Complete Noob *SOS*
Hey,
Im tottally new to the Max world. I know absolutely NADA about how to work it, although im very seasoned on Ableton, Cubase & Pro Tools. All I know is that my heroes (Autechre, Richard Devine, Deru) use Max and I just have to crack it to take my stuff to the next level.
Question: Is there a DVD on the market that can give me a crash course on how to get started? It seems that this is INCREDIBLY complicated and will be something tottally new to me, I also dont have any friends that know Max.
Im overwhelmed with where to get started..
Help!!
:/
Start with the tutorials. Definitely.
When you launch Max, look under the Help
menu and choose Max tutorials. Click on
Hello, and your journey begins.
When looking at the tutorials - do ALL of them. Even ones you don't think you'd ever use. The number of times a solution to something I've been working on has come out of left field is impossible for me to count.
> I'm overwhelmed with where to get started..
Yeah, that was me too a very short time ago, and I'm not much better now, so I feel your pain. :-)
I completely agree with Gregory: start with the tutorials.
There's also the "Tutorial Resources" page at cycling74: https://cycling74.com/twiki/bin/view/ResourceGuide/TutorialResources
And Peter Elsea's excellent tutorials. (Sorry, don't know the URL but google definitely does.)
There's also a book (with CD) by Todd Winkler: Composing Interactive Music with Max (or something like that), available at Amazon, etc. But it might not be quite what you're after. I was lucky enough to borrow a copy from a local college.
There are also stacks of bits and pieces all over the net. Max has been around for 20 years, and the net provides plenty of evidence of that. Although, most of what I've found seems pretty esoteric for a beginner. I'd start with the tutorials in Max as well as Peter Elsea's stuff.
Fortunately, I'd had quite a lot of experience in Logic's environment, so I wasn't completely new to MIDI processing. But it's still taking a while to get my head around Max. I spose it was the same when I started with Logic, so that's no big deal.
The people on these forums are amazingly helpful! One thing that makes the forum discussions even more useful (as I found out only a few minutes ago) is to learn how easy it is to transfer patchers to and from Max via text. Check out "Edit->Copy Compressed" and "File->New from Clipboard" and the blocks of text in forums posts that begin with "----------begin_max5_patcher----------" and end with "----------end_max5_patcher----------"
Good luck and seeya 'round!
Cheers, Bill :-)
there are also
help files and reference files for each object
select an object then look in the Help menu
*Sigh*
Finally a forum that works with a seemingly great and helpful community.
Thanks guys, all notes have been taken. Operation Max brain-overload commencing...[enter]
:)
Hey man !
I will just give you a few pointers in hopefully encouraging you into learning max !
1) Max/Msp tutorials and manuals are second to none , one of the best manuals ever written IMO
2) Through learning MAx you will learn much more then just how to operate a software , you will gain considerable knowlege in synthesis , signal flow, scripting , software design ect.... ect
3) Just go at your own speed , make sure you read ALL the manual , you will be surprised at how much of it is just common sense
4) Do max every day , I can gaurantee you that even under a week you wil be making your own patches
5) The more you understand MAx the more you will want to dig deeper and deeper
6) Nothing is impossible in MAx .
7) Max community is the nicest and coolest bunch of people !! hahhahahah
... and never ever feel shame in copying and pasting bits and pieces from the help patchers. that will save you a lot of work, keep you moving along, and teach you more than you think...
i was in the same place a couple months ago, zphyr, having used ableton and reason extensively and finally coming to the conclusion that if i wanted to make music that was truly different, i needed the freedom Max could provide. what i've found is that Max is incredibly time consuming, addictive, enjoyable, challenging, at times frustrating, kind of like a relationship. but just stick with it, once you start doing things that these other programs would never be able to accomplish, you'll understand why these other artists used this program so heavily. no DVD is necessary; as others have said, the documentation is unbeatable and will help immensely in teaching you the art of maxing. Elsea's tutorials are also invaluable (tho a wee bit outdated w/ max5). best of luck!
I started learning/using Max last year, I"m still learning, but the help files are great. Copy/paste can be your best friend. :)
TOB schrieb:
> Thanks guys, all notes have been taken. Operation Max brain-overload commencing...[enter]
You're welcome.
As the world usually is fine with a single autechre, I will also
recommend to listen to music you never heard before. Listening is still
the first step to find new ways of expression...
I know of no better way than using Max to create unheard stuff...
Have fun, and just take a walk if you come across some brain-overload
(it will for sure, and the walk will turn it down for sure)
And don't forget your girlfriend/boyfriend or whoever...
Stefan
--
Stefan Tiedje------------x-------
--_____-----------|--------------
--(_|_ ----|-----|-----()-------
-- _|_)----|-----()--------------
----------()--------www.ccmix.com
Have fun, and just take a walk if you come across some brain-overload
(it will for sure, and the walk will turn it down for sure)
And don't forget your girlfriend/boyfriend or whoever...
very true Stefan , my wife hates max/msp "you dont even have a social life anymore , and we live in a society jeez !"
trouble in paradise !!!!!!
I will be out of the office from August 7 until August 25 and will not
have access to my email account. If you need assisitance while I am away
please contact Ana Varas at 754-321-2050 or ana.varas@browardschools.com
Thank you
1st tutorial done.
Wow, im impressed as to how well it is written. This will probably be the first manual I will ever read from start to end. Its like a textbook!
I have also been browsing around the net for instruments to load in Max and blow my mind. Its been very hard to find, is there not an active site somewhere where people upload their Plugins like on the NI Reaktor site?
I have come across bits and pieces off google search and also the cyling 74 site.
I def think this is a tool that will stick with me for life. It seems so possible now. I remember opening Max/Msp3 and being in total shock and never thought I could ever go through it!!!! Haha
Thanks guy ;)
Goodbye! [print]
This is probably the closest thing I've found to the Reaktor User's Library for Max/MSP: https://cycling74.com/twiki/bin/view/ResourceGuide/InterestingWork
Most people with Max seem to prefer to create highly unique/custom-tailored apps for themselves, to the point that it often only works with specific hardware, etc.
However, there's some handy stuff at www.maxobjects.com - Along with a lot of extremely useful C/C++ externals, there's Abstractions, which are just Max Patches that run like externals - but you can open 'em up and take a look. I know I've hacked a bunch of abstractions to pieces just to see what they do.