Spencer Chase asked:

> What is the necessary minimum to get a decent sampled piano sound ...?

In a nut shell there are two basic types of sound cards.  The first is
the really cheap type that come with many low-cost PCs.  This type
merely emulates the basic 128 MIDI sounds using a low-cost sound chip.
Such cards can often be purchased on the bargain tables at your
favorite computer store for about fifteen or twenty bucks.  From what
you have indicated this may be the type of card you have, and would
explain why you are unable to get a good piano sound.

The second type of card is a genuine "Wave-Table Sample" card.
The sounds on these cards are generated using real acoustic musical
instruments and are then written permanently an a chip that can be
recalled at any time when commanded.  Quality and price of these cards
vary widely.

An alternative to a sound card is an external "sound module".  These are
basically the same idea but are stand-alone units outside of the
computer in a small box.  With a special MIDI adapter cable they are
plugged into the back of your computer via your existing sound card and
have their own "audio out" jacks to plug into whatever type of speaker
system you are using.  In my personal humble opinion, I prefer the
external sound modules rather than a card.  You generally have more
options with these units, including a wider choice of which type and
quality to buy.  These are more typically sold in the pro keyboard
section of large music stores rather than computer stores.

I you are using the Windows 95 media player, you are right.  It
won't let you do much more than play MIDI files.  I highly recommend
"Cakewalk".  It is easy to understand and use and allows you to do
every type of editing you would ever care to do.  (It even has a "piano
roll" mode for editing, which keeps stride with the other interests on
this list!)  Be aware, however, that there are two versions of this
software: Cakewalk "home", and Cakewalk "Pro".  Without question, get
the Pro version if you want to get serious.  I have also tried some of
these cheap programs they sell at places like "Best Buy".  Forget it --
they aren't worth anything.  You will need to go to a well-stocked
computer store or a music store to get it.

Hope this helps

Rob Goodale