Synth-Building with Max/MSP (Introduction)

This series of tutorials first appeared on my CreativeSynth.com website between 2001 and 2002. Due to their popularity (especially amongst new Max users), I have moved them to the Cycling74.com website. (This work was developed in Max 4.6, an older version.)

The series covers the basics of synthesizer creation using Max and MSP. While these tools are incredibly powerful, they can also be overwhelming to the new user. I attempt to plow through the hundreds of objects to put together an efficient and straight-forward mechanism for synth creation.

In addition to using the standard Max and MSP objects, I will provide custom externals and sub-patchers that can help anyone create complex software synthesizer.

The series includes the following articles: Creating the Simple Synth (part 1), Output manipulation using Envelopes (part 2), Basic Filtering (part 3), Turning It Polyphonic #1 (part 4), Turning It Polyphonic #2 (part 5), A User-modable Oscillator (part 6), Making a plug-in (part 7), Plug-in Tweaks (part 8)