Have you ever tried VISION DSP or STUDIO VISION?

[supernova777]

im not sure it would have ever been the best DAW but it was the first!!!...
"Studio Vision -The first application to integrate Audio and MIDI Recording and Editing" opcode were the innovators that combined the two technologies

im not sure if MOTU performer came before OPCODE vision..
i think performer was first... then vision... but OPCODE was founded in 1985.. the same year performer v1.0 came out..

http://www.kvraudio.com/focus/the_early_days_of_software_sequencers_15670
this article claims :

Gerhard Behles (founder of Ableton) will tell you that Opcode's Players feature was an important influence when he designed Ableton Live.

this is totally apparent to me from my research on all of the above.. also the midi event mapping to program functions.

the article also claims that at first performer + mastertracks pro software were ahead of opcode.. in features.

its funny because there are many things that studio vision + live can do that cubase STILL cant do.. !!!!!!!

the birth of DAW: Feb 11th 1990
http://www.kvraudio.com/focus/it_was_21_years_ago_today_how_the_first_software_daw_came_about_15898

[supernova777]

Opcode Players? What's that?

im not sure.. but i think that, while the article mentions this one feature, it goes alot further indepth than just that..
if i was to guess i would guess that it is a reference to being able to trigger looping sequences (like the pt2 tour video here shows)
from mapped midi keys on a midi controller

[supernova777]

the loop/segment portion of SVP is similar to cubase ghost copies.. were ghost copies were introduced in cubase VST 5?
i dont remember seeing it in 4.1


this article comes to mind to:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov10/articles/25-milestone-products.htm

heres the list altered to be in chronological order:

25 Products That Changed Recording
1985 atari ST
1986 akai s900
1987 roland d50
1987 sony r-dat format
1988 korg m1
1989 emu proteus
1989 tascam msr24
1990 opcode studio vision
1991 digidesign pro tools
1991 genelec 1031A speakers
1991 mackie cr1604
1992 alesis adat
1995 Yamaha o2r
1995 fostex dmt8
1996 TC electronic finalizer
1997 antares autotune
1997 rebirth rb338
1997 steinberg vst SDK
1998 line 6 pod
1998 gigasampler
2001 motu 828
2001 ableton live
2004 SSL AWS900
2004 focusrite liquid channel
2009 celemony melodyne

interesting that ableton live / studio vision pro / pro tools are on this list
but cubase + logic are omited??
at least they mention the VST SDK....
but im still surprised they dont see cubase as a revolutionary product.

[GaryN]

"Players" is simple. If you're working pattern-based, players are just segments of your song - you record pieces, as in verse, chor, bridge yada yada, looping or non-looping. They're assigned letters A,B,C etc, and listed in the sequence menu. Then you just open a new sequence and punch in the letters in the order you want, thereby assembling the song.

The relationship to Live is that you can also trigger these segments (formerly called subsequences) in real time, either from the kbd or from mapped MIDI notes. Typically, you set the function so that each player finishes before the next one you just punched starts -alá Live. You can also make new players from other players, add / subtract elements from the other players etc. etc. This also eliminates "ghost copies". Since your constructing the song from independent players, any change to the original player automatically appears wherever and whenever that player is used. If you only want the change to happen say, once, you just duplicate the player and give it a new letter - exactly as you would on say, a pattern-based drum machine like a Roland 909. This overall concept was what inspired Live - the idea that you could construct "pieces" and later spit them out in real-time in any order to reconstruct songs on the fly.

[supernova777]

I think we need GaryN to do a post on how to use vst effects plugins in vision. (without rewire) this would be a good first step in sparking interest;)

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan99/articles/opcode477.htm
this article also says that its compatible with adobe premeire plugins?

New To v4.1 - Nevertheless, some features that users of Vision and Studio Vision Pro were anticipating in version 4.0 have only just materialised in version 4.1. With the adoption by Opcode of the ASIO driver standard and VST plug-in architecture (as used in Steinberg's Cubase VST), it has at last become possible

so 4.1+ have ASIO support + VST support

also it says it was bundled with  a limited version of bias peak, Peak SE audio editor and opcode's own Galaxy librarian.

Each Acadia channel can manage four VST plug-ins and a real-time EQ with four separate bands (of which more later).

[chokobo]

I've a few things to add.

It was said somewhere in here that Galaxy and SV weren't closely tied together. Actually they were exceedingly so. For instance if you employed Galaxy with one of your synths then all of the patch names would show up in a popup menu within SV for your selection. This was very useful.

Performer was out before Vision, but MidiMac the precursor to Vision was out first. There was also a really neat app out back then called Midi Paint--this would be a great app to track down for the Garden.

Because StudioVison was the first "DAW" not counting things like the Firelight, or the Synclaver, it by definition was (at least at one point in time) the best.

One of the reasons that SV is so tight is that Opcode put a lot of effort into that area. Once you became aware of the differences of loose timing and tight timing you understand its importance. Opcode had on the Mac one of the tightest sequencers around. I don't remember the specifics, but the disparity was pretty big.

The Atari sequencers Cubase and eMagics were really tight on the Atari. When they moved to the Mac it loosened up a bit. I don't know if they ever got that back up to spec. But this is the main reason that the Atari was so loved by the techno crowd.

Vision did have some really neat uses of patterns though, and you could trigger them with a midi event. This meant in a live situation you could control not only your music gear, but lights too. It was pretty wonderful stuff. It looks like Gary mention this feature.

Blaming Gibson for Opcode's demise is only part of the story. You really have to know about how Gibson was able to buy Opcode. Even then Opcode probably would have survived the Gibson affair if Guitar center didn't go to war with Gibson. All of that happening at the same time is what took out Opcode. It's really sad. But two of the main driving forces for Opcode, Dave O, and David W, are now developing PT. So really if you think about it that way Opcode did take over PT.

Addressing the number of windows. It's a little bit difficult today to remember that people were still using computer with displays well under a 1,024 pixels wide. Some folks were still sequencing with 512 pixels of width. To even be able to get that much information out to the user it had to be done with a number of windows. The consolidation technology didn't become viable until just recently. Think of it this way DP didn't do it until DP8!

[DieHard]

As usually... we stray, but all these stories are related and mold the overall view of the landscape at the time... I would like to thank you, Chokobo, as always for your insights into what was going on behind the scenes; it really helps fill in the gaps for me.

I had some personal insights into the "German" camp during the 2nd wave of their assault (circa 1996 thru 2000). And was interesting to see companies like Steinberg and RME introduce products that could produce material at the semi-pro level without the need for tons of outboard gear... hence the real "Project Virtual Studio" on a budget was born.  This second wave was no more important than the groundwork that was laid down by genius minds like Dave Oppenheim; but it did mark the beginning of what we see today... Self contained studios in the box, complete with virtual instruments, MIDI, Audio, and effects all living side by side.

Please don't misunderstand me, this new wave of studios surely did not sound as good as their analogue counterparts; there are no substitutes for a real Pultec EQ, LA compressors, or API mixer, but they did put things in economical reach for the aspiring musician/producer... and that was the real game changer.  Suddenly, in 1998, even the cheap 8/16 Track reel to reel studios (that were charging $35 to $45 per hour at the time in NY) had no work.  The working musician, who was use to paying $1500 to $2000 for a single piece of MIDI gear, could now save up for a quality Mic, a Mac computer, and an interface.  Who cared it you had to make 15 passes of a song, time was now free, and it was fun

[GaryN]

I've a few things to add.

It was said somewhere in here that Galaxy and SV weren't closely tied together. Actually they were exceedingly so. For instance if you employed Galaxy with one of your synths then all of the patch names would show up in a popup menu within SV for your selection. This was very useful.

Not just patch names but note names as well! My drum tracks, for example, show up with their actual drum names, not notes. Plus, I have multiple drum mods and they all just pop up so that I can make a drum kit out of 2 or 3 mods and they just come together as one instrument. I keep Galaxy open so I can just hop over to tweak whatever needs it (retune the snare etc.). Change a bank of synth patches in Galaxy and Vision instantly 'subscribes" to the change and show the new patches. The two apps integrate just as Logic and Soundiver do. Hell, I've even got a Galaxy editor for my Lexicon Reflex reverb…

Blaming Gibson for Opcode's demise is only part of the story. You really have to know about how Gibson was able to buy Opcode. Even then Opcode probably would have survived the Gibson affair if Guitar center didn't go to war with Gibson.

This story, like most, changes a lot depending on who you're talking to. I think the most telling fact however, is that all Henry had to do was complete the deal that was going to spin off Opcode into the new company to be named Zero Crossing, then just walk away. There are horrendous stories of pissing matches between supposedly mature adults that tanked the deal that can be discussed in another thread…

Please don't misunderstand me, this new wave of studios surely did not sound as good as their analogue counterparts; there are no substitutes for a real Pultec EQ, LA compressors, or API mixer, but they did put things in economical reach for the aspiring musician/producer... and that was the real game changer.

Amen to that sir! I would observe however, that the differences between the new digital rigs and their semi-pro counterparts were not quite so great. I thought the results with my Mac and cheap AD/DA (can't remember - Delta 44 or such maybe) were superior to pushing audio through my previous Teac Model Two mixers into my Teac 3440 4-track hands down! Plus, I didn't have to depend on dbx to squelch the tape hiss…

Heaven!

[DieHard]

I would observe however, that the differences between the new digital rigs and their semi-pro counterparts were not quite so great.

Very true, on an eight core mac pro with 32GB of RAM (my favorite ML Config.); Virtual instruments and effects come very close to the real world counterparts; I paid less for (2) entire studios (1 at work and 1 home), than the cost of a single 16-channel pro mixer back in 1987.

If the cost of a Pro studio includes... Mixers, Amps, Effects, Mics, Drums, etc.... and it is equivalent to a loaf of bread; then is a very easy decision... would you buy a load of bread for $80,000... or buy a loaf (minus one slice) for $4000; these days I pick the later since it is almost as filling