Questions and answers

Answer: Defining envelopes

In AMPLINEX 005 Nick Ridley complains of the lack of an envelope with a fast attack but slow release. I too had this problem when I transcribed my version of Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor from BCE to Nucleus. Chris Jordan of Hybrid Technology gave me the following tip which goes some way to solving the problem.

Most instrument definitions use two channels to add richness to the sound. Give one channel a fast attack envelope (Peaked, for example) and the other a slow release envelope (Tailed, for example).

In the Toccata I was trying to recreate a church organ sound. It's not perfect, but it’s pretty effective.

The full organ definition I used was:

"organ" [
2 CHANS
1 CHAN
 Peaked
2 CHAN
 -192 SHIFT    0 OFFSET       128 AMP
 Tailed
EVERY CHAN
 Pipes         Flat
 ON PHSET
]

Pete Christy

Question: POS & PAN

Can anyone tell me the difference between POS and PAN? I know that POS relates to channels and PAN to voices, but how does one affect the other?

Is PAN equivalent to EVERY CHAN POS? If so, then I presume that it is not worth using POS in an instrument that might have the stereo position adjusted from the Mixing Desk, as the POS commands will be superseded?

Quentin Stafford-Fraser

Answer: Using the Music 2000

I would like to reinforce the favourable opinions expressed in both reviews of the Music 2000 MIDI Interface in AMPLINEX 005. I have an Alesis HR-16 drum machine and a Yamaha FB-01 FM sound generator, and the level of control that the Music 2000 offers over both these instruments is amazing. A very professional sound can be made with just the Alesis Drum Machine working alongside the Music 5000.

I look forward to future software support for the MIDI IN socket so that the unit's full potential may be realised. The ability to send out MIDI system exclusive messages that request a MIDI instrument to dump voice or pattern data, via the MIDI IN socket, to disc rather than tape will, I hope, be supported. Any comments from Hybrid Technology as to when the MIDI IN socket will be supported and what restrictions may apply?

Les Pearce

Question: Music 2000 and Casio CZ5000

I have been trying out my Music 2000 with it coupled up to a Casio CZ5000 to which I have access. Although the Casio is not velocity sensitive I expected to be able to balance relative volume levels of each of the channels by system exclusive commands (using MIDIOUT) as shown in the examples on page 56 of the Music 2000 User Guide.

I have tried this using the data published by Casio in their guidebook for MIDI but I have been unable to achieve any variations in the output levels of either the individual channels or the instrument as a whole. Can anyone (especially Rick Cocker who did trials using both pieces of equipment - see AMPLINEX 005 News and Reviews) help please?

Ted Royffe

Question: Using Echo

I've come across a snag in a piece I'm doing at the moment. I've two voices tied up on an 'Echo'ed riff part, and when I try to change the 'mix' this part, if included, locks the whole thing up.

I assume that it's because in 'Echo' one voice is slightly behind the other and would follow on into the next mix which would then corrupt it.

I've tried inserting rests into the other parts to compensate for the delay, but this just makes the piece sound awful. Any ideas?

Earl Bonnar

Answer: More on the Opus Challenger

I am afraid the problem is hopeless, judging by letters received from both Hybrid Technology ("...this is due to the Challenger's illegal use of the 1MHz bus...") and Opus ("I am sorry but unfortunately because of the arrangements which Acorn made for the use of the 1MHz bus, it was not possible to produce Challenger abiding by their full specs...).

Tired of using a tape-bound system, I eventually had to buy a standard Acorn compatible disc drive to replace the Challenger.

Roger Sapolsky

Question: Screen control in AMPLE

In BASIC it is possible to control screen output by the use of VDU21 and VDU6, to hide commands in a !BOOT file. After a *AMPLE command, this no longer seems possible.

Is there a way that screen output can be suppressed from within AMPLE, whilst changing directories in ADFS for example, so as not to disfigure a title screen, etc.

Frances Wymans

---

The AMPLE equivalents to VDU21 and VDU6 are 21#OUT and 6#OUT. They should operate in the same way as the BASIC commands.

Question: AMPLE editor

Has anybody written a decent editor for AMPLE words? The Notepad has several horrible habits, such as losing the end of long lines, limiting the number of lines to one screen full, etc.

The absence of such things as an 'insert/overtype' option, cut and paste, and no way of splitting a line in the middle is really annoying at times. I am considering writing a more comprehensive editor, possibly using Mode 0 and Shadow RAM, but I thought I would check first whether anyone has already done it.

Quentin Stafford-Fraser

Answer: Music 4000 Keyboard repair

Like Jack Wrigley (see Questions & Answers AMPLINEX 005) one of the contact wires in my Music 4000 Keyboard broke. The inside of the Music 4000 seems to be the same as the Symphony Keyboard as described by Jack except that there is no gold plating that I could see (could this mean that the Music 4000 is an inferior product?).

Wanting to get the Music 4000 repaired as quickly as possible my solution to the problem was slightly different. Instead of ordering a replacement wire I used a piece of a metal guitar string (B medium gauge). When cut to a suitable length and soldered into position it proved to be an excellent substitute. This happened about three months ago and since then I've had no problems with the keyboard.

Jimmy Ryan

Question: trapping AMPLE errors

Does anybody know a way of trapping system errors, such as '! Already present'?

What I am after is an equivalent of the BASIC 'ON ERROR' statement.

Quentin Stafford-Fraser

Question: Solidisk Shadow RAM

I was disappointed to discover that the Hybrid Music System doesn't support the 128k 2MEG Solidisk Shadow RAM (even though I enclosed a note with my order asking Hybrid Technology if there were any problems!). Ringing Hybrid I learnt that the Solidisk MANAGER ROM does not support OSBYTE 111 which they say is 'official' and they blamed Solidisk for writing non-official software.

However, the BBC Master's Operating System uses OSBYTEs 108 and 114 to operate Shadow RAM (see Master Reference Guide part 1) and it is stated that OSBYTE 111 is unused!

Ringing Solidisk I got the 'permanently engaged - we'd rather not know your problem' response. Could anyone throw some light on this? Who is using the right OSBYTE and what can I do to get Shadow RAM going?

I can actually get Shadow mode if I operate *SHADOW from within AMPLE but the notes become distorted and triggered at incorrect times. It sounds as though there are problems arising from some sort of timing conflict.

I can do a bit of assembler - so even if there is no quick and easy answer I am prepared to modify the MANAGER ROM and/or the AMPLE C.PREPARE file, in order to effect a fix, if anyone can point me in the general direction.

Peter Middleton

Question: Mixes and sub-mixes

I don't think that the Studio 5000 User Guide explains sub-mixes very well. Whenever I have made one, it turns out to be exactly like a normal mix. Should it be?

I tried to use some sub-mixes in the last piece I wrote, because, when the mixes changed, the whole piece slowed down for about 3 beats, and it sounded as if the system had got all mixed up.

As using sub-mixes did not change this, after trying several ideas, I ended up changing the instruments by putting, for example,

1 VOICES Upright
1 VOICE 128 VOL -1 PAN

on every player, in the part before the voices had to change.

There must be a way to avoid this 'mix-up'! Any suggestions?

Diccon Maude

Question: BBC Master Editor

Will AMPLE Nucleus ever be able to use the BBC Master 128 editor in the same was as other Acorn languages? That is, allow users to *EDIT a disk file or word text and then switch back to AMPLE restored to the state they were in when the *EDIT command was issued?

It would be really nice to be able to do this.

Ian Hulin

Question: MIDI instrument selection

I would like some help in selecting a MIDI instrument compatible with the Music 2000 MIDI interface. Following the recent reviews of the Music 2000 (AMPLINEX 005) I have decided to get one. However, this decision implies the purchase of an adequate MIDI instrument which will be compatible with it. This is not so easy for a resident of a country (France) where electronic music dealers have never heard of the Music 5000!

At my request, one of them recently demonstrated the Roland MT32 multi-timbre sound module. Since I can't play a keyboard, I don't intend to buy one, but the module had to be connected to a keyboard to perform the demonstration.

At first blush, I was impressed by the 128 preset sounds, let alone the small size of the module, it's affordable price, etc.

Since the dealer was unable to tell me whether it would work with the Music 5000/2000, I wrote to Hybrid Technology and solicited their advice. All I got was a one-line answer stating that the MT32 is fully compatible with the Music 2000, but does not respond to the Music 5000 commands. In other words, the MT32 is not what I need. Unfortunately, Hybrid didn't suggest any suitable synthesiser make, as I had requested.

Will an AMPLINEX member be kind enough to help me decide what to buy? In a few words, the marvel apparatus should be moderately priced, it should bring me 5 additional VOICES, a host of good sounds including percussion, but need not necessarily be programmable (if the choice of presets is large enough).

Roger Sapolsky

Question: Lyrics and dynamics

I am thinking of writing lyrics to some of my tunes. Is there any way I can print short phrases on the screen as the solo instruments play the melody?

I have tried including words inside the parts by using

"phrase" $OUT

at the appropriate point in the melody, but the phrases are always printed out too early.

Also, is there a way of increasing or decreasing tempo or dynamics on every voice of every part simultaneously? Perhaps there is a short way that could be put into part9? Programming is not my forte, so maybe members could suggest how this can be done.

Michael Harbour

Question: Island Logic Music System

There must be many AMPLINEX members who, like me, have copies of the Island Logic Music System. I have a number of music files and linker files saved on disc, and I would be interested to learn if it is possible to convert these to AMPLE Nucleus. Obviously, it would only be the actual music data that could be used.

I imagine that it might be possible to write a program to do the job, but, unfortunately, I don't have enough knowledge to do it!

If anyone has any ideas, I should be interested in hearing them.

Tim Holgate

Question: Current volume settings

How do I get hold of the current volume setting on a part including the effects of +L and -L statements which have been operating on that player? I tried stealing the MVAL? example from the AMPLE Nucleus Programmer Guide and the low byte resulting from 6 FVAR?, but it only told me the last parameter I passed in the last =L statement. Any ideas from any of you demon AMPLE hackers?

Ian Hulin

Question: MIDI messages and software

I am using a Roland TR505 drum machine and a Yamaha FB-01 expander unit with the Music 2000 and am still in the experimental stage.

The TR505 appears to work extremely well with the Music 2000 except that the example in the manual for slowing or increasing the tempo using MIDI will not work as written.

The manual suggests:

READY
1 VOICES MIDIRT
3 MIDILINE
X
64 16 -T //// //// //// ////

but I find I must input:

64 16 -T X/// //// //// ///X

The Yamaha FB-01 appears to be okay also, although I am disappointed with some of the voices. I am, however, having trouble moving from voice bank to voice bank which I believe requires a system exclusive message and I have yet to determine the message to do it.

I've tried MIDIOUT but the FB-01 requires the voice data in pairs which needs MIDIWOUT and I've yet to determine whether &F0 and &F7 beginning and end message are sent as single bytes and the others as pairs or the whole message in pairs. I would appreciate any information as to the bytes to send or on the experience of other users.

Does anyone know, also, of any BBC software which will do FM voice editing for the FB-01 in a similar way to the program sold by Yamaha for their computer or to those for the Atari ST?

Michael Mellor

Question: 'Save Me' Hang-up

Thanks for publishing my arrangement of the Queen tune 'Save Me' (AMPLINEX 006). However, your comment about the program 'hanging' part way through concerns me because it works perfectly on my computer - a BBC B series 7 with Acorn DFS and Watford 32K Sideways RAM (not accessible by AMPLE to my annoyance).

I once had a similar problem with another AMPLE program which got so far then zipped through one section as if on fast-forward. The really odd thing was I SPOOLed it off as a text file and EXECed it back into the computer and saved it as normal after which it worked just fine. What is going on?

Mike Dobson

Answer: 'Save Me' hang-up

The 'hang' in the 'Save Me' tune in AMPLINEX 006 is caused by a bug in older versions of the M.FX1A module where PLAY strings longer than about 16 characters cause the 'hang'. Newer versions can be much longer and even spread over more than 1 line using $12 and $+. For example,

"12-1abc" "de2fg" $12 $+ PLAY

More than one PLAY does not work.

The solution is get a newer version of the M.FX1A module; I use the one from the Music 4000 disc. Alternatively, use sub-sections. For example,

 "part1A" [ part1a part1b part1c part1d part1e]

 "part2A" [ part2a part2b part2c part2d part2e]

 "part1B" [part1f part1g]

 "part2B" [part2f part2g]

 "12-1A2B" PLAY

Ian L Hubbard

Question: Printing AMPLINEX files

I have just bought a printer, and hurriedly plugged it to my system. After selecting the PRINT ON option from the AMPLINEX Introduction menu, it appears that printing begins as soon as a file has been selected (e.g. Questions and Answers) from the main menu, and its first page displayed. But what if I want a printout of certain selected pages, not the whole section?

I am an absolute beginner in the art of printing, so any help will be welcome - unless selective printing of a page from within AMPLINEX is just not possible!

Roger Sapolsky

---

In response to your request some new facilities have been added to the A.MPLINEX program. For more details see the 'Printing AMPLINEX data' notes in the Introduction section.

Editor's note:

The comments following some of the questions above are only my opinions on the subject and should not be taken as definitive answers.

Your comments are most welcome on any of the questions posed, whether they supplement, confirm or correct any I have expressed.

---

Published in AMPLINEX 007, September 1988