Max/MSP

[Nil]

By ordering that book, I feel like I've just opened the Pandora Box :

 

https://cycling74.com/products/books/

 

"Gregory is a brilliant communicator and his tutorials are always super clear and accessible, and have been invaluable over the years to both us and the wider Max community. Many of the techniques explored here will be useful to anyone using Live, M4L, or just interested in expanding their Max sequencing capabilities."

Sean Booth, Autechre

 

I guess you'll eventually see me often in that topic eh :)

 

[xox]

^ just the book i needed!!!!!!           

Edited December 6, 2018 by xox

[mcbpete]

Yeah saw that in the Cycling '74 newsletter - Still have the other two Max tomes to get through ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Music-Sound-Design-Practice/dp/8890548452/ & https://www.amazon.co.uk/Max-M-S-P-Jitter-Music-Interactive/dp/0199777683/ ) but definitely on my 'to buy' list

[Entorwellian]

Yeah saw that in the Cycling '74 newsletter - Still have the other two Max tomes to get through ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Music-Sound-Design-Practice/dp/8890548452/ & https://www.amazon.co.uk/Max-M-S-P-Jitter-Music-Interactive/dp/0199777683/ ) but definitely on my 'to buy' list

 

Those are very good books. The first two volumes of EMASD are great if you just want to make audio-only applications.

[rekosn]

so, anyone got the sequencing book? thoughts?

there's a giveaway if someone is interested:

 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfSiOdb0aUuCh8U1YCbZnqIwmwCcK9zbLe86r8f9fUDW0j2vw/viewform

Edited February 8, 2019 by rekosn

[exitonly]

I read it. I think it offers a good number of ideas for people who’ve used max for a bit but maybe aren’t sure what to do with it. If you’ve been building your own sequencers for a while it could be useful to get someone else’s perspective. Not t mind blowing but probably worth reading

[Embers]

I read it. I think it offers a good number of ideas for people who’ve used max for a bit but maybe aren’t sure what to do with it. If you’ve been building your own sequencers for a while it could be useful to get someone else’s perspective. Not t mind blowing but probably worth reading

 

+1 to 'aren't sure what to do with it' aspect. I understand what max can do, but really didn't have any ideas about what can I do with it. Step by Step has given me a fundamental way build up patches from very simple beginnings.

[xox]

Exai 2 iminen.Ph

[Embers]

Exai 2 iminen.Ph

 

Something like this. Work is paying me to learn it!

[xox]

 

Exai 2 iminen.Ph

 

Something like this. Work is paying me to learn it!

 

 

That's the life! 

[bendish]

This sequencing book is good.

I still get the old max...yea okay...yep get it...yeaaaa...goood...and....fuck what? How? What the?

Reread 50 times

Rinse repeat

[Limo]

Just got my copy of the sequencing book. * cracks fingers *

[marf]

Thinking about getting into Max again. Mainly for the expert sleepers module. And the 10 dollars a month subscription is doable

[xox]

Is the sequencing book any good? How complex are the sequencing tricks? Respond $1 $2

[Limo]

Not very complex , I don’t think. About 90 pages in (stuff keeps coming up) and I’ve mainly learned how to count and loop.

 

Which is good, because that wasn’t something I could do very well. Nor was I aware that I even wanted to.

 

One tip: since the book is essentially one long tutorial with, it seems to me, very little reference value, just get the ebook version. It’s worth the 20 bucks - if it’s at your level - but not the space it’s going to take up on your shelf if you’re done with it.

 

Finally, one reason I go so slowly is that I keep getting sidetracked by the fun sequences I keep spitting out while working through it. Already ended up making two entire tracks this way.

Edited April 9, 2019 by rhmilo

[xox]

Id buy ebook version but one reviewer @amazon said it doesnt work in kindle. I guess i wouldnt work in ibooks either

 

Edit: apparently it works with kindle phone app. Buying!

Edited April 9, 2019 by xox

[Entorwellian]

The dude's LFO tutorials are really good too. They're over 10 years old but they still hold up in recent versions.

 

https://cycling74.com/tutorials/lfo-tutorial-1-the-zen-of-the-silent-patch

Edited April 12, 2019 by Entorwellian

[xox]

This sequencing thing is getting boring! any tips/books/tuts for algorithmic music? 

[Embers]

This free course begins soon! Looks very beginner friendly, but pros might get some use out of it.

https://www.kadenze.com/courses/programming-max-structuring-interactive-software-for-digital-arts/info

[hello spiral]

ooooh

[sweepstakes]

Anybody use both Max and SuperCollider?

I use the latter almost exclusively these days. The text-based workflow and the freedom to run it on damn near any platform are great, but I often miss VSTs and occasionally the suggestion of tangents inherit in the visual patching interface. Plus there are lots of nice features in Max 8 that make it pleasant to use.

I'm just way more comfortable and efficient with old-fashioned textual code than virtual patch cables and boxes.

[mcbpete]

@sweepstakes have you looked into the js object in order to get the best of both programming worlds - https://docs.cycling74.com/max7/tutorials/javascriptchapter02

[sweepstakes]

Yes, in fact in Max 6 I found a hack to import modules AMD-style (which is now the norm in Max 7+) and I wrote some modules based on the Novation LaunchPad for Max. I got pretty sidetracked though - I think the last thing I did was implementing a "paint" program for the LP where you could choose from 8 pixel colors and draw 8x8 icons. Silly, but fun.

As far as I know, though, JS in Max is limited to control rate. gen~ is audio rate but it's pretty low-level, basically C. Which all makes for an environment that's good for prototyping, but a little awkward to work in longer-term because things are kind of uneven, disjointed, and strewn about. Or maybe that was down to my own lack of organization.

SC is really nice because I can use the same syntax for both audio and control, and the level of abstraction of the UGens is at a real sweet spot, similar to a text version of Nord Modular. Also there's really nice syntactical sugar for arrays and the like, which makes it easy to build things like additive synths.

Plus, while both have very good documentation (mostly excellent, actually, but both have a handful of sparse/confusing spots) I find SC's more discoverable: highlight UGen or method, press Ctrl+D, click the one you want, and boom, you're zeroed into the relevant paragraph and ready to get down to business. With Max it felt like I had to pore over the documentation for each object, read it carefully and internalize it like a koan, which is charming but less practical. I think that's down to the nature of visual programming - you're working with inlets and outlets instead of functions and methods. The latter, just by virtue of having names, are much easier to describe and remember.

[Nil]

 @sweepstakes on a somehow related note, have you seen https://forum.toplap.org/t/gibber-2-0-roadmap/203 ?

[sweepstakes]

1 hour ago, Nil said:

 @sweepstakes on a somehow related note, have you seen https://forum.toplap.org/t/gibber-2-0-roadmap/203 ?

Ah, somehow I've been ignoring Gibber although I see it mentioned on Toplap/Lurk all the time. This looks really cool, although it seems like the latency would be bad running in the browser? The inclusion of the Tidal mini-language is excellent, though.