slicedbread, on behalf of The Covert Operators, has released a free Windows utility that generates “endless harmonic oscillators” for Ableton Live’s Simpler and Sampler instruments. (Since this was a released, a Mac build has been made available, as well; see link below.) Even if you don’t intend to use the utility directly, pay attention – The Covert Ops already have a sample pack up full of oscillators, and you can bet the presence of this utility means more will come. (Even Robert Henke was impressed on the forums.)

Live 6 introduced the file format for “Ableton Meta Sounds.” Bjorn Vayner is currently breaking down how the format works, but the short upshot is that you can make oscillator sources that won’t alias for sound design in Simpler and Sampler. The AMS File Utility does more, too – export tunings (even microtuned stuff), and make oscillator variations. It’s sampling for people who like synthesis. In fact, not only is it fun to make additive synthesis-style oscillators dragging individual harmonics, but it’s a total breeze to change the offset and make equal-tempered stuff, negative scales, and other tunings.

Description on the forums:

AMS File Utility for Microtonal/Traditional Tunings

And from the very awesome Covert Operators site, some of the behind-the-scenes action, plus the Mac build (updated with additional links!):

Meta Files: Uncovering the .ams format, Part 1

Meta Files: Uncovering the .ams format, Part 2

Meta Files: Uncovering the .ams format, Part 3

Mac OS X Meta Application

Thanks for reminding us of this, Tony. I’m a bit behind on all this, but better late than never. Since I am lagging, has anyone made some AMS packs since this came out in September?

The brains at Ableton have long had a fascination with tools like Max/MSP; Live architect Robert Henke (aka Monolake) regularly prototypes new software ideas in Max, and long before Live was released, was well known in the Max community as a patcher. One of the things I like best about Max is that it’s a great problem-solver. So it’s little surprise that Ableton is using Max as an aid in generating sounds and patches for the instruments in Live.

For the first time, you can download one of those tools and use it yourself, and you don’t even need a full copy of Max:

Ableton Meta-Sound Generator Software [Ableton Beta message thread]
Mams generator download [Monolake downloads page]

If you don’t own a copy of Max/MSP, you can download the Max runtime from Cycling ‘74 at the Max/MSP runtime page for Windows, Mac, or Mac Universal. The tool lets you generate complex waveforms using additive synthesis: specify the frequency bands you want, try out the sound, then save as a file you can bring into Simpler and Sampler. It’s a lot of fun, and if you’re allergic to presets and prefer to shape sounds your own way, you’ll definitely want a copy.

If you come up with some interesting presets, let us know. (AMS files seem to require Live 6, so you may have to wait until Live hits public beta; currently some of you may be on beta, but the testing circle is limited.) I’m using Live 6 on a daily basis, so you can expect more tips over the coming weeks.