Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 10:40:25 -0600 From: steve d <groups@xscd.com> To: freebsd-multimedia@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Does anyone compose music using any oftheportsfromthe/ports/audio collection in FreeBSD? Message-ID: <200407161040.25047.groups@xscd.com> In-Reply-To: <40F5B2EF.6060009@opensound.com> References: <40F59CE0.1070008@opensound.com> <000701c469ee$72503ad0$7b2a14ac@METALLER> <40F5B2EF.6060009@opensound.com>
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On Wednesday 14 July 2004 04:25 pm, Dev Mazumdar from 4Front Technologies wrote: > ... because there is so much one > can do with digital audio rather than MIDI. VSTs are huge for > professional music [...] and that's where the > action is. Your remark makes it seem like you are caught up in a fad and are ignoring some important technologies. Digital audio cannot replace MIDI or MIDI's functionality or editability. MIDI captures a performance extremely well, and can be edited after the fact much more flexibly than digital audio. It can then be used to produce digital audio that needs a minimum of editing, if any at all. Digital audio is great, but MIDI is extremely important as well, as is developing MIDI support (like MIDI via USB MIDI interfaces). > Without a good software synth, there's no point in putting > effort into MIDI so we currently focus on digital audio and > trying to make it better than anything available for > Mac/Windows/ALSA. That is a ridiculous statement. MIDI is not important without a good software synth? I was a professional musician for most of my adult life, and I have lots of MIDI and audio gear. I couldn't care less about a "soft synth," but MIDI remains very important to me. I would love to be able to use a good MIDI-and-digital-audio sequencer/editor in FreeBSD, but I have been stymied at every turn for the last 4 years since I switched to FreeBSD. As a result, I recently installed AGNULA Linux on a second hard drive, just so I could begin to use my MIDI and audio gear with my computer. FreeBSD is still my favorite OS, but I feel like Conrad Sabatier does, frustrated with the clumsy support or lack of support for MIDI and digital audio in FreeBSD (in general). I'm not a programmer, so I can't help in that regard, but whenever I download the latest ISO images of FreeBSD, I contribute money to one of the FreeBSD development teams, about the same amount that I would have had to pay for another OS. Although the OS is superior in every other way I can think of, I am frustrated and disappointed with FreeBSD regarding music production, MIDI and digital audio. And please, if you are developing for FreeBSD, do not underrate MIDI. While it may be less important to music producers and recording technicians, it is extremely important to the musicians themselves--those who actually create the music. Thanks, Steve D NM US
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