Twelve Tone Systems Cakewalk Sequencer Software

Abstract

The source of my newfound happiness is Cakewalk, a sequencer for IBM-compatible computers, from Twelve Tone Systems. With a few minor exceptions, it's the best-designed, most complete MSDOS sequencer I've found. Indeed, it's one of the best MS-DOS music programs I've encountered, period. The software runs on an IBM or compatible PC, XT, AT, or 386-based system running PCDOS or MS-DOS. The version I tested supports Roland's MPU-401 and compatible MIDI interfaces, though other versions support the Music Quest MQX-32 dual-port interface and Yamaha's C1 music computer. Cakewalk uses the tape recorder metaphor, rather than a phrase or pattern editor orientation. For the track-hungry, Cakewalk provides 256 of them; any track can be used to record, edit, or delete any type of MIDI data. This alone separates Cakewalk from those of its competitors that can't smoothly handle controller data, system exclusive messages, program change messages, or other non-note events. Cakewalk can handle any MIDI event, on any track, at any time, and quickly. Speed is one of Cakewalk's main virtues. Data entry and edit operations are so easy and flow so seamlessly from one to the next that they don't interrupt the rhythm of the creative process. That had been a major complaint about many sequencers I've tried-a slow-running program doesn't only affect the pace of my work, it forces me to change the style in which I work. Part of the reason Cakewalk runs so quickly is that it doesn't use fancy graphics, which can slow screen-painting considerably. But even benchmarked against similar character-oriented programs, Cakewalk was significantly faster than most. Cakewalk provides several different views of a sequence, and it switches from one to another almost instantly. The Track View provides an overview of all 256 tracks by scrolling up or down, with 16 tracks on screen at any one time. Track View operations include naming tracks (with not one, but two name fields), muting or unmuting (though there is no Solo function), adding a velocity offset to make an entire track louder or softer, transposition, adding a time offset, or forcing an entire track to a specific MIDI channel. The Track View also lets users select specific tracks for subsequent region editing commands, which apply to all selected tracks.