

Max 8 includes a completely new UI for editing object colors including algorithmic color tweaking, palette saving and loading, and much more.

Use the mouse or trackpad to zoom and scroll around in large patchers

The patcher style system features numerous refinements including the ability to delete styles

There are new options for pasting objects including Paste and Match Style

The audio signal probe includes new history and scope modes

Updated interfaces for Reference, Package Manager, File Browser, and Authorization Window features

Transforming changed attributes into arguments has been improved, particularly for Jitter objects

New Objects

The new chooser UI object displays a scrolling list, useful for file browsing interfaces and more

The new multirange object is a graphical editor for functions that contain ranges of values

The new console object outputs and filters the contents of the Max console inside your patch

New MIDI objects for 14-bit continuous controller, registered and non-registered parameter messages

Gen now has an event domain version called gen with the same interactive code generation and DSP features as its older sibling gen~

New frame~ and framesnap~ objects simplify working with spectral data

Compatibility Improvements

Max scans your audio plug-ins, simplifying the use of "shell" plug-ins (such as from Waves and Expert Sleepers). It also will also detect plug-ins with compatibility issues and disable them.

Max 8 is compatible with modern Mac OS full screen windowing features including tabbed windows

Max 8 on Windows includes support for multitouch and HiDPI monitors

Improved support for multi-channel audio file formats

Duplicate file name warnings list the locations of all duplicate files, not just the one Max will be using.

Jitter Improvements

Improvements to the jit.gl.pix WebGL export process

OpenGL supports drawing to multiple jit.gl.node contexts, simplifying render variations from a single geometry source.

jit.gl.multiple can now draw jit.gl.node instances, allowing for complex geometry hierarchies to be multiplied

jit.gl.model now loads FBX, glTF and OpenGEX files

Improvements to the way Jitter GL objects automatically find and join a render context without specifying a rendering context name

jit.gl.node and jit.world can output a description of the entire 3D scene as a dictionary

jit.gl.slab and jit.gl.shader without arguments will open a default shader file when double clicked as a starting point for developing new shaders

Major Object Enhancements

The vst~ object now supports VST3 plug-ins

The line object works with multi-segment ramps and is compatible with the function object

The dial object includes four new modes: Live, Classic, Needle and Pan and the live.dial object has a new large mode

The jit.cellblock object can monitor audio signals

The poly~ object can host a different patcher in each of its voices and includes a bypass mode

poly~ automatically adds an outlet identifying the voice that sent the last event

Gen includes an @expr mode for high-performance expression evaluation in a single object box

The message box allows changing the value of its arguments without triggering output

The gestalt object that reports system environment information has been substantially modernized and includes a dictionary output mode