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- From: harrison@lclark.edu (Mark Harrison)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard
- Subject: Re: Why I'm not buying GUS yet!
- Message-ID: <1992Dec15.003000.25447@lclark.edu>
- Date: 15 Dec 92 00:30:00 GMT
- References: <9212141829.AA21448@suned1.Nswses.Navy.Mil>
- Organization: Lewis & Clark College, Portland OR
- Lines: 64
-
- In article <9212141829.AA21448@suned1.Nswses.Navy.Mil> jkb@suned1.Nswses.Navy.Mil (John K Bunk) writes:
- >
- >1) Why, oh why, did the card have 16 bit output (great) but ONLY has 8 bit
- >sampling input as a default (not so great). I can't think of any situation
- >where this combination makes sense. Furthermore,
-
- It makes sense for (I would guess) most people like me. I would love to
- have 16-bit sampling, but since that would raise the price, I can do
- without it. I have no need for it, it would just be fun to play around
- with. If you want to do serious music stuff with it, you would want it,
- but most people can do without it. And leaving it out lowers the price,
- so more people will buy it. That's why it makes sense.
-
- >2) Finding the card itself is difficult enought (more so than the SCC-1 card
- >I have), but finding the 16 bit daughter card is downright impossible (at least
- >from my search). Without the 16 bit sampling input, I cannot buy this card at
- >all. Nobody at any computer store I've been to has heard of GUS or the
- >daughter card.
-
- GUS's are showing up all over the place now. I've seen two in the
- Portland area without searching for one, and that was about three weeks
- ago. They should start appearing everywhere in bigger quantities. Lots
- of people have seen them in stores all around the country. As for the
- daughterboards, they unfortunately aren't done yet.
-
- >3) Sure the price of the default card is great, but to make this card my primary
- >card for music synthesis, I already need the daughter card (which I can't find)
- >AND a 1 Meg expansion right out of the box.
-
- Why do you need 1 Meg right out of the box? I called a computer store,
- they had them, I stopped home after work and installed them that night.
- The chips aren't hard to find.
-
- >4) The (as far as I know) non-standard MIDI interface (non-MPU401). Furthermore,
- >I don't know if MIDI in / out jacks come standard with the card or do I have
- >to find another non-existent daughter card to add to the 16 bit sampling!
-
- You will need an (cheap) interface, but not another daughter card.
-
- >6) Nobody has mentioned any way of converting .WAV, MIDI sample, etc. to
- >sounds that GUS can use for wavetable synthesis. What a market if this is
- >possible. I'm thinking of this as I read many complaints of "static" in
- >default waveforms which is packaged with GUS (and how everyone says they
- >could be better).
-
- They probably will be better when someone has a chance to make better
- ones. That's the advantage of loading samples into on-board RAM.
-
- >These items I talk about above probably would not bug me very much (especially for
- >the price of the card!), but other cards rumored to be coming soon sounds like
- >they would give GUS some real competition soon. So unless Gravis gets their
- >marketing, software, and sample library act together, I'm going to wait for
- >something better.
-
- From what I've heard, none of the new cards will compete in price. And if
- the GUS can gain enough support before these other cards show up, it
- should become the least common denominator for wavetable cards. Kind of
- like the SB is now for FM cards. And more companies are jumping on the
- GUS bandwagon. Now it's just the old 'wait and see' game.
- --
- =============================================================================
- Mark Harrison | "We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx
- harrison@sun.lclark.edu | Our great computers fill the hallowed halls."
- -- Me | -- Rush
-