1) Using *SPOOL and *EXEC
The Music 5000 User Guide (page 79/80) describes how to save
the contents of a program as a text file. But if you want to save just one
AMPLE word for use in another program (e.g. an instrument definition) you don't
want the rest of the program as well. To avoid this - use the AMPLE word TYPE instead
of WRITE and specify the word(s) you want.
For example, if you want to save the word 'bassins' as a
text file:
*SPOOL E.bassins
"bassins" TYPE
*SPOOL
To load the word back in later:
*EXEC E.bassins
When lifting instruments out of another piece of music to
add to your sound library, reset the directory to distinguish them from other
files. I use the letter 'E' as a directory (with an Acorn DFS) to remind myself
that these files should be *EXECed back into the AMPLE program.
Alternatively, you can prefix the file with the special
letter - the only problem here is that it shortens the filename by another
letter.
Peter Domain
2) Using an instrument template
It can often help to design a general purpose template for
defining instruments, and then change or delete it as necessary. It can remind
you of the options available and give you a common starting point for your
trials.
For example:
2 CHANS
1 CHAN
Pure Flat Onoff
0 SHIFT 0 OFFSET 0 PITCH
OFF INVERT ON PSENS OFF PHSET
OFF RM OFF FM OFF SYNC
0 POS
2 CHAN
Pure Flat Onoff
0 SHIFT 0 OFFSET 0 PITCH
OFF INVERT ON PSENS OFF PHSET
OFF RM OFF FM OFF SYNC
0 POS
EVERY CHAN
1 CHAN
Pure Flat Onoff
0 SHIFT 0 OFFSET 0 PITCH
OFF INVERT ON PSENS OFF PHSET
OFF RM OFF FM OFF SYNC
0 POS
2 CHAN
Pure Flat Onoff
0 SHIFT 0 OFFSET 0 PITCH
OFF INVERT ON PSENS OFF PHSET
OFF RM OFF FM OFF SYNC
0 POS
EVERY CHAN
3) Do not adjust your ears
Due to the way our ears work, 0 PAN tends to sound softer
than 1 to 3 or -1 to -3, so compensate for this with the slides in the Mixing
Desk.
4) Stepping through a tune
To step manually through a tune from the Mixing Desk, enter
"/" while in PAUSE to step a beat at a time. Alternatively, go into
command mode (using TAB) and type
48, (or your bar length) <RETURN>
/ (to hear one bar) <RETURN>
// (to hear two bars) <RETURN>
etc. ...
/ (to hear one bar) <RETURN>
// (to hear two bars) <RETURN>
etc. ...
5) Skipping through music
If you find yourself repeatedly skipping through a piece of
music to get to the part you want to hear, try defining a couple of words to fast-wind
the music to the place you want. Use player 9 to keep the music-playing voices
clear. For example:
"part9x" [ ON FAST ]
"part9y" [ OFF FAST ]
Then enter the new player and part letters in the PLAY
string (e.g. "1239-axbcbcyda") as required.
6) The main mix
When using sub mixes, make sure that the main mix is used
first in your PLAY statement, or else some of the mix values will be missing.
7) See the whole SHOW
To enable you to see all the words displayed by SHOW when on
the Notepad screen, go into command mode and type 7 MODE before entering SHOW.
To return to Notepad, type "<string>"GET.
J Follett
Published in AMPLINEX 001, September 1987
