Re: Need IIe, IIgs MIDI software

[Mitchell Spector <mitch2gs@hotmail.com>]

 "Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com> wrote:

>Mitch replied:
>>But what about the many functions listed above? Are they possible
>>to do in software on a IIgs? Would you need a faster processor
>>and bus to handle all of this? Another thing I'm wondering is
>>that is it possible that Ensoniq somehow hobbled its chip in the
>>IIgs so that it wouldn't compete with their synths? Think
>>Motorola ROKR vs iPod. This probably isn't an issue, but it might be.
>
>It would have to be evaluated on a feature-by-feature basis.
>I expect that much of it could be done just with software.
>
>I doubt that the DOC was hobbled, since any change in a chip
>is expensive.  And the IIgs is an unlikely competitor for a
>dedicated synth.

    Apple, on the other hand, did somewhat hobble the Ensoniq 5503.
The chip could directly address 128K of DOC RAM, yet to cut down
on costs, only provided it with 64K (they should have at least provided
two empty DIP sockets and a jumper to expand it, but didn't). 

    Next they wired all 8 stereo channels into 1 channel, and then mirrored
that monaural signal to the left/right channels of the Audio-out connector.
You had to purchase a third party "stereo card" to demultiplex the signal
into 2 channels, otherwise you were stuck with monaural sound. And 
despite having a built-in DAC for audio recording, they left out a "line-in"
jack. The original motherboard also inadvertently added some unwanted 
noise/buzzing, which wasn't corrected until the ROM 3 board in 1989.

    Finally they failed to provide any software tools to really tap into the
features of the chip. It wasn't until MIDIsynth, not introduced officially
until 1992, at the end of the GS's commercial life, that a serious music
toolset was introduced.

Mitchell Spector