Hello !

Hi, there does not seem to be a specific forum for 'legacy software', so I've come here...

All began a few years ago when my wife needed a 2nd viola & harpsichord for practice. Personal computers had just reached the stage where they could drive MIDI...

After some research, we had Casio CPS-101 piano, MPU-401 game-port adaptor, QuickShot MIDI keyboard and Cakewalk Home Studio 3.0 all hooked up together...

Well, I'm almost tone-deaf, was learning music theory 'on the fly', was totally unfamiliar with 'patching' and 'sequencing', little better with Windows'98, so you can imagine the language...

Still, we soon had everything from carols to a chunk of Bach's Brandenburg #6 on MIDI, piano and strings ported their different ways...


Unfortunately, due family illness and a house-move, the music was set aside...

Well, we've just got around to it again.
Wonder of wonders, the old CHS 3.0 loaded and ran without problem under XP on my dual-displayCAD-Tower. If programs could think, I wonder what it makes of this new 3GHz/3Gb environment after that first PC's 750MHz/256Mb ?? Okay, so mobos don't have a game-port any more, but a £ 30 Mistar MIDILINK plugged into USB and installed itself.

Bad news is my CHS WRK files were lost to three generations of computer crashes. Yes, I had back-ups, as 'Norton Rescue' system-image ZIP disks-- where-ever THEY went !! Never mind, we now have Google and Broadband.

I'll be lurking on forum for a while, as I've got to do a lot of catch-up on theory and hardware.

Hi, bitflipper, thanks for the kind thought !

Um, yes, long file-names would be nice...

But seriously, I'll consider upgrading if CHS_3's note-editing gets me down...

My wife is a 'Classical' musician: As before, I'll down-load full-orchestral MIDI files, route tracks to piano or PC's internal synth, mute my wife's part, run and stop the system on command, then applaud as appropriate.

I'll certainly copy-type some simple, 'fun' sing-along songs etc directly onto the staff/stave display, perhaps ask CHS to transpose some tracks for the nephew and his clarinet...

Me, I'm not musical. Really. Like, 'What's your favourite instrument ?' The off-switch. 'What's on your iPod ?' Nu. 'What do you play in the car ?' Nothing. 'What are you listening to, now ?' A bunch of cooling-fans and gentle snores from next room...

But, I'm digging into Taylor's 'AB Guide to Music Theory 1+2' again-- Hey, it beats trying to learn to control a 3DConnexions' SpaceWhatsit...

Welcome back to the music DAW world, nik.
I took 5 years off as well a while back so I could get out of the service industry and into a real job.
Other than reading articles/magazines, I did next to nothing (though I did pick up some used hardware here and there along the way when the price was right).

When I came back, I was shocked at how much more powerful everything had become... just blown away.

Indeed, like bitflipper said, the DAW world has changed significantly.
Lots of good folks on this forum to help you along.

Take care,
- zevo