At 09:23 AM 8/6/00 +0200, you wrote:
>Darren,
>
>The RM1x is a box i use as the heart of my midi setup. Though some people
>seem to have to get used to the way of hardware sequencing, i myself got
>fully into midi once i had the blue box. I hated the software sequencers.
Hardware and software sequencers are generally different...Just about all
software sequencers are linear, meaning you have to start at the beginning
and work your way (or copy and paste) until the end. Hardware sequencers
are mostly pattern-based.
I've worked with both. I started out on a Korg SQD-1 sequencer back in the
'80s (it was actually a linear sequencer, I only got it cos it was one of
the few sequencers at the time with a disk drive). Then I used the built-in
sequencer of the Ensoniq EPS for several years, until 1995, when I finally
got a MIDI interface for my PC and got Cakewalk.
The advantage of a pattern-based sequencer is that you pay more attention
to song arrangements, and since you're working with various sequence files
strung together, it makes you think of different ideas for different
sections. The down side is that it's limiting -- in most cases you have a
finite amount of tracks, and you can't have audio recording or print out
sheet music or the like.
The advantage of software sequencers is completeness and control. You can
simply use your mouse to correct a bad note or chang ethe velocity levels.
And most software sequencers today have audio recording integrated in. The
down side is that since you're working on a continuous stream of music,
you're more likely to make the music more repetitive.
Now, I use both. I program my basic drum beat or loop assignments on my
Akai MPC2000XL, then export it as a .mid file on a floppy disk and open it
in Cakewalk on my PC. Then I paste whatever I did on the MPC onto Cakewalk,
and expand on it by adding other instruments, audio tracks, etc. I read
about some hip hop/R&B producer doing that some time ago, where he starts
the basic tune on the MPc and exports it to his software sequencer. I love
working this way!
Elson
- 30 -
: . elson trinidad, los angeles, california, usa
: .
elson@... : www.westworld.com/~elson
: . groove to the futurethnic beats of e:trinity at www.e-trinity.org and
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