Atari MicroRhythm for Atari 8-bit computers | Review
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Who hasn't frantically (or pathetically) drummed away trying to reproduce the drums of their favorite tunes? Enter MicroRhythm, which offers us the possibility of becoming the envy - or nightmare - of the neighborhood, with a digital drum kit of eight percussion instruments.
The kit consists of bass drum, snare, low-tom, cowbell, hi-hat open, hi-hat closed and claps.With this program, we can use up to 29 two-voice percussion patterns with particular rhythms (tempo); each pattern can be used in the sequence and with the repetitions we want to compose a song.
The program's functions include selecting any of these patterns; deleting, editing; playing, changing the tempo; linking the patterns together to form a melody and recording them to diskette.
To carry out these tasks we will have to learn to use (very patiently) a system of drop-down menus where the different options are activated through the function keys (OPTION, SELECT and START).
MICRORHYTHM / DIGIDRUM
Posted by:Firebird, 1987.Gender: Utility / Music.
Extra: Keyboard only.
INSTRUCTIONS
Once the title screen appears you must press theSTART key to enter the main program screen. We are shown a main menu of drop-down options. We can interact with the menu using the following keys:OPTION- moves the cursor between sections of the main menu.
START- displays a menu section / activates an option.
SELECT- toggles between drop-down menu options.
The main menu offers us the following sections:
PATTERN: To modify the patterns, you have three options:
Select pattern: To select one of the patterns between 1 and 29.
Wipe Pattern: Clears the current pattern and resets the tempo.
Clean patterns: It will clear all patterns.
PLAY: Allows you to play a pattern or song.
Play pattern: Continuously plays the selected pattern.
Play song: Play a complete song.
EDIT: Allows you to edit the selected pattern. The current pattern is displayed on the screen and can be modified using the following keys:
SELECT: changes the selected instrument.
START: alternates the rhythm of the instrument at the current position.
SHIFT: moves the cursor to the right.
Only two instruments can be played at the same time. Sounds on the same channel cannot be played at the same time.
The instruments are organized as follows:
Channel 1: Bass, Snare, Mid-tom, Low-tom.
Channel 2: Cowbell, Hi-hat (closed), Hi-hat (open), claps.
If you try to place more than one instrument per channel, the previous instrument will be automatically deleted.
TEMPO: Selecting this option will allow you to alter the tempo (time, speed) of your patterns. The tempo is measured as a pause from 0.08 seconds (fast) to 2.00 seconds (slow) and can be changed using the START and SELECT keys.
SONG: With this menu section you can edit the current song or delete it completely.
Edit: Allows you to link patterns together to make a complete song. This is done by creating a song list with a maximum of 32 steps. Each step consists of three digits. The first digit is the step number; the second is the number of the pattern to be played; and the third is the number of repetitions of that pattern. You can only change the second and third digits using the keyboard. To advance to the next step, press the SELECT key or the RETURN key.
If for some reason you did not manage to modify one of the steps prior to the one you are currently in, you must press the SELECT key as many times as necessary until the cursor returns to the step to be edited.
Note.- If you enter two zeros (00) as the pattern number at any step in the song, it will cause the melody to "jump" to another step - which is defined by the number of repetitions that follows the "double zero". If you enter two zeros in both fields, the song will restart.
Wipe: Will completely erase the song, leaving all steps at zero.
FILE: This section of the menu has four options:
Load pattern: load a pattern.
Save pattern: record a pattern.
Load song: load a song.
Save song: record a song.
MUSIC, MASTER
The process forcompose a new songcan be summarized in the following steps:1. Clear patterns (Pattern - Clear patterns).
2. Edit the patterns one by one (Pattern - Select pattern. Edit. Tempo).
3. Check each edited pattern (Play - Play pattern).
4. Organize (sequence) the patterns into steps (Song - Edit).
5. Play the song (Play - Play song).
By default, the program startswith a song already composedWe suggest "playing" with the patterns - that is, changing instruments and tempo - until you understand how to compose a melody.
PROS AND CONS
In favor
The quality of most of the digitized sounds is remarkable, as is the possibility of using two audio channels.
Against
The main problem is that it requires a minimum of rhythmic knowledge to obtain musically decent results. Likewise, it requires a high degree of enthusiasm to compose a melody due to the low versatility of the interface - which only accepts input from the keyboard.
ASSESSMENT
EXTRAS
• At the time, Firebird promoted MicroRhythm as a game, with the slogan "catch the drum roll on this great, digitalized drum machine"; however, the program is closer to being autility for composing music• MicroRhythm is part of theFirebird Silver range-which grouped together different programs that were sold to thebargain price of £1.99in cassette version.
• According to theoriginal instruction booklet, every sound was carefullydigitizedthrough theREPLAY systemdeveloped by the company2 Bit Systemswith a10 kHz sampling rate"to provide the most realistic experience possible."
According to Wikipedia, the Commodore 64/128 version was developed in just two weeks by Simon Pick - who was then studying at the University of Sussex - using sound samples from a Roland TR-707 synthesizer
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