Limitations
Though novel, the music creation process was cumbersome due to the fairly primitive input mechanisms of early home computers. Also, the Apple II and PC had very limited native sound production capabilities. However the Atari 400 and 800 computers have 4 voice onboard sound generation via their custom-chip set which is fully supported by the Atari 8-bit version of the program.
However, the program took advantage of advanced equipment for those who had it. For example, the IBM PC version allowed the user to output audio via the IBM PC Model 5150's cassette port, so they could send 4-voice music to their stereo. The same program also took advantage of the 3-voice sound chip built-in to the IBM PCjr and Tandy 1000. The Apple II version supported the expansion card Mockingboard for higher fidelity sound output. In addition, use of the Mockingboard allowed the musical staff to scroll along with the music as notes were played. Without it, the Apple II needed nearly every spare CPU cycle to produce audio, and as such couldn't update the display while playback was in progress.
Read more about this topic: Music Construction Set
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