OPENSEBJ: 110.000+ DOWNLOADS

making it very difficult to separate and create an identity for. As such OpenSebJ was named for uniqueness (Seb), similarity to established audio concepts (J) and to represent the fact that it is Open Source, free as in beer and speech (Open). Then it was just a composite of factors.

"The funny thing is that I started writing this program so that I could then use it to produce my own audio compositions; this is a goal I still hope to achieve, it's just not one I have made many inroads on in the last few years. Each time I go to start, I think of a new function, go looking for samples, find a new musical influence. In the end, the reality is I enjoy hearing what other people make with OpenSebJ more than the idea of composing my own music."

The reasoning behind (Open) is clear, (Seb) is your name. Yet the (J) leaves us puzzling.
"Well the (J) part is sort of an abstraction from DJ and was in a similar vein to the EJay line of products; they were like the mass consumer versions of ACID & Reason etc. and although I never actually use any of the EJay tools they did provide some inspiration to write OpenSebJ - more because I thought there was a vacuum in the Open Source market for this kind of tool."

So you're altruistic. Do you have other arguments why you choose for Open Source release of OpenSebJ?
"Other than altruism, I distribute OpenSebJ under an open source license in the hope that more programmers will be interested in picking up from where I have left off and making it an even better program. I like the idea of feedback and incorporating it in each version and the open source market seems the be the most transparent way to do that, every suggestion on the forum is public and if people are so inclined they can have a shot at building the changes them selves.

"The other reason is that since OpenSebJ has achieved the level of popularity it has, I wouldn't be able to afford the hosting fees for the bandwidth it consumes, without a provider such as Source Forge.

"Last, and definitely not least, it's of importance to me that the GPL is such a fundamental license and has such good recognition, it saves me from writing one myself and hiring a lawyer to check it - so when it comes to a project in my spare time this suits me perfectly."

What else is occupying you in your spare time these days?
"I'm working on a little side project - called vScaleNotes - to make use of real instrument samples, combine them in a single program and package it all up in a tap-out-the-tune style interface; to increase the access for Joe Average to high quality virtual instruments which aren't based on MIDI wave tables. It's very Alpha and extremly rough around the edges in terms of usability but I think the core audio engine is fairly much there and the samples sound fantastic. It's also rather heft weighing in just over 200MB and the proportion of

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