Re: David Torn EDP manual

[Andre LaFosse <altruist@earthlink.net>]

Yo Mark,

(Glad you like the new stuff, by the way - thanks for that!)

Mark Sottilaro wrote:
 
> Unlike the Repeater, the EDP does not have an intuitive interface.
> Plain and simple.  I was able to start using the Repeater's basic 
>functions without
> looking at it's manual.  

Here's a different way of looking at it:

When you buy a new instrument, you need to spend time to learn how to
play it.  A lot of aspects of an instrument's design that might seem
"unintuitive" at first glance are actually very intricately interwoven
and laid out, and make a lot of sense - once you've developed a certain
level of understanding with it.

This is one reason why people like Kim tend to drae a distinction
between "effects" and "instruments."   It's not just a question of how
they can be used, but how the user/player learns to think about them and
their interface, and how that interface can (or should) be implemented
in the first place.

For my part, I would say the EDP's interface is INCREDIBLY intuitive -
but it's not the sort of thing I would expect anyone to master in half a
week's time, any more so than I'd expect anyone to be up and running at
full speed on a new instrument in that time.  To fully take advantage of
the (extremely deep) architecture of the unit, you need to learn to
think about it from its own point of view.  

That might not happen overnight.  Any good and deep instrument takes
time to learn, and if you want to use the EDP on a deep level, you need
to set aside your instant gratification impulse and begin at the beginning.

Everybody knows what Pitch Shifting and Timestretching and Track Panning
do, so it makes sense that the Repeater would be easy to use out of the
box.  But you need to understand the EDP to a certain extent to start
figuring out exactly what Unrounded Multiply, SUS-insert, Substitute, or
Cycle+Confirm SwitchQuantization can do for you.

My suggestion is to sit down and say, "OK, today I'm going to learn all
about Multiply," and read through the Multiply section in the manual. 
You'll find that the section makes many references to other sections in
the manual, which will lead you into looking up other functions and
parameters.  It's kind of like the EDP itself: the more time you spend
learning about any one feature, the more you'll understand the unit as a
whole - and the more you'll grow to appreciate the true depth of the
instrument's design.

Welcome to the club.  ;)

--Andre LaFosse
http://www.altruistmusic.com