News and reviews

In this section we have a review of two new music disc releases, and comments on compatibility problems with commercial music discs.

Ashes by Michael Harbour

Roy Follett

Another good disc of music. I seem to be repeating myself of late but there is no doubt that Music 500(0) owners are being spoilt with good offerings. In this case an inventive selection from Michael Harbour - all of them originals, all of them tuneful, all of them with good sounds.

'Sunburn (air on a 5-DIN lead)' has some really low notes which the Studio 5000 instrument 'mexbass4' puts to good use. The resulting sound makes my speakers work overtime and sends shivers down my spine.

I sometimes wonder, however, what prompts a programmer to write 'words' that seem, to me anyway, totally unnecessary. Load 'Out of the frying pan' and look at 'v':

'Thanks. Mum and I will be safe, don't worry.' said Doctor Lampe. 'Goodbye Rhybid.' said Mrs Lampe.

The console started a faint ticking noise. The doctor and his wife closed their eyes.

And I am totally lost as to the meaning of 'part1':

192,1:deaf-deface-cabbage-facade

It is very difficult to review music - one either likes or dislikes it. I am beginning, however, to realise what helps me make up my mind: and that is 'listener fatigue'.

Do I end up listening to the last piece wanting more, or am I glad it's all over. If I reach for f9 before each piece of music has come to its natural end, I am getting my first clue.

Apart from his desire to insert superfluous 'words', Michael's 'Ashes' is a superb offering and I play it over and over again. There is, for me, zero 'listener fatigue' on this disc.

An example piece from 'Ashes' is included on this disc, in the Music section.

'Take a bite' by Phil Comber

Roy Follett

Yet another collection from the prolific Panda - this time the work of Phil Comber under the title 'Take a bite'. There are thirteen titles, ten of which are Phil Comber originals.

It is marvellous how some programmers are producing good instruments, giving the Music 5000 box a chance to break away from its familiar sound. Phil's certainly managed to do that.

This disc contains music with a modern beat and repetitive tunes - a bit too repetitive for my tastes. But one thought kept coming to mind: 'this would make a good TV theme'. These were attention getters, but after a few bars not much to keep me listening. As I said 'a bit too repetitive'

Don't get me wrong, though, this is a good disc. Phil's compositions fare well against the competition. The pieces written by Chris de Burgh and The Pet Shop Boys don't stand out from the rest. On a scale of nought to five, I'd give it a 'listener fatigue' level of two.

One further point, not a criticism of this disc, but of Panda. On June 1st all their discs went up to £6.00. A 20% increase is rather a lot, I think.

'Ashes' by Michael Harbour costs £4.95 (inclusive of postage and packing) and is available from:

Hybrid Technology Ltd
273 The Science Park
CAMBRIDGE
CB4 4WE

'Take a bite' by Phil Comber costs £6.00 (inclusive of postage and packing) and is available from:

Panda Discs
Four Seasons
Tinkers Lane
Brewood
Stafford
ST19 9DE

See also the Advertisements section in this issue.

Music file compatibility problems

Julian Benton

In recent issues of AMPLINEX there has been much said about producing programs that are compatible with both the Music 5000 and the Music 2000.

However, at this time, I think it is also important to ensure that programs will run on all issues of the Studio 5000 software. It is well known that Studio 5000 issue 6 requires voices to be declared UNUSED before other players may use them. This is the issue that I own.

In the past, when programs have failed to discard unnecessary voices, it has been quite straightforward to edit the mix using the Notepad. However, I feel compelled to write after the Panda Discs' 'Moments in Time' demonstration program, featured in AMPLINEX 016. Not only did this program have the same problems, refusing to run beyond the introduction, but was impossible to correct, as the relevant parts of the program had been protected.

All these problems could have been easily avoided by more structured programming. By only allocating voices when required, and discarding them with the UNUSED command when finished with, all programs could be made to run on any issue of software. Thus, I do not see why I, and probably many others who also use the issue 6 software, should have to obtain an updated version of the Studio 5000 software, or spend time correcting programs, simply to hear the music. As good programming structure is always encouraged, it is a pity that many contributors let themselves down in this area, as their music, once running, is excellent.

Finally, concerning the 'Moments in Time' disc. I feel it very unlikely that I would risk purchasing this album, in case the programs on that disc also featured the same problems and protection system. It is a great shame, as the music sounded promising.

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Published in AMPLINEX 017, May 1990