MIDI PLAYER : The process may appear transparent, but your missing thepoint. All three programs *CONVERT* MIDI sequences so thatthey can be handled and played by MIDIsynth. Is there anydifference between they way they come out sounding? No. In order to qualify as a MIDI player it must do more thansimply just translate the note information into an Apple IIgsmusic format (forget about HOW it is saved, just remember itis played by MIDIsynth and that is the bottom line). To be aplayer it has to make an effort to match instruments to theones the sequence calls for. If a saxaphone, general MIDI drums,piano, guitar, trumpet and timpani are required, it had betterload up those patches and then match them to the right tracks. No, they read the MIDI data and then pass it on to eithera hardware or software based synthesizer. There is no "format"it has to be converted into which LIMITS THE NUMBER OF VOICESOR INSTRUMENT SELECTION, it is up to the synthesizer to playthe sequence. The number of voices, selection of instruments,support of General Standard or General MIDI then depends onthe HARDWARE RECEIVING AND PLAYING IT, not a music program. MIDI PLAYER : With current Apple IIgs software it is converted into amusic format called "MIDIsynth", and that format is limitedto 7 voices and instruments patches no larger than 30K each.What's that you say? The Ensoniq can support more than just7 voices and play patches larger than 30K? Ah ha! Now do yousee my point? If it were a *MIDI PLAYER* there wouldn't beartifical limits set, but a *MIDI CONVERTOR* confines MIDIto the limitations of that specific music format, not thesynthesizer itself. When Media Player in Windows 95 tells the OPL3 to playa sequence it uses all its 20 voices and a look up table tomake a bell sounds like a bell, a organ sound like a organ(or as close to it as possible). What would happen if I wrotea specialized PC music format that "talked" to the OPL3 andused only a squarewave and 4 voices, and then had an importfunction for MIDI and had imported sequences played underthis format. Is this a "MIDI player" or a "MIDI convertor"? MIDI PLAYER : Let me give you another example. What happens if I writea program that extracts the note information from a MOD andconvertors it into MIDIsynth, but it throws away all theinstrument patches (leaving you to try and make close matcheswith existing bnk/wav available in MIDISynth). Would you callthis a "MOD player" or a "MOD convertor"? Come to think of it, That may be so, but you get note clipping on the lowervoices, either so they are prematurely halted before thecomplete note is played, or worse, cut out completely. Idon't know about you, but makes things sound awful andabove all, inaccurate as far as playback is concerned. So your saying if I convert/play a MIDI sequence usingMusic Convertor rather than MIDISurgeon, it will supportmore voices? I find that doubtful since the 7 voice limitis an inherent part of the MIDIsynth toolset, not theprograms using it. Sure, in that scenario Music Composer would be a MIDIplayer. The MIDI sequence is played by external hardwarethat support everything correctly. MIDI PLAYER : The issue here is we're sending that MIDI data to theINTERNAL SYNTHESIZER INSIDE THE IIGS. That is what ends upplaying it, and there is nothing available *currently* thatdoes anything to make sure the MIDI file comes out soundingThe way I look at it is "MIDI Players" and "MIDI Convertors" are blackboxes. With a "MIDI Player" you input a MIDI file and get music out.With a "MIDI Convertor" you input a MIDI file and get a new file out.What happens inside those black boxes is totally irrelevant.Remember that even though you don't really see it as clearly with aWindows MIDI player, there is still some conversion of the data goingon. After all, either the software or hardware must take theinstrument names in the MIDI file and convert them into actualinstruments that can be played by the hardware. Try playing a MIDIfile with no instruments some time and listen to the result. :-) MIDI PLAYER : In Windows, any conversion that needs to take place to play a MIDIfile is done by the MIDI player software, the driver software or thehardware. It isn't a topic that is brought up much most likely due tothe fact that most Windows users don't really learn as much abouttheir computers as us Apple II users.There can also be some "artificial" limits to the playback dependingon the sound hardware you are using in your Windows machine. Have youever compared the output from a MIDI file played through an Adlib cardto the output from the same MIDI file played through a SoundBlasterAWE 64? If there were no conversion of the MIDI data into somethingusable by the hardware they should sound close to the same, excludingany differences in the quality of the audio amps and such. However,you will find that the AWE 64 sounds vastly better. How could this behappenning if there wasn't some kind of fiddling with the MIDI filedata?
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