Issues connecting monome 128 to mlr-v [solved for Max6, but not Max7]

timh · 2015-04-11T21:03:21.744Z

as you can see I put the mlrv folder in Packages within the Max7 folder in Users/Shared. This seems a better place to keep it than my desktop.

Sorry if it’s bad form to post such large blocks of text. It just seemed pragmatic in terms of conveying the information.

timh · 2015-04-11T22:07:11.912Z

It doesn’t seem to matter where I put the xsample folder, xgroove~ does not load. I don’t know if this is the overall problem, but it seems pretty ropey behaviour.

timh · 2015-04-12T06:44:03.198Z

ok this doesn’t solve that Max7 problem, but it works:

go back to Max 6.1.9 runtime (32 bit in my case, my machine is 32 bit)
follow the install instructions for xsample i.e. copying the txt file into the Cycling74’/init folder and the mxo file into msp-externals folder. the help file is not important in the runtime environment.
make sure there is a copy of serialosc.maxpat available to Max, mine is in Applications/Max 6.1 runtime/Cycling74/max-startup. trial and error there. it seems like a tidy place for it.
make sure there is a copy of serialosc.js in …/Cycling74’/jsextensions. you get the js file from here:
https://github.com/monome/serialosc.maxpat
(I found that out by reading the error in the Max window, then trial and error on the location)
in many ways this is for me the vital hard-to-find-or-know-for-newbies piece of information. installing the Monome installer and xsample is not enough, Max appears to need access to both serialosc.maxpat and serialosc.js.
put your mlrv folder in Users/[you]/Documents/Max/Packages
fire up Max6
load mlrv
check in the Max window that you have no errors or duplicate file messages
check that mlrv functions correctly
tidy up all the mess you made thoughout your Max and User file structures on your way to this point
breathe a long, tired sign of relief.
if [your age]>[personal threshold] try not to regret this day of your life that you will never get back.

stevieraysean · 2015-04-12T09:42:49.246Z

right, i got it going in max7.

firstly mlrv is written in max 5. so it should really be used in max5.

you need to install xsample in max7. to do this you:
find max7 in your applications folder, right click and show package contents.

modified xgroove installing instructions.
Installing [xgroove~]

Copy ‘xsample.mxo’ to:
Max5/Cycling '74/msp-externals/
now:
/Applications/Max.app/Contents/Resources/C74/extensions/msp

Copy ‘xsample-objectmappings.txt’ to:
Max5/Cycling '74/init/
now:
/Applications/Max.app/Contents/Resources/C74/init

Copy ‘xsample.help’ to:
Max5/Cycling '74/msp-help/
now:
/Applications/Max.app/Contents/Resources/C74/help

Restart Max5 (Max7)

also the setup file needed to be modified to fix for the new serialosc.maxpat which does not have an offset (for some reason the original serialosc.maxpat had an offset).
here my modified version:

modified_setup_mlrv
this link probably wont be up forever.
all I did was find the bpatcher with serialosc loaded and change the offsets to 0. 0.

if theres a serialosc.maxpat in the mlrv folder delete it. it’s now part of the max7 package.

i tested mlrv for all of about 30 seconds. it appears to work as it should.

stevieraysean · 2015-04-12T18:26:06.488Z

Also a heap of the UI will look wrong. C74 changed a lot of the UI stuff in 7

timh · 2015-04-12T20:58:47.436Z

Well, all I can say is I have tried hard to get it to work on my Mac in Max 5, 6, and 7 within the limitations of the data, support, files and level of knowledge available to me, and the only one I could get working was 6 as described above. It’s great to have it working :O)

Galapagoose · 2015-04-12T22:09:21.918Z

The easiest way to use mlrv is the standalone application version. It has all of the necessary files built into requiring zero additions / modifications in your file structure. Plus, you don’t even have to think about which version of max it uses, rather just treat it like a normal piece of audio software:

https://github.com/trentgill/mlrv2/releases/latest

Personally I don’t think it makes sense to try and run mlrv in Max 7 unless you really want to modify or add elements to the program.

That being said, we’re trying to improve the docs to avoid these issues, and focussing our energy solely on Max 7 as the platform to run software for the grids. It has the necessary serialosc files already included in the distribution which greatly simplifies the setup. It’s not quite 100% there yet, but I think we’re getting close!

tehn · 2015-04-13T14:47:13.525Z

I just checked 7.03 and the serialosc is working perfectly.

good tip on the mlrv standalone.

dudadius · 2015-04-13T18:44:02.735Z

Hi There,

I’m trying to run the stand-alone app on a Mac with the latest OS. The program appears to open, but I only get the title in the menu bar and services menu. Nothing else. Program doesn’t open or anything.

Also, when I try to run a prior version on 6.1 runtime, the patch opens, but I’m not able to get my Grid128 to see the patch.

Thanks for your help!

Galapagoose · 2015-04-13T21:07:06.052Z

Uhh… How frustrating. I guess Max 5 standalones won’t work with 10.10 and above then. I’m on 10.9 because everybody with a mac more than 2 years old says how slow 10.10 is.

I’d like to do an update to make it work on 10.10 sometime soon. There are zero features I want to add though, so it’s just a boring compatibility update for free software that I rarely use anymore myself (thus hard to be motivated). Downloading 7.0.3 now to see what’s changed.

timh · 2015-04-13T22:07:17.228Z

Particularly as I shelled out £1400 for a new 13" MacBook Pro today, for music purposes.

I understand your reluctance, but here’s an idea…

How about the ability to set up inner loops independently of the position of the play head, say by holding down a top row button, selecting the inner loop region, then when the track plays through that region it loops it until the end button is pressed, at which point it runs out to the end of the line. At the moment the behaviour I’m seeing is it jumps into an inner loop as soon as ones set up and exit has to be timed correctly in terms of a manual press. Or am I missing something…

dudadius · 2015-04-13T22:51:03.546Z

Well, if you get around to doing it, I will send you some nice beers.

Galapagoose · 2015-04-14T22:00:06.178Z

You’re not missing anything - that’s the classical implementation of inner-loops from @tehn’s original mlr. I don’t have any issue with the ‘performative’ element of such a gesture, as mlrv has always been about focussing entirely on performance (rather than composition).

The idea you propose is certainly interesting and has appeared in a number of recent monome step-sequencers in various forms, but it won’t make it into the mlrv update. The code to handle button presses is already seriously overcomplicated and honestly unsuited to visual-code (would really need a text-based rewrite).

Of course the software is open-source, such that users with different needs to my own can manipulate it to their own needs.

//

I am now working on a simple compatibility update to get everything working effectively in Max 7 & 10.9 / 10.10 (maybe even Win8?). I will be building standalone applications where possible to avoid the bulky max project and have a higher likelihood of success for first-timers.

tehn · 2015-04-14T23:30:49.898Z

windows 10 will be out in a couple months (almost used an emoji but resisted)

stevieraysean · 2015-04-14T23:53:18.640Z

The last mlr style clip slicer I made I coded the press data processing in js. Easily took about a quarter of the time and is way more friendly to look at…

timh · 2015-04-15T07:03:01.429Z

Thanks Galapagoose, that’s much appreciated

Galapagoose · 2015-04-16T22:13:01.476Z

@stevieraysean I did this for the mlr sub-patch in monome_sum but find it runs into performance issues when you start pushing the CPU with audio stuff (as js is all low-priority in max).

That being, said I’ve done some minor updating to get things to work properly for me on Max 7 in 10.9: https://github.com/trentgill/mlrv2

This is not an official release, but download the zip and let me know if you have any feedback.

stevieraysean · 2015-04-16T23:49:21.038Z

@Galapagoose cool, i’m out of town at the moment. will have a look when I get back.

the mlr/mash sampler I made is a small part of a much bigger environment i’ve been working on so I haven’t exactly stress tested it yet… probably end up making it in mxj if thats the case. I’ve found that to be pretty good performance-wise…

I’ve hardly touched mlr in quite a while

timh · 2015-05-02T20:11:47.846Z

For completeness’ sake, to note that I have followed the method I described above in 12 steps, on my new MBP 13" running Yosemite 10.10.3 and have achieved a correct installation with fully working MLRV. Happy :O)

timh · 2015-05-11T08:11:13.013Z

More updates…

In Max 6 the preset management doesn’t appear to work, it’s ok with Max 5
In Yosemite the Rewire functionality doesn’t work
I’ve never found Max 5 particularly stable and it’s no exception under Yosemite, in particular, switching sound cards appears to permanently disconnect the grid, requiring running a test patch and/or Monome Sum to get it connected again.

Essentially, I would say that in my view unless there is development of MLR-V for OXS 10.10.x and Max 7 this implementation of the Monome on new Macs is becoming obsolete. I think people should be aware of the strife involved in trying to do this before committing. If you have an old Mac running a 2011 OS and Max 5 and you don’t want to rewire into anything later than Live 7 or 8, say, then possibly go for it, but otherwise I would give it a miss.