Help with ML nomenclature

[oldcastle]

Hi,

I'm just trying to understand the terminology used here so I don't make mistakes. What are the distinctions between:

- Composer
- Module
- MUX

Thanks.

[Michael L]

I suggest the MuLab Docs to get the whole picture & terminology:
https://www.mutools.com/info/M9/docs/index.html

[robert_p]

I usually don't read manuals This is how I see it:
"Module" is a building block used to create "Muxes"
"Mux" is a composite made of "Modules"
"Composer" is an Arranger (which itself is also a Module and a "Composite":))

[oldcastle]

I suggest the MuLab Docs to get the whole picture & terminology:
https://www.mutools.com/info/M9/docs/index.html

I tried, and things became a little more complicated

[MuTools]

I tried, and things became a little more complicated

Why?

[oldcastle]

I never worked with any modular system before, so the terminology is new to me.

Example. I thought that:

MUX = modules (like building blocks)

But here (https://www.mutools.com/info/M9/docs/mulab/mux.html) it is written that MUX is a "powerful modular synth and effect plugin." So, my understanding is that MUX is a "tool" made of synth and effects that I can use to create new instruments and devices. Is that right? 

[robert_p]

But here (https://www.mutools.com/info/M9/docs/mulab/mux.html) it is written that MUX is a "powerful modular synth and effect plugin." So, my understanding is that MUX is a "tool" made of synth and effects that I can use to create new instruments and devices. Is that right? 

I think this applies to "Mux Modular Plugin" (Legacy Version 8x)

[humanboeing]

Hi,

I'm just trying to understand the terminology used here so I don't make mistakes. What are the distinctions between:

- Composer
- Module
- MUX

Thanks.

MUX is a name for the modular system behind Mulab, it is also an empty module -> see MUX Modular in category "others"; it works as a container for other modules.

A module, well, it's hard to say what it is, so I'll use a metaphor: if your project would be a sentence, then the modules are the words. Small bits that communicate with each other to make something coherent.

The composer is a module in which you arrange the structure of your composition.

[pljones]

Yeah, "Composer" is like a word processor. In the olden days, people had type writers... then there were dedicated document processors... then PCs running dedicated word processor software then your browser could run a word processor... So the "Word Processor" is just a concept really. That's like "Composer" in MuTools terms. There's MuLab Standalone, where you can pick (and by default has) a Composer as the main module. But you can also use a Composer as a module within the modular area.

In fact it gets recursive at that point: "modular area" can be a module itself: that module is a "MUX" (effectively short for "Modular X, where X is synth, effect, something else..." but take that with a pinch of salt).

Not every container of a module is a modular area, though - other modules (like racks) can contain them.

So it's very flexible.

[sl23]

I found this difficult at first. But if you think of euro rack hardware as the modules then whatever you build or connect together to form a 'complete' synth or whatever, is like a MuX.

A MuX can contain another MuX. In fact it can get extremely complex where many muxes are contained within a single MuX. And on and on it can go, there are virtually no limits here.

If you're a sound designer, this is an excellent playground.