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2022-08-26
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SIGHT & SOUND MUSICAL SOFTWARE REVIEW
This review will cover these
musical systems:
KAWASAKI SYNTHESIZER
MUSIC PROCESSOR
3001 SOUND ODYSSEY
and
THE INCREDIBLE MUSICAL KEYBOARD
With the power of the MUSIC
PROCESSOR, you can choose from 99
preset instrument definitions. With
the INCREDIBLE KEYBOARD, which sits
atop your C-64, you can play just like
a piano.
One of the strongest attributes of
this system is the editing facility.
When you play off of the keyboard
(the C-64 or the INCREDIBLE KEYBOARD),
the MUSIC PROCESSOR creates a program-
like coding of what you play. When
in the editing mode, you can use the
built-in screen editing power of your
C-64. For example, you can use the
cursor keys to move up to any line you
wish to change. If you want to delete
a line, just type in the line number
and press <return>. When in the
editing mode, you can 'place' lyrics
into your song. What this does is
display the words to the song at the
appropriate time. You can also
highlight the current lyrics. This
produces a type of 'bouncing ball'
effect! As I said, the power of this
system really lies in the editing
features which include AUTO line
numbering, DIRectory, DISk access,
Fast forward, Insert, Jukebox, MERge,
RECord, REnumber, Instrument, Save,
Load, etc... All in all, there are
more than 50 commands which can be
accessed from within EDIT mode.
The sound produced by this system
is excellent. The documentation is
very good. All concepts are explained
thoroughly and an example of how to
use the technique is given almost
every time. As a bonus, more than 12
pages of the handbook are dedicated to
explaining some of the SID chip's
capabilities such as ADSR, SYNC, and
RING MOD.
As with all systems which use a
keyboard, one problem is that you need
to know how to play a piano and read
sheet music to tap into all of the
MUSIC PROCESSOR'S capabilities. But,
with this system, all 'boo-boos' can
be easily corrected using the EDIT
feature.
The KAWASAKI SYNTHESIZER is just what
the name implies, a synthesizer
developed by the great Ryo Kawasaki.
This package contains two disks --
THE PERFORMER and THE COMPOSER.
THE PERFORMER allows you to play
around with the extraordinary
capabilities of the C-64. You can
choose from over 10 preset
instrument definitions including
harpsichord, mystery, waves, piano,
outer-space, and explosion. All of
the instrument definitions really
sound like the real thing. Using a
keyboard (C-64 or INCREDIBLE KEYBOARD)
you can create a virtual galaxy of
sounds. The possibilities are only
limited by your imagination.
THE COMPOSER actually allows you to
record what you play. You can play
with over 20 different settings.
For example, you can choose any
combination of ADSR, pulse width,
resonance, octave, 'wah-wah', vibrato,
and all filter settings. You can SAVE
and LOAD your compositions to disk for
later use.
To actually compose a song, you
usually 'lay-down' your song one track
at a time. What you play off of the
keyboard is encoded in a form that the
SYNTHESIZER understands. The notes
are represented by 255 'dots' across
the screen. As you press a key, the
next dot changes to that note. Sharps
and flats are represented in reverse
video. With this system, editing is
very easy. You just use the cursor
keys to go to the note you want to
change and change it!
The documentation is very good.
The concept used is very interesting.
Ryo Kawasaki presents everything in
a type of 'space travel' theme. He
speaks of entering 'a most magical
place. From this place, you are
transported to other domains of
sensory delights.' Overall, the
documentation is very complete in
explaining some of the intricate parts
of his systems.
3001 SOUND ODYSSEY is a complete
musical system itself. It is also
a wonderfully thought-out tutorial on
the capabilities of the SID chip.
You can choose from 'SHOW ME' and
'TRY ME' modes in each lesson. The
capabilities of the SID chip are
explained in easy to understand
terms and the graphics which are used
help reinforce the concept. This
type of tutorial makes learning about
music synthesis fun. For example,
in your adventure you meet such
people as 'Point Dexter' and 'Micro
Jaxxon'.
The actual music creation system is
called MICROSYNTH. When composing
a song, you are presented with a
screen which is literally filled with
options. You can change such things
as filters, waveforms, ADSR, presets,
SYNC, RING MOD, etc... One great
thing about this 'on-screen editing'
is that you can hear the changes as
they are being made. For example,
when sliding the filter cutoff slowly
up, you can instantly hear the effect.
The sound produced with MICROSYNTH
is very good. Another plus is that
you can acutally 'see' what your
computer is playing. With the options
screen displayed when you play back
your songs, all the controls change
to indicate what your music is doing.
By watching these controls, you can
tell where you might want to change
something.
All of these products are produced by:
SIGHT & SOUND SOFTWARE
P.O. Box 27
New Berlin, WI 53151
1-414-784-5850
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