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From: keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,rec.music.synth
Subject: Re: Review of SoundScape Pro MIDI Studio (LONG)
Message-ID: <1602@cadovax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Jun-87 13:28:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: cadovax.1602
Posted: Wed Jun 17 13:28:31 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 21-Jun-87 11:35:48 EDT
References: <180@sugar.UUCP>
Reply-To: keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle)
Organization: Contel Business Systems, Torrance, CA
Lines: 42
Keywords: MIDI soundscape sequencers
Xref: mnetor comp.sys.amiga:5809 rec.music.synth:937

In article <180@sugar.UUCP> karl@sugar.UUCP (Karl Lehenbauer) writes:
>Almost all drum machines and many sequencers allow you to create a song
>by creating many patterns of an arbitrary length, usually one, two or
>four measures and then assembling the song by specifying a list of the desired
>patterns in the order in which they are to be played.  SoundScape works
>something like this, but SoundScape has you pretend you are splicing film.
>You click the patterns together and although the splices are still
>there, SoundScape doesn't provide you with a handle to easily find and
>manipulate them once they're spliced together.  A track as a list of patterns
>is the metaphor I find most valid for this activity.

This is my biggest complaint about soundscape.  I find the 'film editor'
metaphor of the Pro Midi Studio to be particularly cumbersome for editing.
Even relatively simple functions like looping an entire track seem to be
a royal pain in the ass.

>Also, their file requester doesn't scan the directory every time it is called,
>for speed, I suppose.  Unfortunately, SoundScape will occasionally create
>a file and then not be able to find it.  It's there, but you have to
>jimmy the requester by changing directories to get SoundScape to see it.

All you have to do is click on the directory gadget and then hit return,
though I agree, you shouldn't have to do that.

>I found that it takes several readings to understand note
>editing and song editing.

Hmm.  Guess I better read it a few more times.  For me, several is at least
more than 3.

Yeah, there's certainly no shortage of things I can find irritating about
Pro Midi Studio, however, I haven't been spoiled by the thousands of
fantastic Mac Midi programs (not having a Mac), having MIDI sequencing
functionality AT ALL is GREAT NEWS for me!  Coupled with near-Mirage sampling
capabilities, it's pretty easy to overlook the fact that it may not compare
as favorably with some of the great Mac programs.  It's doing the job
for me.


Keith Doyle
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