*********************************** AM/FM ***********************************     Getting into the synthesizer world with a low budget!    by Geir W. Kristoffersen *********************************** AM/FM ***********************************  Are you on a tight budget? A v e r y tight budget? Don't know a lot about music and instruments? Would like to expand your music setup, the four channels on your Amiga and the "music" from your CBM 1084 speakers sound a bit tinny? Know nothing- or next to nothing about synths and sound gear? Then read on. A nice, shiny synth is very expensive, and lots of amiga users (like myself) can't afford one. This article is intended to help you, and I will try to tell you about some ways to get your clammy hands on some musical gear for reasonable prices. I will have to use my own background as reference, and I'm sure there are several ways to achieve this. I live in Norway, and the condition in your country may be quite different. Here are my tips to get as much sound as possible out of as little cash as possible.. Hint #1: Don't trust anybody !!! Not even me. Sound and music is something personal, use your ears and your own taste to find out what to spend your hard- earned money on. Listen to people that know more than yourself, but they have their own opinion about music. If your setup sounds good to you, don't bother if other persons think it stinks. Hint #2: Ask someone who plays in a band, preferably a person that has some years of experience, and the one that looks after the PA and other technical stuff. Such a person will be able to help you with hints, and has a lot of knowledge that will be useful for you. All musicians are nice people ( well, at least some... )and will be flattered if you show some interest in what they are doing. Hint #3: Buy a small second hand mixer. You will be able to pick up one for let's say 1000 NOK. This may sound expensive, but if it has at least 6 channels, you will be able to use it for many years. Try the different knobs and sliders when the mixer is turned on. If you hear a lot of noise, be careful. This can be fixed with a can of electronic cleaner, but the potmeters may be worn out. If so, stay away from the mixer- these pots are quite expensive to replace. If you have to go for something cheaper, a battery- operated mixer with let's say 4 channels will do for a while. You should buy a mixer because this will allow you to mix synths with the sounds from the Amiga. Furthermore, you will be able to get rid of the dreadful ping- pong stereo from the Amiga output. With a stereo mixer you can pan the output ( means that you will hear the sound i both left and right loudspeaker.) Hint #4: Buy a graphic equalizer. This thing works like the bass and treble knobs on your amp, but the sound is divided into smaller areas (or bands) , so you can adjust the sound more accurately. Anything above 5 bands per channel will do, 15 is great and 32 even greater. Have a look in you wallet before you choose. Even if your mixer, speakers and amp is far from perfect in sound quality this device will let you shape the sound after your own taste, and will make even a cheap and lousy setup sound better. Your Amiga will sound great ( or at least almost ) if you feed the output through an equalizer. Hint #5: Buy a synth and a midi interface. Sooner or later you'll find out that the Amiga sound channels are too few and the sounds are far from perfect. A synth has several advantages, you'll have a proper keyboard to play on, and the sound quality is much better. To connect your synth to your amiga you'll need a midi interface. They are not expensive. If you can afford it, buy a midi box with at least two or three outs. It is easier to expand your setup with several outs. And now on to the difficult part: Buy a synth. Read hint number one again, then read on. My advice is to stay clear of the so-called "home keyboards". They may be cheap, and if you will have to share the keyboard with your sister, this may be the only choice after all. It is essensial that the synth that you buy has midi in and out, the thru can be sacrificed if your midi interface has several outs. Read as much as you can stand about synths before you buy one. It's much more easy to know what to look for if you know what to look for....... (!!) Check multitimbrality and polyphony, if it has touch-sensitive keys and aftertouch. Also, listen to the sounds ! Is it sold in large numbers ? If so third party developers have made stuff for it. The Roland D50 and Yamaha DX-7 are two examples of this, you can buy cards with almost everything thinkable on for these synths. On-board sequencer on a DX-7 from 1985 ? No problem ! These upgrades are often much cheaper than to invest in the latest state -of the art model. Remember, just a couple of years from now on your synth will be outdated, but it will still be able to make great sounds. It's not difficult to make music on second-hand gear, only much cheaper. I hope that these hints, or at least some of them will help the beginner. Write to AMFM and ask your questions, and write to Microillusions and DEMAND an upgrade on Music-X !! *********************************** AM/FM ***********************************