UUCJEFF@ECNCDC.BITNET (07/12/88)
>OK, I'm about to shell out $$$ for a 'be-all, end-all' MIDI >package for the ST and I want some info on Hybrid Arts SMPTEtrack >package. I would like the following points addressed if possible: 1) Ease of use (ie - different modes, step mode, graphics, etc.) I would not consider it overly difficult, but there are a lot of features which need to be sorted out. I havent exhausted all of them yet, usually you find one that works best for you and dont bother to use others. The graphics edit mode is very nice for cleaning up mistakes. The punch method is very straight foward, but as I understand it, it is a very common interface. I got discouraged with the step mode on how slow the process is, even my keyboard chops are good enough to do it measure by measure. Now for step editing, you can scroll foward and backward easily enough, but is seems to me there are a few unneeded formalities you must do when changing something. 2) The SMPTE feature I dont have any multi-track tape records so have not used this feature. 3) Copy Protection (if any, how does it make life difficult?) The only copy protection is that you must have the SMPTE box plugged in at all times, therefore it is a hardware oriented protection. You can copy the software as much as you want, it just wont do you any good without the SMPTE box. I must say I like this better than worrying about messing up a key disk. 4) Recommended System Set-Up At least 1 meg, without that you cannot hold much. Hybrid Arts says that 520 users should upgrade soon, new features are going to up the overhead. If your song has a lot of volume controllers, you will need at least a Meg. But this is probably true with any sequencer. 5) Nifty Features (ie - HybriSwitch, patch ed/lib stuff) There is an easy interface to Genpatch. Since I dont have Genpatch, I havent really used it. The idea of it is to be able to do a sysex automatically when playing a song. Of course it has the track humanizing and quantization, and you can also do shifts ahead and behind the beat by a few ticks, so you can put the groove in the pocket or give it a Brooklyn Beat-*ss feel if you want. As I understand it, the Genpatch interface is as a desk accessory, and you can access any desk accessory from inside SMPTE track. There is no way I know of going to something like DX Heaven or CZ-Droid. Again, I like the graphics interface. The ability to change tempos and time signatures is straight foward, as well as having blocks of data to follow the repetitions in the form of your music. The filtering capabilities are nice, and you can filter your input source, plus you can filter your individual tracks. It will take me a little more time to decide if they left out some useful global filterations. 6) Approximate Retail Price (where can I get the best deal?) I got mine for under $400. But I know the Hybrid Arts rep so I got the best possible deal. Check some of the mail order places in Start, etc. 7) Any known bugs, quirks, problems, complaints I had an 520 ST in which it didnt work with. It turned out to be a bad RS-232 port on my ST. (the SMPTE box plugs into both the extra keyboard port and the RS-232) I traded it in for a MEGA 2 and it worked fine. One thing that I notice is that after I have saved a SONG file, you cannot record past the End-of-Track mark using the punch mode. There are ways to work around it easily of course, and there may be something I am overlooking too. I only have been using this for a couple months, and I really have only put 2 songs on at this point. I also have not done anything with Dr Ts, so I have nothing to compare it with. I have been on music bulletin boards where most people like the Hybrid Arts and Passport the best. One thing about the Hybrid, it has the reputation of being the best in terms of accuracy of the timings, and for me, that is the most important feature. For one, it has a resolution of 96 ticks per quarter note. There might be some new sequencers from different companies that have more, I dont know. I should warn you, me orientation towards music is more towards improvisation, and I am developing my own software to create improvistions with my MIDI equiped trumpet, so some of the various features on the various models may pass me by. All I can say, it works fine for me, and is a very professional tool for putting music on in which I havent yet exhausted all its features. They will be adding an interface to the MIDI standard file format, but if you really need to know Hybrid Arts format, they will give it to you if you sign non-disclosure agreements. Plus, they have good support on their bulletin board. You can get help from the person who designed the program, and they are very good at that. They have helped me out in designing my own software, so one has to be impressed with that.