Any new software with the Buzz "machines" flexibility?

Archived from groups: rec.music.makers.synth,rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Subject says it all, but I will elaborate. For the uninitiated,
Jeskola Buzz
is free music software that features the most intuitive system I have
ever
seen: On a 2d window, there's a single box in the middle designated as
"output". You make a box, like "piano". You make another box, like
"reverb". Connect "piano" to "reverb", connect "reverb" to "output",
and
voila. You get a reverberating piano from the output. Sequences of
keystrokes or reverb settings modifications can be laid out and
finetuned
through a "mod tracker"-like interface.

The problem? The source code for the software was lost years ago, and
near
as I can tell, nobody even to this day has bitten the bullet and given
the
software a proper recoding / replacement. The consequence? Massive
instability. In fact, I never was able to get the software to run for
more
than about ten minutes straight, and many effects would generate
artifacts
that they simply did not generate in other software like Cubase.
Frankly,
those are major detractions from any impulse to do any composing.

But this doesn't change the fact that the "machines" layout, which is
breathtakingly, forehead-slap-inducingly intuitive, is the best
possible
solution to the problem of juggling samples, synths and effects, and
when
I turn around and contemplate the comparatively dubious prospect of
dealing
with Reason's "racks" or (*SHUDDER*) the monstrosity that is Cubase's
solution, I just get cold feet.

So all I'm really wondering is: Have any alternatives come along which
feature something similar to (or, heck, a blatant ripoff of) Buzz'
"machines" layout? I would even be willing to deal with a non-tracker
(ie, not-easily-finetuneable) sequencer.. even something like
Cubase's..
if I could have a "machines" layout in a stable, professional package
that
gets updated / bugfixed regularly.

Thanks for reading!

Archived from groups: rec.music.makers.synth,rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Fredas wrote:
> Subject says it all, but I will elaborate. For the uninitiated,
> Jeskola Buzz
> is free music software that features the most intuitive system I have
> ever
> seen: On a 2d window, there's a single box in the middle designated
as
> "output". You make a box, like "piano". You make another box, like
> "reverb". Connect "piano" to "reverb", connect "reverb" to "output",
> and
> voila. You get a reverberating piano from the output. Sequences of
> keystrokes or reverb settings modifications can be laid out and
> finetuned
> through a "mod tracker"-like interface.
>
> The problem? The source code for the software was lost years ago,
and
> near
> as I can tell, nobody even to this day has bitten the bullet and
given
> the
> software a proper recoding / replacement. The consequence? Massive
> instability. In fact, I never was able to get the software to run
for
> more
> than about ten minutes straight, and many effects would generate
> artifacts
> that they simply did not generate in other software like Cubase.
> Frankly,
> those are major detractions from any impulse to do any composing.
>
> But this doesn't change the fact that the "machines" layout, which is
> breathtakingly, forehead-slap-inducingly intuitive, is the best
> possible
> solution to the problem of juggling samples, synths and effects, and
> when
> I turn around and contemplate the comparatively dubious prospect of
> dealing
> with Reason's "racks" or (*SHUDDER*) the monstrosity that is Cubase's
> solution, I just get cold feet.
>
> So all I'm really wondering is: Have any alternatives come along
which
> feature something similar to (or, heck, a blatant ripoff of) Buzz'
> "machines" layout? I would even be willing to deal with a
non-tracker
> (ie, not-easily-finetuneable) sequencer.. even something like
> Cubase's..
> if I could have a "machines" layout in a stable, professional package
> that
> gets updated / bugfixed regularly.
>
> Thanks for reading!

Archived from groups: rec.music.makers.synth,rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Two more options . . .

Reactor is interesting . . . totally flexible, but correspondingly a
bit challenging to learn how to use, and can be unstable. It allows
absolutely anything you can imagine, working with low-level logical
components such as osscilators, filters, etc., but also grouping them
together into higher-level modules.

On the other end of the spectrum is Reason, which is very easy to learn
and use, very very stable, but works with relatively high-level
instruments and FX, such as a sampler, a synth, a drum-machine, a
reverb etc. It allows access to the back-pannel which gives a lot fo
flexibility of connection, so you could take the output of an
oscillator in one module, through a filter in another module, or
combine any number of LFO signals into one mega-LFO for example. It's
very professional, and very very stable (I've never had a crash in
years of live use) . . . great for live use as you can do most things
in real time as it's playing . . . adding new modules, changing
connections, re-programming, playing and recording from
MIDI-controllers, adding sequencers etc.

Neither of those are free, but both are relatively cheap, and well
worth the small amount of money.

There's one free one I've used . . . well, it was free to educational
establishments anyway, and cheap to private individuals. I think it was
called C-Sound. It did some interesting things, and allowed access to
the low-level sound programming for good flexibility, but was difficult
to learn and use, in my experience (this was 10 years ago now).

Chris
http://www.chris-melchior.com/strings.htm (REAL strings for realistic
prices).

Archived from groups: rec.music.makers.synth,rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 27 Apr 2005 07:58:58 -0700, "chris@chris-melchior.com"
<chris@chris-melchior.com> wrote in rec.music.makers.synth:

>There's one free one I've used . . . well, it was free to educational
>establishments anyway, and cheap to private individuals. I think it was
>called C-Sound. It did some interesting things, and allowed access to
>the low-level sound programming for good flexibility, but was difficult
>to learn and use, in my experience (this was 10 years ago now).

It is free and open-source. It will make your head explode, though.
Kind of similar (both in freeness and head-explodedness) is Super
Collider.
Oh, and for the absolute ultimate in geekyness, there's always Chuck.

--

dwaes /at hetnet /dot nl

Going too far
WE don't go too far!
None of us will go too far...
Maybe sometimes we WENT too far
But now WE WON'T!
Because we're real nice guys!

Archived from groups: rec.music.makers.synth,rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Marc, Did you ever get your component video to s-video problem
resolved?
http://groups-beta.google.com/grou [...] 0a522146d8

--Dale--