[PD] live input processing patch

[marcus estes]

I've been approached by an acoustic instrumentalist to develop a PD patch
designed to process live input from a microphone. It's not my intention to
wholly reconstruct the timbre of his instruments; I'm probably more
interested in time-domain modulation than frequency.

That said, does anyone have any broad suggestions for an interesting
approach to this
project? I'm not very fluent in PD's FFT capabilities, so I'm probably
limited in that aspect by reusing patches from the docs. At the moment, I'm
more inclined to think along the lines of a multi-lined delay system, with
certain time-windows held for looping and slight modulation.

I'm a big fan of the Keith Fullerton Whitman album "Playthroughs," and I
understand that most of the album was produced by processing guitar sounds
through Max/MSP patch. I wish that contemporary electronic musicians were
more willing to publish their patches openly; I'd love to see what he used
to create those sounds.

I'm also a big fan of Derek Holzer's Particle Chamber patch. By increasing
the sample playback length to a few seconds, the sounds retain their timbre
just enough, while the jittery, polyphonic playback creates a very
interesting reinterpretation of the source material.

I have considered re-tooling the Particle Chamber for use with a live input,
but that seems a bit tricky. Has anyone else tried such a feat? In general,
I'd be interested to hear other's ideas and experiences with live input
patches. If you've already done some work with this, please post your
patches! I promise not to rip you off too blatantly, or if I do, proper
accreditation will be given to the living-room-sized audience I have in mind
for the piece.

Thanks!
Marcus