Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!att!cbnewsm!nsw From: nsw@cbnewsm.ATT.COM (Neil Weinstock) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Music-X (was Re: baud bits) Message-ID: <1809@cbnewsm.ATT.COM> Date: 11 Jul 89 14:40:24 GMT References: <19246@louie.udel.EDU> <114667@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> Reply-To: nsw@cbnewsm.ATT.COM (Neil Weinstock) Organization: The Flying Squid Patrol Lines: 85 In article <114667@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> page@sun.UUCP (Bob Page) writes: [ ... ] >Let's talk about Amigas. How 'bout that Music-X, eh? Best music >sequencer package I've ever seen anywhere, and I've seen a lot of 'em. OK, let's. Music-X is very, very impressive. It is currently available from Abel Supply for about $139, in case anyone's interested (Abel = (615) 428-5100). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: I haven't really *used* Music-X much yet, just read the manual (no small task) and experimented with as many things as I have had time for. I am in no way affiliated with Microillusions or Dan Quayle. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For those interested in a real good MIDI sequencing package, here is a rundown of Music-X's features: General: * Comes with 450 page manual. Not the greatest organization, but complete. * Not copy protected (the manual oughtta take care of that ;-) * Fully Intuitionized all the way; all in all an impressive piece of Amiga programming. * Keystroke equivalents for almost everything * Seems reasonable quick. Haven't yet run into any bugs, though too early to make any conclusions in this area. * "Suspend" feature frees serial port for other uses without exiting Music-X. * Supports interfacing with external modules including third-party modules (but not until they publish some interface specs :-( ) * SMPTE support * fully documented file format. Also includes utilities to convert to/from Standard MIDI file format and SMUS format Sequencing: * Standard tape-transport style controls * Up to 250 sequences may be in memory at once; up to 20 ("tracks") may be playing simultaneously * A "performance" file includes sequences, filters, libraries, and samples (see below). Or, each of those things can be saved and loaded from separate files. Editing: * Includes both graphic event editing and text-oriented event editing. * Graphic editor ("bar editor" in their parlance) can scroll to show what's playing when playing a sequence from within the editor. * Editors call up quantizer, aftertouch scaler and velocity scaler as modules. Filters: * Separate input filtering on each of the 16 MIDI channels * Up to four separate keymaps may be active: a keymap allows you to translate MIDI note events into Music-X commands, so you could use keys to trigger sequences, etc. * Nice looking keymap editor is a separate page Internal voice support: * Accessed on "Amiga Samples" page * up to 16 8SVX or SONIX sound files may be loaded at once * sequences may output either to MIDI or to the internal voices * Amplitude envelope for each sample may be edited from the samples page Librarian: * Generic sysex librarian * Includes protocol editor to create protocols for talking to new devices * Protocol may specify a patch editor module, so that you can call up a patch editor from the librarian page and edit the currently selected patch in the library. * Included are patch editors for the D-50 (very nice), DX100 and TX81Z. Have I forgotten anything? I don't think so. All in all there are about a zillion different screens, all of which are nicely done and very functional. Music-X seems to do just about everything. One thing it lacks is a programmable variations generator. Also, the file requester desperately needs a "parent" gadget (glaring omission!!) I wish the screen colors were settable. I also wish that the bar editor didn't initially default to the "add" setting. But no matter. Music-X is a wonderful package, and it's pure Amiga all the way. If anyone has any specific questions about it, please email me and I'll try to answer. /.- -- .. --. .- .-. ..- .-.. . ... .- -- .. --. .- .-. ..- .-.. . ...\ / Neil Weinstock | att!cord!nsw | "One man's garbage is another \ \ AT&T Bell Labs | nsw@cord.att.com | man's prune danish." - Harv Laser / \.- -- .. --. .- .-. ..- .-.. . ... .- -- .. --. .- .-. ..- .-.. . .../