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Andrew Benson

Last week, I was invited by to participate in a 

 in Las Vegas, the leading conference and trade show for lighting and live design professionals. The panel was called “

”, and despite the name, tended to mainly focus around how people create one-off and custom show designs. Those of you mostly focussed on music might not realize how many theater and stage professionals are sticking Max in the middle of their complex show designs. Joining me on the panel were other artists and lighting designers working with 

, as well as a number of other solutions.

A big topic of conversation - and something I realized I wanted to learn more about - was 

. With individually addressable LED strips and tapes now widely available and relatively affordable, lots of people are looking into custom installations and set pieces that include LED lighting effects. 

 includes supports for Syphon, which means you could develop video effects in Jitter that get passed along to the LEDs without having to do the DMX programming yourself. Some very exciting possibilities there that I’ll be excited to test out in my studio.

A visit to Live Design International, 2016

LDI 2016 1

LDI 2016 2

LDI 2016 3

Besides that, where LDI really delivers is a show floor full of 

, and every configuration of LED lights you can imagine. It definitely made me want to dust off 

 and dive into some lighting experiments.

Last week, I was invited by to participate in a panel discussion at Live Design International (LDI) in Las Vegas, the leading conference and trade show for lighting and live design professionals. The panel was called “Design On A Dime”, and despite the name, tended to mainly focus around how people create one-off and custom show designs. Those of you mostly focussed on music might not realize how many theater and stage professionals are sticking Max in the middle of their complex show designs. Joining me on the panel were other artists and lighting designers working with Isadora, Millumin, and Lightjams, as well as a number of other solutions.

A big topic of conversation - and something I realized I wanted to learn more about - was LED pixel mapping. With individually addressable LED strips and tapes now widely available and relatively affordable, lots of people are looking into custom installations and set pieces that include LED lighting effects. Enttec’s E.L.M. software includes supports for Syphon, which means you could develop video effects in Jitter that get passed along to the LEDs without having to do the DMX programming yourself. Some very exciting possibilities there that I’ll be excited to test out in my studio.

Besides that, where LDI really delivers is a show floor full of fog machines, laser projectors, movable head lighting fixtures, projection mapping, and every configuration of LED lights you can imagine. It definitely made me want to dust off Andrew Pask’s DMX articles and dive into some lighting experiments.

on-the-road-live-design-international

On the Road: Live Design International

Mark Mosher

Sometimes, a little change of pace can be a welcome thing and provide an opportunity to "think different." In that spirit, we asked our synthesist pal 

 you may find of interest if you're not already acquainted) to aim us at an interesting softsynth plug-in that he finds compelling. Welcome, Mark! -- Gregory

 - a 32/64-bit VST2/AU softsynth plug-in whose ancestry traces back through the 

 softsynth. The Bazille (German for “bacterium”) combines a user interface that will be familiar to anyone who’s worked with modular synthesis: a rack of digital oscillators, analog-style filters, and modeled effects with a virtual cable patching system for routing audio and control signals. The default interface is tabbed for easy access to various components (braver users with better eyesight will enjoy the "gearporn” skin that shows everything with a single view).

A brief overview of the modules themselves suggest the possibilities: The oscillators are digital and combine FM and various forms of Phase Distortion synthesis. The resonating filters feature a cascading architecture that allows access to 6 filter types in parallel with all filter types allowing for resonance with self-oscillation. Bazille’s two LFOs run from low to audio rates (frequency or clock-selectable) with three parallel outputs each. Finally, the real time effects include tube and transistor distortion, delay, phasor, and a spring reverb that features a “shake” button that lets you emulate banging on the side of the reverb tank.

These modules are patchable. Working with the virtual patchcords is very straight-ahead - module sockets are color-coded (Grey sockets are inputs, red sockets are outputs), and it’s click-and drag to patch. The patching interfaces features a few nice tweaks, too (double-clicking deletes patchcords, and dragging a cable from an unused input to another that is already in use creates a daisy-chain that patches the source to both inputs, as shown 

). The softsynth’s Multiplex module extends the patching metaphor by allowing you to mix/split signals to modules with several cables for simple mixing/attenuation, ring modulation/fade in, amplitude modulation/fade out, and unipolar and bipolar crossfades - with additional modulation sources to scale output.

Bazille includes two modules that really set it apart and should set the Max programmer’s heart to beating: a pair of mapping generators and a morphing modulation sequencer.

The mapping generators let you draw in lists that can hold up to 128 values to be used as processing modulation sources, or as oscillator waveforms. The generators have multiple modes (Key, Map Smooth, Map Quantize, and Increment) that let you control how events are generated.

The morphing modulation sequencer goes way beyond a simple 16-step sequencer; its 4 output "taps" can be sent to any input each at a different speed, and the sequencer also includes 8 pattern snapshots which you can manually morph between. Finally, the sequencer is 

 - each played note can trigger its own instance of the sequence. As you might imagine, the morphing modulation sequencer is well suited for West-coast style synthesis, complex drones, and as a source for Max patching ideas in your own work.

I found Bazille to be fun and inspiring and was able to quickly dial-in predictable results as well as be inspired by happy accidents by swapping cables. You can find a Soundcloud example of the Bazille in action (a Bazille patch performing in a single pass with no edits manipulating notes, mod wheel, key pressure, and parameters via midi-mapped knobs) 

If you've never used a modular before, I recommend you start with Heckmann’s earlier 

 softsynth – if you’re already modular-aware, you should be able to jump right in once they get a handle on the interface.

Bazille holds up well in real time to having its knobs being modulated from Max for Live devices, too – you may even want to create your own Max for Live devices to enable idiosyncratic configurations (for some weird fun, you can MIDI map input sockets modulating the act of plugging in a cable at incredible speeds not capable with human hands (

you can find an example of that done on the early ACE softsynth here

Bazille can be rather demanding on your CPU (although it runs just fine on my beefy Windows machine). You can throttle the synth up using its Multicore (which distributes voices evenly between the CPU cores) and HQ (higher quality) options. In any case, running monophonic presets without voice stacking should work fine even on older machines.

I think you'll find this well worth your time.

Sometimes, a little change of pace can be a welcome thing and provide an opportunity to "think different." In that spirit, we asked our synthesist pal Mark Mosher (whose Sonic Encounters podcast you may find of interest if you're not already acquainted) to aim us at an interesting softsynth plug-in that he finds compelling. Welcome, Mark! -- Gregory

Let me introduce you to the U-He Bazille - a 32/64-bit VST2/AU softsynth plug-in whose ancestry traces back through the Roland 100M and U-He owner Urs Heckmann’s own ACE softsynth. The Bazille (German for “bacterium”) combines a user interface that will be familiar to anyone who’s worked with modular synthesis: a rack of digital oscillators, analog-style filters, and modeled effects with a virtual cable patching system for routing audio and control signals. The default interface is tabbed for easy access to various components (braver users with better eyesight will enjoy the "gearporn” skin that shows everything with a single view).

These modules are patchable. Working with the virtual patchcords is very straight-ahead - module sockets are color-coded (Grey sockets are inputs, red sockets are outputs), and it’s click-and drag to patch. The patching interfaces features a few nice tweaks, too (double-clicking deletes patchcords, and dragging a cable from an unused input to another that is already in use creates a daisy-chain that patches the source to both inputs, as shown here). The softsynth’s Multiplex module extends the patching metaphor by allowing you to mix/split signals to modules with several cables  for simple mixing/attenuation, ring modulation/fade in, amplitude modulation/fade out, and unipolar and bipolar crossfades - with additional modulation sources to scale output.

Bazille includes two modules that really set it apart and should set the Max programmer’s heart to beating: a pair of mapping generators and a morphing modulation sequencer. 

The morphing modulation sequencer goes way beyond a simple 16-step sequencer; its 4 output "taps" can be sent to any input each at a different speed, and the sequencer also includes 8 pattern snapshots which you can manually morph between. Finally, the sequencer is polyphonic  - each played note can trigger its own instance of the sequence. As you might imagine, the morphing modulation sequencer is well suited for West-coast style synthesis, complex drones, and as a source for Max patching ideas in your own work.

I found Bazille to be fun and inspiring and was able to quickly dial-in predictable results as well as be inspired by happy accidents by swapping cables. You can find a Soundcloud example of the Bazille in action (a Bazille patch performing in a single pass with no edits manipulating notes, mod wheel, key pressure, and parameters via midi-mapped knobs) here.

If you've never used a modular before, I recommend you start with Heckmann’s earlier ACE softsynth – if you’re already modular-aware, you should be able to jump right in once they get a handle on the interface.

Bazille holds up well in real time to having its knobs being modulated from Max for Live devices, too – you may even want to create your own Max for Live devices to enable idiosyncratic configurations (for some weird fun, you can MIDI map input sockets modulating the act of plugging in a cable at incredible speeds not capable with human hands (you can find an example of that done on the early ACE softsynth here).

I think you'll find this well worth your time.


the-infectious-charm-of-the-bazille

The Infectious Charm of the Bazille

Darwin Grosse

One of the cool features added to Max 7.2.2 is the ability to inform us - and other users - about the value of a package. This includes the new package rating system, which allows you to give a 1-5 star rating to a package, or to report a problem with a package that you have installed. Check out the short-and-sweet video below to see how you can provide feedback on packages, and help identify problem packages from within the Max application.

Learn how to rate a package or to report a problem.

Package Manager Updates for Max 7.2.2

To see a list of available packages inside the Max 7 application, navigate to File > Show Package Manager where you can also quickly install or remove any available package. On this website, 

To see a list of available packages inside the Max 7 application, navigate to File > Show Package Manager where you can also quickly install or remove any available package. On this website, browse the gallery here.


package-manager-features-in-max-7-2-2

Package Manager Features in Max 7.2.2

Timothy Place

In this 12-minute video, I give you a tour of some advanced Max filtering tools and filter design options that go above and beyond the 

 objects, you can take filtering to the next level.

A tour of some advanced Max filtering tools and filter design options that go above and beyond the biquad~ object. With the filterdesign, filterdetail and plot~ objects, you can take filtering to the next level.

More information: https://cycling74.com/products/max/

Explore Filtering Tools in Max

In this 12-minute video, I give you a tour of some advanced Max filtering tools and filter design options that go above and beyond the biquad~ object. With the filterdesign, filterdetail and plot~ objects, you can take filtering to the next level.

Watch other filter design videos: Demystifying Filters and Crossover Filter Design.

a-tour-of-filtering-tools-in-max

my "next level" would be to calculate the new filter types myself uign messages (or in best case even signal based).

if anyone would be bored enough to build it for me that would be great.

i have lowpass, highpass, bandpass and shelving filter coefficient patches (mostly copied from zack settel i think) and it would be so lovely to have the brickwall filters (and eventualy the butterworth, but it is not too important for now) as max patch, too.

Informative, and great style (casual and patch-y, with still lots of deep info).


I tried playing around with this, and I got some crazy feedback. Just gave myself a heart attack by switching between filter modes, and nearly blew out my speakers. Perhaps it's best not to be changing the attributes of filterdesign while the audio engine is running, but seriously a little warning would have been nice.

Otherwise, really interesting tutorial, and definitely did inspire me to try it myself!


Get the Latest on Max and our Community

On the Road: Live Design International

The Infectious Charm of the Bazille

Package Manager Features in Max 7.2.2

A Tour of Filtering Tools in Max

Get the karma~ Package by Rodrigo and Raja

My First Look at Mogees

Solving Difficult Problems with the pattr Object Tutorials

An Interview with Filipa Valente

A first peek at Max 7

An Interview with Bruno Zamborlin