My Revised MAX/MSP Looping/Effects Rig

["Boise Experimental Music Festival" <khartung@cableone.net>]

Well, I finally did it.  In my quest to selfishly spend more time with my 
instrument (guitar), more time actually playing, and less time fiddling 
with 
and staring at the damn computer while playing (which looks absolutely 
ridiculous in my opinion), I figured out how to have my cake and eat it 
too. 
I just finished my revised max/msp looping/effects system. I was very 
inspired by the Boise Experimental Music Festival, after playing a set 
before Jeff Kaiser and Andrew Pask (of Cycling 74) the first night, and a 
workshop that Jeff did on the many approaches to using the computer for 
live 
performance.  Andrew is actually using a totally random based max/msp 
system 
so he just plays his sax and let's the computer do everything for him.

Long story short, my rig is totally automated now, using a series of 
random 
algorithms to control both my max/msp Kaiser Looper and functions 
(everything from my scripts to basic functions like reverse halfspeed, 
doublespeed, random speed, random buffer, random pan, etc), and all my 
max/msp effect patches and parameters (including Reaktor as a VST), I now 
turn my computer on and play. No MIDI footpedals. No expression pedals. I 
just plug into my Fireface 400, activate my system, and let the wonderful 
world of randomness take over. So liberating! I don't even need to have my 
computer screen open.  It's like playing with another person whose job is 
to 
process my sound (like what Evan Parker has done with others), because I 
have no idea what sort of looping, effects, or parameters changes are 
going 
to occur. I'm really liking this.  The interesting thing is that I wasn't 
satisfied with the standard random object in max/msp, so I found and used 
some max/msp abstractions written by Karlheinz Essl, which simulate 
Brownian 
movement in micro-biological systems. Very fascinating.   And of course, I 
can deactivate the random function at anytime, so that while I'm playing, 
if 
I hear the computer do something really interesting that I like with the 
looper or effects, I turn the random functions off, and it will sort of 
freeze in the last state or frame of looping and effect parameters.

More later...gotta pack for vacation now.

Kris