rogoff@itsgw.RPI.EDU (David H. Rogoff) (09/12/88)
I have just gotten Mimetics Soundscape for my Amiga(still waiting
for the MIDI interface). It seems to be a very powerfull program,
but very cumbersome. I'm trying to find other people who have it
or have used it. I would especially like to find out about the
various 'utilities' that Mimetics has for it. Some are supposed to
be shells that make the program easier to use.
Please post or email.
Thanks
--
David Rogoff, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY, 518-276-8536
rogoff@itsgw.rpi.edu userea7p@mts.rpi.edu
David_Rogoff@rpitsmts (bitnet)tjm@nsscb.UUCP (Timothy J. Murphy) (09/13/88)
In article <4056@itsgw.RPI.EDU> rogoff@itsgw.rpi.edu (David H. Rogoff) writes: > > I have just gotten Mimetics Soundscape for my Amiga(still waiting > for the MIDI interface). It seems to be a very powerfull program, > but very cumbersome. I'm trying to find other people who have it > or have used it. I would especially like to find out about the > various 'utilities' that Mimetics has for it. Some are supposed to > be shells that make the program easier to use. > > Thanks > David Rogoff I purchased Soundscape because of the features it offers, but also because I didn't have the patience to wait for any Dr. T software. Now it seems there will soon be a wave of midi software for the Amiga, not only from Dr. T's, but from a host of other companies as well (Bacchus, are you listening?). Back to Soundscape. My only real gripe with it is the number of mouse "strokes" it takes to get to a particular function, of which there are lots. The sequencer is not bad, distinguishing between entire songs and the sequences making up the songs, allowing cut & paste operations, etc. etc. The utilities modules (I think there are two out now) don't really offer different front ends, they just present you with additional options you can manipulate with the patch panel, such as using the mouse as a pitch bender/modulation wheel, more ad- vanced MIDI channel mapping/mixing functions, and so on. I haven't used them, so I can't comment on their usefulness or ease of use... The Amiga-specific features, such as the console keyboard are nice if you want to include the Amiga as part of your sound-synthesis equipment. Assigning samples to specific key ranges for inclusion in songs is nice, even if the samples are kinda noisy (assuming you're using an Amiga sampler to generate the samples). All in all, it's a pretty thorough package. Hopefully you have Ver. 1.4; earlier versions were buggier than a New Jersey swamp during the rainy season. If you want to trade info/questions/applications, you can e-mail me, I'll be more than happy to trade ideas with someone who has a software package I'm starting to use intensely (I'll even trade ideas with someone who doesn't!). __________________________________________________ | --------------------------------------------- |\ | Mail: ...ulysses!nsscb!tjm | \ | Mouth: (201) 281-6287 | \ | Motive: You'll never prove it. | | | | | | Tighe Murcaddo | | | (Tim Murphy) | | | | | | "Nothing sucks like Electrolux..." | | | -------------------------------------------- | | \------------------------------------------------\ | \ \ | \________________________________________________\|
dosa@suned1.UUCP (Michael Dosa) (09/14/88)
In article <4056@itsgw.RPI.EDU> rogoff@itsgw.rpi.edu (David H. Rogoff) writes: > > I have just gotten Mimetics Soundscape for my Amiga(still waiting > for the MIDI interface). It seems to be a very powerfull program, > but very cumbersome. Yes, Soundscape is very cumbersome. I think it is written from a programmer point of view rather than a musicians point of view. I find I had to not think of recording on Soundscape like a tape recorder. I was putting one sound all on one track. I now use three or four tracks on one sound. Turn out much nicer. Michael
erickson@cbmvax.UUCP (Lee Erickson) (09/15/88)
In article <511@nsscb.UUCP> tjm@nsscb.UUCP (Timothy J. Murphy) writes: >In article <4056@itsgw.RPI.EDU> rogoff@itsgw.rpi.edu (David H. Rogoff) writes: >> Some are supposed to >> be shells that make the program easier to use. > >The utilities modules (I >think there are two out now) don't really offer different front ends, I have Mimetics Utilities Disk 1, and it DOES contain a front end they call "Fast Tracker" that is supposed to be easier to use. I haven't actually gotten around to using it yet, so I can't verify that claim. -- Lee Erickson - not working with, uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|caip}!cbmvax!erickson or in any way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!erickson@seismo.css.GOV Commodore.
riley@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Daniel S. Riley) (09/15/88)
In article <4735@cbmvax.UUCP> erickson@cbmvax.UUCP (Lee Erickson) writes: >In article <511@nsscb.UUCP> tjm@nsscb.UUCP (Timothy J. Murphy) writes: >>In article <4056@itsgw.RPI.EDU> rogoff@itsgw.rpi.edu (David H. Rogoff) writes: >>> Some are supposed to >>> be shells that make the program easier to use. >> >>The utilities modules (I >>think there are two out now) don't really offer different front ends, > >I have Mimetics Utilities Disk 1, and it DOES contain a front end they call >"Fast Tracker" that is supposed to be easier to use. I haven't actually >gotten around to using it yet, so I can't verify that claim. Fast Tracker opens up a low-res screen with 16 tracks set-up already, and with a metronome already set-up. It has gadgets for turning on the metronome, turning on a countdown before the tracks begin, input quantization of various resolutions, time signature, and a few other things. It has just one set of over-sized transport controls, and a big led-style bar:beat counter. I use it all the time for the first cut at a new track, since it saves me the trouble of setting up a lot of stuff. I turn on the metronome and count-off, do rough versions of a few tracks, and then usually close fast tracker and use the usual controls for the rest. It's not terribly sophisticated, but it saves a lot of time on the simple stuff. -dan riley (dsr@lns61.tn.cornell.edu, dsr@crnlns.bitnet) -wilson lab, cornell u.
karl@sugar.uu.net (Karl Lehenbauer) (09/16/88)
There has been some discussion about the Mimetics Utilities disks. I just want to include a mild flame because they distributed a bug fix on that disk, so one must buy the Utilities disk to get the fix. See, they figured out a way to make the clock module's timing be more accurate. (I presume this involved using copper stuff for timing a la Tom Rockiki's (sp?) C profiler.) Anyway, that's a bug fix, and as such should have been made available as an update or distributed over the BBSes. (ick, a Soundscape Trojan Horse module?) Positive side of the flame? Information. If you have Soundscape and you don't have the Utilities disk, buy it to get the more accurate clock module. -- -- uunet!sugar!karl, Unix BBS (713) 438-5018
page@swan.ulowell.edu (Bob Page) (09/20/88)
karl@sugar.uu.net (Karl Lehenbauer) wrote: >that's a bug fix, and as such should have been made available as an >update or distributed over the BBSes. It's called 'SmoothClocker' and I got it off of People/Link, a BBS, in the Amiga section. I didn't have to pay for the Utilities disk to get it. There are a couple other goodies for Soundscape on People/Link (in the same large ARC file as SmoothClocker I think). ..Bob -- Bob Page, U of Lowell CS Dept. page@swan.ulowell.edu ulowell!page
jon@brahms.udel.edu (Jon Deutsch) (01/07/91)
I am becomming frustrated with the selection of sequencers
out for the Amiga. Every program seems to have it's falling.
Is there a sequencer that is just plain 'ol TERRIFIC???
One that supports variable-length patterns that can get mapped
onto tracks? One that DOESN'T CRASH? (or BOTH????)
I look at the Mac and DOS sequencers and they seem FAR more advanced
in ease-of-use as well as sophistication. Can't a MAC prog be ported
with veritable ease?
I *really* don't want to have to buy a MAC, guys.
X-------------------+--------------+-----------------------X
NEW! | | |\ |>jon@brahms.udel.edu<| "For my 2 cents, |
\ | \|on |/eutsch |>jon@chopin.udel.edu<| I'd pay a dollar" |
\ X------+--------------------+--------------------+---------X
-> |Korg/Roland/Kawai Listserve!> listserv@freezer.it.udel.edu|
\----------------------------> Subject: HELP /
\-----+--------------------+--------------------+--------/tbc@juniper04.cray.com (Tom Craig) (01/08/91)
In article <17299@brahms.udel.edu> jon@brahms.udel.edu (Jon Deutsch) writes: >I am becomming frustrated with the selection of sequencers >out for the Amiga. Every program seems to have it's falling. >Is there a sequencer that is just plain 'ol TERRIFIC??? >One that supports variable-length patterns that can get mapped >onto tracks? One that DOESN'T CRASH? (or BOTH????) Check out Music-X. One of the best (IMHO). Yes, to both questions. >I look at the Mac and DOS sequencers and they seem FAR more advanced >in ease-of-use as well as sophistication. Can't a MAC prog be ported >with veritable ease? DOS sequencers? Hmmm, Music-X definitely beats Cakewalk and Cadenza, which are the 2 best DOS sequencers I've found. I don't know the MAC sequencers. >I *really* don't want to have to buy a MAC, guys. Me neither! -- Tom Craig tbc@cray.com Insert standard disclaimers here...
nsw@cbnewsm.att.com (Neil Weinstock) (01/10/91)
In article <17299@brahms.udel.edu>, jon@brahms.udel.edu (Jon Deutsch) writes: > I am becomming frustrated with the selection of sequencers > out for the Amiga. Which ones have you tried? > Every program seems to have it's falling. That is commonly true on all machines. > Is there a sequencer that is just plain 'ol TERRIFIC??? > One that supports variable-length patterns that can get mapped > onto tracks? One that DOESN'T CRASH? (or BOTH????) Music-X has never crashed for me in two years. You can put any length anything into any sequence and do anything with it you want. In that respect, it's about as powerful as anything I've ever seen. I have other complaints with the program, but it does seem to address those particular issues. > I look at the Mac and DOS sequencers and they seem FAR more advanced > in ease-of-use as well as sophistication. Can't a MAC prog be ported > with veritable ease? I have a friend who recently got a Mac with MOTU Performer. See Performer's beautiful UI. See Performer's mega-cool features. See Performer crash. See Performer's copy protection get all f*cked up. See Performer crash again. Hey, I agree that Amiga sequencers are behind in some ways. But it is very easy to think of how much greener the grass is in Mac-ville, when the truth is that they've got plenty of problems too. Porting a large complex program like a sequencer is never such an easy thing; the scarcity of programs available on both the Mac and the Amiga leads me to believe that it is a particularly difficult port, probably due to the differences in the OS. - Neil --==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==-- Neil Weinstock @ AT&T Bell Labs // What was sliced bread att!edsel!nsw or nsw@edsel.att.com \X/ the greatest thing since?
jeff@hobbes.catt.ncsu.edu (Jeff Gosztyla) (01/28/91)
I am just about to purchase an Amiga 500 for use as a MIDI
sequencer...but being new to the Amiga in general I am at a loss as to
what sequencing software is the 'best.' Basically I want a professional
level sequencer (I am used to using Cakewalk Pro) and I also want a
drum track programmer. I don't care too much about the software being
able to use the Amiga as a sound source, and librarian features would be a
plus. I also need to be able to run the software effectively with just
2 floppy drives. If you can provide me with any information/opinions
(including where I can find magazine reviews and/or demo disks) on the
following packages, I thank you.
I will post a summary, if some interest is generated.
Sequencers
----------
Bars And Pipes Prof.
Dynamic Studio
KCS Level (II & III)
Master Tracks Pro
MIDI Quest
Music X
Texture
Wave
(any I missed??)
Drum Pattern Programmers
------------------------
A-Drum
Drum Studio
Dynamic Drums
(any I missed??)
Thanks.
--
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Jeff Gosztyla
North Carolina State University
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