Virtual-909

Virtual-909 is a constantly evolving software project of mine that I've been working on for the past five years or so (yikes!). I use it as a real-life exercise to maintain my Windows and C++ programming skills, as I don't get the chance to do that kind of pogramming at work very often these days.

Virtual-909 is a Windows-based MIDI sequencing package. It does not contain sampled sounds (like RB-303, or Hammerhead). It requires an external synth or sound module. It is a pattern-based sequencer with a programming interface similar to a Roland 909, but with many many more features. It can follow external MIDI sync and save files to standard MIDI format.

Included here is the last "real" release I did (v.04). It includes full documentation, online help, etc., etc. It is, unfortunately, very much Win3.1 software (can't save with long file names, and looks a little clunky) - but it's relatively stable, can run fast on a 486/33, work fine under Win95, and I still use it. Simply download the zip file, unzip all the files to one directory, and run V909.exe. You should read the "write" file for documentation information, as it's a little more up-to date than the online help.

Virtual-909 ver0.04 (zip format)

I've also included the latest build of the "new & improved" Win95 version that I'm currently working on (v.08) - see the picture below. Between work, building synths, making web pages, and living a "real" life, progress on the software is slow - but I keep saying I'm going to take two weeks or a month off sometime soon and really finish it up. Anyway, check it out, I think it's pretty cool. There is no online help or documentation, and it's a lot different from the other version, but if you've read the other helpfile, you should be able to at least get the hang of it.

Note that in this new version, patterns are arranged into "Song Segments" in the "Segment View". You can write several patterns and stack them up together in a given segment. Changing the length of the pattern in the pattern view affects how the patterns loop in the segment view. For instance, if you have a 4-beat pattern, you could add it to a 16-beat segment, and **within the segment** give it a length of 10beats, and it will play 2 and half times (looping) when the segment is played. If you then change the pattern to be 8-beats long, it will change the loop-point within the segment, and it will play once then play the first 2 beats (10 beats total) when the segment plays.

The new version also has stuff like Undo / Redo, and the ability to assign scales to tracks, so that the pitch sliders will quantize to the notes of a scale.

The alpha version for your amusement is available here;

Virtual-909 ver0.08 (zip format)

NOTE:

Any MSVC programmers out there wanting to get together to work on this should contact me.