jwabik@shamash.cdc.com (Jeff Wabik) (05/11/89)
Thanks to those who responded regarding my MIDI hardware problems a few
days ago .. Fix in place, and now everything works perfectly...
well.. The hardware works, anyhow.. Umm.. As I indicated back
then, the software I'm using is DMCS.. And.. Quite frankly, its not
terribly good.. When inputting from the (piano) keyboard, aside from
not capturing note durations correctly, any even slightly "complex"
(more than one simultaneously) or quickly-entered notes cause DMCS to
guru .. Average Amiga uptime once inputting via MIDI is about 5
seconds.
With that, I'm wondering if there is other MIDI software for Amiga that
actually really works ... I called the local Amiga vendors, but they
strongly recommend DMCS. 8^(
Anyone?
Thanks ..
-Jeff
--
Jeff A. Wabik E/Mail: jwabik@shamash.cdc.com AT&T: +1 612 853 6811
____ ____ FAX: +1 612 853 4789
/ ___||___ \
| |___ ___| | Control Data Corporation
\____||____/
"We pledge allegiance to Beach, Biceps, and Beer .."sterling@cbmvax.UUCP (Rick Sterling QA) (05/11/89)
In article <12540@shamash.cdc.com> jwabik@shamash.cdc.com (Jeff Wabik) writes: > Thanks to those who responded regarding my MIDI hardware problems a few > days ago .. Fix in place, and now everything works perfectly... > > With that, I'm wondering if there is other MIDI software for Amiga that > actually really works ... I called the local Amiga vendors, but they > strongly recommend DMCS. 8^( > > Anyone? > Highly recommend Dr.T's product line KCS v1.6a ( or latest ) and AMIGA Copyist Professional.... Phone and Address from KEYBOARD magazine Feb 88 ... Dr.T's Software 220 Bolyston St. Suite 306 Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 (617) 244-6954 (617)-244-5243 FAX > Thanks .. > > -Jeff Your Welcome ... standard disclaimers apply ... just a satisfied user ============================================================================= Rick Sterling COMMODORE AMIGA TEST ENGINEERING N2CGI UUCP {allegra,rutgers}!cbmvax!sterling =============================================================================
lynn@rave.phx.mcd.mot.com (Lynn D. Newton) (05/13/89)
> Jeff Wabik writes ... > .......... When inputting from the (piano) keyboard, aside from > not capturing note durations correctly, any even slightly "complex" > (more than one simultaneously) or quickly-entered notes cause DMCS to > guru .. Average Amiga uptime once inputting via MIDI is about 5 > seconds. I have run DMCS since I first got my Amiga 18 months ago and have never had any problem like this. I think you still have a hardware problem, because despite its limitations in functionality, DMCS is as far as I know at least stable. Otherwise I think we all would have heard more loud cries of complaint over this long a time. I agree that DMCS is weak for any kind of "serious" work. But my brother, who is a first-rate professional cellist and composer, uses it both for composition and copying. Although he is actively looking to upgrade to the best he can get, he's not completely handcuffed by DMCS's limitations. > With that, I'm wondering if there is other MIDI software for Amiga that > actually really works ... I called the local Amiga vendors, but they > strongly recommend DMCS. 8^( Depending on what specific application you are interested in, Dr. T's has about the best software going for the Amiga (in my humble unpartisan opinion), but it also costs more. The KCS sequencer is excellent, and the new Level II addon to the sequencer has amazing capabilities. Their Professional Copyist, according to comparisons and reviews, is apparently better than average, judging from article reviews. I've not seen it personally yet, but most people who know recommend it first without stopping to think. Dr. T's also has a large series of patch editors which are outstanding, but are hardware (synthesizer) specific. I have the Roland MT-32 patch editor which is excellent, and a friend has the Roland D-50 editor which he loves. Hope these recommendations help. -- Lynn D. Newton System Test Motorola MCD (602) 438-3739 lynn@rave.phx.mcd.mot.com
cs250c32@usl-pc.usl.edu (Stelly John B III) (05/16/89)
In article <12540@shamash.cdc.com> jwabik@shamash.cdc.com (Jeff Wabik) writes: >then, the software I'm using is DMCS.. And.. Quite frankly, its not >terribly good.. When inputting from the (piano) keyboard, aside from >not capturing note durations correctly, any even slightly "complex" >(more than one simultaneously) or quickly-entered notes cause DMCS to >guru .. Average Amiga uptime once inputting via MIDI is about 5 >seconds. Apparently, you are looking for some sort of a sequencer, which Deluxe Music does a poor job of being. If you're willing to enter the notes from the mouse (rather than your keyboard), Deluxe music will route them to MIDI, and control 4 voices of amiga sound very well, but a sequencer it is not. >With that, I'm wondering if there is other MIDI software for Amiga that >actually really works ... I called the local Amiga vendors, but they >strongly recommend DMCS. 8^( For what you are doing, there are several packages on the market. Dr T's Software makes Midi Recoding Studio - and 8 track sequencer that supports amiga sounds (I have this one, and it works fine, but my EPS's sequencer is a bit easier to take to a gig 8-) ($79.95 ? I think) and they have KCS which runs between $200-$300 depending on what level you want... Also I have heard good things about dynamic Studio (But I have seen Dynamic Drums, and It was AWFUL! (IMO) - It slowed down when you moved the mouse pointer, and It couldn't keep in sync with an external (from MIDI) clock, however 'Studio may not suffer these problems... ($199.95 I think) Also there is MIDI magic, which looks like it is probably pretty good (AmigaWorld reviewed it in March-April (along with most of these others) - so It would probably be a good idea to check out that article.... >Anyone? Well, I hop I was of SOME help... >Thanks .. > > -Jeff J. "Yukon" Stelly !(dalsqnt killer)!usl!usl-pc!cs250c32
cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) (05/17/89)
Jeff Wabik writes :
-> .......... When inputting from the (piano) keyboard, aside from
-> not capturing note durations correctly, any even slightly "complex"
-> (more than one simultaneously) or quickly-entered notes cause DMCS to
-> guru .. Average Amiga uptime once inputting via MIDI is about 5
-> seconds.
Lynn D. Newton writes:
-> I have run DMCS since I first got my Amiga 18 months ago and have
-> never had any problem like this. I think you still have a hardware
-> problem, because despite its limitations in functionality, DMCS is as
-> far as I know at least stable.
Actually you are both right. When I bought DMCS right when it came out
it was unusable with MIDI input. Period. However, about 6 months later
I got some Mail from EA that said they had made "great improvements" in
it and that for only $X (which I think was 20) you could get the update
and it wasn't copy protected. So I sent off for it, and sure enough it
cured the MIDI guruing problems. You still couldn't get it to record in
"real" time, but that's why I bought SoundScape and MIDI magic.
Of course Music-X would appear to have everything I want in a Sequencer
but David Joiner (talin on BIX, and the author for the most part) keeps
making it "better and better..." Argh, gosh I wish he'd just ship it.
--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis BIX: cmcmanis ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.
"A most excellent barbarian ... Genghis Kahn!"thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) (05/17/89)
Re: DMCS, sigh ...
Shortly after its release, and ever since, it has been know as:
Destroys
Music
Creativity
Swiftly
Besides the GURUs, the one event that most angered me was its refusal to
save my "Ode to Vacuum Cleaner cum Jet Plane." Seriously, it was a GREAT
composition (suuuure! :-) and 5 hours' work went out the bit bucket.
And the principal author of DMCS used to work for me, but I don't attribute
the problem to him but, instead, to (the then) EA policies of software QA and
their (then) "we gotta ship it YESTERDAY" policy.
Thad Floryan [thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad]page%swap@Sun.COM (Bob Page) (05/18/89)
thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) wrote: >event that most angered me was its refusal to save my "Ode to Vacuum >Cleaner cum Jet Plane." Oh, that was the AI code that analyzed your score and name & refused to save lousy music. I got that all the time. I found a way around it though - I renamed my "flushing toilet symphony" to "etude no.5 in Cmaj" and it saved it! I really tricked it, since it wasn't in C major. ..bob :-)
mab@druwy.ATT.COM (Alan Bland) (05/20/89)
In article <310@usl-pc.usl.edu> cs250c32@usl-pc.UUCP (Stelly John B III) writes: >... Also I have heard >good things about dynamic Studio (But I have seen Dynamic Drums, and It was >AWFUL! (IMO) - It slowed down when you moved the mouse pointer, and It couldn't >keep in sync with an external (from MIDI) clock, however 'Studio may not suffer >these problems... I briefly played around with an early version of Dynamic Studio a while back. One thing I seem to remember about it was that the mouse pointer was frozen during recording (and playback too, I think) so you could not issue any commands until you stopped the record/playback mode. This was a big negative for me. Dr. T's KCS and even MRS allow you to do other things during record and playback, and maintain rock-solid timing. Disclaimer: I believe there is a newer version of Dynamic Studio, so they may have improved this part of the sequencer. Texture is a very capable sequencer that has been ported to the Amiga from MS-DOS. It's not as feature-rich as KCS, but it does a good job. It too lets you issue commands during record and playback (e.g. change the tempo). A new version of Texture is due out this month, but I haven't heard what has changed since the old version. -- -- Alan Bland -- AT&T Bell Laboratories, Denver CO -- (303)-538-3510 att!druwy!mab
iddos@TAURUS.BITNET (05/26/89)
in recent MIDI discussion I see no one mentions SoundScape Pro-MIDI Studio by Mimetics. I use V1.4 plus some modules, and find that I can hardly think of something it cannot do. Do I lack vision? Or is Mimetics' marketing inspired by C-A campaign style? Ido (The ID) Amin, aka iddos@taurus.BITNET
lynn@rave.phx.mcd.mot.com (Lynn D. Newton) (05/30/89)
Regarding Mimetics SoundScape Pro-MIDI Studio -- the following is my own unpartisan opinion: For a while SoundScape was _the_ music sequencing software for the Amiga. I have not seen recent versions. One of its primary positive attritute is that it takes advantage of the Amiga's multitasking capabilities in such a way that modules can be added/subtracted and opened or shut down as needed. A wonderful idea in concept. And it's true, that a great deal of functionality is built into the product. I own it and for a while, once I figured out how to work it, enjoyed using it. _HOWEVER_: it does seem to be tricky to use. When I was a novice at sequencing, I had to read through the whole manual before I was able to get things set up so that I was actually sequencing. Some essential "how to" was buried in the midst of it. My ignorance of MIDI at that time didn't help, of course. On the other hand, when I bought Dr. T's KCS, I clicked on the sequencer icon, pressed a key on my sequencer keyboard and suddenly found myself recording. That's what musicians want. Secondly, the editing capabilities of SoundScape are (were?) pitiful. If one accepts the concept of a sequencer as being a sort of word processor for music, then the editing capabilities are at least as important as the recording abilities. After a couple of days of using Dr. T's KCS (and now Level II), I stopped using SoundScape altogether, except to trot it out to show to friends, and to play some music I had written with it. That fact alone says a lot. In the long run users will use a particular product, not out of some kind of partisan loyalty, but because it does the job for them. I personally wish that Mimetics had done some things a little different. I applaud them for their ventures into multitasking, which is a thorny subject to deal with for many less knowledgeable programmers. But the end product didn't quite make it, and maybe it never will. As for their marketing techniques, I can't say, for I rarely even see SoundScape advertised any more. Therefore, my opinion is that _by itself_ SoundScape is a good product, with some serious shortcomings. But when compared with Dr. T's KCS (I'm not intimately familiar with any of the others), it falls short. -- ================================================================= Lynn D. Newton | System Test Motorola MCD, Tempe, AZ | (Department of Heuristic Methodology) (602) 437-3739 | "The bug stops here!" lynn@rave.phx.mcd.mot.com |
keithd@gryphon.COM (Keith Doyle) (06/02/89)
In article <LYNN.89May30081122@rave.rave.phx.mcd.mot.com> lynn@rave.phx.mcd.mot.com (Lynn D. Newton) writes: >Regarding Mimetics SoundScape Pro-MIDI Studio -- the following is my own >unpartisan opinion: I too went through a time with SoundScape, in fact I'm still using it because I've yet to determine if the other packages will do what I want. I bought Dynamic Studio, like the interface, but found it wouldn't allow me to play while recording multiple Amiga samples driven from external MIDI devices sending on multiple channels. The manual eluded to this capability might be possible when combined with the Oasis program which is designed to read Ensonique Mirage disks, but the manual really isn't clear that this is so, and I was already pissed that the basic package doesn't provide the capability that SoundScape did that I consider essential, that I didn't want to go out and spend another $80 on something that "might" allow me to do what I need. The Dynamic Studio manual says: "Dynamic studio is capable of reading the Oasis files, and allows you to play the instruments it defines through an external MIDI keyboard (or other controller)". SoundScape allows me to preload 16 samples into the Amiga, individually tune them, assign them to be driven by external MIDI channels 1-16, then record what's going on on these channels while playing back the samples through the Amiga's 4 sound channels as available. Will Oasis add this capability to Dynamic Studio? Will Dr. T's KCS do this? What all do I need? Will Music-X? Because so far I have only been able to identify SoundScape as a program that can handle this first part of my needs (being able to play the music and record), yet it won't go past that (to reasonable editing), I have been doing relatively simple things where I don't try and edit. If there is an alternative, I'd sure like to hear about it. I'm considering using SoundScape as a player module on one Amiga, and some other MIDI recorder/editor on another Amiga to solve the problem, but this is horribly inconvenient. I've also seen several cases where it is desirable to multitask multiple MIDI programs on the same Amiga, perhaps connect the MIDI in port to the input of program A, the MIDI out stream of program A connected to the MIDI in stream of program B, and the MIDI out stream of program B connected to the Amiga's MIDI out port. Anyone ready to design and publish a MIDI stream IPC standard? And then how will we convince MIDI software developers to use it? (I know, it'll happen once DPaint IV supports it!). Keith Doyle keithd@gryphon.COM gryphon!keithd gryphon!keithd@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov
pmy@vivaldi.acc.Virginia.EDU (Pete Yadlowsky) (06/02/89)
In article <16364@gryphon.COM> keithd@gryphon.COM (Keith Doyle) writes: >I've also seen several cases where it is desirable to multitask >multiple MIDI programs on the same Amiga, perhaps connect the MIDI in >port to the input of program A, the MIDI out stream of program A >connected to the MIDI in stream of program B, and the MIDI out stream >of program B connected to the Amiga's MIDI out port. Anyone ready to >design and publish a MIDI stream IPC standard? There already is one, and has been for quite some time now (for the Amiga, anyway). I've been preaching on this for months, maybe years, and I find it frustrating that more Amiga-Midiots aren't hearing the news. Bill Barton's public domain midi.library does all of the above and more. It's small, it's fast, it's Exec-based, it's easy to use. It's a system of source/destination nodes and (optionally filtered) routes that automatically controls message merging and distribution so that the programmer may freely create networks of MIDI modules, not just linear pipes. This same network mechanism allows the serial.device to be shared among several programs. The midi.library is available, free and just what the doctor ordered. Now get it and use it, dammit! << wheeeeeze >> *coff* *ahem* >And then how will we convince MIDI software developers to use it? Well, _this_ developer is using it. As for the others, educate 'em, yell at 'em, I guess. Peter M. Yadlowsky | "Pay no attention to that man Academic Computing Center | behind the curtain!" University of Virginia | pmy@Virginia.EDU |
page%swap@Sun.COM (Bob Page) (06/03/89)
pmy@vivaldi.acc.Virginia.EDU.acc.Virginia.EDU (Pete Yadlowsky) wrote: >The midi.library is available, free and just what the doctor ordered. >Now get it and use it, dammit! << wheeeeeze >> *coff* *ahem* The last two versions of this package have been posted to comp.sources/binaries.amiga. Look in your favorite Amiga archive under audio/music/midilib20.uu? (where ? is 1 through 5) ..bob