Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    I am an Amiga user (not programmer) and musician. I am planning to buy
    a synth and need information on what integration capabilities the Amiga
    has. Does anyone know if the AM/FM mag is distributed in Australia or
    NZ? Any contacts would be a big help.	
    

>    a synth and need information on what integration capabilities the Amiga
					  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Whaddya mean? Access to sequencers from other applications? Multimedia? Please
explain.

AM/FM not withstanding, I'll bet this conference can provide your answers. More
detailed info on Amigas can also be found in HYDRA::AMIGA_V2.

Bob

    My concept is that the synth is does keyboard & real-time control for
    performance, sequencing, effects processing, multitimbral layers, and
    is also a sound source on its' own. The PC (my case Amiga) is where you
    edit sounds, edit/create sequences, and with a sound card get new
    waveforms which the synth keyboard can control. I have a vision of
    plugging a CD-ROM (sound libraries & sequencers) and soundcards into the
    Amiga. I know that you can do this with IBM PCs, but I don't know if
    the sound is professional quality yet.
    
    In NZ it is impossible to find this stuff because the Amiga market is
    really home/hobby types and the music professionals use IBM or Mac for
    what I have described. Before I junk my Amiga for a compatible I'd like
    to know what is coming down the line on Amiga. 
    
    Does this give you a better idea of my problem? And thanks for the
    other note on the Hydra::Amiga_v2. I'll check it out.
    
    Best regards,
    
    David 

Okay, here are a few humble opinions:

On the basis of its OS and hardware, the Amiga is head-and-shoulders above both
the Mac and PC for any integrated applications whatsoever, and music and
multimedia in particular. It is multifaceted in its abilities, offering built-in
sound generation (including speech), bitmapped graphics and multitasking out of
the box, and an excellent record for expandability without the constant
compatibility which plagues the PC-clone world. The Intuition/AmigaDOS
combination of interface and OS has been safely, happily, and consistently
multitasking since back in '85 (when I purchased my first Amiga, the venerable
1000.)

On the basis of what packages and products are available for the Amiga market vs.
the PC and Mac, it's a different story. It's far more common to find that an
impressive package is not available on the Amiga than it is for Mac and PC
owners. It's a bitch, but that's the marketplace for you.

Despite this, there is a top-of-the-line program for the Amiga in any category
you wish to pursue. For music, my selection is Bars and Pipes Professional. It
supports multimedia applications very well, and is "toolbox-oriented" by
design: tools and accessories can be added to the base product as new
capabilities are needed. With AREXX (an intertask communication/control facility
for the Amiga), a *user* can create integrated applications built from programs
which offer support for AREXX. (Most currently available do.)

Samplers with 8-bit resolution abound for the Amiga, for under $100 including the
editing software. For more money, 12- and 16-bit sampler/sound generation cards
are available as well. With *no* sound cards, Ami can generate up to four voices
of 8-bit sound, up to 16 with some fairly recent software hacks. No, not studio
quality, but this is base functionality which is matched by neither Mac nor PC.

A Mac or PC-clone can definitely do the job for you, and you may find more
support for them due to their superior "image." From what I've seen, though,
PC users need to become far more involved with their hardware in order to keep
it running, and Mac users end up with fewer expansion opportunities because of
Apple's "less-than-open" attitude about its hardware and OS.

Well, you asked for it- you got it! One man's opinions, anyway.

Bob

    Thanks for the info - it confirms my belief that Amiga is the right
    choice, but the products I need are harder to find. I do actually know
    of Blue Ribbon through Amigaworld & have sent away for brochures.
    
    Can you tell me any names for the 12/16-bit sound cards? I'd like to
    track down suppliers.
    
    Thanks,
    
    David

    The best place to look for Amiga hw/sw is in the AC's Guide...they
    have listings of the best products and then categorize it.  There's a
    little text about each unit describing functions, etc.
    
    If I recall correctly, there's an ad in the latest Amiga Worlds that is
    a 16 bit sound sampler/processor.  Maybe it's somewhere else--I know
    the product was supposed to be available early Spring '92 and there
    wasn't a list price shown...
    
    Mike (a happy happy 500 2.04/GVP HD+ owner)