This section introduces the basic hardware for a amateur MIDI musician who wishes to go beyond the soundcard.
The basic types of hardware are:
A sequencer is an electronic device that's able to record digitally everything that you did on the Controller keyboard. Basically it records MIDI Events like when and which key was pressed and for how long, and the pressure on the key. It also records things like modulation wheel amount, pitch bend amount, and System Exclusive dumps. Eveything recorded remains fully and individually editable. So if you played a wrong note in the middle of a song, you can go back there and only change that note, without changing anything else. A sequencer is also essential for "one man band", since you can record the drum tracks first, then play it back and at the same time record the background instruments on a different track. In this way you can build a whole piece of music with more than 2 instruments playing at the same time, even though you have only 2 hands.
The MIDI sequencer is usually quite small (size of a book) with a small backlit LCD screen to display the data. Finished songs can be saved into a 3.5" disk or RAM cards. The obvious advantage is that it is very portable. However the displayed data can be a bit difficult to edit, since so little of it is displayed at a time.
There is one shop in Ngee Ann City (Not inside Takashimaya) on the 4th(?) level. The shop originally next to the Yamaha Music School has moved. Another prominent shop is in Peace Center (Selegie Road).
The MIDI Interface communicates between the rest of your MIDI gear with your PC. The PC here is used as a sequencer. The advantage is that you can see more of your data displayed at the same time on your monitor, the display is in color, and best of all, you can display the MIDI events graphically. Editing becomes very easy with the mouse. Not to mention that the software is upgradable without having to throw the hardware away. However, setting up is a bit more tricky as you'll have to buy and install the software yourself, and very little support is available. Some very "neow" people complains that the PC introduces small timing irregularities to the music because of its necessity to do many things at the same time (esp. running windows). Personally I have detected no such problem. (maybe I'm too amateur). Depending on your platform (PC or Mac), the Interfaces are different and not compatible with each other, so be careful which one you're buying.
Examples
I'm using a Studio Plus Two by Opcode. It's a Mac interface (I'm using a Mac SE/30), setup is super simple (as with most Mac products), just connect the printer port and the modem port to the computer with the supplied cable, plug in the AC adapter, and presto! Instant 32 Channel MIDI sequencer. Used to retail at about S$300 (1993). It has 2 MIDI 'In' and 4 MIDI 'Out'.
Where can I get it?
I got mine from a shop in Sim Lim Square. However, it has mysteriously disappeared a few years ago. Can try the usual places.
All MIDI equipment are connected by standard MIDI cables. The connectors look a bit like the computer keyboard plug, with 5 pins inside. They are readily available at the usual places. Be careful not to buy the wrong type of cable. There's a much cheaper look-alike meant for European(?) audio systems featuring the same plugs. However, the wires are connected in reverse.
Examples
Get ready to buy quite a few of them, since each piece of equipment uses 1 to 3 of these cables. Mine looks like black spegetti behind my gear. Most of them are from Roland.
The controller keyboard is an essential piece of equipment unless you can enter notes one by one on a computer keyboard. It generates the MIDI events such as Key On/Key Off, Velocity, Pressure etc. The controller keyboard features the usual piano keys, in addition to possible pitch bend and modulation wheel. It must have a MIDI out port at the back.
Most controller keyboards have a synthesizer built in, so that you have the option to play it on its own, or patch the keyboard signals to a sequencer and then let the sequencer control the syn on board. Some have speakers built in too, while most higher end ones don't have any speakers. Some even come with a sequencer built in.
How much does it cost? Well, it can range from a few hundred Casio ones to infinity. My first one is a small keyboard from Yamaha (PSS 480) that cost me about S$200 10 years ago. Well, it sounds terrible (basic FM synthesis), but it works. I'm still using it as the metronome.
Example
I'm using a Korg WaveStation EX. 61 keys with 32 voice polyphony on the synthesizer. Comes with pitch bend and modulaion wheel. Standard MIDI ports (In/Out/Thru) and stereo signal out. Cost me about S$2000 ~5 yrs ago. Velocity and pressure sensitive keys. Got it at Peace center.
That's probably the most important part of your gear, because it determines how your music sounds like. The synthesizer converts all the MIDI events into sounds. So how real you Grand piano sounds depends on the Synthesizer. When looking for a syn, check out its sounds, and also the number of notes it can play at the same time. (32 voice polyphony = 32 different sounds at the same time). If you're into programming (designing your own sounds), take note of the amount of editing that's possible, and how friendly the interface is. Note also if it can accept new data input like RAM cards. ROM cards, diskette, SysEx or diskette. That's in case you want new sampled sounds to work with.
Example
My own synthesizer is the Proteus/1 by E-mu. It has since been acquired by Creative and its technology was incorporated into the Sound Blaster 32 sound cards. At that time it cost me S$1600. However, I like the sound very much. My other syn came inside the Korg Wavestation EX. This one sounds much more electronic.
Not directly involved in MIDI, but essential if you have more than 1 syn. It mixes the analog audio signals from different sources and sends the output to the amplifier. However, high-end ones even features MIDI controlled mixing. (Yes - one or more tracks of your music is dedicated to control the mixer settings) Some mixers comes with a multi-track recording deck - this can simplify things a lot. Take note of how many channels you'll need - 2 channels are usually necessary for L/R output from a single syn. Some syns comes with more that 1 set of stereo outputs (like the Proteus/1). The rule of the thumb - get more than the number of tracks you need now. It'll save a lot of frustrations when you want to add a new syn later. Remember to leave an extra channel for vocals if you want to do KaraOke.
Example
My mixer is an 8-channel one from Ross Systems (~S$300). It's not the best, and sometimes it's unreliable (loose connections inside) but it works fine most of the time. I bought mine from Peace Center. These things are available from the usual places.
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