Leaving Audiomulch for live realtime processing. Is Reaktor the alternative ? A few questions

[wasi]

@ghettosynth: Yeah, what I meant is Mulch is kind of idiot-proofed.

The morphing is especially useful for generative or ambient stuff because you can blend seamlessly from one 'scene' to the next. If I made any remotely meaningful music I'd gladly make a video of that, but alas...

As for the preset saving thing, at least to me as a guitar player it's a central feature to me if I'm supposed to perform with a software, but Audiomulch seems to be the only one that has it right there, at the click of a button (and right click to midi map, I compressed the metasurface here to show only the presets and parameters by dragging the separator all the way to the left):



Cantabile is the only other host I've found where it's similarly straightforward. Kapture for Live has that typical m4L disconnect and only works on a device level anyway, not parameters. Mulch lets you fiddle with stuff and then just click the 'save' button and keep fiddling.

But again, you may or may not want or need that feature.

[unguitar]

wasi,
yes, the ones you describe are some of the great things in Audiomulch.
Add how simple it is to add audio operators like gains, mixing modules ( gain/split/sum and so on) and set relative midi controls.
Midi learn and parameter modulation of everything that can be controlled is the quickest I have ever seen.
It's difficult to explain the good points of this application as they are showing up with the use.
At the moment I am testing Usine and Bidule and find their interface concept and practical usability difficult to stand to Audiomulch level.
Audiomulch allows you to have everything extremely clear in front of you, easy to manage on the fly, so easy to modify and test while you play.
Talking of Cantabile, as its alternative, I can strongly suggest you this one: http://www.eareckon.com/en/products/blo ... mance.html

[thetechnobear]

perhaps also have a look at Numerology (five12.com)
its not as generic as Max etc, and has a strong focus on sequencing… but its also good at hosting audio units , has presets, has morphing abilities (thru faders), lfo automation etc etc.
depending on what your doing, might have what you need… oh, and the developer is great at supporting and continuing development!

BTW, hopefully not too off topic…
What do people thing of Usine vs Bidule? (in particular related to this more high level modular 'live' environment)

[wasi]

I can't figure Usine out. It seems very powerful, but to me it's like someone put reaktor's different views and panels in a blender and then spread it all onto one large platter. I remember last time I tried it out I figured a few things out, but when I went back to it yesterday I was once again seemingly blindly clicking and dragging in the hope of getting a result I'd understand (so I guess the modules with a "S" go in that reaktor-type window, the ones with a P go in a rack).

The interface is pretty and modern and all and seems touch-screen friendly, but as such is like Windows' Metro on crack to navigate with a mouse. No right-click, no kontext, sub-screens seem to randomly split and merge and disappear again. Everything is about finding the right panel and dragging it from there, then closing it all so you can see what you were doing and then remembering all that next time.

I could probably deal with that with a lot of effort if I wanted to, but the subscription license model is kind of the final straw. I dislike buying "one year of updates" when I have no idea what that is. It's probably a decent deal based on the impression that the dev seems like a nice buy, but I feel like I'm buying the cat in the bag.

Bidule... unlike Usine, my kid could patch me through in Bidule. Which would be nice because the interface is so ugly and all the parameters carry very obscure names and everything has six digits behind the decimal point. I dislike how controller windows are just in the middle of everything else though. It would be nice to have some sort of meta-window where you can anchor your XY-pads and mixers and what not, while preserving the parameter windows in the background. Just my unqualified 2c though.

[thetechnobear]

Yeah, Ive been playing with Usine this afternoon, and I think I'm with you…
I can get it to work and it seems to have some nice high level modules, but the documentation on the modules is vague -and as you say the UI… is mmmmm unique
But its interface building, racks and mixer all look quite nice.
Bidule, I played with before, and again the UI is off putting, its a bit low level I think.

I think, I have a hard time imagining, put together a larger environment with either…

So, I think I'll just stick with Max… even if its a bit low level.

[ceasless]

Just to clarify, you guys are talking about Usine Hollyhock, right? I don't have any real experience with the older version, but Hollyhock works pretty well for my purposes. I have trouble imagining what you mean by "no context", as I've never had a program provide so many contextual options for patch modules before.

The options for modules are available on the left edge of the patching interface. If you don't see them, press the config button (looks like a gear) and select the module in either the rack (if it has an interface element) or in the patching interface. You have separate tabs for values, looks, MIDI learn, and more depending on *ahem* context.

That said, it's probably a good idea to give both the user manual and the patching guide a quick read (they are both short and well illustrated). You will find them on the downloads page.

I imagine that documentation is the single largest blocker for many who give the demo a try. The Sensomusic team says they are working on getting some videos and stuff together, but I'm also considering going all Bluewater VST out here myself.

BTW, I think the meta-window you are imagining in Bidule is readily available in Hollyhock, it's called the Interface Builder. You can assign any controls from your racks to the IB and thus have all the most relevant ones for that given workspace at hand.

@wasi, the icon next to module only indicates what the module is 'made' of -- P is for patch, the backwards S is for native module, the |FS| is for FastScript, D is for a device preset, etc. I agree that this could be clearer. Basically if it is in the 'Library' tab, you can drag it directly onto a rack or add it into a patch by dragging it into the patch window and select 'Add as sub-patch'. If it is found in the 'Modules' tab, then it is almost certainly only able to be dragged into the patching interface.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the 'Add-ons' section in the browser window. It's a cool feature to be able to get all the user submitted patches into your setup with the click of a button. While you are there, take a look at my Sequins patch in the MIDI Tools section. It's a 6 voice step seuqencer that you can easily wire up to a VST drum synth. Each voice has two free modulation lanes, so you can step sequence any params you want on the VST (or on anything in Usine, really ).