bose@milton.u.washington.edu (Rob Olsen) (02/19/91)
Do any of you know or have a very old music software called synth sample? Or laser show. Well, laser show stole the music from synth sample. It's got all kind of good stuff like Jarre, Tubular bells, Canon, and stationary arc. I want to get that software and was wondering if some of you might know an ftp site that has it. plus who wrote the first track to laser show. Thank you.
ghfeil@white.toronto.edu (Georg Feil) (02/20/91)
bose@milton.u.washington.edu (Rob Olsen) writes: >Do any of you know or have a very old music software called synth sample? I'm the original author of "Synth Sample", which was created using my music editor "Synth". Later Synth was transformed into a Midi sequencer and renamed Midi Switching System (MSS). I don't know about anything called "Laser Show", but I did hear about Synth Sample being "borrowed" by several people. >who wrote the first track to laser show. If this refers to one of the TV themes (Magic Shadows and Stationary Ark), I don't know. Someone in the Toronto Pet Users Group (TPUG) researched this once (in 1985!), so I could probably find out. Note that the Stationary Ark thing is only loosely based on the television show (it appears as improvised from memory by a friend). (Rob:) If you want a copy of Synth Sample, send me a disk and a self-addressed return envelope. I might even make up a synth sample II, from music transcribed after 1984, up until 1987 when I started to work exclusively with MSS. It won't match the original Synth Sample, though. Anyone interested in Synth or MSS can reach me by email, phone, or regular mail. Georg. ----------------------- Georg Feil 425 Main Street Toronto, Ontario CANADA M4C 4Y1 phone: (416) 665-5458 (bus.) email: georg@sgl.ists.ca -- Georg Feil Internet: georg@sgl.ists.ca Space Geodynamics Laboratory (don't use my toronto.edu address) ISTS, 2700 Steeles Ave West Phone: (416) 665-5458 Toronto, Ontario Fax: (416) 660-1422
georg@sgl (Georg Feil) (02/21/91)
astrix@cs.wisc.edu (Lou Goodman) writes: > somewhere in the deep dark recesses of my mind I seem to remember > the sampler, but dthere were several (?). Only one seemed to > have an "ad" with it for the processor... I only ever "put out" one version of Synth Sample. Actually, I just gave a copy to a friend at U of Waterloo, and thought that's where it would end. Big surprise, when it started to crop up all around the world. This original version didn't even have my name on it (how was I supposed to know?). Eventually Jim Butterfield (Toronto Pet/CBM guru) tracked me down, and he must have let others know who did it (He wrote at least one article about it in TPUG magazine, the Toronto Pet Users Group newsletter). Maybe he added the advertisement to later versions of Synth Sample. In any case, the computer bust of 85/86(?) hit and Synth was never marketed. The software company I was negotiating with went out of business, and I started work on a new version of Synth for Midi, to be called MSS. > So... what is > synth? (and, while you're at it the cost, since you are probably > the sole possessor/distributor at this time). Synth is a music and sound effects development system. You edit music in the form of a simple computer language (with "loops" and "subroutines"), which lets you do things very compactly (that's why Synth Sample was small compared to the amount of music in it). All music plays in the "background" (interrupts). When you're done, you can automatically link the music (and the music player) to any basic program, ending up with something similar to Synth Sample, except that the basic program can be arbitrary. You could, for example, write a game, design the sound effects and music using Synth, and then link the two in one automatic step. If your game is more complicated, with overlays and machine code, you link the music to the initial basic boot program. As for cost, it's ten bucks, which is just enough so I don't have to stuff envelopes for nothing. I have been selling MSS at this price as well. So far sales volume hasn't reached double digits yet :-} Anyone who really wants Synth can send a cheque for $10 to the address below. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for -- it's not a professional "product", especially by today's standards. There's no fancy graphics (except for the intro screen) and it's not particularly user-friendly. There is plenty of online help, so you don't need a printed reference manual. Georg. ---------------------- Georg Feil 425 Main Street Toronto, Ont. CANADA M4C 4Y1 -- Georg Feil Internet: georg@sgl.ists.ca Space Geodynamics Laboratory (toronto.edu address no longer valid) ISTS, 2700 Steeles Ave West Phone: (416) 665-5458 Toronto, Ontario Fax: (416) 660-1422
kudla@pawl.rpi.edu (Robert J. Kudla) (02/28/91)
>>>>> On 25 Feb 91 12:57:47 GMT, treesh@ircsun1.helios.nd.edu said: > it sure did completely freek me out! I would like to see an Apple ][, > or any computer for that matter preform the same trick!! Actually, I'm typing this at work on a PC terminal program which runs in the background when you want it to (and even beeps), but I'm also using a 386SX and about 2m of ram. Then again, my Amiga has very little trouble playing music in the background, if you can really call it "background" :) Seriously though, interrupts are very handy and I think they were a real boon to music on the 64... -- Robert Jude Kudla <kudla@rpi.edu> Memo to myself: do the dumb things I gotta do.