The Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer mailing list

Pablo,

I've been in three MIDI-based live bands -- a) a 3-piece with guitar, keys, 
and a vocalist; b) a 2-piece with myself and a guitarist; c) a 4-piece with 
two (6-string) guitars, keys, and drums -- and I'm a big proponent of live 
MIDI.  [A MIDI band with a DRUMMER???  Sure!  His timing was terrific, he 
didn't mind playing with a click track in his monitors, and it allowed us 
to add horns, extra percussion, extra keys ,,,]

Things to remember:
    * Reliability is important.  Your DOS idea is a good one, although many 
of the more powerful MIDI interfaces don't have DOS drivers.  If you run 
DOS, try not to use TSRs for audio or virus checking, they make the OS no 
more stable than Windows, IMHO.
    * If you use a Mac or Windows, I'd recommend a dedicated PC with 
minimal OS and application support selected.  Windows 9x is pretty stable, 
if only asked to do a couple of tasks at a time.  I have a Win98SE machine 
in my lab that mostly just runs my satellite link (for web access), Norton 
Anti-Virus, and a 100base-TX link to the rest of my house, and if it 
crashes once a month, I'd be VERY surprised.  (My ISP, now that's another 
story ...)
    * Don't try to do everything through a single daisy-chained MIDI 
link.  MIDI can send about 1000-1200 messages per second; that sounds like 
a lot, but it's not, especially on the down-beat.  Aftertouch, pitch bends, 
and heavy use of percussion can fill that pipe up very quickly.  Invest 
some money into a good 6x6 or 8x8 patchbay with PC support.  In the Windows 
world, I'm partial to the MIDISport 8x8USB; most of my Mac friends use MOTU 
products.  Give each "area" of the sound its own output in the bay -- one 
per (live) keyboard player, one each for drums, percussion, horns, bass, 
EFX, etc.
    * Make sure that you can still make useful noise if one of your sound 
sources fails.  I keep alternate drum, bass, synth, horn, and other sounds 
on my PC for every module, which I can download during a break.  Yeah, that 
killer AN1x solo won't sound as good on your QS6 or Planet Phatt, but only 
you and the band will probably know it; if you lose the bass for the rest 
of the night, EVERYONE will figure it out.


Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions"
www.ashbysolutions.com
CloneWheel Support Group moderator
978.386.7389  voice
978.776.0096  fax
bruce@...


At 03:14 p 5/18/2001 +0000, you wrote:
>Just got interested in the subject matter here...
>
>So, I'm getting ready to embark on a live music
>adventure with my trusty 486 laptop.
>
>I figured that with running Cakewalk DOS 5.0 and a Midi-
>man Serial midi port a 486 should be plenty of power to
>run the midi files, including some rather elaborate
>sysex setups. Besides, this way I can have a cheap
>backup computer. I have an MU-128 loaded with plg cards
>(VH, VL and PF). So far, it has been a matter of just
>making sure the sysex messages are placed a few ticks
>away from each other and getting rid of unneeded sysex
>messages.
>
>My question is this: Does anyone use midi that
>extensively live? If so, how reliable is your setup? I
>have a friend that thinks I'm crazy and that midi is way
>too unreliable for what I'm trying to do. I have the MU
>controlling vcoder harmonies, guitar effects etc. My
>feeling is that at least DOS really doesn't crash like
>windows. Cakewalk 5.0 can be a little bit overwhelmed by
>a lot of sysex concentrated in one area, but really
>seems to be solid once everything is thinned out a bit.
>
>Saw some Canadian software on the web yesterday for
>laptop musicians: "Showplay". It uses Win 95 minimum,
>but also has a serial midi setup and displays lyrics
>while the music is playing. Cool, but would worry about
>windows crashing during the gig.
>
>Pablo