Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!WPI.BITNET!DSEAH
From: DSEAH@WPI.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Music Studio
Message-ID: <8804042308.AA05984@wpi.local>
Date: 4 Apr 88 23:08:39 GMT
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 46

I recently bought Music Studio GS, and here are some initial reactions
to version 2.0.  I haven't used it much yet, so this will be pretty
dry.

Unlike Music Construction Set, Music Studio allows up to 15 separate
instruments at a time.  MCS is limited to two.  It support Apple MIDI
in addition to the Passport MIDI interface.  It also supports separate
recording track.  If you can't read music, there is a "music paintbox"
that represents note duration by the size of a block on the score.
Different instruments are represented by color.  A sound envelope
editor for instruments allows you to modify attack, decay, sustain and
release. You can not draw a waveform and hear it play.  You can only
change the sound envelope. You can have repeats, triplets, dotted
notes, and inverted notes too.  The interface is mousebased in what
looks like 640x200 mode with dithered colors.  You can cut and paste
measures anywhere.  The package comes with the unprotected program
disk and an additional Songs and Instruments disk.  There are
synthesized and digitized waveforms to choose from.  The digitized
waveforms are pretty big (up to 64K) and limit the number of
instruments you can have.  Instruments from Instant Music can be used,
but there are some compatibility problems.

The program is a little on the slow side when it comes to manipulating
notes.  It takes upwards to 3 seconds for the computer to redraw notes
on the screen when you "scroll" through the measures.  Should be no
problem when Apple puts some *&!$@ speed in the GS.  The program plays
notes while you are figuring out where to put something in the measures.
I think you can turn this off.  Overall, the program is pretty decent
as a regular music composition program.  There are not many things in
the way of special effects like volume sliders, pitch benders or
LFO modulation.  I would really like to see a GS program that can do
this.  I think that MCS has better sound output, but that is because
Music Studio comes with zilcho demo songs.  The fugues and canons sound
a little disorted, and the contemporary stuff is written either by
some dude named Chris French or (shudder) Ed Bogas.  They are nice little
ho-hum generic jazz songs, but they all sound the same and simple
compared to the songs in Activision's Winter Games GS.  MCS demo songs
blow Music Studio away.  I wish I had waited for Deluxe Music Construction
Set.  Music Studio is still a more complete program than MCS in my
opinion.  I suspect that there will be a Music Studio -> Deluxe MCS
comparison equivalent to Paintworks Plus -> Deluxe Paint II.


 Dave Seah - Worcester Polytechnic Institute

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