AMPLINEX 008

AMPLINEX issue 008 was published in November 1988. Each AMPLINEX magazine is stored as a 200K single-sided 80-track disk image file (.ssd file type). The image can be used to create disks for a BBC Micro or can be loaded into a BBC emulator. For the disks to run, the BBC (real or emulated) must have an AMPLE Nucleus ROM installed and be running the Hybrid Music System.

News and reviews

In this issue we have reviews of three new music discs from Hybrid Technology and some first impressions of the Music 2000 MIDI interface from two members who have recently added this unit to their Hybrid Music System.

'Return to the Homeland' by Obernell

Roy Follett

Right at the outset I must state that I found this disc to be the best one I have ever heard from the Hybrid Technology stable. The more I play it, the more I like it. Whether Obernell is a person or a cooperative is not clear but, he/she or they have produced a set of original tunes, coupled with some stunning sounds.

I am of the opinion that even with all the infinite variations that can be achieved with AMPLE, the sound that is generally produced by the Music 500(0), sounds like a Music 500(0). This disc has changed that. Give yourself a treat, buy it, and listen to 'Flight by Night'.

What's more, while you are listening, type SHOW and you will find it's all done with 16 words. Not 75 and half-a-dozen 'mixes' that get in the way, and cause the music to hiccup. Some of the pieces have only eight or nine words! Listening to 'Flight by Night' makes me wonder why people are demanding MIDI interfaces to drive other synthesisers, when this one has not been fully explored.

Listen to 'Deseamos Estar Juntos' and hear what can be achieved with 9 words. After that, load a real foot-tapper, 'Dreamer'. This one is extravagant (16 words!) and is my favourite - the guitar sounds as if it is being played by a real guitarist, not a computer.

If I were awarding stars, with 5 stars being the top, then this disc would score:

Tunes ***** Sound ***** Programming ***** Value for money *****

I can only repeat myself, BUY IT.

'Music City 2' by Various

Kevin Doyle

In this second Music City compilation, editor Ian Guinan brings together a collection of popular tunes written by various contributors to the Music City service.

As with 'Music City 1', the emphasis seems to be on accurate reproduction of the original (or most familiar) arrangement of the music. The Doors song 'Riders on the Storm' (programmed by AMPLINEX member Bernie Dawson) seemed to me to be a fairly successful AMPLE reproduction of the original, and also managed to provide (optional) lyrics timed with the music.

In 'Music City 1' Ian Guinan tackled what must be one of the landmarks in popular electronic music - 'I feel love' by Donna Summer. Nothing if not ambitious, he moves forward a decade on this disc, to program a version of New Order's 'Blue Monday'. Although it can't reproduce the mass of special effects and treatments used in the original, his version shows that the Music 500(0) can attempt such feats and still emerge with credit.

In contrast, an AMPLE rendition of the Nina Simone version of 'Baby just cares for me' sounds merely lifeless and stilted with its clipped piano sound and strict rhythm.

Others amongst the 15 songs included on this disc are 'Into the groove' and 'Papa don't preach' by Madonna, 'Tomorrow never knows' by Lennon and McCartney, 'The house that Jack built' by Jack'N'Chill, 'I think we’re alone now' by Tiffany and 'Natural' by Howard Jones.

You can judge something of the quality of the music yourself with the inclusion of one of the pieces ('Rat In Mi Kitchen' by UB40) on this disc. In short, if you like your AMPLE music to be familiar, and you're familiar with the 'Top 40' - this disc is for you.

'AMPLE Vibrations' by David Reed

Roy Follett

This is the second AMPLE music disc from David Reed (his first 'AMPLE Bytes Back' was reviewed in AMPLINEX 001). It is another good selection of well-known tunes, eighteen pieces in all, ranging from 'Toccata in D Minor' by J S Bach to two tunes by Klaus Wunderlich, via three pieces of music from 'The Phantom of the Opera' by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

It is generally accepted that AMPLE is splendid at producing organ sounds, and the organ features quite a few times during this disc. But in the 'Toccata in D Minor' I feel that David has produced one of the best organ sounds heard in a long while. When I am alone, I turn the volume up and revel in it - it makes what hair I have left, stand on end. It must be the next best thing to being in an organ loft. You can judge for yourself since 'Toccata in D Minor' is included in this issue's Music section.

There appear to be two schools of thought about AMPLE music. Those in the first prefer music they recognize; those in the second value originality and creativity. If you are in the first category, you will like this disc a lot, and will find plenty of good music. Listeners in the second category will not find much of interest.

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All of the discs reviewed above are available from:

Hybrid Technology Unit 3, Robert Davies Court Nuffield Road CAMBRIDGE CB4 1TP

priced £4.95 inclusive of postage and packing.

As we went to 'press', Hybrid Technology announced the release of two more music discs - 'AMPLE DCT', a selection of material from the pages of the AMPLE DCT database, and 'Contrast' by Pilgrim Beart. We will be reviewing both these discs in AMPLINEX 009 (January 1989).

The Music 2000 - first impressions

Roger Cawkwell

Being the proud possessor of a DX7 synthesiser I opted to wait for the Music 2000 MIDI interface rather than use up my hardware budget on the Music 4000 keyboard.

The unit arrived and was attached, the manual was read, and the M.M2 module was booted into place. I typed

READY 1 VOICES MIDIV C

and was immediately rewarded with a middle C from the DX7. I haven't looked back since. There have been no snags apart from the ones I've created myself by not reading the manual thoroughly enough.

My next move was to try adapting some of my existing Music 5000 pieces. This was simplicity itself for most of the pieces; all I had to do was adapt the existing mix by putting 'MIDIV' in place of some of the usual instrument names, or (as suggested in the Music 2000 manual) by adding the supplied 'mix9' which contains all the MIDI information you're likely to require.

If you use 'mix9' you must change the PLAY instruction. For example, if you previously had

"1234-1abc" PLAY

then this must be changed to

"1234-19abc" PLAY

Obviously, if your parts contain instructions specific to the Music 5000 hardware, such as VOL, PAN, CHAN, instrument, or waveform changes, these will have no effect on your MIDI instrument.

To combine the sounds of the Music 5000 and a MIDI unit you will need to mix the audio outputs. I have the outputs of both my DX7 and Music 5000 permanently plugged into a Tascam PortaOne anyway, so this was no problem. Naturally, there is a difference in audio quality between the two synthesisers (compare the price tags!) but for some strange reason this is less apparent when the DX7 is under computer control.

The mono-timbral DX7 isn't really exploiting the capabilities of the AMPLE/Music 2000 combination at all; at the moment I'm using my own 'pseudo split' DX7 voice programs which can only deliver two or, at the most, three different timbres at a time (in glorious mono!). I'm looking forward to trying out the system with a multi-timbral unit such as a Roland D110/M32 or Kawai K1M.

As far as I can tell, without actually having tried these units (i.e. by generalising from my experience with the DX7 and having read some of the manuals), one should have full control over these units; dynamics, voice selection, system exclusive, etc. If you really want to, you should be able to edit voices from AMPLE, but you'll have to write your own editor!

You don't have to use the Music 2000 from AMPLE, by the way. I have Martin Russ's DX editing and library software (written in BASIC and machine code with the BEEB-MIDI unit in mind) and, with a slight re-write of the machine code to aim the MIDI data at addresses appropriate to the 2000, it's worked perfectly.

I've started working on some C/MIDI applications (using Beebug C) and have had perfectly acceptable results with MIDI OUT; at the moment I've only tried relatively trivial things - playing notes, phrases, chords (with transposition and tempo change), crude editing of DX7 voices, a monophonic note-processor, etc.

With MIDI IN, of course, I have had to resort to assembler to get any results at all and I'm coming up against the same sort of snags Scott Mackie has reported elsewhere (see AMPLINEX 006 and 007). However, I'm still working on it...

I have to agree with the view that the Music 2000 unit is way over-priced. Hybrid has apparently decided that £140 + VAT is the sum to charge whatever they're selling. By contrast, AMPLE Nucleus plus the Music 5000 is a good deal, and the comparison is inevitable.

The Music 2000 plus Nucleus ROM plus all modules (except for M5) - i.e. side-stepping the Music 5000 completely - would seem to be a more comparable package. Any comments, Hybrid?

AMPLE room for expansion?

Richard Bettis

To judge by the Questions and Answers section in AMPLINEX 007, the introduction of the Music 2000 has aroused the interest of many members, so I'll offer my first impressions of using the Music 2000 MIDI interface and a Roland MT-32 expander.

Following a recent pay rise, I splashed out what felt like vast amounts of cash on a Music 2000 (£160) and a Roland MT-32 (about £400). As the Music 2000 has already been reviewed in detail, I will merely say that I've had no problems with mine so far, and say something about the MT-32.

To look at, the MT-32 is a black box about the size of two Music 500(0)s side-by-side. On the front it has a few buttons, a knob, and a backlit LCD display. At the back there are MIDI In, Out and Thru DIN sockets, two output jack sockets and a power supply socket.

Inside, the electronics provide a synthesiser that is superficially similar to the Music 500(0). There are eight music channels (Roland call them 'Parts'), each of which can play a different instrument ('Timbre'), with control over volume and stereo position.

After that the differences start to become apparent. The MT-32 can play (typically) up to 16 voices at once (in certain circumstances this could be increased to 32) and these can be shared between the instruments at will.

This means that the 'mix' can have up to 32 voices (the limit set by the M2 module), and as long as they aren't all actually playing a note at the same time the MT-32 will play its notes on whichever 'instruments' are required.

In practice, I've yet to run out of MIDI voices, and the 'scrimp & save' techniques sometimes required for the Music 500(0) can be forgotten.

In addition to this new found freedom in voices, there is a special channel set up just for percussion - no more Music 500(0) CHANs eaten up by complex 'drum kits'.

So what does it sound like?

The main weak point (to my mind) of the Music 500(0) is its percussion effects. The 'rhythm' part of the MT-32 has 30 sounds, from a basic drum kit to 'ethnic' instruments. These are PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) samples of actual instruments, and are thus very realistic indeed.

The eight main parts can take any of the 128 built-in Timbres. These range from some very realistic imitations - a range of strings, brass, woodwind, fretted and keyboard instruments - to some powerful 'synth' sounds. PCM samples are used in conjunction with the sort of sound-building techniques used by the Music 500(0), so that a trumpet sound has a sampled attack and a synthesised sustained note, giving maximum realism for a low effort.

My own personal favourites are the 'breathy' Pan-pipes and Whistle sounds, something I've never heard from the Hybrid hardware.

In addition to the 128 preset Timbres, there is space for 64 user-programmed ones. These can only be set up using MIDI system exclusive commands, and I've yet to delve into these.

There is also a built-in reverberation effect, so you can also forget those very short 'Echo's which you might use to add 'presence' to your Music 500(0) and which take so many voices.

The Music 2000 allows you to use both MIDI and Music 5000 instruments in the same piece of music, so you can still keep those sounds which are better on the Hybrid instrument - piano sounds on the MT-32 are very weak, for instance.

You can play the MT-32 voices using any normal method - i.e. music words, notes at the '%' prompt, the Music 4000 keyboard or the keyboard utility program from AMPLINEX 005.

So that's the plus points - but there are one or two drawbacks. Some of these are an inherent part of any MIDI expander. The control of volume and stereo position uses MIDI 'Controller' values, not the familiar POS, PAN and VOL. However, it's a matter of moments to write the equivalent 'pan' and 'vol' words in AMPLE. Also, the MT-32 doesn't respond to the Music 500(0) sound programming words - CHANS, Flat, Reedy etc.

You'll also need either two amplifiers or some sort of mixer to hear both synthesisers at the same time.

The Music 2000 driver module (M.M2) does take up extra memory, but as the instrument definitions are built into the expander, not stored as words in memory, you can actually end up with more room for your music.

I also have one or two gripes about the MT-32 itself. These mostly concern the documentation supplied with it. The section describing the buttons and how to use them is OK, but the technical description - how to use the unit to its full potential with MIDI system exclusive programming etc. - is frankly abysmal. The actual details are there, in a form which I can only describe as 'user hostile', but what it all means and how it can be used isn't even mentioned.

Some of the more advanced features of the MT-32, such as user-programming are shrouded in unnecessary darkness because of poor information from Roland, and are in any case far more complex than those on the Music 5000 - more complex even than the original Music 500 and AMPLE BCE!

So, to conclude, the MT-32 is a powerful piece of hardware which can add new, highly detailed and realistic sounds to your music, most notably its sampled percussion sounds. It can also increase the flexibility of AMPLE by allowing more voices and a greater freedom of voice allocation.

I certainly don't regret having parted with my hard earned money - it's just that music contributions to AMPLINEX may be suspended while I revel in my new found freedom!

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As some members may have seen in the BBC micro press, Hybrid Technology have released a new product called the 'Music 5000 Synthesiser Junior'. This is a package consisting of the Music 5000 synthesiser, a 32K ROM, disc and manual, which provides a cheaper alternative to the Studio 5000 package - £99 as opposed to £161.

The software provides a graphics interface for such activities as 'Mixing Desk', 'Instrument Designer', 'Staff Editor', 'File Manager' and 'Music Arranger'. A three-octave music keyboard is created using the BBC computer's keys and a pointer and icons provide the means to move between different parts of the system.

The system is not AMPLE-based, but the system can be upgraded to the standard Studio 5000 by buying the Music 5000 software upgrade in the same way as Music 500 (AMPLE BCE) owners. The upgrade still costs £69.

The Music 5000 Synthesiser Junior will be available in January 1989 and we will be reviewing the system in our January issue (AMPLINEX 009).

Hybrid Technology have also announced some changes in their price list: the price of the Symphony keyboard upgrade pack has increased from £47 to £69 and the footswitch for the same keyboard from £11.50 to £15.

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Viola4 Dance

by Philip Jones This was written using the excellent viola4 instrument from AMPLINEX 001. I think the sharing of imaginative instruments is one of the most useful parts of AMPLINEX - please don't drop it. (*) This piece contains a couple of useful percussion effects you can use. The "snare" has a falling pitch and works best used at the same time as a heavier drum sound. "sonar" and "boom" should be used sparingly. (* Editor's note: We will publish them for as long as we receive them.)

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.VIOLA4D

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Toccata in D minor

by David Reed Composed by: J S Bach From the album 'AMPLE Variations' Courtesy of Hybrid Technology

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.TOCCATA

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Walking in the Air

by David King Composed by: Howard Blake Courtesy of AMPLE DCT

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.SNOWMAN

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Rat In Mi Kitchen

by Adrian McGuiness Composed by: UB40 Courtesy of Music City This is just one of the 15 tracks featured on 'Music City Two', the new compilation album from Hybrid price £4.95. The album contains new unreleased material as well as the best of MC's downloads. Including; Rendezvous 4, Chicago, Blue Monday, Riders on the Storm, 12th Street Rag, Bergerac Theme, Papa Don't Preach, The Jack That House Built, etc. all faithfully recreated on the Music 5000. Get your copy now!

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.RATINMI

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Mission Impossible

by A J P McMaster Composed by: Lalo Schifrin This piece was adapted from original sheet music published in "Bumper book of TV Themes" by International Music Publications. I have made what I like to think are improvements to it, but it really needs a frantic conga player to capture the atmosphere of the TV series version. It's not that bad - at least it's short.

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.MISSION

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

The MIDI Syndrome

by Mark A J Mulders (c) 1988 by Mark A.J. Mulders Composed for the A&B Computing MIDI Competition June 1988 Mark A.J. Mulders van Rooylaan 55 4871 SE Etten-Leur The Netherlands Composed : 20-5-'88 to 22-5-'88 Remixed : 23-5-'88

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.SYNDRO

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Horses Don't Sing

by Michael Mellor

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.HORSESS

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Good-bye to a £1000

by Fatal Diseases A division of Iron Sausage Entertainments Ltd Words and music by Mr H MacSherbet & Mr B Sawplumz Less tasteful music by FATAL DISEASES is available on stereo cassette. See the advertisement in AMPLINEX 005. Written using the M5000 & M4000. The 'jarre' instrument is a 2 CHAN version of 'jarre-4' from AMPLINEX 004. Most of the glorious stereo effects are done by putting the PAN commands in the instrument definitions. Watch out for the surprise at the end.

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.£1000

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Blues at Seven

by Jim Redfarn In this piece, I use loops and the transposition command '@', which I learnt from AMPLINEX 001. This is an eight bar blues in 7/4 time, hence the name: "BLUES AT SEVEN". For the lead voice, I have made a new instrument ('bari'), which sounds a bit like a baritone saxophone. The only other unpreset instrument is the "gutbass". Hope you like it. Jim Redfarn

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.SEVEN

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Axel F

by Andrew Leahy Composed by: Harold Faltermeyer

Source: AMPLINEX 008 disk, file $.AXELF

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

AMPLE Nucleus Help Facility

This utility provides an easy way to check the syntax of AMPLE Nucleus words. The information held in the ROM is based on the word index in the AMPLE Nucleus Programmer Guide which was published in AMPLINEX 003.

Once loaded into Sideways RAM, any AMPLE Nucleus word can be checked by typing *ANHF followed by the AMPLE word (e.g. *ANHF RAND).

The ROM will respond with three pieces of information:

 Fn: a description of the word's function

 IO: the word's inputs and outputs (if applicable)

 St: the word's status (i.e. if it can be used as a command or
     inside a word definition)

 A full stop (.) can be used to abbreviate both the ROM command (e.g. *AN.) and the AMPLE Nucleus word following it (e.g. *AN. G.). All words which match the letter(s) before the full stop will be shown.

The file (U.ANHF) should be loaded into Sideways RAM. For example:

*LOAD U.ANHF 8000 (BBC Model B)

*SRLOAD U.ANHF 8000 4 (BBC Master)

 When loaded, press CONTROL-BREAK to activate the ROM, then type *ANHF for instructions.

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Hints and tips

ROM compatibility

This issue's Hints and Tips starts with some further responses to our request for details of ROMs which do or do not work with AMPLE.

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N R Varley

I have had problems with AMPLE pieces crashing for no apparent reason. This I have now narrowed down to one of my ROMs. This is the Oxford Pascal V2.1. When it has been disabled it causes no further headaches. Incidentally this ROM has caused me problems with other software, e.g. Repton 2.

To your list of well-behaved ROMs I can add the following:

Floppy-wise Plus 1.9
Slave 1.34
Vine Micros Replay System
Acorn Forth 1.03
Watford Quest Paint 1.10
Watford Dumpout 3.2

---

Alan Mothersole

Here are some more to add to your list of AMPLE-compatible ROMs:

(on BBC B and Master 128)
AMX Mouse Support V3.61 (Super Art)
AMX Stop Press 1.9
AMX Stop Press Support 1.9
The BASIC Editor 1.32
ViewSheet 1.0
ADT 1.50
Dumpmaster 2.03
DFS 2.26

Not AMPLE-compatible:

(on Master 128 - not tested on BBC B)
PMS NTQ ROM - When using the STAFF printout routine from the Music 4000 the music is printed OK but on returning to the screen the music has vanished!

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Patrick Black

One problem I have come across is not with ROMs, but with the way I installed them. I have a Care cartridge socket and several ROMs in cartridges. With a Solidisk 2Meg128k board it worked well, but when I replaced this with an Integra-B board from Computech, AMPLE went haywire.

The Care cartridge was plugged into ROM socket 0 on the BBC main board - and that was the problem. Once I'd moved it to the lowest priority socket on the Integra-B, AMPLE worked perfectly.

By the way, add the Integra-B board to the list of those on which you can use the Shadow RAM facility. I had other teething problems with it, but full marks to Computech for the work they put in to solve them. Their latest issue of controlling software works a treat with AMPLE.

Double keyboard voices

Ken Hughes

To play two different instruments together in a music part you can simply use two parts with different instruments on them to play the same piece; but how can you play two different instruments together on the Music 4000 keyboard?

One answer is as follows: press f9 to call up the Jukebox program and load 'Keyboard-general sounds'. Press f2 to enter text mode and edit KEYB to read as shown below,

______________________________________
KEYSET        8 KEYS        8 VOICES
 0 SHARE 2 VOICES
 1 VOICE  Simpleins  2 VOICE  Upright
 2 VOICE -12 TRANS 0 REDUCE 0 0 Spread
   16 Scale     ON Expand    OFF Split
______________________________________
(Note: Expand is ON)

and MAKE the word.

Go back to panel mode and press f1 (play). You may now select any two voices to play together. Press the sustain pedal and, whilst keeping it pressed, press two notes on the Music 4000 keyboard, such as Middle C and the C above it, together. Release the pedal. Both instruments will now sound together when a note is played on the keyboard.

Unfortunately, it is only monophonic and you may need to enter 1 KEYS in command mode to avoid lost notes. The volume of VOICE 2 can be lowered by using the Reduce control, or transposed to another octave with the TRANS control. To cancel the effect just press the sustain pedal.

Synchronising the Music 5000 to tape

Stewart M Wilkie

A simple method of synchronising two separate programs to tape can be used when expensive multi-track recording equipment is not available. This manual method is possible because of the instantaneous effect of the 'PAUSE' facility (controlled by the spacebar) in the Mixing Desk.

Using an old 4-track tape recorder with a pre-amp/headphone for monitoring I have successfully synchronised 16 (two-channel) voices on tape. I have then transferred this to cassette with an added 'live' instrument.

The method is as follows:

1) Create two separate programs each using all 8 (2-channel) voices which if they could be played simultaneously would create a 16-voice piece.

2) Program 1 should have an audible 'click-track' as a leader to the actual music piece itself. I use the following:

1 VOICES Drum 96,XXXXXXXXX

followed by the normal program.

3) Record program 1 on to one track of the tape recorder. Then rewind the tape and switch to another track. Connect pre-amp/headphones which will enable you to hear what you have already recorded on the first track while recording on the second.

4) Load Program 2 into the Mixing Desk and select 'ON PAUSE' via the spacebar.

5) Start recording on the second track - you will hear the 'click-track' through the pre-amp/headphones - keep time with the beat and after the ninth click press the spacebar to start the transfer of program 2 to tape. You must press the spacebar exactly on the beat!

6) Rewind the tape and play back both tracks together - they should be perfect synchronised.

Note: using this method does not give true stereo of course - but this is often the case with small-scale multi-tracking.

If you have a stereo reverb effects unit, simulated stereo can be created by feeding the signals from both tracks through the left and right inputs of the reverb unit when transferring the output of both channels to cassette tape. This simulation happens because (at least on my reverb unit) the reverb signals are out of phase at the output stage and therefore tend to spread out across the sound stage.

Split keyboard volume

Ken Hughes

If you wish to use the excellent split keyboard program from AMPLINEX 007 with a voice in the left-hand section that is louder than the one in the right-hand section then simply add an AMP word such as 90 AMP, at the end of each of the last four lines of 'setup' to adjust the volume.

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Editor's note:

More hints please!

Most AMPLE users have learnt a trick or two along the way, and AMPLINEX wants to share them with those just starting out.

So please don't assume that your idea is too trivial or obvious - it may be just the help someone else is looking for.

Please send in your hint - simple or sophisticated - in time for issue 009.

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

AMPLE tokens

Tony Walduck

AMPLE programs are neither stored nor executed in ASCII format, but are tokenised to save space, as are BASIC and most other languages on micros. A study of the AMPLE Nucleus ROM, and various programs and modules, has generated the following lists of AMPLE word and token equivalences.

AMPLE Nucleus tokens:

00 [ (or 'local' definition)
01 to 0A Indicates a word in an
         INSTALLed or MLOADed module,
         numbered by order of loading
         at the time of program
         definition. The normal
         loading sequence is:

         Studio 4000    Studio 5000
   01       INT            INT
   02       M4             M5
   03       M5             EW
   04       EW             MENU
   05       MENU           FX1A
   06       FX1A           INS1
   07       INS1
   08       KFX

This implies that a maximum of ten modules can be active at any one time.

The next number identifies the actual word within the module - see the separate tables at the end of the AMPLE Nucleus token list.

0B <space> followed by length byte (i.e. multiple spaces)
0C 1-byte decimal number follows
0D 1-byte decimal number follows with ',' implied (i.e. note length)
0E " followed by length byte, then string text (no closing " needed)
0F % followed by length byte, then comment text

10
11
12 GVAR
13 )ELSE(
14 )REP
15
16 )UNTIL(
17
18 IF(
19
1A 2-byte decimal number follows
1B 2-byte hex number follows
1C
1D
1E '
1F )P

20 ] <return>
21
22
23
24
25
26
27 PNUM
28
29
2A )IF
2B REP(
2C )ACT
2D
2E
2F

30
31
32 FOR(
33
34 INDEX
35 COUNT
36 )FOR
37
38
39 #2
3A #11
3B #12
3C #212
3D #2121
3E #213
3F #+

40 #-
41
42
43 #!
44 #B!
45 #B?
46 #?
47 SIGN
48 NOT
49 #<
4A
4B #B12
4C AND
4D OR
4E XOR
4F CODE

50 #OUT
51 <return>
52 <space>
53 EVERY
54 $+
55 $REV
56 ASC
57 LEN
58 $CHR
59
5A
5B
5C $OUT
5D NL
5E
5F $2

60
61
62
63 ^
64 X
65 /
66 ACT
67 \
68 +
69 -
6A =
6B ,
6C ;
6D FAST
6E DISPLAY
6F | (bar)

70 (
71 )
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
7A
7B
7C
7D
7E
7F

80
81
82
83 ARRAY
84 FCOPY
85 FVAR
86 FRAME
87 FRAME!
88 FRAME?
89 MVAL?
8A MVAL!
8B VOICE!
8C
8D ON
8E OFF
8F

90
91 #+!
92 #>
93 #=
94 MAX
95 MIN
96 $12
97 $-
98 VAL
99
9A
9B
9C
9D
9E
9F

A0
A1
A2
A3
A4 IDLE
A5 ACT(
A6 &VAL
A7 OSCLI
A8
A9
AA #*
AB #/
AC RAND
AD RAND!
AE RANDL
AF $STR

B0 &$STR
B1 NOUT
B2 &NOUT
B3 $PAD
B4 $STRIP
B5 SP
B6 ALIGN
B7 MODE
B8
B9
BA QKEY
BB 'L
BC #IN
BD $IN
BE
BF

CO UNUSED
C1 VOICE
C2 RVOICES
C3 VOICES
C4 DURATION
C5 WIND
C6 PAUSE
C7 =T
C8 -T
C9 +T
CA QTIME
CB c
CC C
CD d
CE D
CF e

D0 E
D1 f
D2 F
D3 g
D4 G
D5 a
D6 A
D7 b
D8 B
D9 K(
DA )K
DB :
DC !
DD @
DE BAR
DF ^;

E0 =L
E1 +L
E2 -L
E3 ///
E4 SIMPLEACT
E5 SCORE
E6 P(
E7 ~
E8 HALT
E9 GO
EA SHARE
EB STOP
EC
ED READY
EE
EF

F0
F1
F2
F3 DIM
F4
F5
F6
F7
F8
F9
FA
FB
FC
FD
FE
FF

Many of the unassigned tokens could be used internally in AMPLE as non-user-programmable features. Modules and parts of Nucleus itself could well be programmed in these non-documented and inaccessible parts of AMPLE.

INT definitions (preceded by module number - typically 01):

01 INT
02 METV

M4 definitions (preceded by module number - typically 02):

04 KEYS
08 KEYSET
0B KEYB

M5 definitions (preceded by module number - typically 03 or 02):

01 EVEN
02 ODD
03 PAIR
04 PSENS
05 PEN
06 AEN
07 ONEN
08 CHAN
09 CHANS
0A Simpleins
0B M5TUNE
0C GATE
0D PITCH
0E VEL
0F RM

10 SYNC
11 FM
12 SHIFT
13 OFFSET
14 AMP
15 VOL
16 POS
17 INVERT
18 PHSET
19 PITCHF
1A PAN
1B TRANS
1C DETUNE
1D M5VALS
1E M5INFO
1F M5MIX

EW definitions (preceded by module number - typically 04 or 03):

01 Hollow  .....
02 Bright      .
03 Broad       .
04 Clear       .
05 Hard        .
06 High        .
07 Metal       ..... Waveforms
08 Pipes       .
09 Reedy       .
0A Round       .
0B Syncer      .
0C Sharp       .
0D Pure        .
0E Watery  .....

0F Trill   .....
10 Cycle       .
11 Deepvib     .
12 Delvib      .
13 Drop        .
14 Pow         .
15 Ramp        .
16 Rise        ..... Pitch
17 Slowvib     .     Envelopes
18 Sweep       .
19 Bend        .
1A Vibrato     .
1B Warble      .
1C Wide        .
1D Wow         .
1E Zap     .....

1F Burst   .....
20 Short       .
21 Click       .
22 Tailed      .
23 Echohit     .
24 Verylong    ..... Amplitude
25 Long        .     Envelopes
26 Onoff       .
27 Puff        .
28 Reverse     .
29 Percuss     .
2A Swell       .
2B Soft        .
2C Spike       .
2D Strike      .
2E Tremolo .....

2F Flat    ......... Pitch Envelope

30 Peaked  ......... Amplitude Envelope

MENU definitions (preceded by module number - typically 05 or 04):

01 MENUDISP
02 MENU

FX1A definitions (preceded by module number - typically 06 or 05):

01 PLAY
02 Echo
03 Len
04 Autopan
05 Slide
06 Perc

INS1 definitions (preceded by module number - typically 07 or 06):

04 Drum
05 Cymbal
06 Elguit
07 Ironpipe
08 Moog
09 Organ
0A Panflute
0B Ringsyn
0C Slapbass
0D Upright
0E Vibglock
0F Wha
10 Yakbell
11 Simpleins

KFX definitions (preceded by module number - typically 08):

01 Expand
02 Scale
03 Split
04 Spread
05 Reduce
06 KEYB

Within a program, word definitions start at byte &18. From this point the relative positions within a word definition are as follows:-

00/01  word definition length (i.e. relative pointer to next word)
02/03  possibly the absolute address of the previous word definition
04     &80+length of word name (i.e. top bit set)
05-nn  ASCII for word name
nn+1   word definition number
nn+2   00, i.e. [, start of word definition

and so on to the end of that word definition, to be followed by further word definitions.

At the end of the program you will find that any modules whose words are used in the definitions are listed; each module will feature in a sequence like: -

00/01  length of sequence
02/03
04     length of used module's name
05-nn  ASCII for module name
nn+1   used module's number code

It also appears from studying the modules themselves that, because of words from other modules which are used, the following module dependencies arise:

EW   needs  M5
INS1 needs  M5 and EW
MIX  needs  M5
REC  needs  M4 and FX1A
KFX  needs  M5 and M4

---

Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

AMPLE DCT demonstration

AMPLE by phone

This feature is a collection of contributions made in response to our request for the experiences and comments of those who had used any of the telephone-based telesoftware services which support AMPLE.

---

Bernie Dawson

I first got a Music 500 about a year before the Music 5000 was born. Because of the difficulty in understanding the manual I left it to gather dust until the upgrade was available.

In the meantime I had discovered about modems, and that Music 500 tunes were available for downloading on Prestel. The idea of communicating with another computer via, and receiving programs down, the telephone cable definitely appealed - I would be able to learn AMPLE from working examples.

Since then I have acquired over 200 files, some amazing, others less so; and, yes, I have learnt a lot in terms of programming and musical knowledge.

What then is required?

1) A modem. This is an interface between the computer and the phone cable.

Mine is the simplest possible type - a 1200/75 baud modem without any frills like auto-dialling. It plugs into the RS423 socket at the back of the BBC and into the phone socket on the wall. The disconnected phone then plugs into the back of the modem (it can be used even when the modem is switched off). The numbers 1200/75 refer to the rate at which data is received or transmitted by the modem. I have not tried to understand this in any great depth - it works for me and that is all that matters.

2) Controlling software. This allows the computer to talk to the modem.

It can be ROM-based, but as I haven't got a ROM expansion board and ROM sockets are therefore precious, mine is disc-based and it works fine.

What do you do?

Set up the controlling software on your BBC, ensure the modem is switched on, and dial the relevant number. You will then hear a high-pitched tone which indicates the remote computer is ready to establish communication with yours.

You then press the magic button on the front of the modem and with any luck messages start to appear on the screen!

What is available?

1) Firstly, if you join Prestel (and within that, Micronet) you can access Music City. This is devoted to BASIC/Music 500/Music 5000 tunes. It offers telesoftware, letters and comments, and hints and tips.

The quality of the music files is generally pretty good. Some files are free; others have a nominal charge (e.g. 50p) which I think is split between the owner of the music copyright, Prestel, Micronet, and the programmer. Music City originally promised great things but the frequency of updates has lapsed badly since the end of June.

2) Other bulletin boards. These are where you phone up a computer which is probably in someone's bedroom. They can be of two types depending on the host computer's controlling software and modem. Some are just like Prestel with viewdata-type pages; others require scrolling software to communicate. I cannot access some bulletin boards because I cannot alter the transmission/reception rates of my modem.

The ones I have used have been a source of great enjoyment, some of them have so many files you are spoilt for choice!

What does it cost?

Ah! The $64,000 question. My modem was about £50. The disc to control the BBC was £12. My Prestel bill is about £40 a quarter. This is made up of a subscription, charges for access time, and any fees for downloaded files. My phone bill is about £40 a quarter too.

The last two figures obviously depend on how long you are 'on line', and when you phone (like any phone bill).

I personally feel it is money well spent. It augments the Music 5000 which is a great hobby. And what else would I do with the money - get drunk down the local?

---

Bryan Anslow

I have downloaded programs for the Music 500 as well as the Music 5000 - so far, about two and a half 80-track ADFS disc's worth.

This has mainly been from Prestel, (formerly from Musiclink, and now, to a lesser extent, from Music City) although Dudley College of Technology also provides a fairly good source of Music 5000 and Music 500 programs.

There are several others I have tried including Seahaven bulletin board ('The Firm'), who formerly ran Musiclink, the various 'Musictel' bulletin boards and Ampnet. It seems that whenever you contact one board they have the phone numbers of others. There is an amazing amount of Music 500(0) music out there, and I have only just scratched the surface.

In addition to the music programs, all of the boards have some sort of hints and tips, questions and answers, and news and features.

There is invariably some form of 'registration' required for these bulletin boards. This ranges from the trivial, requiring only your name and the area you are calling from, to some which require full name, age, occupation, inside leg measurement, etc. Of course there is nothing to say that you have to be truthful.

The quality of downloaded music from all of these sources is variable, but then, 'one man’s meat...', I suppose it is all a matter of taste.

Of course, music from Prestel always comes out more expensive because, not only do most of the programs have a download fee, but there are connection charges as well. In contrast, any downloads from DCT or any of the bulletin boards are free, apart from the cost of the phone call.

In terms of transmission problems, Prestel comes out by far the best, followed by DCT. The other bulletin boards all use scrolling software and XModem which doesn't seem so reliable, and the 'Bad Program' message is often more the rule than the exception.

It is a pity that the programs are not transmitted in text format because, although it would take longer, any errors could be seen and corrected with a text editor. AMPLE isn't too forgiving of an odd 'bit' in the wrong place.

---

Graham F Firth

Of all the current databases AMPLE DCT is about the best. To get access to any copyright music you now have to pay a very modest subscription as they have to pay (like AMPLINEX) a fee to the MCPS. They have a good hints section. AMPLE DCT1 is on 0384 239944 (Viewdata).

Music City is a total waste of time - it is updated very infrequently, and now that Prestel is charging for off-peak access, it is not worth the effort of even looking at it.

Wimbledon BBS (01 542 3772), Mitcham MBBS (01 648 0018), and ACMB Musicworld (0932 245593) have all got some good Music 500 & Music 5000 programs on them.

All of us old timers sigh with nostalgia when anyone mentions Musiclink - the best Music 500(0) database. It was part of the Tubelink section of Viewfax, itself a section on Prestel. Unfortunately Viewfax pulled out of Prestel and it all closed down (incidentally owing a lot of contributors money for Telesoftware that they had supplied and Viewfax sold).

One of the editors of Musiclink - Alan Baker - now runs a bulletin board for his local computer club (The Firm on 0273 513872). One day we hope that Musiclink will return on there - but it won't be for quite a while as Alan's wife is very ill and Alan doesn't have the time to set it all up.

One beneficiary of all these bulletin board databases is of course British Telecom, as it is very easy to run up incredible bills when logged on, even on a local call - BE WARNED!

---

Leslie Whalley

Music City, like most of Micronet, is a disappointment. It offers a selection of music files at reasonable cost, but this is seldom updated. Hints and tips are very rare. The only section which is updated regularly is the one devoted to members’ comments, but many of these are extremely trivial. It is not worth subscribing to Micronet just for Music City.

Incidentally, as a protest against Micronet's decision to apply time charges except after midnight I have just succeeded in getting them to send me a bill for 4p!

AMPLE DCT, operated by Dudley College of Technology is much better, and improving. Access to the main database is free, and an interesting selection of non-copyright music and hints is available. For £3.50 you get a year's access to their Maestro section which provides a further selection of copyright music files. It is well worth accessing DCT if you can afford the phone calls.

---

Pete Christy

Touted by Micronet as a replacement for the late, lamented MusicLink, Music City has proved a bitter disappointment. The updates were initially abysmal, and are now just very poor. The software quality has been poor, and there have been none of the excellent tutorials that were the hallmark of MusicLink.

On the plus side, it's only a local phone call for Micronet members.

DCT is a very good database - if you can get on to it! The software is good, and there are good technical tutorials and hints and tips items. After the demise of MusicLink it seemed to be a temporary haven for former MusicLink contributors, though I see some of the old familiar names are starting to discover AMPLINEX (hooray!).

On the minus side - for most people it's a long distance phone call. Also, thanks to the wonderful quality of British Telecom's telephone lines it regularly takes several attempts to get a line good enough to allow you even to log on! This makes downloading a tedious, time-consuming and expensive business. No wonder British Telecom's profits are up!

---

Roy Atkins

I live in Holland so I suppose I would not be expected to use such services as Music City or DCT - but I have in fact contacted DCT on a number of occasions using my Miracle Modem WS2000.

I think the DCT service is well organised and the quality of the software is quite high, in fact some of my favourite AMPLE pieces have come from there. However, for me it is a very expensive business to use DCT from Holland, especially to browse. Also, my system has hung on the last byte several times; I have not yet found out why.

---

Patrick Black

I use Music City, via my Micronet subscription, and I like the basic idea. My only criticism is that the music is pretty much of the same genre (perhaps I should contribute something else!), but the pieces themselves provide plenty of ideas for programming.

The problems with Music City are not due to the organisation itself, but to Prestel/Micronet.

Updates don't appear often enough - at the start of September, Music City promised to chase up files they'd sent to Micronet and which hadn't yet been published. As I write (early October) Prestel/Micronet have still not put them up.

Another cause of discontent is the time charge slapped on by Prestel last July. Access time used to be free during the off-peak telephone times. Now it costs 1p per minute during this time, and more during office hours.

Micronet areas (including Music City) are still free from midnight to 8am, but I for one don't find these times convenient, and for various reasons (largely the 'take it or leave it' attitude of Prestel and Micronet) I flatly refuse to incur time charges. My usage of Prestel and Micronet has thus decreased enormously, and so I no longer access Music City very often.

I fear that British Telecom and Telemap will kill off useful areas like Music City as domestic subscribers vote with their feet and leave the system.

---

Jim Brook

I log on to DCT about once a month and find them very useful and friendly; in response to a question they produced a 'worksheet' for me on changing mixes very quickly. Currently, there seem to be problems with updates, though. Maybe college holidays are a snag in this regard. I use BBCSoft's Modem Master software - only 12 quid or so and an absolute bargain - miles better than Commstar and a third of the price.

I also log on to Music City about once a month, but as well as update problems, the style is a bit juvenile. Maybe it has to be - after all, most of the readers will be young, I imagine ('young' is under 45, by the way). I should add that DCT is only a local call to me, and I never log on to Micronet till after midnight when there are no on-line charges, just the cost of the call.

---

Pete Holdroyd

I use Music City (occasionally) and DCT. The latter has recently started a section for copyright music, after coming to an agreement, like AMPLINEX, over the payment of royalties. I have paid the £3.50 annual fee, and will be logging on in the near future.

I find little difficulty in down- or up-loading to bulletin boards - the Musictel setup has been a rich source of Music 500(0) material - and if AMPLINEX were to be made available by modem, I for one would be logging on.

On the other hand, could AMPLINEX be put on DCT, as another section? A thought!

---

Editor's note:

Are there any other members who feel that AMPLINEX by phone would be a good idea? Bear in mind that an average AMPLINEX disc contains something like 175K of information - it would certainly be more expensive than sending a disc through the post.

Finally, we have some information provided by the organisers of the DCT and Music City services themselves.

David Reed of AMPLE DCT writes:

The DCT database is run by myself, as part of an educational project providing teaching materials about viewdata. It is currently edited from Cumbria by Alistair Johnson.

The DCT database (and thus AMPLE DCT) can be called by anyone with a modem capable of 1200/75 standard viewdata format: if they can call Prestel, they can call us. It is a public access system with no passwords (unlike Prestel and Music City) except for the copyright music 'Maestro' section. This section makes us probably the only 'bulletin board' that legally offers copyright music.

Because our system is free and unsponsored, we cannot pay our gallant contributors - we rely completely on their generosity. As well as newly-contributed music we have permission to carry the old MusicLink files: MusicLink were Music City's predecessors and, I don't think anyone would deny, probably the best on-line AMPLE area of all. We are also still interested in receiving Music 500 (AMPLE BCE) files.

All of our non-copyright music is freely available: it costs only the price of a phone call to the West Midlands. Also free are our tips pages and 'worksheets' - step-by-step guides to aspects of AMPLE programming. We aim to put up 5 or 6 new pieces of music every fortnight.

To generate sufficient pennies to pay the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society, we charge a modest subscription to the private 'Maestro' section on the DCT database, for which callers require passwords. The recent increases in prices for Prestel subscribers and prices that Music City charge (e.g. 50-75p per tune) compensate for the long-distance call that many of our users have to make.

Callers can leave messages for public display on the DCT database, but on a second, pilot system callers can list music members and mailbox them directly as well as instantly place public messages.

I must emphasise that AMPLE DCT is not run as a business. It is part of a broadly educational system that attracts 600+ calls a month on one phone line. We will be making more lines available early next year. Next year we intend to start selling AMPLE DCT discs - this is to make our material more widely available and to give at least some recompense to our generous contributors.

Hybrid Technology will shortly be publishing a disc of AMPLE DCT music, most of which is Alistair Johnston's remarkable original material.

---

Included on this disc are some examples of the output of both AMPLE DCT and Music City.

From AMPLE DCT we have an AMPLE program which displays some sample screens from their database (F.DCTdemo) as well as a seasonal piece of music programmed by David Reed himself ($.Snowman). From Music City we have a more traditional festive offering of Christmas carols played on the instruments of your choice ($.Carols) as well as an extract from the latest Music City music disc - 'Rat In Mi Kitchen' by the band UB40 ($.RatInMi).

The Music City music disc is reviewed in the News and Reviews section of this issue and the AMPLE DCT music disc will be reviewed in AMPLINEX 009.

---

Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Questions and answers

Answer: Synchronising music and lyrics

The answer to Michael Harbour's question (AMPLINEX 007) about getting words to synchronise with music events lies in the AMPLE word QTIME (see AMPLE Nucleus Programmer Guide, pages 175-6).

Michael's problem is caused by the fact that AMPLE doesn't work its way through a program line by line, as BASIC would. Instead, commands are taken to be processed straight away, with musical commands then queuing up until it's time for them to play.

This means that $OUT commands will be reached and processed (because they take, in effect, no time) while the music commands are still waiting in the queue. Result: all the lyrics are printed out while the music's barely started. This is really a feature rather than a problem, since it's how AMPLE manages to process parallel parts.

Fortunately, AMPLE also provides the answer: QTIME gives a measure of how much music is currently waiting to be played. All we need to do is to make a word that monitors QTIME and won't let the next command go through until QTIME is zero - i.e. the program has caught up with the music.

Load and run the program 'Q.Timing' (included on this disc), to see the technique. The important word is 'w'. This simply IDLEs (i.e. does nothing) until QTIME is zero. Any $OUT after 'w' will then be processed, as near as damn it, at the same time as the next music command.

So, to use it, define the word 'w' (Q.Timing will give you a spooled version which you can *EXEC into any program; or you can just type it in as usual) then whenever you want to synchronise something with music, you need lines like this in the music part:

w            "lyrics"$OUT            C
^                ^                   ^
Timer        Your lyrics   Note to synchronise with

Have a look at 'part1' in Q.Timing to see the technique in use.

David Westbrook

---

Related file on this disc:

Q.Timing - Program demonstrating the use of QTIME

Question: Shadow RAM

I read with interest the question in AMPLINEX 007 about problems with the Solidisk Shadow RAM. I have just bought an Integra-B board with Shadow RAM and I am having similar problems. When using the Staff editor the value shown by MEM indicates that Shadow RAM is in effect but as soon as I exceed the old non-Shadow memory limit the screen becomes corrupt. Also the screen actions seem slowed down and I too get problems with the timing on playing back a tune.

The Integra-B manual indicates *SHADOW is equivalent to *FX114. Why do all these boards use the so-called non-standard FX call? Can anybody throw any light on the subject or come up with a software solution?

Ian L Hubbard

Question: 'Chaining' of files

Has anyone managed to write a routine which will enable AMPLE files to be LOADed and RUN sequentially?

By using an *EXEC file such as

001 "tune1" LOAD RUN
002 "tune 2" LOAD RUN
etc

all that happens is that the next file is loaded in before the first one has even started to play!

What I want to do is to be able to set up the system to play as many files as are present on a disc without having to touch the computer keyboard. Is this possible?

Alan Mothersole

---

An article in the November 1988 issue of A&B Computing seems to offer the facilities you are seeking. It contains an AMPLE program which reads the disc catalogue and allows a 'chain' of music files to be played in sequence.

Answer: Opus Ramdisc

It may be of interest to other members (noting the Opus Ramdisc problems mentioned in AMPLINEX 006) to know that AMPLE runs perfectly from my Solidisk 4Meg256 200K Ramdisc (I use it with a Solidisk DFS 2.2M).

Unfortunately, this is not the answer for those who don't have a 4Meg256 board because they are no longer available, but for members who do have one this may be news.

It's not a big advantage if you've only a single disc drive because with the Ramdisc configured as drive 0 you can only store music files on drive 2 but it is useful with dual drives.

A J P McMaster

Question: Aries B32 memory saving

Being a BBC Model B owner and a Staff editor fan, it was only a matter of time and finance before deciding to buy a suitable Shadow RAM Board. Ted Royffe's experience (AMPLINEX 004) proved the spur and I bought an Aries B32 Sideways/Shadow RAM Board.

Installation proved to be straightforward and the manual appears to be well documented. However, the increase in available memory within the Studio 5000 environment has been less than I expected.

Loading AMPLE to the Main Menu, MEM gave 15793 bytes free prior to installation and 15025 bytes free after installation. That's a loss of 768 bytes!

Selecting the Staff editor, MEM gave 3505 prior to installation and 9905 after installation, a gain of 6400 bytes.

The above gain was repeated after loading a part completed program.

What's happened to the saving of 8K mentioned in the Music 5000 User Guide and why should 768 bytes go AWOL straight away?

Jack Wrigley

Question: Staff editor error

I am having problems when MAKEing words using the Staff editor. Often, I get a 'Too many numbers' error when a word is being made. Sometimes repeating the 'MAKE' clears it, but often it does not.

Does anyone know why, and how to solve the problem?

Steve Hawley

Answer: MIDI messages and software

In response to Michael Mellor's question in AMPLINEX 007 - I too have found the Owners Manual for the Yamaha FB-01 expander to be as helpful as a 'syntax error'. All the MIDI data information is badly cross-referenced with no simple examples to illustrate the unit's behaviour under MIDI control.

However, to change voice banks the following data must be sent:

&F0 - Start of System Exclusive message
&43 - Yamaha identification code
&XX - XX = MIDI receive channel + &0F
      e.g. &11 = MIDI channel number 2
&15 - Parameter group
&04 - Voice Bank parameter
&YY - YY = Bank select data
      Values &00 to &06 represent banks 1 to 7
&F7 - End of System Exclusive message

So, for example, to select Voice Bank 6 the following AMPLE word may be included, with other set-up words, in the RUN word before the PLAY instruction.

"fb01bank" [
READY
1 VOICES MIDIV
 1 MIDILINE   1 MIDICHANNEL
 &43F0 MIDIWOUT
 &1510 MIDIWOUT %&10 = midichan + &0F
 &0504 MIDIWOUT %&05 = bankdata
 &F7 MIDIOUT
READY]

I am not aware of any BBC software that will do voice editing for this unit and so may even consider writing some myself - providing that I can 'extract' the relevant MIDI codes from the Owners Manual.

Like Michael, I am still very much in the experimental stages and have only just worked out the code required to change Configuration Patches on this unit. If Michael, or any other owner of an FB-01, would like to swap information then please contact me either through AMPLINEX or phone Medway (0634) 365557.

Les Pearce

Question: Roland MT-32 re-programming

Is any AMPLINEX member working on a programme in AMPLE to allow re-programming of the Roland MT-32 multi-timbre module via the Music 2000 MIDI interface unit?

At present those members who, like me, have the MT-32 module and wish to tweak the voicing have, it would seem, only one option. That is, to buy a second MIDI interface and appropriate software for their BBC B or Master from a certain company in Essex. In all about £120.

It seems to me that all the hardware is there but not the code. This must be an opening for someone to make a small/moderate profit!

Alternately does anyone know of any other cheaper, MIDI interface suitable for a Master 128 that could be used? I would willingly entertain a circuit diagram as it would give me a chance to get my soldering iron out and maybe fry a few chips myself!

David Reed

Question: Issue number of discs

In AMPLINEX 007 there were a few references to problems with some issues of the Music 5000/4000 software.

Does anyone know:

(a) How many issues there have been?
(b) Which issues have bugs?
(c) What is the current issue number?
(d) Is it worth upgrading?

Perhaps Hybrid could enlighten us.

Alan Mothersole

Answer: Booting the Music 4000

In AMPLINEX 006 Andy Knight asked about booting the Music 4000 using an 80-track drive and a 40-track disc.

The easy way is to make a 40-track backup copy and then to use a 40/80 converter (such as the one on Beebugs' Discmaster), sit back, and have a drink.

If you haven't got a converter - write-protect your 40-track master disc, format another disc to 80 tracks, then, using

*COPY 0 0 *.*

start off with your drive set to 40-track with your master disc in it. When prompted to insert the other disc, switch the drive to 80-track. Continue swapping discs, (remembering to set the drive to 40-track for the master and 80-track for the copy) until done.

Paul Bullock

Question: Definition of thunder

Has anyone succeeded in producing a realistic sound of thunder? My own efforts have merely produced a sound like artillery fire. A loud clap or two followed by rumbling reverberations dying away is what I am looking for.

G H Richardson

Answer: Keyboard repair

Just a note on Jimmy Ryan's keyboard repair (AMPLINEX 007). The Maplin gold-plated contact wire I used is designed to inhibit corrosion, which could result in a bad electrical connection and mean repeating the repair. I should also point out that the Maplin product is of sufficient length to repair several keys.

Jack Wrigley

Question: Music 500 with a BBC Master

Does anyone know what the hardware changes are that were made to the Music 500 to turn it into a Music 5000 and make it more compatible with the Master? I understand it is only a couple of capacitors near IC34 and a single piece of wire joining two IC pins together.

I have a friend who has recently upgraded to a Master and he now finds that some AMPLE BCE tunes no longer play properly. He has written to both Hybrid Technology and Acorn. Acorn say refer to Hybrid, and Hybrid will not give out any information. Has any daring AMPLINEX member taken a Music 5000 to bits?

Graham F Firth

Question: Screen graphics

After using the AMPLE Screen Designer program from AMPLINEX 002, I wondered if it was possible to use pictures drawn in other modes in AMPLE programs. Having an AMX mouse and several 'painting' programs I set about trying to use some previously drawn pictures.

Using pictures saved normally from inside the 'painting' programs I successfully managed to display them in their appropriate screen modes from AMPLE command mode by *LOADing the files at the appropriate screen memory address: For example for mode 3:

*LOAD file 4000

This is fine in direct command mode but to use it in a program the command needs to be incorporated into a word for execution during the RUN command. However on trying this I received the error message 'Bad Context'.

Thinking that the OSCLI command might hold the key I tried this as well, but this failed - does AMPLE support this command at all?

Has anyone else tried this and had more success? Also, is there any chance of using Shadow RAM (where available) to increase program memory when long (16k) mode 3 screens are used?

Karl Harridence

---

The OSCLI command should work within an AMPLE program in the form:

"LOAD file 4000" OSCLI

but I don't know of any way to load a file directly to Shadow RAM.

Answer: Tempo changes on all voices

In answer to one of the questions raised by Michael Harbour (AMPLINEX 007) - when a change of tempo is to take place in a piece of music involving several players, the appropriate instruction (see pages 121/122 of the Music 5000 User Guide) needs to be inserted in the SCORE of only one player: the AMPLE software will take care of the other players and keep them all timed correctly during tempo changes.

A few words about the tempo change instruction (+T or -T) itself. The time setting placed in front of it is not necessarily the setting of the note(s) following the instruction. It is rather the highest common factor of all the time settings used in the SCORE during the tempo change.

For example, '8,' should be selected if '16,' and '24,' notes follow; similarly, '2,' should begin the instruction if '6,' and '32,' notes are used.

Thus, in the instruction

2, 30 48 +T
32,C 6,+C ...

C will 'use' 16 beats, +C 3 beats etc., until the total 48 - and the final tempo - are reached.

Taking the example of a piano music piece where player 1 (right hand) plays a complicated music pattern, while player 2 (left hand) just strikes a series of chords of equal duration: the instruction to alter the tempo will obviously be simpler if inserted in player 2's SCORE rather than in player 1's and the musical result will be the same.

Given a change number 'CN' read in a SCORE, enter:

PRINT 2^(CN/64)

(in BASIC) if you want to find the resultant ratio newtempo/oldtempo.

Conversely, given a desired ratio, typing:

PRINT 212*LOG(newtempo/oldtempo)

will give you the CN to input to the AMPLE +T instruction.

If newtempo is less than oldtempo (rallentendo) CN will be negative. In this case, the instruction may be written as -CN ... +T or as CN ... -T, the latter being more usual.

As explained by the User Guide, tempo settings may be scored in a 'conductor' part (part9). Roger Cawkwell's remarkable program 'New Choros' (AMPLINEX 003) gives us a fine example of this practice.

With regard to this, while parts 9c and 9e are straightforward, I am puzzled by parts 9b (why 'rep#?ON#=' followed by a conditional?) and 9d (why 'ON rep#!'?). Will someone be kind enough to clarify these points?

Roger Sapolsky

Question: AMPLINEX from ADFS

When I receive my AMPLINEX disc, I copy it at once into ADFS format, and a directory, AMPn, where n represents the issue number. I do this because of the more efficient use of disc space by ADFS which allows three or four issues of AMPLINEX to be stored on the one disc.

However, when I try to play the music using the route through the AMPLINEX main menu and the music sub-menu, I get '! Not found' error messages.

I suspect the cause lies in the 'lr' word, perhaps seeking to run the files from the root directory ('$'), where they are not. If this is so, what changes must be made to the word in order for it happily to load and run music from directory AMPn?

Pete Holdroyd

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Assuming that the music files are in the current (AMPn) directory and the other sections are held in sub-directories (Q, H, F, etc.) you should simply remove the directory reference in the 'lr' word so that the line:

#110#=IF("$.")IF

becomes:

#110#=IF("")IF

and save the amended A.MPLINEX program.

Answer: Solidisk 2Meg128k board

I can't help with Peter Middleton's problems using Shadow RAM on the Solidisk 2Meg 128k board (AMPLINEX 007), but can I suggest that he junk the Manager ROM and get hold of SideAid128 instead - it's vastly superior. SideAid128 comes from:

CatSoft,
4, Church Walk,
Eggington,
Bedfordshire.
LU7 9QL

Patrick Black

Answer: Solidisk 4Meg256 board

I find no difficulty in using Shadow RAM and the Ramdisc on my Solidisk 4Meg256 board. I have the Manager ROM v3.0 and use the Solidisk DFS 2.2M to run the Ramdisc. I gather that there are several versions of the Manager ROM around, all with slight differences (you can get details from the SoliNet user group) so it may be worth seeking out a different version (not necessarily a higher one) if yours won't work.

Also Morley Electronics advise that their Ramdisc is mutually exclusive with a Music 5000 - you have to turn one off whilst using the other.

A J P McMaster

Question: MIDI for Christmas?

As Christmas is looming up, I am debating whether to buy the Music 4000 and/or the Music 2000, or to change to a MIDI system such as that produced by EMR.

Could you please tell me the advantages of AMPLE over MIDI, and what exactly the Music 2000 can do. I have grasped the Music 5000 system fairly well, and feel it would be silly to have to start all over again with another system if the Music 2000 does the same.

Diccon Maude

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The Music 2000 allows you to control MIDI-compatible instruments using familiar AMPLE commands and music structures. Buying different MIDI-control software would mean learning another music composition method. Using the Music 2000 you should also be able to adapt your existing AMPLE music fairly simply to use a MIDI instrument in place of one or more Music 5000 voices.

See the News and Reviews section of this issue for more information on using AMPLE and MIDI together.

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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.

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988

Printing out AMPLINEX information

There are three ways to print out the information seen in AMPLINEX.

You can print out an AMPLINEX file as it is displayed on the screen from within AMPLINEX; you can print the files themselves as you would any other text file; or you can load the files into your own word processor and re-format them as required before printing.

1) To print a file from within AMPLINEX choose the 'SET PRINT ON/OFF' option from the Introduction menu. This allows you to toggle a software 'print switch' on or off. If the switch is set ON then any AMPLINEX file which is displayed on the screen will be sent to the printer. This will continue until you set the switch off again using the same Introduction option. An asterisk is displayed at the top of the screen next to the issue number when the print option is ON and the print status is shown at the bottom right of the screen as text is displayed within AMPLINEX.

It is now also possible to print out part of a file from within AMPLINEX. There are two ways to do this:

a) To print a single page of an AMPLINEX file, make sure the 'print switch' is OFF and then select the menu option which displays the file. When the page you wish to print is displayed, and the 'Press RETURN to continue' prompt is showing at the bottom of the screen, press the letter 'P' on the keyboard. The page being displayed will then be sent to the printer. Pressing RETURN will then continue to display the file without printing.

b) To start printing part-way through a file, you can turn on the 'print switch' by pressing the CTRL and 'P' keys together when the 'Press RETURN to continue' prompt is displayed. Subsequent pages which are displayed will then be sent to the printer. The 'print switch' can be turned off again in the same way.

2) If you prefer to print the parts you require outside of AMPLINEX - all the data is held in files on the AMPLINEX disc. The files are in directories named according to the sections in which they appear and the file names can be seen at the foot of the screen as they are displayed in AMPLINEX so you can make a note of the ones you require.

The file directories allocated to each section of AMPLINEX are as follows:

$. for Music

A. for the Introduction and Adverts

F. for Features

H. for Hints and Tips

I. for Instruments

N. for News and Reviews

Q. for Questions and Answers

U. for Utilities

In addition to the text files, the AMPLE instrument definitions can also be printed directly from within AMPLINEX. Music and utility programs written in AMPLE can only be printed by LOADing the programs into the Studio 5000 and using the WRITE command (see Studio 5000 User Guide page 100).

3) If you wish to re-format the text before printing you should load the files into your word processor. The files contain unjustified text restricted to 38 columns width. The files contain only printable ASCII characters except for a control code (ASCII 11) which marks the screen page breaks. View treats these as left margin tabs and if necessary they can be removed with a C/^L// command.

Two utilities have been published in AMPLINEX to aid with the re-formatting of text files:

In AMPLINEX 003 'Hints and Tips' (H.ints003) there were instructions for a Wordwise segment program to automatically format AMPLINEX text files. The segment itself was included in AMPLINEX 004 (H.WWconv).

In AMPLINEX 005 there was a utility to print formatted 80-column text direct from an AMPLINEX text file. The instructions (U.print/i) and the BASIC program (U.print80) are both within the Utilities section. A modification to this program (to provide a wider margin) was included in the Hints and Tips section of AMPLINEX 006. See also the Update section of this issue for a note concerning BASIC 1 users.

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Published in AMPLINEX 008, November 1988