[rec.music.synth] Desparately in need of help!

djs654@csc.anu.edu.au (05/09/91)

Dear Netters,
Please excuse my ignorance, I'm very new to the world of 
computer/synthesized music and have a number of questions which may seem 
ridiculous to those of you with even the slightest experience.

I have been involved in live rock performance for a number of years and 
have also used computers as a work tool for sometime, I'm interested in 
working the two together so that I can do predominantly composition and 
home recording work, including recorded (digitized?) vocals.  I work with 
Macintosh computers and would therefore appreciate it if examples could 
be relevevant to that 'platform'.  

My questions fall into two broad catagories.

1) What are considered the	i) essential
				ii) desirable
				iii) nice
components both hard and software of a system suitable for the above 
purposes?  As I'm extremely new to this and have little experience in the 
technical side of things please also explain the purpose of the individual 
items, (perhaps give specific examples w/ approximate cost).

2) What magazines are the most comprehensive when it comes to computer 
based/synthesized music? 

3) This ones realy off the wall, though as a guitar player I've always 
wondered if it realy were possible to get an accuarte guitar sound.  One 
idea I had was sampling the un-amplified output from the pickup in a 
guitar, then through some midi/sequencer (ala farlight?) program modifying 
the digitized waveform to adjust the note replaying it through my effects 
pedals and amp to get a 'real guitar' sound.  Is what I just said nonsense, 
unnecessary because synth's can produce accurate guitar sounds or do I just 
have to record my guitar tracks live.

Again apologies for my obvious lack of knowledge, please help educate me, 
and no I'm not a wannabe computer muso, just a rock'n'roller who has an 
open mind.

Please reply by e-mail to the below address, not to the address from which 
this is posted as our Vax has a very ordinary mail program c.f. the other 
machine.  Also if anyone relatively close by would be willing to help in my 
education first hand I'd appreciate it.

Thanx in advance.

Sutto.
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DARREN SUTTON			      *
Dept of Physics & Theoretical Physics * 
Australian National University	      *			
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