Lisa,

    Here you go - 900 words for Q&A including extra intro and ego
boxes. Isn't there any way in which the photographs can be
'lost', as I certainly didn't get any valentine cards...



Q&A

The Q&A Team sift through the detritus of reader's letters
to bring you the fractious, facetious and downright
factitious facts.



John Kennedy

Joined to a 68040 processor at birth due to a tragic
accident with a personal organiser, what John doesn't know
about the Amiga can fill a matchbox.


Mat Broomfield


What Mat doesn't know about matchboxes can fill an Amiga,
which is all very well but this isn't a magazine about
matchboxes...



Icon: Music
Title: NUTTY OVER NOTATION


I'm getting into music on the Amiga, and I'm especially
interested in the MIDI side of things. I've worked out that
I need a MIDI sequencer program, but I'm afraid that they'll
all be too complicated. I can read proper musical notation,
so I really need a program that uses this. Am I asking too
much?

Adam Priestly, Liverpool.


Of course you're not asking too much - the Amiga capable of
almost everything. The best music sequencing program
available (at the time of writing) is without doubt Bars and
Pipes Pro. In fact, Bars and Pipes has recently won awards
for being the best sequencer on ANY computer, so I'm not
alone in my thinking.

Like any powerful program it will take time to learn, but
when you master Bars and Pipes you'll be set up, and no
matter how complicated your MIDI set-up it will keep pace.

Contrary to what I may have indicated in the past, one of
the most powerful features (and one of the best hidden in
the menus) is the musical notation section. Instead of the
usual coloured blob approach, real notes on real staves can
be displayed. You can also use guitar notation, chords, a
mixture of notes and blobs (good for drum parts) and even
add lyrics.

The notation method used can vary from track to track, so
your keyboard parts can use a piano roll system and guitar
parts can use proper guitar tabulator. 






Icon: Comms? Modems? Help!
Title: COMMS CONUNDRUM 

Is it possible to use an external MODEM intended for use
with a PC with my Amiga A1200, and then simply use NComm?

The reason I am asking is that the PC 14,400 baud MODEMs
seem to be considerably cheaper than the ones advertised for
the Amiga.

J.S Smith, Wincobank, Sheffield.


The Amiga supports the same RS232 standard serial port as
the PC, so any external MODEM will work fine. No MODEM is
manufactured especially for use with Amiga or the PC - they
are designed to work with RS232. The exceptions to this rule
are the internal MODEMs common in the PC world. These cards
will only in a PC (without going down the route of
bridgeboards and PC emulators). NComm is an excellent choice
of software (but consider Term as well) and will work with
any comms hardware.

As far as pricing goes, I've been looking around myself and
I've found that after the inclusion of VAT and postage
(which PC magazine adverts always leave off) the prices are
almost identical.

Incidentally, the 14,400 baud MODEM which seems to work best
with the Amiga is the US Robotics Sportster, although the
Supra v32.bis comes a close second. Both are available from
many advertisers in this magazine.

For the Dublin reader who wrote, calling a BBS is the same
as making any other telephone call and is charged at exactly
the same rate. If you use your Amiga and MODEM to log-in to
a board in Manchester, it will appear on your telephone bill
exactly as if you had dialled the number of a friend there
and had a chat.
 


Icon: Monitor
Title: BUY A PC? NEVER!

I have an A500 Plus and until now it has been great. I have
it connected to a colour portable TV, but I have a problem:
for some unknown reason there is a great deal of
interference when I boot up. I can just about make out the
boot-up screen.

I have called out the repair man to check the TV, but the
interference is still there. Could it be the lead that
connects the A520 modulator to the TV?

When I asked my local dealer he suggested I sell the Amiga
and buy a PC. No way! I have had my Amiga 2 years this month
and think it's great.

G. Connor, South Elmsall, West Yorkshire


Buy a PC? Bit of a drastic way to solve your video problems.
Your local dealer wouldn't happen to sell PCs would he?

The first thing to do is check your Amiga with a different
TV. Pop round to your mate's house and plug it in. If it all
works ok, get that repair man round again.

It is possible that the lead is getting old, but replacing
it shouldn't be hard. All you need is a standard shielded RF
cable. You'll find many older home computers and nearly all
game consoles use an identical lead, so if your local shop
doesn't have one try any of the advertisers in CU.

If the lead proves to be ok, then I'm afraid the error may
lie with your modulator and it should be replaced. Silica
Systems are advertising a replacement for £29, and guess
what: it comes with a new lead too!