issue07

EMUSIC-L Digest                                      Volume 43, Issue 07

This issue's topics: Hardware questions and answers
	
	techno (2 messages)
	acid house bass drum
	DIY MIDI for the IBM-PC
	Electro Harmonix? (2 messages)
	Keymidiator
	New Wavestation (2 messages)
	Proteus

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:         Fri, 28 Aug 1992 13:13:08 -0400
From:         Dana Nibby 
Subject:      techno

I'm looking for suggestions of older synths to buy for techno projects.
I'll be getting a separate drum machine and already have an 8-bit sampler
(an amiga 500). What MIDI synths have good techno sounds? I wanted to buy an
M1 workstation at first, but (1) the M1 didn't have any sliders for live
filter control/LFO, etc. (2) It seems I could do the whole thing a lot
cheaper using the Amiga to play samples/sequence (plus drum machine).
Any suggestions? Thanks.

   Dana

PS. Does anyone have any of the house/techno sampling CDs? If so,
how are they? Which ones are actually worth the outrageous price
tags?

------------------------------
Date:         Fri, 28 Aug 1992 20:54:12 -0400
From:         Jari 'Jartsu' Lehto 
Subject:      Re: techno

I think Ensoniq VFX or one of it's successors will serve you well for
producing techno-type music. There are lots of good synthetical basic
souds to begin with and the modulation system allows you to do almost
whatever you wish. The original VFX can be found easily and very cheap
these days, and if it has an OS of recent version, it is quite stable
too, unlike the first ones.

>    Dana


--
* Jari Lehto     * Voice 90-387939    *   Email Jari.Lehto@hut.fi   *
* Tenavatie 19 A * Fax +358 0 8735916 * fwd -> s37837k@saha.hut.fi  *
* 00760 HELSINKI * "There is always room for music (Gospel & synth) *
* Finland        * and for love & friendship. And of course Atari." *

------------------------------
Date:         Fri, 28 Aug 1992 10:43:42 -0400
From:         Dana Nibby 
Subject:      acid house bass drum

I'm looking for a cheap drum machine with two things:
a good acid bass drum sample and MIDI compatibility. I'm not about
to blow $400-$800 on a TR808 or an R8. I'm buying used too, so I don't
need a machine currently on the market. Any suggestions?

     Pax,


      Dana

------------------------------
Date:         Thu, 13 Aug 1992 16:02:00 BST
From:         "David Rees, UCL." 
Subject:      DIY MIDI for the IBM-PC

	I am a pianist who has recently started playing around with a
synthesizer. I now want to interface this with my prehistoric 8086 IBM-PC, so I
can start overlaying different tracks, editing my work etc. However, on a
shoestring budget (those student grants always were inadequate!) I can neither
afford to upgrade my PC nor spend the 250 odd pounds that a commercial MIDI
interface and sequencer would cost.

	Therefore I have two questions I would like to ask the list.

	Firstly, does anybody out there have any information regarding DIY MIDI
interfaces for the IBM PC. The only reference for this that I have found is an
old article in the June 1986 issue of Byte magazine.

As I understand things there are two problems with the design:

1.	It uses a UART to transfer data.
	This will cause timing problems as the computer is trying to run both
the program and the data transmission simultaneously.

	What I think I need is an intelligent microprocessor-based unit which
will work with all MPU-401 compatible PC MIDI software.

2.	It is hard-wired to interrupt IRQ2.
	This means that there is a good chance of there being a conflict
between the card and other equipment.

	Having said this, does most available music software support
alternative interrupts?

	Ideally, someone out there would have a nice circuit diagram, or
reference for one, for a reliable, modern MIDI interface. However, any
information or advice that you could give me would be greatly appreciated.


	Secondly, has anyone got any information/experience about public domain
or shareware MIDI software for the PC? In particular are there any MIDI
sequencers available? Also, where are the best sites for PC MIDI software?


Many thanks in advance for your replies,

		David Rees.
		Optical Science Laboratory,
		Dept. of Physics and Astronomy,
		University College, London.

		djxr@uk.ac.ucl.starlink

------------------------------
Date:         Fri, 7 Aug 1992 07:29:55 EDT
From:         "D. Yuen" 
Subject:      Re:  Electro Harmonix?

A while back the rumor popped up that Electro Harmonix was going to go
back into business.  Anybody know anything about this?

thanks,

Dy


------------------------------
Date:         Thu, 27 Aug 1992 13:26:00 EST
From:         MCINTYRE@MSUPA.BITNET
Subject:      Electro Harmonix

>From:         "D. Yuen" 

>A while back the rumor popped up that Electro Harmonix was going to go
>back into business.  Anybody know anything about this?

Mike Matthews (former head of Electro-Harmonix) is now doing business
as New Sensor.  He is negotiating with the Russians to resurrect the
old product line.  A recent Guitar Player article on distortion boxes
included mention of a Russian made Big Muff, distributed in the US by
New Sensor.

John McIntyre
Physics - Astronomy Dept
Michigan State University

------------------------------
Date:         Mon, 31 Aug 1992 14:19:52 EDT
From:         Andrea Peach 
Subject:      Keymidiator

I have recently purchased a 386/SX20 notebook and am looking for a good
serial MIDI adapter.  The only one that I have found is the Keymidiator
from Key Electronics.  Does anyone know of others or is this basically
the best one?

Also, has anyone used Cakewalk for Windows?  Is it worth the extra
money?

Send replies to APEACH00@ukcc.uky.edu.  Thanks.

------------------------------
Date:         Thu, 27 Aug 1992 14:03:37 EST
From:         Jon Crystal 
Subject:      New Wavestation

Just got off the phone from a call to Sweetwater Sound. Their latest brochure s
ounded like they had seriously discounted WAvestation A/D. Not. I was quoted th
e same $1575 I've been told for almost a year from a variety of sources. But...
I was also told Korg was coming out with a new model: single rack space, wave s
equencing, most of the same functions as the keyboard, *no A/D*, at a price som
ewhat lower than the current A/D quote. I think I'll wait for the real one to c
ome down further in price.

------------------------------
Date:         Fri, 28 Aug 1992 10:42:22 +0000
From:         Nick Rothwell 
Subject:      Re: New Wavestation

>I think I'll wait for the real one to c
>ome down further in price.

Me too. (I have a WS keyboard, but sooner or later I'm going to want two
units just in order to be able to do effects switching and configuration
properly without killing all the notes each time, which is what the v3 WS
does for all its interesting effects configurations.) This new Wavestation
sounds to be an A/D with all the important features removed.

Funny how the A/D is holding its value. It's been L1200 ($2000-ish) or so
for a year or two, whereas the keyboard has been dropping.

Oh, drat, forgot to phone Hollowoods to arrange delivery of my EX upgrade.
In case anyone's interested, these things seem to be getting scarce now,
and going up in price, so if you have a non-EX Wavestation keyboard, I'd
recommend checking out the EX kit quickly.

Nick.

------------------------------
Date:         Sun, 30 Aug 1992 08:10:22 -0400
From:         Dana Nibby 
Subject:      Proteus

Someone recommended the Proteus to me as a good synth for techno.
(I'll have a drum machine, and an Amiga 500 for sequencing/sampling)
I remember seeing used Proteus' for around $450. Was this the Proteus
1? I was looking for a synth in the $400-$500 range. Can anyone tell me
a little bit about the Proteus? Just the basics. How many voices?
Sequencer? (if so, how many tracks?) Does it come with a disk drive or
does it use Rom cards? Does it have effects? Filtering/LFO?

  Or can anyone recommend another synth that is MIDI compatible, cheap,
and has good quality techno-type sounds? Or sounds used by bands like
MB Manifesto, Orbital, Quadrophonia, Consolidated. I also do a dark
ambient side project, and I've heard that the Proteus is supposed to
have amazing film scoring/soundscape type sounds. So, what can I buy for
$400-$500 used?

   Thanks,

      Dana

------------------------------
End of the EMUSIC-L Digest
******************************