Max...

::BLM:: · Post by **::BLM::** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 2:01 am

Whats this Max everyone is talking about? I'm confused! Is is like Reaktor in the sense that you make your own syntheizers?

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 2:15 am

http://www.cycling74.com/

bit geekier than reaktor but in the same vein. it's been around for a while but the collaboration with ableton is very exciting.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 9:54 am

to be a bit more specific it's a graphic representation of computer code that's been designed for (mainly) audio purposes.

it's stupidly geeky and definitely not for everyone, but if you put a lot in the rewards are tremendous.

this ableton collaboration has opened a lot of doors and has got people real excited. the good news is that I predict there will be a whole pile of finished patches floating around the internet to do fiddly odd jobs and weird effects in ableton that will be accessible to someone who doesn't want to spend hours and hours patching virtual cables together.

and for geekier people the combination will mean that we have a way to combine the friendly & ready to go jamminess of ableton with the customised silliness of max.

exciting times.

tone-def · Post by **tone-def** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:29 pm

it's something i'm not getting into. I had a chance to learn it at uni but chose Reaktor instead, which i gave up on. This kind of stuff is really interesting but i just don't have the patience for it.

victorgonzales · Post by **victorgonzales** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:38 am

I dont really see the whole point in it unless you have a very specific sound you know you cant get with whats already out there.

I get that it has some possibilities with inventing your own vsts or whatever but I havent really had an issue with trying to make any noise I want with existing vsts. If I had to create my own I would never get anything done bedause Id be too busy fucking around with building new synths and things.

Not saying its a bad thing but I just dont see what the big deal is.

livecollective · Post by **livecollective** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:49 am

victorgonzales wrote:I dont really see the whole point in it unless you have a very specific sound you know you cant get with whats already out there.

I get that it has some possibilities with inventing your own vsts or whatever but I havent really had an issue with trying to make any noise I want with existing vsts. If I had to create my own I would never get anything done bedause Id be too busy fcking around with building new synths and things.

Not saying its a bad thing but I just dont see what the big deal is.

It has many points apart from building sound generators

If you want to write patches to say: , if you want to make your own effects, if you want to write a patch to work with a custom midi controller, the possibilities are endless and it isnt just about sound, it ca be physical , visual, anything...

its only limited by your own mind. that being said, it can be cumbersome, but there are a few things I found/find it essential for. Just because no one else has readily made what i was looking for available.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:14 am

yeah for most tasks it's much more practical to use prebuilt stuff but max gves you many options that you would not find elsewhere.

for example, to tie in with that other thread. I like machine sequencing for rhythm, but I love to jam with pitches like when using a keyboard. but iwht most solutions currently available it's one or the other... presequenced piano roll for pitch as well as rhythmic placement. or keyboard for both too. but with max and a piece of hardware I can make a custom sequencer that combines both. where I can seqeunce my hits piano roll style, but control pitches and chords in a fluid realtime way like on a piano.

the possibilities with it are endless. but i suppose it's a bit like modular synthesisers, sometimes you can be way more funky with just a small box and some fixed possibilities. but for me it's nice to know that anything I could ever think of is possible somehow.

s.k. · Post by **s.k.** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:12 pm

victorgonzales wrote:I get that it has some possibilities with inventing your own vsts or whatever but I havent really had an issue with trying to make any noise I want with existing vsts.

well try sounding like bruno pronsato... ok it was just an example.

about max/msp:
dont remember who, but someone mentioned in a recent (max-related) topic that max's timing was sloppy, and that maxforlive was gonna correct that. this was posted by a user who usually pretends to know his way around max. but is simply wrong - here's why: in max/msp you have to set up a signal driven sequencer!!! this way it will run at audio rate, meaning its timing will be light years tighter than live!'s. what you probably did is you made your sequencer run at control rate, which is close to midi rate, which is sloppy, fact. quickest example of a signal-based sequencer (which ofcourse makes it more MSP than max heheh

) is the techno~ object. i can also share a patch of mine which is alot simpler, anyway.

i hope this was clear, dont wanna go on as it will get too offtopic, but if someone is interested i can explain.

about maxforlive
am i the only one who feels kinda sad about it??? they fucking gave away the last best kept secret damnit... they made it too easy, so now everyone will be able to access it and tons of ready patches will start floating around, and it will become just like reaktor - tons of users who brag about using it but actually doing nothing but using ready patches/ensembles, which is no different than using a vsti.

sorry for my maybe rude (but maybe not rude enough) words, i just had to let it out. also, nothing against reaktor - i hope you understood.

p.s. to ::BLM:: - Ableton Live! was initially a Max patch.