Labels:text | screenshot OCR: Getting your own MIDI setup Up-And-Running Some pointers worth considering By Kevan R. Craft The aim of this first part is to give you some pointers on the best ways to get your own MIDI setup going at a price that won't break your bank ballance. First things first: sic-shop, 90% of the tine they are Never buy a NEW synth direct from a music-shop. 90% of the time they given a supplier price upon which they need to make a profit. Buy demo models - its cheaper to fix a glitch or polish off the dust than it is to pay for a spanking new synth. Also buy second-hand. This way its (a) cheaper and (b) you can get a much better deal (usually) if you want to pay the synth off over 'x' months. If you buy second hand then make sure the official OWNERS MANUAL comes with the deal! It's always possible to buy direct from the wholesaler. Just offer then CASH ... they' ll usually take you up on your offer. Always pay CASH (if you can). You'll get some good discounts. NEGOCIATE with the music-shop salesmen. If they offer to sell you a synth for $1500 just show them $1200 or so CASH out of your pocket and they will jump at the opportunity ... if they don't then take your business elsewhere. If they don't stop you before you walk out the door then it wasn't worth trying to buy from them anyway. Don't buy the latest equipment because it looks COOL. Most of the time the of options Wo thers then tine the salesman will try and con you about dozens of options that the synth doesn't REALLY have. ie. 'Look sir, this synth has 18-bit output ... that's better than an average CD player' (and he 'forgets' to mention that the synth's sampled waveforms are only 12-bit - giving nothing more than 12-bit-sound out of an 18- bit output) Start with a modest setup. You don't need to buy big synths the first time round. Get something which you can expand on in the future. If you buy a keyboard first, make sure it has reasonable controller features (MIDI controller options). All the more better if its got a nice feel etc. You don't need to waste money on a mother keyboard ... just get a keyboard which FEELS good and is EASY to setup MIDI-maps etc on. (ie. the Wavestation has very easy MIDI-setups. the K4 has the most atrocious I've ever seen) Buy a synth with effects and drum sounds. This means you don't need to fork out cash to buy an effects unit and drum box before you can actually start MAKING some music. (see below) If you buy more equipment, make sure you get synth modules. If you've chosen a synth as I've indicated you don't need to fork out a few $100's more for the keyboard coz you already have one! There's hundreds of good nodules on the market and some good ones are the Roland D-110 (8 parts + Drum machine), Ensoniqu SQR or the Ensoniq SGR Plus (8 parts including Drums and Effects - Excellent module this!) There are many more however, so if possible, try scanning the music magazines published in your country which advertise commercial sales and second hand synhesizer and MIDI equipment etc! Try NOT to buy a drum machine. If you have the cash, get a old sampler. 8-voice polyphonic at 12-bit is reasonable. Something like a Roland S-220 or Cheetah SX-16 or even $330 will do fine. Now you just take out all the drum machines you like from your friends and take the drum sounds off en. You can make up a nice collection of disks in this way. eg . 'Hr16-B percussion Disk', 'SR16 Snares' Maste Eine buyingbene ieyesbrent . ANY synth justndscap bethenyluna Sg.no need to Don't go for top-of-the-range sampling options. You can get by with a 12-bit sampler - musicians were quite happy with 8-bit samplers some years ago. YOU DON'T NEED A DISKDRIVE-SYSTEM. You have your Amiga to do all of that. You also DON'T NEED a SEQUENCER-WORKSTATION. professional looks a hell of a lot better than a 320-100 LCD display or 80x2 Heck and Music-X or OctaMED character display. Your simple Aniga can make for a synth-librarian or sequencer which no hardware-based sequencer/librarian could ever match up to. The last few are important points. If you're reading this then you probably have an Amiga. It's got sampling features. And if you sample high enough (about 29-30KHz) you will get quality which will not sound out of place in a mix. Percussion breaks, loops and the occasional orchestra hit and such effects can be put to good use using say OctaMED Professional or Music-X for example with your MIDI setup; no matter how large or small it is. So now you're pretty well equipped to go out and get your system at a reasonable price. BUT what kind of setup is ideal? There isn't an ideal MIDI set up as such - you can only expand as you go along. As long as you can transmit at least 8 parts and drums from your sequencer then your laughing although the best options are the full 16 MIDI channeles. A computer composer/musician can adequately cope with these limitations because the synthesizer is simply replacing/suplimenting the capacity for inbuilt sampling anyway. Unless of course you are a semi/professonal musican who intends to expand your MIDI system for either live or studio use and then that becomes a whole new ball game! Now what I plan to do here is provide some good guidelines for any prospective MIDI equipment buyers. Be sure to take these points into GOOD consideration; as the first-time buyer is more than certain to be culled into buying a piece of equipment which is not suited for his/her use. Often this can be very off- putting to first time buyers. So don't pay attention to the very nice pics of that 'hot gear' in the newest Keyboard mag or the great-sounding specs offered ... sure it might be amazing but not necessarily what you wanted, not SO? oning up then are the main categories of equipment and points worth noting. Synths / Workstations. 1.Old <> outdated. Don't be fooled into thinking that old gear isn't 'hip' or won't meet with your needs. This is a mistake often made. I'll bet you didn't bother to think where the good old analogue sounds on those hip synths come from? More than likely a golden-oldie like an OB-8. So you see old should never be compared to outdated. 2. Don't be fooled by the 'workstation' image given by new synths. A software sequencer on your Amiga outstrips any synth-sequencer by leaps and bounds. That's a fact. Of course this goes for explain later. a lot of other features too; as I'll 3. Synths with sample-RAM? Sounds in fits of excitement because its not all great doesn't it? Well stop jumping around find that sample-RAM synths often just have what it's cut out to be. You'll this feature to add extra PCM to the synth are a low cost. Many new buyers think that they are getting what seems to be a sampler-synth combination although granted the synth with the sample-RAM cannot always sample directly and more frequently requires PCM-disks of data instead. This is wrong. Sample-RAM <> sampler. Don't be fooled. 4. Lastly, PLEASE, PLEASE don't make the mistake of buying a synth that offers rinky-dink or basic sounds for example your standard DX-rhodes or plinky marimba or cutesy orchestra hit. A sampler is your best bet if you want short samples. In this respect; when you're checking out a synth ... 5. Take NOTE of the RAM onboard and PCM options. More than often low RAM (1- 2mb) means little variety in sounds. ie you'll always get the same type of bass sound popping up here and there in patch-banks etc. BUT exceptions to the rule. (Let's take Ensoniq's SQ-1 and there are the SQR Plus as a good example of that because the PCM sounds, particularly the drum and percussion sounds can be played over a series of notes and pitches! This makes your MIDI music sound more HUMAN!) 6. From the abovementioned make sure you ALWAYS take out a prospective purchase on approval and test it out thoroughly. After all you are paying for the equipment and you have a right to know what you're getting, or not so? Make sure you put it through it's paces and experiment with programming features. A good idea is to make a simple patch and run through all the basic built-in waveforms AS IS (ie. without effects-processing etc). This will give you a good idea of what you'll be able to do with the synth. Which leads me to ... 7. Effects. Take off the effects. Do the sounds still sound as good? If not don't waste your time with the synth if But if you plan to use single patches you plan to use it multitimbrally. in or no difference. a big rack setup this makes little 8. Expandability. Don't be fooled. A synth doesn't have to be expandable. It all depends on you. If you're happy with the gear that's what counts. On the other hand; if you are the kind of person that always searches for new sounds as a basis for ideas then you should consider a synth that is expandable as far as PCM RAM goes. Drum Machines 1. You've seen that new drum-machine with the 500 sounds. Great not so? Not really. Think of the effort "require really. Think of the effort required to sift through all those sounds. It almost makes you want to give up. This brings me onto my next point ... 2. Factory setups on drum machines. If you've used a few you'll be aware that the factory might setup what it considers your 'hip hop bank', 'rock drumset' etc. There are many musicians happy to use these but take note: A musician should be creative; not dictated to by 'arrangements' originality. Ever tried using such as this. It goes against the grain of bank' . If I can remark here ... the 'Rock drumset' kick with the 'hip hop just mentioned is what hip-hop and such music was built on, not so? So you'll agree that drum-machines with their what I've hundreds of sounds in cute little arranged banks is just not on. Of course not all drum machines are like this .. . BUT ... 3. Unfortunately whenever you buy a drum machine you'll NEVER use every one of the sounds it has (we're speaking SR-16, Procussion, etc here, guys) AND more than likely in the next month a and more hip sounds. So the solution ?.. new drum machine comes out with better 4. A cheap sampler is the purchase you should definitely consider in place of an expensive drum machine. Bear in mind that you are buying the sampler to be used as a 'dedicated drum-machine'. But how to go about doing this ?... 5. Build yourself a library. Use a variety of sources. You should aim at a concise library of say 10 disks. This should give you a wide range of sounds you (a) think are good and (b) will find a use for. So you see a cheap sampler outstrips any drum machine. 6. Basically in this context of use not essential here and the features you can use ANY sampler. Complexity is for replay and sampling and that's about are not that important. You're looking as far as you need to go in this area. Alternatively, you can still acquire good drum and percussion sounds on a quality Synth module via you MIDI sequencer! Samplers 1. Memory. You should ALWAYS consider memory if purchasing a sampler. It's the thing you'll most often run out of. So here expandibility plays a part. 2. Editing. Graphic is ALWAYS better. On the other hand you might have a editing sample tool on your Amiga (sample-wrench, anyone?) but most of the time a sampler which can dump through MIDI has a LCD anyhow. 3. Polyphony. If you've dont Amiga music you'll know that you can sample nice chords and such but lets think about this. You're planning to invest some cash in the sampler and if you're not a techno nut or disco freak you'll want to do something CONSTRUCTIVE (not that techno or disco is not constructive!) :- ) with your equipment. So in this case polyphony of at least 16 is recommended. (But you're bound to cheat with chords at one time or another anyhow!) 4. Budget. If you want to use a good one rather go for a synth. sampler instead of a synth but can't afford or a synth. 5. Use. Samplers are good for quick short and easily looped sounds. So ... when you take out a synth you like and test it out see what kind of sounds it offers. ALWAYS see if the sounds you like can be sampled. Most often they can be. In this way you can rather invest in a sampler; giving you the sounds from the synth that you want an a lot more. 6. Samplers offer the most variety. You're not fixed to any specific sound or the ROM-constraints of a synth. This must always be kept in mind. Effects units 1. These don't come cheap. I recommend that if your synth produces adequate effects for your use you need not invest in a effects unit. 2. A bit of reverb adds a lot of spice. You don't really need '5 simultaneous effects'. If you're stuck for cash a small reverb unit will do. You'll find that it will help to bring your sources more together in a mix; especially if you're using various effects on your synth(s), drum machine etc. 3. Samplers without built in effects often benefit from simple effects. If you are on a tight budget a simple unit will help bring uniformity to your samples (as they will naturally be from different sources) and it can also disguise noisy samples. (Not very 'ethical' is it? But then again sampling is usually not at all ethical ... and that's what makes it fun, han?) :- ) 4. Ofcourse the last thing that need be mentioned here is that effects units will breathe new life into your mixes. If you have the synth equipment you'd be pretty silly not to invest in a good effects unit. Mixers 1. You WILL need a mixer (and good quality speakers). If you're serious about your music Hi-Fi speakers will not do. Professional monitor speakers are an essential purchase. They will show you your errors rather than disguise them like Hi-fi speakers often do! 2. OUTPUTS on your synth/sampler/etc play an important part here. Don't go an buy a host of synths and samplers with multiple outputs and then discover you don't have the money for a 20-channel mixer. 3. Other options like Midi-control, noise levels and effects sends should also be investigated according to what your needs are. Well hopefully I've succeeded in listing global tips which will provide sone help in setting up your own MIDI Set up. If you feel you would like some advice or help concerning MIDI then free to write us a letter or you can also contact us by telephone. If you do decide to write then please enclose an S.A.E. hope these points help you on the right track to getting your modest Midi setup up-and-running in no time! For those who are interested in what kind of MIDI set up we employ with our Amiga here we go - As semi-professional composers and musicans my brother Gareth and I have in our bedroom-studio set up as follows :- HARDWARE Amiga 500 Plus 2Mb 2 Cumana Disk Drives A570 CD ROM Tascam 38 8 Track Reel to Reel Tape Machine 2 X Tascam DBX 4 Track Noise Reduction Systems (8 tracks in total) TEAC 144 - 4 Track Portastudio Studiomaster Mixdown 16:8:16 Mixing Desk JLCooper PPS-100 SMPTE/MIDI Time code Generator/Reader 1U Roland GR-50 Guitar Synthesizer (3 part MIDI Guitar Synth + Drums) 1U Roland D-100 Multi-Timbral Synth module (8 parts + Drums = 9) 1U Ensonq SQR Multi-Timbral Synth module (8 Parts including Drums) 1U Yamaha RX21 Drum Machine ART SGE Digital Multi-Effects Processor 1 U Yamaha REX 50 Digital Multi-Effects Processor Ibanez HD 1000 Harmonics/Delay Effects Processor 1U JVC A-S3 25 Watt Stereo Amplifier TEAC A-108 SYNC Stereo Cassette Deck 2 X Three-way 60 Watt Wharfedale Monitor Speakers SONY TC-K33 Stereo Cassette Deck Beyer Dynamic DT100 Headphones SONY MDR-P1 Headphones Fender Stratocaster Guitar with Roland GK-2 MIDI Pickup Yamaha Six String Acoustic Guitar Yamaha Semi-Acoustic Jazz Guitar Fender 12 String Acoustic Guitar 2 X Shure SM58 Microphones 2 X Telescope Microphone stands with boons WITTNER Taktell Clockwork Metronone SOFTWARE en Professio OctaMED Professional Music-X V1.1 Bars and Pipes Professional V1.1 Sequencer One AMFC Professional V3.1 At present, this is November 1993, and we are currently writing and recording material for a CD which we intend concerning this look out for more to release early 1994. For more details information in either 'Total Irrelevance' magazine, AM/FM - Amiga Musicians Freeware Magazine or you can contact us at our address below. Take care .. Kevan R.Craft 12 Mount Road Halton Runcorn Cheshire. WA7 2BH England. U.K. Tel: +44 0928 563762
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