Xref: utzoo rec.music.synth:3934 comp.sys.amiga:20924
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!ncar!noao!nud!rover!mph
From: mph@rover.UUCP (Mark Huth)
Newsgroups: rec.music.synth,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: MIDI Software for the Amiga - a brief review of PRO Midi Soundscape
Keywords: SoundScape, MIDI, Amiga
Message-ID: <786@rover.UUCP>
Date: 8 Jul 88 22:20:45 GMT
Reply-To: mph@rover.UUCP (Mark Huth)
Organization: Motorola Microcomputer Division, Tempe, Az.
Lines: 31

I recently purchased the Mimetics PROMIDI SoundScape program for my
Amiga to use with my SQ-80.  So far, I have used the tape deck for
saving and playing sequences on the SQ.  I have also used the sampled
voices to play on the Amiga hardware.  I'm new to this stuff, but as
far as I can tell, most of the standard MIDI sequencer stuff is
present and seems to work.  I'll post more as I progress.

The major complaint I have is that this program is horrible in two
aspects:

It is copy protected, and the protection is the key disk variety, but
not really.  If the original disk is not installed, it does not simply
request the key disk, but crashes the whole system.  This is
inexcusable, and a good enough reason not to buy the program.

The second problem is that there are logical device names hard-coded
into the software.  This makes it impossible to move everything but
the key onto a hard disk, as the device name is the same as the disk
name!  I have spent many hours trying to move all but the key track
onto my hard disk, and still find that the libraries insist on loading
modules from the floppy.  Yuck.  It would be real nice if some thought
had gone into properly using the Amiga environment.  

If you are a floppy only user, and you don't mind having a $150.00
investment riding on a single floppy, then go ahead.  If, on the other
hand, you have a hard disk and/or have a floppy drive that eats a disk
from time to time, DO NOT buy this brain-damaged port.

Mark Huth

P.S.:  If anyone can tell me how to get around these problems, I would
be glad to change my opinion..