In this section we have a review of three new music disc
releases, a user view of the AMPLE Toolbox, and a review of very cheap
MIDI-compatible keyboard.
Children in need disc volume 2
Bernie Dawson
Regular AMPLINEX readers, or modem users who access DCT for
music files, will probably be aware that this disc is a follow up to the highly
successful first volume, and again the proceeds are for charity.
22 files are on offer, several from contributors well known
to AMPLINEX, but I was pleased to see some new names.
The first disc was characterised by the variety of music in
the files and if anything this disc gives you even more. Several of the files
offer something beyond the music itself and I think this is probably due to the
free exchange of programming tips that files from DCT and AMPLINEX help promote.
Here is some idea of what's in the disc:
a) A file where mode 3 graphics are output, accompanied by
random music
b) A word search (plus answers)
c) An interactive musical game
d) A song with synchronised verses
e) Humour! I defy anyone not to burst out laughing at one of
Frank Dudley's contributions
f) Programming tips. A preliminary look has shown me that a
couple of the above files are worth delving into to learn how particular
effects were achieved
g) Excellent pictures as title screens
h) Sample tracks from other Panda discs.
The disc has a number of original compositions of which my
favourite is the least conventional: 'Insanity' by S Belmonte has a nice
menacing feel to it as it builds up from a simple idea. Virtually all the files
were new to my collection. Oh yes, and there is a contribution by one C Jordan.
How can you resist when it is for such a good cause?
Children in need disc volume 2
Roy Follett
This 'Children in need' disc is the second to be issued. All
the profits from the sale of these discs goes to the charity of the same name.
This is a really good collection from names probably familiar to you, such as Tim
Sketchley, Frank Dudley, John Carpenter, S Belmonte, Matthew Grist, Neil Walker,
Chris Jordan, Bernie Dawson, Paul Nuttall, Phil Comber, The Noige, David King, Aidan
Black, and Royal Moore.
Thanks should be given to them for donating their work for
such a worthwhile cause. Work, I will add, that is of a very high standard.
There are some good graphics from Neil Walker and a sort of musical bagatelle game,
that is the work of Chris Jordan (of Hybrid Technology fame).
This game is simple in concept but I found it absorbing,
almost addictive, and I usually hate games. This disc ought to be in everyone's
collection - not just because you will be donating five of the six pounds it
costs to 'Children in need', but because you will be getting some really good examples
of what can be done with AMPLE.
Two Panda music discs
Roy Follett
Panda disc volume 6 is written by Andy Knight whom members
may recognise as a regular contributor to AMPLINEX.
Andy, who uses the signature 'A little night music', has a
disc of twelve original compositions. This collection of twelve gentle pieces
of music truly comes under the heading of 'a little night music'. No fireworks,
no loud assault on the ears, no startling sounds, just music for the wee hours.
That is, except for Wigwam: this does bring one back from the gentle soporific
mood.
I was slightly puzzled by the programming on 'Cruisin Santa Barbara'.
Taking part2c as an example there seems to be an excessive use of the + (sharp)
sign, but no use of the key signature K(...)K.
I wanted to examine the score words on the Staff editor but,
although the STAFF command was used at the beginning of the words, I was unable
to examine them on the staff due to the size of the program causing lack of
memory space. But I have my doubts as to whether any of the words were created
using the Staff editor because the words did not have the same style.
No matter; one of the beauties of AMPLE is that it allows
many ways of doing the same task. So, despite the oddities in 'Cruisin' the
music still comes out right. I like this disc.
The second Panda disc is a 'Monster Compilation' from Frank
Dudley, a name very familiar to AMPLINEX members. His music has appeared
several times in AMPLINEX so I won't attempt to describe the style other than
to say this is good music, programmed with a sense of humour. If the graphics
do not make the corners of your mouth lift then you are not on the same plane
as me. This is a most enjoyable disc and I do like Frank's easy to use menu.
As an aside I think that it ought to be said that Panda
Discs have done a really good job in furthering the cause of AMPLE. Their
ever-lengthening list of discs which are available to owners of the Music
500(0) is worthy of further investigation.
Thanks to Panda Discs. Keep up the good work.
All Panda discs costs £6.00 (inclusive of UK postage and
packing) and are available from:
Panda Discs
Four Seasons
Tinkers Lane
BREWOOD
Stafford
ST19 9DE
Review of the Hybrid AMPLE Toolbox
David King
The Hybrid 'AMPLE Toolbox' is a utility disc for the Hybrid
Music 4000/5000 systems. As with other Hybrid system discs, you have to enter your
ROM ID number and a password, before your new disc is generated.
The disc offers five main options, as shown below:
TEDIT - a text editor, operating in modes 0, 3, and 7
IEDIT - a mode 7 screen editor and AMPLE word maker with
samples
UTILS - a collection nine utilities
Sidemod - a sideways RAM module customiser
Arec - an erased disc file utility
Some of the above do not work on a standard BBC Model B, as
will be explained during this review.
I will now examine each of these options in turn.
TEDIT text editor
This operates like a word processor: letters insert and
delete at the cursor and, for the first time, you can bring in and edit words
previously too long for the standard text editor Notepad.
For example, the mode 7 screen words produced by the
AMPLINEX screen editor or the AMPLE DCT/Panda Discs in-house editor can contain
lines longer than the 40 character limit of Notepad. Trying to edit such words
in Notepad is therefore impossible, but they can be edited easily in TEDIT.
Lines can be deleted and inserted, though not with the same
keys as Notepad. Lines can also be copied from one part of a word to another.
The NAME, GET and MAKE commands are the same as in Notepad and words can be merged
using a new command, ADD.
When you've finished with the editor, you should type CLEAR
which empties the visible editing area. Otherwise, what is in the editor is
saved with the file as invisible but memory-consuming data.
The editor is a useful extension to Notepad, which most AMPLE
programmers have cursed at one time or another. The editor will only operate in
mode 7 on a BBC Model B: there is too little space for modes 3 or 0, even with
no music data present.
IEDIT Image Editor
Commands outside the editor are similar to the text editor:
CLEAR, GET, NAME, MAKE and ADD. The aim of this editor is to produce mode 7 Ceefax-and-Oracle-style
screens that display while your music plays.
Earlier screen word programs have always produced ASCII text
files that could be merged into a music file (see, for instance, my program in
A&B Programming Plus, September 1989, pages 86-88). For example, printing 'hello'
in yellow might be:
131#OUT "hello"$OUT
This method can be quite expensive on memory. The Hybrid
Toolbox editor offers two options: TMAKE and MAKE. TMAKE produces the long text
words mentioned above; MAKE produces economical words that include all the colour
codes as single characters in comment lines preceded by DISPLAY. $OUT and #OUT
are not used.
Note that Toolbox's TMAKE and MAKE include all the 40
characters for each line, even if they are blank. So, graphics which include
lots of blank space can in some cases take up more room than necessary.
The screen editor offers plenty of features: copying areas,
defining windows, inserting and deleting lines and columns, and an image buffer
that lets you swap between 2 screens quickly without MAKEing a word: this is
useful as a backup facility against deleting a vital line.
Much more irritating is using all the red keys for editing
functions rather than for colours which makes moving between different editors
awkward. Also, you cannot *LOAD a screen into the editor. The only way to get a
saved screen into the editor is if it already exists as an AMPLE word.
AMPLE programmers will be used to *SPOOL and *EXEC as a
method of saving and loading screen files - the AMPLINEX and Panda method.
Words created by Toolbox's MAKE will not *EXEC properly back into AMPLE: the colour
codes are removed. Fortunately, the UTILS part of the disc offers a merge
facility.
Running the Dudley College viewdata host, I use a variety of
mode 7 screen editors for both the on-line database and for creating AMPLE
words. The Hybrid editor has many helpful features, but I will probably use it most
for economical word making - even though you have to remove trailing spaces in
TEDIT for full economy. A good first editor though.
UTILS utilities
This module offers eight program management commands and
LEDIT, a BASIC-style line editor. Briefly, the functions are as follows:
ABBREV - displays the minimum abbreviation for commands and
words.
BROWSE - displays the program structure, showing which words
make use of other words.
COMPILE - reduces programs to their smallest possible size.
Spaces are removed and word names all become 'z'. The file can not be edited
after compilation.
DISCOMPILE - expands a reduced program, but not with their
original word names.
MERGE - merges files quickly without *EXEC. Duplicate words
are reported.
REPORT - indicates the last error by line number. Yes, line
number: see LEDIT below.
SPARESHOW - displays words not called by name in the
program.
SPAREDELETE - allows selective deletion of the above words.
These are all useful utilities. You would be wise to back-up
any file with which you use COMPILE or SPAREDELETE. The SPARESHOW and
SPAREDELETE commands are very literal, listing any words not used directly by
name: this includes the vital 'part' words which, if compiled or deleted,
render your file useless. You have to protect these crucial words by 'using'
them in a special word 'NOCOMPNAMES'.
So, SPARESHOW and SPAREDELETE list both words that can be
scrapped as well as several vital words - use carefully!
COMPILE runs out of memory with a moderately long file, but
COMPACT followed by COMPILE again seems to continue and conclude without problems.
Finally to LEDIT which, as hinted earlier, brings line
numbers back to AMPLE. This is a feature longed for by fans of the extinct
Music 500, along with better control of instrument envelopes. Words are split
into numbered lines for error reporting and easy editing, just like the old
AMPLE BCE of 1984. A welcome return for many, I suspect.
Summary
To conclude, several of the eight items on the disc only
work on a BBC Master: the Sidemod Sideways RAM module utility, and two of the
three screen modes in TEDIT. The latest Hybrid Technology catalogue puts this disc
at £34 plus VAT. My feeling is that while the disc contains some useful
features, the price is more than twice what it should be. At £15 or less, I
would recommend the disc: not otherwise.
The AMPLE Toolbox costs £39.10 (inclusive of postage and
packing) and is available from:
Hybrid Technology Ltd
273 The Science Park
CAMBRIDGE
CB4 4WE
The Realistic Concertmate 1000M
Andy Knight
I recently purchased a small keyboard from Tandy, the
Realistic Concertmate 1000M, and I had to let other members know how good it
is. When I tried this keyboard in the shop it just amazed me and I had to have
one.
The piano, harpsichord, flute, jazz organ and guitar are
excellent; so too are the effects like chorus and strings. Any two sounds may
be coupled, there is on-board rhythm, one finger chord accompaniment, a
recorder section, demo tune, it is MIDI compatible, and in full stereo. And all
for £69.95.
Its only drawbacks are no sustain socket (this has improved
my playing) and small keys (it is surprising how one's fingers adapt). It is
fantastic the way these instruments have improved in a year or two. What will they
amaze us with next? I carry mine in the car and have a tinkle at lunchtimes (if
you get my meaning).
Music file compatibility problems
David King, Panda Discs
In response to comments made by Julian Benton in the News
and Reviews section of AMPLINEX 017: the 'Moments in time' demonstration file
included in AMPLINEX 016 was not protected; it had been compressed with the
Hybrid Toolbox disc to save memory for AMPLE DCT telesoftware users. To make
the track work, just include the word
"mix" []
The full disc works fine with Release 6, though it makes
sense to upgrade to what is currently titled 'Studio 5000D Release 2'.
In response to Roy Follett in the same section: Panda discs
had to rise to £6 each as they were losing money. On reflection, we priced too
low initially.
