=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- APPLE II MUSIC & SOUND FORUM CONFERENCE LOG October 16, 1991 10 PM ET Topic: Apple II MIDI and Hardware Forum Leader: Joyce Madden (AFL JoyceM), Forum Assistant: Gene Koh (AFA Gene) Forum Consultants: Greg Dib (ELECTMUSIC), Ed Rosenblatt (AFC Eddie), Lindsay Hough (LindsayGS) Copyright (c) 1991 America Online All Rights Reserved =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- AFL JoyceM Okay Some announcements and comments..then we can have a discussion on what MIDI hardware one needs....Then we can chat about whatever we want...ok? Tonights discussion is on what MIDI hardware is needed to get started, with a mention of what software that can be used in conjunction with MIDI. But first I have some announcements and comments. First of all, last week there was a discussion on how many women composers there are or were...and we couldn't come up with any names. Doing some research today...I have some names of women composers....: Slara Schuman, Fracheska Caccini (B-1587); Elizabeth de la Guerre (B-1664); B = Born...,continuing: Germaine Tailleserre (B-1892); Lili Boulanger (B-1893); Cecille Chaminade (B-1857); Fanny Mendolssohn, Anna Amalia - there were two of these, one a niece of Fredrick the Great and the other a sister. AFC Eddie Interesting! AFL JoyceM And..Poldowski, daughter of Henry Wieniawski, the best Polish violinist. Now then...two conductors... Dr. Antonia Brico - the first woman to conduct a major orchestra (Denver); andJoan Falletta....who is now touring the US. She has a CD out called Broquen Treasurers...with the Bay Area Philharmonic....in San Francisco. AFC Eddie Joyce, thanks for all the info! AFL JoyceM Whew....so see, there were women involved in music, but never given their due. AFC Eddie You're right. ELECTMUSIC Lets not mention woman in popular music :) AFC Eddie And let's not forget great women presently in music, the foremost being: AFC Eddie Joyce Madden. AFL JoyceM I for one, have never heard those women's pieces. ELECTMUSIC :) AFA Gene :) AFL JoyceM Ah...geez, Eddie :) AFL JoyceM Basically, I was going for the classical names....most of us know who the present and modern woman composers are. ELECTMUSIC are there other announcements, Joyce? AFL JoyceM The other announcement is in regards to MusicStudio. As is mentioned in our Let's Discuss area, Big Red Apple Club will be re-releasing MusicStudio 2.0 sometime in November. The package will include the program, a Sound Converter program (I don't know how it works, yet), and two song disks (one that comes with MusicStudio). The price structure is as follows: For non-members of BRCC = $39.00; and for members of BRCC = $34.00. Not a bad price for an excellent program. A new manual will be included. AFC Eddie That's a terrific price. AFC Eddie I hope they release the GS/OS version. ELECTMUSIC Yea... we all payed around $60 AFL JoyceM They will, Eddie... ELECTMUSIC Are they also supporting it???? AFL JoyceM I would like to have a chat on using MusicStudio when that program becomes available again. AFC Eddie Wonder what the converter program is all about? AFL JoyceM I don't know, Eddie...but will be finding out. AFA Gene What will be the distribution channels for the BRCC/MS? Only thru BRCC? Mail order houses too? ELECTMUSIC Probably an ASIF converter for the instruments AFL JoyceM Only thru BRCC. They have bought the rights to several defunct software companies, Electronic Arts and Activision to name two. AFC Eddie Probably right, Greg. AFC Eddie It really is good news. AFA Gene Will they be advertising MS's availablility in InCider? AFL JoyceM John thought they would. AFC Eddie I'm sure they will. That's what they've done with the others. Too bad it can't be upgraded, tho. ELECTMUSIC Joyce... my support question concerned upgrading programs to operate with the latest system software. AFL JoyceM I am really pleased. As I mentioned to you all, I also told John about the unavailablity of MasterTracks....BRCC will follow thru with that too. Hope it works out. AFL JoyceM Any program that played the Apple rules should work with System 6! ELECTMUSIC I still have to keep MStudio in my boot directory. AFC Eddie I don't, Greg. AFL JoyceM I run it from my harddrive, Greg, with no problems. AFC Eddie I put it in the non-boot partition of my hd. AFL JoyceM As I have mine. ELECTMUSIC I run it from my harddrive also , but I must keep it in my GSOS partition. PYGAR <-- wish's i had a hd :( AFC Eddie Pygar, now's the time, prices are low! AFL JoyceM Pygar...the prices are really coming down....and once you have one, you will AFL JoyceM wonder why you hadn't used one before :) ELECTMUSIC Yea.. unfortunately... a HDrive has become a must AFL JoyceM GMTA :) PYGAR Yes they are getting lower , but with the ramfast & hd It's still mucho denero ELECTMUSIC You don't need a GS specific one either with SCSI... you can get a 40meg for about $300 AFL JoyceM I just but my old 10 mg Sider on my //e with a ZIP chip...that //e is really humming now. But not as fast as my GS. ELECTMUSIC And I get my 80 meg for $399 PYGAR At least I have a zipGS. :) AFL JoyceM $399....great price. ELECTMUSIC The Denmark catalog is selling 3.5 Mac drives for $79 AFL JoyceM I paid $600 for my 40 meg....years and years ago. A Sider D4T. PYGAR will they work on IIgs ELECT? ELECTMUSIC I would assume so.. ELECTMUSIC Doesn't the Mac and the GS use the same 3.5 800 k disk drives PYGAR Will any scsi drive work with a GS? AFL JoyceM Yes, Greg...the 800k drives. ELECTMUSIC Yes PY ELECTMUSIC My HDrive is a Mac HDrive Well the minimium a GS should have is at least two 3.5 drives to eliminate the disk swapping. PYGAR It seems any hardware for the GS is 50% higher than any other system.:( ELECTMUSIC I would always check Mac hardware first for priceing since alot of mac hardware is compatible and there is alot more competition for Mac stuff today AFL JoyceM Okay...our topic is MIDI....what would a MIDI system (hardware) consist of just to get started? AFC Eddie First, a MIDI interface. AFL JoyceM What MIDI keyboard would be the best for a Starter? AFC Eddie That depends on the user's goals. And finances. My recommendation is to save up enough to buy a multi-timbral board. Eventually, any MIDI enthusiast will want that. AFL JoyceM True. and with technology changing daily that is a tough one to answer. ELECTMUSIC I agree, Ed AFL JoyceM Some names would be: Korg, Roland and? AFC Eddie Yamaha, Peavey, Ensoniq, Kurzweil, Kawai. ELECTMUSIC Multi-timbral is really important AFL JoyceM Why is multi-timbral important, Greg? ELECTMUSIC for arranging.... AFL JoyceM Why? ELECTMUSIC One instrument can be divided into several DIFFERENT sounds occuring at the same time for arranging and orchestrating this becomes important AFL JoyceM Gene, Eddie any further comments on this? :) AFC Eddie Why spend bucks on a cheapo model if you're only gonna upgrade later? AFL JoyceM Very true....always think of future use. AFC Eddie Also, non-keyboard players should consider MIDI guitars and wind controllers. AFA Gene I agree about the multi-timbral, but dunno about midi guitars and wind controllers -- the only ones I've seen that are any good are very expensive; AFC Eddie True, Gene. AFA Gene the ones that are around $500 or so don't seem to be worth it (esp with midi guitars).... Roland, however, makes a REALLY nice MIDI guitar unit, but it's very expensive (the price slips my mind at the moment). AFC Eddie Alright, so stick with keyboards! AFL JoyceM So for a MIDI start up for hardware, one needs a MIDI interface, and Apple IIGS and a MIDI keyboard. AFL JoyceM Right? AFC Eddie That's the basic startup system. AFA Gene Yep AFC Eddie I would suggest one more thing. A tape deck. AFL JoyceM Why is that Eddie? AFC Eddie So your creations can get permanently recorded. ELECTMUSIC I would also suggest an external speaker system AFL JoyceM And a stereo card. AFC Eddie Don't forget, if you get a keyboard, you will need amplification for it. ELECTMUSIC depends upon if you are using the GS for sounds. True Eddie... and some keyboards come with the amp/speaker built in. AFC Eddie Yes, but not the better ones. AFC Eddie I don't know of any multi-timbral boards with built in amplification. AFA Gene A good pair of headphones will always be a good investment in the long run. AFC Eddie Boy, this is adding up, isn't it? AFA Gene Great for working with synths, and also great for sticking into the headphone. ELECTMUSIC Also cheaper AFL JoyceM And we haven't even gotten to software :) AFA Gene output directly out of a good CD player. Aweseome! AFC Eddie Alright, the real starter set is a fat wallet. AFA Gene It's no wonder that many of the manufactuers now have credit cards available :) AFL JoyceM We can briefly mention some MIDI software...like, syntheLAB (available here in AMS), MusicStudio - great beginner program and MasterTracks (no longer available - but future re-release thru another source a probability) and MusicWriter. Any more? Oh yes, DiversiTune. AFL JoyceM Very true, Gene. AFC Eddie SysEx GS. ELECTMUSIC DTune is a very quick, small Midi program for the GS AFL JoyceM I think that is about all the better MIDI software. ELECTMUSIC Boots quickly and can easily run from a single drive AFC Eddie There is also the Audio Animator sequencing software. AFL JoyceM Jim.....the request for DYA as a Direct Connect for AMS is in the works. AFC DYAJim Great :) Give it 4 weeks then :) (inside joke.. :) Q takes forever on some things AFL JoyceM Who knows.....I am sure they will let us all know :) at their convenience. AFA Gene Note from the libraries... anyone notice the funky new way AO displays dates? AFA Gene They finally got away from that military time thing. AFC Eddie That's right! I hadn't noticed! AFA Gene But then again, they no longer display the time at all! AFL JoyceM Hadn't noticed. AFC DYAJim I didn't notice anything! They don't display time anymore? that would be awful! AFL JoyceM That's about all on a MIDI set-up...any questions? Next week is our Trivia Contest...with some great prizes. And tough questions. And tougher answers :) AFC Eddie From the Tough Staff at AMS! AFC DYAJim now, are they just old music questions, or GS music questions? :) I had to ask AFL JoyceM Both, Jim... AFC Eddie You'll just have to come by to find out, Jim! AFC DYAJim :) AFL JoyceM ---------end of MIDI chat log-----------