V1.0.0 – Initial Release

Our Products are generally provided as Zip file downloads which in all cases will need to be extracted and saved to your hard drive prior to installation. Details on the different file type provided and what to do with them are below.

.alp Files – These are Ableton Live Packs and will either install directly into the Packs Section of the browser of Ableton Live or ask you to save them to your hard drive. For packs that install to the library, when you double click on them you will see a pop up window asking you to confirm that installation is ok as the files are described as “Legacy”. This is fine and you are ok to proceed, the packs are created using the format for an earlier version of Live and so remain compatible with the current version.

.amxd files – These are individual MaxforLive Devices and can be stored anywhere on your hard drive. We’d advise creating a folder for them and then adding that folder as a location within the Places section of Lives Browser.

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PLEASE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE CONTINUING WITH THIS PROGRAM INSTALL.

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It’s not designed to “equalize” sounds, it doesn’t tame frequency peaks. It adds peaks and adds complete silence in potentially constantly moving areas within the frequency spectrum. This means it is built for sound design and spectral destruction rather than mix balancing, often producing harmonics and unpredictable tonal results. It is a sound design tool that makes it easy to find happy accidents.

Yes, Freak-Q is a Max for Live device, so you will need either Ableton Live Suite or have a Max for Live license added to Live Standard.

The drawn curves are mapped to the same frequencies on any sample rate. So it tries to sound the same on different sample rates, but due to the nature of FFT based processing, a higher sample rate spreads the 2048 frequency bins across a wider range and therefore resulting in a different sound. And since Freak-Q is purposefully designed for chaotic outputs, these differences can sometimes be very noticeable. So it is worth experimenting with different sample rates to understand how it behaves.

Absolutely. The parameters that control and modify the drawn curves are fully automatable within Ableton Live, making Freak-Q a powerful tool for creating evolving, movement-driven spectral effects over time.

Freak-Q is designed for sound design rather than corrective work, making it ideal for creating unusual textures, generating harmonics, mangling synths and samples, or transforming mundane sounds into something entirely unrecognisable. Especially frequency rich sounds work well, giving Freak-Q a lot of material to cut away or boost.

Once downloaded, drag Live package (.alp) file into Ableton Live. You will likely see a prompt saying that it’s a legacy package, this is not a problem and won’t cause any issues. After installing it, you can find Freak-Q in the “Places” folder within Lives browser.