EMUSIC-L Digest Volume 10, Number 5 Today's Topics: New members (2 messages) Super-JX (2 messages) D-50/D-110 mods Roland U-20 Analog synths and programming (4 messages) Buying a keyboard (3 messages) The Theremin (8 messages) The Mellotron (2 messages) How do I get the tape overseas? Prophet-2000/Chroma Polaris questions Instruction tapes (2 messages) MT32 request MacDrums (2 messages) Best piano substitute? Your EMUSIC-L Digest moderator is Joe McMahon . You may subscribe to EMUSIC-L by sending mail to listserv@american.edu with the line "SUB EMUSIC-L your name" as the text. The EMUSIC-L archive is a service of SunSite (sunsite.unc.edu) at the University of North Carolina. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 09:51:49 EXP From: anibal jose de sousa Subject: New Person hi , everybody . my name is ANIBAL and i am a new subscriber at emusic-l ,so i would like to know more about what you usually talk . if you can give me more datails , help me . thanks anyway , everybody . ********************************** * ANIBAL JOSE - MAB01045@UFRJ * * RIO DE JANEIRO - BRASIL * ********************************** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 10:36:38 EST From: Tony D'Amato Subject: New Person Hi Y'all! I'm a new member of this list, as well as new to keyboards. I have a very small entry-level type MIDI setup: * Casio PMP-500 keyboard (30 sounds, 4-channel multitimberal) * Passport Mac MIDI Interface (hooked to a MacPlus, natch) * MIDIPaint software on the Mac Does anyone have any pointers, suggestions, etc., on what I should look at, subscribe to (magazines), to learn more about this? Thanks! --Tony D'Amato (no relation to the NY congressman) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 09:40:03 EST From: BALTUCH@brandeis.bitnet Subject: Super-JX > Well, I just bought one of these beasts the day before yesterday; > Super-JX rack, full price #1900, going for #500. And the sound is so > beautiful - smooth as silk. How much is #1900 (in $ i mean). Here I think those machines were going for about $2000. Anybody knows of good deals > ... I've made reasonable progress programming my > D-50, which isn't too dissimilar. I'm going to try porting some D-50 > sounds to the JX, by hand, I think. Wait a sec. Are we talking about the same machine. I always thought the Super-JX was a 12 voice totally analog machine. Something like a souped up version of the Juno's and Jupiter's. I must've been wrong. Connected with my first question here is a BIG setup problem (BIG problem! No such thing as a big setup problem). I used to have the following setup 2 samplers (DSM1 and Prophet 2002), one Juno6 and an FB01 (spent all my money on the samplers) all going through an ST (I use Creator if you really wanna know) (some effects but shouldn't matter for now). Now the the Juno and the FB01 weren't mine and... well they're gone. I'm lazy. Got used to the the following routine: bass on the FB01, effects, drums, stuff (yeah even the sound of one hand clapping) on the samplers and lead on the Juno6. Yet I always felt like I wanted 8 or 16 more voices. Now I'm considering spending some money to be get back in shape but I don't really know what I wanna do. Ready for the real questions? REAL QUESTION #1: Can I make the assumption that (say) D110 + effects (I have a Midiverb and soon a Quadra) will be as good as D550 voicewise (with multitimbral caps thrown in) ? Or D110 even with the best effect box and a D550 are in just in different classes, pure and simple? REAL QUESTION #2: Assuming answer to question #1 is 'yes' (that is YES a D110 or other cheapo multitimbral box with effects sounds just as good as a D550) then my main parameter will be number of voices (that is multitimbral all the way). In that case what do you think is THE multitimbral module to buy? REAL QUESTION #2: Assuming the answer to question #1 is 'no' (which to me means buying two things one for those multitimbral caps, bass and so on and one for lead). So assuming I DO need a lead then what should I get (Lemme tell you what I'm looking for: analoglike fat quality, think of synths on old Depeche Mode or even newer ones, or Yazz or Erasure or some acid house stuff from last year. See what I mean? But I also would like it in a more general purpose cap- acity... also convenience and mere techical quality would be important). Let me throw some names that I've thought of D550, MIDIMoog, Matrix-12, Super-JX, other suggestions? WHICH ONE WOULD YOU ADVISE YOUR OLD MOTHER TO BUY IF YOU KNEW SHE WAS SPENDING HER LAST PENNY? (But also wanted to sound like a Synclavier.) PS: By the way I know a guy in North Carolina who's got MIDIMoogs almost brand new (he said) and Juno's and other stuff. Actually I talked to him last February (I was ready to buy a MIDIMoog) so I don't even know if he's still alive or what the story is with him but if you are into old synths then I can give you his number (at least the one he had last February). ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 10:09:03 GMT From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Super-JX 29 Nov 89 09:40:03 EST <5872.8911292354@lfcs.ed.ac.uk >Wait a sec. Are we talking about the same machine. I always thought >the Super-JX was a 12 voice totally analog machine. Something like >a souped up version of the Juno's and Jupiter's. I must've been wrong. Nope, you're right. But, a lot of my D-50 patches are synth ones which don't use the PCM samples. >REAL QUESTION #1: Can I make the assumption that (say) D110 + effects (I have >a Midiverb and soon a Quadra) will be as good as D550 voicewise (with >multitimbral caps thrown in) ? Or D110 even with the best effect box and >a D550 are in just in different classes, pure and simple? I have a D-50, and also a D-110 + MIDIverb + Quadraverb. The D-110 is a little cleaner in sound than a D-50, but lacks all the modulation facilities (LFO modulation of filter, TVA, PW and so on). I don't know how much of this you could claw back by *dedicating* a Quadraverb to a D-110 (which you'd have to do) - is this what you had in mind? >Let me throw some names that I've thought of D550, MIDIMoog, Matrix-12, >Super-JX, other suggestions? WHICH ONE WOULD YOU ADVISE YOUR OLD MOTHER >TO BUY IF YOU KNEW SHE WAS SPENDING HER LAST PENNY? >(But also wanted to sound like a Synclavier.) I love the Super-JX. It's problem is the bugs in the firmware and the slightly broken MIDI implementation. But it has a lovely rich smooth sound (c.f. my Matrix-6R which is too gritty to do smooth filter sweeps with). A Super-JX will let you sound like Vangelis (if this is what you want). Nick. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 09:41:00 EST From: Mario Vergona Subject: Multi-timbral D-50/D110 hi, concerning the D-50 and D-110: VALHALLA offers the D-50/D-550 Multi-Tmberal Expander for $$25. It will allow 8 different sounds to be produced and yes it does expand the amount of stored internal sounds. Phone 1-313-548-9360 They accept phone orders for VISA charge. ALEXANDER PUBLISHING has released a new book called INSIDE THE D-110 by Dan Walker. It should go a long way to helping everyone that has one. I bought the Walker book about the K1 and found it was very helpful. phone: 1-818-407-0744 WARNING they charge $2.50 shipping for EACH book. if you order 2 different books they charge you $5 The D-110 book is $24.95, but it is probably worth it. m ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 10:53:51 CST From: Eddie Mikell Subject: Roland U-20 Well, just plunked down the bucks for the Roland U-20, got it home and now..... frustration over the instruction manual layout. I'd like to get a note or two from anyone else who has purchased this new toy. Thanks! Eddie@msstate ....bitnet (if you must) Eddie@cc.msstate.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 12:53:00 EST From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Analog synths ahoy! Various and sundry thoughts on analog synthesizers, my favorite subject (well, maybe not quite my FAVORITE subject, but hey, this isn't alt.sex |-> ): First, to whomever it was who freaked when he saw that Nick was planning to port D-50 sounds to the Super JX: don't panic! Your understanding of the JX's architecture (12-voice analog) is correct; Nick was referring to a sound port not in the sense of a data transfer but in the sense of a recreation of the D-50's sound on the JX by listening and tweaking. People seem to have forgotten that this used to be the only way to move sound ideas from synth to synth! It's by no means impossible to get a very worthwhile imitation of just about any sound, as long as the synth to which you're porting is not drastically inferior to the synth that created the original sound. For example, if you hear an arco string sample on a DSS-1 that you really like, you should be able to approximate its character on a Proteus without too much trouble. If, on the other hand, you're trying to simulate an Xpander with a DX7, you may as well just shoot yourself--OW! OW! OUCH! OKAY, OKAY! Jeez, some people are touchy. Second, and in a vein somewhat related to the above, I'd like to launch another diatribe if I may. It's my opinion that the evolution from the room full of synths with huge and costly front panels and no way to save sounds except for cassette tapes or paper records to the microcomputer-based studio with a central database and a bunch of faceless boxes with no controls is at best a mixed blessing. It's become so painful to edit sounds and move them around in any fashion not prescribed by the MIDI spec and whoever happened to write the software you're using (even if that someone happened to be you yourself) that people not only stop bothering to try, but they forget that there's another way at all! The whole process of sound creation has become a dull and slow and terribly nonintuitive task. Point, click, point, click, type, dump, listen, shrug, point, click, point, click, listen, shrug, smile, point, click. Pfui. I prefer turn, listen, shake head, turn back, listen, tweak, smile, move to next knob, touch, scream, try to recreate previous setting, etc. I'm an old fogey, perhaps, but isn't there some merit in seeing the architecture of your machine laid out before you in a form you can touch with no computer screen and mouse? Tell me what you like to use and work with, and what you'd recommend to those who see something missing in their background and would like to take a very educational step (gasp!) BACKWARD. I may as well start off: I think the best synth in the universe with which to learn analog synthesis is the Korg Polysix. If you insist on MIDI, then the Roland Juno 106. If you insist on two oscillators, the the Roland JX3P IF! it has a PG200 box attached to it, ditto for the MKS-30 Planet-S. (BTW, does a programmer box exist for the SuperJX or MKS-70? I know of the PG200 for the JX3P, MKS-30, and GR-700, the PG300 for the JX8P and GR77B, and the PG1000 for the D-50 and D-550....) Good sounds, easy to learn, and inexpensive. I DON'T recommend a Minimoog as they're inflated right now, although an Oberheim SEM or Two-Voice is an excellent alternative. The Xpander, IMO, is NOT flexible enough in terms of front panel access. It still uses too many menus, but I can understand why. In view of its sound, I'll let it pass. I find virtually every digital synth on the market to be far too menu/cursor/slider oriented, with my beloved, impossible to program quickly EX8000 at the top of the list. Anyone care to add to this? And on another related topic, there's been a small but growing rash of posts from crochety old farts who seem to think that the electronic music industry would be best suited if we bombed ourselves back into the Stone Age and went back to hand-patched, analog-voltage-controlled synths, with no more computers to sequence our work, algorithmically interact with us, record and organize our precious sounds, and allow us to share our music with others in a fashion that doesn't require a huge recording studio as a middleman. Anyone besides me want to help tell these brain-dead analog-worshipping geeks that it's time to wake up and smell the coffee, and get a clue about the evolution of technology? Get real! In a blind listening test, most so-called "synthesis experts" can't tell the difference between a real Minimoog and one that was programmed on an M1 or D-50 or K4 or VFX or, for that matter, a DX7IIFD. So what's all the fuss about old, dusty instruments, and what's wrong with new technology that's affordable, reliable, stable, and (thanks to editing software) easy to learn to program creatively in an open, generalized environment that allows maximum creativity per instrument with a minimum learning curve for each new piece? Let's hear it for what modern digital synths and the computers that control them can do! To start things off, it's now possible to set up (on an Atari, IBM, Mac, or Amiga) an interactive studio environment where it's no longer necessary to take tedious notes on how every little trick in the studio was performed. Whether it's patching synths together, setting mixes and effects, or configuring one's studio, it can all be recreated for later use with a click of a mouse, and reworked as needed if we desire. And it's not expensive to do this! A microcomputer with a decent RAM, good software and interfacing, and a hard disk for storage costs less than a week in a properly equipped studio. And it's only going to get more cost effective. As computing power gets cheaper, new synths will be able to recapture older analog timbres with more and more realism: look at the resonant filters that we're just seeing now in the digital domain! And there are a lot of other examples as well. Question: Has anyone here seen or worked with Galaxy by Opcode? What's it cost, and will it replace ALL of their librarians and editors? Exactly and seamlessly, for those of us who are using them already? hoping for fun'n'flames from all the limp mousepushers out there, I remain, metlay | I used to play my backfeet music for a black (the "m.m." stands for | onyx. My tarred room absorbed every echo. "my moniker's") | The music was...thudlike. The music was... metlay@pittvms.BITNET | THUDLIKE. metlay@vms.cis.pitt.EDU | --Captain Beefheart Lastly, to Anibal Jose (or is it really Jose Anibal?): welcome! The best way to learn what we discuss here is to watch and read for a while. All topics relating to electronic music come up here. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 14:40:56 EST From: Joe McMahon Subject: Analog Programming For those of you who may have heard the pieces I did on the tape, they are examples of just how different the sound could be with only two knobs to twiddle (well, okay, in the second one I used the keyboard, too, and fiddled with a little overdubbing). However, those two pieces are IT as far as using that material. The only record of them I have is my master and the copies that went out to everyone who requested a copy. My master turned into magnetic confetti after about two years (we didn't have a second machine for dubbing), so those pieces, in terms of repeat performances, are gone for good. Do I like the sound? Yeah. Could I create it again? Not exactly, not even if I had the Micromoog again. With the new implementations, I can save the performance and the programming of the synths. I can make BACKUPS. I don't have to do as was rumored that a certain rock keyboard player did: play with a Minimoog until he got a sound he liked, taped the controls down and bought another (courtesy _Keyboard_). Ideally? I'd like a program that gave me (on a nice, big color screen) a fake front panel for the synth, with knobs and sliders I could drag around with a mouse, and maybe a routing matrix (like the ARP 2500's) or logical patch cords. This might even be useful for "non-programmables" like the VFX or M-1. You could still use such an interface to set up the signal routings and modulations, and it would MAKE MORE SENSE than a table full of numbers. I love that analog sound, but give me digital storage. --- Joe M. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 14:04:50 EST From: DAMIAN@UMASS.BITNET Subject: analog and stuff Hi out there! Boy, I though the EMusic list was dead...when suddenly message starting appearing. Good to hear that it is still alive. But on with the message. I just picked up a Roland MKS70 for $450 with programmer...what a bargin. $500 seems to be the going the price for the unit. I'm looking forward to getting an editor to store the patches on my mac... A friend of mine actually owns a Mellotron, but we can't get it working... well..we did have it working for about a day, but then it died again. If anybody knows anybody who fixes these thing on the East Coast (USA, that is), could they please drop me a line? Then maybe we can start distributing Mellotron samples (a weak imitiation but still great). It's interesting how tides change. 2 years ago, I (along with everyone else, I suspect) would not have touched analog. But after 2 semesters of using the Modular Moog, Arp 2600 and assorted old synths, I couldn't wait to buy one. I wonder how long it will be before they go out of style again. Also...I don't know if we have an Alchemy users out there, but I use the program and would be interested in trading sounds....... any takers? And lastly, I just got the upgrade of Intelligent Music's Upbeat 2.0 and I am blown away. It is a wonderful program. I have also been using Vision, and I think that Intelligent Music should sue Opcode for taking many of their ideas and incorporating them into Vision...ah that's life. Cheers, Damian Roskill damian@mars.ucc.umass.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 10:16:59 GMT From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Analog synths ahoy! 29 Nov 89 12:53:00 EST <7772.8911300200@lfcs.ed.ac.uk >Get real! In a blind listening test, most so-called "synthesis >experts" can't tell the difference between a real Minimoog and one that was >programmed on an M1 or D-50 or K4 or VFX or, for that matter, a DX7IIFD. I didn't see a ":-)" here... Care to elaborate? Isn't this like saying that the "experts" can't tell two guitars apart (or two cars, or ...), or that watercolour painting is just like oils. The reason I have six synths (apart from addiction, that is) is that they all sound different and can do different things (and the fact that I need a lot of voices at once). Or did I miss a smiley? N. -- Nick Rothwell, Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science, Edinburgh. nick@lfcs.ed.ac.uk !mcvax!ukc!lfcs!nick ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ "You're gonna jump!?" "No, Al. I'm gonna FLY!" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 14:32:01 EST From: "Nelson R. Pardee" Subject: Buying a keyboard I'm investigating buying an electronic keyboard (looking at maybe 6 months). I'd really like an acoustic piano, but I need to move it around too much. My musical background includes 5 years of piano (3 in college frustrating a concert pianist teacher), played a variety of brass in high school and college, some informal singing. Professionally, I am a computer programmer, and have access at home to an IBM compatible PC. My daughter (age 12, plays flute, sax, and is never off pitch) would like a keyboard, too. I've gone around to the local stores and seen equipment by KORG: Concert 800 , 3500 ; Technics (didn't get model #; 76 keys, rhythm, split keyboard) Kurzweil Yamaha: Clavinovas, PF85, PF2000 GEM, DENON (nobody wanted to show me these) A velocity sensitive keyboard is a must. It looks like $2000 is a floor here (except for "deals", and the PF85 at $1650). Some questions (in no order): 1. I lean toward weighted keyboard. 2. 76vs88 keys. 3. Sound quality. How can you tell in most showrooms?!? 4. I'm particularly interested in information on the Kurzweil stuff. 5. More sounds, bells, whistles, etc. They're fun- how much? I know it depends on my use. I'm not a professional (& I've been away from playing for 15 years). 6. How about add-on capability. Is there an inherent advantage to some keyboards? 7. How do I learn more? Are there good books? or is the market moving too fast for books? Magazines- which ones for these interests. 8. Price range? 9. Built in speakers- need for, quality? I have a decent stereo. 10. Strategy: given the technology and price movement, does one buy all the capability one can afford, or spend a little less now and upgrade later? It's hard for me to judge what features I need as I don't have any clearly defined goals other than to "play it."- so maybe it isn't even fair to ask the question. 11. What have I missed? Hope this isn't an overwhelming number of questions. Whenever I look into this kind of issue I tend to research it in endless detail.... :-) Thanks in advance for any information. --Nelson R. Pardee, Academic Computing Services, Syracuse University-- --120 Hinds Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244-1190 USA (315)443-4505 -- --Bitnet: ACDNRP@SUVM Internet: ACDNRP@SUVM.ACS.SYR.EDU -- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 14:51:29 EST From: Jeffrey R Kell Subject: Re: Buying a keyboard My opinions (for what they're worth): On Wed, 29 Nov 89 14:32:01 EST you said: > 1. I lean toward weighted keyboard. Sure, otherwise it isn't very piano-ish. > 2. 76vs88 keys. Sound quality really stinks in the low bass, in general, unless you have an exceptional EQ and speaker system, and a good keyboard sound to start. I don't think the extra 12 are necessary (how many times do you ever USE those extra keys anyway?). 72/76 is about right, 61 is noticeably too few rather frequently. > 3. Sound quality. How can you tell in most showrooms?!? True. You can also take you a good pair of headphones along and listen to the pre-EQ/effects source (most have headphone jacks). > 4. I'm particularly interested in information on the Kurzweil stuff. Good, but too rich for my blood. > 5. More sounds, bells, whistles, etc. They're fun- how much? > I know it depends on my use. I'm not a professional > (& I've been away from playing for 15 years). > 6. How about add-on capability. Is there an inherent advantage to > some keyboards? These sort of co-incide. You'll probably want MIDI-compatibility so you can play around with it with your PC if you wish, and can also add-on other keyboards later into your system. If you buy a "canned" piano like the Korg you have a piano and some related sounds, but that's it. Check out some general-purpose keyboards for their piano sounds -- you might like them just as well. If not, and you stick to something MIDI, you can buy a rack-mount general-purpose synth (without keyboard) or a rack-mount piano module (like Korg's) to get the best of both worlds without the expense of 2 keyboards. > 7. How do I learn more? Are there good books? or is the market moving > too fast for books? Magazines- which ones for these interests. Hmmm, Contemporary Keyboard is one of the better ones. > 8. Price range? That one's open. Don't overspend yourself for a dead-end fixed piano. > 9. Built in speakers- need for, quality? I have a decent stereo. Forget them, unless you plan to take it on vacation with you or something. ****************************** * Cardinal Rule of Management, Number 3: * Walk softly, or your employees will hear you coming. * (National Lampoon, April 1987) ****************************** +-----------------------------------+----------------------------------+ | Jeffrey R Kell, Dir Tech Services | UTC Postmaster/Listserv co-ord. | | Admin Computing, 117 Hunter Hall |Bitnet: JEFF@UTCVM.BITNET | | Univ of Tennessee at Chattanooga |JEFF%UTCVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU | | Chattanooga, TN 37403 | Bell: (615)-755-4551 | +-----------------------------------+----------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 18:14:40 EST From: adamson@itd.nrl.navy.mil (Brian Adamson) Subject: Re: Buying a keyboard Check out the KORG SG-1 sampling grands...weighted keys, 76 & 88 key versions great sound, great feel. I have seen them in the $1700 -$1900 range. I think they accept ROM cards for additional sounds. No built-in speaker. Can be used as a controller keyboard for other synthesizers: Casio, Yamaha, Roland, etc. whatever you want to have "fun" with. ( Any synth with MIDI interface ) Brian Adamson ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 17:16:00 EDT From: "Loren J. Miller" Subject: Theremin I have been getting the EMUSIC-D rather than the "-L" and just recently all the digests got sent out from the last few months. Jeff Beer mentioned the theremin in this message and ... Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 18:28:00 CST From: jeff beer Subject: RE> Theremin Just two weeks ago, on Night Music, (David Sanborn's Sunday Night adventure) they had a film of Clare Rockmar playing it. She could actually play music works on it, not just use it for effects. There is an album by Garret List in which one of the cats does some stuff with it too. Jeff Beer, Chicago ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 09:51:28 EST From: Jeffrey R Kell Subject: Re: Theremin 29 Nov 89 17:16:00 EDT from Hmmm... didn't the masters of the 1 to 1 signal-to-noise effects boxes, ElectroHarmonix, make a Theramin-ish box? Not that Page used it, but that sort of rang a bell. *Somebody* made 'em sometime around there :-) ****************************** * You don't have to fool all the people all the time, just the right * people at the right time. ****************************** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 11:03:00 EST From: MCINTYRE@MSUPA.BITNET Subject: re: Theremin Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 12:24:00 EST From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: RE: RE> Theremin The Theremin is a major blast-and-a-half to mess with. I got to try one out a couple of years ago. I had just enough time to decide that I wouldn't mind owning one myself. *sigh* metlay ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 17:32:00 EST From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Theremin Jeff: It was Big Briar, Bob Moog's little modular-synth distributor. They made a CV Theremin controller for analog synths. I'd kill the two people of your choice for one that I could hook to my Xpanders. metlay ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 17:32:00 EST From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Theremin Jeff: It was Big Briar, Bob Moog's little modular-synth distributor. They made a CV Theremin controller for analog synths. I'd kill the two people of your choice for one that I could hook to my Xpanders. metlay ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 17:32:00 EST From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Theremin Jeff: It was Big Briar, Bob Moog's little modular-synth distributor. They made a CV Theremin controller for analog synths. I'd kill the two people of your choice for one that I could hook to my Xpanders. metlay ------------------------------ > Date: Fri, 15 Sep 89 21:34:00 CDT > From: jeff beer > Subject: RE> electric violin > > A recent Computer Music Journal had an article on > an electronic musical instrument from the 30s. It was called the Theremin, > a unique vacuum tube instrument in which the performer controls the sound > by hand gestures near an antennae that propagates low power high > quency electromagnetic fields, causing fluxuations which are amplified. > > The inventer thought this was going to become a household product, but > instead it had only one person, Clara Rockmore, who did anything with it. > She recorded an album, produced by Shirleigh and Robert Moog on Delos > Records, on transcriptions of Rachmoninoff, Tschaikowsky, Stravinsky, > et al. > > I heard just a bit of it, and is very expresive, if a limited sound. > > Jeff Beer, Chicago I thought I might mention that I saw it in action twice. once, in about grade 2 in a demonstration in the auditorium of our grade school. and second, Jimmy Page makes extensive use of one in Led Zep's "The Song Remains the Same" concert film. He does all the weird sounds in Whole Lotta Love and a bunch of other songs by waving his arms around the Theremin. cool baba-zoom! -Loren ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 11:18:37 GMT From: "Pete Lucas, NERC-TLC, Swindon U.K." Subject: The Mellotron. What a truly wonderful instrument! Mellotron - now theres a *real* instrument. It sure started a lot! Anyone remember the legendary Joe Meek and TELSTAR? and where would Tangerine Dream have been without a Mellotron? Or the Beatles? 'Look to History when planning the Future'. ++Pete ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 17:31:00 EST From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: RE: The Mellotron. What a truly wonderful instrument! Yeah! Add one vote to that list, man. The Mellotron utterly ruled in hell and still has more character than most samplers; it's the Abe Vigoda of sound playback instruments. Kafk hack cough cough..... yum! Recommended: YPSILON IN MALAYSIAN PALE (also released as EPSILON IN MALAYSIAN PALE) by TD's Edgar Froese. Nature sounds, modular Moog, and tons and tons and TONS of Mellotrons! Gah! Audiorgasm! Pant pant pant.... Why don't I own one, you ask? Well, I may be crazy but I'm not stupid. They cost a fortune, weigh a ton, and never work right. Besides, in its own sick perverted way you can get the same nostalgic charge out of an old Mirage! ~-> metlay ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 10:21:16 EST From: David Mantripp Subject: Tape Could we have a track list and (very) brief info please ? How much postage (in IRCs) is needed for UK ? Dave/. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 10:22:45 EST From: David Mantripp Subject: help! Hi, can anybody over there (USA) help with two queries on US products? 1) Prophet-2000. I have a fairly old model, and I want to get a Double sided Disc drive for it - I've been offered a NEC drive + Sequential upgrade to 512K for 400 pounds sterling - is this a good deal ? Also, has anybody any experience of these upgrades, and does the required software to access the memory come with it ? Its no good if I can't tell the thing to use the new blocks. Finally, any P-2000 owners like to swap samples ? i do a good line in EMS Synthi derived stuff! 2) Chroma Polaris. Ok, stop laughing. Anybody got one of these ? If so, have you experienced problems with loss of oscillators ? Mine can only tune 5 of them now... I'll repeat my plea earlier this year for info on Polaris Apple software & Chroma Expander ... Dave/. (Dunwich Beach, Autumn 1960) ------------------------------ >From: Jeffrey R Kell >Hmmm... didn't the masters of the 1 to 1 signal-to-noise effects boxes, >ElectroHarmonix, make a Theramin-ish box? Not that Page used it, but >that sort of rang a bell. *Somebody* made 'em sometime around there :-) Good guess, Jeff, but I think the main manufacturer of Theremins was Maestro. No idea what brand Page used. Probably the Theremin's biggest commercial exposure was the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" although the instrument's biggest champions would have to be Lothar and the Hand People. (Lothar was the Theremin.) Big Briar, Robert Moog's cottage industry, sold a Theremin-like device that output control voltage for controlling synth modules. Does anyone know if Big Briar is still in business, or did Moog put it on the back burner when he signed on with Kurzweil? There is a Theremin Users Group that got mentioned a few months back in Electronic Musician. If someone asks nicely, I can crawl down to the basement and search for the address. John McIntyre Physics - Astronomy Dept Michigan State University ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 11:21:16 CST From: Eddie Mikell Subject: Instruction Tapes Has anyone had any experience with any of the music instruction tapes which are floating around? ...In particular the "New Orleans Piano" by Dr. John from Homespun productions and the "Rock Piano" by John Jarvis from Hot Licks productions (I worry about a company with that name). They have been given favorable review in Keyboard, but I'd be interested in hearing what some users had to say about them. As always, thanks for the info. Eddie H. Mikell "Where does he get all those neat toys?" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 15:05:00 EST From: MCINTYRE@MSUPA.BITNET Subject: instruction tapes The only music instruction tape I am familiar with is Darby Slick's "Speed Guitar" which purported to pass on the secrets Darby had learned in India. Well, it was a joke. The secrets boiled down to "practice your scales". The instruction book was hand-drawn, and you were supposed to flip the pages for animation. (He called it "the poor man's video tape".) He did close the tape with a new version of "Somebody To Love". Or so he said; I couldn't really recognize the tune. Oh well. I wrote the price off as a contribution to the Keep An Aging Hippie Alive fund. John McIntyre Physics - Astronomy Dept Michigan State University ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 16:24:00 EST From: Chris Iverson Subject: MT32 help? OK, I'm pissed... I just got off the phone with Roland after trying to get some help sending SysEx commands to the MT32. The first time I called, they put me on hold for about ten minutes, and then accidentally connected me to another customer who was also on hold. We had an interesting conversation, but it wasn't what I had in mind when I called. The second time I called, after the required ten-minute hold, I spoke to a 'product specialist' who told me that Roland does not give information to users on how to implement SysEx commands. He told me that everything I need is included in the manual and the midi implementation booklet. And he didn't sound like he meant it as a joke, either... Anyway, I spent several hours with the manual *before* I called Roland, and if everything I need is in the MT32 manual, it's cleverly disguised as something else. Anyone out there want to share secrets on the correct syntax for sending SysEx commands to an MT32? All I need (I think) are a couple of examples with explanations, for instance an example of a command to tell the MT32 to switch to 'Plate' style reverb, or to adjust an envelope parameter. *HELP* -chris ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 13:29:00 EST From: REYNOLDS@DEPAUW.BITNET Subject: From a Lonely MacUser... Does ANYBODY know ANYTHING about MacDrums? I really gotta know... With Thanks... Patrick Reynolds (somewhere in the Midwest) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Nov 89 16:22:12 MDT From: schabtac@STOUT.UCAR.EDU Subject: MacDrums "REYNOLDS@DEPAUW.BITNET" at Nov 30, 89 1:29 pm > > Does ANYBODY know ANYTHING about MacDrums? I really gotta know... > > With Thanks... > > Patrick Reynolds (somewhere in the Midwest) > Well, whatcha wanna know? :-) I have the program. I got it for free. I got what I paid for. It's a very primitive drum machine emulator for the Macintosh. It uses samples of a number of different drums and percussion instruments, the overall quality of which is about what you'd expect from the Mac's sound hardware. It has a nice grid editing system like the Roland drum machines have. You can set up files of different "kits" of instruments. You can chain together patterns into songs (I think). So far, so good. Now, the down side. It is NOT a well-behaved Mac program. Not only does it ignore many of the user-interface conventions, it dies horribly under MultiFinder. There is very poor control of tempo--you can only adjust to something like +/-10 BPM. It will control MIDI hardware, but it will neither send nor receive MIDI clock info, so it won't sync to anything else. Overall, I suppose it might be interesting to someone who had never seen a drum machine before, or who wanted to use their $2000 Macintosh to emulate a $200 drum machine. Come to think of it, a $200 drum machine (the Roland TR-505) sounds better, is more versatile, and easier to use. Just my humble opinion, of course. --Adam ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Nov 89 12:58:29 CST From: Greg Johnson Subject: Nominees for best piano substitute Here's the need. For its auditorium (capacity 1100, live/hard acoustics, good existing audio system) a church is considering use of a quality electronic piano. They can't keep the humidity and temperature sufficiently constant in this big room; so, I've argued, even if it is not perfectly realistic (read: conventional ;-) ) an electronic instrument might sound better than the old grand piano which is often out of tune. The piano is used mainly for accompaniment at this time, instrumental solos coming from a pre-midi electronic organ. So they need sampled sound, 88 weighted keys, a sustain pedal, and would like a soft pedal too. It would be nice, too, to have brass or pipe organ sounds from this keyboard. Transposition and tuning are desirable too, but not essential. $5000 is as high as they care to go. Any suggestions? If so, what makes your suggestion stand out? Are there any we should definitely avoid? Along the same line, does anyone have impressions concerning the best, economical full piano substitute for home/student use? Thanks! ------------------------------ ---------------------- End of EMUSIC-L Digest **********************