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PG Music Staff
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Remember when you couldn't download audio files, CD's didn't exist and YouTube wasn't an option? How else could we offer a Dare-to-Compare feature? With a cassette, of course! "Dare to Compare" Cassette - take a look!
Last edited by Callie - PG Music; 10/02/15 03:43 AM.
Callie
Marketing Representative
PG Music Inc.
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"Cassette 1" implies this was part of a series. Callie, do you know if a series of tapes were available?
By-the-way, I really enjoy your postings. Not only are they interesting by themselves but they have started some good conversations.
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I always thought these sorts of things served to show me what I really needed was a Kurtzweil keyboard. 
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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As far as I can tell, this was a "2 Cassette" Set. The contents of each were:
Cassette 1:
Side A:
-Roland SCC1
-Creative Labs AWE-32
-Creative Labs Soundblaster 16
-Turtle Beach Monterey
-Ensoniq Soundscape
-Gravis Ultrasound
-Orchid Soundwave 32
Side B:
-Mediatrix Audiotrix Pro
-Prometheus Aria 16
-Multiwave Innovation Platinum 16
-Roland RAP 10
-Roland DB-SCD10
-Roland DB-SCD15
-AVM Technologies Summit
Cassette 2:
Side A:
-Roland SC-50
-Roland SC-88
-EMU Proteus FX
-EMU Ultra Proteus
-EMU Sound Engine
-Korg Audio Gallery
-Korg 05RW
-Yamaha TG-100
-Yamaha TG-300
Side B:
-Kawai G-Mega
-Roland SC-55mkll
-Korg X3 Workstation
-Casio CTK-650
-Yamaha PSR-510
-General Music S2R
-Alesis Quadrasynth
-Ensoniq TS-10
-Korg MI
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Awesome! I still have a working EMU Proteus FX as well as my Korg N5.
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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I thought I heard a while back that someone had release Proteus with all it's old sounds in a newer version... something that worked on modern computers.
I used to have Proteus on an old, old version of Cakewalk and a Win 95 based machine, and OMG was that thing a PITB. The people at Emu tech support almost knew me by name..... when they heard my voice I'm sure it was,,,, Hey, we'll give this one to the new guy in cubical 3.
It did have some cool sounds, but I can not say, nope not even a little bit, that I miss it one bit.
It was my first foray into the world of digital recording. And while it was fun and cool when it was working, for some reason I had to set it up every time I wanted to record. I think I finally did figure it out..... but when the computer OS needed to be updated for other than musical reasons, the D-man card stopped working totally. No driver support. So I got out of digital recording altogether for a few years.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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That's too funny. A walk down memory lane. I never had a copy of the cassette and those were some classic synths and soundcards.
I do remember the Turtle Beach sound cards, they were the best in their day.
Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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As far as I can tell, this was a "2 Cassette" Set. The contents of each were:
Cassette 1:
Side A:
-Roland SCC1
-Creative Labs AWE-32
-Creative Labs Soundblaster 16
-Turtle Beach Monterey
-Ensoniq Soundscape
-Gravis Ultrasound
-Orchid Soundwave 32
Side B:
-Mediatrix Audiotrix Pro
-Prometheus Aria 16
-Multiwave Innovation Platinum 16
-Roland RAP 10
-Roland DB-SCD10
-Roland DB-SCD15
-AVM Technologies Summit
Cassette 2:
Side A:
-Roland SC-50
-Roland SC-88
-EMU Proteus FX
-EMU Ultra Proteus
-EMU Sound Engine
-Korg Audio Gallery
-Korg 05RW
-Yamaha TG-100
-Yamaha TG-300
Side B:
-Kawai G-Mega
-Roland SC-55mkll
-Korg X3 Workstation
-Casio CTK-650
-Yamaha PSR-510
-General Music S2R
-Alesis Quadrasynth
-Ensoniq TS-10
-Korg MI
Man oh man. Can you imagine what the PG Music equipment closet must have looked like back in the day? I bet people were bringing their personal equipment from home to help assemble the equipment list used to make these cassettes. What a lot of effort just to demonstrate the range of midi sound sources available at that time.
Last edited by Callie - PG Music; 10/02/15 05:26 AM.
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And the thing is that since most of the synths (not the sound cards) were MIDI, they probably still work.
I have an old TX81z and a Roland SC55 that still serve me well. Sure, many of the sounds are dated, but some of the dated sounds are just right. And there are also a few stellar sounds that have no modern counterpart.
I wouldn't want to go back to the era when that was all we had, but it's nice to have those old sounds to mix with the newer ones.
Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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I agree. We still have a mini moog and Juno 106 around! I found a system with a decent processor and an old ISA slot just so I can access my RAP-10 card if desired, which is much like the old SC55 .. but not as portable. 
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Ditto!
I still have a TX81Z, Akai K1M and a couple of old Roland tone generators in my rack. Most have been through an Atari, Win 95,98,98SE, XP and in use now in Win 7. I will probably lose a few soft synths when I update to Win 10 but I know that these units will still run.
Love is grand.
Divorce is twenty grand!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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<...> I will probably lose a few soft synths when I update to Win 10 but I know that these units will still run.
Exactly. Every hardware MIDI instrument invented from it's birthday in 1983 will work with today's and tomorrow's computers, as long as it is in working order. Remember the VSC (Virtual Sound Canvas) softsynth that came with BiaB many years ago? It won't work on new computers. Yet my older than VSC hardware Roland SC-55 sound canvas still works -- and it always sounded better than the VSC. Windows 10 is supposed to have a shelf life of 10 years. So the soft synths you buy now should work for 10 years before your investment becomes obsolete. By then the first MIDI synths will be over 40 years and still working. I've been playing music a long time, and I really am opposed to disposable technology when there is a choice. But disposable technology is good for corporations. Take recordings. Buy it on Vinyl, buy it again on cassette with no re-recording investment, then CDs, now download, sooner or later a new download format. And neither the musicians nor the engineers nor anyone else has to be paid again, and you buy the same product over and over. Worked for movies too. Laserdisc to VHS to DVD to Blu-Ray. How many bought that movie 4 times? On the subject. Hats off to PG Music. The music that I created on my Atari, DOS5 PC, and Motorola chip Mac still works on today's BiaB. Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Expert
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Worked for movies too. Laserdisc to VHS to DVD to Blu-Ray. How many bought that movie 4 times? Smile, you forgot Sony's Betamax (better video quality than VHS but marketing was bad quality) -- that would make it five...
Desktop; i7-2600k, 8 GB mem., Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
Laptop: i5-2410M, 4 GB mem, Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
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You really bought into betamax?
<grin>
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Betamax was much better than VHS. We had a unit that we had for many years that we just junked. Even today's VHS was no comparison to the old Betamax.
BUT Sony wanted total control of both the units and the tapes while JVC decided to put out the specs for the recorders but kept the tape manufacturing confidential. They knew that they could make more money selling tapes over selling recorders, much like giving away a razor to sell the blades. At least that is what I read.
Love is grand.
Divorce is twenty grand!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Betamax? Yes, I remember them being described as the world's most expensive digital clock...
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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I intentionally omitted Betamax because it was eclipsed by VHS. I did the same for the various super-CD formats like the SACD for audio. I read an article in a trade mag on the 20th anniversary of the CD. It was written by one of the inventors. A couple of things of interest: - He stated there are severe quantization errors distorting the sound, the record companies lied and touted CD Quality in their ads.
- If I remember and understood properly, during the square wave state, the square wave added every odd harmonic to the signal (3rd, 5th, 7th, etc.) that were not present in the original signal
- The CD cost pennies to produce but the record companies lied again and raised the price
- The record companies were excited that they could re-sell their entire catalog to the same people again, resulting in double-profits per item. (Actually, triple profit since they did the same with 8-track and Cassettes)
The public went for it even though the sound quality of the first CDs were terrible. The public believed CD Quality because without trained ears they didn't know the difference. But for me, the CD was and still is trading one kind of distortion for another. The CD changes the tone of the instruments by introducing high harmonics that are not present in the original signal. The LP introduces surface noise along with pops and clicks. The CD sound has improved with new technology through the years so it's distortion is less of an issue. Most people just want to hear the music. The finer points of tone don't matter. It's easy to hear pops and clicks, and not easy to determine that on CD Stan Getz's tone sounds more like Zoot Sims. Plus the CD is definitely more convenient. While I prefer the sound of good vinyl (before the needle wears the groove and the pops and clicks arrive), I listen to CDs. I find the pops and clicks more distracting than the change in tone. Nothing accurately reproduces the music 100%. Every current recording technology introduces some kind of distortion. The distortion may be relatively minor, and it might take trained ears to hear, but it's there and measurable with the proper test equipment. Technology gets better and better all the time, and even a good mp3 of today sounds better to my ears than the old 45rpm records of my youth did. Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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