chuq@plaid.Sun.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (09/23/88)
Gads, this is getting insane. I have to stop buying toys for the Mac. This is actually not for me, but for someone else. honest. I'm looking for advice on a good, inexpensive MIDI music set up to hook up to a Mac (512Ke, if that matters). I know I need: o MIDI interface o a Keyboard o MIDI software to run on the Mac. I would like to keep it relatively inexpensive -- for an interested hobbyist looking to get started, rather than a bells and whistles. Expandable, of course, but starting out with the basics. So, to throw it out to the world at large, here's the questions: o What pieces are necessary for a good beginners MIDI system? o What components do you recommend to fill out that system? o What software do you recommend for the Macintosh? Why? I'd like to keep this under $500 if I can. I'd really, really like to keep it under $1000. Any and all suggestions are welcome! chuq Chuq Von Rospach chuq@sun.COM Delphi: CHUQ Editor/Publisher, OtherRealms
oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu (David Phillip Oster) (09/23/88)
I'd advise the following to anyone starting with MIDI:
1.) an interface
2.) an instrument
3.) a voice editor
4.) a sequencer
5.) a tone generator
6.) a reverb unit
7.) a stand to hold it all.
8.) a 4 track deck - a mini studio
9.) a 2 track dubbing deck
10.) avery laserwriter compatible cassette labels.
11.) good reviews.
12.) customers.
1.) the interface - this supplies electrical isolation and
appropriate clock to the mac. A bottom of the line interface will
run you about $100.00. You have a choice:
Apple's (no eternal power supply, 1 in, 1 out)
Opcode's (plug that a.c. adapter into the wall. 1 in, 3 outs, which may
save you from buying a MIDI through box at some point.)
Passport's (probably similar to opcode's)
If you pay more, you get the ability to record new stuff on your MIDI
instrument, while synching to tape. (Assuming you have a 4 track deck, with
up to three live tracks, and one sync track.) (We haven't gotten to this
exalted level yet.)
2.) An instrument. Casio makes some nice cheap ones, decent sound generators
and usable keyboards. the cz-101 in particular is very well supported.
(It has mini-keys, so if you are a died in the wool pianist, you won't like
it.) Casio has some instruments with MIDI in and out for about $250.00.
These instruments serve both as a way of getting your performance into your
midi setup (keyboard), and letting you hear the result (tone generator).
The keyboard isn't the best, for example the keys are small, and don't have
the full range of velocity and aftertouch that the more expensive keyboards
have. Try one out, and make sure you'll be comfortable playing on it.
If you play the guitar, you'll want a MIDI guitar controller. We like the
Casio MG510: a stratocaster copy that tracks pretty well if you are willing
to accept that it is a MIDI guitar controller, not exactly a guitar.
Casio also makes a cheap MIDI horn input, but it looks like a toy, so if
your macho image is important to you, stay away. Otherwise, give it a try in
the store to make certain you'll be comfortable making music on it.
3.) Since most tone generators have really lousy interfaces to their
synthesizer functions, I'd recommend a decent WYSWIG voice editor.
Opcode makes some good ones. The Digital Music Service TX81z editor is
usable. I'd advise not buying a tone generator unless you can get decent
voice editor software for it. The mac is a great librarian for voices. I keep
parallel ACTA files, to my voice files, that describe the voices, so I can
search and find a likely voice fast.
4.) Up to this point, you are playing your synth, or playing the MIDI
controller of your choice and hearing it on your synth. You are using the
Mac for voice editing/librarian, and recording onto your current tape deck.
The next step, depending on how multi-timbril your tone generators are,
is sequencer software. Remember going from a manual typewriter to a word
processor? That is the step of going from a traditional tape recorder to a
sequencer. Cut and paste, easy punch in/punch out, many tracks, and speed
controls that work on the tempo, but leave the pitch alone, and easy
transposition, are all features of sequencer software. We bought MasterTracks
Pro. Other people like Professional Composer, but it has too many numbers
for my more graphically oriented musician wife.
5.) Once you have sequencer software, you'll want to get that rich, poly-
phonic sound. There is a tension between buying more synths like you've
already got, so you will be able to use your existing voice editing software,
and buying different synths to tap into a wider range of sounds. We bought
a yamaha tx81z becuase it seemed like good value for money. the yamaha fb01
is also a good choice.
6.) The synth sounds seemed too electronic. Adding a Alesis midiveb helped.
this reverb unit makes the sound much more natural.
7.) A decent stand to hold all this stuff. So you can conveniently reach
everything.
8.) once you have all the above, you'll want to record onto a 4 track deck
so you can do complex mixing and overdubbing, and build up a rich sound.
MIDI is fine, but you can't record tracks of acoustic instruments, nor lyrics
on it. Since the 4-track cassette decks record at double speed, they are not
compatible with home, consumer decks.
9.) now, you've got something that sounds nice, you'll need a high quality
dubbing stereo cassette deck to create a master, so you can duplicate
cassettes for your friends.
10.) avery makes laserwriter compatible cassette labels. You can print
cassette outer covers on card stock, and the a. and b. side labels on
these avery labels.
11.) Now, you've got your music on tapes that you can sell. Next you need
good reviews.
My wife, Leigh Ann Hussey,'s tape _Pantheon_ got rave reviews in
the May '88 issue of _Electronic Musician_.
12.) Customers. _Pantheon_ is available for $9.50 postpaid from
Leigh Ann Hussey
2240 Blake #308
Berkeley, CA 94704.
That about sums it up. For non-midi mac music software:
We also use Studio Session, which gives you 6 voice
polyphony sampled sound (and you can use about a hundred different samples
in a singlhece.) about $60.00, and it uses the Mac for output. Input is
entering sheet music with the mouse, in the best sheet music entry editor
I've seen. Piped through the MIDIverb, it sounds great. The version we have
is slightly incompatible with the Mac II: you'll need to reboot if you try
to quit on a Mac II, but everything else works.
Deluxe Music Construction Set is a good value for printing music. It is funky.
You have to coax it to print a page, but it will let you produce a decent
page of typeset music. I don't know about Mac II compatibility for most
of this stuff as we use a MacPlus as our music mac.
--- David Phillip Oster --When you asked me to live in sin with you
Arpa: oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu --I didn't know you meant sloth.
Uucp: {uwvax,decvax,ihnp4}!ucbvax!oster%dewey.soe.berkeley.edu