EMUSIC-L Digest Volume 16, Number 5 ... aaarrrgggeeeoooowww-ssppprrriiinggg-CHING Avoiding guard track Digidesign (3 messages) dx-7 (3 messages) D-50 "Aaaaah" Help! What is a FB-01? (3 messages) midi-cv interface (2 messages) Pitch to MIDI Roland D-20 ROM cards & batteries Sample libraries sampling Boards Serious music and such... Avoiding guard track VFX and EPS (3 messages) Widgets and other non existant things! (2 messages) Widgets etc. (3 messages) 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: Tue, 29 May 90 09:45:41 EDT From: Kevin 'fractal' Purcell Subject: ... aaarrrgggeeeoooowww-ssppprrriiinggg-CHING [From one of our EMUSIC-D readers...] The following descriptions of sounds have recently appeared in EMUSIC-L: ... aaarrrgggeeeoooowww-ssppprrriiinggg-CHINGGGG ... Ching-aaaaahh-tiddlyping-tiddlyping-tiddlyping ... the D-50's Ching-aaaaahh-tiddlyping-tiddlyping-tiddlyping (-swish, don't forget the -swish) >I have a number of "awesome" sounds on my four synthesizers, all of which >are old and decrepit by today's standards. Among these are a string pad >that practically massages your shoulders and pours you a cup of hot cocoa >laced with amaretto, the sound of a bolt of lightning striking and detonating >an improperly-grounded liquid oxygen storage tank, and an indescribable >noise that has induced an uncontrollable orgasm in at least one young >woman after some 30 to 45 seconds of exposure at moderate volume. When will we get multi-media mail or who needs it with descriptions like this :-) --------------- Don't bite my finger, look where it's pointing ---------------- Kevin "fractal" Purcell S-U-R-F-A-C-E S-C-I-E-N-C-E C-E-N-T-R-E kpurcell@liverpool.ac.uk Liverpool University, Liverpool L69 3BX ========= These opinions are shareware. Send me $10 if you like them ========= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 90 10:48:59 EDT From: Dean Swan Subject: Avoiding guard track The only problem I can think of with bouncing the sync track is that you have to make sure you can turn off noise reduction on the original sync track, and the new destination track. A lot of four tracks only let you turn off N/R on track 4. SMPTE doesn't and Dolby don't get along too well, and dbx is worse. -Dean Swan dean@sun.soe.clarkson.edu p.s. oops! strike "doesn't" from the last sentance. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 17:55:02 SST From: Gan Seum-Lim Subject: Digidesign Hi, does any one know if it is possible to contact people in Digidesign through BITNET ? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 10:42:38 EDT From: "James P. Goltz" Subject: Re: Digidesign > Hi, does anybody know if there is a way to contact people from > Digidesign through BITNET ? Depends. What is Digidesign? Do you have any other mail addresses for them? --Jim ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 10:51:00 EDT From: CHRIS@FANDMA.BITNET Subject: Re: Digidesign I was able to find an address for someone at Digidesign on AppleLink, which can be accessed from BITNET. Here's the straight poop: In the "TO" field, enter the AppleLink address: USERID@APPLELINK.APPLE.COMSo it looks like this: TO: USERID@APPLELINK.APPLE.COM SUBJECT: subject of message The address I found on AppleLink is D0296, for "Digidesign, Evan Brooks, PRT", so your address would look like this: TO: D0296@APPLELINK.APPLE.COM I don't know who Evan Brooks is, or what he does at Digidesign. The PRT suffix after his name indicates he is a "Developer Partner", whatever that is. Use this address at your own risk. Your mileage may vary. Use the force, Luke. -chris ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 13:32:52 EDT From: lorne Hammond <051796@UOTTAWA.BITNET> Subject: dx-7 Does anyone know if the early dx-7 (not the dx-7II) accepts a sysx message to dump 1) a bank, and 2) a voice? If so, what is it? I am trying to find this information in order to get a dump request macro going for Cakewalk 3.0's librarian. Howard Massey's Complete Guide to the Dx-7 does not have this info. Greg Hendershott, who wrote Cakewalk, would also like to find this. (Despite this problem, I am fairly impressed by the attention given by him to his customers)Here's hoping that creeping obsolescence has not made this lost knowledge already. Comments relating to IBM/Cakewalk/dx-7 setups, editors, vox, etc. also welcome. Thanks Lorne Hammond ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 15:26:00 EST From: "William R(ay) Brohinsky" Subject: RE: dx-7 Lorne, I don't have a direct answer to your question, but here are the numbers for the Yamaha Consumer Hotline and Yamaha Service: Yamaha Consumer Hotline 1(800)443-2232 Service 1(800)854-3619 I called them with questions about WX-11/7 and FB01. They were less than informational about the wx's, but they had a midi format guide (about 20 pages) for the FB01 which they're sending me. If you can't call them from where you are, let me know, and I'll call them and try to get the info for you. Send your ground address, cause they might have hardcopy they can send you. Also, mention if there's a time limit. reply (if needed) directly to raybro%utrc@utrcgw.utc.com raybro ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 16:15:24 EDT From: Dean Swan Subject: Re: dx-7 My first question would be: "What ROM version of the original DX-7 would you be talking about?" There was the original, that didn't do much MIDI-wise, then there was a somewhat improved version, and the last one the so-called "Super ROM". I'll dig around tonight and see if I can find the sys-ex dump requests. If not, I'll find someone who can. -Dean Swan dean@sun.soe.clarkson.edu P.S. The relevance of the ROM thing is that the "Super ROM" stores function data with each voice, a-la TX-7. The dump request info is probably the same. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 May 90 10:45:23 BST From: Nick Rothwell Subject: D-50 "Aaaaah" >And what about that sawtooth 'Aaaah' D-50 sound, Nick. Was that on one of >those cards or are you hiding sounds from us ?!? ;-) >(This is one other problem with that gateway I think; I send you this question >directly but I didn't think it made it. Did it Nick ??) Nope. I read this on the digest. I think that the EARN/Rutherford gateway closes down at the weekend, so I lose messages from time to time. I think the AAAH patch was on the banks I sent to the archive. My version of it was a patch called Heinrich von Kleist, in the "Nick (current)" bank. Nick. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 90 11:37:17 LCL From: ERL@SARA.NL Subject: Help! What is a FB-01? Here's a quickie. I have a chance to purchase a Yamaha FB-01 for not too much money. Problem is, I don't know what a Yamaha FB-01 is. Seller claims it is an Excellent multitimbral sound module. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks! Edo Roos Lindgreen/SARA/Amsterdam (erl@sara.nl) Oh freddled gruntbuggly, thy nacturations are to me. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 90 10:08:00 EST From: "William R(ay) Brohinsky" Subject: RE: Help! What is a FB-01? Edo, FB-01 is a keyboard-less multitimbral sound module. Seller is correct, mostly. Excellent? Depends on the price. FB-01 does 8 voices, which can be assigned to up to 8 midi channels in any combination. It has many voices, all 4-op Yamaha FM. Eight algorithms, op 4 is capable of self-modulation, but the feedback loop is limited to op 4, and cannot be looped around more than one operator (I know the DX7 can do something like that.) The voices are grainer than the TX81Z, and the FB-01's microtonal capabilities are limited to either mod-wheel/breath/aftertouch or require sys-ex intonation adjust messages for each note as it is played. TX81Z allows setting an intonation once and playing it. FB-01 requires a controller that can put out the proper sys-ex messages. If you are planning live performance in 1/4- comma mean tone, FB-01 is not for you. Also, you get 20 configuration memory locations, where the midi splits are stored. 4 are preset: 8voices on one midi channel; 4 voices each for 2midi channels, one voice on each of eight midi channels, and a fourth which I can never remember what it is. The other 16 are programmable, but you must choose them at the front panel, they are not selectable by program- change info or anything like that. You get (either 36 or 48) voices per voice bank. Four banks are pre-programmed with factory presets. The other 3 banks (7total) are for your voices. You can transfer from the top 4 banks to make performance banks, or program your own, if you have an external computer. Even tho FB01 is 4-op, it will not directly take sysex voice programs from dx100/21/etc nor TX81Z. There are many good voice editors available for each of the currently hot computers, and Yamaha's CX-5M. However, the voice banks are not selectable by midi, either. So you had better be happy with one configuration and (36 or 48) voices per song. Also, if you want, you can set up odd-ball configurations like: midi 1: three voices, bank 1 midi 2: two voices, bank 2 midi 3: three voices, bank 3 and then set program change #1 to bank1: violin bank2: steel drum bank3: powerbrass and so on. That way, you can get different voices on different midi channels. I used this for a short time to make different strings have different voices when I had a midi-guitar-controller. I own 2 FB-01's. I have used them with all manner of keyboards (actually, set them up and let keyboard users use them) and a guitar controller, and with my Amiga, through Delux Music Construction Set and Soundscape. I like them, but I do wish I'd waited for the TX81Z to come out. My cost was ~US$345 in 1986. raybro ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 90 17:36:17 BST From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Help! What is a FB-01? >I have a chance to purchase a Yamaha FB-01 for not too much money. >Problem is, I don't know what a Yamaha FB-01 is. >Seller claims it is an Excellent multitimbral sound module. It's OK I suppose. It's basically a cut-down fore-runner of the TX81Z, with no front-panel editing (so you'd need a computer), no "effects" (like echo), no microtuning, and the sound quality is first generation (DX7) rather than second (TX81Z, DX7II). And it's Yamaha FM, of course. I wouldn't bother with one myself, unless it was dirt cheap ($50?) Nick. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 90 17:15:34 EDT From: lorne hammond <051796@UOTTAWA.BITNET> Subject: midi-cv interface Hi Judging from the zero response is it fair to assume none of you are using any midi to control voltage interfaces? Given all the asides to analog sounds & samples I would have thought that at least one person actually knew something about it, other pseudo-romantic musings about that synth you used to own. A salesman was trying to tell me about this synth they wanted (arp 2600) but they hadn t a clue about the right name. Then there was this fellow who sampled one setting of his Mini and sold it, having exhausted its potential. Hitting any chords yet? HELP! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 09:29:59 EDT From: kgeisel Subject: Re: midi-cv interface Well, I am, sort of. Unfortunately I am a bit of a hacker, so I don't recommend my solutions unless you are competent with a soldering iron and bit of microcoding. I have basically two applications for MIDI->CV. First, I am building my own modular system (Digisound D-80 + Serge) and second I have a Polymoog. After much searching I have settled on the PAIA kits. I tried building the "single chip" MIDI->CV published in EM. It works but it is not flexible enough. The PAIA kits are incredibly flexible, but you have to know what you are doing. I would recommend finding the original Roland box. They work quite well. (I think it was called MP101 or something like that.) - Kurt ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 May 90 11:17:48 EDT From: "Furbee, Mike" Subject: Pitch to MIDI Can anyone suggest a pitch to midi converter which would work with acoustic instruments(mandolin, fiddle) or wind instruments like a flute or pennywhistle? I'd like to be able to drive some bass sounds in a sound module using input fro m one of these devices. Any replies should be sent to me directly since I only receive the emusic-d summary. Send mail to u3b50@wvnvm Thanks in advance! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 15:37:31 EDT From: Mark Edward Toomey Subject: Roland D-20 ROM cards & batteries Can anyone give me a vendor for ROM cards for a Roland D-20. Someone gave me an address last year but I've lost it & I now have some cash & would like to pick up some goodies ( I also need a battery for the Roland as I think mine is getting rather weak). Please send responses to me direct. Thanks. ************************************************************************** Mark Edward Toomey Disclaimer: I only speak for Computer Services Specialist myself, although College of Home Economics sometimes I wonder University of Georgia even about that! BITNET: MTOOMEY@UGA Internet: mtoomey@uga.cc.uga.edu Voice: 404-542-4864 or 404-542-4651 FAX: 404-542-4862 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 May 90 17:26:27 EDT From: Evil Kneivel Subject: Sample libraries [From EMUSIC-D:] > Date: Fri, 25 May 90 13:50:28 BST > From: "S.Oates" > Subject: Request for help (samples of musical instruments). > > Can anyone provide information about the McGill University Master > Sample Series of compact disks? I would particularly like to know if > there is a U.K. supplier, and if not, the American contact address. Any > additional information about the quality of the disks and similar > series would be helpful. I've used the McGill volumes for winds and strings, and the technical quality is very good. Most instruments are sampled at every half-step, which seems to me an unfortunate use of the available space: instead of an A, a B-flat, and a B, I would rather have three B-flats with a variety of dynamics and articulation. The Prosonus disks use this approach, and they are comparable in quality to the McGills. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 May 90 12:43:57 EDT From: Paul Andrews Subject: sampling Boards Hi, I don't often read this newsgroup so I don't know if this question has been asked before........I'm looking for what I believe would be a digital sampling board??... for my PC.. What I want to is to (a) manufacture sounds/tones (b) be able to manipulate sampled sounds/voice. Not being anywhere at all proficient in this area I hoped to get some input from someone who knew what I am tryiong to get across... may I want something like a "vocoder?"... I run a Gateway200 386 20mHz machine with a 65meg hard drive, and NEC 3-D monitor.. /4 meg RAM. Hopefully I can get away with NOT having a co-processor. If antone knows about some boards which fit this description,, and or litereature/reviews.. please drop me a line.. Sen d any mail directly to me as I don't subscribe to this group............... Tha nks in Advance.... Paul Andrews, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. BITNET/NETNORTH: DID1290@vm.nrc.ca ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 May 90 14:22:04 CDT From: Stephen David Beck Subject: Serious music and such... Yes, serious electronic music is alive and well in the world. Sometimes called "electro-acoustic music" or "computer music", almost every major university in this country has a studio for students and faculty to use. Unfortunately, the styles and aesthetics within this genre are so varied that there is no singular definition of it. Most of the advanced work in research happens at schools like Stanford, MIT, UC San Diego, Illinois, etc. And much of that research (in synthesis, algorithmic composition, controllers) winds up in the commercial market within 3 or 4 years. Recordings of computer music are available commercially on CDs from Wergo, Centaur, and other small labels. The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) is a collection of composers, educators, performers and enthusiasts who are involved in computer and electronic music. They publish a biannual journal and promote concerts and festivals accross the country. Their national conference will be at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, October 11-14, 1990. There will be five concerts, a radio broadcast, lectures and panel discussions on the aesthetics, technology and pedagogy of electro- acoustic music. For more information on the conference or the society, you can e-mail me directly. The Computer Music Association is similar to SEAMUS, but on an international scope. The Computer Music Journal publishes the latest research and information on computer music applications and technology from around the world. Yes, serious music is alive and well. You just need to know where to find it. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 May 90 15:27:00 EET From: "J. Riitala, University of Turku, Subject: SMPTE & 4-tracks a few comments safeguard track: I have never had trouble with having three tracks of music plus SMPTE on the tape, neither with the 244 nor 644 now. My sequencer (SMPTE Track by Hybrid Arts) tracks just fine. copying SMPTE: I really don't think it is a good idea to copy SMPTE by bouncing it to another track. Better use one of those boxes that read SMPTE and generate a duplicate. I'm in the lucky position that my sequencer software can do that too. I had been using track 1 for SMPTE in the 244 and since the 644 can have track 4 internally routed to specific sync in/out jacks (RCA's in fact) I though I better transfer the sync to that track in the songs that it was possible (not finished). I even sacrificed one bass track (I'll play it again in a while - I had my last exam for the spring today and it's summer holidays (read: go to work)) but now I don't have to pull them sync cables back and forth - I just let them be and use the switch on the front panel to define where track 4 goes. - Jari -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jari Riitala ! snail mail: ! Kuusiharjunkatu JRIITALA@KONTU.UTU.FI ! 20660 Littoinen still also T6M-RIIT@MAMMUTTI.UTU.FI ! Finland -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - There's nothing to fear but the fear itself (Neil Peart of Rush) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 16:39:00 EDT From: "SONGWRITER (A.K.A. TIM PHILLIPS)" Subject: VFX and EPS I just returned from the music shop, and I played my first VFX. it's not that bad. I also played with the EPS. I was really impressed with the EPS. The price for an EPS here retails about $1995.00 (US), and is currently on sale for $1495.00 (US). Is this a good buy, or should I wait for the price to come down more, or is there even a better sampler/ sequencer/keyboard on the market? Tim ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 May 90 17:21:05 EDT From: Dean Swan Subject: Re: VFX and EPS Oh! If you're out of NYS, I might be able to get around the sales tax thing. -Dean ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 31 May 90 17:20:33 EDT From: Dean Swan Subject: Re: VFX and EPS No, $1495 is NOT a good price for the EPS. Look around. I can get you an EPS for $1150 + sales tax + shipping ~= $1275 to $1300. I paid $1150 for mine at my local music store, and with sales tax, it came to $1230.50. This was about 2 or 3 months ago. -Dean ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 90 10:41:07 EDT From: Dean Swan Subject: Re: Widgets and other non existant things! Well, I did some homework on this "performance sequencer" thing over the weekend. It seems that Opcode's Vision does everything that I described in my original wish list. Now, before I run out and buy a Mac SE/30 and the associated peripherals, I have a few questions for you: 1) Is Vision compatible with MIDI Manager? 2) If so, can it take advantage of MOTU's MTP? 3) Is an SE/30 overkill for this application? (About the only other thing I would be running is sound designer, or some such thing). -Dean Swan dean@sun.soe.clarkson.edu P.S. Oh yes! I almost forgot. Does opcode offer a non-copy protected version? I deplore copy protection. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 12:17:43 BST From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Widgets and other non existant things! >Now, before I run out and buy a Mac SE/30 and the associated peripherals, Aaw, that's what I did... >1) Is Vision compatible with MIDI Manager? I've been told that Vision 1.1 has MIDI Manager support. >2) If so, can it take advantage of MOTU's MTP? The MTP can act as a dumb dual-port interface for any MIDI software, MIDI Manager included. There are bugs in MM1.1 driving the second port of the MTP, this looks fixed in MM1.2 (which you'll be using on an SE/30). No, MIDI Manager doesn't yet support the MTP's multi-cable routing. Blame Apple for withholding the technical specs, not MOTU. >3) Is an SE/30 overkill for >this application? (About the only other thing I would be running is >sound designer, or some such thing). My Mac plus was getting rather sluggish running Performer. I bought the SE/30 (4Meg RAM, 40Meg HD) to be future-proof. And, it runs like an absolute rocket. >P.S. Oh yes! I almost forgot. Does opcode offer a non-copy protected >version? I doubt it. Nick. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 90 12:09:00 EST From: CTDONATH@SUNRISE.BITNET Subject: Widgets etc. So far I've only seen two widgets mentioned. One of them already exists (as shown by the truckloads of mail). The other is simple & I'm thinking of building it (how much would you pay for a pitch-bend data thinner?). Does anyone else have any widgets that they would like to see built? - Carl ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 May 90 14:02:15 -0400 From: Brian Adamson Subject: Re: Widgets etc. Carl, What would like to see is a generic digital effects processor with a full blown MIDI interface. Ideally, I could graphically pull together pre-programmed effects software modules or write my own 'C' or assembly language DSP routines on my PC (Mac) and then compile the code and download it serially to the processor. Such a processor with well-documented adn standardized interfaces and software hooks would let any type of PC with the appropriate software (compiler) support the machine and allow for the free exchange of software. Not only would such a generic box be a useful realtime effects processor, but it could also serve as a sampler and probably perform limited synthesis functions or any mix thereof. If everyone on this list had access to such a wonderful machine, hopefully the net would be alive with the echange of effects algorithms, experimental synthesis techniques, etc. The design of such a device would include: 1 (or hopefully more) floating point DSP processors supported by 'C' compilers (e.g. TI TMS320C30 or AT&T DSP32C 1 Pair of 44.1 kHz (or 48 kHz) A/D and D/A converters 1 MByte (or more) of fast RAM for program code and data storage & buffering 1 control processor for handling the MIDI interface tasking (and any PC interface tasking) 1 RS-232 serial interface to talk to PC with (This could be optional as the PC could easily dump code to the box via MIDI system exclusive messages 1 attractive enclosure (optional, rack mount would be nice) This is a bit more than a widget but this is something I have dreamed about alot and it's not too far from reality. Brian Adamson ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 May 90 11:46:24 EDT From: Dean Swan Subject: Re: Widgets etc. Brian, Your generic DSP widget exists. It's called synth-engine from Spectral Synthesis, and better than writing your own code in C, they have a very neat graphical interface where you can build up a system by connecting basic building blocks. Unfortunately, when you step back from your dream, you'll realize that it is just that. Musicicians are not programmers, in general. The problem is this: "There are more programmers who are musicians than there are musicians who are programmers." Besides, effects algorithms are not exactly simple. Yes, a reverb is just a bunch of delays summed together, but selecting the values for the delays, how they are summed, where the feedback paths are, where you tap your delay lines, etc. is as much an art as a science. Two other devices that would also come close to what you want, but at a lower price, are the Lexicon 480L, and the Lexicon PCM-70. For $2k, the PCM-70 is about the coolest, most flexible effects box in the universe. -Dean Swan dean@sun.soe.clarkson.edu ------------------------------ End of EMUSIC-L digest ******************************