HARDWARE FUNDAMENTALS WHAT IT MEANS FOR MUSICIANS , V‘ V- . THE VANGELIS INTERVIEW IS S N : 0163-4534 f EXPLORE THE WORLDS one of the world’s largest private computer music laboratories. OP COMPUTER MUSJC Did you think you’ve “ heard it all” when it comes to computer music? THINK AGAIN. Think about full bodied choral and orchestral music or arabic sounding heavy rock, or uncannily realistic East Indian music or Japanese flute themes. Think about audio universes you can’t even begin to imagine, derived from a combination of synthesis and digitization of real sounds, such as voices, instruments, whales and much more. In fact think about all the music of mankind through the ages blended into textures and compositions never before possible, all rendered 100% under program control. THINK SYNTHESIS IN ITS BROADEST MEANING. THINK MACROFUSION®. Send $3 for half hour sampler cassette and descriptive color catalog for 12 other cassettes. MflCRQFUSJQU*™™ 40879 Hwy 41 Suite 12-b Oakhurst, CA 93644 STAFF ISSN: 0163-4534 PUBLISHER Polyphony John S. Simonton, Jr. Volume 8, Nymber 4 EDITOR Craig Anderton June, 1983 MANAGING EDITOR Linda Kay Brumfield TECHNICAL ILLLUSTRATOR Caroline Wood Creative Recording on a Shoestring Budget by: Del ton Horn ................................... 16 CIRCULATION Ramona French Peggy Walker An Electronic Switch For Musicians by: David diFrancesco ............................ 19 BOOKEEPING Cathi Boggs MIDI Hardware Fundamentals PRINT PRODUCTION by: Stanley Junglieb ............................. 34 Phuong Nguyen MXR Omni effects system a Review SEMCO Color Press by: Peter Montgomery......................... 39 POLYPHONY (ISSN 0163-4534) is published bimonthly at 1020 W. Wilshire Blvd., The Vangelis Interview Oklahoma City, OK 73116, by Polyphony by: John K. Diliberto ............................ 20 Publishing Co. Entire contents copyright (c) 1982 by Polyphony Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No portion of this What MIDI Means For Musicians publication may be reproduced in any by: Jim Wright ..................... ......................... 8 manner without written permission from the publisher. Second Class postage is paid at Oklahoma City, OK 73125. ADVERTISING rate card and deadline schedule is available upon request. Contact Linda Brumfield at (405) 842-5480. Applied Synthesis: Poly-61 Review DEALERS & DISTRIBUTORS bulk prices are by: Bill Rhodes ................................... 41 available upon request. Contact Linda Brumfield at (405) 842-5480. Book Review: The Complete Synthesizer SUBSCRIPTION rates: by: David D o t y ................................... 32 American 1 year $12.00 2 years $22.00 On Location: Alaska Foreign 1 year $14.00 2 years $26.00 by: Dale Stirling................................ 5 We now accept MasterCharge and Visa payment for subscriptions, back issues, Practical Circuitry: One Chip ADSR ana PolyMart items. Foreign payments must be by charge card, money order, .»or by: Tom Henry.................................... 30 certified check in US funds drawn on a US bank. Re-View BACK ISSUES are available at $2.50 each by: Robert Carlberg .............................. 6 ppd. Send SASE and request <pur 'Back Issue List' for a complete index of issues and their features, or see the back issue ad in this issue. CHANGE OF ADDRESS notifications must include your former address and_ zip code, and any numbers from the mailing Ad Index............................................... 42 label, as well as your new address. When you move, be sure to notify your Current Events ......................................... 25 post office that you DO want sec<pnd class and controlled circulation ublications forwarded. This will save Editors Note ........................................... 7 fost or returned issues. Polyphony is not responsible for replacement of lost or returned issues when we have not been Equipment Exchange (classifieds) ...................... 42 supplied with change of address information. Letters ................................................ 4 TO POSTMASTER, send address changes to: POLYPHONY PO Box 20305 Oklahoma City, OK 73156 Cover Photography: Linda Kay Brumfied "The MIDI Connection" Ph. (405) 842-5480 Vangelis Photo courtesy PolyGram Records Polyphony June 1983 3 hearing from any Polyphony readers who would care to relate their personal experiences in regards to the DTC module -- successes or failures, and new and interesting ways of using the device. Bobby Beausoleil PO Box 1033 Grover City, CA 93433 UPDATES/CORRECTIONS design presented in the February '83 issue: NEW AGE NEWS R*e: My "Meet SID" article, 1) Performance of the sus­ here's some additional information tain and hold outputs can be im­ Thank you, Don Schwartz, for of interest. In 1983, Commodore proved by putting the first sam- your wonderful article on new age will release a "synthesizer" key­ ple-and-hold (S/H) under control music. Readers interested in board containing 3 additional SID of the inverted gate and the se­ hearing the "classical" works you chips as an add-on for the Commo­ cond S/H under control of the dore 64 computer, making it a 12 mentioned by Wolff and Hennings, trigger. The modification is most Paul Horn, and Tony Scott you may voice synth. Add-on price is easily accomplished by removing slated to be under $100. Also, wish to receive a copy of The R17 and R18, which can be elimin­ Wholis tic Health Music Catalog, expect a 3 head drum unit (plus ated from the circuit, making available from: software) to produce electronic soldering points available. The percussion as an under-$60 add-on pad which connects to pin 13,of San Francisco Medical Research to the Commodore 64. Finally, IC2 is the control input to the Foundation readers might like to know that first S/H -- route a wire from 803 Fourth St., Suite 7 the 64 is now available for under this location to one leg of R16. $230. The pad which connects to pin 12 San Rafael, CA 94901 of IC2 is the control input to the Judging from the mixed bag of James Lisowski second S/H — route a wire from offerings, the SFMRF has a S. Milwaukee, WI this location to the spare pad refreshingly broad notion of just left from the removal of R17 where what constitutes the "new age" it was formerly connected to pin 4 sound. Among the sixty or so LPs Referring to my article of IC1. It is important to note and cassettes listed is everything "Build a Bass Pedal System" in the that the trade-off for this im­ from Lul laby from the Womb April '83 issue, the parts list provement in performance is that should read: (recordings made near the head of the sustain and hold outputs will an eighth-month-old fetus), to R5-R17, R33, R34 = 270k. no longer be pressure sensing. If Balinese gamelan music, Miles Otherwise R6-R16 can't be accoun­ this type of response is desired, Davis, and Terry Riley. As there ted for. Q1-Q3 are 2N3906 or a pressure sensing signal will be are lots of surprises along the 2N5158 PNPs. available at pin 12 of IC3. way, the catalog is delightful There are two different R45s 2) Further improvement in reading whether or not one plans listed. Referring to figure 4, response of the sustain and hold to buy any records. the R45 connected to the main out outputs can be realized by using a and C25 should be R46. 220k is 1 uF capacitor for C3, preferably Tim Dowty correct. The R45 connected to pin tantalum. This will keep output San Diego, CA #2 of IC3 is 22k. levels constant for a much longer The parts shown in the dotted period of time. Those who pur­ areas are located off the circuit chase the DTC kits will find a 1 IS NEW AGE NEW? board. uF tantalum capacitor included in Finally, re the suggested the parts bag. I enjoyed Don Schwartz's pinouts, pins 1 & 2 of the edge 3) Concerning the piezo overview of "New Age Music" in the connector and circuit board should transducer, I have found that Feb '83 issue. He does a good job be low voltage AC in as shown in about one transducer in five will of describing the similarities figure 1. have reversed polarity; that is, between diverse "New Age" artists. I hope this clears ’up any the device will respond with a He does not seem to acknow­ questions, but I'd like to hear negative-going excursion of the ledge, however, that this attitude from any you readers as to how pulse preceding the positive-going in music has cropped up periodi­ this project worked out for you. excursion, resulting in poor DTC cally at least since the late 19th performance. If this happens, century. Wagner's proclamation of Steve Hawk simply reverse the connections of a new totally-involving music- Hawk Music Systems the two leads that attach to the drama spawned a counter-revolution 2011 W. 11th St. transducer and everything will of composers to whom music was Upland, CA 91786 come up right. Also, piezo trans­ simply music, to be enjoyed for ducers are now available to Poly­ itself and not theorized over. phony readers from the address These included the English new- T ■ keen Pol^honj readers below for $2.95; DTC circuit Renaissance composers Eiger, De­ apprised _> r developments in an boards are available separately lius, and Vaughn Williams; the evolving design, here are some for $4.95. French Impressionists Debussy, improvements to the original DTC I would be interested in Ravel, and Les Six; and scattered 4 P o lyp ho n y ------------June 1983 ON LOCATION*------------- ---- . ...______ f i b a & o - -------- ---- - -------------------------------------------- BY: DALE STIRLING er one carries much of an electronic music inven­ Let it be known that synthesists in Alaska do tory. Thus, my annual trips to Seattle end up as not live in igloos. Seriously though, the develop­ record buying binges; why pay $9.98 when you can pay ment and growth of electronic music in the United $7.98? I have hope for the future, however; Anchor­ States is reflected in the small but hardcore elec­ age's population, and indeed the population of the tronic "crowd" in Alaska.