Long Live MIDI!!!!
I have a very old yahoo mail account I now only use to divert spam from my real account.
For some reason I went to it this morning and discovered I have 67,183 unread emails.
Just for grins I went to the last page and ran across this one from Greg Hendershott dated June 6, 2002.
Warning: it's very long...but thought some of you might find it interesting...
Long Live MIDI was the subject header-
Dear Randy,
I was talking with one of our long-time customers recently.
He still uses Pro Audio 9 in his studio, and loves it.
He made a comment that struck me. He said that music
software developers like Cakewalk have left die-hard
MIDI fans behind.
"Does anyone still use keyboards, synthesizers or MIDI
at all? Or is everything just all about digital audio
and loops," he asked.
I want to assure you as I did him. The death of MIDI
has been greatly exaggerated.
In fact, MIDI is alive and kicking in SONAR. And version
2.0 pushes MIDI technology in new areas. SONAR gives
you all of the MIDI features of Pro Audio 9, and more.
Take a look at what's new for "old-school" MIDI
musicians like myself in SONAR 2.0:
1)New MIDI Drum Editor. Now you can create drum parts
quickly and easily. A "pattern brush" even lets you draw
from a library of percussion parts.
If you want to use drum sounds from a mix of external hardware and
internal software, no problem: Create drum maps so you can use these
virtual kits on one simple screen.
Click here for a tip on using the MIDI Drum editor.
http://cakewalk.sfi0.com/.../ckwt-tip-c-087/933137 2)Updated MIDI Piano Roll view. New grid option, a
pattern brush like the one mentioned above, and easier
on your eyes. The new note inspector bar allows you to
change note properties without opening a dialog box.
3)Control Surface Support. Add a whole new level of functionality
to your existing MIDI gear. You can use any MIDI compatible device
to control just about any parameter within SONAR including your mix,
effects parameters, editing commands, and more.
Best of all, SONAR 2.0's Learn Mode makes setting this up a snap.
We've even prepared an online example to guide
you through this.
http://cakewalk.sfi0.com/...t-example-c-087/933137 4)Software synthesizers. A whole new world of sounds
are now available as affordable software. These aren't
toys. These are real instruments that you can play from
a MIDI keyboard, with a satisfying response and feel.
You can use any MIDI keyboard or controller to play and
hear incredible instruments, both vintage and new.
Included in the box:
* Dreamstation DXi. A great, polyphonic, analog synth.
* Virtual Sound Canvas DXi. Roland GS sound sets.
* LiveSynth Pro SE DXi. A sampler with which you can
access all the SoundFont banks out there.
* Cyclone DXi Groove Sampler. Don't think you like audio
loops? You will when you can perform them live from a
keyboard.
In my opinion Cyclone DXi is hands down worth the price of the
upgrade itself. You can trigger up to 16 assignable audio-loop
pads via MIDI, using a pre-recorded MIDI track or live with an
external MIDI controller.
I had our support team prepare a tech tip on this synth and you
can read it by clicking here.
http://cakewalk.sfi0.com/...wt-tiptwo-c-087/933137 5)Software synthesizers can be routed through software
effects! Use superb-quality reverb, as well as chorus,
flanger, and much more. This keeps your signal path entirely
digital and contained within SONAR, so your audio quality is never
compromised. (Of course, you can still run the output audio through
your hardware effects rack.) You can also use SONAR's MIDI FX like
the Arpeggiator with soft synths too.
6)Support for Yamaha OPT technology. Use hardware like
the MOTIF keyboard, integrated even more tightly into
your software system.
7)SONAR 2.0 also includes many more great features like MIDI
automation envelopes in the Track view, non-destructive slip-editing
of MIDI clips, greater PPQN resolution (up to 960 PPQN), transparent
SMPTE sync support (will automatically detect incoming timecode),
NTONYX Style Enhancer Micro 2.0 Lite, and MusicLab MFX plug-ins.
In short, SONAR 2.0 is your bridge between both worlds:
* Use all the hardware MIDI gear you already own and love.
* Take advantage of the latest software-based synthesizers
and effects.
* Create and edit audio-loop based tracks along with live recorded
audio and MIDI tracks.
* All in one, integrated program: SONAR 2.0.
And if you're really looking for price/performance value,
check out SONAR 2.0 XL. The XL edition of SONAR adds
top-shelf mastering effects and an award-winning drum sampler:
* FXPansion DR-008 Drum Machine. Totally flexible, with
very cool sounds.
* SonicTimeworks EQ and CompressorX. These are superb
mastering tools.
These three plug-ins would cost you over $400 total if you bought
them separately today. Which makes SONAR 2.0 XL the deal of the
new century.
I hope you will continue with us as we push MIDI and music
technology in new directions. In fact, I am guaranteeing you won't
regret it with our 60-day money-back offer when you upgrade
to SONAR 2.0.
Sincerely,
Greg Hendershott
CEO, Founder
Cakewalk