Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!noao!asuvax!rave!lynn From: lynn@rave.phx.mcd.mot.com (Lynn D. Newton) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: MIDI Software? Message-ID: Date: 30 May 89 13:11:22 GMT References: <12540@shamash.cdc.com> <310@usl-pc.usl.edu> <4051@druwy.ATT.COM> <1024@taurus.BITNET> Sender: lynn@rave.phx.mcd.mot.com Organization: Motorola MCD Lines: 51 In-reply-to: iddos@TAURUS.BITNET's message of 26 May 89 12:31:23 GMT Regarding Mimetics SoundScape Pro-MIDI Studio -- the following is my own unpartisan opinion: For a while SoundScape was _the_ music sequencing software for the Amiga. I have not seen recent versions. One of its primary positive attritute is that it takes advantage of the Amiga's multitasking capabilities in such a way that modules can be added/subtracted and opened or shut down as needed. A wonderful idea in concept. And it's true, that a great deal of functionality is built into the product. I own it and for a while, once I figured out how to work it, enjoyed using it. _HOWEVER_: it does seem to be tricky to use. When I was a novice at sequencing, I had to read through the whole manual before I was able to get things set up so that I was actually sequencing. Some essential "how to" was buried in the midst of it. My ignorance of MIDI at that time didn't help, of course. On the other hand, when I bought Dr. T's KCS, I clicked on the sequencer icon, pressed a key on my sequencer keyboard and suddenly found myself recording. That's what musicians want. Secondly, the editing capabilities of SoundScape are (were?) pitiful. If one accepts the concept of a sequencer as being a sort of word processor for music, then the editing capabilities are at least as important as the recording abilities. After a couple of days of using Dr. T's KCS (and now Level II), I stopped using SoundScape altogether, except to trot it out to show to friends, and to play some music I had written with it. That fact alone says a lot. In the long run users will use a particular product, not out of some kind of partisan loyalty, but because it does the job for them. I personally wish that Mimetics had done some things a little different. I applaud them for their ventures into multitasking, which is a thorny subject to deal with for many less knowledgeable programmers. But the end product didn't quite make it, and maybe it never will. As for their marketing techniques, I can't say, for I rarely even see SoundScape advertised any more. Therefore, my opinion is that _by itself_ SoundScape is a good product, with some serious shortcomings. But when compared with Dr. T's KCS (I'm not intimately familiar with any of the others), it falls short. -- ================================================================= Lynn D. Newton | System Test Motorola MCD, Tempe, AZ | (Department of Heuristic Methodology) (602) 437-3739 | "The bug stops here!" lynn@rave.phx.mcd.mot.com |