<> @2{The Music Column @3 }By Mike Richmond @5Welcome to another music column, or two columns, as it is now! Yup, I've decidied to try out AZ's new two column mode to see how my page looks! Right. Seing as NOBODY bothered to send me any problems, I'll just have to mill about for a bit... @7SEND ME SOME LETTERS YOU LOT! @1Think that got the message across. @5You all know where I am - have some music problems - I am dying to solve them for you all! @5 If you too long for the good old days of the C64, why not get your grubby mitts on a copy of the latest disk from the MED Users Group? Entitled "No Sampler? Modules Volume 1", it contains twenty-six of the best Chip Music modules you will hear on the Amiga. It is available now from all good PD libraries or directly from me if you supply the correct postage and a blank disk (preferably a disk with some good PD on it, especially music related for future No Sampler? disks) If you have any SoundTracker or MED Chip music, please send it to me and I will send you a free copy of NSM#1 or any No Sampler? Utilities disk, or if you ask REALLY nicely, how about a copy of...@7BRAIN DEAD @5Yup, my new music compilation. Twelve great MED modules and a nice little piece of text about how I started! @3SHRINKING YOUR SOUNDS! @1Ooer, eh! @5If you are writing a game with over 2OOk of sound effects, why not try the @7Ripper Crunch@5? Oh, no that's DELETE - why not try this thing instead... @5Load up a sample editing program. @2SuperSound v3@5 (on No Sampler? Utils volume 3 or AZ support disk 2) is my favourite, and load in your sounds one by one. Select the whole sample as a range and use the @1Octave Up @5option on it. It will now be just half as large! @5You will have to play it at half the rate you used to, so if it was played at 14KHz, play it at 7KHz (that's what that button in the Amos Sample Bank Ed does!) Most samples work okay but some will sound a bit crap. Give it a go! @7AND REMEMBER WHERE YOU HEARD THIS GREAT TIP FIRST! @4I have recently come into possession of a neat little Amos program that converts PC Windows .WAV samples to RAW (not IFF) format so you can use them on the Amiga. It was written by a guy called Peter Kwan and could come in handy for anybody who @3a) has a PC or PC owning friends with some .WAV samples. b) has a PC CD-ROM disc containing .WAV format sounds. @4You may well find it somewhere in this issue of Amoszine. It came with some .WAV samples and a compiled version but these may have been lost on the way. The forthcoming No Sampler? Utilities Volume 4 will feature loads of similar programs (PC and Amiga transfer is the disk's theme). If you have anything similar, send it to me for a free copy of my music demo or NSM#1! @7Abk Music limitations: UPDATE @4I only condone the use of the Amos Soundtracker converter when the musician knows the intricacies of it well. In this case, Abk music is fine for all purposes. So all musicians and not just me are aware of the restrictions, here they are: @31. Only use effects commands listed in `Idiot's Guide' Part 3 2. Only alter the SECONDARY tempo, don't touch the BPM tempo slider 3. Only use short samples (<5Ok) unless they are looped - the convertor truncates one-shot samples. @7OCTAMED IS COMING OUT ON CD @4 OctaMED Professional, which I am sure most of you know is my Amiga program of choice, is due out soon on a CD. I expect this will entail the program and thousands of modules and samples. I wonder if they will use any of mine? If they do I bet I don't get a free copy of the CD! @7AURA SOUNDCARD AVAILABLE @4Hisoft have released their new 12-Bit Soundcard, `Aura' to a mixed response from the mags. It sounds great but will any software support it? It can only handle one channel of sound alongside three normal Amiga channels so it is perhaps not as good as it originally seemed. @7AM/FM FINISHES @4The first diskmag to go Licenceware has, er..., gone. Apparently editor @4Bjørn A. Lynne @3(who is quite famous now!) @4has decided to 'pursue other interests'. Hmmm. He was surely doing quite well with @3AM/FM@4. Each issue cost £2.5O (or £5 with a samples disk) and they shifted around a hundred thousand copies each issue, worldwide. Somebody was making a bit of cash from this `Freeware' magazine. @4I guess all the Amiga musicians should now turn to @3Total Irrelevance @4(the officialy recognised @3OctaMED@4 disk-magazine) which is brilliant, especially my articles, or the new @3MIDICraft magazine @4(for @3Music-X@4 and MIDI users I guess), which is basically @3AM/FM@4 all over again. Both mags cost £2.5O from Seasoft Computing (O19O3-85O378) @5As a final thing, I have partially solved the Track Loop problem. @5In your Soundtracker module, simply create a block with no commands other than F00 (for OctaMED) or D00 for Soundtracker on the first line and make it the first block in the play sequence. There will be a pause of about 1 second as the module loops but at least it doesn't keep repeating the same section of music! @3Send your probs/tips requests to... @1Mike Richmond 86 Station Road, Hessle, North Humberside, HU13 OBG.