Max & PureData

[Martyn]

This is a question for the Max gurus really.

If I learn Max will that knowledge translate to PureData? I've had it working for a good while now on my Ubuntu Lunux install without making any headway with it, mainly because of the lack of tutorials. I'd like to get a working audio system running on Linux and I've always felt that PD would be a good way to get a good, live experimentation thing going on on the laptop and I'm thinking that starting with Max4Live might be a good way of eventually going down the PD route as well.

Good idea or no?

[mlehmann]

Actually, Max and PD are quite similar. The problem is that many objects that have the same function in both don't have the same name. But usually, someone that's good at programming Max can program in PD with a short adjustment time.

[stringtapper]

If you're using Live for performance then I would see no benefit to getting into PD as it will never be as integrated as M4L is.

As far as documentation is concerned I don't know of any tutorials that deal with sheer mechanics of the program, but if you're wanting to learn how to do things in PD then Miller Puckette's The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music uses PD as a basis for all its examples.

[Martyn]

Thanks, I had a feeling there'd be a good amount of adjustment involved but good to know that learning Max will help.

I started the Miller Puckette 'manual' but it's way too advanced for me in so far as the way I personally learn. I find it very hard to wade through loads of text before getting a good look at how it actually does it's thing. I'm finding it much the same with the Max documentation but I'm hoping that over time some people will create some nice video tutorials that lead by step-by-step example in the way that the excellent Baz Tutorials do on youtube. I'm certainly not hoping to learn it all that way but it's helping me in a way that even the Live tutorials are definitely not at the moment, just little appetite whetters that show the general idea with somebody explaining the whys and hows in a step-by-step fashion.

The whole PD idea was more a way to get some useful and experimental audio happening on Linux, something I've wanted to achieve for a long time.

[synnack]

Definitely install the Max demo and read through the tutorials. Much of the logic and workflow directly applies to PD. You can benefit from the Max tutorials if you are a Max/M4L user or not.

[jonathanwong0]

The knowledge will definitely transfer, though you probably won't want to go back to PD after using max.

[rawore]

one site for pd introduction is...

http://en.flossmanuals.net/puredata

synth example, for instance

I also found loadbang book useful for thinking around max
http://www.pd-tutorial.com/

[Martyn]

one site for pd introduction is...

http://en.flossmanuals.net/puredata

synth example, for instance

I also found loadbang book useful for thinking around max
http://www.pd-tutorial.com/

Thanks hugely for pointing me at that flossmanuals site, it's a goldmine.

Cheers

m