Gen~ as optimiser (of high level patches/modules)?

Rodrigo's icon

I'll preface this by saying I don't have Max6 (yet) nor have I messed around with the beta.

I'm curious to know how useful gen~ is for optimising existing patches/modules in the sense of being able to copy/pasting a granular synth into it and calling it a day(similar to poly for muting CPU). Or is it more suited for compartmentalising bits of the code (like a faux-external)? Or is it something in between?

How much do people plan on retroactively 'gen-ing' their patches?

Andrew Benson's icon

Hi Rodrigo,
I think your line about "compartmentalising bits of the code (like a faux-external)" is about right. There are many things that will easily map to the gen patcher objects, but it won't be as simple as copy/paste. In many cases, you'll probably find more elegant or extended solutions within gen~. I look forward to hearing how you get on with it.

cbm's icon

gen~ is its own world. IMO, it's best to consider it as halfway between MSP and writing an external. It's not a magic bullet that will make existing MSP patches faster. It is really cool, though, and well worth learning to use.

Rodrigo's icon

Just trying to decide if gen is for me (in the immediate sense).

That isn't as immediately attractive (especially at the price) as something like poly~, but like everything new, it probably takes a bit to figure out how/where to apply it.

Andrew Benson's icon

Hi Rodrigo,
I'm not sure if I understand the comparison to poly~. Gen will work in Max 6 during the demo period, and you will still be able to load the examples (but not edit them) after that. You have time to decide what's right for you, after trying it out.

Rodrigo's icon

I just meant that poly~ acts like a magical 'save CPU when I'm not using it' box (for my purposes), so gen~ ISN'T that.

That's great that you can load (but not edit) gen stuff. I was wondering how that was going to work.