· : ¦ . _________ ________ _____________ _____ | · __ / : ___________/ _ \ \ __ _ / | \ ____: : \_/ -A : \______ \ | \_ _: \_/ \_/ | \ ¦ | ¦ \_ ··D_ / / _/ | / ___/ \_ | : : | _______/ `N· _/ \ \_________/ | \________/ ¦ _____ ¦ | : \__________/ \ ¦ \_ : : \__________ \___________/ . · . . · . »»»» PRESENTS «««« OCTAMED V5 ========== TYPED BY SHARD Part One. Written by Ed Wiles. Based on earlier documentation by Teijo Kinnunen and Larry McIntire (thanks guys!!). Proof-reading and minor alterations by David Wiles, Teijo Kinnunen, Bryan Williamson and Ray Burt-Frost (the latter of RBF Software) - thank you! Contents (revised for OctaMED V5.01b) -------------------------------------- Welcome to the OctaMED help system. The following topics are available: Introduction Those upgrading from V4. The user interface Installation Menus Windows Main screen Player commands Keyboard shortcuts "Commodore-Amiga & ppguide Copyright notice" Amiga Workbench 2.1 is a registered trade mark of Commodore-Amiga inc. (c) Copyright 1985 - 1992 Commodore-Amiga, inc. All Rights Reserved. "Amiga/Workbench/Kickstart are registered trademarks. Commodore-Amiga,inc." The Files on the disk are from WB 2.1 "tm" and are distributed with this OctaMED program under licence from Commodore themselves. They may not be copied and sold without obtaining a licence from CBM The special decrunch prog that is being used on this disk to enable the AmigaGuide files to be read from the crunched format is called ppguide and is used with kind permission of it's author Bill Sorensen. Why on earth didn't C= release the AmigaGuide with PP compatability?? OctaMED Menus ------------- The OctaMED menu bar contains the following menus: Project Display Song Block Track Instr Edit MIDI Settings The Project Menu ---------------- New This item displays the New Project window, with which you may discard the current project and begin a new one. Open Displays a file requester to load a new song into memory. The The current song will be discarded. A confirmation requester, offering to save the current song first, will appear if the current project has been changed since last saving. When loading songs without instruments, a requester will appear if an instrument can't be located on disk, offering to continue loading the other instruments or to stop loading the song altogether. If you continue until the song is loaded, OctaMED will load the instruments it can find and put the names of the instruments it can't find in their proper numbered places. You must then locate and load appropriate instruments into these positions; otherwise, the notes played by those instruments will be silent. Note that although you can load normal Tracker modules, you can't load packed Tracker modules. Tracker player commands will be converted to the OctaMED equivalent. If a song isn't identified as any format listed in the Save Options window, a requester will appear wondering if you wish to try to load the file as an old Soundtracker song. If it IS an old Soundtracker song it should load correctly, but if not OctaMED may crash! You have been warned ;-D Upon successful loading, the song's annotation text (if any) is displayed on the title bar: see Song menu -> Set Annotation. Save Brings up the Save Options window, with which you can save the current project on to disk. Save Timer Opens the Save Timer window, which provides an option similar to the "automatic save" function in many wordprocessors. Delete Files Displays a file requester allowing you to delete one or more files from disk (after confirmation). TAKE CARE: THE FILES WILL BE PERMANENTLY ERASED FROM THE DISK! Print Brings up the Print Options window, where you may print the current song in various ways. Last Message Displays the last message (error or information) that appeared on the screen's title bar. About Displays information about OctaMED. Quit OctaMED Quits the program. Will display a confirmation requester if the project has been changed since last saving. The Display Menu ---------------- Tracker Editor Displays the Tracker editor. Notation Editor Displays the notation editor. Synth Editor Opens the Synthetic Sound Editor. [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-Y ] Sample Editor Opens the Sample Editor. [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-E ] Sample List Editor Opens the Sample List Editor. MIDI Message Editor Opens the MIDI Message Editor window. Input Map Editor Opens the Input Map Editor window. Notation Control Opens the Notation Control window. Useful if, while working in the notation editor, you have closed this window to relieve "cluttering". The Song Menu ------------- Select Opens the Song Selector window, with which you may select the current song (of a multi-module). [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-G ] Add New Creates a new song, and appends it as the last song. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Ctrl-NM) ] Delete Last Deletes the last song of a multi-module. Has no effect if there is only one song in memory. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Ctrl-NM( ] Playing Sequence Opens the Playing Sequence window. [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-Q ] Section List Opens the Section List window. [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-C ] Set Options Opens the Song Options window. This window contains several song-specific options. Set Volumes Opens the Track Volumes window, which is used to set the volumes of the tracks relative to the volumes of the notes in the song. Set Annotation Opens a window containing a single text box. In this box you may type in any text up to 70 characters long. This text will be saved with the song, then displayed on the title bar when the song is reloaded. Suitable annotation text is, for example, a copyright message, the composer's name, or special instructions. The Block Menu -------------- New/Insert Inserts a new block at the current block position. OctaMED will correct the entries in the playing sequence, so the song isn't changed. The length and width of the newly-created block will be taken from the current block. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-I ] New/Append Adds a new block after the last block. The length and width will be taken from the current block. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-N ] New/Insert Def As Insert, but uses the built-in default length/width (64 lines, 4 or 8 tracks - 8 tracks if the channel mode is 5 - 8-channel: see Song Options. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Ctrl-I ] New/Append Def As Append, but uses the built-in defaults described above. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Ctrl-N ] Delete Deletes the block selected by the sub-menu (Current or Last). WARNING: There is no confirmation requester! OctaMED corrects the appropriate playing sequence entries. Set Properties Opens the Block Properties window, which contains some block-specific settings. Block List Opens the Block List window. This window allows easy management of blocks. [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-B ] Highlight Opens the Highlight Options window, where you may highlight the lines in a block in a particular order. Cut Copies the current block to the copy buffer, and clears the block. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Alt-X ] Copy Places a copy of the current block in the copy buffer. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Alt-C ] Paste Overwrites the block with the copy buffer's contents. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Alt-V ] Swap w/Buff Swaps the contents of the current block with the contents of the copy buffer. Insert Line Inserts a new line at the cursor position, increasing the block length by one line. Delete Line Deletes the line at the cursor position, reducing the block length by one line. Expand/Shrink Opens the Expand/Shrink Block window. Split At Cursor Splits the current block into two blocks; the current line becomes the first line of the next block. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Ctrl-J ] Join With Next Joins the current block with the following one. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-J ] The Track Menu -------------- Cut Copies the current track to the copy buffer, and clears the track. (The "current track" is the track that the cursor is on). Copy Places a copy of the current track in the copy buffer. Paste Overwrites the track with the copy buffer's contents. Swap w/Buff Swaps the contents of the current track with the contents of the copy buffer. Insert Empty Inserts an empty track. Tracks on the right of the current track will be shifted right. The number of tracks doesn't increase, so the rightmost track will be discarded. The sub-menu allows you to apply the operation to either the current block only or the entire song. [ Keyboard shortcut: Curr. Block = Alt-Shift-Backspace ] Delete Deletes a track. Tracks on the right of the current track will be shifted left. The sub-menu allows you to apply the operation to either the current block only or the entire song. [ Keyboard shortcut: Curr. Block = Alt-Backspace ] The Instr Menu -------------- Set Parameters Opens the Instrument Parameters window, which allows you to edit various instrument parameters. [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-I ] Type Opens the Instrument Type window. [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-T ] Load Instrument(s) Opens a file requester to load instruments into memory. OctaMED can load any type of instrument listed in Instrument Type. The instrument is loaded into the sample slot displayed in the upper screen. If an instrument already exists in that slot, the new one will replace it. If the instrument is a sample or synthetic sound, the title bar displays its size in bytes. In the case of synthetic sounds, it will also display the number of waveforms the sound uses. If more than one instrument is selected, they are loaded into consecutive sample slots in alphabetical order. Save Instrument Opens a file requester to save the current instrument instrument on to disk. The sub-menu gives you the choice of saving as an IFF 8SVX file or as a pure binary file (Raw). The difference is that IFF files also contain loop information (making them slightly larger than Raw files): see Instrument Parameters. Also, some other music programs can only load IFF files. When saving synthetic or hybrid sounds, you may choose either IFF 8SVX or Raw (since they are saved as neither!). For ExtSamples, save as IFF 8SVX. [ Keyboard shortcuts: IFF = Ctrl-S, Raw = Shift-Ctrl-S ] Flush Current Removes the current instrument from memory, frees the memory used by it, and clears all its parameters. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-G ] Flush All Unused Removes all instruments unused by the current project (after a confirmation requester). If there are no unused instruments, no requester appears. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Ctrl-G ] Automatic Flush When selected, a requester to flush unused instruments will appear on pressing the Clear Current button in the New Project window. The following two items affect instrument names when loading songs or instruments. Add Path Adds the full path of the instrument when loaded. (The "path" is the disk and directory name, for example: "Samples1:Bass/"). This is useful when saving songs without instruments which include instruments not in your sample list. When the song is reloaded, the instruments will be loaded from the given disks. Remove Path Usually songs made with Trackers have instrument names which include the full path. This option removes the paths of the instruments, so that they can be loaded using the sample list instead of directly from the appropriate disk. Both Add and Remove Path may be active at once. In this case, the original path is removed, the instrument is loaded using the sample list, and the path name from the sample list is added. Note that the maximum length of an instrument name is 40 characters, so characters at the end of the name may be lost if the path is very long. The Edit Menu ------------- Apart from Transpose, all items in this menu act on the current range, which is selected by dragging the mouse in the Tracker editor. (The button used to drag is defined in the Mouse Options window. Cut Range Copies the range to the copy buffer, and clears the track. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-X ] Copy Range Places a copy of the range in the copy buffer. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-C ] Paste Range Inserts the contents of the copy buffer at the cursor position. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-V ] Paste To Selected Tracks As Paste Range, but inserts consecutive tracks in the copy buffer to consecutive selected tracks in the block. For example, imagine the copy buffer contains 3 tracks, the cursor is on track 2, and tracks 2, 5 and 8 are selected. Choosing Paste to Sel Tracks pastes the copy buffer to tracks 2, 5 and 8 (instead of 2, 3 and 4 as with normal Paste). Tracks in the block are selected by setting the cycle gadget on the upper screen to "Select". [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Ctrl-V ] Erase Range Clears the notes in the range. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-Z ] Discard Copy Buffer Flushes the copy buffer and frees the memory it occupied. Transpose Opens the Transpose window, which allows transposing and changing of notes, and changing of instrument numbers. Range Current Track Ranges the whole of the track the cursor is on. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-B ] Range Current Block Ranges the whole of the current block. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Ctrl-B ] Spread Notes Opens the Spread Notes window, which allows spreading of the notes in the range across consecutive tracks to the right of the range. Pitch Slide Creates a pitch slide, starting from the cursor position and ending at the next note encountered in the current track. The sub-menus select which sliding command to use (see Commands 0 - 9, but the better result is usually achieved using Type 1. (The difference is that type 2 replays the note after sliding to it, whereas type 1 doesn't replay the note). [ Keyboard shortcuts: Type 1 = Ctrl-T, 2 = Shift-Ctrl-T ] Volume Slide Creates a volume slide, with the cursor position between the starting and ending volume commands (that is, the "0C" commands: see Commands A - F. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-O ] Generic Slide Creates a slide using any type of player command. Position the cursor somewhere between the starting and ending commands before selecting this function. NOTE: If you want to create a volume slide, this command will do it just as well as the Volume Slide function above. However, in Decimal Volumes mode the slide will be created in hexadecimal, which is bound to cause problems. So for volume slides, use Volume Slide! :^) One use of Generic Slide is to repeat a single player command several times throughout a track. Just make the starting and ending commands identical. [ Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Ctrl-O ] Note Echo Opens the Note Echo window, which can produce echoes automatically using the 0C command. The MIDI Menu ------------- OctaMED can output notes and some player commands (see MIDI Commands to external MIDI devices, by way of a MIDI interface which you should connect to your Amiga's serial port. This menu contains the required functions and settings for MIDI operation. You also need to set the MIDI channel and preset number of each MIDI instrument, using the Instrument Parameters window. (This window also contains the "Suppress NoteOff" gadget used with some MIDI instruments). You may use MIDI instruments on any track, and you may also mix Amiga samples and MIDI instruments on the first four tracks. Note: Please refer to your MIDI device's manual if you come across terms in this topic that you aren't sure of. MIDI Active Activates MIDI when selected. If the serial port is being used by another program, however, you must quit the other program before you can use MIDI. When this option is on, an "M" appears in the display box to the right of Cont Block in the upper screen. Input Active When selected, allows the entering of notes into the song using the MIDI device. Edit mode and MIDI Active must be on. An "I" appears in the display box mentioned above when this function is active. You can also use your MIDI device to both enter samples and perform many editing functions using the input map editor. Input Channel Opens up the Input Channel window, with which you may set the MIDI input channel. Ext Sync and Send Sync Synchronization (or "sync" for short) involves OctaMED sending information which allows MIDI devices to keep in time with OctaMED. When "Send Sync" is activated, this information is sent when you click either Play Song or STOP (not Cont Song, Play Block or Cont Block). When "Ext Sync" is activated, OctaMED can be synced "externally", meaning that an external MIDI device sends the sync information instead of OctaMED. As well as (of course) "MIDI Active", "Input Active" must be selected for Ext Sync to work. Send Active Sensing After "MIDI Active" has been selected, OctaMED periodically sends "active sensing" ($FE) messages when this is turned on. These messages tell OctaMED whether all required MIDI leads are properly connected. Send Out Input When activated, OctaMED replays input MIDI notes. Useful for owners of a separate sound module and keyboard. Read Key-Up's When switched on, OctaMED records key-up events (as 0FFF commands - see Commands A - F. Read Volume If you have a touch-sensitive keyboard, the volume will be entered as a set volume player command (0C) when notes are input (see Commands A - F. Reset Pitch/Presets Resets pitchbenders, modulation wheels and presets on all channels. (OctaMED sends "preset change" messages for all MIDI channels). [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-Space ] Send MIDI Reset Sends a "MIDI Reset" message ($FF). Send Local Control Sends a "Local Control On / Off" message. When using a keyboard synthesizer, the local control (when on) routes the keyboard directly to the internal synthesizer. In a multi-timbral setup, switch local control off; otherwise, it's usually best to keep on. Note Killing Selects the method for turning off all notes (by clicking "STOP" or pressing the space bar). "$Bx 7B 00" sends "All Notes Off" messages for each MIDI channel, whereas "Note Off Msgs" sends standard "Note Off" messages for each track. The former is recommended if your MIDI device supports it, because it cuts all notes, not just those OctaMED triggers. (Also see the MIDI Message Editor The Settings Menu ----------------- Mouse Options Displays the Mouse Options window, which allows you to change the function of each mouse button when editing. Keyboard Options Displays the Keyboard Options window, which contains several parameters concerning using the keyboard when editing. Programmable Keys Opens the Programmable Keys window, where you may edit the programmable keys (Shift-0-9). Display Max Tracks Selects the maximum number of tracks that can be displayed on-screen at once. The value that you select depends mostly on your eyesight! To find the appropriate value for you, set the "Tracks" slider in Block Properties to 17 or above, and pick 4, 8 and 16 from Display Max Tracks in turn. If you connect your Amiga to a television and you can still clearly read the block contents in 16 mode, your eyesight is truly remarkable! (You may notice that in 16 mode, 17 tracks are in fact displayed at once... don't ask me why ;-) Palette Opens the Palette Window, with which you can alter the screen's colors. Equalizers Selects which "equalizers" to display. (They aren't actually equalizers, but this is their popular name). They're useful as a quick check to see which track is playing, or to monitor rhythm. "Bar" toggles the colorful sprites, "Oscilloscope" toggles the signal displays at the bottom of the screen. The equalizers are disabled during disk activity and if any windows are open. Under a 68000 processor, the Oscilloscopes in particular take up a lot of processor time (multi-tasking becomes poorer, disk activity noisier etc.), so if you have a 68000 you may wish to disable them permanently. Under all processors, they are disabled during disk activity. Workbench Attempts to open / close the Workbench. Useful if you are low on memory, as closing the Workbench frees about 40K of chip memory. H -> B Selects how OctaMED will display the name of the note between A# and C. In some countries it's H, in others it's B. When set, B's are displayed. Default is on (B's are displayed). Play After Loading When set, OctaMED automatically starts playing a song after it is loaded. Useful, for example, when listening to other people's songs. Auto-Freeze Screen When on, this automatically "freezes" the screen when the OctaMED screen is not the frontmost. This frees more processor time for multitasking. The screen can also be frozen using the Freeze Display gadget in the lower screen. Load Settings Opens a file requester to load a new settings file. The default name is "S:OctaMEDPro.config". Save Settings Saves the current settings under the name "S:OctaMEDPro.config". OctaMED will attempt to load a file of this name on startup. Save Settings As Opens a file requester to save the settings under a non-default name. For a list of the settings saved with the config file, see the Settings File OctaMED Windows --------------- These are the windows included in OctaMED. Synthetic Sound Editor: Block menu : Synthetic Sound Volume Block Properties Synthetic Sound Stretch Block List Expand/Shrink Block Sample Editor Highlight Options Change Volume Instr menu : Change Pitch Mix Instrument Parameters Filter/Boost Instrument Type Echo Noise Edit menu : Chord Creation Pixel Density Transpose Spread Notes Input Map Editor Note Echo Functions MIDI menu : Project menu : Input Channel New Project Settings menu : Save Options Save Timer Mouse Options Print Options Keyboard Options Programmable Keys Display menu : Palette Sample List Editor Main screen : MIDI Message Editor Notation Control Instrument Load Song menu : Song Selector Playing Sequence Section List Song Options Track Volumes The New Project Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-N ] With this window you can discard the current project and begin a new one. It is activated via the Project menu. If the current project has been modified since last saving, the window's title bar will display "WARNING: Current project modified!". This is the only warning you are given: no confirmation requesters are displayed. It contains three gadgets: Clear All Discards all samples and songs. Clear Current Clears the current song only. If Instr Menu/Automatic Flush is selected, a requester to flush unused instruments will also appear. Cancel Closes the window, canceling the operation. The Save Options Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-S ] This window allows you to save the current project on to disk. It is opened using the Project menu. The text box at the top of the window is for typing in the filename of the project. If the box is empty on opening the window, a file requester appears to select an appropriate filename. The file requester can also be opened by clicking the small GetFile gadget to the left of the text box. The cycle gadget under the File Format gadget applies to multi-modules, and selects whether to save all the songs in the multi-module or only the currently selected song. By default, all songs are saved. File Format This radio button selects which file format to use when saving. Options are: MMD2 (OctaMED V5) This format is new to V5, and supports multiple playing sequences (sections) and 1 - 64 tracks. If the song requires either of these features, this gadget is selected when the Save Options window is opened. MMD1 (OctaMED V3-V5) This is the V3-V5 format, so is (of course) compatible with these versions. If MMD2 format is not required, this gadget is selected on opening the Save Options window. Modules requiring MMD2 format can be saved almost perfectly under MMD1. Song sections are the only thing not saved: instead, they are converted into one long playing sequence, by ordering the sections in the arrangement defined by the section list. MMD0 (MED & OctaMED) The pre-OctaMED V3 format, introduced in MED V2.10. Files saved with this format lack the following: * 2-digit commands (the first digit is always zero) * Notes above D-6 (replaced by a -|- symbol) * Block names * Line highlighting MMD0 modules are always saved with instruments, and song sections are converted as described above. Note that even options new to V5 (Loop On check box, ExtSamples, default pitch, extended MIDI preset, 1 - 64 tracks) are properly saved under MMD1 and MMD0. (Although 1 - 64 tracks are correctly saved under MMD1, however, pre-V5 versions of OctaMED will probably crash if such modules are loaded). Tracker Module Sound/Noise/Protracker format, used to export modules to other "tracker" programs. However, since OctaMED supports many functions that trackers do not, some information may be lost, and some of this information appears in a requester before saving. Full details of the lost information can be found in Tracker Modules. The further down the File Format button you go, the simpler the format becomes, and therefore the smaller the file produced. So for example, if you don't require notes above D-6, block names, line highlighting, song sections or two-digit commands to be saved, you should choose the MMD0 format, since it produces a smaller file than MMD1 or MMD2. Save Secondary Data Toggles whether to save "extra" information with the song: instrument names, line highlighting, block names, and the song name. Otherwise, only what is essential to play the song is saved (meaning that the saved file is slightly smaller). Create Icon When selected, a Workbench icon file is saved with the song: a cassette image (designed by Izrael Similä of Iz Productions, thanks!). The default tool is written as "OctaMEDPlayer". Save Notation Data When checked, saves some additional information used in the notation editor: * The Shown, Ghost and Select track gadgets' status * The time and key signature * Both the settings in the Instr. Notation window Save Instruments Chooses whether the song should be saved together with its instruments. If not, only the instrument names are saved; when the song is reloaded, the instruments are loaded from your sample disks. This is done either by using the full path name of each instrument (see (see Instr Menu/Add Path), or more commonly by way of the sample list. When this gadget is on, instruments unused in the song won't be saved. By default, all these check boxes except Save Notation Data are switched on. To those upgrading from V4: MMD1 and MMD0 are equivalent to MOD1 and MOD0. MOD1 (+instr) can be selected by choosing MMD1 and switching Save Instruments on, and MOD1 (no inst) by switching Save Instruments off. Compression This cycle gadget selects the compression (if any) to use before saving the module. No Compression Does not compress the module (default). PowerPacker Compression Uses the popular powerpacker.library by Nico François to compress. (Currently the parameters are always Good efficiency, Medium buffer). SFCD Compression The Stephan Fuhrmann Compact Density algorithm is used for compression (requires lh.library, not included with OctaMED). Calculate Size Calculates the size in bytes of the project if it was saved using the current status of File Format, Save Secondary Data, Save Notation Data, Save Instruments and the multi-module cycle gadget. Save Saves the song using the above parameters. ** OctaMED can emulate the "automatic save" function of many wordprocessors using the Save Timer window The Save Timer Window This window, activated using the Project menu, emulates the "automatic save" function of many wordprocessors. You can automatically open the Save Options window periodically. The window contains a single integer gadget, whose value is the time in minutes between subsequent openings of the Save Options window. A value of 0 turns this function off, and is the default. The Print Options Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-P ] This window, opened using the Project menu, allows printing of the song and various song information. You can print the song as text (the format of the Tracker editor or as graphics (as in the notation editor. The gadgets are as follows: Output File Consists of a text box and a GetFile gadget to the left of the text box. With these you may redirect output to a file instead of a printer. You can only redirect the header and text output, not graphics. Start Block These numerical boxes set the starting and ending block of the printout; you may type in any valid block numbers. All Blocks Sets the boxes to the first and last block of the song. Current Block Sets the boxes to the current block number. Print Header Selects whether to print the header before the song contents. The header consists of a list of instruments and their parameters, the default tempo, play transpose, track volumes and the playing sequence(s). It is printed as ordinary text. Form Feed Sends a form feed after printing each block. The remaining cycle gadget selects whether to print as graphics (default), text, or not to print the blocks at all (i.e. only the header, if Print Header is checked). Any Preferences-compatible printer should work in graphics mode, and the printout's appearance can be changed using the "Printer" preference program which can be found in the Prefs drawer. In text mode, highlighted lines are printed in bold text. "Print" prints using the specified options, and "Exit" closes the window. The Synthetic Sound Editor [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-Y ] Synthetic sounds (or "synthsounds") are made from simple waveforms, which can be joined together and have their volume and pitch altered by using a simple "programming language". This window contains the functions to construct these sounds, and is opened either by using the Display menu or by clicking the "Edit SynthS" gadget on the upper screen. The main advantage of synthsounds is that they take up far less memory than their sampled counterparts, so often it's worth trying to create a synthetic version of a sampled instrument before devoting yourself to one or the other. However, this doesn't mean synthsounds are a poor substitute, especially if you enjoy the sounds produced by analogue synthesizers and the good old Commodore 64! Synthsounds are also particularly useful when composing in certain styles of music, Acid House and Rave being notable examples. They also have a 5- octave range, compared to the 3-octave range of ordinary samples. To use this window's functions, the current instrument must be a synthsound (selected either by using the Instrument Type window, or by choosing "New Synthsound" from the synth editor's Project menu). When Edit is on (upper screen), the keyboard is used to program the synthsound (see the Synthetic Sound Programming Language, but when off you may play the current sound using the keyboard, like ordinary samples. Waveform editing ---------------- There are two waveform displays: the left one is the "master waveform display" (which is the actual current instrument) and the right one is for intermediate editing (it also serves as a copy buffer). Either of the waveforms can be activated by clicking on them, and the current waveform is recessed (it seems to "go into" the screen). Initially the right display is active. There are gadgets between the displays, most of which are used for transferring waveforms between displays: Copy Copies one waveform to the other (in the arrow direction). Exchange Exchanges both waveforms. Mix Mixes the left waveform to the right waveform. Add Like Mix, but it doesn't produce any average between the waveforms. UNDO "Undoes" (reverses the effects of) the last editing operation. Range All Selects the entire current waveform as the range for editing operations. Freehand drawing ---------------- One way to create waveforms is to draw them from scratch, by dragging the left mouse button along a waveform display. There are four drawing modes, selectable by toggling the "Draw Mode" cycle gadgets. Pixel Draws in pixels (default). Line Used for drawing straight lines. Mix Mixes the drawn lines / pixels with the existing data. Direct Draws without mixing (default). (The upper cycle gadget also selects Range, with which you can select a part of the waveform: see below). The Preset and Project menus ---------------------------- Instead of drawing freehand (which can be inaccurate), some often-needed basic waveforms are available from the Presets menu. Selecting a waveform inserts it into the active waveform display. Also in this menu is "Clear Wave", which clears the active display. The following items are included in the Project menu: New Synthsound Clears the whole synthsound (take care...). Also forces the current instrument to be a synthsound. Exit Synth Editor Closes the window. Waveform length --------------- Each synthetic waveform can be 2 - 128 bytes long (although the number must be even). The shorter the waveform, the higher the pitch (the pitch also depends on the waveform itself). Usually, to make the pitches harmonically compatible with other instruments, you should use length 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128. The length can be changed by using the "Length" slider. Multiple waveforms ------------------ Up to 64 waveforms can be defined for one synthsound. The gadgets to the right of "Waveform:" are: the current waveform integer gadget (you can type in the number of the waveform), the current waveform number in hex and the last waveform number in decimal, and arrow gadgets that increase / decrease the current waveform number [ keyboard shortcuts: Alt - / ]. Shift-clicking these arrow gadgets selects the first / last waveform. Relevant gadgets are as follows: New Waveform Adds a new waveform after the last waveform. New Here Inserts a new waveform at the current waveform position. Delete Last Deletes the last waveform. Delete Current Deletes the current waveform. Range operations ---------------- Some basic operations exist that apply to the current range. A range is marked by cycling the upper Draw Mode cycle gadget to "Range", then dragging the left mouse button over a waveform display. The whole waveform can be selected by clicking "Range All". The "Range" / "End" gadgets at the lower-right of the window can be used to make small corrections to the range area. A range of one byte in length is displayed as a single vertical white line. This is the cursor; some editing operations need it. It may be set either by clicking the left mouse button on a waveform display (with "Range" cycled), or by using the "Cursor" gadgets: from left to right, they are "cursor to start", "cursor to middle of waveform", and "cursor to end". The range gadgets are as follows: Cut (works only on left waveform display) Moves the range contents to the right display, and clears the range. Copy (only left display) Copies the range to the right display. Paste Copies right display to the cursor position on the left display. Clear Clears the range. Double "Doubles" the range, making the pitch one octave higher. Reverse Reverses the range. << / >> Shifts the ranged data to the left or right. The Waveform menu ----------------- Change Volume Opens the Synthsound Volume window. Stretch Opens the Synthsound Stretch window. Start / Do Transformation Allows you to change one waveform to another smoothly, by generating the intervening waveforms. For example, allocate 9 new waveforms by clicking "New Waveform" 9 times. Move to waveform 0 and select a pulse waveform, and select "Start Transformation". Now move to waveform 9 and select a sine waveform. Select "Do Transformation" to carry out the operation, and if you view waveforms 1 - 8 you'll notice the smooth transition between the pulse and sine wave. (Programming language documented in Synthetic Sound Programming Language The Synthsound Volume Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-V ] This allows you to increase / decrease the volume of a selected range, in the synthetic sound editor. It is brought up by selecting "Change Volume" from the editor's Waveform menu. The integer gadget contains the percentage of volume change required. For example, 50 would halve the volume, and 200 would double the volume. Pressing RETURN while the gadget is active executes the function. The OK gadget carries out the operation, the Cancel gadget aborts it. The Synthsound Stretch Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-S ] This allows you to stretch a point on the waveform towards another point, in the synthetic sound editor. It is activated using the editor's Waveform menu. For example: select a sine wave. Then position the cursor at the middle of the waveform. Now open this window and type the amount of movement into the integer gadget (e.g. 32). Typing in a negative number stretches the point to the left. Pressing RETURN while the gadget is active executes the function. The OK gadget carries out the operation, the Cancel gadget aborts it. The Synthetic Sound Programming Language Note: Please read this section carefully before experimenting, because you can lock your machine up with improper use of the synthsound programming language (as with any other language). The programming language is used for controling the volume, pitch, and order of waveforms in a synthsound. It consists of simple keywords, of which most have an argument. For a description of these keywords, see Synthetic Sound Language Keywords. The programming is done using two lists of commands/numbers. These lists are displayed in a small window below the right waveform display in the synthetic sound editor. The two leftmost columns display the line numbers in decimal and hex. The middle column contains the volume control sequence, while the rightmost is the waveform/pitch control sequence. volume ctrl seq | line | waveform ctrl seq | | | 00 00 40 00 01 01 END END These sequences ("seqs" from now on) are both a maximum of 127 entries long. Each seq is always automatically terminated with the "END" instruction. You can scroll the seqs with the cursor up/down keys, and use the F6-F10 keys as in the Tracker editor. The cursor can be moved horizontally using the cursor left/right keys. There are six possible horizontal cursor locations (3 for each seq). When entering commands, the cursor should be on the leftmost position of the appropriate seq. Values are entered by positioning the cursor over the number to be changed and typing in a new value. Commands and numbers are entered via the keyboard, and Edit must be on before either seq can be changed. You may insert entries to the seqs with the Return key (or by clicking the "Insert" gadget), and delete using the Del key (or by clicking "Delete"). JMP commands are renumbered when entries are inserted or deleted. With the release of V5, editing has been tidied up somewhat. The cursor no longer moves down beyond END; and inserting any command except HLT and RES (which don't take parameters) also inserts a new 00 value. The "Transition" gadget creates transitions. For example, consider this waveform sequence: line 00 00 01 0F 02 END If you position the cursor at line 01, making sure that Edit is on, clicking "Transition" creates all the numbers between 00 and 0F (01, 02, 03, 04 ... 0E). This saves a lot of typing! * ALL NUMBERS IN THE SEQUENCE LISTS ARE HEXADECIMAL * First, let's examine some example sequences. This is a volume sequence: 00 40 <= set initial volume to 64 (hex $40) 01 CHD <= command, that means "Set volume change down speed" 02 03 <= argument (speed = 3) 03 END Here's another: 00 00 <= initial volume = 0 01 CHU <= Command: Set volume change up 02 07 <= speed = 7 03 WAI <= Command: Wait 04 10 <= wait 10 pulses 05 CHU <= Set volume change up 06 00 <= speed = 0 -> stop changing volume 07 WAI <= Wait 08 70 <= 70 pulses 09 CHD <= Cmd: Set volume change down 0A 01 <= speed = 1 (slow) 0B END A third: 00 40 <= vol = $40 01 30 <= vol = $30 (without a command, the values are volume 02 20 <= vol = $20 changes) 03 END And finally, a fourth: 00 40 <= vol = $40 01 CHD <+ <= change down speed.. 02 01 | <= ..= 1 03 WAI | <= Wait.. 04 20 | <= ..20 05 CHU | <= change up 06 01 | <= ..1 07 WAI | <= Wait.. 08 20 | <= ..20 again 09 JMP | <= Jump (= goto) 0A 01 -+ <= to line number 01 0B END Now for some waveform/pitch sequences. The waveform/pitch sequence is the "master sequence" while the volume sequence is a kind of "slave sequence". First: (the simplest case) 00 00 <= set waveform #00 01 END A bit more complex: 00 VBS <= set vibrato speed 01 40 <= speed = $40 02 VBD <= set vibrato depth 03 02 <= depth = 2 04 00 <= waveform #00 05 END And very complex: 00 ARP <= start arpeggio sequence 01 00 \ 02 03 arpeggio values 0, 3, 7 (minor chord) 03 07 / 04 ARE <= end arpeggio sequence 05 VBD <= vibrato depth 06 06 <= 6 07 VBS <= vibrato speed 08 40 <= $40 09 00 <= set waveform #0 0A 01 <= set waveforms 01 - 0A (one timing pulse/waveform) 0B 02 | | 0C 03 \ / 0D 04 \_/ 0E 05 0F 06 10 07 11 08 12 09 13 0A and back to #01... 14 08 15 07 16 06 17 05 18 04 19 03 1A 02 1B 01 1C JMP <= jump 1D 09 <= to position 09 (restart waveform changing) 1E END About timing ------------ After executing most commands, in both control seqs, OctaMED immediately executes the next command. However, with some commands OctaMED waits for the next timing pulse before executing the next command. Without these few commands, OctaMED would spend all its time executing the control seqs (and hang up). You should therefore ensure that all loops contain one, and they are WAI (Wait), vol chg (a plain number in the volume seq) and set waveform (a plain number in the pitch/waveform seq). For example, the following loops would hang up your computer: 00 JMP 00 CHU <-+ command CHU doesn't wait 01 00 01 02 | ... 02 JMP | 03 00 --+ While the following would not: 00 20 00 WAI 01 JMP 01 02 02 00 02 JMP 03 00 Execution speed --------------- The synthsound handling routine is by default called once every timing pulse, so for every note played handling is done the number of times specified by the secondary tempo. However, you can make OctaMED execute the synth control seq entries less frequently than that if you wish. The number of timing pulses between the execution of each entry is known as the "execution speed". The execution speed of each seq can be set independently, by using the arrow gadgets to the left of the control seq. Wave and Volume set the waveform/pitch and volume sequences respectively, and can have values of 1-15 (F hex). The execution speed can also be changed during execution, by using the SPD command. Synthsound-handling player commands ----------------------------------- With synthsounds, command E in songs triggers a jump in the waveform/pitch sequence. (See Commands A - F For example, if you wanted to decrease the pitch of the sound after a certain point, your waveform/pitch sequence could look like this: 00 VBS 01 40 02 VBD 03 06 04 00 ;play waveform 00 05 HLT 06 CHD ;pitch changing entry point 07 02 08 END Now you could compose a track like this: C-2 3000 ;this is the previous synthsound --- 0000 --- 0000 --- 0E06 ;cause a jump to position 06 (pitch starts to slide down) --- 0000 ... Using the JVS command, you can make command E affect the volume sequence as well. Hold and Decay (see Instrument Parameters Window work well with synthsounds too. The decay value with synthsounds, however, triggers a jump in the volume control sequence. At the point when decay normally starts, execution will jump to the entry in the vol ctrl seq specified by the decay value. This means that you can handle the decay in any way you like. You can also make it affect the waveform/pitch seq using the JWS command. Example volume control sequence: 00 40 ;volume 01 HLT ;end 02 CHD ;decay handling (entry point) -> cause decay 03 03 04 END The decay value for this synthsound should be 2. The decay values are saved and loaded with synthetic sounds. Hybrid Sounds ------------- Hybrid sounds are much like synthsounds, except that instead of waveform pieces a normal sample is used. All commands of the synthsound handling programming language can be used with hybrid sounds, except the "set waveform" command: since there's only a single waveform, it neither works nor is necessary. Also, volume-changing commands (A, C, D, 5, 6, 1A, and 1B) don't work with hybrid sounds. (See Player Commands You can, however, add more synthetic waveforms for use with the EN1, EN2 or VWF synth commands. And finally... ------------- Don't worry if you don't understand synthsounds at first glance! The language used in this topic has been necessarily technical, but read it through again... :) Anyway, you don't need to learn any this information to use synthsounds, only to design them. The Synthetic Sound Language Keywords VOLUME CONTROL SEQUENCE COMMANDS ================================ 1. Set volume Command: --- Keyboard: --- (key needed to enter the command) This is the default command (no command identifier). It sets the absolute volume of the synthsound. It should be 00 - 40. Note that the relative track volumes are not used in synthsounds (mostly for performance reasons). Example: 00 30 <= volume = $30 01 10 <= volume = $10 ... 2. End sequence Command: END Keyboard: --- This command terminates the volume control seq. It's always there and automatically inserted. You can't insert commands past this one. 3. Set volume change down speed Command: CHD Keyboard: D This command sets the speed at which the volume is decreased each timing pulse. The volume starts changing automatically after this command. To stop automatic volume sliding, issue this command with speed 00. Example: 00 CHD 01 05 <= speed = 5 ... 10 CHD 11 00 <= speed = 0 -> stop sliding 4. Set volume change up speed Command: CHU Keyboard: U This command is like CHD, except it sets the volume change up. 5. Wait Command: WAI Keyboard: W This command waits for a specified amount of timing pulses (pause). Example: 03 WAI 04 10 <= wait for 16 ($10) pulses to occur 6. Jump Command: JMP Keyboard: J Causes an immediate jump to another volume seq position. Example: 05 JMP 06 0A <= jump forward to line 0A 7. Jump waveform sequence Command: JWS Keyboard: Shift-J This command causes a jump in the waveform sequence. This can be used, for example, to trigger a pitch change at the end of the vol ctrl seq. Note that this DOESN'T cause a jump TO the waveform seq. Example: 04 JWS 05 0F <= jump to line 0F in the waveform control sequence 8. Halt Command: HLT Keyboard: H This has the same effect as command END (halt execution), but it can be inserted in the middle of the sequence. Example: 03 HLT 04 04 <= other code (can be accessed with JMP instruction, for ... example) 9. Set speed Command: SPD Keyboard: S Sets the execution speed. Example: 0A SPD 0B 01 <= speed = 1 (fastest) ... 10. One-shot envelope Command: EN1 Keyboard: E This command allows you to draw the shape of the envelope with the mouse. When the end of the envelope is reached, nothing occurs. 02 40 03 EN1 04 05 Hence waveform 05 is used as an envelope. Note that the envelope execution starts on the next interrupt, so the volume is initialized to $40. The envelope waveform must always be 128 bytes long!! 11. Looping envelope Command: EN2 Keyboard: Shift-E This works like command EN1, except that when the end is reached, execution will start again from the beginning. WAVEFORM/PITCH CONTROL SEQUENCE COMMANDS ---------------------------------------- 1. Set waveform Command: --- Keyboard: --- This command is used to indicate the waveform number (starting from 00). After this instruction, the execution stops until the next timing pulse occurs. Don't use waveform numbers that are higher than the actual number of the last waveform. Example: 00 00 <= waveform 00 01 01 <= waveform 01 ... 2. End sequence Command: END Keyboard: --- This command terminates the volume control seq. It's always there and automatically inserted. You can't insert commands past this one. 3. Set pitch change down speed Command: CHD Keyboard: D This command sets the sliding speed for sliding the pitch down. The sliding automatically starts after this command and stops, when the speed is set to zero. Example: 00 CHD 01 03 <= set speed to 3 ... 4. Set pitch change up speed Command: CHU Keyboard: U Like the previous command, but slides the pitch up. 5. Wait Command: WAI Keyboard: W This command waits for a specified amount of timing pulses (pause). Example: 03 WAI 04 02 <= wait for 2 pulses to occur 6. Jump Command: JMP Keyboard: J Causes an immediate jump to another waveform/pitch seq position. Example: 05 JMP 06 0A <= jump forward to line 0A 7. Jump volume sequence Command: JVS Keyboard: Shift-J This command causes a jump to happen in the volume sequence. Can be used e.g. for triggering volume changes after some waveform event. Example: 09 JVS 0A 00 <= start volume sequence from the beginning 8. Halt Command: HLT Keyboard: H This has the same effect as command END (halt execution), but it can be inserted in the middle of the control sequence. Example: 03 HLT 04 04 <= some other code (can be accessed with JMP instruction, ... for example) 9. Set speed Command: SPD Keyboard: S Sets the execution speed. Example: 0A SPD 0B 01 <= speed = 1 (fastest) ... 10. Begin arpeggio definition Command: ARP Keyboard: A This command starts the arpeggio sequence. The subsequent values are the arpeggio offsets from the base note. The arpeggio sequence is terminated with the ARE command. The arpeggio starts automatically after the sequence is defined. Example: 03 ARP <= start arpeggio 04 00 <= offset values 05 04 06 07 07 0A 08 ARE <= end arpeggio definition 11. End arpeggio definition Command: ARE Keyboard: E Ends an arpeggio definition. See above. 12. Set vibrato depth Command: VBD Keyboard: V This command is used to set the vibrato depth (00 - 7F). Example: 02 VBD 03 04 <= set depth to 4 13. Set vibrato speed Command: VBS Keyboard: Shift-V This command sets the vibrato speed (00 - 7F). Both speed and depth must be non-zero for vibrato to occur. Example: 02 VBD 03 04 <= depth = 4 04 VBS 05 30 <= speed = 30 14. Reset pitch Command: RES Keyboard: R This command resets the pitch of the note to its initial pitch. 15. Set vibrato waveform Command: VWF Keyboard: Shift-W Sets the vibrato waveform. The argument is the number of the waveform. The waveform should always be 32 bytes long!! Note that it's actually played reversed (use the Reverse gadget to reverse it). By default, a sine wave is used. Example: 00 VBD 01 06 02 VBS 03 40 04 VWF 05 04 <= use waveform number 04 as vibrato waveform The Sample Editor [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-E ] This window allows you to edit and digitize samples. It is activated either by using the Display menu or by clicking "Edit Sample" on the upper screen. Displayed in the window is either the current sample's waveform, or the words "No sample loaded" if the current instrument slot is empty. The scroll bar below the waveform shows the size and position of the displayed portion of the sample relative to the whole sample. It also allows you to scroll around the sample (after zooming in, see later) by dragging it. Scrolling can also be done using the cursor left / right keys. Many operations act on a specific range, which is set by dragging the left mouse button along the waveform. After selecting the range, you may re-adjust the start or end positions by holding down a Shift key while dragging the left mouse button. The gadgets above the waveform are as follows: Display This display box contains the number of bytes currently being displayed in the waveform. It changes when zooming in or out (see later). Buffsize The size of the current sample (waveform buffer). Typing in a new size brings up a requester, asking whether to clear the sample or retain the sample already in memory. One use of retaining the sample is adding extra "workspace" to the end of a sample, which is useful in some editing operations (e.g. echoing). By choosing "Clear" you may create a new sample, and this is often the first step when digitizing (see later). There need not be a sample in memory in order to enter a new size. The maximum buffer size is 131072. Range Start/End These gadgets show the actual byte positions of the start and end of the range, and can be changed by entering a new value into them. The following gadgets lie below the waveform: Play Display Plays the current display at the current pitch (see "Pitch" below). Zoom In / Out Magnifies / reduces the sample so you can see more / less detail. Repeated clicking takes you deeper into / further away from the sample. This is essential for accurate editing. Show All Restores the whole waveform to view after zooming. Range Display Ranges the whole display. SampleBuffer Copies the copy buffer to the sample, and the sample to the copy buffer. Can be used to implement a simple "undo". Before trying out a function, a snapshot of the sample can be made with "Sample<". If you're not satisfied with the outcome of the function, the sample can be restored with ">Buffer". Monitor Opens a window that displays the real-time input waveform from a sampler (connected to the parallel port). The purpose of Monitor is to make sure the sound is at a volume level that will not cause distortion in the digitizing process (see below). The rest of the program is disabled during monitoring, i.e. no other functions can be selected. Closing the window stops monitoring. Digitize Starts digitizing (also called "sampling"). The screen blanks, and multitasking is disabled. The sampling stops when the buffer is full, but it can be interrupted with the right mouse button. Clicking Digitize when Buffsize is zero sets Buffsize to 131072 bytes (or if not enough memory, to the largest size possible). Pitch The numerical box displays the current sampling / playing period, and the raised box shows the equivalent note to the period value. The default is 428 (note C-2), but this can be changed by either entering a value into the gadget, or holding the left mouse button on the note box and entering a new note using the keyboard. Freehand When on, you may edit the waveform with the mouse. The maximum display size is 628 bytes, but you may zoom closer if you wish. In Freehand mode, the Pixel display mode is automatically selected. Loop A sample having a loop means that a note you play with the sample is sustained until it is stopped. This is due to a particular section of the sample being continually repeated (or "looped"), and the boundaries of this section are defined by the two "loop pointers". These pointers appear as dotted lines over the waveform, and as small triangles in the rectangle immediately below the waveform. They mark the start and end of the looped section. The "Loop" check box is a duplicate of the "Loop On" gadget in the Instrument Parameters window. Selecting this gadget activates the loop. Loop Point The loop pointers can be moved in three different ways: * Typing in the Repeat and/or RepLen value in the Instrument Parameters window * Dragging the small triangles across the waveform * Using the Loop Point gadgets The < and > gadgets move a loop pointer two bytes to the left or right. <0 and 0> move a loop pointer to the left or right until a zero is found. For a decent-sounding loop, it ideally needs to start and end at the same value, which can often be zero (i.e. no amplitude). So these gadgets are useful in finding good loop points. The cycle gadget selects whether the < > <0 0> gadgets act on the loop start (default) or loop end pointer. Bear in mind that zooming in allows far more accurate loop positioning. The following gadgets act on the currently selected range (see above): Show Magnifies the range to fill the whole display. Play Plays the range at the current pitch. Cut Deletes the range and moves it to the copy buffer. Erase Deletes the range (but doesn't move it to the copy buffer). NOTE TO V4 UPGRADERS: this is like V4's DEL button. Clear Clears the range. Copy Copies the range to the copy buffer. Paste Inserts the copy buffer's contents at the start of the range. The sample size will increase by the number of bytes inserted. Reverse Reverses the range left to right. Useful for interpreting hidden messages in a few rock songs ;) The menus attached to this window are as follows: Project ------- Flush Sample Removes the current instrument from memory. Load Sample Opens a file requester to load a sample. Save Sample As Opens a file requester to save an IFF sample. Note that the loop values are also saved with IFF samples. Exit Sample Closes the sample editor window. Editor Edit ---- With this menu you may edit the sample. The Cut, Copy, Paste, Erase, Clear and Reverse items have equivalent functions to the respective Range gadgets. Invert Inverts the range (turns it upside-down). This can be useful when trying to find a smooth loop or a smooth join between two waveforms (freehand mode also helps this). Chop Deletes the non-ranged parts of the sample. Only the part defined by the range is left. Remove Unused Space Deletes empty space (i.e. of zero volume) on either side of the waveform. This both saves memory and keeps the timing in songs precise. Copy to Synth Editor Transfers the current range to the synthetic sound editor, thus allowing you to create a less memory-consuming instrument. The synth editor can only handle waveforms of 128 bytes maximum, so if the range is longer than that, only the first 128 bytes marked are copied. The range is copied to the right-hand waveform display. If you want the new synthetic instrument to replace the sample in memory, you need to make the current instrument synthetic. Play Buffer Contents Plays the contents of the copy buffer at the current pitch. Discard Copy Buffer Discards and frees the memory occupied by the copy buffer. Effects ------- This menu adds special effects to the sample. Change Volume Brings up the Change Volume window. Change Pitch Brings up the Change Pitch window. Mix Brings up the Mix window. Filter/Boost Brings up the Filter/Boost window. Echo Brings up the Echo window. Create Noise Brings up the Noise window. Create Chord Brings up the Chord Creation window. Note that all effects aside from Change Pitch, Mix and Create Chord affect the current RANGE. So if you wish these effects to apply to the whole sample, use the Range Display gadget. Also, shift-clicking any of the action buttons (i.e. those which perform a function) in these windows executes the function then closes the window. Settings -------- Display "Line" selects the normal line display mode, but when "Pixel" is turned on, the sample is displayed as pixels instead of lines. "Pixel Density" activates the Pixel Density window with which you can choose the density of the pixels in "Pixel" mode. Sampler Voice Monitor When selected, you can hear the sound you are sampling during digitizing. Turning this off may marginally enhance the digitizing quality on slower machines (those using a 68000 processor). @ENDNODE The Change Volume Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-O ] This window allows you to change the volume of the current range, and is opened using the sample editor's Effects menu. The sliders select the starting and ending volume change, and both are percentages of the original waveform. For example, setting the start volume to 150 % and the end volume to 75 % fades downwards from one-and-a-half times the original volume to three-quarters of the original volume. Each slider can select a value of 0 - 500 %. Clicking CHANGE VOLUME changes the volume using the current slider values. There are also some commonly-used presets below the CHANGE VOLUME gadget. "Fade In" changes from 0 % to 100 %, "Fade Out" from 100 % to 0 %, "Halve" 50 % - 50 %, and "Double" 200 % - 200 %. Clicking any of these gadgets sets the sliders to the values they represent, then changes the volume. Fade In / Out are useful partly in eliminating the "click" that you sometimes hear at the very start and end of a sample. To do this, range a small piece of waveform at the start or end of the sample, and click Fade In for the start or Fade Out for the end. Normally, if the volume is increased too much, the normal waveform limits are exceeded and distortion (or "clipping") will occur. If the "Don't Clip" gadget is switched on, however, the waveform limits will not be exceeded. The "Exit" gadget closes the window. The Change Pitch Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-P ] This window lets you change the pitch of (or "retune") the sample. The sample's size will also change: it will decrease if the pitch is made higher, and increase if the pitch is lowered. (The window is opened by using the sample editor's Effects menu). For example, if you'd like to retune the current sample to play the note G-2 when you press the C-2 key: 1. Set the source note to C-2 by holding the left mouse button on the "Source" note box and pressing the C-2 key; 2. Set the destination note to G-2 in the same way; 3. Click "Change Pitch". The sample is retuned, and its size in this case will decrease by roughly two-thirds. Other gadgets are: Octave Up/Down Retunes the sample one octave up / down, halving / doubling the sample's size. The "Period" gadgets are changed to the values the operation represents. Cancel Finetune Retunes the sample so that the Finetune value in the Instrument Parameters window no longer applies. So if the finetune value was -4, the sample would be retuned 4 steps down and the instrument's finetune would be set to zero. Anti-Alias When on, does some anti-aliasing when retuning. This means that noise is reduced, and is the default. Exit Closes the window. The Mix Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-M ] This window contains the gadgets required to combine two samples, and is activated using the Effects menu in the sample editor. The sample placed in the copy buffer (using the >Buffer gadget in the sample editor will be mixed with the current sample. The two sliders control the volumes of the two waveforms to be mixed. To understand them fully, you need to bear in mind that mixing is achieved by ADDING the two samples together. So if the samples were both mixed at 100 % volume, the resulting mixed sample would be 200 % (double) in volume. For this reason, the default for each sample is 50 %, giving a 100 % (normal volume) mixed sample. Each slider's value may be 0 - 100 %. (For those that are interested, this is why samples should be "halved" in 5-8-channel mode: the samples are added at half their normal volume to produce a full volume sample). The volume of the sample in the copy buffer is altered using the "Dest. Level" slider, and that of the current sample using the "Source Level" slider. The sample in the copy buffer is mixed at the point marked by a range in the current sample. If the range is more than one byte in length, only the area selected by the range is affected; otherwise, the whole of the sample starting at Range Start is affected. The "Mix" gadget mixes the sample, and "Exit" closes the window. The Filter/Boost Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-F ] This window includes a function to filter the current range, reducing noise, and to boost the current range, making it sound brighter and more audible. The window is brought up using the sample editor's Effects menu. Filtering is done by calculating the average of each individual value in the sample and the values on either side of it. Boosting employs an opposite process. There are two sliders, both of which can have a value of 1 - 128: Averaging The strength of the filter/boost (technical note: the proportions of each individual value compared to the values on either side of it). The higher the value, the greater the strength. The default is 16. Distance The distance between the averaged values. In practical terms, this slider affects the sound in an odd way! (It's best to experiment with different values). For a normal filter/boost, set this to 1 (the default). The Filter gadget filters, Boost gadget boosts, and Exit closes the window. The Echo Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-K ] With this window, interesting echo effects can be produced. It is revealed using the sample editor's Effects menu. The echo function affects the current range. Before echoing, you usually need to add some extra space to the end of the sample, by typing a new value into Buffsize (in the sample editor) then choosing "Retain" in the requester. You need to range both the waveform to be echoed and the blank space that the echo is to affect. There are three integer gadgets: Echo Rate The distance, in bytes, between two echoes. A very low rate can make a speech sample sound like a robot :-D Volume Decrease Specifies the rate of volume decrease in the echo. The lower the value, the lower the rate, but a value of zero spreads the volume evenly throughout the range. Number of Echoes The total number of echoes produced, usually quite low (1 - 10). The best way to learn this feature is through experimentation. The "Do Echo" gadget executes the function, and "Exit" closes the window. The Noise Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-N ] This window is opened using the sample editor's Effects menu. The fairly unique feature in the window allows you to add noise to the current range. It may seem useless at first glance, but with it you can easily create effects such as wind and sea sounds, and it can be a source of more complex instruments when used together with other effects. So it's possible to create good-sounding instruments even without using a sampler! The slider sets the noise strength (1 - 128), which is really the volume of the produced noise. The "Noise" gadget creates noise, and "Exit" closes the window. The Chord Creation Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-H ] With this window you can create chords of two to four notes from the current sample. The window is brought up using the sample editor's Effects menu. The window consists of four pitch gadgets, whose contents can be changed by holding down the left mouse button and pressing a note on the keyboard. You may also clear the note by pressing Return or Del. The basenote is the note to which the chord notes relate. In practical terms you can think of it as the "bass note". The other gadgets are the other notes in the chord, of which some may be blank if desired. Note that you are not restricted to the normal three-octave range of a sample: you may use pitches over the full 10.5-octave range. Also note that higher notes are shorter in length than lower notes, so the notes in the chord will not end simultaneously. "Create Chord" creates the chord and stores it in the current sample. "Exit" closes the window. The Pixel Density Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-D ] The slider in this window sets the density of the pixels (1 - 50) used when drawing the waveform in "Pixel" mode (see the Sample Editor}, Settings menu). The slider value is in reality the number of pixels displayed in every horizontal pixel position. The "Exit" gadget closes the window. The Sample List Editor [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-L ] As you work with computer music you will acquire large numbers of instruments, spread over many different disks and directories. For easy loading, the samples need to be organized. This window provides the necessary functions for organizing and storing a list of all your samples. (It is opened using the Display menu. The list could be created using any text editor (as it had to be in the early days of MED), but it's now much easier to make one with the Sample List Editor. Basically, a list is created by clicking "Add Dir..." and choosing a directory containing samples from the file requester. The directory and its filenames are then added to the list, and this can be repeated for all your sample directories / disks. You may view a directory's filenames by clicking the required directory name in the "Directories" list. The list is saved using "Save List...", and the filename is "MED_paths". On startup, OctaMED looks for the MED_paths file in the current directory and in the S: directory (and loads it if it's found). The default save path is S:. The gadgets in this window are as follows: Add Adds the current instrument to the filenames list (it will be inserted in alphabetical order). Note that the sample's loop, tuning, MIDI, and relative volume values will also be stored, as well as its default pitch. Remove Removes the instrument selected in the sample list (i.e. click on a filename and press "Remove"). Save Ins Saves the current instrument to the currently selected directory (stores it on disk as well as in the list). Del Ins Like "Remove", but also deletes the instrument from disk. These last two options remove the need to use a file requester to save or delete instruments in the sample list. Add Dir Opens a file requester to add a directory to the list. A requester will also appear, inquiring whether you wish to add the directory after the currently selected directory or to the end of the list. Remove Dir Removes the current directory from the list. Save List Opens a file requester to save the list to disk. Note that on startup OctaMED looks for the MED_paths file in the current directory and the S: directory, so be sure to either save it in the S: directory or in the same directory as the OctaMED program. It is usually best to choose the S: directory, as then it doesn't matter what the current directory is when starting OctaMED. Load Inst Loads the selected sample list instrument to the current sample slot. (An easier method of loading instruments in the sample list is found in the Load Instrument Window. Save All Insts Saves all instruments in the song to the current directory. This can be handy for extracting (or "ripping") all the samples from other people's songs, for use in your own songs. The Name text gadget displays the name of the selected instrument. You may rename the instrument by typing a new name into this gadget. The remaining integer gadgets are the current loop / tuning / MIDI / volume values of the selected instrument, and the Pitch gadget is the current default pitch of the selected instrument (if any). They can be changed by entering a new value, or by holding the left mouse button on the Pitch gadget and pressing a new note on the keyboard. Note that the MIDI and loop (Repeat / RepLen) gadgets can't both be used at the same time: changing a MIDI gadget value sets the loop gadgets to zero, and vice-versa. (For a description of loop / tuning / MIDI / relative volume values, and the default instrument pitch, see the Instrument Parameters Window. Since MIDI instruments are not actually instruments but a few settings, you may wish to create a "dummy" directory for MIDI instruments. The Exit gadget closes the window. The menu contains the following items: -------------------------------------- Load List Opens a file requester to load a sample list. The new list is appended to the list already in memory. Stats Displays statistics about the sample list: * The currently selected directory number * The total number of directories in the list * The number of samples in the current directory * The total number of samples in the list The MIDI Message Editor [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-G ] This window offers the tools required to capture, send, and store MIDI data, and to edit MIDI messages in hexadecimal. (Opening this window is achieved using the Display menu. The message editor is especially suitable for, but not limited to, capturing System Exclusive (SysEx) messages. These are very versatile messages which can (for example) be used to set and alter the parameters of sounds on machines supporting this facility. You can edit sounds using your synthesizer, then transfer either the original sound or the edited sound into your Amiga® and save it. Later on, OctaMED can send the sound back to the synthesizer for playing. The gadgets to the right of "Msg" are: current message number, previous message, next message, and total number of messages in the buffer. Other gadgets include: New Msg Adds a new message to the end of the list. Use this gadget to create a new message after booting OctaMED. New Here Inserts a new message at the current point in the list. Usually "New Msg" is preferred to this gadget. Del Msg Deletes the current message. Clear Msg Clears the current message (sets all bytes to zero). Msg Size Newly created messages are eight bytes long, but to capture (for example) SysEx messages, a much larger buffer is required. So use this gadget to change the message size. The arrow gadgets decrease / increase the size by one. The maximum size is 1048560 bytes. Name Allows you to name the message: it's usually hard to recognize a message just by looking at it! :) Save Msg Opens a file requester to save the current message. Note that MIDI messages are automatically saved with modules (except Tracker modules, see Save Options, but you may wish to save them as separate files you can load into other songs. Load Msg Opens a file requester for loading a message. A requester appears wondering whether the new message should replace the current one or create a new message for itself. Capture Msg To capture data from your MIDI device, set up an empty message as large as or larger than the incoming data, click this gadget, then start sending data. Clicking it again stops capturing (although with SysEx messages there is an easier way to stop capturing, see "Auto-Terminate Capture" below). MIDI Active and Input Active in the MIDI menu are automatically selected when Capture Msg is pressed. Send Msg Sends out the current MIDI message. Player command 10 also does this (see MIDI Commands). Auto-Terminate Capture Causes OctaMED to stop capturing when an End SysEx byte ($F7) is received. OctaMED will also remove all unused bytes at the end of the buffer: you shouldn't leave any unused (zero) bytes after the actual MIDI data. These zeros are MIDI data too, which will be sent, and this is likely to cause problems. So this gadget is usually kept switched on. If this gadget is off, however, OctaMED will capture all incoming bytes until either the "Capture Msg" gadget is re-clicked or the end of the buffer is reached. The display box to the right of Auto-Terminate Capture shows "Recording..." when a MIDI message is being captured. Exit Closes the window. You may also edit the hex data. Make sure Edit is on (upper screen), then simply use the cursor keys to move around the data and the numeric keys (0-9, A-F) to modify the hex data. Use the Del key to delete a byte, and Shift-Del to insert a new one. (See also MIDI Commands, the MIDI Menu, and the Input Map Editor) The Input Map Editor [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-A ] With this window you may remap all the input keys on your keyboard. It is opened using the Display menu. Each key can be assigned to: -- enter any note/command you wish (similar to Programmable Keys) -- perform an action (such as moving the cursor up or down) This also works with a standard Amiga® keyboard: a MIDI keyboard is not required. The two columns of numbers in the list are the entry numbers in hex and decimal. The other gadgets included in this window are: Map Active When this is selected, the current input map will be used in preference to the default OctaMED keyboard map. Create New Map By default there is no input map, so this must be clicked to create a new one. Now, for each note an entry like this is displayed: "C-1xxxxxx", which means that the C-1 key will just enter C-1 with the current instrument number, and leave the command numbers untouched. You may edit an entry in the same way as in the Programmable Keys window. Select an entry by clicking on it, hold down the mouse button, point at the number you wish to change and press a key on the keyboard to change it. Delete This Map After a confirmation requester, removes the current map. Select Function Displays the Functions window, with which you may select an editing function for the currently selected key. Reset Selected Changes the selected key back to its original function. Load Map Displays a file requester, allowing you to load a new input map from disk. A requester will appear if the current input map has been changed since last saving. Save Map Opens a file requester, offering to save the current input map to disk. The Functions Window This window displays a list of editing functions for use with the input map editor. It is opened by clicking "Select Function" in the editor. Clicking one of the functions in the window changes the selected key in the input map editor to that function. All functions should be self-explanatory. The Song Selector Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-G ] This window allows you to add and delete songs in a multi-module, and to choose the current song. (A "multi-module" is a project that contains more than one song, with all songs sharing the same set of instruments). It may be brought up by choosing Song menu/Select, or by clicking "Sg" on the upper screen. The window displays a list of all songs in the module, and a song may be selected by clicking on it. The song's name appears in the display box immediately below the list. The gadgets in this window are as follows: Add New Adds a new song to the end of the list. Add Here Adds a new song at the currently selected position. Delete Deletes the selected song. Select Makes the selected song the current song, and closes the window. Exit Closes the window. (Song selection gadgets are also contained on the upper screen) The Playing Sequence Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-Q ] The playing sequence consists of a list of block numbers and names arranged in the order they should be played in the song. With the release of OctaMED V5.0, more than one playing sequence may be defined (called "sections"), and the section list contains the order in which to play these multiple playing sequences. When the last section has been played, the song will by default start again from the beginning (although it's also possible to stop the playing). This window contains the functions required to create playing sequences, and is activated by either clicking "Sq" on the upper screen or using the Song menu. A sequence may use the same block number more than once, and a maximum of 999 entries in each playing sequence is allowed. ("Playing sequence" will be referred to as "playseq" from now on). The maximum number of separate playseqs allowed is 65535 (should be enough!). The current playseq position ("playpos") is highlighted in white, and may be set by clicking on a block name. Selecting playpos while the song is playing immediately plays from the beginning of the entry selected. The following gadgets for editing playseqs are included in this window: Top Sets playpos to the top of the display. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-NM7 ("NM" = numeric keypad, apologies (Home) to Amiga® 600 owners!) ] Bottom Sets playpos to the bottom of the display. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-NM1 (End) ] Insert Duplicates the entry highlighted by playpos. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-NM0 (Ins) ] Ins Curr Inserts a new entry, the current block, at playpos. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-NM5 ] Note that to append a playseq entry to the end of the list, you must click just below the final playseq entry before using one of the insert gadgets. Delete Deletes the current entry. [ Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-NM. ] Clear After a confirmation requester, clears the current playseq. [ Other keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl-NM8 scrolls up, Ctrl-NM2 scrolls down. Note that with the Caps Lock on, the playing sequence can be edited without holding down the Ctrl key. ] Follow Using the scroll bar, it is possible to scroll around the list independent of playpos. When "Follow" is selected, the position of the list will be automatically updated during play. The integer gadget to the left of "Follow" contains the block number of playpos, which can be altered either by typing in a new number or by using the arrow gadgets. You can't increase the block number beyond the number of the last block in the song. [ Keyboard shortcuts for the arrow gadgets: Ctrl-NM4 decreases block number, Ctrl-NM6 increases ] The arrow gadgets act slightly differently when playpos is below the last playseq entry. Pressing the left arrow gadget deletes the last entry; pressing the right one appends block 000 to the end of the sequence. The display box to the right of the integer gadget contains the number of playpos and the total number of entries in the current section. Multiple playseqs (sections) can be created using the following buttons: Name Displays the name of the current section, which you can edit. New Sec Adds a new section after the last section. New Sec Here Inserts a new section at the current position. Delete Sec Deletes the current section. Below these buttons is an integer gadget showing the current section number. It may be changed by either typing in a new number or using the arrow gadgets. The display box to the right of the integer gadget contains the total number of sections. The Exit gadget closes the window. (Note that the song can be stopped at any time by using player command FFE: see Commands A - F). (See also the Section List and the Block List) The Section List Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-C ] This window, opened either by using the Song menu or by clicking "Sc" on the upper screen, contains the order in which to play song sections. These sections are created in the Playing Sequence window. The current section position ("secpos") is highlighted in white, and may be set by clicking on a section name. Shift-clicking on a section name selects the section clicked in the Playing Sequence window. A maximum of 65535 entries are allowed (note, however, that only the lower three digits are displayed). The integer gadget contains the section number of secpos, which can be altered either by typing in a new number or by using the arrow gadgets. You can't increase the section number beyond the number of the last section in the song. The display boxes to the right of the integer gadget contains the number of secpos and the total number of entries in the current section list, and the total number of sections in the song. Other gadgets are as follows: Insert Inserts a new entry 001 at secpos. Append Appends a new entry 001 to the end of the section list. Delete Deletes the current entry. Exit Closes the window. The Song Options Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-H ] This window contains various song parameters. In a multi-module, these parameters can be different for each song. (It is opened using the Song menu. The gadgets are listed below: Name This text gadget contains the name of the current song, displayed on the title bar. You may type in a new name. Channel Mode The Amiga® has four sound channels, but by mixing two notes together and playing them through one channel, up to eight notes can be played at once. This radio button is used to select the number of channels OctaMED should use. (See 5-8 Channel Mode for more info). Note: for MIDI use, "4 Channels/MIDI" should be selected (this is also the default). The cycle gadget chooses whether the data bytes of volume (C) commands (see Commands A - F) should be in hexadecimal or decimal. If you aren't a programmer (and even if you are), it may be easier to think in decimal. "Decimal Volumes" is the default, but we recommend using hexadecimal volumes wherever possible. They're slightly faster (not noticeably, but faster anyway ;^). The state of this gadget is saved as part of a song. You can easily convert all volume commands from decimal to hex and vice- versa with the "Convert" gadget. Clicking this gadget prompts you for the type of conversion desired. Audio Filter Active Turns the low-pass audio filter on/off. When on, the Amiga®'s power LED will be bright. However it is best to keep the filter off, since the sound quality is usually better. High Quality Mode When on, this significantly increases the audio quality in 5-8 channel modes. Unfortunately, it will also double the processor load, so a 68020 processor or higher is required to use this gadget in seven and eight-channel modes. Under OctaMED Pro V3 and V4, High Quality Mode slowed down the tempo a fraction. In V5 the tempo is now unaffected. So when loading songs created with V3 or V4 that use this mode, you'll need to slightly decrease the tempo for the song to play at the intended speed. No Slide On 1st Pulse Normally effects are done on every timing pulse, but with this on, the effects are not done on the first timing pulse. This is the way the Trackers perform effects, and this switch is for compatibility only: it is automatically switched on when a Tracker module is loaded. (For information on timing pulses, see Upper Screen. Play Transpose This slider transposes the whole song by the value selected. It doesn't change the notes, it just affects playing. The minimum and maximum is -12 and 12 respectively (i.e. ± 1 octave). Other transposition functions may be found in the Transpose window. Exit Closes the window. The Relative Track Volumes Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-R ] This window contains sliders to adjust the volume of each track relative to the master volume. It is opened using the Song menu. Each volume can be 1 - 64. The master volume sets the overall volume of the song. If both the master volume and the volume of a track were 64, that track is played at full volume. If, however, the master volume and a track volume were 32, the volume of that track would be a quarter of full volume. The two large arrow gadgets at the bottom left of the window are like the track arrow gadgets on the upper screen - clicking them show the previous/next sixteen tracks, and shift-clicking them show the first/last sixteen tracks in the song. (They only really apply to blocks containing over sixteen tracks). The Exit gadget closes the window. Note: the status of these sliders are saved with songs. The Block Properties Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Amiga-B ] This window allows you to edit the properties of the current block. It is activated either by using the Block menu or by holding down Shift and clicking the B gadget on the upper screen. The gadgets are: Name Contains the name of the block, which can be changed by typing in a new name. (The name is also displayed on the upper screen and in the Block List window). A maximum of 41 characters is allowed. Tracks Selects the number of tracks in the block. The minimum is 1 and the maximum 64. (The number of tracks that can be displayed on- screen at any one time is set by Settings Menu/Display Max Tracks). Note that track 8 onwards can only be used with MIDI devices (see the MIDI Menu), and tracks 4-7 only with the Channel Mode gadget in the Song Options window set appropriately (except for MIDI use). Also note that when you decrease the number of tracks, the higher tracks will be lost (with no "Are you sure?" requester). Length The number of lines in the block. Can be changed by either typing in a new number or using the arrow gadgets. < and > decrease and increase the length by 1, << and >> by 10. The preferred way is to type in a new number directly, since less "memory fragmentation" occurs. The maximum length of a block is 3200 lines. Exit Closes the window. The Block List Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-B ] New to V5.0, the block list is an "at-a-glance" list of the current song's blocks and their names. It is brought up by either using the Block menu or clicking the small "B" gadget on the upper screen. The current block, highlighted in white, may be changed by clicking on another block. Keyboard shortcuts for changing the current block are: Shift - / Previous / next block Left Alt - / First block / last block The text gadget displays the current block's name, which can also be changed by typing in a new name. Up to 41 characters are allowed in each name. The window contains the following gadgets: Insert New Inserts a new block at the current block position. Append New Inserts a new block after the last block. These gadgets are like the New/Insert and New/Append items in the Block menu. Ins to Seq Inserts the current block's number at the current playing sequence position (see Playing Sequence Window). App to Seq Appends the current block's number to the playing sequence (see Playing Sequence Window). Delete Deletes the current block. Equivalent to the Delete items in the Block menu. Exit Closes the window. The Highlight Options Window In this window you can highlight the current block's lines in a particular order. This can help you position notes in widely-spaced blocks or mark measures or beats. It is opened using the Block menu. The top row of small square gadgets highlight the block lines with the respective spacing. For example, the 4 gadget highlights every fourth line. You'll probably use this particular gadget (4) the most often, since in a normal default block of 64 lines, the gadget highlights every beat in the block (i.e. every four sixteenth notes). The other gadgets are as follows: Clear Clears all the highlighted lines in the block. Offset Sets the first line to be highlighted. For example, an offset of 2 begins highlighting on line 002. Spacing Allows a custom highlight spacing to be entered. For example, entering 12 highlights every twelfth line. Exit Closes the window. You'll notice that the 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 gadgets are all underlined, meaning (of course) that they have a Left Alt shortcut. These shortcuts, however, only work with the numeric keypad keys (not the keys on the main keyboard). Note that when editing, the Tab key highlights the current line. Also note that highlighting an already highlighted line removes the highlighting. Line highlighting is saved with songs. The Expand/Shrink Window This window, activated by choosing Block Menu/Expand/Shrink, is used for expanding or shrinking the current block. The "Expand" gadget creates empty lines between each note, and "Shrink" removes lines. The "Factor" gadget contains the amount of expansion or shrink. For example, if Factor was 3, pressing Expand would insert two empty lines between each note (thus trebling the block length), and pressing Shrink would remove every second and third line (thus thirding the block length). "Factor" may be 1 - 99, but the expanded block length must not exceed 3200 lines, and the shrink factor must be divisible by the number of lines in the block. If either of these rules are infringed, a message appears to communicate this and no change to the block occurs. Expansion is useful, for example, if you would like to include some quick rhythms in a block but realize that the block plays too slowly for the rhythms. (However, fast rhythms may also be created using commands FF1, FF2, FF3, and 1Fxx - see Player Commands, so try these before expanding). The only real use of shrinking is to reverse the effect of a previous expansion. The Instrument Parameters Window [ Keyboard shortcut: Left Alt-I ] With this important window you may alter the characteristics of the current instrument. It is opened by either using the Instr menu or clicking the "Inst Params" gadget on the upper screen. The gadgets are as follows: Name Contains the name of the instrument, which may be renamed by typing in a new name. (However, it is advisable not to rename instruments when saving songs without instruments, since the renamed instruments will probably fail to load). The maximum name length is 40 characters. The display box to the right of Name contains the current sample number. (By the way, "instrument" and "sample" essentially mean the same thing). Flush Removes the current instrument from memory and clears all its parameters. (Equivalent to Instr Menu/Flush Current). The instrument selection gadgets -------------------------------- The slider and arrow gadgets are used to select the current instrument: 1st Selects the first instrument (01). Last Selects the last instrument (1V). L.U. Selects the last instrument in memory (stands for "Last Used"). Keyboard shortcuts for selecting the instrument include: Shift - / Previous / Next instrument Alt - / 16 samples forward/backwards Instruments may also be selected using the numeric keypad (see the Keyboard Options window). The loop gadgets ---------------- The "Repeat", "RepLen" and "Loop On" gadgets are the loop gadgets. A sample loop means that the notes you play with the sample will be sustained until they are stopped. This is due to a particular part of the sample being continually repeated (or "looped"). The Repeat value is the beginning of the loop in bytes from the start of the sample, and the RepLen value is the length of the loop. Selecting Loop On activates the loop, and loops the whole sample if Repeat and RepLen are both zero. Loops are set in steps of 2 bytes, i.e. only even numbers may be used (typing in odd numbers rounds them down). RepLen must be at least 4. The loop may also be set by using the loop pointers and gadgets in the sample editor. When you load IFF instruments, these values are automatically loaded. The tuning gadgets ------------------ Under the loop gadgets is a cycle gadget and a slider, used for setting the tuning of an instrument. The slider sets either the "Transpose" or the "Finetune" value, depending on the state of the cycle gadget (Transpose is default). "Transpose" raises or lowers the pitch of the current instrument in halfsteps (semitones). For example, if the transpose value was 3 and note C-2 was to be played with the current instrument, it would be transposed 3 halfsteps higher (D#-2). A negative value transposes lower. The maximum and minimum transpose values are 127 and -128 (although higher values only affect MIDI instruments). The finetune value allows you to tune instruments in small steps, which is useful for incorrectly sampled instruments. The value can be -8 to 7. The two numbers separated by a "/" are the transpose and finetune values. Hold and decay -------------- These gadgets allow you to set the exact duration and the speed of fading of a note. "Hold" is the duration in timing pulses (see Upper Screen for a description of timing pulses, you'll need it to understand this section!), and "Decay" is the speed of fade when the hold duration has completed. In these examples, the secondary tempo is assumed to be the default 6. One line in the examples is one timing pulse. 1. No Hold Set 2. Hold Set To 2 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ 0 Play note (e.g. C-2 10000) 0 Play note (e.g. C-2 10000) 1 1 2 2 STOP note 3 3 (silence) 4 4 5 5 6 Play new note (e.g. D-3 10000) 6 Play new note (e.g. D-3 10000) In example 2, the note is stopped on the second timing pulse. BUT: if the note is followed by a "keep holding symbol" in the track, the note is not stopped on the second timing pulse but carries on playing. For example: 000 C-2 10000 / Line No. Pulse No. Action 001 -|- 10000 / 003 0 Continue note... 002 -|- 10000 / 003 1 Continue note... 003 -|- 10000 ==> ZOOMED => 003 2 STOP note 004 --- 00000 \ 003 3 (silence) 005 D-3 10000 \ 003 4 So on the last "keep holding symbol" encountered, the usual hold value is used. This symbol is inserted by either clearing the note and entering only the instrument number, or more easily by pressing Return or the A key. If the decay is zero, the note is turned off immediately after holding. If it is a non-zero value, however, the note will fade after holding. A value of 1 produces the slowest decay. Decay only works if Hold is non-zero. Both Hold and Decay can have a value of 0 to 127. Note that Decay doesn't work with MIDI instruments, and is handled very differently with synthsounds or hybrids (see Synthsound Program Language). Hold and Decay is quite a useful feature, and although it may sound complicated, it isn't really :-), so we recommend that you learn to use it! Default volume and pitch ------------------------- The "Volume" gadget sets the default volume of the current instrument. It ranges from 0 (silent) to 64 (full volume). "Default Pitch" allows you to set a default pitch for the current instrument. When you press the F key the instrument is played at that pitch. This can be very useful for untuned instruments like percussion. The pitch box contains the default pitch of the instrument (or --- if no pitch is set). To change this, hold down the left mouse button on the box and press a note on the keyboard. You may also clear the pitch by pressing Return or Del. End Of Part One.