Roland CM-64 and PC-200 keyboard, new low price!

[Caliburn]

Most sequencers I've used from day one allow for step entry of notes, though granted -- not in a notational sense.  But Cakewalk and Voyetra's Orchestrator allow for notational step entry.

Ah, that's most likely just my faulty memory then.  Like I mentioned, the last time I used a sequencer was about five years ago.*

These later step entry methods restrict you to entering the same length note (all quarters, eigths, etc.), too, which would be a pain in the butt to edit later, I would think.

Here I'm confused myself, though.  You're saying you couldn't change note lengths on the fly?  As in, select a quarter note, play an F#, then switch to an eighth note before playing G# and A?  That would be a pain in the butt.

Thanks for the correction!

-Luke

* Edit: Actually, I guess that's not what I said.  Looking back at my previous post, I think it must have sounded as if I own some old sequencing software and had merely stopped upgrading, when what I actually meant was that during that time (2000-2001) I had demos of Voyetra Digital Orchestrator Pro and Cakewalk Pro Audio, which I eventually got rid of when I decided to buy Overture, and consequently I don't know what has happened in the sequencer market after that point.

[Tom]

Yeah, you got the general idea. 

If you're entering notes from a controller keyboard, you had to set the note lengths first ... to quarter note, half note, or whatever you wanted to use.  You had to change the input note type, manually, if you wanted to enter different legth notes.  Since I only did this a couple of times using an old version of Cakewalk, it may be different now.  I didn't produce any 'real' music like this, but I imagine a lot of editing would later be required. 

In Sequencer Plus, you can use a QWERTY keyboard to do the same thing.  Again, it makes all the notes the same length, so you have to edit every note that needs to be different than what you used to step record. 

Does that make any sense?   

[BlueMax]

And that's the beauty of the notation packages....  when doing step-time entry, the numeric keypad is your best friend because not values are attached to them.
eg:  4 = quarter, 5 = half, 6 = whole, . = dotted note, etc.  allowing you to change your durations every bit as quickly and easily the notes themselves.


...and I'd have bought Geniesoft's Overture 4 since it's cheaper (I can upgrade my Overture3SE which has poor step-time entry) but the owner of the company was EXTREMLY beliggerant and downright rude with me in the support forums.  (I asked if I could BUY Overture 4SE instead of the full 4.0)  He freaked out saying I was begging for free software and he only has time for paying customers, worthless if I can't afford a mere $200 etc, etc.

Then he deleted the whole thread when he realized how nasty he sounded (though his email to me was just as bad.)

It may cost me more, and it may take more time to get, but I will NOT support a company that treats people that way.  Overture is OUT!

[Caliburn]

Does that make any sense?   

Yep, I believe so.  If I follow correctly, the reason you're not able to change note lengths on the fly in those sequencers is that you initiate a step record session with a certain note length specified, and then have to stop it in order to change note lengths for a new step record session.

Whereas in newer Cakewalk, Voyetra Orchestrator, and notation editors like Finale, Sibelius and Overture, since you've never technically begun or ended a step record session (you simply open the appropriate interface) you can change note lengths simply by hitting a key on the number pad before you play your next note on the MIDI instrument.

I hope that's right, otherwise I'm confusing the issue even more.

...and I'd have bought Geniesoft's Overture 4 since it's cheaper (I can upgrade my Overture3SE which has poor step-time entry) but the owner of the company was EXTREMLY beliggerant and downright rude with me in the support forums.

Yikes, what a nightmare!  I've never dealt with Geniesoft (since, like I said, I bought Overture back when Cakewalk owned it).  Sounds like it's a good thing I haven't needed to upgrade.

-Luke

[Alistair]

Yep, I understood your explanation, Luke, thanks a bunch, thanks to other guys too (Tom/Markell).

By the way- my wife will be trying to sequence some digital files in MIDI. How she'll be doing it is, hooking a keyboard up to my sound card, or to my 8850 then to the sound card, and recording using its' MIDI in in Voyetra Digital Orchestrator Pro.

Would Finale have the use of quantizing or fixing the times, rather than it rounding? Or am I misreading what you said?

- Alistair

[BlueMax]

I don't think you've got the idea just yet.....  Quantizing is rounding to the nearest whatever-size-note you choose.  Finale can do this, but your sequencer can do it too (probably better.)

If she's a good live player then she might as well use a sequencer (I belive the one you mentioned IS) with a little quantizing if she wants the timing bang-on perfect.  Most people prefer the humanization (slight imperfections) of a live player, so if she's good, don't even bother quantizing.  Would you believe that Finale/Sibelius even have complex "humanization" features to make those perfectly-spaced quarter notes sound like a human would play them!


Is she recording this with the intent to turn it into sheet music for printing?  That's a different story altogether, and where the notation packages blow the sequencers away!



...hey long thread for "For Sale". 

[Alistair]

To give you the specifics:

Sierra released a game called 'Shivers' in 1995. It had an eclectic digital soundtrack and featured a lot of short themes. Unfortunately, Shivers suffered from Sierra's short-sighted approach to hugely compressing the game audio. So, if you listened 'soundtrack CD' style, they sound awful. But the soundtrack is pretty good.

My wife would be playing the tracks as best she could on the keyboard (which is pretty competently), using the sequencer to record the MIDI In data.

- Alistair

[BlueMax]

Then, yes - stick with the sequencer.   You're not after quality printed music, or simplified step-time note entry.  A sequencer will do the trick nicely. 

Record it like normal - quantize it AFTERWARDS if you really want to.

[Alistair]

Well, I do want it to be note perfect..

- Alistair

[glendower]

Do you still have the PC 200? I need something do drive the modules I have I can't play a keyboard so I don't wnat to get a big fancy motif or anything like that and guitar synth stuff is just too expensive for me to get right now.

[BlueMax]

Yes, actually!  The CM-64 is sold, but the PC-200 is still here...

[glendower]

HOw much are you asking for it?

[BlueMax]

How about $50+shipping?  I'll throw in a REALLY LONG MIDI cable for that price.  (Seriously, it's like... 15 feet long or more - worth $30 by iteself, I'm sure!  Great for having the very light keyboard in your lap!  It's light on power so you can either use the included AC adapter, or just use 6xAA batteries instead!)

[Alistair]

I want a super long MIDI cable.

- Alistair

[glendower]

How about $50+shipping?  I'll throw in a REALLY LONG MIDI cable for that price.  (Seriously, it's like... 15 feet long or more - worth $30 by iteself, I'm sure!  Great for having the very light keyboard in your lap!  It's light on power so you can either use the included AC adapter, or just use 6xAA batteries instead!)

Do you take pay-pal?

[BlueMax]

Paypal?  Boy....   no, I don't think I'm set up for that anymore.    Email money transfer is only within Canada....  I guess that leaves Western Union if you're in a rush, or money order.  I'll have to try to find a good box / material to ship it in!

[glendower]

Paypal?  Boy....   no, I don't think I'm set up for that anymore.    Email money transfer is only within Canada....  I guess that leaves Western Union if you're in a rush, or money order.  I'll have to try to find a good box / material to ship it in!

WAIT! Before you start looking for a box... I went to the doctor and there is something going on with my eye... turns out that my insurance won't cover my trip to the ophthalmologist (people are afraid that my retina is detaching )... I have no idea why, but that's just how it is. I love our healthcare system. Needless to say, any 'fun money' it looked like I was going to have is gone. This sucks! This has been the worst couple of months that I've ever had.

I'm sorry... I hate backing out, but this was definitely an unforseen hit