That SYNC'ing Feeling
                           """""""""""""""""""""


          

What is this about?
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


          Are you the proud owner of, or do  you have access to 2
          Amigas  (or maybe more!),  A 4-channel  audio  mixer, a
          couple of  midi  interfaces  and last, but  by no means
          least a copy of OctaMED? If the answer is yes then  you
          may be interested to  know that it is possible and very
          easy to link  them together via MIDI to have 8 channels
          of samples without using the limiting 8 channel mode on
          one  Amiga. (Any mixer  with 4 or more  channels can be
          used, including portastudios.)

          (Mixer's start from about £2O from places like Tandys - ED)


          
The Theory
          ~~~~~~~~~~


          This system is based on MIDI using an  operation called
          the SYNC (synchronisation) process  which  sends timing
          signals from the 
 MIDI OUT of the  `Master amiga' 
          to the MIDI IN of the `Slave Amiga'.These signals include 
          song position, start, stop and  continue which keep, in 
          this case  both   Amigas  running,  starting,  stopping   
          or continuing exactly together when the  `song' gadgets   
          are activated.This does not work when playing or 
          continuing the block, only the song!


          
In Practice
          ~~~~~~~~~~~


          To get the system up and running you have to set up the
          2 Amigas as MASTER AND SLAVE  where one  amiga controls
          the other. (in my case an  A1500 controlling an  A500.)
          This is achieved by plugging a midi interface into each
          of the computers' serial ports and plugging the correct
          type of cable from the  MIDI OUT  port of the MASTER to
          the MIDI IN  of the SLAVE computers interface (This has
          to be  5-pin DIN to 5-pin DIN which is the standard for
          midi signal  cables.).The audio  phono leads have to be
          routed through a mixer to combine the signal of 4 sound
          channels  (L and R from  each Amiga). Then,  preferably
          into  a hifi (See TI1.). For a  graphic description see
          the accompanying diagram.


          
The Settings
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~


          Octamed has to be booted up on both machines, therefore
          two TVs or monitors are needed.On the MASTER Amiga  you
          have  to  enter   the  MIDI  screen  and  activate  the
          following gadgets:-

        - MIDI ACTIVE - This turns on midi.

        - SEND SYNC   - This sends the relevant SYNC  signals out
                        when song PLAY or STOP are activated.

          The settings for the  SLAVE Amiga to be activated are:-

          MIDI ACTIVE

        - EXT SYNC   - Tells the Amiga that it will be controlled
                       by an external source.

        - INPUT      - This has to be set as  midi data will only
                       be incoming.


          
Writing The Song
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


          There are a  few things to  remember whilst writing the
          song, as they're quite important.The SLAVE Amiga can be
          played and stopped using  its own SONG gadgets, this is
          useful if only, its channels are to be played. When the
          song is to be  played, both the  SPEED or BPM  settings
          must be the  same.(Note that for using 8 channels, only
          4 channel  mode is  needed to be set on each  computer,
          but  you could use both  computers on 8 channel mode to
          obtain a maximum 16, half quality channels.).


          
CONCLUSION
          ~~~~~~~~~~


          Many more  possibilities are gained by doing this, like
          larger chords and  more chip memory. One computer could
          be used for drum and vocal samples, with the  other for
          the chords & melodies. Or one computer could be used to
          play only the lengthy samples like breakbeats and vocal
          excerpts to keep the whole memory of the other computer
          for the tunes and fx...etc.......


                             ----------+----------


          Happy songwriting,

                           This is me, Simon Ouzman, signing off.


          Bye.....


        ================================================================
        =  EDITOR'S     : Surely you could bypass the need for a mixer =
        =  EDITION        with a simple Y-Lead. 2 sets of stereo phono =      
        =                 plugs to one set of stereo phone plugs???    =
        ================================================================