Xref: utzoo rec.music.synth:2910 comp.sys.amiga:16334
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!tektronix!reed!percival!boblind
From: boblind@percival.UUCP (Bob Lindstrom)
Newsgroups: rec.music.synth,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Midi music software
Message-ID: <1171@percival.UUCP>
Date: 19 Mar 88 18:01:05 GMT
References: <1773@ihlpm.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: boblind@percival.UUCP (Bob Lindstrom)
Organization: Troutdale Shrine of Computing
Lines: 63
Keywords: Amiga 1000, midi, music software
Summary: I want everything I've ever seen in the movies

In article <1773@ihlpm.ATT.COM> ginger@ihlpm.ATT.COM (R.P. Berg) writes:

>I'm ready to merge my two favorite toys (Amiga 1000 and Korg DW-8000), but
>am unsure what software to get or even what's available.
>I've seen such titles
>as: Sonix, Music Mouse, DMCS, Music X, Soundscape Pro-MIDI Studio, and one or two
>others.  I'll post a collection of replies to the net.
>

>Russell Berg
>AT&T Bell Laboratories                            (312) 416-4211
>Naperville,  IL                                   ihnp4!ihlpm!ginger
>


Although I love Sonix as a note editor, neither it nor DMCS are really 
appropriate for MIDI applications so you can rule them out first thing.

Music Mouse is fun and sometimes very helpful when the Muse refuses to strike.
However, it, too, has limited MIDI is aimed at very specialized applications.

Music X isn't out yet and may still be several weeks (months?) away. The design
is quite ambitious so (not to suggest any skepticism about the programmer - I
don't know him - but just to be circumspect) there is reason to stand back until
the product proves itself.

Currently, I use Soundscape because it's been the only game in town. However, 
the software design is confusing and sometimes just plain maddening in its
oversights. Yes, it works and, yes, it has some irritating bugs. But now that
there is other MIDI software out there, I can't recommend it to anyone who
doesn't have a strong masochistic streak.

I haven't used Studio Magic but it looks like a decent digital sample editor
combined with a decent MIDI sequencer but neither module may be excellent in
itself.

I have no opinion on Dynamic Studio. I have heard one opinion about it. That
opinion was negative but from a not-particularly-reliable source. .....

Which leaves my current choice - Dr. T's Keyboard Controlled Sequencer. The
Amiga conversion of this industry standard program was done (at least in part)
by David Silver who also did the superb Amiga conversion of Music Mouse. He
knows his stuff, both musically and Amiga-ly. The program is mouse driven,
provides a wealth of remarkable and (more important) really useful features:
48 tracks, full editing, cutting, pasting, merge and unmerge tracks, selective
quantizing, automated variation etc etc etc.

I have not used the software for anymore than limited periods of time, yet. But
at present, it seems that this is the clear choice - even though at $250 it
represents a mega-investment (by my standards) in Amiga MIDI software.

For patch librarians, I dunno. I can't think of anyone who has done a Korg
editor/librarian yet. The universal editor in Music X would be useful there,
obviously, but you'd have to (a.) wait for the program to be published and
(b.) create your own configuration file.

Good Luck!

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