LaserJet - Image to sound generator using iSTFT
Max for Live device for sound creation from an image by inte...
- Type
- Instrument
- Author
- karukas
- Version
- 1.0
- License
- AttributionShareAlike
- Live version
- 12.2.1
- Max version
- 9.0.7
- Downloads
- 423
- Updated
- No Updates
LaserJet - Image to sound generator using iSTFT is an Instrument for Ableton Live by karukas, distributed as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. It targets Live 12.2.1 and Max 9.0.7. On maxforlive.com it has 423 downloads. Published 2025-07-06. 1 user comment below.
New to Max for Live? Read what Instruments do, what the AttributionShareAlike license means, how to install a device.
Description
Max for Live device for sound creation from an image by interpreting it as STFT data. Use it to embed secret graphics in your music, create glitch music (a la Ryoji Ikeda), or scare your pets.
Like its namesake, it makes weird beeping sounds and it engraves images onto some medium (spectrogram/paper).
It has a ton of settings. Some features:
- Image / video / live stream input
- Image preprocessing (pixelation, rotation, edge detection, shift)
- Multiple seek modes with frequency-based as well as synced rate control
- FFT phase control (constant zero, noise, or a special comb filter effect)
- Pink / brown noise filtering to soften high frequencies
- Automatic spatialization by using separate pan / gain for RGB channels
Demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvJzMddF3qI. Note: this includes a reverb effect after the plugin (not shown), but the device sounds interesting dry as well.
This requires Max 8 or later (Ableton 10+) because it depends on MC objects, but only tested in Max 9 / Ableton 12. This device has a lot of moving parts--please let me know if there are bugs!
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