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.
