koren@hpfcdc.HP.COM (Steve Koren) (02/08/91)
I'm looking to buy a sequencer for use with my Ensoniq EPS. So far I have
basically narrowed the choice to:
1) KCS 3.0 Level II (Dr. T's)
2) Bars and Pipes (Blue Ribbon Bakery)
I have a few questions:
* Given that I already own Dr. T's Copyist, can I only use KCS if I want
to exchange files? I have read something about a standard IFF format
that can be used to, say, import files from Bars and Pipes into the
Copyist for translation into standard notation, and vice versa. Is
this true, or do I need to stick to a single vendor?
* Neither package supports "real" musical notation. There are several
obvious reasons for this. However, for a person accustomed to
standard notation, will it be difficult to edit music in the
sequencer? Will it be difficult to "see" what's going on in the
music as I can with standard notation?
* Which system would you recommend? Are they worth the bucks? (Neither
is cheap. B&P seems be available for around $175, while KCS tends to
be around $225). Are they really all that much more capable than,
say, a $50 sequencer?
* Which system is the more powerful? I want one that I will not
outgrow.
* Usually, when playing piano, I play "all the parts at once", so to
speak. The reason I want a sequencer is that one can't really do this
on a digitial keyboard when multiple parts in different instruments
overlap. I want a tool on which I can compose music (possibly entered
with the help of the EPS), and play it back. Are these sequencers
suitable for that job? Is there a better tool? Can either one read
files written by the Copyist, such that I can do my composition in a
sane notation, and "move" it to the sequencer for playback?
Any help anyone might be able to provide would be greatly appreciated.
- steve (koren@hpmoria.fc.hp.com)
PS - in case anyone is curious, I am quite pleased with Dr. T's Copyist.
While it is clearly far from the ultimate music layout package, it
will produce stunningly beautiful manuscripts when output is sent to
a suitably high resolution device such a laser printer. The output
is near publication quality.