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Too many objects can make things look messy

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Not only do subpatches make things clearer visually, but they also make a large patch easier to mentally digest. Here's an example:

The image above is a subpatch from the new Theremin patch. It handles the sound generation of the patch: pitch comes in at the 'inlet' on the right, and the other two inlets receive information from faders which in turn control the crossfade between the two oscillators. Sound is then sent to the outlets (one at full volume for the oscilloscope and one quieter for speakers (and human ears). All-in-all, there are 16 pieces to the puzzle.

From the outside, however, there is just one: the subpatch object (below).

It makes such a difference. Once I'd built this subpatch, I could essentially forget about the sound generation part of the synth and concentrate on the bigger picture.

Further improvements

With the positively roaring success of my first subpatch, I decided to add another – this time a simple mouse locator that draws a green circle on the X/Y pad (above, right). I also decided to add a delay (as we all know, a Theremin just isn't a Theremin unless it's been put through some delay and used in a '40s sci-fi-horror film) in another subpatch (above, left). The delay itself wasn't actually too difficult – three objects to be precise – but interestingly, turning the delay on and off smoothly required eight. C'est la Max/MSP, I guess…

The final improvement was to allow sound on/off and delay on/off to be controlled by the computer keyboard.

Here's how it all sounds:

With delay:

Without delay: