Somax for Live on Windows — a working setup (unofficial)
The Somax for Live README states: “The included Python server is compiled for macOS.” That’s true — but it turns out this is the only macOS-specific part of the package. The Max for Live devices themselves work fine on Windows, and a Windows build of the server already exists in the Somax2 standalone distribution. Here is how I got the full Somax for Live setup running on Windows 11 with Live 12 / Max 9. Total effort: about half an hour, no compiling required.
Here is what I did to make it run anyway on Windows:
- Install Somax for Live into your Ableton User Library as per the official instructions.
- Get the Windows server from the Somax2 standalone win64 package (
somax_server.exeplus its_internalfolder — they belong together). - Start the server manually (double-click, a console window opens and stays open).
- In Live, load
Somax Server.amxdand press Initialize. The device connects to the already-running server via OSC on localhost.
Details and pitfalls
1. The devices load fine on Windows
Dropping the Somax For Live Project folder into C:\Users\<your Username>\Documents\Ableton\User Library\ works as documented. All externals used by the devices (yin~, bc.yinstats, bc.virfun, bonk~, ircamdescriptor~, shell, MuBu) load without complaints on Windows — check the Max console after loading a device, you should see their version banners.
2. Don’t fight the launcher — bypass it
The Somax Server.amxd device contains a launcher (somaxforlive.interpreter) with modes for macOS, Windows, conda, etc. In the frozen device I was not able to switch the mode away from its default — every launch attempt ended in:
"file:///C:/Users/<you>/Documents/Max 9/misc/launch_local" could not be found
(launch_local is a macOS shell script; the path also reveals that Live 12’s bundled Max searches Documents\Max 9\Packages, so a Somax2 package installed under Max 8 will not be found.)
The launcher seems not to be relevant here. The actual device↔server communication is OSC on localhost, and the device does not care who started the server. So: start the server yourself, then press Initialize on the device. That’s the whole workaround.
3. Where to get the Windows server
The Somax2 standalone package for Windows (from the Somax2 GitHub releases, e.g. Somax-2.x-win64) ships a compiled server at:
C:\Users<Yourname>\Documents\Max 9\Packages\Somax-2\somax_server.exe
Please make sure you mark that server executable as as trusted with a rightclick on the .exe file and mark it as trusted. Otherwise , the server will get an “launch URL err = 1223” error.
This is a PyInstaller one-dir build (currently Python 3.11). Important: the .exe is only the bootstrap loader — it needs the _internal folder sitting right next to it. If you copy the exe alone you will get:
Error loading Python DLL '...\_internal\python311.dll'.
LoadLibrary: Das angegebene Modul wurde nicht gefunden.
Either start the exe in place inside the Somax2 package, or copy exe + _internal together (e.g. next to Somax Server.amxd in ...\User Library\Presets\Audio Effects\Max Audio Effect\Imported\).
4. First launch notes
- The first server start can take a while (JIT compilation) — let the console window sit for a minute.
- If Windows SmartScreen blocks a freshly downloaded exe: right-click → Properties → Unblock. (Same fix as the known
launch URL. err = 1223issue with the Somax2 standalone launcher.) - Once the console shows the server is up, press Initialize in the Somax Server device. The status display confirms the connection, and from there the guided
Somax For Live.alssession works as on macOS.
What an official fix would need
Very little, as far as I can tell: ship the win64 server folder (exe + _internal) alongside the macOS .app in the Imported folder, and make the launcher default platform-aware. The Windows code path already exists in the device — it resolves somax_server.exe through Max’s search path.
Happy to test a beta. And thanks for Somax2 — having the agents inside Live is worth the detour.