From: smithj@hpsad.sad.hp.com (Jim Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.music.synth
Subject: Re: Run that by me again!!!!! (was Re: Attn:  MIDI Newcomers!)
Date: 29 Jul 92 19:32:10 GMT
Organization: HP Signal Analysis Division - Rohnert Park, CA

asrbb@acad2.alaska.edu  writes:

>Attention MIDI Newcomers!                                            
>
>Don't post to this newsgroup if you need assistance or information about
>MIDI topics.  Speaking from experience, the people who post here are not
>interested in your problems or troubles...you're on your own!
>
>Sorry about that, but that's just the way it seems to go and I thought
>I'd save you some time.  Try the magazines and users groups in your area
>if you want support.
>----------

Oh crikey...  This must be because no one posted a response to his
previous post.  Poor kid... Okay, I'll give it a shot:

>Hi Folks,
>I'm another newcomer to the midi world...
>
>Is there a FAQ file available for this newsgroup as there is for others?

No.  This group is unmoderated.  Although there are requests for a FAQ list
every so often, so far no one has taken the bull by the horns and committed
their time to creating and updating one.  Perhaps, after you gain more 
experience and knowledge YOU could.  Me?  I'm too busy, and wish I had more
time to spend playing music.

>There are a lot of little detail questions I have that maybe I can avoid asking
>if there were such a facility.
>
>I have a 386/33Mhz PC, a DX7, and a Roland TR-606.  I need a midi card and
>software for them.  On my student budget, I am looking for inexpensive,
>not-top-of-the-line products that can get me started (especially in the
>shareware department).

Not a lot of shareware sequencers out there but there are a few.  One was
announced in this group just this week.  I know nothing about their hardware
requirements or capabilities.  Monitor this group long enough, and you'll
find references to all the ftp sites.

>I am considering the PC MIDI Card for my PC (single MIDI In and Out).

PC MIDI Card by who?  If it's not "Roland MPU401 compatible," I wouldn't
bother with it, if your primary intention extends beyond game playing.

>I have heard good things about Cakewalk 4.0 (not the Pro version) in the
>commercial software department.  Any comments?

I have no direct experience with Cakewalk, but I have friends who are
happy with it.  A good first sequencer, and relatively
inexpensive.  That's a good starting point, I think.

>I would sincerely appreciate any comments, no matter how brief.

These are fairly basic questions you're asking, and MIDI/electronic music
is a fairly complex subject.  There is no objective "best" in these issues.
I think that this is the reason that you
(and others like you) got no response to your posting.  You said it 
yourself:  Buy and read some of the magazines.  If your local user group
has a MIDI group, attend it, and talk to them.  And visit your local music
stores.  Compare features, get prices, talk to the salespeople.  If you
don't feel qualified to make a decision, then read some more, look at some
more instruments, maybe find some local musicians to talk to.  This stuff
is highly subjective, and you're ultimately the only one who can decide
what's right for you.  Frankly, I'm not here to spend a lot of time answering
questions that could be more fully answered by a little research on the part
of the individual.  So I guess you're right.  This is probably not the best
place for a newcomer to look for answers to simple questions, especially
questions whose answers are easily available at local music stores or in the
magazines.

Good luck.
             Jim Smith                   smithj@hpsad.sad.hp.com
  I grabbed the Spike of Power from the ugly doodle, and there was a flash...
 I looked *cute as a button* as I thumped the forest floor.  Flower laughed.  
   There was smoke in the distance.  Man had come to the forest.  Bambi's 
    mother looked worried, even though the evil spirit was safely locked 
in a tree.  The men had a machine that ate trees.  And Godzilla was coming.
Newsgroups: rec.music.synth