Diversi-Tune

Diversi-Tune was the name of two different music programs written by a brilliant programmer and skilled musician named Bill Basham. The original Diversi-Tune was written for the Apple IIGS, a personal computer first released in 1986 that had the most advanced sound capabilities of any personal computer of its generation. This version of Diversi-Tune was first released in 1988 and last updated in 1990. The second Diversi-Tune was released in the 2000s, for Windows and web browsers of that era.

The original Diversi-Tune, for the Apple IIGS

Here is how Bill Basham described the original Diversi-Tune in its instruction manual:

The Diversi-Tune program is like a videocassette recorder (VCR). Most people will use Diversi-Tune to play back pre-recorded songs, just like most people use their video recorders to watch pre-recorded movies. You'll be able to buy Diversi-Tune pre-recorded song disks from a variety of sources, like you can buy video movies by mail or at the local video store. Using Diversi-Tune to play back pre-recorded songs is as simple as putting a video cassette in your recorder and playing it. The first part of these instructions describes how to do this.

A few people actually use the record button on their video recorder. This takes a little more effort, but you can then record movies off the air when you're not home, fast-forward through commercials, and do all kinds of fun things.

Diversi-Tune also has a record button, and fast-forward, rewind, etc. You'll notice the Diversi-Tune tape recorder controls are always present at the bottom of the screen. The second part of these instructions describes how to use some of these more advanced features of Diversi-Tune.

Finally, some people buy video cameras and use their VCR to make their own home "movies". These may not look or sound as good as pre-recorded cassettes, but they're much more meaningful to the person who made them.

With Diversi-Tune, you can buy a "MIDI" music keyboard and interface, and connect it to your Apple IIGS. This will allow you to record your own songs. The third part of these instructions describes how to do this.

You can find Diversi-Tune for the Apple IIGS on the Internet Archive. Unfortunately, the Apple IIGS emulator embedded in this page is broken; it freezes as soon as the first song is supposed to start playing. Still, you can download the disk image and run it in your own emulator or on a real Apple IIGS.

For now, the easiest way to hear what Diversi-Tune sounded like is to find a pre-recorded demo. Here's a third-party demo video on YouTube that was apparently recorded from a real Apple IIGS without a stereo card. I may later record my own demo video using an Apple IIGS emulator (MAME) that fairly accurately reproduces what Diversi-Tune sounded like in stereo.

I've also posted the Diversi-Tune instruction manual, minimally adapted to be readable on modern computers, but with its original formatting preserved. In my opinion, this manual is fascinating reading even if you can't run the program.

The second Diversi-Tune, for Windows and web browsers

In the 2000s, Bill Basham released a second program called Diversi-Tune, for Windows PCs and web browsers of that era. Like the original Diversi-Tune, this program played pre-made MIDI music files, optionally with song lyrics. It could also display song lyrics in sync with music CDs and MP3 files.

Unfortunately, because this program was written in Java for the Microsoft Java virtual machine, which was discontinued long ago, there's no easy way to run this program on modern Windows PCs or in modern web browsers.

For now, I'll simply link to Bill Basham's Diversi-Tune YouTube channel, which has videos of various songs, complete with lyrics, as rendered by this version of Diversi-Tune.

Who is behind this site?

My name is Matt Campbell, and I am a fan of Bill Basham's work. The original Diversi-Tune was one of my favorite programs for the Apple IIGS when I was a child. After Bill passed away, the DivTune.com domain name expired and was put up for sale. With permission from Bill's brother Mike, I bought this domain to set up a memorial to what was, in my opinion, Bill's best work as a programmer.

Email Matt Campbell