Hallock Hill

I am bouncing around and thinking about delving into Max-Msp. I found this description of Keith Fullerton Whitman's patch:

http://www.keithfullertonwhitman.com/projects/playthroughs.html

Having never used the program, is it easy to build these from the ground up? Are there patches in place to uses as building blocks?

Sorry for the absolutely green questions from a newbie.

keith-fullerton-whitman-playthroughs

To recreate something like that patch from the ground up would take a while if you're not familiar with max. It depends on your background. There's a 30 day free trial so maybe download the software and dive straight into the included tutorials which are great for getting you up and running. If you get stuck, search these forums, there are plenty of patches here which you can take apart and put back together to see what makes them tick. There are also many patches included with the software in the examples folder for you to explore.

mr. fullertons patches have taken some time to develop, but he has had some learning to go with it by going to workshops etc, i think he actually does some teaching every-now-and-again in max. but he has spent honoured time on these and developed and re-developed them to see fit.

but the key thing, is keeping interested. if you are a person who gives up straight away and does not find a solution then max is not for you.

sure you can find other patches etc online and ask other for the answer, but the world of max is about learning and master those skills. this is what i have found in few years of using max. you can not always get an answer from others, but more so a guiding path of where you need to go next

but if you are a person who likes to problem solve, you [like myself and a lot of other users] will more than likely start dreaming of patches, or solutions. im not kidding either :)

max takes up a good amount of time to learn, but it is highly worth it to stay interested and involved, but dont force yourself to learn it.

but as mr. hall has said, try the thirty day demo and see what you think of it. even have a gander at the peter elsea tutorials for other options of learning.

but the key thing, is keeping interested. if you are a person who gives up straight away and does not find a solution then max is not for you.
sure you can find other patches etc online and ask other for the answer, but the world of max is about learning and master those skills. this is what i have found in few years of using max. you can not always get an answer from others, but more so a guiding path of where you need to go next

but if you are a person who likes to problem solve, you [like myself and a lot of other users] will more than likely start dreaming of patches, or solutions. im not kidding either :)
max takes up a good amount of time to learn, but it is highly worth it to stay interested and involved, but dont force yourself to learn it.

i meant to say mr. whitman, not fullerton...

my first month of learning max involved reading the documentation, watching baz tutorials, reading the forums, and rebuilding the playthroughs patch from scratch. it was really helpful. i've probably done just the tracker module about 5 times and each time i get it better and my patching improves because of it. also some concepts and minor sections have made their way into my current master patch, mixed with my own ideas.

Thanks a lot all. I think I will start by watching a lot of the tutorial videos and see how things look. I'm definitely the type who likes the problem solving end of things and I like the general concept a lot. Especially that you can build something from scratch that will be unique. Thanks a lot again.

Keith Fullerton Whitman Playthroughs