Posted by Markus Nentwig on September 25, 1998 at 14:17:42:
In Reply to: New QS-8 ownner; I'm a guitar player and will need help! posted by Dr.Tom on September 25, 1998 at 12:58:00:
Hi Tom,
Before anything else, you'll have to hook up your QS to a PC with a MIDI-cable. Most sound-cards (soundblaster...) have
one, 'MPU-401'
When you have set it up (this is most definitely not a trivial task, see past articles in the forum, many already archived), you
have connected the QS to the PC, meaning that your playing on the synth can be recorded on the PC and that song-files on the
PC ('MIDI-Files') can be played back.
Usually, you play them back on a so-called 'sequencer' on your PC. Have a look at the CD delivered with your synth, there's
'CUBASIS' on it, for free.
You can turn on and off each instrument / track independently there.
Since every type of synth has different sounds, a standard named 'General Midi' was created, which allows to play back
ANY GM ('General-Midi')-File on ANY GM-compatible synth with acceptable (?) results.
By the way, since your soundcard will be (at least 99%) GM-compatible, you can play back GM-files on your sound-card
also, results depending on the quality of the card. ("That's a guitar-sound? NO! That's PATHETIC!" ... But you wanted to
play the guitar by hand anyway, didn't you?). So you don't really need a QS if you have a good sound-card (but the sound of
the QS is the equivalent of a *very* good sound-card, especially the drums)
You have to turn your QS to GM mode. You do so in the GLOBAL menu - see manual - but remember to switch it back since
your QS will behave slightly different while in GM mode.
Now you need some sound-files to play-back.
A good place is 'Jim's Midi Links', which links to many, many pages containing MIDI-files.
The URL is http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/6356/frame.html
Since the GM-files are recorded by amateurs, nine out of ten are not too great. But there's some really good files out there
who must have been recorded by professionals. Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry), for example, is one, or 'Timewarp' from the
'Rocky Horror Picture Show'. If you're interested in Rock'n'roll piano, those two are a valuable source of information.
You can also write MIDI-files (not only GM) to your synth and store them on a memory-card.
This may be useful for those who need playback and won't haul their PC around.
But for home and studio work an external sequencer is preferable.