Ms Pinky’s standalone application is called the “Maxi-Patch”. It is a Max/MSP patch, built as a standalone application, and runs under both OSX and Windoze. It gives you the unique ability to simultaneously cue, pitch, and scratch digital audio files (.WAV, .AIFF, .MP3) as well as QuickTime movies using your standard DJ turntables.
In the upper part of the program’s main window are two video display regions where you can watch QuickTime movies as they play under the control of your turntables. A third smaller region shows the final video mix. Add rotate and zoom FX; adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation, all in realtime. The output from the two video players can be mixed using standard crossfade, alpha keying, chroma keying, and 37 different mathematical functions. The final video mix is viewed in a separate window, which can be used for output to a video projector, and can be recorded to a QuickTime movie file in one of 36 different formats.
Below the video display regions in the main window of “Maxi-Patch” are sections for loading and playing audio files (also under the control of your turntables), and applying advanced filtering functions to the audio file playback. The physical location stamps on Ms Pinky’s vinyl records are used by Maxi-Patch to cue up your audio file and play it just as if it were a track recorded on vinyl. Do needle-drop cueing and scratching just as you’re accustomed to with regular vinyl records– or switch into Pitch Lock Mode to use your turntables to beat-match tracks without changing the pitch. Note that the color of all regions in the main window of Maxi-Patch can be selected from a palette of millions of colors by the user, and the appearance of the panels’ edges can also be customized to give a different look and feel to the program’s interface.
Create up to 16 loop and cue points for every audio file, using either the mouse and keyboard, or on-the-fly using your favorite MIDI controller. Once set, loop and cue points can be modified on-the-fly to create interesting stutter effects.
Various parameters throughout the program can be controlled using your favorite MIDI controller. And Maxi-Patch also functions as a controller for other software applications and MIDI devices because it can send out MIDI Beat Clock, MIDI control (CC) messages, 14-bit MIDI pitch bend, and Open Sound Control messages. Open Sound Control (OSC) is a powerful protocol for sending and receiving control messages over IP networks. Maxi-Patch supports both sending and receiving OSC messages. With Maxi-Patch, you can use your turntables to control remote software applications such as Resolume and VDMX across a network.
And if there’s anything that Maxi-Patch doesn’t do that you’d like it to, feel free to edit it to your liking using the tools of Max/MSP……