Max / MSP

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Max

Max6.PNG
Max / MSP
Basic data

developer Cycling '74
Current  version 8.1.4
(May 27, 2020)
operating system Windows , Mac OS X
programming language C.
category IDE VPL
License Proprietary
German speaking No
cycling74.com

Max / MSP is a graphical integrated development environment for music and multimedia from Cycling '74 , which is designed for real-time processes. It is used by composers, musicians, software developers and artists to create interactive software themselves - regardless of the aesthetic specifications of commercial products. This language is widespread in academic electronic music , in live video, and among laptop artists, particularly in live operations .

history

The first version Max was developed by Miller Puckette in the mid-1980s at IRCAM in Paris . In early 1990, a commercial version of Opcode Systems was released (developed and expanded by David Zicarelli). Since 1999 the software has been distributed by Zicarelli's company Cycling'74 . Max is named after Max Mathews , and can be considered the successor to MUSIC-N , although Max can also be used for purposes other than music.

General information about the language

A simple additive synthesizer in Max / MSP

Max / MSP is a modular, data stream-oriented , object-based programming language . The objects exist either as "externals" written in C or as "abstractions", which consist of an interconnection of several "externals". Using visual programming , these modules can be interconnected in a variety of ways , similar to the functional groups of a real synthesizer connected by cables . Max / MSP thus represents a form of software synthesizer , but can also be used for other applications, such as measurement technology or automation . In addition to commercially available MIDI controllers, a variety of sensors can be used with Max / MSP to control the software patches.

In the meantime, two basic extensions of the Max language are available as object collections, which are also available via Cycling'74:

  • MSP (Max Signal Processing) for synthesis and audio processing in real time (since 1997)
  • Jitter for video editing and 3D graphics in real time (since 2002)

There are also numerous collections of externals on the web, most of which are freely available.

Hello world

The figures below show the implementation and execution of a Hello World program . When the upper Message object is activated, the corresponding expression is output in the Max Window through the print object.

  • Implementation view

  • Max Window

Similar software

There are some relatives of the system:

  • Pure Data is a free, open source version developed by the original Max programmer Miller Puckette.
  • jMax was a Java- based version that was also developed at IRCAM, but has not been maintained since 2001. Some functions then flowed into the FTM library for Max and 2007 in Pure Data .
  • With Reaktor, Native Instruments created a software application that is easier to use than Max / MSP, but offers a similar range of modulation options. Max / MSP is more universal as a modular programming language, while Reaktor is essentially designed like a freely interconnectable recording studio. While it is easier with Reaktor to create sound generators and processors, with Max / MSP real-time control is possible using a variety of external controllers.
  • The German company Meso Digital Media Systems Design offers with vvvv a distant relative of Max / Msp. Compared to Max, vvvv is more geared towards processing real-time video data, but also relies on a patch-based development interface.
  • SynthMaker is a paid development environment for VST instruments and effects that can also be used to insert objects in real time. SynthMaker offers even more options for creating more complex user interfaces .
  • Plogue Bidule also offers an object-oriented system for audio, MIDI and OSC flow. Bidule particularly relies on spectral audio stream processing, for which there are several modules.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Favreau, E., Fingerhut, M., Koechlin, O., Potacsek, P., Puckette, M. and Rowe, R .: Software Developments for the 4X real-time System . In: International Computer Music Association (Ed.): Proceedings, International Computer Music Conference . San Francisco 1986, p. 43 ff . (English).
  2. ^ Miller Puckette: Interprocess communication and timing in real-time computer music performance . In: International Computer Music Association (Ed.): Proceedings, International Computer Music Conference . San Francisco 1986, p. 43-46 (English).