jacobson@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu (12/20/88)
I am interested in obtaining info on Amiga MIDI applications. Below you will find listed the requirements of a friend of mine who is considering either the Amiga or ST. I would like to know if the Amiga can meet the requirements my friend has (ie is the software avaiable to do the task) and if the cost of purchase of a A500 system , other hardware, and software can be kept to a $1000 dollars or less (thats the maximum my friend is willing to spend and can afford to spend) Also I don't want to generate any flame wars, but are there any people into MIDI applications who have used both the Amiga and ST, and who are current on software/hardware requirements and the costs???? How do they compare. For example one person I am corresponding with said that he prefers the ST for MIDI stuff, compared to the A1000 and A2000 he owns. So are there sigificant differences. Is one clearly better in terms of software which exploits the machines capabilities best. Is one machine or the other better in any way in terms of its MIDI capabilities???? I am totally unfamiliar with this area of use in either the Amiga or ST. Its not an area I have ever used my 2000 for. Requirements for MIDI applications: 1) The keyboard my friend uses is an Ensonic ESQ-1. I note some software is specifically for specific keyboards. Is this one supported by any software, or is software generic enough to use a variety of keyboards. 2) My friend wants software that does sequencing and allows the sequenced input from the keyboard to be transcribed. By this he needs the input to be output as a printout with notes and all so he can see what his composition is like. 3) He also needs software that allows various patches to be included in with new material that has been composed directly from the MIDI keyboard. Does most standard MIDI software do this? And how easy is it to do????? 4) Can the software my friend needs be purchased for under $200. With the $1000 dollar budget for computer and software, and a local price of A500 and monitor for around $800 or so, this is about what is left for software purchase. 5) Does the software which meets the above needs require more than a 512K Amiga. If so that unfortunately adds more $$ to the purchase of proper computer hardware and addons. Any help you can give me to the above would be most appreciated Russ Jacobson Illinois Geological Survey 615 E. Peabody Drive Champaign, IL 61820 217-244-2425