Programming Sound Cards

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Programming Sound Cards / Programming Sound Cards.iso / sound_83 / readme.!!! < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1995-01-01 | 15.3 KB | 279 lines

╓───────────────────────────────────────────╖ Contents of ║ S Y N Z A P 1 0 . Z I P ║ Archive: ║···········································║ ║ Synthe/Zap! Instrument Editor ║ ║···········································║ ║ A program to create new instrumental ║ ║ timbres and modify existing ones. For ║ ║ use with the Ad Lib* music synthesizer. ║ ║···········································║ ║ Beta test release 1.00, 04-15-90 ║ ║ Copyright (C) 1990 ║ ║ by J Meeks & Machina Sapiens ║ ╙───────────────────────────────────────────╜ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── README.!!! The text file you are reading now. SZ.EXE Executable program file to create new instrument sounds for the Ad Lib music synthesizer, and to modify existing ones. I think you'll agree this program beats the Ad Lib Instrument Maker hands down for functionality, features, appearance, and feel. This is a demonstration copy. It has all the features of the full version that registered users receive, except that it will not save the instruments you have made. If you send in the shareware registration fee (see below), I will send you the latest version of the full-featured program. To run Synthe/Zap! you must have the following: An IBM PC* compatible computer, the faster the better An EGA* or VGA* display with at least 256k of RAM A monitor able to display the EGA's 640x350, 16-color mode A Microsoft or compatible mouse and its driver program An Ad Lib music synthesizer and its sound driver program Both the mouse drifver and the sound driver must be installed in memory before the Synthe/Zap! program is run! If the mouse driver is missing, just about all you'll be able to do is quit (use the Esc key). If the sound driver hasn't been loaded, your computer will very likely lock up, forcing you to turn the power off or hit the reset switch to reboot. Copy this and all the other files into one subdirectory, change the active directory to that one, then run this program. Try playing around with various controls, then see how the notes sound. Read SYNZAP10.TXT for more complete instructions on how to operate Synthe/Zap! Have fun! Please tell me what you think, as that's the only way the program will act the way YOU like! I will try to mention all contributors to the program in the documentation. The program was compiled using Turbo Pascal* 5.5, and has local symbol information and debug information turned on as well as stack and range checking and math coprocessor use and emulation, all conspiring to make it a bulky file. This will be remedied in the final version, allowing larger map and table files, etc. The program is very heavily slanted towards the object-oriented paradigm. Without TP5.5 I doubt I could have had this ready by now. Even with OO, it's a fairly complex project, totalling, at last count, over 12,000 lines of source code. I am pleased that a lot of the object classes I made for this program could be (and have been) generalized to make very useful tools for use in any kind of software. These will definitely turn up over and over again in my future programs. Many other objects and routines I developed in connection with other projects, but they came in very handy when writing Synthe/Zap! SZ.PAS Turbo Pascal 5.5 source code for the top level only of the instrument editor. To actually use this you would need to have the JSys-3 package, which contains all the general-purpose toolbox units used in this program. If you like the compact, powerful programming style these heavy-duty routines make possible, contact me for details on becoming a member of the JSys-3 Development Team. Generally revised each release. SYNZAP10.TXT Some documentation on the operation of the Synthe/Zap! program. ASCII text file with some IBM gracphics characters; formatted for printing (79 characters wide, so use 12 cpi if possible; just type COPY SYNZAP10.TXT LPT1: at the DOS command prompt). Present in the first release, this file will be much expanded in future releases and additional documents will be added. TRIPMUSI.CHR A BGI stroked font, based on the Triplex font provided with Borland's BGI Toolkit, but with some high-order characters replaced by music symbols. This file must be in the same disk directory you are running the program from (ordinarily the same one that holds the program itself). This font includes all the notes, staff, clefs, and other musical notation used in the program, as well as others to be used in the sequencer program, Synthe/Seq!, which I will be working on next. The program will operate without this file, but the display will be mangled and you will not be able to use it easily. This font file is for use ONLY as part of the Synthe/Zap! package. Present in first release, albeit not quite in its finished form (but all of the characters used by Synthe/Zap! are perfect). EGAVGA.BGI Borland's BGI graphics driver file for EGA and VGA displays. This file must be in the same disk directory you are running the program from (ordinarily the same one that holds the program itself), or the program will not be able to operate at all. For use ONLY as part of the Synthe/Zap! package. Present in first release. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╓────────────╖ ║ IMPORTANT! ║ ╓──────────────────────────────╨────────────╨────────────────────────────────╖ ║ The Synthe/Zap! program, all associated files (except Borland's ║ ║ BGI driver file), and all elements of the JSys-3 User Interface are ║ ║ Copyright (C) 1990 by J Meeks & Machina Sapiens! ║ ╙────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╜ This software is the copyrighted intellectual property of J Meeks and Machina Sapiens; I am distributing it as shareware. This does not mean that it is free; it means that you have a limited right to try the program and decide if it fits your needs. If you decide to use it, please pay for it. Send your registration fee of $22.50 (check or money order) to: J Meeks / Machina Sapiens 3808 Greenbay Rd. #3 Richmond, VA 23234 and I will send you the latest version of the fully-featured program. The program in this package is a demonstration with all the capabilities of the full version except the save-an-instrument function. You can use it to exper- iment with sounds, loading old ones to alter or creating new ones from scratch. You can also play simple tunes using the mouse and the test play staff. But to save your audio creations, you will need the registered shareware copy. I've made every effort to ensure that the software runs correctly and performs its intended function. However, the variations in computer systems and the uncontrolled nature of the uses to which they are put forces me (like virtually every other programmer in the known world) to make the following tedious and horribly familiar-sounding disclaimer: Machina Sapiens, its parent company, Intellectronics, and the author, J Meeks make no warranties, either express or implied, concerning the suitability of this software for a particular application. Under no circumstances shall Machina Sapiens, Intellectronics, or J Meeks be held accountable for any damages resulting to a computer system due to the use or operation of this software package; this includes but is not limited to damage to equipment, storage media, and programs and data files, as well as loss of data, time and business resulting from such damage. Of course, if your copy does not run as it should, PLEASE let me know so I can make it run correctly! I will need to know exact details concerning both your hardware (computer, CPU, clock speed, amount of RAM, disk drives, display type, monitor type, mouse type, etc.) and your software (what's in your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, what other memory-resident programs you use, what version of the Ad Lib sound driver you're using, of course what version of Synthe/Zap! you have, and so on). I want this program to run on every PC compatible that has an EGA or VGA with enough RAM and a matching monitor, a Microsoft compat- ible mouse, and an Ad Lib synthesizer. FREE distribution of this demo package is welcome, as long as ALL THE FILES are distributed unchanged, and no files are added or removed. Bulletin Board Sysops are welcome to convert the archive format into their local favorite (Arc, Zip, Pak, Zoo, LHArc, etc.), as long as none of the contents are deleted or modified, no files are added, and NO ARCHIVE OR FILE COMMENTS ARE ADDED! IT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN TO CHARGE ANY FEE OR PRICE for this software, nor for media containing the software, nor for the service of providing it! This means that shareware/freeware libraries who pack disks with programs and sell the disks MAY NOT PUT THIS SOFTWARE ON THEIR DISKS FOR SALE! I plan to make more software for the Ad Lib music synthesizer, as well as programs for MIDI, and I want to make them generally available. If there's no problem with unauthorized distribution, then we will all be the beneficiaries. Thanks! ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Release History Release 1.00 -- First beta test -- 04-15-90 First properly functioning version incorporating shareware notice. All previous versions were for my own use only. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Coming Attractions I plan to add the following features in upcoming releases: Much improved documentation, including a complete tutorial on FM and additive synthesis. There will be a full set of instrument files demonstrating exactly what effects different control settings have on the sound produced. Two more boxes displaying graphically what the envelope settings you have selected for the Modulator and the Carrier (Attack Rate, Decay Rate, Sustain Level, Sustain Sound On/Off, and Release Rate) will 'look' like. This will help those not as familiar with the ADSR envelope generator to visualize the timbre that will result, be it staccato or bowed, dramatic or subtle. The ability to load instruments from, and/or save them to, bank (.BNK) files as well as the presently supported instrument (.INS) files. This will include a friendlier alternative to the bank managing software that Ad Lib provides. With the bank file interface will come the choice of a waveform for the Modu- lator and one for the Carrier. You can select from the usual sine wave; a wave having positive half-cycles only (sounds sort of like a rectangle wave); a full-wave rectified sine wave (a bit like a triangle wave); or full-wave rect- ified with the second half of each cycle chopped out (sounds sort of like a sawtooth wave). Scrollable pick lists for file names (or in the case of bank files, instrument names) so you can just pick and shoot, instead of having to remember all those cryptic filenames (and you will likely make a LOT of instruments). Some sort of support for playing a music (.ROL) file from within the program, checking first to be sure that piece includes the instrument you are working on. Also possibly a very simple construction kit-type sequencer. Help screens telling exactly how to use the program. This is very nearly superfluous, as the fell of the program is so much like a real analog synth that it is almost automatic. Still, for completeness it ought to be there, and context-sensitive to boot. Sigh. An Association of Shareware Professionals notice and logo! I plan to join as soon as I find where to send my dues. I think this program is good enough for me to make the big jump. Whatever else you suggest that strikes me as useful or desirable, or that catches some obscure corner of my imagination... ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * Trademark notices Machina Sapiens, Synthe/Zap!, Synthe/Seq!, and JSys-3 are trademarks of Machina Sapiens and J Meeks. Intellectronics is a trademark of Intellectronics and J Meeks. Ad Lib, Ad Lib Personal Computer Music System, Ad Lib Music Synthesizer Card (ALMSC), Ad Lib Instrument Maker, and Ad Lib Visual Composer are trademarks of Ad Lib, Inc. Borland and Turbo Pascal are trademarks of Borland International. IBM PC, EGA, VGA, and (for all I know) the shapes of the digits 0 through 9 inclusive are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Well, there it is. Play around with it, take a look at the top-level source code if you like, and PLEASE tell me what you think. I really appreciate your input! If you have any questions or comments please leave me a message on: Blue Ridge Express BBS 15 lines, 300/1200/2400 bps, Chesterfield, VA 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. (804) 790-1675 Free call from Richmond area. You can leave messages in the Program conference (sub-board), of which I am a member, the MIDI conference, the Hobbies conference, where I'm sub-Sysop, or in the Main area. I'm also available on CompuServe, though I can't afford to check in as often as I'd like to. My user number is 72711,257 if you want to EMail me there. The best place to contact me concerning this and other music software is the IBMNEW forum, in the MUSIC message area. Alternatively, you can mail me a letter, disk, etc. at the same address you use to send your shareware registration fee: J Meeks / Machina Sapiens 3808 Greenbay Rd. #3 Richmond, VA 23234 ...and hope it arrives before the next major glacial epoch... ╓────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╖ ║ ■■ Enjoy the software, and don't forget to ROCK 'n' ROLL! ■■ ║ ╙────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╜