This is a very intriguing development about which I have definite comments.

In the first place, I firmly believe that the future of music lies strictly
in software, the only hardware being the computer itself, the control
interface, the digital to analog converter, the amplifier, and the
loudspeakers.

This is because it takes much less time to write software than it does to
create chips and firmware, and regular PCs are now fast enough to do
considerable DSP and synthesis in real time.

Mr Hund looks to have a fantastic product that I would love to get my hands
on, but I am a bit sceptical about the ease of translating the Csound
language into modules for SCOPE.

I do think that Extended Csound, Scope, and other related efforts currently
under way with firmware are producing many interesting ideas and experiences
which will end up in software-only synthesizers and signal processors.

The Clavia Nord Modular synthesizer deserves to be mentioned in this regard.

It seems pretty clear that in a few years, we'll have something similar to
or better than Csound, that you can program if you want, play with a
keyboard or wind controller or guitar if you want, all this in real time and
in mere software, and for a quite reasonable cost.

Exciting times!



-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Dobson 
To: csound@noether.ex.ac.uk 
Date: Thursday, April 23, 1998 8:01 PM
Subject: Re: Creamware (Really!)


>Wearing my CDP hat, I  emailed the Creamware support line yesterday
>(Wednesday) asking about the SCOPE system. Today (Thursday) I got a long
>reply, from the director himself. I have excluded those bits which are
>particluar to CDP, but I thought readers of this list might be very
>interested in what he has to say about Csound, and the SCOPE system
>generally. I find the suggestion at the end, for a sort of wrapper compiler
>between Csound and SCOPE especially interesting (a good use for the Csound
>parser?). I/CDP are most unlikely to pursue this idea - we have our own
>stuff to deal with, to say nothing of the ADI card - but there seems to be
a
>tangible degree of encouragement here for anyone seriously interested to
>'have a go':
>
>Richard Dobson
>
>
>highlights of text from Frank Hund:
>
>
>We at CreamWare wish to cooperate with companies and organizations
>...  to take care of some progress in the field or realtime synthesis.
>
>The SCOPE software, algorithms, surfaces are all strictly modular and
>can be used to create new whatsoevers - very fast and very effective.
>
>SCOPE is a platform, you're welcome to develop whatever comes to your
>mind. ... you can start from any point within SCOPE and quickly work your
>way towards your goal. You can easily create fancy and functional user
>interfaces (surface windows) and even write your own DSP modules within
>SCOPE - we have an inline SHARC assembler included in our java-like script
>language which you can use to create your own applications.
>
>SCOPE was not build on Extended Csound and is not at all compatible with
>existing Csound apps. One could make is Csound, of course - the SCOPE
>hardware and drivers are not limited to any specific sound creation
>structures.
>United with the graphics engine and the routing editor, this should be some
>pretty amazing new aggregate form of Csound.
>...
>Sure, multiple audio channels are available with I/O capabilities of up to
>60 channels in 24 bits. It should not be difficult to implement the MME
>driver as 4ch format (8ch...) instead of 2x2 (4x2).
>
>One could add full Csound support to the SCOPE environment or just start
>with a kind of compiler, that transforms Csound apps into SCOPE structures,
>using compatible atom modules.
>
>Frank Hund
>President CreamWare GmbH
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>