Hi, I've been messing around with making electronic music on the computer for about a year and a half. I started out with project 5, and still use project 5. At first I just used the preset instruments and fooled around for a bit, but I didn't like the cheesey factory settings, which gave everything a out-of-the-box fruityloops feel. Somehow I found out about absynth, and have since put a lot of time into understanding it and learning how to use it to make decent music.

I've grown fairly competent with it, and have a pretty good grasp of how to sculpt the sounds I want with oscillators, envelopes, filters, and lfo's. But I feel somewhat limited, regardless of the fact that I haven't come close to pushing absynth as far as it can go, and I want to open up opportunities for making more complex sounds in different ways. pd seemed the logical choice as it's free, while reaktor isn't.

I'm not a bad mathematician and have a bit of programming experience, so using pd for the basics hasn't been too difficult. I completed most of the tutorial/documentation that was included without too much trouble. I still need to learn a lot more about all the elements I'll need to create to make good synths and whatnot, but pd makes enough sense that I'm pretty sure I'll be able to figure out how to do what I want to do with some study and practice.

My problems are with how to implement pd as a tool to create music. How does one do this? Is it easy to make pd patches into vst's for use with project 5, or say, minihost? If so, how? I don't have any midi controllers and so I want to use pd to create instruments that I can use with the sequencers I'm already familiar with. Or with minihost for when I get a midi controller, so I can quickly switch between a pd patch and other vsts. I understand the basics of programming, but first and foremost I'm just a guy that likes to make music on the computer. Not a programming guru, so I don't really plan on making sequencers or environments, as it seems it would be a lot more difficult than just making synths.

Are there any pd guides out there for people that are predominantly electronic musicians?

I'd appreciate advice from anyone, whether you've been in my shoes or not.

maybe u should just send midi data from whatever sequencer you use, and then use that midi data to control anything you make in pd. ..of course this means loading two separate programs every time you want to make music, but that's probably not too much hassle.

and then u can do some funky stuff in pd to override/modify the data from the sequencer.

>Are there any pd guides out there for people that are predominantly electronic musicians?<

actually, you know what...once you get the hang of pd, you can search for tutorials on stuff like reaktor, nord modular, plogue bidule..etc,,,and just those tutorials using pd as a base.

here's a good nord modular book: http://www.cim.mcgill.ca/~clark/nordmodularbook/nm_book_toc.html

i made some good pd stuff by following the synthesis tips in that.

if you want to switch pd on and off with a midi contoller, then i think the [msgin] or [ctlin] objects will output data from your midi controller, and you can use that to turn your pd patch on and off.

also, pd is really good for doing 'switches' .. on/off whatever. so what you might want to do is use a 3rd party audio router to get the vst audio from your sequencer into pd, and then have all the vst audio and pd audio in one place.

lots of people here all the time to ask technical questions to, and i think most of us are making electronic music, so ask any questions anytime.