Ableton Forum

Hi everyone,

I’d like to share a project developed at Structure Void called VOID Shared Memory, focused on connecting Ableton Live / Max for Live and TouchDesigner in a simple, fast and reliable way.

The idea is to exchange data such as envelopes, parameters, triggers or analysis data between Live and visual systems, using local shared memory instead of MIDI, OSC or network-based protocols. This allows very low latency, stable communication and tight synchronization, which is especially useful for live performance, audiovisual shows, installations or experimental setups.

Project page (overview & documentation):
https://structure-void.com/tools/void-shared-memory/

Download (Gumroad):
https://structurevoid.gumroad.com/l/Void-SharedMemory

Demo playlist (Live ↔ TouchDesigner workflows):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... Xiz-jpJQOY



On the Ableton Live side, the project includes several ready-to-use Max for Live devices, such as:
- envelope follower
- frequency analysis
- parameter and trigger generators
- sync and timing tools
- data receiver from TouchDesigner

These devices let you generate or control visual data directly from Live, without leaving your session or setting up complex routing.

Everything is built on a custom shared-memory layer developed in-house, but using the tools does not require any programming knowledge. They are meant to be practical, transparent and easy to integrate into existing Live workflows.

The project is distributed as part of an ongoing research and experimentation process, and includes:
- Max for Live devices
- Max externals
- TouchDesigner custom operators
- Ableton Live demo sets
- TouchDesigner demo networks

Compatibility note: Max for Live devices are currently supported on Apple Silicon systems.

Hope this can be useful for anyone working with Live and visuals, and happy to answer questions.

Looks awesome, great project !
Did you make “receivers” for Max as well ? (Your demos are TD only)
Also, naive question, but the whole concept relies on the fact that you’re running Live and the video software on the same computer, right ?

Thanks my friend

Yes — it also works from Max to Max, not only with TouchDesigner. The shared memory layer is generic, so any Max patch can act as a sender or receiver.

And you’re right: the system is designed for single-computer setups. The idea is to avoid network protocols altogether and keep everything local, fast and tightly synchronized.

As part of our ongoing R&D, I’m planning to expand the Max-side tools and release a pure Max package with documentation fairly soon, to make Max↔Max and standalone Max workflows even easier

Thanks !
I'll get in touch with you later but I see a lot of potential in this.

Sure. There is.
I almost planned to code some connectors for other environments.

Just running out of time

But for very specific developments, it you needed things... Private message me as we used to do

What a really interesting project! If there was an upvote button I would use it.

You could like it, on this touchdesigner forums' post or gumroad or maxforlive dot Com one.

Anyway, I went further.
I'll come back with a a full Max package (Mac silicon AND Mac Intel AND Win). It will include message layer object, signal thread objects, and jitter matrix objects too.

Beside of it, I'll port the my Mac silicon Touchdesigner CHOPs to Mac Intel ones. And I hope to windows too, to close the loop.

After that... Who knows?!
Pure data? Other real-time environments? It will depend on my time...