From: gvh@metrosoft.com (Gordon Van Huizen)
Subject: Re: NeXT vs. (MIDI) Sampler
Reply-To: gvh@metrosoft.com (Gordon Van Huizen)
Organization: Metrosoft
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 14:35:31 GMT

In article <1992Sep7.105950.12821@stc.nato.int> koelman@cuby.stc.nl (Ton  
Koelman) writes:
> In article <1992Sep4.085649.13034@uklirb.informatik.uni-kl.de>  
> frerk@informatik.uni-kl.de (Frerk Meyer) writes:
> > Is a NeXT (I don't have one) with his DSP Chip a full substitute for
> > an of-the-shelf MIDI-driven Sampler (Roland S-550)?
> > Do I have to buy additional Software for that use, or is it included?
> > Are there large libraries of digisized sounds for the NeXT?
> 
> No! NeXT as a sampler/harddisk recorder is a toy. So is NeXT
> as a midi sequencer. NeXT dropped the music kit. Wise decision.
> 

What in the world makes you say this? Could you perhaps lay some form of  
foundation for such a radical claim?

While I wouldn't recomend the NeXT as a "substitute for an of-the-shelf  
MIDI-driven Sampler", it is an EXTREMELY good platform for sample-playing,  
hard disk recording and MIDI sequencing.

In fact, the platform is so rich for these purposes that many successful  
music professionals have been rolling their own software and using public  
domain offerings on the NeXT instead of commercial applications running on  
other platforms. Many of the scores you hear behind national TV  
commercials and such things as MTV filler clips are produced daily on  
NeXT's. Other professionals are using them NOW as cost-effective hard disk  
recorders. Several CD's have been released using material created or  
recorded and mixed on a NeXT.

In terms of raw talent in each and every machine, the NeXT can't be beat  
as a cost-effective platform for music and audio work. High-quality  
hardware from several maufacturers exists for analog and digital audio  
input and output. Several MIDI interfaces specific to the NeXT are  
available and a few Mac MIDI interfaces will work (including the Opcode  
Studio 3, which provides SMPTE support amongst other things). And for  
those people requiring more audio processing horsepower, there are several  
high-end processing boards developed, available and in-use around the  
world. The NeXT is THE computer of choice in cutting edge music research  
around the world, integrating MIDI with dynamic synthesis. 

We are now reaching the point where commercial software developers are  
releasing their products for the NeXT, extending this potential to more  
users. Pinnacle Research has announced and released VERY stable and  
worthwhile beta versions of Presto, the world's first commercial MIDI  
sequencer for ANY computer platform that features DSP sound generation,  
including sample playback. Presto is a well-implemented product, and new  
features are continually arriving.

Metrosoft is officially announcing and demonstrating MetroTracks at the  
AES convention is San Fransisco next month. MetroTracks is the first  
commercial hard disk multitrack recording software for the NeXT. Interest  
in music on the NeXT is so strong that we have been literally swamped with  
beta site requests for MetroTracks, most from highly-qualified individuals  
and institutions. Some are already using NeXTs for audio and music, while  
many others are disatisfied with the offerings on other platforms and are  
looking for an alternative.

While the Music Kit has been turned over to a third-party, the Sound Kit  
and MIDI Driver are still under NeXT's wing and have been significantly  
upgraded for NeXTSTEP 3.0. This is NOT the course of action of a vendor  
dropping support for music and audio on the platform.

The NeXT is a highly capable platform for the applications you mention,  
and is emerging as a highly competitive alternative in terms of both cost  
and performance. I most definately would NOT call it a toy.

Gordon Van Huizen
President
Metrosoft

-- 
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Gordon Van Huizen           vox: 619.488.9411  fax: 619.488.3045
Metrosoft                   gvh@metrosoft.com [NeXTmail welcome]
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Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.advocacy