DX7: Re: EX-5 Re: SY-99 microtuning

hello justim.
For one, the Marion Prosynth was capable of being acturate to 6144 parts of an octave

> From: "Justin Weaver" <improvist@...>
> Subject: DX7: Re: EX-5 Re: SY-99 microtuning
>
> Well, that just reconfirms my belief that the DX7 II-FD + E! was the best synth ever
> made for microtonal enthusiasts and nothing even close seems to have come out
> since then (among self-contained synths vs. sysex).
>
> On that note, if anyone on this list ever has a DX7 II-FD + E! w/ RAM cartridge for
> sale, please let me know! -Justin
>
>

-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU 88.9 FM WED 8-9PM PST

That's the MSR-2 Prosynth, right? Was it polyphonic? I don't suppose any ever turn up
for sale. -Justin

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, kraig grady <kraiggrady@a...> wrote:
> hello justim.
> For one, the Marion Prosynth was capable of being acturate to 6144 parts of an
octave
>
> > From: "Justin Weaver" <improvist@u...>
> > Subject: DX7: Re: EX-5 Re: SY-99 microtuning
> >
> > Well, that just reconfirms my belief that the DX7 II-FD + E! was the best synth
ever
> > made for microtonal enthusiasts and nothing even close seems to have come out
> > since then (among self-contained synths vs. sysex).
> >
> > On that note, if anyone on this list ever has a DX7 II-FD + E! w/ RAM cartridge
for
> > sale, please let me know! -Justin
> >
> >
>
> -- -Kraig Grady
> North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
> http://www.anaphoria.com
> The Wandering Medicine Show
> KXLU 88.9 FM WED 8-9PM PST

Justin,

{you wrote...}
>That's the MSR-2 Prosynth, right? Was it polyphonic? I don't suppose any >ever turn up for sale.

How come no one has brought up any of the Proteus modules? I thought they could accept global tuning, and the rack versions could be driven from your current keyboard.

I've been tracking your thread since you first started looking, so I'm pretty well versed on what you are looking for. I just had two questions (that keep nagging at me):

1. Have you *listened* to any of the synths you have been asking about (mostly the Yamahas)? I remember you mentioning that you didn't need a lot of sonic horsepower, but you would to at the very least see if they meet your ear's aesthetic criteria.

2. Are you sure you want to buy into technology that is, in some cases, nearly 2 decades old? When these things need repair, etc, it can become problematic (spoken as a proud owner of a mid-production-run Prophet 5)!

I really don't want to push you in any one direction, but if you get bogged down trying to find the older hardware, I keep thinking: a basic little laptop, an inexpensive midi kbd, and some off-the-shelf powered speakers.

I've been using a Midiman Radium keyboard for a couple weeks, and it is pretty amazing, in that it simply plugs into the USB port - no power supply, no midi cable! 61 key velocity sensitive and 8 sliders and 8 knobs to tweak the parameters on any softsynth or recorder you run (well, if they accept midi parameter control). And with that laptop and the synths on it, you'd have Scala and any and all tunings you could collect or create, and you could change them all at the drop of a hat.

Again, I'm not saying what works for a particular situation, such as yours, but the tools that are advancing these days seem to be not in the hardware realm. I'll be honest in that I still have yet to hear a softsynth that really is as deep as some of the more recent generations of boxes, but they do indeed run rings around the old DX7/11/TX days.

I did an eBay search last night, and while there were no DX7 IIFDs for sale, I did see a couple of data cartridges...

Cheers,
Jon

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Jonathan M. Szanto" <JSZANTO@A...>
wrote:
> Justin,
>
> {you wrote...}
> >That's the MSR-2 Prosynth, right? Was it polyphonic? I don't suppose any
> >ever turn up for sale.
>
> How come no one has brought up any of the Proteus modules? I thought they
> could accept global tuning, and the rack versions could be driven from your
> current keyboard.

I looked into that-- I don't remember what I found out except that they didn't seem
to do what I need.

>
> 1. Have you *listened* to any of the synths you have been asking about
> (mostly the Yamahas)? I remember you mentioning that you didn't need a lot
> of sonic horsepower, but you would to at the very least see if they meet
> your ear's aesthetic criteria.

I've heard FM sounds-- they're not especially beautiful, but I'm not really planning on
composing with them, just listening to the pitches. I haven't had enough exposure to
the practical side of microtonal music making and my aim in buying a snyth is simply
to get that exposure in the most direct possible way-- i.e., without having to learn
advanced programming skills or buy loads of new software.

>
> 2. Are you sure you want to buy into technology that is, in some cases,
> nearly 2 decades old? When these things need repair, etc, it can become
> problematic (spoken as a proud owner of a mid-production-run Prophet 5)!

I'm not sure one way or the other, but it seems like there are a lot of DX7 owners out
there so the demand for repair must be high enough to keep the service qualiy high.

>
> I really don't want to push you in any one direction, but if you get bogged
> down trying to find the older hardware, I keep thinking: a basic little
> laptop, an inexpensive midi kbd, and some off-the-shelf powered speakers.

I have about $500 to spend max. Any software I buy has to work with OS X as I'm very
much dedicated to that platform. My iMac is somewhat portable, but I'd rather not
drag it around with me everywhere.

Truthfully, I'm not even sure if I could figure out in a month how to use a softsynth
even if I *had* one that would work with my existing setup. I have a friend who is
supposedly working on a microtuning platform for Max/MSP... that would be the ideal
solution, but I'm betting it might be a year before he finishes it.

>
> I've been using a Midiman Radium keyboard for a couple weeks, and it is
> pretty amazing, in that it simply plugs into the USB port - no power
> supply, no midi cable! 61 key velocity sensitive and 8 sliders and 8 knobs
> to tweak the parameters on any softsynth or recorder you run (well, if they
> accept midi parameter control). And with that laptop and the synths on it,
> you'd have Scala and any and all tunings you could collect or create, and
> you could change them all at the drop of a hat.

I wouldn't have Scala because that's not Mac-friendly. If I could find something that
would work with my existing setup (Roland HP-2800G hooked to Tascam US-428
hooked to iMac running OS X) that would be the best. All I really want to do is HEAR
microtonal scales in polyphony as I play them real time.

>
> Again, I'm not saying what works for a particular situation, such as yours,
> but the tools that are advancing these days seem to be not in the hardware
> realm. I'll be honest in that I still have yet to hear a softsynth that
> really is as deep as some of the more recent generations of boxes, but they
> do indeed run rings around the old DX7/11/TX days.

I'm sure they do-- so what's the solution? What would you recommend buying? If it's
beyond my budget, but I *know* it will work, I'll start saving for it-- at least I'll know
I'm saving for something that will work. I've bought a lot of stuff over the years that
didn't quite work the way I expected it to, so I'm wary of trying anything that might be
a money trap.

>
> I did an eBay search last night, and while there were no DX7 IIFDs for
> sale, I did see a couple of data cartridges...
>
> Cheers,
> Jon

Thanks for all your help. I truly appreciate it. -Justin

Justin,

I think we've been going at this long enough for you to know, but I really don't want to force you into any particular solution! So...

{you wrote...}
>I looked into that-- I don't remember what I found out except that they >didn't seem to do what I need.

OK. Seems I knew quite a few that used them, but your needs may differ.

>I've heard FM sounds-- they're not especially beautiful, but I'm not >really planning on composing with them, just listening to the pitches. I >haven't had enough exposure to the practical side of microtonal music >making and my aim in buying a snyth is simply to get that exposure in the >most direct possible way-- i.e., without having to learn advanced >programming skills or buy loads of new software.

Right. More on the 'loads' and 'programming' in a minute.

>I'm not sure one way or the other, but it seems like there are a lot of >DX7 owners out there so the demand for repair must be high enough to keep >the service qualiy high.

Right, but remember: repair people must have access to parts as well. Just for grins I'll give a call to the local repair place that I've been dealing with for nearly 30 years of electronics. They've been working on DXs since they were brand new...

>I have about $500 to spend max. Any software I buy has to work with OS X >as I'm very much dedicated to that platform. My iMac is somewhat portable, >but I'd rather not drag it around with me everywhere.

No, that wouldn't be optimal. Sorry that the platform is hemming you in, at least in this instance. As for the budget, let's read on...

>Truthfully, I'm not even sure if I could figure out in a month how to use >a softsynth even if I *had* one that would work with my existing setup.

And yet that is what is blowing me away at this point: all three of the softsynths I've ended up with (well two I now have registered and one I'm still mulling) are simply a matter of picking a scale file from the database of Scala files (you wouldn't even need to use Scala, but just use the tuning files it creates), and voila - you are playing in that tuning! Yes, there are certain things that may have to be adjusted, such as where the 'center' pitch might reside. But beyond scrolling through presets (the z3 synth came with 768) you could certainly find a sound that worked. I believe it is easier than you might be thinking.

As for learning curve, have you by any chance investigated what it would take, without the use of a computer, to input a full-keyboard tuning into one of the hardware synths? Certainly something to consider. I know a budget is a budget, but your time is worth something as well, right?

>I have a friend who is supposedly working on a microtuning platform for >Max/MSP... that would be the ideal solution, but I'm betting it might be a >year before he finishes it.

Yeah, waiting bites.

>I wouldn't have Scala because that's not Mac-friendly.

OK, so have you tried out that Max Microtuner?
/16tone

>If I could find something that would work with my existing setup (Roland >HP-2800G hooked to Tascam US-428 hooked to iMac running OS X) that would >be the best.

Right. It just might not be possible if you are too locked into those parameters.

>All I really want to do is HEAR microtonal scales in polyphony as I play >them real time.

I know. This must be killing you...

>I'm sure they do-- so what's the solution? What would you recommend >buying? If it's beyond my budget, but I *know* it will work, I'll start >saving for it-- at least I'll know I'm saving for something that will >work. I've bought a lot of stuff over the years that didn't quite work the >way I expected it to, so I'm wary of trying anything that might be a money >trap.

Two thoughts:

#1: find a colleague that has the Windows platform and try out a couple of the softsynths, if you can. Find some way, or somewhere, to see if this idea (soft vs. hard) will do what you want. Hell, I might even setup my laptop, which is 3 years old, and see if I can make it do what I'm thinking might be a solution for you.

#2: if you can't find someone or someplace that will let you try out one of the Yamaha boards to see if it will work, I'd be willing to send you my DX11 (or a TX81Z if you want to use your kbd) and see if it meets your needs. Write me off-list and we can discuss details if you think this is an option...

>Thanks for all your help. I truly appreciate it.

Sorry it's so difficult. Not like walking into a shop and buying a kazoo!

Cheers,
Jon

Jon was saying...

> have you by any chance investigated what it would
> take, without the use of a computer, to input a full-keyboard tuning into
> one of the hardware synths?

Groan!! Inputting these full keyboard tunings by hand is something you'd
want to hire a day-laborer for! In know. I entered about 40 full keyboard
scales into my TX802 by hand in the late 1980s. It took nearly forever. My
cartridge batteries blanked out sometime later, and re-entering most of the
tunings with Scala was a breeze.

> #1: find a colleague that has the Windows platform and try out a couple of
> the softsynths, if you can.

For doing microtonal soft-synth work, Mac is not the platform of choice
because nobody's writing software for it: they can't make any money at it.
I do wonder if it might be cheap enough (and work) to try using Soft PC on
the Mac... It might be worth looking into, if it would be fast enough for
soft-synth work.

Rick

>
> And yet that is what is blowing me away at this point: all three of the
> softsynths I've ended up with (well two I now have registered and one I'm
> still mulling) are simply a matter of picking a scale file from the
> database of Scala files (you wouldn't even need to use Scala, but just use
> the tuning files it creates), and voila - you are playing in that tuning!
> Yes, there are certain things that may have to be adjusted, such as where
> the 'center' pitch might reside. But beyond scrolling through presets (the
> z3 synth came with 768) you could certainly find a sound that worked. I
> believe it is easier than you might be thinking.

If it's easy, as in a few weeks of learning vs. a few months, that's great.

>
> As for learning curve, have you by any chance investigated what it would
> take, without the use of a computer, to input a full-keyboard tuning into
> one of the hardware synths?

Yeah, that's probably a bore, I'd imagine...

>
> OK, so have you tried out that Max Microtuner?
> /16tone

AHA! That's just the type of program I've been looking for-- but what exactly does it
do? Does it work like Scala or does it play back through a controller?

>
> >If I could find something that would work with my existing setup (Roland
> >HP-2800G hooked to Tascam US-428 hooked to iMac running OS X) that would
> >be the best.
>
> Right. It just might not be possible if you are too locked into those
> parameters.

I'm willing to buy new stuff as long as it works...

>
> #1: find a colleague that has the Windows platform and try out a couple of
> the softsynths, if you can. Find some way, or somewhere, to see if this
> idea (soft vs. hard) will do what you want. Hell, I might even setup my
> laptop, which is 3 years old, and see if I can make it do what I'm thinking
> might be a solution for you.
>
> #2: if you can't find someone or someplace that will let you try out one of
> the Yamaha boards to see if it will work, I'd be willing to send you my
> DX11 (or a TX81Z if you want to use your kbd) and see if it meets your
> needs. Write me off-list and we can discuss details if you think this is an
> option...

I'll send you an offlist email about this. Thanks again, -Justin

>
>
> For doing microtonal soft-synth work, Mac is not the platform of choice
> because nobody's writing software for it: they can't make any money at it.
> I do wonder if it might be cheap enough (and work) to try using Soft PC on
> the Mac... It might be worth looking into, if it would be fast enough for
> soft-synth work.
>
> Rick

I know, that's sort of a supreme irony, since almost everyone I know working in
computer/electronic music uses the Mac-- but computer science/mathematics has a
long-time alliance with the PC. There are thousands of Mac OS X users including
many I know who would kill to have a reliable microtuning softsynth for OS X,
because OS X is really one of the best platforms ever and the Mac is more musician
friendly on the whole. -Justin

> If it's easy, as in a few weeks of learning vs. a few months, that's great.

If you know (1) how to use a computer basically -- like clicking to launch
applications, using the mouse & keyboard -- and (2) how to use a hardware
synthesizer -- like plugging in a cord and tweaking some knobs -- then
using a soft-synth is not a big learning experience. It's trivial. I don't
think it would take weeks. Maybe a few hours at most.

Rick

Yes, but what's the business with needing a separate VST platform?

As far as computers go, I am experienced but mostly with notation software, basic
midi applications, as well as graphic design platforms and website authoring-- I lack
experience with complex audio design software outside of Peak. I'd like to learn Max/
MSP but it looks pretty damn complicated... I think I could learn almost any program
as long as it's intuitive-- the more intuitive the better. The main thing I want to avoid
is having to learn a new programming language just to set a few basic parameters. -
Justin

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@u...> wrote:
> > If it's easy, as in a few weeks of learning vs. a few months, that's great.
>
> If you know (1) how to use a computer basically -- like clicking to launch
> applications, using the mouse & keyboard -- and (2) how to use a hardware
> synthesizer -- like plugging in a cord and tweaking some knobs -- then
> using a soft-synth is not a big learning experience. It's trivial. I don't
> think it would take weeks. Maybe a few hours at most.
>
> Rick

> As far as computers go, I am experienced but mostly with notation software,
> basic midi applications, as well as graphic design platforms and website
authoring

You have all the experience & knowledge you need to work with microtonal
soft-synths.

> The main thing I want to avoid is having to learn a new programming language
> just to set a few basic parameters.

The modern VST soft synth is typically just an emulation of a hardware
synthesizer. You don't need to know anything at all about programming to
use one.

You have a VST host, which is like a rack. You put synths and mixers into
a rack, and plug them together, and play them. You can also plug the output
of your notation software or MIDI sequencer into the input of the host and
play the rack that way.

> Yes, but what's the business with needing a separate VST platform?

As far as platform goes, I was only suggesting that the Windows platform
has many more VST hosts and soft synths, etc, to choose from, especially
for microtonal work. The economics of the situation are that Mac is a
minority platform and microtonalists are a minority breed. Combine the two
and if you're a developer, you have a really small market. The biggest
microtonal market is likely to be on Windows; and that's also where the
largest developer community is; therefore, you'll find more choices in that
area.

Rick

>
> As far as platform goes, I was only suggesting that the Windows platform
> has many more VST hosts and soft synths, etc, to choose from, especially
> for microtonal work. The economics of the situation are that Mac is a
> minority platform and microtonalists are a minority breed. Combine the two
> and if you're a developer, you have a really small market. The biggest
> microtonal market is likely to be on Windows; and that's also where the
> largest developer community is; therefore, you'll find more choices in that
> area.

If I used my Roland HP-2800G as the controller w/ CronoX as the softsynth, what VST
host would I need to use to make microtonal music with that setup? -Justin

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Jonathan M. Szanto"
<JSZANTO@A...> wrote:
> Justin,
>
> {you wrote...}
> >That's the MSR-2 Prosynth, right? Was it polyphonic? I don't
suppose any
> >ever turn up for sale.
>
> How come no one has brought up any of the Proteus modules? I
thought they
> could accept global tuning, and the rack versions could be driven
from your
> current keyboard.
>
> I've been tracking your thread since you first started looking, so
I'm
> pretty well versed on what you are looking for. I just had two
questions
> (that keep nagging at me):
>
> 1. Have you *listened* to any of the synths you have been asking
about
> (mostly the Yamahas)? I remember you mentioning that you didn't
need a lot
> of sonic horsepower, but you would to at the very least see if they
meet
> your ear's aesthetic criteria.

who knows -- you might even *love* the ensoniq sounds! (i don't)

> If I used my Roland HP-2800G as the controller w/ CronoX as the softsynth,
> what VST host would I need to use to make microtonal music with that setup?

Any VST 2.X host should work. The microtonal control is in the soft-synth,
not the host.

If you don't have a VST 2.X host, you might go out to
http://www.kvr-vst.com and look around for free Mac hosts. There's bound to
be at least one. Ah, try this:

http://www.kvr-vst.com/get.php?mode=results&st=q&s=13

It looks like there are plenty of VST hosts, 4 free ones

Rick

So, If I have my Roland, CronoX and a VST host, that should be all I need to play
microtonal music realtime, right? That's the million dollar question in my book: will it
work? BTW, which in the list in the kvr-vst.com link are VST hosts?--all of them? -
Justin

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@u...> wrote:
> > If I used my Roland HP-2800G as the controller w/ CronoX as the softsynth,
> > what VST host would I need to use to make microtonal music with that setup?
>
> Any VST 2.X host should work. The microtonal control is in the soft-synth,
> not the host.
>
> If you don't have a VST 2.X host, you might go out to
> http://www.kvr-vst.com and look around for free Mac hosts. There's bound to
> be at least one. Ah, try this:
>
> http://www.kvr-vst.com/get.php?mode=results&st=q&s=13
>
> It looks like there are plenty of VST hosts, 4 free ones
>
> Rick

> So, If I have my Roland, CronoX and a VST host, that should be all
> I need to play microtonal music realtime, right?
> That's the million dollar question in my book: will it work?

That should work. And you can try it out by using a free VST host to start with.

> BTW, which in the list in the kvr-vst.com link are VST hosts?--all of them?

In this link:

http://www.kvr-vst.com/get.php?mode=results&st=q&s=13

All of the things claim to be able to host VST. You might try Bidule or
"Ugly VSTi Interface" both of which are free. That would let you see that
CronoX works OK... I don't have a Mac here or I'd try one and make a
recommendation.

Rick

One last question-- where does the sound come from? The softsynth generates the
sounds and plays them back using what... - the resident MIDI protocols of the Mac
itself? -Justin

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@u...> wrote:
> > So, If I have my Roland, CronoX and a VST host, that should be all
> > I need to play microtonal music realtime, right?
> > That's the million dollar question in my book: will it work?
>
> That should work. And you can try it out by using a free VST host to start with.
>
> > BTW, which in the list in the kvr-vst.com link are VST hosts?--all of them?
>
> In this link:
>
> http://www.kvr-vst.com/get.php?mode=results&st=q&s=13
>
> All of the things claim to be able to host VST. You might try Bidule or
> "Ugly VSTi Interface" both of which are free. That would let you see that
> CronoX works OK... I don't have a Mac here or I'd try one and make a
> recommendation.
>
> Rick

> One last question-- where does the sound come from? The softsynth
> generates the
> sounds and plays them back using what... - the resident MIDI protocols of
> the Mac itself? -Justin

The computer speakers, or the stereo output ports, assuming you have
those. You should be able to listen on the built-in speakers. The
soft-synth actually generates sound, not MIDI events. In most setups you
can listen as well as record the sound to a disk and burn yourself a CD or
whatever

Rick

Yippie-yo, that's what I wanted to hear. I guess I'll be buying CronoX and a VST host
now--if it doesn't work with the Roland I'll think about getting a MidiMan Radium 61.
Thanks everyone. -Justin

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@u...> wrote:
> > One last question-- where does the sound come from? The softsynth
> > generates the
> > sounds and plays them back using what... - the resident MIDI protocols of
> > the Mac itself? -Justin
>
> The computer speakers, or the stereo output ports, assuming you have
> those. You should be able to listen on the built-in speakers. The
> soft-synth actually generates sound, not MIDI events. In most setups you
> can listen as well as record the sound to a disk and burn yourself a CD or
> whatever
>
> Rick

> It looks like there are plenty of VST hosts, 4 free ones
>
> Rick

http://www.databaseaudio.co.uk/index.php
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/
http://www.harmony-central.com/Software/Mac/

Looks to me like you'd do a lot better switching to pc.
Or biting the bullet and learning max, pd or jmax.

>
> Looks to me like you'd do a lot better switching to pc.
> Or biting the bullet and learning max, pd or jmax.

I'll never switch to PC-- I switched to Mac in the first place because it was better for
music-- maybe not for microtonal music, which amuses me...but that's the way
things go. I'll learn Max/MSP someday... -Justin

J,

{you wrote...}
>I'll never switch to PC-- I switched to Mac in the first place because it >was better for music-- maybe not for microtonal music, which amuses >me...but that's the way things go.

I would only add that many, if not most, people who do some of these things full-time (graphic design, music, desktop publishing, digital manipulation, etc) find that not only is it beneficial to their skill set to be somewhat comfortable on at least these 2 platforms, but that by the time XP has come along the differences between working in the PC and Mac world have shrunk considerably.

When I did software design, I worked on 3 different major OS's, and after a short time you don't even notice. Just don't sell your musical ambitions short by not being adaptable when the need is there. Your Mac friends can't help you much with microtonality right now!

(Man, I wish Pat Pagano was on this list, he's been a Mac guy since absolute day One I believe...)

Cheers,
Jon

> I'll never switch to PC-- I switched to Mac in the first place because it was better for
> music-- maybe not for microtonal music, which amuses me...but that's the way
> things go. I'll learn Max/MSP someday... -Justin

Why's it better?

>
> I would only add that many, if not most, people who do some of these things
> full-time (graphic design, music, desktop publishing, digital manipulation,
> etc) find that not only is it beneficial to their skill set to be somewhat
> comfortable on at least these 2 platforms, but that by the time XP has come
> along the differences between working in the PC and Mac world have shrunk
> considerably.

I'm actually very proficient on the PC, including up to Windows XP... I just don't use
one at home. I actually have 5 times the experience with PCs than with Macs--I just
prefer the Mac platform.

>
> When I did software design, I worked on 3 different major OS's, and after a
> short time you don't even notice. Just don't sell your musical ambitions
> short by not being adaptable when the need is there. Your Mac friends can't
> help you much with microtonality right now!

That's funny you say that because I know a couple hardcore Mac people who are very
much into microtonality-- of course, they use Max/MSP to do their microtuning...

-Justin

J,

{you wrote...}
>I'm actually very proficient on the PC, including up to Windows XP... I >just don't use one at home. I actually have 5 times the experience with >PCs than with Macs--I just prefer the Mac platform.

Understood.

>That's funny you say that because I know a couple hardcore Mac people who >are very
>much into microtonality-- of course, they use Max/MSP to do their >microtuning...

Ah, ..academia.. :) But I've recently seen that Cycling74 (is that right?) now has a public beta port of Max/MSP to Windows, but they are using the PACE challenge/response format for licensing, and on another forum people were ready to riot. Not a topic for us, and I'm staying out of it...

Cheers,
Jon

"Jonathan M. Szanto" <JSZANTO@...> wrote:

> Ah, ..academia.. :) But I've recently seen that Cycling74 (is that > now has a public beta port of Max/MSP to Windows, but they are using

In addition to PD and JMax you've got this on PC

http://www.infomus.dist.unige.it/eywindex.html

{As well as the remains of the tracker/mod/demo culture and
things like prologue, lisp, csound, c++, etc... :}}

With mac you got OSX... With Win you got Cygwin. 5 years ago the interface might have been more intuitive and more artist/musician friendly {If you think of artists as moronic, illiterate technophobes
with somehow less of a capacity to learn their tools than the average person.} Nowadays... I don't think there's a lot of difference. X in UNIX actually strikes me as more of an artistic platform than any of them. Win does have a lot more applications and compatible hardware.

MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com wrote:

>
> Message: 4
> Date: Thu, 04 Sep 2003 15:58:26 -0000
> From: "Justin Weaver" <improvist@...>
> Subject: DX7: Re: EX-5 Re: SY-99 microtuning
>
> That's the MSR-2 Prosynth, right? Was it polyphonic? I don't suppose any ever turn up
> for sale. -Justin

that is the larger 16 voice one and have never seen one for sale. the Matrion i bought from a post on the tuning
list and somehow i believe i wasthe only one who responded. It is an analog imatation so you can have things
triggered by LFO for one. most of my playing on it consists of weights on keys ( i made these as i use them on my
pump organs too) and have let 'events' run for days at a time. Erv Wilson also has one but since his busted, i have
lent him mine so he has something to listen to. Hopefully, i will be able to gewt his fixed so i can play with it
more.

>
>
> > >
> >
> > -- -Kraig Grady
> > North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
> > http://www.anaphoria.com
> > The Wandering Medicine Show
> > KXLU 88.9 FM WED 8-9PM PST
>

-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU 88.9 FM WED 8-9PM PST

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@u...> wrote:

/makemicromusic/topicId_5217.html#5230

>
> > Yes, but what's the business with needing a separate VST platform?
>
> As far as platform goes, I was only suggesting that the Windows
platform
> has many more VST hosts and soft synths, etc, to choose from,
especially
> for microtonal work.

***Just as a dumb question: what does VST stand for??

J. Pehrson

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Rick McGowan <rick@u...> wrote:

/makemicromusic/topicId_5217.html#5233

> > If I used my Roland HP-2800G as the controller w/ CronoX as the
softsynth,
> > what VST host would I need to use to make microtonal music with
that setup?
>
> Any VST 2.X host should work. The microtonal control is in the soft-
synth,
> not the host.
>
> If you don't have a VST 2.X host, you might go out to
> http://www.kvr-vst.com and look around for free Mac hosts. There's
bound to
> be at least one. Ah, try this:
>
> http://www.kvr-vst.com/get.php?mode=results&st=q&s=13
>
> It looks like there are plenty of VST hosts, 4 free ones
>
> Rick

***Oh... I guess the VST hosts are just the *applications* that run
the softsynth.. (still don't know what VST means...)

So, Jon, when you write up the dummies guide :) you might also want
to include your suggestion as to an appropriate *host*..

(Will the full version of SoundForge work as such a thing...?)

Joe

Joseph Pehrson wrote:

>***Just as a dumb question: what does VST stand for??
> >
Joe, you asked this before. It means the same thing now as it did then:

/makemicromusic/topicId_4196.html#4211

Graham

Joe, "VST" I think stands for "Virtual Studio Technology". It's a library
and connection standard put out by Steinberg. http://www.steinberg.net

Rick

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Graham Breed <graham@m...>

/makemicromusic/topicId_5217.html#5263

wrote:
> Joseph Pehrson wrote:
>
> >***Just as a dumb question: what does VST stand for??
> >
> >
> Joe, you asked this before. It means the same thing now as it did
then:
>
> /makemicromusic/topicId_4196.html#4211
>
>
> Graham

***Thanks, Graham! Oh, yes... this was all that Steinberg stuff.
Well, I certainly can't be expected to remember back from January! :)

J. Pehrson