Duncan.Lewis@samba.acs.unc.edu (Duncan Lewis) (02/06/91)
I have a small request to ask of any and all ST-midi enthusiasts. A good no-net-access friend of mine is looking to go into the midi arenaand knows that atari is quite aplayer in this niche market. What he is asking is why shouldn't he go out and buy the Yamaha portble Midi computer. so if you could reply with answers to these few questions, My friend and I will be very thankful. I can also post a summary. 1) Significance on the absence of a midi-thru port on the ST, anybody? 2) What cpu model is probably the best most economical but flexible one to choose, in terms of pricing, versatility, program compatibiltiy etc. 3) Your opinion of general software for Midi use, brands, names anything will help. 4) Why use an ST instead of the Mac or Yamaha/Casio etc. 5) Other interesting hardware implementations, like SMPTE equipment etc. 6) What your setup is and how productive has it made you. 7) ANything of value you'r like to add including flames etc Again, I'd like to thank anone who responds for their time. -Duncan "An ex-Atari enthusiast" Lewis my motto??? stay away from anything the Tramiels are involved in.. they blew it... Duncan.Lewis@bbs.acs.unc.edu
whitcomb@aurs01.UUCP (Jonathan Whitcomb) (02/07/91)
In article <2493@beguine.UUCP> Duncan.Lewis@samba.acs.unc.edu (Duncan Lewis) writes: > >I have a small request to ask of any and all ST-midi enthusiasts. A good >no-net-access friend of mine is looking to go into the midi arenaand >knows that atari is quite aplayer in this niche market. What he is asking >is why shouldn't he go out and buy the Yamaha portble Midi computer. > >so if you could reply with answers to these few questions, My friend and >I will be very thankful. I can also post a summary. I'll post this to the group. It beats all the inane Amiga/ST flames (my contribution: mine is better mine is better mine is better). >1) Significance on the absence of a midi-thru port on the ST, anybody? I have really never missed it, as my sequencer has a MIDI merge function built in. I guess Atari didn't want to have to deal with three MIDI ports, so they combined the MIDI out and MIDI thru into one port. This makes the Atari's MIDI out non-standard, but it shouldn't cause a problem unless you use MIDI cables that are also non-standard. If you feel you absolutely need a MIDI thru on the ST, STart magazine had an article showing how to make a box that splits the output into separate out and thru ports... I don't think there was any fancy circuitry, just a glorified Y-cord (only works because Atari used the two pins not used by the MIDI spec). >2) What cpu model is probably the best most economical but flexible one >to choose, in terms of pricing, versatility, program compatibiltiy etc. > Well, MIDI software tends to be a RAM hog, and if you are really going to get into it, you'll need to start with at least 1 Meg. I have a Mega 2, and I will be upgrading to 4 Megs to support my music software alone. The cheapest way to go is probably an STE, and you can upgrade the RAM with Simms. I like the separate keyboard on the Mega, though, and it may have one more advantage. Dave Small's boys have come up with a card for the expansion port on the Mega that will let you run all Mac MIDI software (in conjunction with GCR???). >3) Your opinion of general software for Midi use, brands, names anything will >help. Well, I have only used Dr.T's, so I can only speak for it. Their "entry level" sequencer, Tiger Cub, is very nice, and has many features of professional packages. I believe it lists for $150. The professional package is called KCS Omega (KCS=Keyboard Controlled Sequencer), and lists for $450. Dr.T has a whole line of software: sequencers, librarian/editors, SMPTE boxes, scoring programs, instruction, algorithmic composition, a MIDI specific programming language and more. And most of it (perhaps all of it) can work in Dr.T's multitasking scheme (MPE=Multi Program Environment). My overall impression of Dr.T's is that it is perhaps not the most intuitive interface, but it is extremely powerful and flexible. And their support is terrific. >4) Why use an ST instead of the Mac or Yamaha/Casio etc. Depends on your application. If you want to take your computer on the road, I'd definitely get a portable model, so the Yamaha or STacy are the way to go. For a home studio, you'll want a better screen, so stick with the Mac or ST. And get a monochrome monitor for music. The Yamaha has all those nice extra MIDI ports on it, but my DMC MX-8 switcher/merger more than makes up for it. I really have no Idea how well the Yamaha is supported in terms of commercial software, though. I also don't know what kind of CPU it has, but forget it if it doesn't have at least a 286 (preferably a 386). If you want a Mac, get one with a big screen, and of course, you'll have to get an external MIDI interface. Probably the most expensive option. MIDI support for the ST is tremendous. I spoke with Dr.T's tech folks last week, and they plan to continue supporting the ST (also the Mac and IBM). Emile Tobenfield (Dr. T) was my neighbor a few years back, and although he started developing on the Commodore 64, the ST was his system of choice, and all other versions of his software were ports. Bob Melvin (The Caged Artist) is currently working on a Mac port of X-or, but plans to return to Atari development by April. Whatever you choose, get a hard drive. Life is too short. >5) Other interesting hardware implementations, like SMPTE equipment etc. All kinds of stuff availible. DMC wrote an ST specific editor for their MX-8 MIDI switcher, though I use Dr.T's X-or (with a profile that I modified slightly). >6) What your setup is and how productive has it made you. I have a Mega ST2, 30Meg hard drive, a DMC MX-8 switcher/merger, three synths/sound modules, and a Casio MIDI guitar controller. My software setup is KCS Omega, X-or universal librarian/patch editor, and T-Basic programming language, all from Dr.T. When I've got it all cranked up, I am God. Like any new technology, you'll spend a few weeks playing with it before you feel comfortable, but you should start to be productive right away. I started with KCS V1.6 two years ago, and I'm still finding neat new tricks. Be prepared to spend some time experimenting, and READ THE MANUAL!!! >7) ANything of value you'r like to add including flames etc I took a computer generated music course at Colgate University in 1982, and the lab setup there was valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. My setup at home can now run rings around it, and I spent less than 5K for everything. If you would like, I've written a rather lengthy review of KCS, and I'll email you a copy, or post it if I have some requests. The only reservation I'd have on the ST, is that if you don't have a local music or computer dealer that can demonstrate the software to you before you buy, go with another brand. There's just no way to judge and compare music software on paper. You can get demo disks of several brands, but you really need to see them run by folks who know what they are doing (those demo disks usually have terrible documentation). Flames? You bet! Mine is better mine is better mine is better... >Again, I'd like to thank anone who responds for their time. >-Duncan "An ex-Atari enthusiast" Lewis >my motto??? stay away from anything the Tramiels are involved in.. >they blew it... > >Duncan.Lewis@bbs.acs.unc.edu Awwww, Duncan... -Jonathan ********************************************************************** Jonathan Whitcomb UUCP: <...!mcnc!aurgate!whitcomb> (919) 850-6231 I'm not a software engineer, Raleigh, NC but I play one on TV.
s37837k@saha.hut.fi (Jari Lehto) (02/08/91)
In article <2493@beguine.UUCP> Duncan.Lewis@samba.acs.unc.edu (Duncan Lewis) writes: > >1) Significance on the absence of a midi-thru port on the ST, anybody? There is MIDI-thru in ST, I just don't know anybody who needs it... It can be used with special cable or a small port-splitter. I have never needed it. >2) What cpu model is probably the best most economical but flexible one >to choose, in terms of pricing, versatility, program compatibiltiy etc. For musician I would say STacy, with at least 2Mb RAM and largest harddisk available. If you don't need to carry it around, any will do. I would say Mega4 or TT with big screen (19") is ideal, but rather expensive. MegaSTE is also good for serious use. Only important thing is that the system has mono- monitor and enough RAM & Disk-space. MIDI-stuff eats a lot. I personally use a 1040STFM transferred to tower-housing, with 4Mb RAM and 170Mb harddisk. There is also a 16MHz accelerator. By the way, this tower has MIDI-thru port also. >3) Your opinion of general software for Midi use, brands, names anything will >help. I have tried many. The German firm Steinberg won the competition in my case. I use Cubase 2.0 for sequencing & editing and Avalon for controlling & editing sample(r)s. There is also a good universal instrument editor called Uniman. It supports almost any well-known synthesizer/sampler. I have Ensoniq VFX, being one of the main instruments I use, and there are no serious editors for it other than Uniman. I bet there are other instruments with similar situation. The Uniman is from Nederlands. Only disadvantage in these is that these are propably the most expensive applications there are. Cubase costs over 500 pounds in the UK... >4) Why use an ST instead of the Mac or Yamaha/Casio etc. Mac is a good alternative! But only Atari offers built in MIDI and top-level software and hardware support for musician. Still, Mac has all those fancy MIDI-applications, like Finale... >5) Other interesting hardware implementations, like SMPTE equipment etc. Those are offered by Steinberg also, for example. There are others also, but they are not very familiar to me. SMPTE is well supported with Atari. So is Sample-transfer via SCSI. >6) What your setup is and how productive has it made you. I already told about my ST and software. Here are the instruments: My personal ones: Ensoniq VFX, Korg M3R Ones offered by sponsors and friends, etc.: Korg T3, Korg WaveStation, Korg M1, Ensoniq EPS 16+, E-MU Proteus, Akai S1000, SynthAxe.... and others not so frequently used. I have composed & produced about four hours of music, same style like Jarre, Vangelis, Kitaro, Blenner, Hammer... I just need to master it to DAT and send it for someone to decide if it will be released in a form of CD. It took about a year to do it. >7) ANything of value you'r like to add including flames etc ??????????? Jartsu *** Jari Lehto, jartsu@otax.hut.fi, s37837k@saha.hut.fi ***
wright@hpcc01.HP.COM (Jeff Wright) (02/09/91)
> If you would like, I've written a rather lengthy review of KCS, > and I'll email you a copy, or post it if I have some requests. Here's one vote for posting... --Jeff Wright HP Circuit Technology R&D wright@hpctgrd.hp.com (HPtelnet/415) 857-5351
pdel@ADS.COM (Peter Delevoryas) (02/12/91)
>> and I'll email you a copy, or post it if I have some requests. >Here's one vote for posting... ...two!