Re: [microsound] max/msp, reaktor, csound, etc.

[t <ton.strom@xxxxxx>]

hi, 

i am also interested in help, so i am posting this to the list. maybe 
there are some cracks among us ...

i just discovered csound a few days ago. it is not really a programme, 
but a programming language for sound. you write a file four the sounds, 
one file for the orchestration. then you have the computer compute 
these both into a piece of music. it is multi-platform, _very_ flexible 
and allows _a_lot_of_ control about what you are doing. 
but it does have a huge learning-curve at the beginning, but it does 
not limit you to the creativity of programmers of synths, you are the 
programmer yourself. i find that rather fascinating. it can handle very 
different kinds of synthesis, even sampling?

some things i only heard / read vaguely:
i would like to know: i read of real-time possibilities. is that so? 
how? 

i also read that midi is still a weak point. 

i found http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-books/csound/frontpage.html appears 
to be a good startingpoint, leading to different information. i think i 
will also buy the book, as it simply is more convenient that way to 
learn. 

csound's _huge_ advantage: it is _free_. 

reaktor i do not know very well as my present computer is way too slow, 
but also appears to be quite flexible. a modular synthesizer with 
sampler. you can build your own modules, if you like. 

also i recommend you taking a look at www.audiomulch.com, that is a 
nice modular one for instant sound-playing. along with vst it is quite 
powerful, but yet it does not allow to take deep control. merely a 
_huge_ (i mean that!!!) sound-effects-machine, not aimed at trackers. 

and i recommend taking a look at buzz. http://www.buzzmachines.com, it 
is modular, with a _huge_ amount of machienes. a tracker. modular, 
flexible. i do not know that one too much until now. i am just 
switching to linux, if someone can help me get it going there ... ... 
.... ;-)))

i personally do _love_ audiomulch. i am highly interested in csound. i 
am just switching to linux and still am to explore the possibilities 
there. if someone knows of recources ... sound design on linux ...

hope this helped!

t.obias