Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

No sooner do we learn of
MicroIllusions' plans to develop version
2 of MusicX than sources close to the
company have discovered that another
upgrade is to be released to bridge the
gap between MusicX 1.1 and 2.0.
MusicX 1.3 (nobody seems to know
what happened to 1.2) is now in the
hands of beta testers, but should be
available soon. According to our
sources. there are very few additions
apart from a number of new libraries for
the librarian page and perhaps an extra
page or two to provide extended control
over the MIDI data flow.
Homegrown MIDI software is
something of a rare commodity, but
Data-Pak software of Rochford in
Essex want to change all that. Data-
MUSIC NEWS
Pak's first product is a powerful MIDI
diagnostics system written specifically
for the Amiga.
What makes this product so
remarkable is the price - a mere £9.99.
It's all too easy to get tied up in MIDI
leads, but with Data-Pak's MIDI-Toolkit,
you can keep track of your system with
ease. The program offers
comprehensive MIDI diagnostic tools
which include realtime analysis of
incoming data, a graphical display of
the amount flowing through a MIDI
network, lead checking and a facility for
checking standard format files.
Can you afford not to have the MIDI-
Toolit keeping check on your system?
For more information, give Data-Pak a
bell on 0702 542229 and they'll be more
than happy to sell you a copy.
SYSTEM C H A N N E L RECEIVED MIDI DATA CHANNEL ERDICATOR BOARD
MESSAGES MESSAGES 0 1 02 03 04 05 • 07 OB 84 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Sysex N o t e O f f
71meC0de MoteOn
SPP0iAter PolyAT
SongSelect C oniC ha nge w
Undefined Prima,
Undefined .CAannetAT el
fonelteluest ..Fitchne nd 0
E0801Sysex Re5etC010
TimOgClook Loca1Ctr1
Untiohned AliM e te sOff
Start _ OnnittedeOff
Continue OuniNedeOn
Ctop Polytiode Off
Undefined _ fdlyN e de n
tSensing Nov-LImE-1
'enReset
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MOTES FOR
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pyright DATA-PAK Sot t ware
LOD (1990)
played (and when) and if TFMX should
wait for the sample to stop playing. Once
a pattern has been defined, a simple
STOP command terminates it.
One of the most impressive aspects of
TFMX is the amount of control it oilers
over samples. Using its powerful macros
facilit you can define whether the sample
should be looped, its length and so on.
You can also shape it still further by
taking advantage of TFMX's sample
manipulation tools such as envelope
shaping _which allows you to create
analog-type LIO effects - portamento and
even vibrato (who needs an effects unit?).
Once you've created your game tune,
you'll no doubt want to use it in your own
programs - after all, that's the whole
point of the exercise.
Unlike programs like Sound Tracker,
TFMX doesn't include n any source code
for playing the tunes, instead you must
call a separate player program from
within your program. While this is great
for Basic programmers, it is really
USE THE AMIGA'S
MENU TO SELECT
TOOLRIT MODE
The best way
to learn
about MIDI to
to use it...
unacceptable for assembler
programmers who "hit the metal". But
then again, all you've got to do is
dissassemble the player program!
For a program that claims to be the
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be all and end all of game music
creators, it is surprising that
Demonware didn't include some form of
MIDI support. Even the PD composer
Game Music Creator supports MIDI, so
Demonware would be well advised to
include it in a future release.
To be fair, the programmers have
hinted that they may produce a
professional version of IFMX that
includes MIDI support, but that will
New to the
world of Midi?
Superstar
Jason Holborn
has a word or
two of advice
for anyone
starting out in
the music biz
probably carry a much higher price tag.
• As it is, TFMX is still a most
impressive product that makes the job
of composing music for games a
considerably easier task. Those of you
used to Sound Tracker may find the
editing system initially daunting, but
you'll soon grow to favour it. Highly
recommended.
TFMX
£44.95
The Software
Business
0480 496497
Next month: Reviews of Passport's
new budget sequencer system Trax.
Pius, of course, even more news
and gossip from the Amiga music
scene.
AMIGA COMPUTING November PSIO 121