No Fragments Archive 12: Textmags & Docs/nf_archive_12.iso/MAGS/TEXTMAGS/INFODISK/INSIDE57.MSA/TEXT_NAMM.TXT

Text File | 1992-02-06 | 14KB | 259 lines

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  NAMM - A First Person View                               by John Nagy
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 Atari Corp was virtually the only computer being seriously shown at the
 National Association of Music Merchants show last week.  Sounds simple
 enough, just another trade show, right?  Well, yes and no.  NAMM is held
 twice a year in fashion similar to that of COMDEX (computer trade) and
 CES (consumer electronics products).  Its a conclave of everything from
 sellers of guitar picks to makers of turn-key recording studios for the
 stars.  It's a trade show in the same sense and scale as the others, but
 the emphasis on the musical arts makes it a very different affair... in
 the people it brings out.

 The Winter NAMM is traditionally held in the Anaheim Convention Center,
 just down the street from the original Disneyland in metropolitan Los
 Angeles, California.  This year, it was Friday through Sunday, January
 10-12.  Spanning three huge interconnected convention halls, this NAMM
 offered more, louder, and more varied music products this year than in
 the past.  Last year's Winter event was quite subdued, occurring just
 after the start of the Gulf War.  The Summer event (in Chicago) was
 still smaller and lackluster.  Recession or no, this NAMM made up for
 lost time.

 But the mix of PEOPLE was different, too.  Far less green hair and see-
 through leotards.  About the same amount of leather.  Far more suits and
 ties (Brooks Brothers with Dreadlocks was an "in" look).  And more
 serious business attitudes all around.  In the middle of this musical
 phantasmagoria was Atari Corp's booth.

 I won't repeat the details of the new Atari Music Division or the FOSTEX
 announcements, as they were given in depth last week in Z*Net.  But the
 "feel" of the show is news in itself.

 The Atari area was the largest yet at any NAMM, apropos of Atari's new
 commitment to its official new Music Division headed up by James Grunke.
 An open area accommodated as many as 25 work stations manned in COMDEX
 fashion with a host of third party developers.  They included music
 specialty developers Hybrid Arts, Thinkware, Roland, Steinberg-Jones,
 Dr.T's, C-LAB, Fostex, JLCooper, Interval, Pixel, Korg, Hotz, and many
 more, each showing off their latest products for the Atari platform.
 For a change, non-musical software was also being shown.  Codehead
 products, Tracker-ST, Calamus, PageStream, DiamondBack, and many other
 productivity titles were shown to musicians who had, in many cases, not
 considered using their MIDI computer for anything else.

 About a third of the Atari booth was a glass sound studio in which
 musicians were able to witness real-time use of Atari computers and
 software in a live and recording studio atmosphere.  Here is where
 fairly continuous demos and press conferences were offered, educating an
 eager public to the virtues of Atari.

 And eager they were.  Where prior NAMM showings brought respectful
 attention to Atari, this one brought a searing spotlight.  It may be
 that only now are musicians realizing their need for computerized help,
 and Atari was the ONLY computer company with a satisfying booth.  Or it
 may be that Atari is increasingly understood as the overall winner in
 price, performance, and accuracy when it comes to MIDI applications.  I
 expect it is both.  No APPLE/MAC at this show.  No AMIGA.  A trifling
 IBM booth showing... windows?  Atari alone had the music technology
 specialty offerings for the entire conflagration of Music Merchants to
 view.  And they did more than view.

 They Bought.  They Bought BIG.  In the first half day of the three day
 show, Atari had already penned more deals at higher bucks than at the
 entire show last year.  And the sales pace kept up throughout the show.
 A major piano and organ chain opened its first purchase of Atari
 hardware with a six-figure order.  To start.  The crowds never let up
 inside the Atari booth, even when the isles and surrounding booths were
 on the wane.  That was unlike any trade show Atari performance I have
 ever witnessed.  It was EXCITING.

 It got more exciting when COMPUTER CHRONICLES, the National PBS computer
 series, arrived to interview, tape, and profile lots of people in the
 Atari booth.  While their special show on MIDI/MUSIC that will air the
 week of February 25 will feature all platforms, expect a MAJOR portion
 of it to be about the Atari.  They were visibly impressed, and filmed
 for hours.

 It stayed more exciting as countless face-recognition entertainment
 personalities sauntered through the booth, picking out what they planned
 to get next -- for their Atari.  The usuals, including the towering Mick
 Fleetwood, of course.  Plus everything from jazz to classical to acid to
 punk to funk.  I recognized many of them by face (thanks to MTV), but
 their names aren't part of my repertoire.  They signed a big autograph
 board, but I couldn't read most of them.  Sorry.

 The hottest news of the show was the new alliance of FOSTEX and Atari,
 with C-Lab, Dr. T's, and Steinberg working together to create the first
 automated/computerized control studio.  Fostex has integrated MIDI
 control of multiple track tape systems.  Now, from the Atari console,
 full control of any and all tape functions can be executed or assigned
 to infinite combinations of controlled MIDI events.  The motto is
 "Thread it and forget it."  The Atari makes it possible, for the first
 time.  The impact of this was NOT lost on the endless legion of
 professional recording engineers that stood, mouths open and drooling,
 over the equipment.

 Nor did they miss the impact of the remarkable Hybrid Arts Digital
 Master direct-to-disk recording and editing system.  Featuring an Atari
 ST as the head end, this unit RETAILS for under $5,000, complete, and
 can record with CD digital perfection, up to 12 minutes of fully
 editable stereo sound.  The EX version, to be ready for sale shortly,
 will feature 16 tracks and 4 output tracks, for true full recording
 studio power in an noise-free ALL ELECTRONIC media.  Cheaply.

 And the STBook wasn't missed either.  As a replacement for the STacy,
 the STBook was a hit as the ONLY "notebook" computer anywhere with
 built-in MIDI.  Atari promised shipping in quantity for March '92.  The
 line has formed already.

 Innovative incentives made potential dealers into signed dealers.  A
 promotion called "Do the Loop" invited dealers to visit each and every
 station in the Atari area, qualifying them for a drawing for a TT030
 system.  By the time they were qualified, they were typically convinced
 to be dealers, too.

 The TT gathered support as a new top professional option for MIDI work.
 All of Dr. T's products work on at TT, CUBASE has been upgraded for the
 TT, and C-Lab has committed to upgrade ALL of their products for use on
 the TT030 by year's end.

 A music developer conference, numerous press conferences, and a party in
 James Grunke's suite on Saturday night firmed up more contacts and
 contracts than Atari ever imagined or hoped.  NAMM '92 was an
 unqualified smash sucess for Atari, establishing it as, if not the ONLY
 serious music computer manufacturer, at least the ONLY one who cared
 enough to come to the musicians with the tools they need, want, and can
 afford.

 If this is "Atari '92," we are in for a GREAT year.



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 * NAMM PRESS RELEASE REPRINTS
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 ATARI COMPUTERS: FIRST WITH FOSTEX CONTROLS

 From adding onboard MIDI ports in 1985 to offering computer control of
 three Fostex multitrack recorders in 1992, Atari Computer continues a
 tradition of leadership in bringing computer control to more and more
 MIDI devices.

 Available in 8,16, and 24 track configurations, these Fostex reel-to-
 reel analog multitracks allow users of Atari sequencing programs such as
 Dr. T's Omega, Steinberg/Jones' Cubase, and C-LAB's Creator and Notator,
 to operate all the machines' controls from WITHIN the MIDI sequencing
 environment.  The key point behind this development was to allow
 musicians to control the recording process entirely from one interface,
 thereby minimizing technical effort and enhancing creativity.

 With the exception of threading tape at the beginning of a session,
 Fostex/Atari system users are freed from direct handling of the tape
 deck for the remainder of the session.  Enthusiasts refer to this aspect
 of the system's ease-of-use as "thread-it-and-forget-it."

 Lockup to tape is achieved by the sequencing software's SMPTE
 "instructions" being read by the Fostex recorders' onboard SMPTE
 interface.  By combining locking capability with full transport, record,
 and playback controls, the musician or recording engineer can automate
 punch-ins and punch-outs using note values, measures, SMPTE frames, or
 other timing cues resident in the sequencing software.

 A related bonus of the Fostex/Atari marriage is the ability to
 automatically "preroll" before punch-ins.  Through a common feature of
 most MIDI sequencing programs, sophisticated automated "preroll" and
 other "autolocate" functions have heretofore been unavailable on
 affordable multitrack decks.

 For example, a system consisting of an Atari 1040ST, Fostex R8 8-Track,
 MIDI/SMPTE converter, and sequencing software, starts at $4500.  With
 one tape trak reserved for SMPTE striping, such a system delivers 7
 tracks of analog (with Dolby C noise reduction), plus 16 virtual tracks
 (the minimum virtual tracks of any of the above-mentioned software),
 yielding a 23-track automated recording system, (without bouncing) at
 less than $195 per track.**

 ** Note: The above cost breakdown is ultra-conservative.  Most MIDI
 sequencing packages offer significantly more than 16 tracks, so cost-
 per-track in most cases will be much less than $195.


 STEINBERG INTEGRATES SOFTWARE CONTROL OVER FOSTEX MACHINES

 In an innovative move that will change the way people make music with
 computers and tape machines, Steinberg in cooperation with Fostex, have
 upgraded their already world famous CUBASE sequencing software with
 remote control capabilities of Fostex'x G16 and G24 multitrack tape
 machines.  Studio control is available from an Atari ST computer running
 CUBASE software (Atari ST version also supports Fostex R8).  CUBASE,
 already accepted as probably the most complete music software program
 with its ability to control virtually any MIDI component from its MIDI
 Mixer, now can control not only the basic G16/G24 tape functions like
 play, start, record, fast-forward, and rewind, but you can also auto-
 locate to any position, program punch-in and punch-out markers, stripe
 SMPTE to tape, and put tracks in and out of record.

 Sequencer users have long been aware of the ability to synchronize their
 MIDI tracks along with the audio tracks of a tape machine.  Up until
 now, however, the tape machine was always the master transport control;
 the only way to play back the MIDI tracks while syneed to tape was to
 put the tape machine into play.  Now, thanks to the cooperative efforts
 of Fostex and Steinberg, you can control playback and transport
 functions from either CUBASE or the G16/G24 tape machines.  These new
 capabilities mean you have to walk over to the tape machine again, once
 the tape has been loaded all functions are available from with CUBASE.
 CUBASE offers this level of control by way of two seperate M*ROS (MIDI
 Realtime Operating System) software drivers, each designed specifically
 for the G16 and G24, respectfully.  People using these Fostex machines
 can activate the appropriate driver.  Then, a single button on the
 computer screen (appropriately labeled SYNC) is how the link between the
 computer and tape machine is made.  These capabilities represent a
 milestone in computer controlled studios, and marks the beginning of a
 persperous relationship between these two companies, which engineers
 and composers around the world will enjoy as well.


 C-LAB SOFTWARE UNITES NOTATOR/CREATOR 3.1 WITH FOSTEX MIDI CONTROLLED
 TAPE MACHINES

 C-LAB Software announces a powerful integration between their
 internationally respected MIDI sequencing and notation software, NOTATOR
 /CREATOR 3.1, and the industry standard Fostex series of MIDI controlled
 tape machines.

 In magazines worldwide NOTATOR/CREATOR 3.1 has been praised as the most
 powerful, intuitive MIDI software on any computer, and has over 60,000
 users worldwide.  NOTATOR/CREATOR is available exclusively for the Atari
 series of coputers, and provides integrated realtime sequencing and
 notation capabilities.

 With version 3.1 the analog recording of vocals, guitars, bass and more
 become controllable via the digital world of realtime MIDI sequencing.
 Once connected the user need never touch the Fostex machine again,
 except to change a reel of tape - it's that easy.  Complete control of
 the Foxtex R8, G16 and G24 MIDI controlled multitrack tape recorders is
 seamlessly integrated into version 3.1 of NOTATOR/CREATOR, with all
 commonly used functions supported.  Play, record, rewind, fast-forward
 as well as track enabling for recording are all possible from with the
 C-LAB programs.  Advanced programmable functions like Auto-Punch IN/OUT,
 Cycle/Loop Record and a unique "Scrub Chase" feature can be used in the
 new Graphic Arrange mode, all under realtime SMPTE control.

 The uniting of NOTATOR/CREATOR 3.1 and Fostex series of recorders
 provides musicians with the most powerful production package available
 for MIDI and tape-based music.

 C-LAB Software is distributed in the United States by Ensoniq Corp, for
 more information contact them at 155 Great Valley Parkway, Malvern, PA
 19355 [phone].