The Midi Files [Paperback]

Rob Young (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0132624036 | ISBN-13: 978-0132624039 | Publication Date: September 6, 1996 | Edition: Pap/Dsk

Going far beyond the contents of equipment manuals and user guides, The MIDI Files is a comprehensive, easy-to-read reference package covering everything you ever wanted to know about MIDI.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Includes the basics, from choosing and using MIDI hardware and software, to the more advanced, such as setting up a home studio and mastering the art of effective mixing." "Freelance informer", August 2001 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

An informal guide to getting the most out of MIDI, based on a leading MIDI consultant's years of experience.A comprehensive insider's guide to every important aspect of making music with MIDI, written from the point of view of a musician. Simple answers to frequently asked questions. Includes extensive examples, all of which also appear on the accompanying disk. Presents detailed, hard-to-find information on troubleshooting MIDI files, and MIDI system messages. Discusses the future of MIDI.For amateur and semi-professional musicians.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Ptr; Pap/Dsk edition (September 6, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132624036
• ISBN-13: 978-0132624039
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,716,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking for PRO MIDI sound?, November 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Midi Files (Paperback)

You've read about how MIDI works. You've made a General MIDI or two. Sounds okay, but... not as good as some you've heard... sounds that are bolder, brassier, cleaner, more punch. How do they do that? Learn from this book and you'll be they. Rob Young is a MIDI pro. He shares HUNDREDs of tips from years of experience, in an easy-going style that belies his expertise. Technical detail? Enough for starters. How to make instruments (bass, sax, drums) play more like the real thing. Stuff you'll skim through the first time, then come back to appreciate again and again. CC's? SYSEX? Detailed with care. Many example screens from a typical modern sequencer are included as illustrations. Tucked inside the back cover: a floppy with 50+ example files in GM format (playable in any sequencer) so you can *hear* the techniques and *see* how it's done. The tunes are too elevator for my tastes (ultra-commercial and non-experimental), but the methods apply to all genres. Oh and, uh... keep it under your synth, okay?

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you are seriously into MIDI, then get this book !, April 27, 1999

By 

Mark Dochtermann "Advisicon" (CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Midi Files (Paperback)

I was amazed to see how thorough this book is on MIDI. There is a good introduction section, but there are lots of those types of books. What differentiates this book from other titles is the author's practical approach to working with MIDI, including a number of .mid examples you can listen to while reading the book (very professional sound). The tutorial is very thorough, and although I have not completed it yet, appears to be well structured.

A must for any MIDI aficiando !

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice reference, April 4, 2003

By 

Marco Vazquez (Mexico City, Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Midi Files (Paperback)

This book can make you understand the whole MIDI technology pretty well. It tells you how MIDI works, how to set your system (the basics of course, the rest is up to your imagination), how to start sequencing and how edit all the material you've just recorded, including basic binary, hexadecimal and SysEx subjects. All this with .mid files included so you can check the examples out.

Great source for basic-intermediate folks.