Tactism is out today. It is a Max for Live device that turns the webcam on your Mac into a controller for your whole Ableton set. Pinch to close a filter. Raise a hand to open the reverb. Clench a fist to mute the drums.
We make Photism, which turns sound into visuals. Tactism runs the same idea in the other direction: the camera watches you, and your movement becomes control.
Why hands
Most of what makes a sound feel alive is movement over time. A filter that opens as a phrase builds, a send that swells into a drop. A mouse moves one dial at a time, and a hardware controller gives you a fixed row of knobs. Your hands can move several things at once, in a way an audience can see and follow.
We wanted that without buying a sensor, wearing a glove, or learning a new instrument. Every Mac already has a camera. The hard part was making it feel tight: smoothing tuned so a still hand holds still and a fast move lands in about a twentieth of a second.
Five gestures
The Tactism window shows five gestures, each on either hand:
- Height: how high your hand sits in frame.
- Slide: where your hand sits from left to right.
- Pinch: the gap between thumb and index finger.
- Fist: clenched or open, a switch.
- Span: the distance between your two hands.
Four more (tilt, spread, reach and in frame) sit behind one click for when you want them. We kept the main five small on purpose. They read reliably on a webcam, they look different from each other in the hand, and anyone watching can tell what you are doing.
Any dial in your set
A gesture can drive synth parameters, effects, rack macros, and every track’s volume, pan and sends. Map one by picking it from a list, or press MAP and nudge the dial you want. One gesture can drive several parameters at once, each with its own range and curve.
Mappings save with your Live set and follow their tracks when you rearrange things. Rigs save a whole setup so you can load it into another project.
Private by design
The camera feed never leaves your Mac. The hand model runs locally, and only sixteen numbers per frame travel from the Tactism window to the device. There is no account and no telemetry.
What you need
A Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 15.7 or later, Ableton Live 11 or 12 Suite, and any webcam. Here is why it needs Suite.
What is next
Tactism Notes, an instrument you play in the air, is coming as a separate plugin. Modulate owners hear about it first.
Tactism Modulate is $19, once, with free updates for life. The setup guide walks through your first mapping, and the product page has the videos.