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1994-03-28
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======================================
WaveBlaster Tamer
by Keith Cowgill
Copyright (C) 1994
======================================
Version 1.5 - 03/01/94
(Note: This is a major upgrade from the previous release.
please take a few minutes to read this section).
--------------
- Easier ordering. Now ordering is easier than ever! Don't have
a CompuServe account? Now you can order WaveBlaster Tamer by
phone using most major credit cards and have it shipped, along
with a comprehensive 50+ page printed manual, within 48 hours.
I've made special arrangements with Public (software) Library,
one of the most respected distributors of shareware, to make
getting your copy of WaveBlaster Tamer as easy as can be.
Here's the arrangement:
------------------------------------------------------------
CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY -
You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public
(software) Library by calling 800-2424-PsL or 713-524-6394
or by FAX to 713-524-6398 or by CIS Email to 71355,470. You
can also mail credit card orders to PsL at P.O. Box 35705,
Houston, TX 77235-5705.
THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR ORDERS ONLY.
Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order,
refunds, registration options, product details, technical
support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses,
etc, must be directed to:
Keith Cowgill
582 Thistle Ave.
Gahanna, OH 43230
CIS: 73147,2253
AOL: KeithCgill
GEnie: K.Cowgill
To insure that you get the latest version, PsL will notify
me the day of your order and I will ship the product
directly to you.
------------------------------------------------------------
When you call PsL, ask for WaveBlaster Tamer. Their product
number for this software is #11262.
All other ordering options--direct mail w/US funds to me and
CIS on-line registration (product #1821) remain in
effect--giving you three convenient ways of receiving
WaveBlaster Tamer!
- Automate option. This is the easiest way to get automatic
control of the WaveBlaster. Most folks who have regular synths
or keyboards expect those instruments to remember their setup
parameters and patches so they are ready to go at power-on.
But the WaveBlaster "forgets" all that stuff whenever your turn
your computer off. As I've used my WaveBlaster, I've
recognized the need to automate some of its features. I want
to be able to turn on my computer and have the patches I use
uploaded, the bank I want switched to, and the channels I want
reserved for another synth muted.
Automate, available from the Main menu, will create a script
for WaveBlaster Tamer to accomplish these tasks. The script
file will be called WBTAMER.AUT and will reside in your
WaveBlaster Tamer directory. When you call WaveBlaster Tamer
and you want use this script, just type WBTAMER /A and press
ENTER. The script will execute and WaveBlaster Tamer will
terminate.
NOW, you can add the line
C:\WAVEBLST\WBTAMER\WBTAMER /A
(if this is where you installed WaveBlaster Tamer) to your
AUTOEXEC.BAT and set the WaveBlaster up just the way you like
it whenever you turn on your computer! Create a .PIF in
Windows and you can run the automate script from there as well.
In the working model, if you use the /A switch, WaveBlaster
Tamer will upload "WBTAMER.CBK" to Bank 1, no matter what you
ask for. It will ignore the bank change command, but it will
honor the muted channels command.
--03/24
- Switches. This a far more powerful way of automatically using
WaveBlaster Tamer than the Automate function described above,
but you have to me a little more of a "hacker" to use it.
Switches are little commands you can send to a program on
start-up for the program to act on immediately. They look like
this:
PROGRAM /(switch)
You type the name of the program, and then the switch command
itself, and press ENTER. Often, programs request that the
switch command be preceded by a "/" as you see here.
WaveBlaster Tamer now recognizes a bunch of switches, which you
can call whether you are running WaveBlaster Tamer in DOS or
Windows. I have created a couple different .PIFs in Windows
that call switch settings I use often.
With WaveBlaster Tamer, the conventions you need to follow are
these: (1) Precede each switch with a virgule "/" or hyphen
"-". (2) Don't put any spaces *within* each switch command
(except where indicated below), but you should *separate* each
switch command with a space. Just follow the examples below--
it's pretty easy once you get used to it.
NOTE: WHENEVER YOU USE A SWITCH COMMAND, WAVEBLASTER TAMER
PERFORMS THAT FUNCTION AND ENDS. THIS IS A FEATURE THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO CONTROL WAVEBLASTER TAMER THROUGH BATCH
FILES (SUCH AS AUTOEXEC.BAT) OR WINDOWS .PIF FILES, WITH
HAVING TO RUN WAVEBLASTER TAMER, USE THE MENU SYSTEM, AND
EXIT.
Here are the switches available to you in WaveBlaster Tamer.
SWITCH WHAT IT DOES
----------------- --------------------------------------------
/A Automate. Described above.
/Bn Switch banks. Instead of "n," you would use
either a "1" or a "2". For example,
WBTAMER /B2 would tell WaveBlaster Tamer to
begin using the presets in Bank #2,
/GM Set WaveBlaster to General MIDI (as opposed
to Proteus) mode.
/Hnn This is as powerful as a switch can be. It
will take any sysex hex command you can enter
and send it to the WaveBlaster. For example,
WBTAMER /HF018040023F7
Will reset the WaveBlaster to its power-on
default state.
Information on such hex commands are covered
in the WaveBlaster Tamer manual.
But wait, there's still more.
If you enter /H alone (not followed by any
hex command), WaveBlaster Tamer will look in
the WaveBlaster Tamer directory for a file
named WBTAMER.HEX. If it finds it, it will
send the entire file, line-by-line, to the
WaveBlaster. Using your favorite editor, you
can create a very sophisticated set of
instructions and use WaveBlaster Tamer to
send it with a single switch.
If the hex command is bad and/or WaveBlaster
Tamer can't find WBTAMER.HEX, WaveBlaster
Tamer will end with an error message.
/MCn n n Mute channels. This command will let you
silence any of the 16 WaveBlaster channels.
Note that the first channel number is *not*
separted from /MC with a space, but that
subsequent ones are. For example, this
command
WBTAMER /MC2 3 4
would mute channels 2, 3, and 4 on the
WaveBlaster.
/MMn Set Midi mode. "n" can stand for one of the
following:
1. No Change
2. Mode 1: Omni On, Poly (Multi Mode)
3. Mode 2, Omni On, Mono (Omni Mode)
4. Mode 3: Omni Off, Poly (Poly Mode)
5. Mode 4, Omni Off, Mono (Mono Mode)
/MVn Set Master Volume. Volume can be any number
from 0 to 127.
/PR Set to Proteus (as opposed to GM) mode.
/Q Quiet. All switches here give a status
report when they operate. If you include /Q
in your command line, that won't happen.
/R Reset to power-on default state.
/Sname Send (upload) a preset (.CBK) file to the
WaveBlaster. This is a "smart" switch that
looks in your current directory and then in
the .CBK file directory you specified in
WaveBlaster Tamer configuration routine.
For example, if you just type
WBTAMER /SGENMIDI
WaveBlaster Tamer will look for GENMIDI.CBK
in the directory you called WBTAMER from.
Failing that, it would look in your .CBK
directory for the file. If it doesn't find
it in either place, it will terminate with an
error message.
/Unn Set user options. This switch requires two
numbers--the option itself (as specifed
below), followed by a 0 or 1 to indicate
whether the option should be set Off or On.
There should be no spaces between the two
numbers.
1. MPC Map (Default On)
2. MIDI Channel Prioritization (Default On)
3. Exclusive Drums (Default Off)
4. Single Assign Drums (Default Off
/VCn Velocity curve. Set from 1 to 5.
/? Help. Show a list of available switches.
Two of the switches--/B and /H--don't work in the working model.
--03/23
- Full Cakewalk support. Since version 1.3 of WaveBlaster Tamer,
every .CBK file that is modified and saved has a corresponding
.INI file automatically developed for it. This feature is to
support a function in Cakewalk Apprentice, with which you can
(1) associate a set of patch names with a specific port and
then (2) call those patches by name rather than number.
Cakewalk makes this very easy for you by repeating your port
series througout its port numbering system. For example, if
you have an MPU-401 driver assigned to Port 1 and an SBMIDI
driver assigned to Port 2, then Cakewalk will also assign the
MPU-401 driver to ports 3, 5, 7, etc., and the SBMIDI driver to
ports 2, 4, 6, etc.
Next, you can assign *to any one* of those ports a set of
preset patch names. Then, depending on what instruments you
have attached to those ports, you can call up the right patch
names.
Here is why this is so convenient. My WaveBlaster is set to my
SBMIDI driver, which Cakewalk assigns to Port 1. I have
assigned the GM patch names to that port. Whenever I call set
my Port to 1, I can call up patches by name.
However, I have assigned my WaveBlaster Tamer patch names (the
patches in the WBTAMER.CBK file) to Port 3. That's still the
SBMIDI port, but whenever I switch to Port 3, Cakewalk switches
the patch names from GM to WaveBlaster Tamer. No memorizing or
writing notes for me--Cakewalk makes it all very easy.
WaveBlaster Tamer has a new function to take even greater
advantage of this. With WaveBlaster Tamer, you can call up
PATCHES.INI in the \WINCAKE directory and delete preset bank
names or add or replace preset bank names in PATCHES.INI with
the .INI files that WaveBlaster Tamer creates.
I caution you to copy the PATCHES.INI file to another disk or
to another file name (for example, PATCHES.INO ["O" for
Original]) before you experiment with this, especially if you
are unsure of what you are doing. This is a flexible and easy
function, but it *will* delete any preset name bank you ask it
to! As one additional fail-safe, this function will save the
current PATCHES.INI to PATCHES.BAK whenever you make
modifications.
When you run Cakewalk Apprentice next, Cakewalk will recompile
the PATCHES.INI file and you'll be ready to go.
--03/22
- Patch transfers. I've Installed a patch transfer system that
will let you snag any good presets you find when you convert a
Proteus file, etc. These patches are kept in a special
WaveBlaster Tamer file called "WBTAMER.TRN." You can import
them into any preset (.CBK) file you like. You can also
maintain WBTAMER.TRN, deleting patches you no longer want. You
can grab the patches when you are in the preset editing mode by
pressing F7. This kind of system makes it a snap for you to
install favorite patches across several different .CBK preset
files, rather than a 1-for-1 swap.
** I have included in this release some additional free presets
in the WBTAMER.TRN file that you can experiment with. Just
call up the file transfer utility and import then into any
preset file you like! **
--03/21
- Edit Patch Numbers. I didn't think this was all that big a
deal when I first wrote WaveBlaster Tamer--the designers at
E-mu mostly expected whole patch banks to be up and downloaded
from their SoundEngine. Therefore, I didn't bother including
it. However, now that you have the option of creating mini-CBK
files (see below), I've given you the extra functionality of
changing the patch number. You'll probably find this coming in
handy from time to time. This adds another ALT key to the
Preset Edit screen. Just hit ALT-U to change a patch number.
--03/21
- Append patch. I squished a bug in WaveBlaster Tamer 1.4, in
which you could scroll to a non-existant patch at the end of a
preset file. It got me to wondering if it might be useful to
have the option to append a patch to a .CBK file, if you want.
So I put that option in here. Now, when you hit PgDn on the
last patch, WaveBlaster Tamer will ask you if you want to
append another one. If you do, WaveBlaster Tamer will put the
Acoustic Piano patch (for you to use as a starting point) at
the next patch number.
--03/21
- Patch file sorting. I've created a couple of patches I liked,
and then realized I didn't like where they were in the .CBK
preset file. This option lets you either do a hand sort of
.CBK patches or a global renumbering of the entire file.
You'll notice that the routines for patch sorting and mini-CBK
creation (see below) appear quite similar. The only big
difference is that patch sorting will always renumber a
selected patch to the next consecutive number and mini-CBK mode
will never alter a patch number.
--03/20
- Mini-CBKs. A preset (.CBK) file is nothing more than a long
list of 192 MIDI commands, each one uploading one patch to the
approprate place in a WaveBlaster bank. (The 192 commands equal
128 instrument patches followed by 64 percussion patches, by
the way.) When you turn on your computer, the WaveBlaster
initializes with both banks set to the GM patches. This is the
very same information contained on your GENMIDI.CBK file that
came with your WaveBlaster.
If you use the GENMIDI.CBK file as a template, and change some
of the patches, you do not necessarily need to send the whole
edited .CBK to the WaveBlaster. Patches that have not changed
will simply overwrite identical patches. To save you a little
time, I've given you the option of creating a .CBK file with
just the changed patches, which you can subsequently use for
speedier uploading to the WaveBlaster.
--03/20
- WBTDEMO.WAV. I've had some very nice compliments on the free
patches and demo song I've included with WaveBlaster Tamer
(thank you all very much). However, from time to time some
users wonder if everything is working for them the way it's
supposed to. I've included this file for you to double-check.
To hear the Cakewalk demo song WBTDEMO.WRK, you must first use
WaveBlaster Tamer to upload WBTAMER.CBK. If you do, the
patches in that file will remain installed in the WaveBlaster
until you reset it. Then, you can start Cakewalk and hear this
song. If you want to verify if you've done everything right,
I've recorded the first few bars in this .WAV file. Just play
it back and listen, and verify if it sounds the same as the
Cakewalk song.
--03/20
- Patch file deleting. This option will delete any .CBK file
(and its corresponding .INI file) from your .CBK directory.
--03/20
Version 1.4 - 02/15/94 (Unreleased)
---------------
- Preset Edit Bug. Found a little bug in the Preset Edit
section. If you pressed PgDn on the last patch in the preset
file, you would scroll to a non-existant patch.
--02/01
- New Preset Edit help screen. Expanded the Preset Edit help
menu. Added another page to make function key use clearer.
--02/01
- Bank numbers change. When I first wrote WaveBlaster Tamer, I
succumbed to the ultimate in computer geekese, namely, using
"0" as a starting point for numbering, rather than "1" as most
normal folks do. For example, my program numbered the two
WaveBlaster banks as Bank 0 and Bank 1, rather than Bank 1 and
Bank 2, which tends to make more sense. The "0"s have now been
banished.
--02/01
- Sundry nips and tucks to make version 1.5 modifications
possible.
--02/01
- First modification of the new year, based on a request from
Holger Broemmelsiek, of Dusseldorf. When you press Alt-F1, in
Preset Edit mode, a single note will play, and decay naturally
until you press another (computer) key. It mimics the effect
of depressing a (MIDI) key down and holding it down. Pressing
the (computer) key again is like releasing the (MIDI) key.
Therefore, of course, some notes would sustain forever if you
let them. This lets you analyze in detail the effects of your
envelope edits.
--01/04
Version 1.3 - 12/29/93
---------------
- NOW! Register your version of Waveblaster Tamer on-line with
CompuServe. Go SWREG at any ! prompt. The registration ID for
WaveBlaster Tamer is 1821. When I receive your registration
notice, I will immediately ship your registered version of
WaveBlaster Tamer along with a 50+ page user manual.
-- 12/29
- In Preset Edit mode, pressing TAB in the instrument editing menu
was supposed to send you to patch # 128. It didn't. Now it does.
-- 12/26
- Fixed bug in configure routine that would inaccurately specify
the alternate .MID file
-- 12/26
- WaveBlaster Tamer used to exit in a way that would lock up your
computer if you tried to access the FM synth afterward. Thanks
to Gary Maddox for alerting me to that one. It shouldn't
happen now.
-- 12/23
- Composed a demo song, WBTDEMO.WRK, to be played with Cakewalk
Apprentice that demonstrates many of the included WaveBlaster
Tamer free presets. I probably should have done this right
from the beginning, since it demonstrates the whole point of
WaveBlaster Tamer. The song shows you the control you have
when you can not only compose on the WaveBlaster but also have
complete control over each individual preset, or instrument,
you use.
IMPORTANT: To hear this demo as it was composed, you must (1)
use WaveBlaster Tamer to upload WBTAMER.CBK to your WaveBlaster
and (2) make sure all of the ports (which are currently set to
1 in WBTDEMO.WRK) are changed to reflect the SB16 MIDI Out Port
number you use in your version of Cakewalk Apprentice.
-- 12/20
- Improved MS Windows support.
When Windows is detected (which will occur when you are running
in Windows Enhanced Mode), conflicting WaveBlaster Tamer
operations will shut down. This includes recognition of a
Roland MPU-401 card, external calls to PLAYMIDI.EXE and
SB16SET.EXE (these two Creative Labs utilities don't seem to
operate all that well in enhanced mode--on the other hand, you
still can achieve those options with substitute Windows
applications).
All other functions still work, including MIDI In support on
the SB16 MIDI port, so, with the exception of the above,
WaveBlaster Tamer is fully functional under Windows.
WBTAMER.PIF and WBTAMER.ICO are now included in all
distribution disks--see your Microsoft Windows user manual for
installing DOS applications in Windows using .PIF and .ICO
files. Also, some menu colors will change slightly, to make
them a little easier to read should you be running WaveBlaster
Tamer in Enhanced Mode using a window.
-- 12/19
- A little change in the way WaveBlaster Tamer works in the
Preset Edit area, for your convenience. Before, whenever you
changed a preset, it would be saved, but not be updated in the
WaveBlaster. When you were completely through editing, you
were supposed to upload the entire preset file from the File
Util menu.
Now, every time you press F1, Shift-F1, or F2, WaveBlaster
Tamer will send a changed preset not only to instrument #1 for
temporary auditioning, but also to its actual location in the
WaveBlaster--so you don't have to upload the whole file each
time you change one preset.
-- 12/18
- Added several new demo presets. Added a new file, PRESETS.DOC
to the distribution package that tells you what in the world I
was thinking of when I created these presets.
-- 12/18
- Fixed bug that would cause WaveBlaster Tamer to crash if
multiple Shift-F2s or F9s were pressed.
-- 12/16
- Added F3 (Panic!) to global function keys. This turns all
notes off.
-- 12/16
- Cleaned up Configuration routine to allow longer pathnames, and
added address support for additional true Roland-compatible
MPU-401 MIDI cards.
-- 12/16
- Added the capability of supporting true Roland-compatible
MPU-401 cards. Now, MIDI input can come from SB Midi In port,
Roland MIDI In port, or both. Input from either port will be
sent to the WaveBlaster. (However, the routine chokes on
simultaneous key presses from both keyboards. You can play
both keyboards with WaveBlaster Tamer, but not at the same
instant.)
-- 12/16
- Discovered (to my shame and embarrasement) that some keyboards,
such as the Casio CZ-101 (which turn notes off by sending
Velocity=0 commands rather than NoteOffs) didn't work as well
with my assembler MIDI-In routine as others. But they do now.
-- 12/16
- Cakewalk Apprentice uses a file called PATCHES.INI that
maintains the names of all the patches on a particular sound
module. Now, whenever Waveblaster Tamer saves a .CBK file, it
also creates an .INI file of the same name (e.g., if you save a
file name WBTAMER.CBK, WBTAMER.INI will also be created. If
you know how to import that into your PATCHES.INI file, you'll
be able to put call your new patches by name in Cakewalk.
Details on this operation are available in your Cakewalk manual
and your WaveBlaster Tamer user manual. Included WBTAMER.INI
in the distribution package for you to explore.
-- 12/15
- Up until now, selecting a sample--both in the preset editing
menu and the audition sample menu--required different keystroke
routines to scroll through those parameters than parameters in
every other part of WaveBlaster Tamer. Rewrote routines to
include normal scrolling keystroke routines, so everything
works the same.
-- 12/14
- When you are scrolling through samples in the preset editing
menu, the current preset is immediately uploaded to the
WaveBlaster with the new sample as soon as the sample's name
appears on the screen. If you have a MIDI In device attached to
your MIDI port, you can have one hand on the scrolling key and
the other playing the MIDI In device until you find the sound
you want. If you reject all changes when you are through with
the preset edit screen, the original sample will be restored,
so you don't have to re-upload the preset file.
-- 12/14
- Internal improvements to reduce memory and speed execution.
-- 12/14
Version 1.2 - 12/12/93
-----------------------
- On a morning somewhere between December 5th and 11th, I woke
up with an extraordinarily embarrasing question on my mind:
Why didn't I make WaveBlaster Tamer capable of responding to
MIDI input? Then--using WaveBlaster Tamer as the front
end--I could have a WaveBlaster/keyboard combination that
would act as any other sample-playback keyboard.
I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier, but here it is
now. Just so the program can keep up with you speed demons
out there, I wrote the MIDI IN routines in assembler.
Debugging assembler code always gives me hives, so I hope
you're satisfied with yourselves.
Notes: The demo version of WaveBlaster Tamer quits responding
to MIDI input after a while.
As before, hitting F1 will play a few notes with your
changed preset. What's new is that you can hit
Shift-F1 to send your preset changes to the
WaveBlaster without hearing the audition tones (which
you will be playing instead on your MIDI IN device).
I've added a new preset to the WBTAMER.CBK file that
demonstrates the potential of WaveBlaster Tamer and
your MIDI input device. It's a keyboard split with
Fretless Bass on notes below Middle C and Electric
Piano on notes Middle C on up. -- 12/12
Version 1.1 - 12/05/93
-----------------------
- Fixed preset name pop-up menu to reflect any name changes
entered during an editing session. (In demo mode, change is
not reflected on preset editing screen. -- 12/5
- Fixed default directory suggestion for alternative .MID file
in setup. -- 12/4
- Pressing ESC in initial patch list prior to entering patch
editor leaves unnecessary .BAK file. -- 12/4
- Trying to upload WBTAMER.CBK in the demo version from any
other than logged directory would be unsuccessful and leave a
0-length file. -- 12/4
Version 1.0 - 12/03/93
-----------------------
First version, first release.