"The first software I ever used to create music was Dr. T’s KCS. I used it on an Atari 1040ST. The software was strictly to control external hardware midi devices. Hard discEmile Tobenfeld recording and virtual instruments were years away from hitting the mainstream. A guy named Emile Tobenfeld (see photo) was the man behind Dr. T’s and KCS and he created this software in 1984."
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A blast from the past. I had KCS for my Amiga, along with Bars + Pipes
ReplyDeleteBars & Pipes was revolutionary...way ahead of its time. I was seventeen when all that stuff really came out...I had a 1040st with Notator and Cubase, an Amiga running KCS and Bars & Pipes, and that hyperexpensive Yamaha PC laptop (C1?) running Texture. Then I got a Mac SE with Pro5, Vision and Performer and the world changed again...
ReplyDeleteI miss the simplicity of knowing that the computer was only for MIDI and syncing to my DA88. I wrote more music then than in all the years I've had plug ins and DAWs combined.
That old Yamaha music computer was the CX5, I think?
ReplyDeleteYamaha made a little desktop computer system with an internal FM synth; that was called the CXM.
ReplyDeleteThe C1 was a big and expensive laptop with integrated MIDI ports.
I remember the days ... I had an 1040ST. A friend had a Mac SE running Performer; even with the little screen, it was great.
Dr. T. made a sequencer called Beyond that has evolved into Sagan Technology's Metro.
peterwendt, it was the CX5M. I had one. Actually I still have it, but it doesn't work anymore and it's in pieces. It had the same 4-op FM engine in it that Yamaha was selling for use in video games at the time. It also had MIDI in and out.
ReplyDeleteIt ran an operating system called MSX, which was sort of Japan's answer to MS-DOS. It had a built-in BASIC interpreter and a cartridge slot for various things. You could plug in either a memory cartridge, or a software cart. Yamaha sold a few carts with applications on them. The one that I remember was a cart that turned the CX5M into a graphical editor for a DX7. You could also plug in a purpose-built keyboard into a parallel port. They sold both a full-size keyboard and an mini keyboard. The keyboards were velocity sensitive but didn't have aftertouch, and they lacked pitch or mod wheels.
However, Yamaha refused to document either the interface to the FM engine or the MIDI interfaces. When running the CX5M's own music software, it could send MIDI but not receive it. I wanted to some sequencer software for it, but when I called Yamaha to ask about technical documentation, they told me that since I wasn't a "name" musician, I'd have to pay $75 per hour, four hour minimum, to talk to a consultant. They also wanted me to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
So I said screw that, and I gave up on the thing. Shortly after, there was an accident involving a keyboard and a cat, and a daughter board on the main board got broken. I put it all back in the box and that was that. A few years ago, I tried to sell it on eBay for parts, but got no bids.