PowerBook Pismo MIDI synthesizer

[somorastik]

Hello,

I would like to ask for some advice about setting up a PowerBook Pismo as a MIDI synthesizer.

I have a M-Audio Keystudio 49:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MAudioKeyStudio.html

Since it had no build in midi synthesizer and the software to get some sound out of it is hdd hungry and hardware hungry, I was thinking about options.

I could buy a midi synthesizer for keyboards, like the yamaha tone generator:

http://www.matrixsynth.com/2011/02/yamaha-mu-50-tone-generator-xg_26.html

but they are expensive and hard to get by.

or set up a PowerBook Pismo, to get some sound out of it.

I just want to get some sound out of the keyboard, few pianos and some wulitzer or rhodes.

PowerBook has: 450MHz G3, 256 RAM, and a 40GB HDD.

Both 10.4 and 9.2.2 installed.

No better place I guess to ask for advice than here.

What would you recommend on doing? 8-o

 

[commodorejohn]

I haven't used the Keystation, but in general M-Audio's driver support for Mac OS is excellent - both my Midisport 1x1 and the Radium 49 I used to have worked fine even on OS9. However, unless you're going to use VSTs, you'd be stuck with Apple's built-in MIDI soundfont, which isn't very good (if not quite as terrible as Windows's.) Is there a particular kind of sound you're looking for? Do you necessarily need standard GM/XG, or just something that makes sounds? The MU-50 might be pricey, but you can get various MIDI modules pretty inexpensively (anywhere from $50-200) if you keep an eye out.

 

[somorastik]

To be honest I have no idea about the possibilities with this. Either a synthesizer or or using software and the PowerBook, either in OsX or Os9, I dont mind.

The sound I am looking for is something to go along with rock n roll!!! So a rhodes or wurlitzers are used I guess, or the Vox synthesizer in "the house of the rising sun", and so on, If you know what I mean...

And the a clean piano just to practice...

What would you recommend?

 

[commodorejohn]

Hmm. Most synthesizers have decent electric-piano tones, and cheesy '60s transistor organs like the Vox are also common, so you should be good on those fronts with just about anything. Really good acoustic-piano sounds are less common, but if you just want it for practice maybe it's not so big a deal?

You might try a Yamaha TX81Z - it's got ROM presets for a couple of excellent Vox-type sounds ("6 Tease" and "Farcheeza") and some good Rhodes/Wurlitzer tones, and a few acoustic pianos that are decent by FM standards (though that's not saying a lot,) along with a bunch of other sounds in various categories and user-programmable slots so's you can experiment with FM synthesis or dig through libraries of a few thousand patches (do yourself a favor and use one of the available computer programs for this, though - the onboard menus aren't particularly intuitive!) And since it's purely algorithmic synthesis, the voices don't fall apart outside their nominal range as badly as they do on a lot of cheap PCM ROMplers. You can get one for around $80-100 if you keep an eye out on eBay.

If you can spring for something more in the $150-200 range, you could dig up a Korg 05/RW or the upgraded X5DR. I have an 05/RW I've been very impressed by; I don't usually go in for ROMplers, but I fell in love with it after hearing some demos and had to get one. It's got a very broad, non-generic and creative palette of sounds and a good bit of potential for creating new ones using the ROM samples, which are surprisingly good for something of its vintage. (You can even get some Mellotron-type sounds out of it with a little work!)

If you just want something cheap, the Roland MT-32 is a bit of a classic in gamer/computer circles. It sounds pretty cheesy, but you can get one for $30-50, which is dirt-cheap for a hardware synth, and it's possible to create significantly better sounds than the presets. The big downsides are that it tends to be noisy, it has no onboard editor (which means you'll need a computer program to roll your own patches,) and - without modification - it doesn't store user tones or settings when powered off (which means you'll always need to load your custom patches in from the computer.) It's cheap and has potential, and you can listen to some cool old music from various Amiga/PC games that supported it, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it if you plan on doing any live performances.

 

[protocol7]

If you're looking for organ sounds try the Combo V and Combo F at Martinic. They're free, universal and sound great (to me anyway). I can't say how well they'll run on a Pismo but it won't cost you anything to find out. They're plugins so you'll need a host of some kind (like Garageband).

 

[commodorejohn]

It's also worth noting that you may have a music store or two in your area that deals in used equipment - I frequent my local Music-Go-Round and I've gotten some great gear for quite cheap there. This has the added benefit that you can go in and do a hands-on demo to see if you like the sounds and UI of a unit before you buy it.

 

[somorastik]

Thank you so much for replies!!!

Still some good people around here. I am so glad this forum is so alive. I have been a member for a long time.

I will dig around ebay and I will have look on those VST plugins right now.

Maybe a early version of cubase would make a good VST plugin host? Or do you recommend something elese?

Maybe a early version of garage band would barely run on the Pismo. I have to find out...

With music dealerships and second hands, it is a bit difficult where I live, it is easter europe, and people who have this old hardware like the yamaha synthesizers, keep them for themselves, since they are rare here.

I have been thinking about this phenomena, europe and the rest of the eastern world, especially in the older days and now as well, not a lot of good bands come from here. In comparison to united states or england have a long tradition in "modern" music and they have a good fundaments in the way they have a lot of instruments. A musician can be born anywhere in the world, but when you have no instrument and no audience it is very hard to get through, if not impossible.

Like Bob Dylan said: "I was born far from where I was supposed to be..." :approve:

 

[protocol7]

I'm not sure what would run well on a Tiger Pismo. I know Tiger didn't feel that great on my G3 iBook and that had 800MHz and 640MB RAM.

Here's a couple of basic VST hosts I found:

http://www.refusesoftware.com/products/feature/3

http://www.440audio.com/en/software/v3126-The-Lone-Roger-MultiVST-Shell/

And there's a few more listed here. If you have a look through the site you might find some more cool stuff.

 

[commodorejohn]

Tiger itself runs okay (not well, but okay) on a G3, given enough RAM. TenFourFox was lethargic on my 500MHz Pismo when I was still using Tiger on it, but other stuff seemed to run pretty well. PPC-era VSTs usually have pretty detailed system-requirements information in the readme, anyway.

With music dealerships and second hands, it is a bit difficult where I live, it is easter europe, and people who have this old hardware like the yamaha synthesizers, keep them for themselves, since they are rare here.

Ah, bummer. eBay's probably your best bet, then, though it couldn't hurt to keep an eye on other places (Craigslist has sites for some Eastern European countries, and maybe you have a local paper you could place an ad in?)

 

[Bunsen]

On a machine of that generation, I would probably advise OS 9 for synthesis applications. There's a wealth of older apps available, and you won't be tying up CPU cycles with fancy OS X graphical shenanigans. Considering the amount of realtime analog-emulation synthesis you could get out of a 60MHz 601 back in the day, you should have plenty of overhead for some music fun.

Apple included a basic set of General MIDI instruments with the system software, as an extension/control panel called Quicktime Musical Instruments. They should be adequate for basic playback, and sound OK. They may have been an optional install, but should be on any OS 9 install disk somewhere. They're also probably not terribly CPU-demanding, as it's just sample playback and a bit of mixing.

If you want something a bit fancier to tweak, have a look for Roland/Edirol's "Soft Sound Canvas" - a pure software implementation of their extended GS version of General MIDI instruments (wider choice of instruments, more editable parameters, effects) which was previously only available in hardware boxes/keyboards. Note that I am not 100% sure there was ever a Mac release, but I have a vague memory of their being one.

Beyond that, once you have OMS set up to respond to your controller and play some noises, you might want to have a poke around Hitsquad's Shareware Music Machine under the MacOS 9 category. Though it's not been maintained for a long time, and there are quite a few dead links, it will at least give you an idea of what is out there.

Searching these forums will also bring up some previous discussions.

 

[Bunsen]

Oh, one other choice if you are even a little bit handy with a soldering iron: you can use the Yamaha Waveblaster daughterboards for old soundcards as stand-alone synths by literally hooking up a handful of wires: power, MIDI in/out, and audio in/out. There's a bunch of DIY projects demonstrating this on the web.

That gets you a huge range of pro-grade instruments, effects (even for external instruments, voice etc via the audio input) and editable parameters (XG being Yamaha's extended General MIDI, like Roland's GS), and practically zero CPU load. All editing would be done in software over MIDI, for which any XG editor will do (there's a few around), or "mixer maps" for your main DAW software (Cubase, Logic, etc).

http://www.joebrown.org.uk/wp/?p=3124

It's proooobably possible to do the same with Yamaha's later PLG daughtercards, but I haven't investigated that. One wrinkle is you would need to add a DAC, as their audio output is digital, whereas the Waveblaster cards give you analog audio straight out of the box. Er, card.

 

[Bunsen]

I could buy a midi synthesizer for keyboards, like the yamaha tone generator:http://www.matrixsynth.com/2011/02/yamaha-mu-50-tone-generator-xg_26.html

but they are expensive and hard to get by.

Roland/Edirol, Korg, Kawai, and Yamaha - and probably a few others - made cheaper, "headless" versions of the same thing which were designed for exactly what you want to do. IE, no front panel controls or displays, just a blank box that plugs directly into your Mac's serial port and gives you a GM, XG or GS (or similar) soundset to play with, with all editing in software. They're a step up from the MT-32 mentioned above, but still as cheap as all get out these days, especially because they don't have USB. Most of them will also do MIDI passthrough, so you don't need an extra box to plug in other instruments and/or controllers.

Also, most of them were the same width & depth as classic boxmacs, making them zero footprint sound expanders

 

[commodorejohn]

Also, most of them were the same width & depth as classic boxmacs, making them zero footprint sound expanders

Hah! I'll have to set my SE/30 on a stack of half-rack modules when I get it up and running :lol:

 

[Bunsen]

It's proooobably possible to do the same with Yamaha's later PLG daughtercards, but I haven't investigated that.

Someone else has though. Summary:

None of this is impossible. However, it would be a hell of a project.