synthesis max/msp patches and instruments

SYNTHESIS: DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS IN Max/MSP

This page show-cases some of the software synthesizers & synthesis methods I have developed using Max/MSP during my Sound & Music Production degree, and in other audio work.

The synthesis patches range from simple, traditional subtractive designs, to more esoteric patches using outlandish control of additive synthesis, spectral convolution, and phase-distortion.

Many of these designs where created during work on my Human/Computer Collaboration module, to work with algorithmic composition patches such as the Arpeggiator_Algorithm, Topology_Music, JavaScript_Form, and various Cellular_Automata patches.

This page forms an overview of my Max/MSP synthesis patches, and includes a media player for listening to some compositions (generally algorithmic computer compositions) that use these synthesis patches, often exclusively, as a sound-source.

There are also links to many of the synthesis patches I have created over the past couple years, and some basic information & advice for those interested in starting out with MSP from a background in Max.

LINKS TO SYNTHESIS PATCHES:

Check out the various image-links to the right to link to the pages for those synth patches. (Please be patient, as I will be adding them one-by-one over the next week-or-so [09/08/09])

SYNTHESIS
METHODS DOC

For now, here is a link to the (Powerpoint) document I wrote covering the synthesis element of my Collaborative Practice module, entitled: Human/Computer Collaboration. This document covers most of the patches to be included on this page.

KNOW YOUR OBJECTS

Anybody who has climbed the Max/MSP learning curve will know the feeling of spending hours putting together a complex clutch of objects, only to realise later that there is a dedicated object for that very task, and will perform the calculations far more efficiently. MSP is similar in this respect, but due to the very different ball-game of processing audio, knowing your objects will make all the difference, and can often be the basis of a whole new patch.

If you are new to MSP, and want to try your hand at creating a basic synth to get to know the system, I highly recommend the Synth-Building tutorials by Darwin Grosse.

THE OBLIGATORY SYNTH-BUILDING OBJECTS:

OSCILLATORS: cycle~, phasor~, wave~, 2dwave~, oscbank~, ioscbank~
ANTI-ALIASED: rect~, saw~ & tri~
MODULATION: cycle~, *~, +~, line~, slide~, rampsmooth~, adsr~
FILTERING: lores~, reson~, onepole~ biquad~, filtercoeff~, filtergraph~, cascade~, fffb~, svf~, comb~, teeth~, cross~
DIGITAL DELAY: tapin~, tapout~, onepole~, *~, allpass~

SOME GENERALLY GREAT OBJECTS:

groove~, ioscbank~, tapin~/tapout~, 2dwave~, waveform~, techno~, fft~

OBJECTS NOT TO IGNORE:

poly~, adsr~ pfft~, groove~, peek~, poke~

Have fun! Now it's down to your imagination!