:-( My daughter is happy, and I'm happy for her. The piano she grew up with (a 1926 5.5' grand is better in her house -- and certainly in her hands -- than in mine. Even though I don't play, I found living in a house without any piano at all uncomfortable and strange. After listening and cogitating, I enlisting daughter-in-law to supplement my failing ears and my meager sensitivity to keyboard feel. Choice was made primarily on budgetary considerations and not wanting a bare keyboard on a plain pipe rack in the living room. DIL independently arrived at my original choice -- very gratifying -- and I now own a Yamaha YDP-223. Which makes me think of MIDI and a spare computer. I need to consult a MIDI guru, just to learn what questions to ask. For example, QuickTime plays MIDI files on this computer, but the volume control treats the output like wave, not synth. The sound chip is Realtek AC'97, but that's all I know. This machine has no game/MIDI connector, so I imagine that a USB interface is expected. I'll probably use an older machine in the living room anyway, but I'd like to be able to work in the office/CCH* too, with an old Musicstar keyboard that can serve for noodling. What is a good place for me -- ignorant but not stupid -- to get educated? Even cable requirements are a mystery now. Thanks. Jerry _______________________ * Computer Compost Heap -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
OT Digital Piano replaces Steinway.
Started by ●January 13, 2005
Reply by ●January 13, 20052005-01-13
:-( My daughter is happy, and I'm happy for her. The piano she grew up with (a 1926 5.5' grand is better in her house -- and certainly in her hands -- than in mine. Even though I don't play, I found living in a house without any piano at all uncomfortable and strange. After listening and cogitating, I enlisting daughter-in-law to supplement my failing ears and my meager sensitivity to keyboard feel. Choice was made primarily on budgetary considerations and not wanting a bare keyboard on a plain pipe rack in the living room. DIL independently arrived at my original choice -- very gratifying -- and I now own a Yamaha YDP-223. Which makes me think of MIDI and a spare computer. I need to consult a MIDI guru, just to learn what questions to ask. For example, QuickTime plays MIDI files on this computer, but the volume control treats the output like wave, not synth. The sound chip is Realtek AC'97, but that's all I know. This machine has no game/MIDI connector, so I imagine that a USB interface is expected. I'll probably use an older machine in the living room anyway, but I'd like to be able to work in the office/CCH* too, with an old Musicstar keyboard that can serve for noodling. What is a good place for me -- ignorant but not stupid -- to get educated? Even cable requirements are a mystery now. Thanks. Jerry _______________________ * Computer Compost Heap -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
Reply by ●January 13, 20052005-01-13
I am a midi developer but I think you might enjoy talking with people in the MIDI newsgroups like comp.music.midi or rec.music.makers.synth or any of the thousands of sites online regarding MIDI. Yes.. a USB MIDI interface would suffice. If you are going to compose get a good MIDI sequencer. Cakewalk, Cubase, Sonar, NUENDO (pricey but awesome) etc.. "Jerry Avins" <jya@ieee.org> wrote in message news:34nojdF4b23b9U1@individual.net...> :-( > > My daughter is happy, and I'm happy for her. The piano she grew up with > (a 1926 5.5' grand is better in her house -- and certainly in her hands > -- than in mine. Even though I don't play, I found living in a house > without any piano at all uncomfortable and strange. > > After listening and cogitating, I enlisting daughter-in-law to > supplement my failing ears and my meager sensitivity to keyboard feel. > Choice was made primarily on budgetary considerations and not wanting a > bare keyboard on a plain pipe rack in the living room. DIL independently > arrived at my original choice -- very gratifying -- and I now own a > Yamaha YDP-223. Which makes me think of MIDI and a spare computer. > > I need to consult a MIDI guru, just to learn what questions to ask. For > example, QuickTime plays MIDI files on this computer, but the volume > control treats the output like wave, not synth. The sound chip is > Realtek AC'97, but that's all I know. This machine has no game/MIDI > connector, so I imagine that a USB interface is expected. I'll probably > use an older machine in the living room anyway, but I'd like to be able > to work in the office/CCH* too, with an old Musicstar keyboard that can > serve for noodling. > > What is a good place for me -- ignorant but not stupid -- to get > educated? Even cable requirements are a mystery now. > > Thanks. > > Jerry > _______________________ > * Computer Compost Heap > -- > Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. > �����������������������������������������������������������������������
Reply by ●January 13, 20052005-01-13
Jerry Avins wrote:> _______________________ > * Computer Compost HeapIs that where computer worms grow?
Reply by ●January 13, 20052005-01-13
nap wrote:> I am a midi developer but I think you might enjoy talking with people in the > MIDI newsgroups like comp.music.midi or rec.music.makers.synth or any of the > thousands of sites online regarding MIDI.Yes. Thanks. I already found comp.music.midi and posted essentially the same plea there.> Yes.. a USB MIDI interface would suffice.If I need it. An older computer might suffice.> If you are going to compose get a good MIDI sequencer. Cakewalk, Cubase, > Sonar, NUENDO (pricey but awesome) etc..I have an old version of Cakewalk for Win95 that might do. On the other hand, this might be an excuse to upgrade my old Mac-SE Thanks again. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
Reply by ●January 13, 20052005-01-13
On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 12:57:33 -0500, Jerry Avins <jya@ieee.org> wrote:>nap wrote: > >> I am a midi developer but I think you might enjoy talking with people in the >> MIDI newsgroups like comp.music.midi or rec.music.makers.synth or any of the >> thousands of sites online regarding MIDI. > >Yes. Thanks. I already found comp.music.midi and posted essentially the >same plea there. > >> Yes.. a USB MIDI interface would suffice. > >If I need it. An older computer might suffice.If your computer has a USB interface all you need is a little converter box that will drive the MIDI devices. I have a MidiMan MIDIsport 2x2 which allows driving two devices in both directions other than the laptop. One advantage of using the USB port is that it will supply adequate power to run the interface device. This thing that I have is fairly old now and may not even be made any more, I dunno. I'd think that if you hit your local music stores, especially those that carry keyboards, they'd have this sort of stuff laying around so that you can see what's currently available. I bought a copy of Cakewalk when I bought the MIDISport, but that software has changed considerably since then as well. The good news is that this stuff is not horribly expensive and is pretty reliable and powerful.>> If you are going to compose get a good MIDI sequencer. Cakewalk, Cubase, >> Sonar, NUENDO (pricey but awesome) etc.. > >I have an old version of Cakewalk for Win95 that might do. On the other >hand, this might be an excuse to upgrade my old Mac-SECakewalk works great. Running that on a computer with a USB port and a small interface device should get you up and running. Let me know how this works out, I've found it to be a pretty fun thing to play with. Cheers, Eric Eric Jacobsen Minister of Algorithms, Intel Corp. My opinions may not be Intel's opinions. http://www.ericjacobsen.org
Reply by ●January 13, 20052005-01-13
Eric Jacobsen wrote: ...> Cakewalk works great. Running that on a computer with a USB port and > a small interface device should get you up and running.Cakewalk what? Last time I looked, there was one product. Now, they make a little something for everyone. ... Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
Reply by ●January 13, 20052005-01-13
Jerry Avins <jya@ieee.org> writes:> Eric Jacobsen wrote: > > ... > >> Cakewalk works great. Running that on a computer with a USB port and >> a small interface device should get you up and running. > > Cakewalk what? Last time I looked, there was one product. Now, they make > a little something for everyone.Man, if you ask me, nothing beats a good ole' ivory-and-wood, strings-and-hammers piano. Realize this is coming from a guy who talked himself into electronic keyboards (over acoustic) for about 20 years. Is it really that much more? You could probably find a good used grand for $3k. -- % Randy Yates % "And all that I can do %% Fuquay-Varina, NC % is say I'm sorry, %%% 919-577-9882 % that's the way it goes..." %%%% <yates@ieee.org> % Getting To The Point', *Balance of Power*, ELO http://home.earthlink.net/~yatescr
Reply by ●January 14, 20052005-01-14
Jerry Avins wrote:> I have an old version of Cakewalk for Win95 that might do. On the other > hand, this might be an excuse to upgrade my old Mac-SEHave a look at Rosegarden too. I don't know if it runs on Windows or not, but the price is right (free). -- Jim Thomas Principal Applications Engineer Bittware, Inc jthomas@bittware.com http://www.bittware.com (603) 226-0404 x536 Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.
Reply by ●January 14, 20052005-01-14
Randy Yates wrote:> Jerry Avins <jya@ieee.org> writes: > > >>Eric Jacobsen wrote: >> >> ... >> >> >>>Cakewalk works great. Running that on a computer with a USB port and >>>a small interface device should get you up and running. >> >>Cakewalk what? Last time I looked, there was one product. Now, they make >>a little something for everyone. > > > Man, if you ask me, nothing beats a good ole' ivory-and-wood, > strings-and-hammers piano.I know. There are several things going on here. I met my first wife when she was 7 or so and my mother's piano pupil. The first time I lived in a place without a piano was when we were first married and couldn't afford one. We soon got an upright that "wasn't worth fixing" and I rebuilt the action. It was decent when I got through -- even my mother said so. Mind: I don't play. Having wasted years of tears, it's clear I don't have the co-ordination. I can fix clocks and rebuild instruments, but can't play with facility*. I can't even hear individual notes in fast passages as separate sounds. I'm a deft klutz. When we had a house and could finally afford one, we bought a rebuilt Steinway from a private owner. My ears were good at the time; I could even distinguish makes I knew from recordings. (Lily Kraus recorded the Mozart sonatas on a Baldwin, one of Art Tatum's sides was done on a Mason & Hamlin upright). When my wife sat down to try it. I grinned -- so did she -- and we stopped looking. "A bit harsh. That's easy." A good tuner -- a colleague of mine, actually -- retuned it after its 60-mile journey in a pick-up truck and reworked the felts a bit. He asked for first dibs if we should ever decide to sell it. Every tuner who ever worked on it, including recently in Baltimore, called it a rare gem. My mother's Steinway -- my sister's now -- doesn't have the same rich low end although it's six inches longer. I kept it in tune and clean. Guests and family played. I used it as a pitch reference. Mostly, it took up room. ... Realize this is coming from a guy who> talked himself into electronic keyboards (over acoustic) for about 20 > years. Is it really that much more? You could probably find a good > used grand for $3k.Good, but I would always compare it to what it replaced. If I played, I would have kept the old and spent $3 - 5K for one for my daughter. But I don't play, and both she and her husband do, so they have it. I'll settle for the $1.5K good-enough electronic marvel. It's a better pitch reference, never needs tuning, and uses less room. If I don't think of it too completely as a piano, it's a decent instrument. Jerry ______________________________________ * Among the instruments I know but can't play: violin. piano, clarinet. Mom wouldn't let me give up. It's real simple: if you can't catch a ball, you can't play an instrument. -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
