From swalker@phoenix.cs.uga.edu Thu Jul 7 15:45:33 1994 Date: Thu, 7 Jul 1994 18:38:40 -0400 (EDT) From: "Stewart S. Walker" To: map@cs.washington.edu Subject: information I've found... I know you were previously interested in the realm of sequencers. I too had similar interests and so I thought I would mail you what I found... What folows is a discussion I have had over the past month or so. Here Goes. Hope you Like, Stewart Forwarded message: > Yeah, this is true. Beware though that some old gear might use midi omni > mode when started up, which means (as you probably know) that it will listen > to all channels at once. In most cases, the synth can be brought out of omni > mode, and otherwise this can be fixed with a midi filter device. > > > Can you tell me then about the Akai ASQ-10 and the Yamaha QX3 that you > > mentioned above? Are these professional sequencers? Are the ones that I > > mentioned not professional? > > Perhaps I should use the word 'professional' in a more restricted way. > I have worked with many hardware sequencers, and I found some features > that are practically inexpendable if you're going to use it for a longer > time to make music: > > 1) Disk drive. I used to have a couple of small sequencers that offered > sysex dump and/or tape storage. They are really cheap, and offers a lot > of bang for the buck, but the disadvantages of not having a quick second > storage are devastating to creativity. You don't want to load a song from > tape a' 5 minutes whenever you're in the mood for songwriting. And > _definitely_ not on stage! > > 2) Mute/unmute tracks in real time. This is really good for testing > the 'density' of a mix. A simple example: You have this really big > intro, which takes us to the verse where the vocals are brought in. > Now _maybe_ the mix needs to remove that pulsating 16th bass to lift > the vocals a bit? Could be just as easy as to push a button, or as hard > as to enter a sub menu, hit erase track, 'yes' and finally regret yourself.. > > 3) User interface. This is very individual, and I recommend people generally > to, if possible, loan, or rent the sequencer over a period of say a week, > and try to get a feel for the interface. It's very hard to find those > irritating 'why do I have to press "Y" to confirm??' when trying the item > in the shop. It's _your_ way of making music that dictates the rules. > > These are just three of the things that make up a professional > sequencer in my opinion. But remember, your mileage may vary. > Try it out yourself and get an opinion. > > Among the sequencers I've worked with, here are some short comments: > > Akai ASQ-10: > If you can get hold of one of these mothers, you're in luck. It's a great > machine, made for musicians and not computer programmers :-) > 64 channels, 99 tracks per sequence, 99 sequences per song, 10 songs. > Lots of features, versatile, and extremely user friendly. One button > per function, and a special help button which give hints on the various > fields on the display. If you've ever worked with / seen the infamous > MPC-60, this is the same machine without the drums. This is the closest > to working with a computer I've seen. > > Yamaha QX3: > Also a very good machine, but less user friendly. 16 tracks, with LEDs > indicating the status for each track (recording, playing, muted, empty) > Uses a "job mode" operation, which means that you hit the JOB button > and punch "16" to get to the quantize menu. Some people hate this > system, I find it quick to work with. A bug in the operating system > makes the song 'loop' hiccup and is therefore useless. > VERY reliable, and recommended for live use. > > Yamaha QX1: > Same as the QX3, but only 8 tracks. 5.25" disks means _slow_ access time, > and the OS dumps a backup to disk _every_ time you change the contents > of memory! I used it for three weeks, couldn't stand it after that. > It's very old, and age shows very well in this business... > > Yamaha QX5: This is a good, cheap alternative. Make sure to get the QX5FD > with built-in floppy drive. 8 tracks, not as much memory as the larger > machines, but enough to get you by. Memory backed memory is a plus which > means that the last sequence/song you worked on is still there when > you power up the machine again. Uses sub menus instead of job numbers, > but the ui is well thought out. > > Alesis MMT-8: > No disk drive, poor hardware (the buttons wear over time and get > unreliable) but otherwise a good concept. A definite plus for the > "one button per track" layout that is only found on the more expensive > machines. > > Roland MC-50/500mkII > I've heard much good of these machines, but I cannot tell you anything > about them. The 500mkII has operating system on disk, and can load > optional software. They also seem very musician-oriented (which isn't always > the case, and that can be a bit surprising. But think of it- how many > programmers/hardware designers are musicians?) > > Kawai Q-80 > Again a machine I have no personal experience with. We used one > for a very short period of time in a studio once, and the ui (user interface) > seemed a tad bit difficult to grasp. This one also sports a 3.5" > disk drive, and battery backed memory. Very small display - a problem. > > > > > > Most sequencers offer mute/unmute of tracks while playing. Thereby you > > > can record musical phrases and grooves on the tracks, and create > > > a musical interaction "on the fly", which indeed is popular among the > > > more skillful techno/ambient artists. Other may take foot pedal input > > > and move through passages of the song according to this movement. > > > > By this "mute/unmute" you mean you can silence a track and then wake it up > > again I suppose. I figured that most interactivity I would or could want > > could be accomplished by having many tracks going at once and fading them in > > and out wih a mixer. At this point I'm thinking more of "live" as in > > spontaneous creation into a DAT. I haven't considered live performance in > > front of an audience but a sequencer would make it much easier... > > Definitely. As I said, go out and try some. Music stores don't sell > that many used sequencers nowadays and will probably be happy > to loan/rent you a machine before purchasing it. > > > > > Thank you for responding to my questions... > > Stewart > > > No problemo friend. Please don't hesitate to ask more, and do report > on your further safari into the midi djungle :) > An idea: Perhaps we should route a copy of this letter to > rec.music.makers.* and comp.music and see what comments people > can fill in the blanks with? Well, it's all up to you... > > Regards, > > -- > \ Mikael Lundgren, Uppsala, Sweden \Wavestation Casio FZ1 Korg Mono/Poly\ > \ vick@bern.docs.uu.se \Listen&Dance -Studio Sunset in Seconds\ > \ http://krille.update.uu.se/~vick/ - check out my Coordinator list there. \ > \"Time moves so slowly\ when I don't want it\ 'cause it knows I'm watching"\ >