John Potter wrote:
Should I want to check out PD or MSP for the learning experience does one work better than the other for this sort of application?
My own evolution was from Audiomulch to Reaktor to Pure Data. I saw it as a process of "growing out" of each software's limitations and on to the next. I use PD largely for realtime manipulation of incoming audio and samples, and I can say that it is very well suited for the purpose, provided you are willing to do some work and even learn a few new things to get there.
In terms of audio processing, MSP and PD are virtually identical. [The fcat that one is a commercial development of the other might have something to do with that.] I would say that main difference is in the level of Do-I-Yourself which comes along with PD. In MAX/MSP, there are a lot of ready mades which might get you going a little faster, but these ready-mades are also often "black-boxes" which you cannot see or change the internal workings of. On the other hand, in PD you will spend more time developing patches from low-level objects up, but you will gain a better understanding of how they work and will be able to customize them completely for your own needs and sounds. In other words, you won't just be fiddling with someone else's sliders.
good luck, d.