Max/MSP/Jitter+Live is very very nice.

itook4lefts · Post by **itook4lefts** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:28 am

@slatepipe - wow - how far into your studies are you? was there a "introduction to max" course people could take first? kind of seems like a lot of people would shit themselves when they saw that. though it's not so bad if you have a bit of computer music background.
still, damn, i'd love to go to school to do something like that.

justin · Post by **justin** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:31 am

fatrabbit wrote:(A lot of it is just reinventing the wheel IMO, and it does seem a bit dated. For example is there a way to update the rate of the Scope - the shows waveforms - seems like it's only 1fps or something crap like that).

Max is old (ish), so i think it has the right to sit their like an old grandad grunting at you with its lack of interface. and isnt most software reinventing something, including ableton live? surely the most important thing is what u do with it...

BTW, u can change the scope update rate per n of samples.

slatepipe · Post by **slatepipe** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:28 am

itook4lefts wrote:@slatepipe - wow - how far into your studies are you? was there a "introduction to max" course people could take first? kind of seems like a lot of people would shit themselves when they saw that. though it's not so bad if you have a bit of computer music background.
still, damn, i'd love to go to school to do something like that.

hi feller
we do max for 2 1/2 hours a week and we been doing it for about two months now. the first class was the introduction which i missed because i was ill, now i put my hand up and say 'i dont understand' a lot
i simply have to get my head around it as we have to build our own interfaces next year

outside of the lectures i been reading the tutorials from the cycling 74 site, they're pretty good and in depth but there is a LOT to learn

itook4lefts · Post by **itook4lefts** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:40 am

ah that's cool. i thought for a minute this was the first time they'd asked you to use max. what uni are you at?

slatepipe · Post by **slatepipe** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:48 am

middlesex uni, north london

fatrabbit · Post by **fatrabbit** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:23 pm

itook4lefts wrote:@slatepipe - wow - how far into your studies are you? was there a "introduction to max" course people could take first? kind of seems like a lot of people would shit themselves when they saw that. though it's not so bad if you have a bit of computer music background.
still, damn, i'd love to go to school to do something like that.

We didn't really get an introduction, we've just been thrown in the deep end. I think it should be an optional module, as there are people really into it, but they already know what they're doing.

deklin · Post by **deklin** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:34 pm

i have been using Max for about 3 years, starting in university.

it is a fantastic program, and rewiring it with Live for fx capabilities is incredibly exciting (although, tbh, I haven't had the time to experiment heavily)

y'all might be interested though, in something I am doing at the minute. For my final year project at Uni, I am creating an interactive CD-ROM that teaches the user the basics of Max MSP without using the program itself.

The reason for this is that so many people just drop Max once they leave college and I thought it was a real shame, so I want to take it away from the black and white exterior and to show people how to use it in a much less confusing way.

It would be very beneficial for Live users who want to incorporate Max because all you need is Runtime, which is free and you can get a load of patches.

I'll keep you updated on the CD-ROM process if anyone is interested

itook4lefts · Post by **itook4lefts** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:51 pm

fatrabbit wrote:We didn't really get an introduction, we've just been thrown in the deep end. I think it should be an optional module, as there are people really into it, but they already know what they're doing.

hmmm. kinda like when i did philosophy and logic was compulsory. some people where into it and did well, others just looked at all the predicate calculus and thought "bollocks to that".
still, i'd love to do a course like that. does anyone know anywhere in the UK that does like summer workshops or something?

itook4lefts · Post by **itook4lefts** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:53 pm

deklin wrote:y'all might be interested though, in something I am doing at the minute. For my final year project at Uni, I am creating an interactive CD-ROM that teaches the user the basics of Max MSP without using the program itself.

sounds cool - though how does it work without actually using max (just using runtime)?

Steve Christian · Post by **Steve Christian** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:58 pm

I do software development for a living and the last thing I'd want to do is go home and code songs. I've had a few friends tell me how uber powerful it is and it blows everything else away, but at the end of the day it's not what you use but what you create. For me, I love working in Logic w/Live rewired into it. That's fun and is an escape from reality and barebones coding a song would take all the joy out of composing for me. I wouldn't jump on the this bandwagon unless you really enjoy computer programming...which I enjoy and get paid to do, but have no desire to create music in that way.

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:25 pm

Steve Christian wrote:I do software development for a living and the last thing I'd want to do is go home and code songs. I've had a few friends tell me how uber powerful it is and it blows everything else away, but at the end of the day it's not what you use but what you create. For me, I love working in Logic w/Live rewired into it. That's fun and is an escape from reality and barebones coding a song would take all the joy out of composing for me. I wouldn't jump on the this bandwagon unless you really enjoy computer programming...which I enjoy and get paid to do, but have no desire to create music in that way.

Thats only one of the ways you can look at max.

If you know a bit of max and you're in need of a little tool. Chances are that you'll be able to make a custom tool pretty quick.
Look at the monodeck II for example...
Live isn't capable of driving that controller by itself. So Monolake wrote a little tool that improves his experience.

Another example would be the padkontrol. A lot of users are interested in controlling the lights of the pads independantly. For various reasons and projects.
With a little help of max, Machinate cooked this up http://www.thecovertoperators.org/archives/149

Max is not only a way to make music in a sort of geeky programming fashion...
Max is a set of tools to provide you with ways to customize your controllers, screens, audio effects, MIDI tools, egg-timer with GPS, generic sheep machine, tic-tac-toe-tweak,.....

And you don't even need to be a genious or even own max to play with these goodies. Just a basic understanding of max and a few good links like:
http://www.cycling74.com/twiki/bin/view/Share/
http://www.essl.at/works/rtc.html
http://nat.imeem.com/blogs/areO4MEW
http://maxobjects.com/

The first 30-days of max/msp is free and unrestricted.
Nothing to lose there except time. Time you wont regret spending if you actually get hooked to this..

apalomba · Post by **apalomba** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 4:06 pm

Steve Christian wrote:I do software development for a living and the last thing I'd want to do is go home and code songs. I've had a few friends tell me how uber powerful it is and it blows everything else away, but at the end of the day it's not what you use but what you create. For me, I love working in Logic w/Live rewired into it. That's fun and is an escape from reality and barebones coding a song would take all the joy out of composing for me. I wouldn't jump on the this bandwagon unless you really enjoy computer programming...which I enjoy and get paid to do, but have no desire to create music in that way.

I am a software developer as well and a musician. The thing I love about
max is that it allows me to dream up models and abstractions of music
that allow me to express myself in a more musical way. Max provides
a graphical programming language that allows you to build what ever
you want. The key is having an idea of what you want to do. If you
are "barebones coding a song" then you really should not be using
Max, you should create your song in Logic or something similar.

The bottom line is I like using my imagination to create music,
to manipulate sound on a fundamental level so that I may express
what I am feeling. Max is the only program out there that gives me the
level of control and freedom I want. Yes it is work, but the payoff is big.
I guess it all depends on what you want to do. Some people are content
using the tools that are given to them others are not.

voidseeker · Post by **voidseeker** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:04 pm

if only we could drop midi generating, modifying pluggos into the midi fx slots in live...

dCross · Post by **dCross** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:18 pm

http://www.ableton.com/cycling-partnership?i=hp

nathannn · Post by **nathannn** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:45 pm

wow i was just reading through this thread yesterday, then i lick on abletons website today to see they formed a partnership..
what a freaking coincidence..