Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    
    	Aside from Passport, a company called Syntech makes a bunch
    of C64/MIDI hardware and software.  Ask your local music store if
    they have any of their literature.
    
    	Also, check out the ads in good old Keyboard magazine. 

    							- Karl

    
    	I've just started to try and get my C-64 to talk MIDI (to my
    Casio CZ-101). I have the Passport hardware interface and have played
    with the MIDI 8+ software. It's basically an 8 track MIDI recorder
    with some nice features like "punch-in", quantizing, and sync to
    MIDI or drum machine clocks. Very easy to use.
    	Some of the music stores around Boston say nice things about
    software from a small company in Waltham, MA called Dr. T's, but
    I haven't been able to get a demo of it. They make a sequencer/recorder
    which is supposed to be more sophisticated than Passport but not
    as user friendly. They also have a CZ librarian program which can
    play back files made with their sequencer software (for live
    performance I guess).
    	I haven't actually bought any software yet because I'd really
    like to write my own, but so far lack of time has kept me from doing
    anything more complex than a simple Sample and Hold type program
    using the LFOs in the C-64.
    	I think the C-64 makes a good MIDI controller for the price.
    It's major drawback, as you probably already know, is that the disk
    drive is very slow when compared to other machines. This is not
    too bad for use at home or in a studio, but could give be a problem
    if you were trying to load long compositions in live performance.
        
    - Rob
    

        I have been using a C64 for over a year with DR-T's software
    and have found it as good as any I've seen.  I have written some
    software for CPM on a DECMATE and tried to build a interface that
    would work at 9600 just for the fun of it.  It worked fairly well
    but this approach was taking me away from my main objective.
    
    If anyone wants more input please let me know.
    
    Some said that the program load speed of the C64 is slow in a
    performance situation - but it is cheap enough that you can afford
    two and you aren't slowed down then.
    

    Could you do a review of the Dr T software? I am interested in the
    features it offers for editing and sequencing, especially for use
    with my TR 707 drum machine, but also for my JX3-P. Also what synths
    are you using it with? many thanks....
    
    dave

    I just bought Dr. T's stuff recently, and I have a problem.  My
    roommate's C64 was purchased some time ago, and has a fairly low
    serial no.  When I loaded the Keyboard Controlled Sequencer, all
    of the menus save 1 are invisable, and large portions of the data
    screens are invisible.  The program works OK, but you can't see
    what you're doing.  Running the same disc and interface on the
    C64 in a music store shows no problems.  I looked for the Commodore
    Notes file, but it's gone.  Can any of you C64 fans recall any
    information that may be of help to me?  The Dr. T patch librarian
    works fine on this C64, by the way.  Thanks...
    
    Greg W.

    RE: .5
    
    Some of the earlier 64s were different in their display. It has
    something to do with the way the default background colors were
    initialized. You might try printing a screen full of spaces or pokeing
    screen memory in some way before you load the program. I'll try
    to check some of my old Gazettes or COMPUTE books for details.
    
    RE: .3 & .4
    
    I'm very interested in Dr. T's sequencer software and would love
    to see a review. I'm interested in a sequencer which programs like
    a drum machine (patterns which can then be combined to make songs)
    as opposed to a MIDI recorder. Can you have more than one sequence
    in memory ? Can you switch between sequences while they are playing?
    Do the sequences also remember program changes for the synths they're
    controlling? Do I ask too many questions?

    What the heck happened to the VIC notes file anyways?????  My disk
    drive is acting up and would like to know what software is out there
    to calibrate the heads, etc.  Any ideas?
    
    Todd.
    

    The c64 stuff is in SPHINX::COMMODORE. There is also a SPHINX::AMIGA
    for users of that machine...

Check out KEYBOARD's Synthesizers '86 ($3.95).  They have a fold-out chart on 
page 44 that compares the spec's on Dr. T and a LOT of other sequencer S/W and 
H/W.  Dr. T's ranks among the best, as far as software goes.

							Steve

    I've been looking into the Dr. T sequencer for my C64.  The only problem
    I have from looking at the specs is that it only has room for 
    somthing like 3500 notes.  I don't think that is enough for even
    a five minute song that is relatively "busy".  Any comments on
    this?
    
    All the other features of the Dr T. sequencer look outstanding.
    
    Todd.
    

    Right, Todd. 3500 notes (2 events per) doesn't go too far.
    A relatively busy 5 minute tune would suck it up. As a reference
    point...
    
            Billy Joel's "Scene's From An Italian Restaurant" can't
            be done in 8000 notes on piano only. I ran out of memory
            about the same time Brenda and Eddie got divorced.
    
    Whoa-oh, whoa-oh....
    
    Edd 
    
    

    The 3500 notes is probably enough for only 3-4 minutes of music in
    real time, but the problem is with the C-64, not the Dr.'s software.
    I had the Passport MIDI +8 and that had only about the same (maybe
    less) memory available, but didn't even come close to the features
    available with Dr T's. The way to save memory is to make sections
    that are repetitive (bass lines and other rhythm tracks) into sequences
    that loop rather than straight recorded tracks. I heartily recommend
    Dr. T's, it has the most extensive and imaginative editting
    capabilities that I've seen or heard of in a sequencer for the C-64.
    Also the way his software allows you to create control sequences
    (sequences that call other sequences that call etc...) is much more
    flexible for the way I like to work with a sequencer. If you're
    looking for something that's more of a MIDI recorder with lots of
    memory you might check out some of the MSQ recorders from Roland. If
    you just want more note capacity in a computer I think you'll need to
    get a new computer.
    Dr. T's has a sequencer for the C-128 (10,000 notes I think) and
    is also planning to heavily support the new Atari STs. You think
    1 meg would be enough? 8^)
    
    Rob
    
    

    The MSQs (now replaced by the MC-500) only hold about 6500 notes.
    If you are only doing one part of a song on the sequencer (i.e.,
    drums and guitars don't take up any space), you can get a couple
    of songs (< 4 minutes worth each) into a an MSQ.  If you do all
    parts, you can maybe get one song in.  Time for tape sync and
    multitracking.  My touchstone for all this is the Bach 6th Brandenburg,
    whose first 50 bars fill my MSQ-100 (6 parts, 4 of which are mostly
    16ths all the way, and two of which are mostly 8ths all the way).
    
    An MC-500 will hold about 27000 notes onboard, and 100000 on disk
    (but you can only play the onboard stuff, and loading from disk
    is not instantaneous).  But an MC-500 will cost you about $1100,
    and MSQ-100s and -700s are no longer available new, but there is
    a good used market for them.
    
    len.
    

Re: -.2

Thanks for the info.  I figured the limitations were in the C64.  Fortunately
the Dr. T software allows looping and other filtering capabilities to save
space.  Another advantage with the C64/Dr. T setup over a QX or MSQ is
the ability to store a sequence to disk.

Someday a computer sequencer will come out for the C64 that uses a virtual
scheme so that only parts of an overall sequence are in physical memory at
any one time (like virtual memory).  Thus the note limit would be disk
capacity rather than what physical memory could hold.  Of course, looping
would be impossible, but with a full disk of capacity, who needs it!
Hmmmm, how much could I sell it for if I wrote one?

Re: -.1

Good points Len.  I really need to define what I want to do with the sequencer
to determine whether 3500 notes is enough.

Next problem:  What C64 MIDI interface to get.

Todd.

    re -1
    
    Good question....I've been agonising over this questions since I
    bought my 64..AS near as I can tell the interface needs to be passport
    compatable (everybody writes their software to run on this interface).
    Passport's are $149 (last I checked, direct from passport), seems
    like I saw one in this months EM advertised at something like $70
    or 90......let me know what you decide.
    
    dave

    The problem with the 1541 disk drive is speed.  It's about 2K baud
    which make it the slowest disk drive I've ever used.  Maybe the
    1571 is faster.  I sold my C64 et. al. when I bought my Amiga.
    
    The problem with using the Amiga disk drive, however, is that
    the driver uses the blitter to read/write the disk and doing
    so takes time.  I've only done a small test, but when I wrote
    out data to the disk, serial I/O stopped.  Seems that using
    the Amiga disk drive transparently will also be impossible.
    Has anyone with an Amiga found a way around the problem?
    
    -jim