Loomer Architect

#1

https://www.loomer.co.uk/architect.htm

Is anyone here a user of this program? It’s like the midi side of Max but with it being 100% focused on MIDI, it apparently has some advantages in how it handles it.

I used to be 100% OTB but eventually got tired of the limitations that hardware sequencers offer so I decided to use a computer to control all my gear and stay OTB where it matters most to me (the sound)

I’m still pretty new to this program but so far I’m really impressed with it, I’ve been able to explore so many ideas that I’ve not been able to through the years which no hardware sequencer is capable of and I’m only lightly scratching the surface of what Architect has to offer (this visual coding / modular approach to music is completely new to me)

I don’t know what more to say on it really other than I really like it and think that a lot of people here would too, would love to chat ideas / techniques with anyone who’s using it / interested in using it!

EDIT: forgot to mention that they have a free demo which has no limitations other than not being able to save your projects, you are however able to save objects / collections of objects as a ‘macro’ which can be loaded so the demo limitations are actually negligible. I ended up buying it mainly just to support the developer as he’s done a really fantastic job with the program, first bit of software I bought actually. (I was a bit naughty back in the day when I was using a DAW for my production)

#2

I haven’t used it but it looks really cool. I agree that hardware sequencers can be frustrating. I actually prefer a simpler one most of the time (like, I love Elektron, but I don’t get deep into the probability sequencing and shit they can do).

I need to think harder myself about using a computer to do all the MIDI programming, as then I would be free to just twist knobs and such on my hardware and not have to worry about changing patterns etc.

The great thing about making electronic music these days is we are spoiled for choice and price when it comes to hardware but on the other hand all you really need is a moderately powerful laptop and a DAW with some decent native plugins.

#3

Would be nice to have a video walkthrough to see why one could consider it over Max/MSP

#4

I used to own a Pyramid and have owned a bunch of sequencers but they pretty much all had something about them that ultimately made them not feel worth keeping around. I like hardware sequencers but I tend to enjoy the ones that’re built into a synth as it’s usually a lot more straight forward to modulate parameters internally like that than it is to program CCs and such from a external seq.

I think it’s nice to have the option to do both, I’ve got a Polyend tracker and the internal sequencers on a few synths / drum machines if I feel in the mood to physically program something (for some reason it’s just easier to get lost in programming detailed stuff on hardware) I wrote off the idea of using a computer for years for various reasons but I’m really happy I managed to look past my jadedness towards them as Architect is a joy and music’s been clicking a lot more for me lately as a result of using it.

So spoiled for choice! also it’s so easy to end up under the impression that you need a bunch of expensive hardware / software to make good music but the truth is that you can do it for free or even still very cheap if you do decide to dip into hardware. I’ve been dipping into a well of ideas that I’ve been putting off trying and they’ve breathed new life into a lot of my gear to the point that I’m pretty set on making a bunch of tracks centered around a Volca Sample.

Anyway… I definitely recommend giving architect a go, it’s a lot of fun and it makes certain complex tasks a LOT easier, if you do get into it, I’d be happy to bounce ideas and such

#5

I unfortunately know nothing about Max/MSP so I wouldn’t be the best person to do so. There’s a thread on the Loomer forum over at KVR where people talked about why they picked Architect out of the two, that’s probably worth reading if you want to get a really good idea of why it might be for you but I searched and found someone asking the same question and here’s a few of the responses they got:

"I’ve used Live/Max 4 Live quite a bit in the past. My immediate reason for switching to Architect is because I’ve switched to Bitwig and Max doesn’t have a vst option outside of Live.

Aside from that – Max/MSP/Jitter is a sprawling program that works with visuals, MIDI and audio. I like Max a lot, but more as a stand-alone tool for working with interactive multi-media projects. (And also I tend to prefer Reaktor and the Bitwig grid for audio programming, and Touch Designer for visuals.)

So the general advantage of Architect is its focus on MIDI processing. I think you could do a lot of similar things in Max and Architect, and probably find things that are easier in one or the other, but for MIDI processing Architect has a kind of uncluttered clarity that makes it really enjoyable to work with."

“One word : timing
Max timing relies on it’s scheduler and when it’s not set to overdrive it’s timing is like a drunk badger when you’re tinkering with some gui e elements , especially noticeable when doing straight 16 th notes .
Max for live has al these turned on and is one of the reasons why it’s so cpu heavy ( scheduler is to to overdrive is set, small vector size , audio interrupt enabled etcc.
Workaround is using msp phasor~ , edge~ as a clock source etc…all in all a lot of work to get solid timing
Architect 's timing out of the box is just rock solid from the get go
I only wish that architect’s s gui elements are a bit more refined and the ability to draw segmented patch cords from the get go”

My experience is that even with my piece of crap laptop, I’m able to sequence a bunch of external gear with a ton of midi messages and the timing / performance is spot on.

#6

This actually looks pretty cool. I’m not sure exactly what I’d want to do with something like this, but I guess that’s what demos are for in the first place.

#7

Yeah I think it’s definitely worth having a play around with as I’ve found a bunch of uses in it that’ve ended up having a pretty big impact on my music making.

It’s currently in Beta, the next version is going to have a lot more examples in the library which’ll be great for inspiration on what to do with it and also some practical examples of how to do it.

#8

Interesting. Thanks!