EMUSIC-L Digest Volume 17, Number 4 Amiga Sampling / Beckoning for Guestimates Faulty Xk pots (3 messages) GenEdit & Generic Editors Mac to DAT interface Mail Order (2 messages) Matrix-6's and tuning ... (3 messages) Metlay's article (8 messages) Music "Classifications",pt. 568 (5 messages) musical part of fractals Oberheim back?! (6 messages) Perhaps a Different Turn... (5 messages) Prophet-5 finds new home ... film @ eleven (2 messages) Rolodex (5 messages) They all sound alike... (6 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: Thu, 21 Jun 90 09:30:52 EDT From: kgeisel Subject: Re: Amiga Sampling / Beckoning for Guestimates >Pro MIDI Music Studio, which let's you do this. Subsequently, I'm pretty >sure Bars & Pipes allows the same, since it's by the same author. Another >- Mark G. No, Bars & Pipes does not allow you to do this. Presumably, you could do it if you got the "Amigophone" add-on module. Bars & Pipes by itself cannot use internal sounds at all. - Kurt ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jun 90 17:34:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Faulty Xk pots I warned you. I WARNED YOU! The Xk is NOT a reliable instrument for live use! But did you listen? NOOOOOOOOOOO! For any and all Netters who may own Matrix-6es or Xks: there is a well- documented fix for pitch-lever problems, it's ECO 1002 for the Xk or (I THINK) ECO 906 for the Matrix...they're essentially identical. I'll describe the process here in some detail, but if you need your hand held you should call Oberheim and ask for documentation. Remove the wood panel on the left side of the keyboard (three screws). Then unscrew the four screws under the unit that hold the metal block containing the bend levers in place. The unit is only held by the screws, and should come away easily trailing a few wires which attach to the slider and levers. Each lever consists of a 10k (or 22k, I forget, look at it yourself) pot with a special mounting setup: the knob fits over the pot shaft and has a pair of steel springs that rest against a rubber-covered metal bar on the pot's mounting bracket. These springs are the return-to-zero mechanism; if you want to customize your Xk to have un-springloaded levers, here's your chance. |-> The metal bracket that holds the pot is screwed onto the metal block, with the paddle end of the knob protruding up through a hold in the block so you can grab it. If you bumped it hard, one of the springs may have come off the bar, allowing the other one to force the pot to one end of its travel. Hooking the balky spring back over the bar should fix it. (If the spring's BROKEN, you should order a new lever knob from Oberheim, and send the broken knob to me as I could use it. |-> ) If both springs are in place, though, it may mean that the pot is loose in the bracket, which is fixed as follows. Yank the knob off the pot shaft. Be gentle but firm; it requires a bit of elbow grease. Then set the pot back down so one of the little "teeth" in the pot shell hooks into one of the two little holes on the bracket that are provided to keep the pot from turning in place (hah). Then retighten the nut holding the pot in place. If it's missing a lock washer, add one. (This is supposed to be a permanent fix. Bull. You want permanent? Do what I did, and squirt threadlock into the joint before you tighten it. That sucker'll NEVER come loose; if the pot goes bad, though, you'll have to replace the bracket as well as the pot. Tough. And DON'T get threadlock into the pot's shaft!!) There; it should be fixed. Now for the tough part. Set the pot to the CENTER of its travel; use an ohm-meter across two of the terminals to do this. Then gently push the knob back onto the pot shaft and hook the springs over the bar WITHOUT TURNING THE POT SHAFT IN THE PROCESS. This is a bitch to do, but it's okay if you're off by a small bit when you're done. How much is "small"? Here's how you tell. Power up the unit (yes, with the guts still hanging out; just don't TOUCH anything) and make sure the pot does what it's supposed to over its full travel. NOTE that on powerup, wherever the pot happens to be will be chosen as the "center" of its travel, so if you're off by too much when you force the knob back onto the pot shaft, the pot's response will be uneven in one direction vs. the other. If the Xk controls what you want it to over the knob's full range (note that it's designed to "stop" itself without being mounted in the keyboard), then you're a winner. Turn it off, bolt it back together, test it again, and you're done. If the pot doesn't behave properly even now, you'll need to replace it. (You DID test it before you squirted threadlock onto it...didn't you?) Sorry if this sounds a bit cavalier to the hardware junkies out there; I've just done it so goddamn many times that it's like changing a light bulb to me. After about the twelfth time, I got fed up and used the threadlock, despite dire warnings from service types. It works like a charm. I hope this helps any of you out there with problems like this. But remember, the best way to avoid Xk problems is to ditch your Xk. |-< metlay PS. Anyone wanna buy an Xk, cheap? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Jun 90 10:03:00 EDT From: "b.klassen" Subject: RE: Faulty Xk pots >I warned you. I WARNED YOU! The Xk is NOT a reliable instrument for >live use! But did you listen? NOOOOOOOOOOO! Okay, so what do I use that does the things I can do with the Xk, feels like an Xk (I LOVE the keyboard, the levers, the layout, etc), is the same size as an Xk ...? >I hope this helps any of you out there with problems like this. But remember, >the best way to avoid Xk problems is to ditch your Xk. |-< The Xk and all its problems stays in my setup until I get my hands on a Matrix-12 ... >metlay brian >PS. Anyone wanna buy an Xk, cheap? Maybe if I had three or four, a could leave a couple back-stage just in case ... ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Jun 90 17:37:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Faulty Xk pots You've hit the core of my difficulty....IF it were reliable (and had a couple of extra features like MIDI sync and memory dumps), I'd never get rid of my Xk. I LOVE how it works and feels-- I just don't TRUST it. And that, in my opinion, is the saddest situation an electronic musician can find himself in. |-< metlay ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jun 90 09:25:23 EDT From: kgeisel Subject: Re: GenEdit & Generic Editors OK, maybe my sweeping statement on generic editors was a bit unfounded. I guess I'm just spoiled. The Xpander and the K-5 have unusual interfaces. In the Xpander, modulation routing is of prime concern. In the K-5, spectra and envelope assignments are of prime concern. Both of these interfaces have to be highly customized. My home-brew software allows you to "draw" modulation routings for the Xpander in schematic form. When I finish that, I will write a K-5 interface which allows both sample conversion of spectra and a set of "magic wand" spectrum tweaking tools. In most synths, I guess the primary concern is of tweaking parameters, which can be done with sliders and switches. But Nick pointed out that the Waldorf would need some interface to set up the wavetables, and I'll bet that you would have a similar specialized need for other wavetable/vector synths. Think of the VS. Is there any better way to "draw" a crossfade other than the joystick? I'll have to think about that one. I guess the rest of you guys just don't have REAL SYNTHS! :-) :-) :-) :-) - Kurt ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jun 90 13:41:27 -0400 From: Brian Adamson Subject: Mac to DAT interface I am in a hurry to buy an interface between a DAT recorder and Mac IIx for work. Because of timing and budgetary reasons I have to prepare a purchase order fairly quickly. So, does anyone have any info on this type of interface and any accompanying software. My primary goal is to be able to transfer audio data collected with a portable DAT to the Mac IIx and probably on to something with a bit more horsepower for signal analysis. I would also like to transfer audio sample data from the Mac IIx to the DAT for playback. I have a call into Digidesign on their SoundTools plus DAT I/O Digital Interface for information. If anyone has information (good or bad) on this or any other similar product, and are so inclined, please contact me. Thank you, Brian Adamson adamson@css.itd.nrl.navy.mil ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Jun 90 04:48:00 EDT From: Craig Hicks Subject: Mail Order >If you could I would appreciate a Phone number and/or address >for Tower Records. Sometimes in an area like Toledo Ohio it >can be difficult at best to get something outside of mainstream. >Thanks !! Steve, The phone number for Tower Records is 1-800-648-4844 (U.S. only), 212-254-1500 (worldwide). Their address is Tower Records Mail Order, 692 Broadway at 4th, New York, NY 10012. They have a big catalogue, and although I don't think they have very competitive pricing (at least in the D.C. area), if they have any titles that you have not been able to find locally, it mught be worth the extra $$$. Hope this was helpful. Craig Hicks National Academy of Sciences Washington, D.C. USA ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Jun 90 13:44:00 EDT From: Steve Rife Subject: Mail Order Just in case anyone else is interested the address and phone number for Tower Records follows: Tower Records Mil Order 62 Broadway at 4th New York, New York 10012 (800) 648-4844 (United States) (212) 254-1500 (Worldwide) Thanks to Craig Hicks for the information !! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jun 90 13:36:00 EDT From: "b.klassen" Subject: Matrix-6's and tuning ... Forgive me for continuing a r.m.s thread on emusic-l, but due to account restrictions I have read-only access on the Unix side ... This concerns mainly Nick & Metlay, who were/are sparring on the relative stability of Oberheim gear: I too owned (note past tense) a Matrix-6R that would not tune for nothin'. Nick's not alone on that one. That's the main reason I dumped it when I had the chance. It sounded great by itself, but when I tried to keep it tuned with my other boards forget it. A minute or so to tune it up, and five minutes later it was out. Wasn't the Matrix-6 made by the same people that made the Xk? As far as the stability of the "real" Oberheim gear, I can't wait to find out personally (read: wanted, Matrix-12, will trade car and/or small child)! brian ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jun 90 15:10:59 EDT From: Jeffrey R Kell Subject: Re: Matrix-6's and tuning ... "Some" floating oscillators work better if you let them warm up awhile (a long while preferably) before performance. MiniMoogs liked a good hour or so, then they were fairly well behaved. Korg used a hybrid chip starting with the MS-series (I'm sure they've changed now, but that's about the time things changed) that had some built-in temperature conpensation circuitry. They were much more stable than, say, an Arp Odyssey. A costly, bothersome approach is to get an in-line guitar tuner. Most of them will let you tune "quietly" instead of droning on for everyone to hear. /Jeff/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jun 90 17:58:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Matrix-6's and tuning ... The Matrix-6 and 6R, Xk, Prommer, and other Oberheim gear of that era (1986-1988) were built by Sakata Shokai and Hammond Suzuki in Japan. The Matrix-12, Xpander, DMX, DX, and DPX-1 were handmade in the USA by Oberheim themselves. The Matrix -1000 and Perf/X boxes were also made in the States, and the only problem they've had has been buggy software in the Cyclone (buggy is a mild term). metlay ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 90 09:32:52 EDT From: kgeisel Subject: Re: Computer Music journal Vol. 14 #2 Sorry, I forgot to tell you that I couldn't find Pope's E-MAIL address anywhere in the CMJ. They had his snail address, if you want it. If you give me your TN address, I'll send you the photocopy. - Kurt ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jun 90 11:07:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Computer Music journal Vol. 14 #2 Thanks but no; Pete Yadlowsky beat you to it. metlay ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jun 90 16:32:05 PDT From: The vlsi-mentor Super User Subject: Metlay in Tenessee Why don't you move to Californy? :) ---- Dave Hayes dave@vlsi-mentor.jpl.nasa.gov dave%vlsi-mentor@jpl-mil.jpl.nasa.gov "The word 'choice' is a fraud when one is taught what to choose." ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Jun 90 14:31:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Metlay in Tenessee Dave Hayes writes: >Why don't you move to Californy? :) I may be crazy, but I'm NOT stupid. |-> metlay PS> ALL Xpander and Matrix-12 users on EMUSIC-L should contact me via Email; at long last, the Xpander Users' Group and XPANSIONS! magazine are coming out of mothballs.... PPS> I'd also advise Cc: copies of such messages to Adam Schabtach and/or Phil Galanter, who should take a bow for getting the IV drip into the Group's arm in time.... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 18:23:00 CST From: jeff beer Subject: metlay's article One thing is that I wish that whoever is responsible didn't "apologize" for the "tone and level of complexity". I thought that fit in nicely with the journal. The only people it would not be useful for would be the ones who thump their nose at MIDI, perhaps they are lucky enough to have a million dollar computer music studio where they have the luxury of not having to deal with MIDI. For anyone else it is an excellent survey, and more informative than many of the lame articles by authors who know how to invent impressive words to describe real trivial and simpleton projects. nonetheless, congrats on getting it published. jeff ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 16:44:57 PDT From: The vlsi-mentor Super User Subject: Metlay's article Gee...what issue is this in? Would it be an affront to post this on this list? -Dave ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 20:57:47 EDT From: Joe McMahon Subject: Night of the Living Man-Machine Interface I will be (trying) to put out the Man-Machine Interface (original version) onto the LISTSERV. Feel free to badger me direct if I'm taking too long. --- Joe M. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jun 90 13:05:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Night of the Living Man-Machine Interface Responding to Jeff, Dave, and Joe: Yes, please repost the original posts....I had to pull out all of the really good jokes and swear words, and add that stupid disclaimer, for the CMJ version, to maintain some degree of gentility. I was apologizing for the tone because I would rather have run the version with the pithier lingo....but don't tell the academic stuffed-shirts that....|-> It was fun to wrtie, but I DO anticipate a good deal of flamola from the academic world, for misspelling Serge Tcherepnin's name, not following classic rules for reference and accreditation, and other bits of the useless trivia that makes our cuting-edge academic electronic music community such a waste of good gear and bad braincells.... I recently asked Brad Garton at Columbia if he agreed with my view that the academic electronic music community had its head so far up its own arse that it had popped up like a mole into a Brave New World (TM) of its own design, bearing little resemblance to anything we know (or care about). He said it was a question that required some thought to answer. I'm still waiting to hear from him. metlay PS. Anyone else have any opinions on the subject, while I'm wearing asbestos? |-> ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jun 90 07:51:00 EST From: "William R(ay) Brohinsky" Subject: RE: Music "Classifications",pt. 568 From: The vlsi-mentor Super User <@utrcgw.utc.com:root%VLSI-MENTOR.JPL.NASA.GOV@PSUVM.PSU.EDU> >Now, now. What you like and what others like is sure to differ, as I >illustrate. Please keep your stylistic preferences to yourself, thank >you very much. Good God, no! How will those of us who are not complacently satisfied with our sheltered existance learn anything? I am familiar with Chuck Mangione, but not Spyro Gyra, nor Tangerine Dream. Would you prefer that none of them even get mentioned? >---- >Dave Hayes dave@vlsi-mentor.jpl.nasa.gov >dave%vlsi-mentor@jpl-mil.jpl.nasa.gov >"The word 'choice' is a fraud when one is taught what to choose." To which I must reply, ``One is cannot be taught. One must learn.'' I just wish I could remember who said that... The point, IMHO, is valid. It is the ultimate (well, maybe penultimate) conceit to believe that anyone will read what is posted on the net, and immediately suffer a life-changing mini-education, becoming irreparably aligned with the writer! If so, this person will be immediately realigned upon reading the next reply (flame/correction) that is posted. Even in such an hypothetical case, said person would retain some of the previous attitude, and may (it be hoped) someday attempt to reconcile the divergences. PLEASE don't rob the rest of us out of some misguided fear for the easily-lead. ('sides, the easily-lead may be the only ones who would listen to my music 8-O ) raybro ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jun 90 04:52:00 EDT From: Craig Hicks Subject: RE: Music "Classifications",pt. 568 >From: The vlsi-mentor Super User <@utrcgw.utc.com:root%VLSI-MENTOR.JPL.NASA.GOV@PSUVM.PSU.EDU> >Now, now. What you like and what others like is sure to differ, as I >illustrate. Please keep your stylistic preferences to yourself, thank >you very much. Hmmm...what a peculiar gag order. Personally, I like to hear the opinions of others, particularly those related to music and the arts, and am not in the least bit offended if I encounter any which differ from my own. Stylistic preference is the soul of artistry. If all we do is keep our preferences to ourselves in an attempt to avoid controversy, what we end up with is dead and bland. I think the real issue vis-a-vis preferences and getting along with others is to keep the discussion limited to the the music in question, rather than the legitimacy of the opinion itself. Telling me you don't like my favorite song is one thing; telling me that I am culturally retarded for liking it is another thing entirely. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jun 90 13:45:02 PDT From: The vlsi-mentor Super User Subject: re: music classification >PLEASE don't rob the rest of us out of some misguided fear for the >easily-lead. ('sides, the easily-lead may be the only ones who would >listen to my music 8-O ) Heh! Point well taken...perhaps I should have said "Keep your NEGATIVE stylistic preferences to yourself, thank you." ---- Dave Hayes dave@vlsi-mentor.jpl.nasa.gov dave%vlsi-mentor@jpl-mil.jpl.nasa.gov "The word 'choice' is a fraud when one is taught what to choose ...or when one does not learn." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jun 90 13:03:07 EDT From: Dean Swan Subject: RE: Music "Classifications",pt. 568 Putting a TD disc in the same bin with "new age" will not cause a cataclysmic reaction guys. Honest! When you go into a record store looking for work by a particular artist, you usually know with absolute certainty, the name of the artist. The classification is much more abiguous. Which bin do you go to f first? New Age? Electronic? European? Personally, if I'm looking for Tangerine Dream, I would like to go to the "T" bin. Not the "T" bin in the New Age section. Just the "T" bin. Most record stores don't have that large a stock, and you can usually go over every selection available in a few hours, so why complicate things with categories? You can even cover Tower Records, in downtown Manhattan (the whole place, all three floors, from basement to the top) in a Saturday afternoon. But on the other side of this fence I suppose classifications help out people who aren' t quite sure what they're looking for. -Dean Swan dean@sun.soe.clarkson.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 13:58:00 EDT From: George Buckner Subject: RE: Music Classifications (again) The category "new age" seems to serve two basic purposes: 1) As a repository for anything that doesnt fit neatly into any other category. 2) A catch phrase for self-proclaimed modern renaissance people. First let me say that I do enjoy SOME new age music, just for the sound of it, just like I enjoy SOME music from almost every style (except country and opera :-)). But in response to some recent differences of opinion regarding which artists should be allowed in the same sentence with which other artists, let me just say that: Certainly we have our differences as to which particular artists/music we like. But the point is still well taken that much of what passes for music in the new age category is by all appearances created by a stoned out (or mellowed out) person who simply cranks up the space violins on his/her synth and then just wanders around the keyboard and effects units for a half hour (something anyone who knows how to throw a few switches and press a few keys can do). Occassionally this stuff can make for an interesting audio environment (background, like the wind and rain from the Environments series), but nothing more. What also strikes me is the cosmic names some of these people give their songs. I even heard a piece on the radio last week (musical starstreams) which the DJ announced was the "extended version of ETERNITY" (I won't even ask about the regular version). :-) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jun 90 23:33:31 SST From: Gan Seum-Lim Subject: musical part of fractals I remember someone posted something about chaotic composition done using fractal equations like the Mandelbrot set. 2 x --> x + c where x and c are complex numbers. I have tried implementing one with the Mandelbrot set (in the complex plane) and by choosing the values of c which gives a resonable amout of variation (by looking at the graphical part of Mandlbrot set) and send the iteration numbers to the keys (just pick any correspondence) of a synthesizer, it gives a rather strange music. It sounded random but with quite a fair amount of periodicity. If c is chosen such that the graphical part of the set is quite plane, the musical part of it would be quite dull. Gan. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 10:04:00 EDT From: "b.klassen" Subject: Oberheim back?! Rumours of Glory? Oberheim back in production? This is great news ... Mike, keep us (me!) posted on the details, or fill in those you know. Like, where does Tom Oberheim fit into all this, what products are to be (or are being) produced ... what's new on the horizion? Maybe retrofits of Xk's to make them the killer boards they were supposed to be ... brian ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 10:22:26 EDT From: Patrick Robinson Subject: Re: Oberheim back?! On Thu, 28 Jun 90 10:04:00 EDT b.klassen said: >Rumours of Glory? Oberheim back in production? This is great news ... What? Did I miss something? Who started this rumor? Is it TRUE?! -Patrick ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 12:52:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Oberheim back?! Oberheim is back, as a division of Gibson Labs. Their product line as of this instant consists of one item, the Matrix-1000. Within the next month or so, they will return the Xpander and Matrix-12 to production. ANYTHING else with the Oberheim name on it is past history, and repairs will be available through third-party outfits only. (I asked about fixing the Xk. They laughed. |-< ) As for what's new, they're keeping their mouths shut; rumors and promises are what killed Oberheim in its last incarnation. They have mentioned, though, that they're considering opening the Xpander/Matrix firmware to third-party developers, to add features and so on. Nothing official yet has been decided. Tom Oberheim has his own company now (Marion Systems) and no affiliation with Oberheim Div. of Gibson Labs. metlay ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 14:14:00 EDT From: "b.klassen" Subject: Re: Oberheim back?! >Oberheim is back, as a division of Gibson Labs. Their product line as of >this instant consists of one item, the Matrix-1000. Within the next month >or so, they will return the Xpander and Matrix-12 to production. ANYTHING Any idea of the pricing of the new Xpanders and Matrix-12's? If the price of used Matrix-12's does go down (as you once suggested), I may have one sooner than I think! >else with the Oberheim name on it is past history, and repairs will be >available through third-party outfits only. (I asked about fixing the Xk. >They laughed. |-< ) As for what's new, they're keeping their mouths shut; ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yep, that figures. So did everyone at my last gig when my pitch-bender did it's thing ... >official yet has been decided. Tom Oberheim has his own company now (Marion >Systems) and no affiliation with Oberheim Div. of Gibson Labs. Marion Systems?! I talked to Tom Oberheim on the phone last December and didn't even know it!!! I bought one of his memory expansion boards for my S950. Maybe I'll consider his 16-bit upgrade more seriously, now that I know who's behind the company. But how long has he been out of Oberheim? >metlay Keep us posted! brian ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 14:08:42 CDT From: Philip Galanter Subject: Re: Oberheim back?! Hi M2...could you re-forward to me the name and # of your Gibson/Oberheim contact? I can't seem to find it...I would like to contact them about GenEdit support. Phil ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 17:58:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Oberheim back?! No word on pricing. Oberheim may not be running Marion on his own; he's been at it since he sold the company to ECC in 1985 or 1986. Rumors that he is coming back to Oberheim, are false, false, FALSE. metlay ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Jun 90 23:31:00 EDT From: CDASCHER@DREW.BITNET Subject: Perhaps a Different Turn... I know I might be taking somewhat of a long shot here, but I'm sort of new at this so please bear with. Seeing that we're all musical types here, is anyone interested about chatting about real classical music? If not, does anyone know of a newsgroup that does? It may sound silly, but I am sincere. Thanks bunches :) Carolyn "Mozart is my god" D. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jun 90 11:11:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: Perhaps a Different Turn... Carolyn: While I personally am not aware of any mailing list for classical music, I am sure that one or more exist (as well as UseNet newsgroups like rec.music.classical, of course). However, I don't think that discussion of classical music per se is appropriate here, except as it relates to electronic realization. It's not that the topic isn't worthwhile, it's that this is simply not the proper forum for it. Met "Bach ain't bad, but Gershwin's better, and Fast is demigodlike" lay ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jun 90 12:43:00 EDT From: CDASCHER@DREW.BITNET Subject: Perhaps not... I had a feeling this would happen... Pluuuueeeze don't get me wrong...I wasn't trying to impose anything that doesn't belong :) Only nobody on this campus knows of a list I can join about classical stuff...oh well, thanks anyway. cjd ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Jun 90 17:17:00 CST From: jeff beer Subject: classical music discussion Well, there always is ALLMUSIC. Classical music has never been big, but the turnover of readers is high, so the atmosphere changes there, and whenever I have talked about classical music, there always seemed to be one or two people that come out of the woodwork to add something. There are the occasional heavy metal neanderthals, but they tend to ignore the notes about anything with that distance from what they are into. aside from that, with a critical mass of classical listeners, a discussion can be maintained. it is summer and the volume of notes is not so bad. that will probably change in the fall, but then maybe someone can create a CLASSICAL-L on the same server. jeff ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jun 90 08:32:00 N From: Max Subject: Re: Perhaps a Different Turn... >Carolyn: >While I personally am not aware of any mailing list for classical music, >I am sure that one or more exist (as well as UseNet newsgroups like >rec.music.classical, of course). However, I don't think that discussion >of classical music per se is appropriate here, except as it relates to >electronic realization. It's not that the topic isn't worthwhile, it's >that this is simply not the proper forum for it. >Met "Bach ain't bad, but Gershwin's better, and Fast is demigodlike" lay O.K., I quite agree with Metlay there........... But this short mess. is not just to agree with him, but to say that if you are interested in exchanging views, ideas....and whatnot on ELECTRONIC REALIZATION of Class. Music then I, for one, am really interested..... Current interest: Reelaboration and adaptation of Baroque (or thereabouts) for "Electronic settings"..... O.K. ? Gershwin was good, Bach should have been alive when he was, then perhaps we could talk about it.................. Great list....I love it Ciao, Mauro ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jun 90 22:35:00 EDT From: "b.klassen" Subject: Prophet-5 finds new home ... film @ eleven Well, my heart got the better of my pocketbook on the weekend, and a v3 Prophet-5, complete with Wine Country MIDI mods, now lives in my studio. It's in mint condition, and needs only a little oil on the (wood!) case and a good cleaning of the keyboard contacts. And the sound! It only took me about 12 years to get one, but I think the wait was worth it. All those knobs and push buttons ... I'm in heaven. I know, it's not a big deal to you Xpander-heads, but it's analog, fat, and beautiful. But on to another topic ... I played my first gig with my new band last night and my Xk's pitch lever decided to make some trouble (I know you're snickering, Mike ...). I bumped it on the side with my left hand while playing a big two-fisted piano part and everything slide down about three semitones ... Got a good laugh from the crowd, whilst I played with the damned thing trying to get it back to the right pitch. Metlay, I remember you mentioned a fix for this sort of thing ... would you mind passing the info on again? Got another gig in two weeks, and I'd like to fix the stupid thing before that. brian ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jun 90 21:10:55 MDT From: Adam Schabtach Subject: Re: Prophet-5 finds new home ... film @ eleven > > Well, my heart got the better of my pocketbook on the weekend, and a v3 > Prophet-5, complete with Wine Country MIDI mods, now lives in my studio. Hey, congratulations! the Prophet 5 is a true classic. > And the sound! It only took me about 12 > years to get one, but I think the wait was worth it. All those knobs and push > buttons ... I'm in heaven. I know, it's not a big deal to you Xpander-heads, > but it's analog, fat, and beautiful. Well, actually, in case you haven't heard the news before, the head Xpander-head himself, the infamous Mike Metlay, traded one of his dear Xpanders for a Prophet -- a T8 rather than a 5, but a Prophet nonetheless. Even the Xpander doesn't have the interactivity that the Prophet front panels offer. (I should know: it was my T8, and now it's my Xpander.) Have fun! --Adam ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Jun 90 16:27:00 EET From: "J. Riitala, University of Turku, Subject: One mo' for the Rolodex Hi ya all! Here's my stuff for the Rolodex (You all had your info already sent? So what - I'm on summer holiday (read: work) -> can't visit the university mainframe too often, so my mailbox is a bit cluttered and out-of-date) It got a bit long - sorry. Skip the rest. NAME: Jari Riitala HOME: Kuusiharjunkatu 20660 Littoinen Finland HOME PHONE: +358 21 442 371 WORK; PHONE: we'll see in a couple of years.. :-) EMAIL: JRIITALA@KONTU.UTU.FI jriitala@utu.fi (valid probably at least until June '91) EQUIPMENT: Synth stuff: Yamaha DX7 (the original) Roland D-110 Yamaha DD-5 drum pads (a toy but it's MIDI) FX: Alesis Quadraverb TC Electronics Chorus/Flanger stompbox Yamaha (toy) compressor Bass: Fender Precision Special w/ EMG pickups Ibanez Roadstar II (spare, got it damn cheap) Ibanez Roadstar II fretless ,also EMG powered Trace Elliot AH 200 amp Peavey 2x15 cabinet, straight from 1977! Peavey Bass amp head, formerly with the above Peavey TNT130 combo Guitar: Ibanez Roadstar II (this one's a guitar.. I didn't intentionally try to collect a lookalike series, just happened to come across them and found them suitable for my purposes / budget - I dig the wang bar) Abe (never heard of the brand..) classical Yamaha G212-II combo amp (too loud & noisy) Junk: recorder (the one you blow in, it whistles, no tape) melodica a kind of a harmonica (made in China..) the rest is not worth even mentioning Recording: Tascam 644 4-track cassette Nakamichi (consumer) 2-track cassette deck the rest of my modest home stereo to hear it a couple of reasonable mikes (I hope) Sennheiser HD540 headphones (plus a few others, less good) Computing: Atari Mega ST2 /w & color monitor Megafile 30 Hybrid Arts SMPTE Track sequencing software DX-Android (old & clumsy.. yuck!) Dr T's D10/20/110 editor/librarian probably someday a homebuilt Quadraverb ed/lib other minor more or less do-it-yourself MIDI stuff Hybrid Arts EZ-Score notation software THE WISH-I-HAD'S: Gotta do something with my bass gear. I think I'll sell the Peavey stuff and get a Trace Elliot or Hartke cabinet. Soon. A DAT. I already have two tapes (band demos). So what. I had a CD before I got a player. More synth stuff. Maybe and E! for the DX (I dig the old beast) if I still can find one. Or maybe I should get a TX7 or a TX816/216 and a real weighted-key master keyboard. Mm.. that's gonna cost too much.. Maybe after all a D550 with the multitimbral expansion board. Oh shit, I don't know what I want. Maybe I want 'em all! (If I knew more about other gear I'd probably want them, too. Better not try'n find out! :-)) A guitar FX/preamp so I can dump the Yamaha. A singing voice. THE I-HAD-WHEN-I-STILL-WAS-YOUNG-AND-GREEN-(NOW-I'M-ONLY-YOUNG)'S: Tascam 244 Yamaha SPX-90 (tried to update the ROM but never got it..) Vantage bass & guitar (I can't believe it - these were also a matching pair!) Roland Cube 60 bass combo STYLE: Side A. Pop/rock/funk/ballad/etc. with vocals (see the last wish) Side B. Weird times, chordings, melodies, yet a strong groove (I hope) Mix the above in different proportions and you get me. INFLUENCES: You don't really wanna know. ABBA (better believe it! :-)), Beatles, Jeff Beck, James Brown, Stanley Clarke, Deep Purple, Billy Joel, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Manhattan Transfer, Joni Mitchell, Jaco Pastorius, The Police, Rush, Status Quo, Uriah Heep, Whitesnake, Yes, Zappa (that was roughly the CD's, now let's see the analog..) CCR, Chicago, Eagles, Steely Dan, Toto, Van Halen, Joe Walsh, ZZ Top (I prefer the old stuff..). Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Sam Brown (!), the original soul singers (Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave,.. ), Billy Sheehan,... ... ... (yep, haven't heard too much the 'real' synth music!) CURRENT JOB: Some (simple) DOS C programming for a living in the summer. The rest of the year I study physics (read: electronics & computas) at the University of Turku, Finland. CURRENT MUSICAL ACTIVITIES: I play bass in - a funk/soul band (g+voc, b+backing voc, organ/rhodes/clavinet, dr) A reasonable local following and good gigs. The name's Lazybonez, tho you won't need that info. - a slightly progressive rock band (doesn't sound good but I can't describe it better) (voc, g+backing voc, b+backing voc, keys+backing voc, dr) Used to have a record deal but haven't heard of it lately. Our lead vocalist had a baby and the synth man got drafted - still 6 months in the army band - so we'll be having a low profile for a while. Alaston haave (that's Naked Dream in English. Damn stupid, we'll change it. I don't think they thought about the dirty connotations the name bring when they decided it.. :-)) - an even more progressive rock (?) band (I love these descriptions that say nothing!) (voc, voc, voc, g+voc, b, keys, dr+perc, dr+perc) At least that's what we used to be. Two vocalists quit, the third one had a baby, the other percussionist/drummer moved away and the synth freak ran out of time. Then the guitar player got a Korg MIDI converter, we got another guitarist and a percussionist/sax/keyboard player, so it's more like voc, MIDI g+voc, g, b, perc/keys/sax, dr now. We're about to make and perform the score for a rock musical for a local (non-professional) theater. Let's see. Oktoplus is the name if anybody cares. and at home I play with my MIDI & recording toys. I doubt if anybody managed up to here. If YOU did, thanks for reading my bibliography! :-) Flames for wasting bandwidth on this s**t ... - Jari -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jari Riitala ! snail mail: ! Kuusiharjunkatu JRIITALA@KONTU.UTU.FI ! 20660 Littoinen jriitala@UTU.FI ! Finland -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - There's nothing to fear but the fear itself (Neil Peart of Rush) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 09:48:35 PDT From: Isaac Salzman Subject: R o L o D e X Yo! I'm one of the more silent readers of this list. Now that I've stopped collecting equipment for a while, I can add my entry.... :-) Name: Isaac Salzman Home Address: Somewhere in Los Angeles, CA Phone: +1 213 289 0825 Work Address: The RAND Corp., ISD/1 1700 Main St. Santa Monica, CA 90406-2138 Phone: +1 213 393 0411 x6421 E-mail: Internet: salzman@rand.org or isaac@integrity.com Compuserve: 76167,1046 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipment owned: Synths: Oberheim Matrix 6R (as of 2 days ago! :-) Yamaha SY-22 Korg M1 Drums: Alesis HR-16 Effects: Roland DEP-5 Alesis Quadraverb ART Multiverb Yamaha E1005 analog delay (collecting dust) Misc. pedal effects (Morely volume pedal, Boss flanger, MXR phaser, etc.) Sound Peavy M4000 power amp System: Rane SM82 mixer Tannoy PBM8 monitors (love 'em!) Sennheiser headphones Recording: Yamaha MT2X 4 Track Mic: Sure SM58 Computer: Mac SE MIDI interface: Opcode Studio-3 Software: Opcode Vision 1.1 (coolest s/w i've ever used!) Opcode M1 Editor/Librarian HyperMIDI Apple MIDI Manager Misc. goodies off the net stuff i've written & will write.... Guitars: '78 Fender Stratocaster (+ Seymour Duncan "Custom" humbucker, Kahler tremelo) '74 Gibson ES-335 (stock) '86 Martin Shenendoah acoustic Amp: Mesa/Boogie Mk-III (what a sound!) Previously Owned Equipment: Fender guitar amp (model? 60 watt head, 2x12 cab.) Yamaha G100-212-II guitar amp Yamaha FG-335 acoustic (stolen!) :-( Classical guitar (can't remember what kind)... Misc. Boss effects Equipment desired: Near term: Patch bay, MIDI merge, Mac Editor/Librarian for the Matrix 6R (i may write one...), Opcode Galaxy, MIDI interface for the Sun Sparcstation-1 in my office, a cheap acoustic guitar to thrash around with at the beach :-) Far term: Bigger Mac (II-cx/ci/fx or a 68030 upgrade to my SE), (dream on) Digidesign's Sound Tools, Opcode Studio Vision, better mixer, 8+ track recorder, Xpander, SY77, various other interesting synth's, 12-string acoustic guit, dedicated guitar effects unit, mods to my Boogie, noise gate (for the guitar stuff), a guitar synth, all my Mac s/w running on a Sun SS1, more space, more time, etc..... Style: Yeah, right! :-) My primary instrument is the guitar. I play pretty heavy on the electric (you can hear Lifeson, Lukather, Santana, may Carlton, and some other influences in my playing). Music style would be what I call "heavy progressive" with jazz/fusion influences: a balance of heavy guitar and synthesized sounds. I do lots of odd time signature stuff. I love complex (yet solid) rhythm's and a solid bass line. People that hear my electronic stuff think I should be scoring movies. I like to set a "mood" in my music - i guess that's where that comes from.... Influences: RUSH, Steely Dan (how's that for contrast!), Camel, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Mannheim Steamroller, Utopia, Joni Mitchell, Pat Matheny, Larry Carlton, Santana, Toto, Genesis, many others that escape my mind.... Real Job: I'm a "computer scientist" at the RAND Corp., Information Sciences Dept. in Santa Monica, CA. I pimarily work in the Information Systems Lab doing UNIX systems programming/administration. I do programming on various research projects, usually involving GUI's in X or TCP/IP networking stuff. My primary expertise is UNIX and X11. I've set up RAND's X environment, taught seminars at RAND on using X and converting programs to X, etc. I'm working on a GUI for RAND's MH mail system for a research project on "modifiable user interfaces". I occasionally write articles for UNIX Review and SunExpert Magazines and I taught the tutorial "Customizing your X environment" at the Xhibition '90 conference. so, i've been a busy dude! E-music goals: One of my projects on the back-burner is a C++ class library for MIDI. One day I hope to have all my e-music tools running on a UNIX (preferrably Sun) workstation, all written in some object oriented programming language (be it C++, Eiffel, etc.), with an X11 or NeWS based GUI. Everything from MIDI to digital audio, etc.... There'll be a day when we won't need synths - it'll all be done in software (although i'll probably still want to keep an Oberheim around for that analog sound i love soooo much! :-) -- * Isaac J. Salzman ---- * The RAND Corporation - Information Sciences Dept. /o o/ / * 1700 Main St., PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90406-2138 | v | | * AT&T : +1 213-393-0411 x6421 or x7923 (ISL lab) _| |_/ * Internet : salzman@rand.org / | | * UUCP : !uunet!rand.org!salzman | | | * CompuServe: 76167,1046 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 14:23:49 PDT From: The vlsi-mentor Super User Subject: Rolodex Well, since everyone else is posting Rolodexes, and I haven't yet...here goes: Name: Dave Hayes Address: Somewhere in Altadena, CA Phone: 818-797-3269 E-mail: dave@vlsi-mentor.jpl.nasa.gov dave%vlsi-mentor@jpl-mil.jpl.nasa.gov Work: Jet Propulsion Laboratory Address: 4800 Oak Grove Dr. M/S 300-329 Pasadena 91109 Phone: 818-354-1910 [*] Job duties: I am the APOLLO UNIX sys-admin for a network of CAD workstations. I have since become a news/mail administrator and general system Guru. [*] My Equipment: ('-' means I will be getting rid of these soon) (Real) Baldwin Piano (Synths) - DX7 with E! mod Chroma Polaris Roland D-110 - Yamaha TX81Z Proteus XR/1 (Efx) ART Proverb 200 - ART Multiverb I (Sound) Yamaha MV802 Mixer Barbetta 3105 Amp - Peavey KB-300 Amp [*] My Computer: IBM 386-25 with Super VGA, 110MB Hard disk Roland LAPC Card Purchased Software: Cakewalk 3.0Pro Various Ed/Librarians Professional Software that I've written: MIDI Viewer (MIDI Tools available from MIDIMAN Co) SYNCMAN PLUS map editor/librarian (now available from MIDIMAN Co) MIDI File transfer utility (soon to be available from MIDIMAN Co) [*] Equipment desired (making budget now...robbing bank later! :) (Live Performance) Weighted key controller (currently the A-80 from Roland on top of list) Korg M3R (but might get T1 if the action is nice or T3 if they make a rack mount) Alesis Quadraverb Yamaha TX802 (Home Studio) Alesis 1622 16-channel Mixer Tascam 8-track cassette recorder SYNCMAN Plus Studio Monitors (Hardware) HP Laser Printer (Software) Music notation software (top choice is THEME because of printing and no CP) [*] Style(s): Jazz/Fusion, Funk/Fusion, Fusion, Soul, R&B, Bop, Swing, Ethnic, and Etherial. [*] Influences: Steely Dan, Chick Corea, Jeff Lorber, Jan Hammer, Earth Wind and Fire, Spyro Gyra, Peter Gabriel, Parlament, Prince, Pat Metheny, Thomas Dolby, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Weather Report, and many more... [*] Gigs: Currently the lead keyboard player for AXIOM (a jazz/fusion trip) playing local gigs in So Cal area. [*] Other music goals: I have a solo album in the works, among other things. I will one day try and reform my fusion band ELXR, and have that band put out an album. I eventually hope to be a bandleader/producer. [*] BBS The MIDILine BBS - Altadena, CA - 818-797-3285 A music/MIDI BBS that has USENET/E-MAIL access. (Eventually I'd like to echo this mailing list over to my BBS, if that is ok with the list...?) Wow! Thanks for reading, if you got this far. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 06:38:27 CDT From: UC489745@UMCVMB.BITNET Subject: What's this Rolodex File doing way out here so close to July? Hi-ho folks, a first-time poster here. Just discovered emusic-list while working my 12 hour night shift in a Macintosh 'puter lab at the University of Missouri. As it so happens, i am doing my undergrad in Music Composition with a strong emphasis on electronic music and i happen to spend a whole load o' time in front of Macintosh machines -- well, put the two together, and what do you get? That's right, me reading the whole backlog of emusic mail going back to 5 June (what the heck, i started at 3 am with nothing to do but stare at a room with no people but about 70 Mac SE's and IIci's, and given the choice...). At any rate, i thought i might just post up my rolodex file, albeit a bit temporary as far as address goes, and join the ranks of the...well, whatever one calls people apt to sit in front of electronic machines for 20 hours and not get tired of it. Even enjoy it, maybe... Anyway, here;s me file: NAME: bq Mackintosh HOME ADDRESS: 303C Waugh Street, Columbia, MO 65201 EMAIL: UC489745@umcvmb.missouri.edu WORK: 10 Arts & Science Bldgl, UMC, Columbia, MO 65201ne) HOME PHONE: (314) 442-0762 (pardon the wierd answering machine) WORK PHONE: (314) 882-0762 (remember, i work nights) PRESENT EQUIPMENT (for those of you who are theft-minded, this stuff is *not* at the above address) Roland JX-10 synth * * Yamaha DX7IIfd synth * no, i don't own *all* of this, * Yamaha TX801z synth * but i use it on a regular basis. * Roland Juno-106 synth * * Emu modular synth Tascam 4-track cassette (just got it yesterday, the model # escapes me) Yamaha MT44 4-track cassette Various other real-2-reel multi track tapes Yamaha SPX-90 FX Digitech DSP 128+ FX Roland GP-8 FX Macintosh Plus, SE, IIci PRESENT SOFTWARE MasterTrax Pro * HBEngraver * All for the Mac Professional Composer * PAST EQUIPMENT/SOFTWARE Don't know the meaning. Haven't worked up the guts to sell anything yet. EQUIPMENT/SOFTWARE WANTED Editor for Roland JX-10 (either hardware or software) Roland Juno-1 or Roland Juno-106 (love that analog sound) Prophet 5 STYLE Lots....(dreaded smiley face). I don't know. Kinda thought-oriented, if that makes any sense. This does not mean new age, although it gets a bit ethereal sometimes. Whatever. Maybe check out... ...INFLUENCES Ultravox (Billy Currie, Midge Ure, Visage), Gary Numan, Eurythmics, JMJarre, Vangelis, Sting (Police), Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Aaron Copeland, Art of Noise, Love and Rockets (???), Maurice Ravel, Gregorian Chant, the Russian nationalists, Gregorian chant, and God knows what else. If you're still reading this, just a couple more things: 1) A while back someone mentioned something about an editor for the Korg DSS-1. The gentleman who heads the EMS here (Thomas McKenney; perhaps you've heard of him) works with his own DSS-1 and i believe he has a fantastic editor therefore. 2) I am bound for Giessen, Germany in mid-August for a year of study, and would appreciate any information regarding the electronic music scene around there, anywhere in Germany, really. Also, some advice on shipping delicate and oh-so- breakable equipment overseas, as well as conversion of power supply would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for being so long-winded about it, but i am, at long last, finished. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jun 90 01:00:28 EDT From: PRESTON@MOREKYPR.BITNET Subject: Rolodex Since some guitar players have decided to post Rolodex entries, I suppose I'll throw my name in the hat (please call me if I win anything). :) Please keep in mind that I'm on this primarily as a spectator... I'm trying to learn something here. Sorry if this isn't the most terribly exciting posting you've read this week... there'll be others! Jeff NAME: Jeff Preston HOME: UPO Box 1272 MSU Morehead, Kentucky 40351 USA HOME PHONE: (606) 784-1302 WORK PHONE: (606) 783-2177 EMAIL: PRESTON@MOREKYPR.bitnet PRESTO@MOREKYVM.bitnet EQUIPMENT: Synths, etc.: None yet... that's why I'm watching all of you *very* closely (heh heh) Guitars: Ibanez Roadstar II RG-440 Signal thangs: Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal Ibanez DML-10 Digital Modulation Delay pedal Boss CE-2 Chorus pedal (not used - noisy beast!) Amplification: Gallien-Krueger 200 RB amp 2x12 JBL K120 (?) speakers, in custom-made cabinets Have use of: IBM compatible 8088 (phbbbt!), CGA (phbbbt!), 640k (phbbbt!), and 20 meg hard drive (phbbbt!) Previous stuff: Fostex X-30 4-track cassette (How I wish I still Alesis HR-16 drum machine had these now!!) All manner of pedals, including EH boxes 1963 Gibson SG Every amp under the sun, and then some Wish list: Good synth and software for IBM PC (sequencing a must, maybe patch librarian and would be nice to have a friendly GUI for these). I'm trying to sit out and watch the list here for good suggestions. Multitrack recorder (prefer 8+ tracks, but would settle for decent 4-t cassette). Another drum machine. Dreaming?: Affordable digital multitracking. Goal: Producing my own material at home for giggles. Style: Splunge, which equals fuse-funk-a-roll divided by blues-rock plus progressive punk. Influences: Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, Steve Morse, Pat Travers, Alex Lifeson, Allan Holdsworth, Adrian Belew, Jimmy Page, David Gilmore, Frank Gambale, XTC, assorted friends, etc. Real job: Systems babysitter and nursemaid (operator) at Morehead State University. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 18:44:00 CST From: jeff beer Subject: They all sound alike... I sort of heard that early on, but in a different way. I remember when I first got a digital synthesizer, the CX5M which was basically a DX-9 installed in Microsoft's version of the Commodore 64. I would get all these cool sounding sounds, but yet I had heard them all in the last movie I saw. It maybe not that they all sound alike, but it is the patch-du-jour syndrome. It all becomes transparent once you start developing your own patches. You see the territory that has been charted before. I also wonder how sound the electronic music industry is, judging by the behavior of some of the stores. ( amount of sales, disruptions in inventory, number of selections, and other vibes I get in the stores) They may someday use AI programs to learn some of the time-varying aspects of sound, but will users be able to use them? jeff ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 18:24:45 EDT From: HARNDEN@AUVM.BITNET Subject: that damn noise have you noticed that all current 'new' synths sound alike? there's this generic "whooshing bell with a chunky attack" that has sort of become the default tone on roland, korg, and yamaha equipment. does this bother you? and whatever happened to realtime non-linear waveshaping? and does the kawai k5 (now gone... remember it? fourier synthesis.) use the hal alles technique, or something else, to manage simultaneous control of multiple harmonics? and... well done metlay.. read your CMJ article. good distillation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eric Harnden (Ronin) | V.P., Chief Engineer | Transmedia Music, inc. The American University Physics Dept.| (202) 347-8050 Washington, D.C | ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Jun 90 18:50:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: that damn noise It bothers the F*CK out of me, Eric. That's why my newest synth is a Prophet VS. |-> BTW, thanks for the compliment on the article. They really mangled it, though... I didn't include any figures, so they grabbed some random photos they had handy and spliced them into my text. It was a nice touch, but they made at least one factual error inthe process (describing the G-10 as a fretwired guitar-- WHY didn't they put in a picture of a SynthAxe?!); also, my version was typed very hastily and they didn't clean up my grammar or misspellings as well as I'd have liked. My own fault, but they never did send me the galley proofs.... Bitch bitch bitch. Hell, I'm just glad I was invited to submit it; I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, but next time ("NEXT TIME?!") I'm going to be a bit more careful on my first draft. |-> metlay PS> Joe's been doing a great job, Ronin, but I missed you anyway. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jun 90 09:40:00 EDT From: "b.klassen" Subject: RE: all sound alike >I also wonder how sound the electronic music industry is, judging >by the behavior of some of the stores. ( amount of sales, disruptions >in inventory, number of selections, and other vibes I get in the stores) I've noticed a very distinct drop in quality of the stores in my area, including the revered Toronto stores. Their staff consists largely of young (high-school age?), untrained, inexperienced kids trying to sell T1's and such "'cause, man, they use them on Arsenio's show and listen to this it sounds just like that TV commercial ..." The guys you could sit down with, have a coffee, and talk about the technology have moved on - I guess the stores aren't paying. (Thank god for emusic-l, without which I'd be living in the dark ...) Inventories seem to be almost nonexistent. One particular store which I had put some hope in was down to carrying only Roland gear, and had a U-20, a W-30, and a U-220 in stock. That was it! There were three or four guys working there, trying to flog this stuff. Pathetic. I could go on with stories of recent disappointments (I used to love spending a rainy Saturday driving around to my favourite stores to try out new gear ...). I get a real empty feeling now, like the whole thing's going to fall apart. Jeff alluded to this in his note ... I'm wondering if what I'm experiencing is just a bad Southern Ontario economic situation, or if it's bigger than that. brian They may someday use AI programs to learn some of the time-varying aspects of sound, but will users be able to use them? jeff ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jun 90 11:03:00 EDT From: Craig Hicks Subject: RE: all sound alike >The guys you could sit down with, have a coffee, and talk >about the technology have moved on - I guess the stores >aren't paying. (Thank god for emusic-l, without which I'd >be living in the dark ...) Hmm, I find this very interesting, as in the music stores that I frequented in Atlanta in the mid-80's seemed to be doing a booming business, and their sales staff seemed more like used-car hype-sters than emusic hip-sters. I have encountered this attitude so regularly in music stores that I am seriously considering never setting foot in one again, and dealing only via mail order. How many of you have encountered the following, as I have, again and again: You go to music store x, with a particular product in mind, armed with some info from reviews or user-friends, and ask for a demo. The sales-dude goes to the unit and performs 30 seconds of jerk-off riffs at loud volume, and then says "whaddaya think?" When you ask a specific question about the unit's functions, the response is "sure, it can do that!" no matter what you ask (i.e., it can do anything you want it to, because it is the hottest new synth). Ask for a look at a spec sheet or a manual, and it's "sorry man, can't find it" or "we never got one from the manufacturer!" These weren't floundering teens, either, but allegedly "experienced" sales people in their 30's, who seemed to believe that the hard-sell was the best sell. There was *one* guy on the staff of one of the four or five stores that I could even begin to deal with, who respected the fact that I was thinking of spending hundreds of hard-earned $$$ on a piece of electronics that would probably begin to depreciate to zilch the moment I left the store. Anyone else have similar stories, or is it just me? - Craig ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jun 90 14:15:00 EDT From: METLAY@PITTVMS.BITNET Subject: Re: all sound alike There is one store in Pittsburgh where the staff are uniformly courteous, well-informed, and helpful. The manager and I have become good friends over the years, but he gives new customers the same consideration he gives me. Their prices aren't the lowest, but I buy there when they carry what I want. It's only fair, after all, to reward excellence. The other six or seven stores range from fair to putrid. *sigh* metlay ------------------------------ End of EMUSIC-L digest ******************************