Re: Titanic synthlab seq posted to comp.binaries.apple2

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer) writes...

>spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector) wrote:
>>    Finally, I don't like to usually criticize, but I think
>>you may find the conversion more worthwhile if you reassign
>>the instrument mapping in the sequence. If you just run it
>>through MIDISurgeon, your going to get a random assignment
>>of instruments to each track (rarely does that ever sound
>>good ;).
>
>That sequence was HEAVILY reassigned by swapping a
>bunch of channels.  What makes you think I just ran it
>through?  ;-)

    I must apologize then, I judged whether or not the
tracks were newly assigned based on the way it sounded.
I guess it's a matter of preference, I dislike any
instruments that sound overly "synthy".

>In fact, it sounds better than the MIDI ver.
>played on my Wintel (I have a cheapo FM synth card, the
>AD1815/6...if you have $19 American dollars to burn, go
>to Surplus Direct and get the card to compare)...

    I do have a Pro Audio Spectrum 16 board in my PC,
which happens to have an OPL3 FM chip on-board (though
I never use it for music synthesis, except perhaps
when I'm experimenting in unusual ways with MIDI).
It's fine for classic PC games from the early 90's,
and I especially like it for software emulators (the
music in Taito's Bubble Bobble is fantastic IMO. :)

    For listening to MIDI in general, I use my Roland
SCC-1 wavetable synthesis board. Quite often it is
difficult to tell it is computer generated music, so
it's safe to say I'm spoiled in that sense. ;)

>>For example, "Synth-Lead" got assigned the vocals
>>of the song, which would probably be my last choice for
>>that track.
>
>I liked the way it sounded this config...if you don't, you can
>reassign to your heart's content.  I have not got any other
>complaints...besides, a very similar instrument got played
>on my AD1815/6 so that's what I had to compare...(hmm
>....the AD1815/6 instrument sounded NOTHING like vocals
>and EVERYTHING like "Synth-Lead" except weaker)...

    I had no idea you were trying to match it to sound
similar to an FM card.

>>(Hmm, speaking of vocals, I once met the
>>now-famous woman who sang the Titanic song. Well, that
>>is, we rode in the same elevator. :)
>
>Would this woman be native to Quebec?  Did you get her
>autograph?  ;-)

    Yep, it was Celine Dione. I was coming back from a
visit from the Montreal Children's Hospital (my younger
brother had been ill) when Celine and her manager got
into the elevator. Apparently she was there volunteering
her time to visit sick children and cheer them up. No, I
didn't get a chance to get her autograph, I guess it
would have seemed inappropriate given where I was (she
seemed kind of solemn in any case, so I didn't want to
pester her). At that time she was already famous though,
having sang in a couple of Disney animated films.

    Oh well, at least I have an autographed floppy disk
from Steve Wozinak (unfortunately, unlike Celine, I didn't
get to meet him in person. :)

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca