Hi Folks, Steve,
On Sun, 26 May 2002 14:49:14 -0400 (EDT), Steve <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Sure, there's plenty of abandonware that supported MP3,
> and ogg has only become widespread in the last 18 months or
> so. (Let's see... that's about 20 in computer years, isn't
> it? ;-)
Probably. But I only have one OGG player - MPXPLAY - for DOS, and
nothing at all for Win3.1.
> Another one I did was to record a .wav at 16Khz. Encode
> to MP3 and to ogg at ~30Kbps rate (attempting to achieve the
> highest quality that could be streamed over a 28.8k modem).
> At those parameters, the *.ogg was indistinguishable from
> its parent *.wav while the *.mp3 sounded like a cell phone
> just about to go out of range.
> That might have just been the mp3 encoder I used...
> Perhaps it wasn't designed to encode anything at that low of
> a bitrate.
I've tried encoding low bitrates in MP3s, and it just isn't worth it.
Too much data is taken out for any player to keep the sound output nice
- I guess this is where OGG really comes into its own, setting the
bitrate to match the complexity of the input sound.
>> On principle, this is the way I feel. But when trying to reach as
>> wide an audience as possible, I will continue to offer MP3s of my music
>> for download (as an enhancement to my MIDI site).
> You must have the links to the mp3s fairly well hidden.
> ;-)
They are only on my NEW domain. http://tadpole.aus.as/mp3/mp3.htm
(see the second URL of my signature)
> I did find your midis and listen to some of those though.
> /tmp]$ ls *mid
> bushwalk.mid cares.mid cider.mid freckle.mid
> latenite.mid mboots.mid
> $ for i in *.mid
>> do
>> file $i
>> playmidi $i
>> echo ""
>> done
> Out of that lot, cider.mid is the one I like best, though
> it did seem to end rather more abruptly than some of the
> others.
Those are fairly elderly now (1999), and will be upgraded as and
when. I was still learning how to sequence, then.
> At any rate, knowing that a midi file can sound different
> from computer to computer, I wonder if you've considered
> tracking them in *.mod format to insure people hear them the
> way you intend.
I have, and have done some experimenting, but I haven't been happy with
the outcome.
> For instance, first little midi I composed on a Linux
> machine sounded fine there... but I played it on a Windows
> machine. Argghh! My low-key linux percussion (snare) was
> much more pervasive, plus it didn't really sound like a
> snare at all.
> I enjoy your midis, but I have to wonder if I'm hearing
> anything at all like what you hear.
Depends. I have set them to sound the way I wanted them on a SB16
soundcard, using Windows 3.1 default MIDI mapping, but with an updated
set of sound drivers from Creative - the original really was CRAP !
You can check the MP3s (which are recordings) against the MIDIs they
were derived from. If THEY sound the same, you are hearing all the
MIDIs the same way I am.
If I had a different sound card, I would have used different
arrangements to try to match the soundcard output to what my ears
expect. I already use different, and odd combinations of, instruments to
get the closest sound to real instruments that I can, regardless of what
the sound patches are called. e.g. I have found that oboe and shanai
played in unison makes a fair representation of the Uillean pipes,
better than any of the more common "substitutes" that other sequencers
use.
FWIW: They sound a little different when played from Arachne using
Florian Xaver's FreeCD Player, which I have found to be the best DOS
MIDI sound available, using the default Allegro library. Even better to
my ears than Cubic Player. But tastes differ, and some ears are better
pleased by other players and sound patches.
Hummm .... I seem to be getting a bit carried away with a subject I
am enthusiastic about. I remember my first email to Michael, when I first
found Arachne (v 1.1), was concerning "how do I play MIDIs from Arachne ?".
>> It seems I am a casual criminal. :)
> Exactly the reason we should boycott *mp3! We certainly
> don't want to contribute to the erosion of your moral
> fortitude! ;-)
I appreciate the sentiments, but I am old enough to enjoy my sins
without worrying about what others think. :)
Regards,
Ron
Ron Clarke
http://homepages.valylink.net.au/~ausreg/index.html
http://tadpole.aus.as
-- This mail was written by user of Arachne, the Versatile Internet Client
