Re: [microsound] Getting started

[isjtar <list@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On May 14, 2007, at 9:42 PM, Steffen wrote:
> On 14/05/2007, at 18.20, isjtar wrote:
>
> > max has better documentation
>
> I don't want to start a flame war, but i'd like to know, preferable  
> in great detail, what makes that statement true.


ok, to shield me from flames, i only know reaktor up to version 4 and  
documentation there really sucked.
i know the PD docs are always in progress, but i'm still not  
impressed by what you can do with it.
compare a max helpfile to a pd helpfile from a programming language  
illiterate point of view and you catch my drift.
feel free to prove me wrong btw, i'd love to recommend people good pd  
docs.

i come from a zero mathematics background and learned synthesis,  
composition, max and the whole shebang by myself, which i thought  
impossible at the time.

so, in max, you start with the max tutorials.
they're pretty good, though a bit dated and midi oriented. if you  
work through them all, you get the max logic and most problems should  
be solvable.
they really go small steps at a time, you don't need any prior  
knowledge.

msp (the sound part) is pretty easy if you've done the max tutorials  
and know you're way around synthesis and processing.
if you don't know a lot about sound it's a bit hard to get into dsp  
but once you do, things come quickly.
admittedly, fft is a pain.

then the jitter (image, video, 3D, abstract math stuff) tutorials are  
pretty good, mainly because i feel the language is very well  
designed. better than msp, very structured and elegant.
it can be a bit frustrating that it takes quite a while before you  
learn to play a simple movie, but you grasp the concept all the better.
i need to mention that i took these on last, so i don't know if it's  
harder if you don't know the others first.
the 3D tutorials suck btw, ours will be online soon - shameless plug  
i know : ) will post here soon.

then you have third party ones by peter elsea and others.

after all that, there are a lot of examples included (which you  
understand after the tutorials, contrary to reaktor),
there are easily accessible overviews of all the objects
and every object has a help patch which references to related objects  
and clearly explains the use of the object.

furthermore, cycling is doing some topic specific online tutorials  
and cookbook style items which are great for the more advanced user.

the mailing list is extremely active, and helpful, but if you ask  
people something that's in the tutorials, they will refer you to them  
as this is easier for everybody.

you can make simple objects in JavaScript, documentation here is ok  
but not great, you can find JS tutorials online everywhere.
then there's java and c api's, i haven't tried those as i don't know  
the languages.

seriously, max documentation is pretty good compared to most  
offerings, max is also a bit expensive.
i've earned it back a while ago and couldn't live without, but it's  
quite a sum although it is imo much better spent than on any  
sequencer style package.

no, i don't work for cycling and there's things about max i don't  
like, but the tutorials taught me quite a lot.

hope that was helpful

cheers

isjtar





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