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MMD > Archives > February 2000 > 2000.02.27 > 10Prev  Next


MIDI Hardware and Software for the PC
By Mike Knudsen

Most PCs sold in the last couple of years already have a "Sound
Blaster" card equivalent built in.  It's what plays any files with a
.MID extension (such as you can get from my Web page -- bet my ragtime
compositions would sound great on that Roland digital piano!)  Try
them at http://hometown.aol.com/knudsenmj/myhomepage/index.html.

If somehow the PC does not already have a MIDI function with external
MIDI port, then Sound Blaster or Turtle Beach are both good.  Make sure
it covers waveform synthesis; the older FM synth method makes for
terrible piano sounds.

So the only hardware you need is the MIDI adapter cable that Robbie
mentioned.  It has a DB9 9-pin connector at one end that goes to the
PC's joystick port (games or keyboard, one at a time, take your pick
:-) and the round 5-pin MIDI connector at the other.  You are much more
likely to find this cable at a music shop than any computer store.

The same goes for the software.  Robbie's recommendations are right
on: fancy notation is not needed, and adds greatly to the cost.  One
I would avoid is Midisoft Studio.

Mike Knudsen


(Message sent Sun 27 Feb 2000, 04:16:52 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Hardware, MIDI, PC, Software

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