9910 SURREAL KEYBD AD
9910 CANADIAN MUSICIAN CVR
9910 CANADIAN MUSICIAN TBL
1999.10 Game Developer Ad

1999.09 www.prorec.com: Reality
1999.09 www.prorec.com: SurReal

1999.09.15 SurReal Mix Oct.
AES mention

Minimum System Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 95 or Windows 98
CPUs: Intel Pentium II; AMD K5 (reduced performance)
CPU Speed: 133 MHz (200 MHz for capture)
Memory: 40 Mb, 64 Mb recommended
Drives: Hard drive with 20Mb free space, CD for retail installation.

Audio output: virtually any audio card with DirectSound drivers. Select SoundBlaster output emulation if possible. (Use the demo downloads to test functionality.)

Partial list of supported sound cards: all Creative Labs; Ensoniq Audio PCI; E-mu Creation Studio; Turtle Beach MultiSound Pinnacle, Fiji, Daytona, Malibu, Tahiti, Monterey; Terratec EWS64L; Guillemot MAXIsound; Creamware Triple DAT; Hoontech Sound Track series; AVM Apex and Summit SST.

Note regarding laptops: if your laptop has operating DirectSound drivers but produces stuttered output, try to defeat the “Advanced Power Management” feature. {all ® or ™ as appropriate}

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SeerMusic Downloads:

All downloads place an .exe on your desktop.
To explore SeerMusic™ all you need is the Remixer. After installation, go to the “SeerMusic” page
Seer reMixer Engine [18.1Mb]

Reality is the professional synthesizer and one of the very few ways in the universe of accessing genuine Sondius physical modeling. The Reality Manual is in the archive at 1999.08. For compelling fidelity try to access its output digitally (for example, via S/PDIF).
Reality 1.5 Demo [7.8Mb]

SurReal is the playback-oriented workhorse:
SurReal Demo (small) [3.5Mb]
SurReal Demo (large) [18.6Mb]

Remixer is the basic player.

Seer WAVmaker additionally converts SeerMusic™ and General MIDI files into WAV or MP3 files at the highest possible audio quality, regardless of the speed of your computer.

Seer WAVmaker also includes all the features of Seer reMixer+ Internet Music Player.

[logos]

1999.08.01 Reality 1.5 Review; Game Developer: 4 stars

1999.08.01 SurReal review Computer Music (UK)-gushing

1999.08.15 SurReal Review; Eq Sept (anderton)

Intel-qualified multimedia vendors taught to use SeerMusic.

All MIDI Commands implemented; interactive web-based chimes and arpeggiating minisynth with real-time parametric control. Aptly termed by Rick Davies “The Best Audio Helper App You Never Heard in Your Life.”

In 1999, Seer Systems released ReMixer, a free helper app that rendered musical performances published in the SeerMusic format. Composers could create SeerMusic files with Reality, importing and creating musical elements from multiple sources. The SeerMusic files then included all of the information needed to let ReMixer recreate the performance exactly as the composer intended – track levels, synthesizer patches and parameter changes, and even effects processing were performed in real-time by ReMixer – a capability still well beyond the capabilities of any free helper app available on the Web.

Here’s a demo video from 1999 that demonstrates ReMixer stand-alone application user interface, particularly coded by Fred Malouf and David Roach. It shows how you can change the mix: level changes, mutes, solo, reverb on each track and even a global tempo and transpose setting for the entire song. Experienced electronic musicians will note that most of the tracks are being played by the software synthesizer built into ReMixer, including the lead guitar.

The Moog and Chimes demos show how Web application developers could embed synth controls in their user interfaces. Check out the way you can adjust the filter settings. This is not a simulation – these controls actually change the filter cutoff, resonance, etc. 10 years later, the SeerMusic platform is still the only one that enables this type of user experience.

Taken to 2012 processing levels, one could in principle use the system to implement a 32-channel mixing and effects board (to say nothing of a full-featured sampler) into any browser.