low level digital musical systems thread..max reaktor PD etc

Atheory · Post by **Atheory** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:05 pm

skept · Post by **skept** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 4:13 pm

i have been getting into csound and pure data quite a bit lately. i have found the examples that come with miller puckette's online book to be really helpful while learning pure data.

Ruso · Post by **Ruso** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:44 am

Try looking into synthmaker, it's a little bit easier on the brain yet still has a lot of potential. Especially in making custom little midi widgets. It's good stuff, crashes periodically but you'll learn to work around it.

Oh ya also very reasonably priced and you can get a free demo

http://synthmaker.co.uk/

The problem that I see with things like reactor and max is that you get lost in technical diagrams and drift further away from music and you lose the creative streak. Synth maker is a fine balance between making music and complex rigs, widgets and programs.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 3:07 pm

hmm, that things pc only. looks cool though.

max and reaktor I have a lot of time for. just a fair amount of work to get my head around sometimes. totally worth it though... an unthinkable amount of room for creativity in some areas cos you can totally do your thing with some of deeper technical stuff which provides a lot of room for your creative self.

once I have something set up with them I don't really need to think about the construction side so much, but definitely it's something that I don't wanna have to pay attention to when i'm playing.

for simply synth exploration I like to just use something more pre-wired like Zebra. nice personality too, as some synth stuff in max and reaktor can be kinda dry.

Atheory · Post by **Atheory** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:29 pm

Ruso wrote: The problem that I see with things like reactor and max is that you get lost in technical diagrams and drift further away from music and you lose the creative streak. Synth maker is a fine balance between making music and complex rigs, widgets and programs.

No, thats completely missing the point of max, reaktor etc.

u can build something that will be tailored towards being creative.

im sorry, but any program like that promoting a lack of code and maths as plus feature, is more a derivitive toy, than an alternative. its a positive thing for people to look under the hood if they want to. why peak under. look properly.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:27 pm

I would agree that there is a possibilty for getting lost in the technical stuff, but to me it's about finding a balance, which admittedly can be really tough at times. For exmaple at the moment I can't have a jam cos I'm in the process of moving out of my comfy ableton home and fully into max.

But like Atheory mentioned, the rewards creatively are truly immense even if the workload can be a lot higher.

However I would say that everyone works at a different level. I have some friends who don't think about the technical side at all but can somehow squeeze out some amazing sounds out of whatever they get their hands on. That synth maker thing could be a nice half way house.

Incidentally I mentioned in another thread that you can get some boxes that will convert Open Sound Control messages to Control Voltages at high resolutions meaning you can fully inegrate analogue gear into max or reaktor.

Somewhich which I think is terrifyingly exciting, as analogue definitely has a lot to offer in places where fully digital can suffer, but with a high level of control you can treat it like a digital component.

if you're interested google for gluion (16bit though really pricey) or ipsonlab (12bit and you have to assemble it yourself but much easier on the wallet).[/i]

widdly · Post by **widdly** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 6:26 am

If you are into CSound, make sure you check out "The CSound Book", it's huge and covers so much stuff...enough to keep you busy for years

skept · Post by **skept** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 4:44 pm

widdly wrote:If you are into CSound, make sure you check out "The CSound Book", it's huge and covers so much stuff...enough to keep you busy for years

i just got this in the mail two weeks ago and i have not put it down. not only is the book invaluable but the additional chapters on the attached cds provide a wealth of forward thinking techniques.