whites@unvax.union.edu (Shayne White) (02/28/91)
Fellow Amiga Users, I am interested in setting up a homestudio with my Amiga200HD as the center of it. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good keyboard with a budget price. Also, info on effects processors, 4-track tape recorders, drum machines, MIDI interfaces, etc would also be much appreciated. What's the best sequencer? Is AMAS any good? Shayne White
kudla@pawl.rpi.edu (Robert J. Kudla) (03/01/91)
>>>>> On Thu, 28 Feb 1991 01:07:55 GMT, whites@unvax.union.edu (Shayne White) said: > I am interested in setting up a homestudio with my Amiga200HD as > the center of it. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good > keyboard with a budget price. Well, it depends. What is "budget"? In the $50-200 range, there are a few Casio keyboards like the CZ-101 which have nice sound but are often limited (for example, the CZ has 8 oscillators total, and common practice is to stack them two by two, so you still only get 4 extra notes polyphonic). They're also only generally available used now. For 400-600 you can get a used "classic" synth like a DX7 or D-50, but those two at least aren't polytimbral (there are hardware mods to make them so, but if you're just starting out that's a bit much to start). Once you get ready to start spending $700-1000, you're in business. I have a Korg M-1 which these days goes for $1600, but you can get a Yamaha SY55 which is similar (not as good of a piano sound but still nice) for about $800. 49-key keyboard, a couple megs of samples to pick from, full effects built in, and Yamaha stuff is generally pretty reliable. It's also got a built in sequencer which you may or may not need. In the same ballpark is their SY22, which is much like the 77 but with no sequencer and it also includes vector synthesis (it's got a joystick with which you can dynamically mix a bunch of tones in one voice). Go to a decent guitar shop to check out one of these. I think Kawai and a few other people have synths in this price range but I don't think you'll get as much bang for the buck. Roland does offer some nice synths for under $1K but I couldn't really tell you about them as I've never played with them for some reason. > Also, info on effects processors, 4-track > tape recorders, drum machines, MIDI interfaces, etc would also be much > appreciated. What's the best sequencer? Is AMAS any good? This is a *really* broad question and except for the bit about sequencers/midi interfaces, should probably go in rec.music.makers (so should the question about keyboards but you gotta start somewhere). From what I gather, the best sequencers are Bars and Pipes and Music/X. Since I've played with Bars and Pipes and really loathe it (not having tried the $400 professional version) I'm gonna try MusicX which you can find for about $100 now. I have a Golden Hawk MIDI interface which is solidly built, has a switchable passthru and 1 in/2 out/1out+thru. I have no idea what configuration the AMAS comes in as far as MIDI goes (if someone has one, could you please post?) but I do know it includes an excellent sampler. I also hear that it doesn't have a serial passthru, and that kinda makes it a lot less likely for me to buy (I bought the GH interface rather than AMAS for that very reason and thinking I would buy Perfect Sound III as a sampler, but now it seems PSIII is an incompatible piece of crap). My serial port doesn't need that kind of wear.... As long as someone's asking about AMAS, I'd like more info too. Is the sampler stereo? Has the current version finally got a serial passthru? How many ins/outs/thrus on the MIDI side? What is this MIDI-controlled sampler mode I keep hearing about? Etc.... -- Robert Jude Kudla <kudla@rpi.edu> Memo to myself: do the dumb things I gotta do.
ags@scs.carleton.ca (Alexander George Morison Smith) (03/01/91)
In article <7_4-DQ=@rpi.edu> kudla@pawl.rpi.edu (Robert J. Kudla) writes: >I have a Golden Hawk MIDI interface which is solidly built, has a >switchable passthru and 1 in/2 out/1out+thru. I have no idea what >configuration the AMAS comes in as far as MIDI goes (if someone has one, >could you please post?) but I do know it includes an excellent sampler. > >I also hear that it doesn't have a serial passthru, and that kinda >makes it a lot less likely for me to buy (I bought the GH interface >rather than AMAS for that very reason and thinking I would buy Perfect >Sound III as a sampler, but now it seems PSIII is an incompatible >piece of crap). My serial port doesn't need that kind of wear.... I got AMAS a while ago (1989) so I know a bit about it, though I just use it for sound sampling. It records in stereo, with left and right jacks for the usual line-level audio. It also has a mono 1/8 inch socket for plugging in a microphone. Internally there are trim-pots for adjusting the zero level of the left and right channels. There are three Midi connectors, in out and thru. I've never used them. The software that comes with it looks slick but isn't all that useful (sample limited to chip memory). It does let you do things with Midi, including playing Amiga sounds in response to Midi commands. Other sound sampler software works with it since it is a pretty standard device. It plugs into both the parallel port and serial port, which can be annoying (no pass-through connectors). - Alex