Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!decwrl!mips!prls!philabs!linus!nixbur!nixpbe!peun33!gla From: gla@nixpbe.UUCP (R. Glaschick) Newsgroups: comp.music Subject: Re: Sound Blaster Message-ID: Date: 13 Aug 90 10:51:51 GMT References: <1990Aug9.094853.23568@agate.berkeley.edu> Sender: news@nixpbe.UUCP Lines: 35 In <1990Aug9.094853.23568@agate.berkeley.edu> boris@ocf.berkeley.edu (Boris Chen) writes: >I have a IBM clone. It is not a computer that is particularly suited >for music (or sound for that matter). I saw an ad for a card called >Sound Blaster. The ad said that it supports midi, as 24 voices, is >stereo, has an amp, and also is Adlib compatible. It is a fair price, >but I was wondering if anyone had any comments about it, or have >heard good/bad things about it. I have bought one at the CeBIT Hannover fair this year from a German Distributor. The 24 voices are 12(?) for Adlib FM sound, and the others for CMS type music. Plus a channel to store and replay any sound (digitally sampled). The build-in amplifier is good; all worked very fine with the software supplied -- but see below. The bad thing is that the manual gives no information about the connector pin layout, so you must buy the MIDI cable for a very high price. (I did not). Nor is there a description of the I/O interface or a programming library to access all the nice features. So you are bound to buy third party SW for either CMS or AdLib. So at the current time it is only useful if you steal the software from AdLib or buy a lot of CMS software that should be accessible in US. Might be I through it away and buy AdLib. It could be a special problem; my distributer told me he is continuously busy getting more information for me -- but US has no reply for the tiny Germany. -- Rainer Glaschick, NIXDORF Computer AG, Paderborn, W-Germany EMail: glaschick@nixpbe.de.UUCP or glaschick.pad@nixbur.UUCP Tel. +49 5251 14 6150 (office) +49 5254 6238 (home) Fax: +49 5251 14 6569