Index to AMPLINEX issues 001-003 (September 1988 to January 1989)

Patrick Black

The headings on the Index are self-explanatory, except perhaps for the 'Issue/section' column.

The section codes below correspond to the sections in the AMPLINEX Main Menu. For issues 001 and 002 these codes appear with the issue number. So, 002/F means that the item can be found on the issue 002 disc, in the Features section. A full reference might be

Frame Control        001/F  A.feat3

meaning that information on Frame Control can be found in the Features section in issue 001, and in the file A.feat3.

With the file naming policy adopted from issue 003, the section codes are now used as directory prefixes, except that the prefix for the music files is still '$'. Music titles are further distinguished by appearing in quotes, thus - "Fyer".

There are bound to be some errors, omissions and inconsistencies in the Index. If you spot any glaring howlers let me know, so that corrections can be made for the next edition. Comments on the structure of the Index would also be welcome - e.g. would you like the Music entries collected together, or are they clear enough?

The next Index will be published in AMPLINEX issue 007 (November 1988) covering issues 001-006.

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Section codes/Directory prefixes:

A   = Introduction & Adverts
F   = Features
H   = Hints & Tips
I   = Instruments
M/$ = Music (Jukebox)
N   = News & Reviews
Q   = Questions & Answers
U   = Utilities

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Subject            Issue/   Filename
                   section

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A

ACT command -        003    Q.uest003
     ON ACT( )ACT    002/F  A.feat3
ACT demonstration    002/F  $.ACTdemo
ADFS -
 Directories         003    F.custom
 Description files   003    F.custom
 *EXEC files         003    F.custom
     - with ADT Rom  003    F.custom
 Instrument files    003    F.custom
 Jukebox             003    Q.uest003
 Loading Music       003    F.custom
 View files          003    F.custom
Advanced AMPLE -
 Data Storage
     ARRAY           001/F  A.feat3
     DIM             001/F  A.feat3
 Frame Control
     FRAME           001/F  A.feat3
     FCOPY           001/F  A.feat3
     FVAR            001/F  A.feat3
"Alien"              001/M  $.Alien
AMPLE -
 Abbreviations       002/H  A.hints1
 on Archimedes       003    Q.uest003
 BCE on disc         003    Q.uest003
 BCE to NUCLEUS      003    F.BCE2Nuc
 Modules             001/F  A.feat2
 Programmers Guide -
 Nucleus word index  003    F.Nucindx
 Saving Words        001/H  A.hints1
 Simple AMPLE        003    F.SIaMPLE
     (See under 'S')
 Structures -
 conditional loops   003    F.struct3
     conditionals    002/F  A.feat1
     loops           001/F  A.feat1
Ample Bytes Back -
 "Pavanne"           002/M  $.Pavane
 Review              001/N  A.news3
AMPLINEX -
 Address             003    A.contrib
 By-pass Titles      002/A  A.intro2
 Contributions       003    A.contrib
     - filenames     003    A.contrib
 Copyright           002/A  A.intro2
                     003    A.update
 File Display        002/A  A.intro2
 File-names &
     Directories     003    A.update
 File Protection     002/A  A.intro2
 History             002/F  A.feat2
 Membership Survey   001    A.sv
                     002/N  A.news3
 and Music City      003    A.update
 Printing Data       003    A.print
AND                  002/F  A.feat1
ARRAY                001/F  A.feat3
ASD (Ample Screen Designer) -
 Demonstration       002/U  $.ASDdemo
 Program             002/U  $.ASD
 User Guide          002/U  A.utils1
AU Show (July '87)   001/N  A.news1
"Autumn Song"        003    $.Autsong

B

!BOOT files -
 customising         003    F.custom
BAR                  003    F.SIaMPLE
Bars '|'             003    F.SIaMPLE
bad bar -
 finding             003    H.ints003
BCE -
 loading from disk   002/Q  A.quest1
                     003    Q.uest003
 convert to NUCLEUS  003    F.BCE2Nuc
Bell4                001/I  $.bell4
"Bystander"          001/M  $.Bystand

C

"Cantata"
     (No.29 Bach)    002/M  $.Cantata
"Chi La Gagliarda"   003    $.Chi
Chords '( )'         003    F.SIaMPLE
Clarinet             001/I  $.clarin
Clearing screens     001/Q  A.quest1
 'q' QUIT word       002/H  A.hints1
Conditionals         002/F  A.feat1
Copyright            002/A  A.intro2
Cosmix -
 "In Concert"        001/M  $.Concert
 Review              001/N  A.news3

D

Data Storage         001/F  A.feat3
DELETE -
     'del' word      003    H.ints003
DFS (1770) -
 and AMPLE           003    Q.uest003
DIM                  001/F  A.feat3
"Dream Storm"        002/M  $.Storm
Drip                 002/I  $.drip
Drum beats           003    F.SIaMPLE
Duration ','         003    F.SIaMPLE

E

"Elite Syncopations" 002/M  $.Elite

F

Fast winding         001/H  A.hints1
FCOPY                001/F  A.feat3
Flats '-'            003    F.SIaMPLE
FOR( )FOR            002/F  A.feat1
FRAME                001/F  A.feat3
Frame Control        001/F  A.feat3
FVAR                 001/F  A.feat3
"Fyer" (Madrigal)    002/M  $.Fyer

H

Harmonies            003    F.SIaMPLE
HYBRID -
 Inside Stories -
     Review          003    N.HTnews
 Music 500 -
     help from Guide 003    H.ints003
 Music 1000          001/N  A.news1
 Music 2000          001/N  A.news1
                     002/N  A.news1
                     003    N.HTnews
 Programmers' Guide  003    N.HTnews
 Prog. Guide Index   003    F.Nucindx
 Staff Printer       001/N  A.news2
 1MHz bus cable      003    N.HTnews

I

IF( )ELSE( )IF       002/F  A.feat1
"In Concert"         001/M  $.Concert
Index to User Guide  001/U  $.index
 Notes               001/U  A.utils2
Instruments -
 Bell4               001/I  $.bell4
 Clarinet            001/I  $.clarin
 Drip                002/I  $.drip
 Oboe -
     Instrument      002/I  $.oboe
     Notes           002/Q  A.quest1
 Radio               001/I  $.radio
 Template            001/H  A.hints1
 Template Update     002/A  A.intro2
 transfer from file
     to file         003    H.ints003
Trumpet              003    Q.uest003
 Viola               001/I  $.viola4

K

KBgate -             001/U  $.KBgate
 Correction update   002/A  A.intro2
 Notes               001/U  A.utils1

L

Legato               003    F.SIaMPLE
Length of notes ','  003    F.SIaMPLE
Loops                001/F  A.feat1

M

MASTER 128 ADFS -
 Directories         003    F.custom
 Instrument files    003    F.custom
 Description files   003    F.custom
 *EXEC files         003    F.custom
     - with ADT Rom  003    F.custom
 Loading Music       003    F.custom
 View files          003    F.custom
Mastermind -
 Chord overlay       003    U.Dmaj
 Notes               003    U.MMinfo
 Program             003    U.Masterm
MCAT                 002/F  A.feat3
Melodies             003    F.SIaMPLE
Membership Survey    001    A.sv
                     002/N  A.news3
Modules              001/F  A.feat2
 M5 update           002/A  A.intro3
MIX -
 use main mix first  001/H  A.hints1
 testing             003    H.ints003
MSHOW                002/F  A.feat3
MU Show (Nov '87)    002/N  A.news1
MUSIC CITY -
 Album               002/N  A.news2
 and AMPLINEX        003    A.update
 on Micronet         002/N  A.news1
"Music for Video
     Games           003    $.Vidgam
Musical Queries      003    Q.uest003
"My Tune"            003    $.Mytune

N

Natural signs -
 ignored in AMPLE    002/H  A.hints1
                     003    H.ints003
"New Choros"         003    $.Newchor
NOT                  002/F  A.feat1
Notepad -
 full screen SHOW    001/H  A.hints1
                     001/Q  A.quest1
                     002/H  A.hints1
Notes Music Album    002/N  A.news2
 "Pilgrim Pachelbel" 003    $.ppach

O

Oboe -
 Instrument          002/I  $.oboe
 Notes               002/Q  A.quest1
Octave settings ':'  003    F.SIaMPLE
OFF FAST             001/H  A.hints1
ON ACT( )ACT         002/F  A.feat3
ON FAST              001/H  A.hints1
OR                   002/F  A.feat1
OS Commands -
 *EXEC               001/H  A.hints1
     'x' word        002/H  A.hints1
 *SPOOL              001/H  A.hints1
     's' word        002/H  A.hints1
     'sp' word       003    H.ints003

P

PAN Settings         001/H  A.hints1
"Parallel Lines"     003    $.P/lines
"Pavanne" (Faure)    002/M  $.Pavane
"Pilgrim Pachelbel"  003    $.ppach
Pitch of notes       003    F.SIaMPLE
"Prelude in C" (Bach)003    $.BachinC
Program Memory       003    Q.uest003

Q

Quick Chord Namer -
 Definitions         003    U.chords
 Notes               003    U.chord/i
QUIT 'q' word        002/H  A.hints1
"Qwerty"             002/M  $.Qwerty

R

Radio                001/I  $.radio
RAND                 002/F  A.feat1
RAND!                002/F  A.feat1
RANDL                002/F  A.feat1
REP( )REP            003    F.struct3
REP( )UNTIL( )REP    003    F.struct3
Rests                003    F.SIaMPLE
Reverb Unit Review   003    N.reverb

S

Saving Words         001/H  A.hints1
"Schweitzer Enigma"  003    $.Schweit
Screen clearing      001/Q  A.quest1
Shadow Ram -
 on BBC 'B'          003    Q.uest003
Sharps '+'           003    F.SIaMPLE
SHIFT                003    H.ints003
SHOW -
 full screen         001/H  A.hints1
                     001/Q  A.quest1
Simple AMPLE -
 Typing scores
     Drum beats      003    F.SIaMPLE
     Harmonies       003    F.SIaMPLE
     Melodies        003    F.SIaMPLE
Skipping thro' music 001/H  A.hints1
"Sky"                002/M  $.Sky
"Sleepy"             003    $.Sleepy
Slide effect         001/Q  A.quest1
                     002/Q  A.quest1
Sound notes twice
 (ACT)               002/F  A.feat3
                     002/F  $.ACTdemo
Staccato             003    F.SIaMPLE
Stepping thro' tunes 001/H  A.hints1
Structures -
 Conditionals        002/F  A.feat1
 Loops               001/F  A.feat1
Symphony Keyboard -
 diagram             003    H.ints003

T

Tandy Reverb Unit    003    N.reverb
"Terra-Cotta Army"   002/M  $.Terracb
Text-file format     003    A.update
Tied notes '/'       003    F.SIaMPLE
TOBIN Music System   001/N  A.news4
"Toblin"             001/M  $.Toblin
"Trawling the Night" 002/M  $.Nitrawl
Trumpet sounds       003    Q.uest003

U

Updates -
 Bypass Title Screen 002/A  A.Intro2
 Copyright           002/A  A.Intro2
 ESCAPE from
     File Display    002/A  A.intro2
 Instrument Template 002/A  A.intro2
 KBgate              002/A  A.intro2
 Modules - M5        002/A  A.intro2
User Guide -
 Index Supplement    001/U  $.index
     - Notes         001/U  A.utils2
User Words -
 'del' DELETE        003    H.ints003
 'q' QUIT            002/H  A.hints1
 's' *SPOOL          002/H  A.hints1
 'sp'                003    H.ints003
 'x' *EXEC           002/H  A.hints1

V

Variable playing
     speeds          003    Q.uest003
Viola                001/I  $.viola4
Volume increase      003    H.ints003

W

Waveforms -
 Grouping            002/H  A.hints1
"Whale"              002/M  $.Whale
Wordwise Plus        003    H.ints003

X

'X'                  003    F.SIaMPLE
XOR                  002/F  A.feat1

Y

"Yes I Hate to
     Leave You"      002/M  $.Yes

Other

16 part chords (ACT) 002/F  A.feat3
                     002/F  $.ACTdemo

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Published in AMPLINEX 004, March 1988

AMPLINEX and the Data Protection Act

Jackie Follett

As computer users, you will have realised that AMPLINEX records are kept on disc. This means that we are subject to the regulations imposed by the Data Protection Act, and in order to continue with this method of record keeping, I must take one of three courses of action:

1) I can obtain the permission of every member to keep his or her records in this way, and provision is made on this issue's release form for this purpose. If, however, anybody objects to this I would have to;

2) Spend £40 of AMPLINEX money to register with the Data Protection Registry, which means I would be able to keep the records even without permission.

3) I could ask for a volunteer to keep hand-written records!

I am sure you will all agree that the first course is the simpler, and hope you will complete the form accordingly.

So you know exactly what it means when you sign, I will give a brief outline of what happens when your disc pops through my letter-box.

Your name and address is entered on to a database, together with the issue number, and whether or not you have made a contribution. I also keep a note of other miscellaneous details: for example, whether or not you have given permission for your name to be given to Music City, or of any special arrangements to remember regarding postage (such as with our overseas members).

Next, the money received is either entered into my Cashbook program, or stored with your disc, depending on whether or not you are receiving a free issue.

Roy takes over at this point, and makes backup copies of any contributions, and enters details of the files on another database.

Roy then makes a backup of his backups and sends it off to Kevin for the editing and producing of AMPLINEX.

Then back to me again, where I copy the new issue of AMPLINEX on to your disc and deal with packing. Finally the discs are posted - monopolizing at least three local post-boxes.

And that's all there is to it!

---

Published in AMPLINEX 004, March 1988 

Mouse Control for Music 5000 System

Alan Mothersole

This article is for those Music 5000 users who already own an AMX Mouse and SuperArt ROM and want to experiment with cursor control within AMPLE. Unfortunately, users of Music 4000 cannot take advantage of a mouse because it too uses the BBC User Port for interfacing.

The purpose of the mouse is to allow the user to move the cursor around the screen without fiddling with the usual arrow keys. An additional advantage is that the three buttons on the mouse can be used to generate control codes such as <RETURN>, <COPY>, <DELETE> or duplicate the red function keys f0 to f9.

It is worth adding here that under all conditions the mouse works in parallel with the computer keys which can be used as normal.

Installation

The installation instructions for BBC B and B+ computers are given in the AMX SuperArt User Guide and will not be repeated here.

For a Master 128 computer the ROM file is held on the Master Disc. Type

*SRLOAD RomI 8000 W Q

and press <CTRL><BREAK>

Activating the Mouse

For BBC B and B+ computers type:

*MOUSE ON
*BREAK

For Master 128 type:

*MOUSE ON

and press <CTRL><BREAK>

Then, for all machines, type:

*MCURSOR ON
*SENSITIVITY 1,1
*BUTTONS 0

Mouse Control through AMPLE

Boot up your system disc as usual to display the main menu screen. You will now find that by moving the mouse up and down the cursor will also move. To select the appropriate choice simply press the left button on the mouse.

Mouse Buttons

There are three pre-defined settings for the mouse buttons which are applicable to Music 5000. These settings can be changed by issuing the command *BUTTONS n (or *BU. n) from any command line.

The definitions are as follows:

n   LEFT(L)     MIDDLE(M)   RIGHT(R)
–   –––––––––   –––––––––   –––––––––
0   <RETURN>    <COPY>      <DELETE>
1   f2          f1          f0
7   <SHIFT>     <SHIFT>     <SHIFT>
    cursor      cursor      cursor
    right       down        up

 A description of mouse control in each module follows together with recommendations for the most useful mouse button definitions and their functions.

Mouse control in Notepad

Cursor moved by normal mouse movement: up, down, left and right.

In general use with *BUTTONS 1:
 L - Text/Panel
 M - Play
 R - Main Menu

In Text mode with *BUTTONS 0:
 L - <RETURN>
 M - <COPY CHARACTER>
 R - <DELETE CHARACTER>

In Panel mode with *BUTTONS 7:
 L - Decrease number by 10
 M - Decrease number by 1
 R - Increase number by 1

Mouse control in Staff Editor

Effect of Normal mouse movement:
 Left  - Move left by one character
 Right - Move Right by one character
 Up    - Text Mode (line)
 Down  - Symbol Mode (block)

Option 1: *BUTTONS 0
 L - Insert new note
 M - Delete character at cursor
 R - Delete character before cursor

Option 2: *BUTTONS 1
 L - Copy end of Music
 M – Play
 R - Main Menu

Option 3: *BUTTONS 7
 L - Lengthen Note or Rest
 M - Lower Pitch of Note
 R - Raise Pitch of Note

Mouse control in Mixing Desk

Cursor moved by normal mouse movement: up, down, left and right.

In general use with *BUTTONS 0:
 L - Play hit on current voice
 M - No effect
 R - No effect

On Tempo/Tune with *BUTTONS 7:
 L - Decrease tempo by 10
 M - Decrease tempo by one
 R - Increase tempo by one

On Instrument/Voice with *BUTTONS 7:
 L - Move Right (position)
 M - Decrease Volume
 R - Increase Volume

Conclusion

As you can see the mouse can be used to control many functions of the Music 5000. However, it should be realised that with some of the modules several keys are used to change the various parameters and they cannot all be represented by the mouse and its three buttons!

However, if you already own the necessary software why not experiment further? You could always change the button definitions by re-programming the function keys.

Now where did I put that cheese...

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Published in AMPLINEX 004, March 1988

Questions and answers

Answer: Using Shadow RAM

In response to the questions raised by B J Dawson and Tim Holgate in AMPLINEX 003 about the use and compatibility of Shadow RAM boards - the Aries B-32 seems to be fully compatible, but as I don't normally use the Staff editor (finding it too slow and fiddly compared with Qwerty-entered AMPLE), I have little use for it at present.

I take it from Tim Holgate's question that he can't find any 'natural breaks' in the music where he can chain the following parts using the QTIME facility (with short pauses whilst they are loaded from disc).

I have had a similar problem and attempted to use the Aries B-32 as a RAM disc for saving parts so that the pauses for loading would at least be very much shorter, but with no luck (my main DFS is Solidisk 1770 DFS).

I wonder if anybody knows if Beebug's Romit might do the job?

Ted Royffe

Question: MIDI interface

What is this little black box that Hybrid have made and what can it do when you plug a synth through it and why is it so expensive?

When somebody buys the MIDI interface surely they need some extra software with it or is there some included? Could you plug any kind of synthesiser into it and then play it through the computer?

We have just bought the Music 5000 system and already have a Casio HT-3000 keyboard and are just dying to plug them both together and see what happens; but we hardly know anything about this interface except that it costs a lot of money! Has anyone got the interface yet? If so please tell us about it!

Chris Percival & Jim Percival

Answer: The ACT commands

In this answer Andy Thomas expands on his article 'The ACT command' in AMPLINEX 002 and replies to the questions posed by Roger Cawkwell in AMPLINEX issue 003.

If you want a complete explanation of the Nucleus operating environment, I strongly recommend the AMPLE Nucleus Programmer Guide. However, here are a few simple answers to your questions:

1) The ACT( command takes a number in the range 0 to 127 as a parameter. This number is a position number, representing where in the music action chain the action is to be placed.

Hybrid Technology have defined a convention for where you should place the action depending on what it does.

position    type     example
   10       score    transpose notes
   20       music    generate echoes
   30       sound    stereo panning

Position 0 is a special case as it removes the action from the chain. 'ON' is the same as -1 (enter ON NOUT at the command line to confirm this), and, as far as I am aware, is just an arbitrary non-zero number to satisfy ACT(.

2) You need to include all of the entries in my definition 'newact1' as I am completely redefining the way each note is played. I don't think additional ACT commands will work with it. But if you want the chain of actions to keep going, put an ACT as the final command before the end )ACT.

Notice that in 'newact2' there are two ACTs embedded within the ACT(...)ACT structure. They both continue the chain of music commands (i.e. play the note) with modified length. As there are two of them, the note is played twice.

Another useful point is that the chain appears to be confined to one player. This means that in a piece of music, one player can have one effect, and another player can have a completely different one. To conform to the conventions mentioned above, the 'newact2' command should be used with 10 newact2 instead of ON newact2, but I can't see too many problems if you don't do this.

3) FVAR can be used anywhere. It stands for FrameVARiable. A frame is a reference point on the number stack, which can be defined by the FRAME command. FVAR takes a number representing the element number, and returns the address of the element, which can then be used by commands such as #B? (fetch byte).

For example:

3 4 FRAME 1 FVAR #B?  % returns 4
3 4 FRAME 2 FVAR #B?  % returns 3
3 FRAME 4 1 FVAR #B?  % returns 3

Andy Thomas

Question: Mixing Desk problems

My music program, "Harzat" works fine except when loaded into the Mixing Desk. If you touch any of the control buttons, the whole thing goes out of sync. I have experienced the same problem with some of my other music programs. I believe this is something to do with lack of memory, but what is the solution? I use a BBC Model B - does the same problem arise when running it on a Master? Can any members help?

Jim Redfarn

---

Related files on this disc:

$.Harzat - Jim Redfarn's program is one of those included in this issue's Music section

Answer: Speed Restrictions in AMPLE

The hiccups referred to by A J Hunt are probably caused by large volumes of work for wholesale mix changes required to be carried out in memory instantaneously. The burdens should be eased by:

1. Spreading the changes through the music as much as possible by, for example, including an unmix in a music part (rather than the PLAY word) in readiness for a new mix at, say, the end of the part.

2. Making each new mix/unmix as simple as possible - better to have two small changes separated by a couple of bars than one big one.

3. Ensuring that no voices are still playing when a new mix is called.

4. If the allocations of numbers of voices to players is not to be changed, changing voice definitions and/or parameters 'on the fly ' within the music parts instead of as mixes.

5. 'Borrowing time' immediately after a mix by the use of back holds (but watch your bar checking!).

Nothing is guaranteed, but a combination of some of the above should help. If numerous mixes and unmixes are to be employed to spread the load, it is suggested that player 9 be used to control these. The same player can also be used to control tempo changes and other time-related functions to avoid cluttering up the music parts of active players.

Ted Royffe

Question: Distorted instrument sounds

I have noticed that when using certain instrument voices (either in a program or on the keyboard) on my system some of the notes sound distorted. 'Organ' and 'wurlitzer' are two of the offenders.

Does everyone else have this problem or is it a fault with my particular system? If the latter, should I suspect the Music 500, my amplifier or my speakers?

Ken Hughes

Answer: Editing !BOOT files

It's a chore to *BUILD a !BOOT file every time it needs changing, and lines can scroll off the top of the screen if you use the *LIST and copy routine suggested in AMPLINEX 003.

If you have a word processor such as View, it's much easier.

1. LOAD the !BOOT file into the word processor

2. Make your alterations

3. SAVE the amended file back to your disc

And that's it. The new !BOOT file will work as normal.

Patrick Black

Question: AMPLINEX ?info word

Why can't I delete the ?info word in the music files supplied from AMPLINEX?

G F Firth

---

The word is there to deter anyone thinking of re-publishing any of the contributions without permission. That is why you can't delete it.

Answer: Oboe sound

Some interest has been shown in the reproduction of an oboe sound, and there have been one or two contributions in this field. Here is mine.

I found that 'binatone' from the Studio 5000-4 instrument examples was a very good starting point and in fact required very little modification. The value of the negative SHIFT in CHAN 1 appeared to be a very important factor, and after going up and down throughout the whole range I eventually settled on -251.

This produced quite a reasonable tone, but the attack and termination were a bit abrupt so I substituted 'Tailed' for 'Onoff' in CHAN 1. This produced the following definition:-

2 CHANS
 1 CHAN
  Metal         Flat          Tailed
  -251 SHIFT    ON SYNC
 2 CHAN
  Syncer        Vibrato       Puff
EVERY CHAN

The actual sound can be further improved by boosting the 4KHz frequency range but even without this I think it produces a passable representation.

The natural range of an oboe is slightly more than two octaves up from the B flat below middle C and it works reasonably well within this range although notes in the lower range need to be reduced in volume to obtain a proper balance.

G H Richardson

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Related files on this disc:

I.nstr004 - the oboe definition is one of those included in this issue's Instrument file

Question: Using unmixes

Page 84 of the Music 5000 User Guide gives very little information concerning the important subject of unmixes. It lacks a detailed sequence of the specific commands to enter to obtain a required result.

For instance, assume Player 1 has been given 4 VOICES by the current mix1. A command such as 1 SHARE 4 VOICES entered before typing mix2/NAME/UMAKE is O.K if all 4 VOICES must be taken away. But what if you want to make say 3VOICE and 4VOICE UNUSED?

Trial and error failed to give me the right command to enter following 'X SHARE Y VOICES' to free Y selected VOICES. In the only example program to use an UNMIX ('mexico2'), 'mix2' reads 2 SHARE 2 VOICES/1 VOICE UNUSED, taking no account of the other players the voices of which are all taken away.

After deleting the word 'mix2', the only way I could find to reintroduce a similar one was to type '1VOICE mexbass' following the obvious '2SHARE 1VOICES'. However, I failed to find a command yielding '2 VOICE UNUSED' instead of 1 VOICE, had this been my goal.

Full unmixes together with their accompanying full mixes obviously help to get rid of the 'Too many voices in Player..' error messages, resulting from messy mix/unmix programming. I hope someone will help me to find a better approach, telling me what I always wanted to know about sub-unmixes, and eventually dared to ask.

A related point is the fact that 2 music parts separated by an unmix/mix pair don't always merge quite smoothly: a short gap and/or a crackle briefly disturb the flow of music during transit. The 'AMPLE Bytes Back' disc uses a command such as

4,\ mix1 4,/

(no unmixes used) probably to improve things. Comments would be appreciated.

Roger Sapolsky

---

The fact that you do not mention the use of brackets in creating unmixes makes me suspect that some of your confusion might arise from this omission.

An unmix can be made as follows. Starting within the Mixing Desk screen with the existing mix showing, press the letter 'b' to set brackets on all voices which you do NOT wish to change. Then return to the command line and use NAME to rename the mix and UMAKE to make it. All the voices without brackets will then be freed by the UNUSED command within the new mix word.

In the 'mexico2' example the word 'mix2' has the definition:

"mix2" [M5MIX
2 SHARE 2 VOICES
 2 VOICE UNUSED
3 SHARE 1 VOICES UNUSED
4 SHARE 2 VOICES UNUSED
PNUM SHARE
]

To reproduce this:

·         Get 'mix1' into the Mixing Desk

·         Set brackets on voices 1-1, 1-2, 2-1 and 5-1

·         Return to the command line

·         Type "mix2" NAME

·         Type UMAKE

The ugly term 'sub-unmix' merely refers to the fact that the unmix only affects part of the existing mix. A full unmix (i.e. using UMAKE without setting any brackets) would remove all voices - an unlikely requirement.

An example program showing the use of mixes and unmixes would be helpful if any member could provide one.

On the problem of gaps between mix changes see the answer 'Speed restrictions in AMPLE' by Ted Royffe above.

Question: !BOOT file error

I have modified the !BOOT file on my AMPLINEX discs so that I can have the modules on side 0 of the disc and AMPLINEX on side 2. I have done this by putting:

*DRIVE 2
"A.MPLINEX"LOAD RUN

instead of MAIN.

Why do I get an '! Extra number' error after the *DRIVE 2 command when this modified !BOOT file is working, and how should I modify the file to remove the error?

G F Firth

---

There is no reason for getting the error from the two commands you have mentioned. A copy of the offending !BOOT file and details of your system would allow some further investigation.

Answer: Solidisk Shadow RAM and AMPLE

B J Dawson in AMPLINEX 3 enquires about Solidisk Shadow RAM. I have a Solidisk 256k 4M board with DFDC (1770 & 8271) and I use Shadow RAM with AMPLE and have had no trouble (yet - I am only a beginner). When the dreaded '! No room' appears I just type

*SHADOW 7MODE

in Command mode and all is well.

I did tell Hybrid Technology that I had this setup when I ordered the 500 upgrade & 4000 Keyboard, and they sent me a special System disc. However, I would strongly recommend anyone buying any Solidisk boards to take their Beeb to Southend for fitting by their technicians. A working one is a boon and a blessing; a faulty one will drive you to despair.

Chris de Whalley

Question: Contact between members

For the last couple of years I have been beavering away in my little 'ivory tower' feeling acutely isolated from others with similar interests.

AMPLINEX has done much to remedy this situation, but I wonder whether, through AMPLINEX, we could go a stage further. I am fairly certain that there are other people with similar interests in my immediate locality, but I have not a clue who or where they are.

I wonder whether it would be acceptable to members to issue a list of their addresses or telephone numbers so that those in close proximity could establish contact with each other.

I know this may not be as straightforward as it sounds since some people are reluctant to divulge their locations to the world at large because of infringement of their privacy, but I throw in the idea for consideration.

G H Richardson

---

There is certainly no possibility of AMPLINEX publishing a list of all members' names and addresses.

However, if you would like other members to contact you, you are welcome to put this request into an advertisement to be published in AMPLINEX. We have one such submission in this issue.

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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 004, March 1988 

Printing out AMPLINEX information

There are three ways to print out the information seen within 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 reformat 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.

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 reformat 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.

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Published in AMPLINEX 004, March 1988

Next issue news

The next issue of AMPLINEX is planned for release in mid-May. This means that all applications for a FREE copy (i.e. those containing contributions) must be received by SATURDAY APRIL 16TH. Anyone paying the £2.00 fee has until Friday 14th May to apply.

Already planned for the May issue is a feature on a more realistic piano sound using the ACT command. We also hope to have the second in Roger Cawkwell's series providing a practical guide to making music with AMPLE.

We should also be including the long-promised keyboard utility program for those without the luxury of a Music 4000.

We already have some good music waiting to be heard and should be including the first batch of music under our agreement with MCPS (see Update section).

So please continue what has so far been an excellent response by providing your words or music to share with others in issue 005 of AMPLINEX.

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Published in AMPLINEX 004, March 1988

How to contribute to AMPLINEX

To receive your next issue of AMPLINEX free of charge you must send a contribution of your own.

This could be an AMPLE music program, an instrument definition, a question or an article about some aspect of the AMPLE language or Hybrid Music System hardware or software, an AMPLE utility, a useful hint about AMPLE, or an answer to another user's question.

Under copyright law we cannot publish programs or music unless we have the permission of the copyright owners or their licencing agent. It is important to realise that in the case of an AMPLE music program, copyright exists in both the program itself and the music it represents. There may even be a separate copyright in the arrangement. If you wish to contribute transcriptions into AMPLE of someone else's music you must credit the copyright owner(s) of the music, the arrangement (if applicable) and lyrics (if included). We can then try to obtain permission to publish.

To protect ourselves from copyright actions we must ask you to sign the copyright declaration on the 'NEXT ISSUE' request form which was sent to you with this issue of AMPLINEX. All submissions made to AMPLINEX will be regarded as permission to publish within the AMPLINEX membership. Beyond this, the submission remains the property of the author.

As part of an exchange arrangement, we may wish to pass on your address if any of your contributions are of interest to Micronet for distribution via their 'Music City' service.

If you do NOT wish your contributions to be considered by Micronet (and thus your address not to be passed to them) please indicate this on the request form in the place provided.

You can also use your return disc to pass on questions which you would like answered on any issue relating to the Hybrid Music System or AMPLE language. We will do our best to answer them (or will pass them over to the other members for help) and publish the results in the Questions and Answers section of AMPLINEX.

You can also use AMPLINEX to advertise any (un)wanted items. Just put the details of your advertisement on to the return disc and we will try to include it in the next issue.

The 'Feedback' section of AMPLINEX contains a utility to allow a note to be written on the screen which can then be saved to disc. This 'note' file can then be included on your disc sent for the next issue of AMPLINEX.

'Feedback' notes can be used to make contributions to any of the text-based sections of AMPLINEX as well as to make comments or suggestions on AMPLINEX itself.

Send all contributions, on a standard DFS format disc (40/80 track).

Please note:

The AMPLINEX magazine is designed to fit on to one side of an 80 track disc. If you use 40 track discs you should send one double-sided or two single-sided discs.

It is not necessary to send printed copies of your contributions - any copies required are printed locally to save on postage costs.

Suggested file formats are:

a) AMPLE Music programs - save these in normal Studio 5000 format.

Please include some comments about the music - how or why it was written, how it could be changed - and put them into a word as comments following a DISPLAY statement. Use of the word 'info' to contain such text is common practice and we would suggest that it is NOT displayed automatically every time the music is played.

b) AMPLE instruments - save these in text form via *SPOOL using the AMPLE 'TYPE' command to save the word(s) you want.

Some description of the sound itself and hints on its use (e.g. which parameters could be changed) would make it more useful. This can be done using comments within the instrument definition itself (by preceding them with a '%').

c) Text (hints, questions etc.) - use the 'Feedback' note facility for short contributions. For longer pieces use View, Wordwise or other word-processor (without embedded format codes or commands). Do not right justify the text.

You can help us operate AMPLINEX more efficiently by careful naming of the files which you send us. Receiving several files called 'hint' or 'quest' can cause us problems in trying to keep track of which contribution came from which member.

Wherever possible, please try and make the filenames of your contributions unique especially where they are for a regular section of the magazine.

Putting a combination of your name or initials and the section for which the contribution is destined is one way of doing this. So if your name is Fred Bloggs you could use FBquest or BlogH&T for contributions to the Questions and Answers or Hints and Tips sections.

Whatever filenames you use, please remember to include your name somewhere in the contribution - this can save us many hours annotating lists and cross-referencing filenames with contributors.

Ensure that your disc is well packed as we will be using the same packaging to return it to you.

Make sure you enclose a return address label and postage and that both the packaging and the disc are marked with your name and address.

Send it to:

AMPLINEX
26 Arbor Lane
Winnersh
Berks.
RG11 5JD

to arrive by the date specified in the 'Next issue' section.

We look forward to reading and hearing your contributions.

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Published in AMPLINEX 004, March 1988

Update – changes/corrections/comments

This section is a focus for news about the workings of AMPLINEX, corrections to items in previous issues, and other small items of information which might otherwise be missed amongst the details of each issue.

AMPLINEX control program (A.MPLINEX)

We had a problem with the AMPLINEX control program in the previous issue due to the size of the program. It was substantially bigger than in earlier issues due to the inclusion of the 'Feedback' utility. This increase in size, however, meant that BBC Model B owners using the Studio 4000 software were unable to run the program. Fortunately, most realised the cause of the problem and switched to their Studio 5000 system discs to run AMPLINEX.

In order to ensure that the control program can be used in the smaller memory space allowed by the Studio 4000 software a change has been made to the program to check the memory available before allocating space for the 'Feedback' note. If there is insufficient memory, the program will delete the word which displays the title screen, thus freeing enough space to continue.

Since the title screen will normally only be seen once during an AMPLINEX session, this change should be transparent to most users.

Copyright and AMPLINEX

We are pleased to report that we have reached an agreement with the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) to allow us to publish material of which the contributor is not the copyright owner. The agreement should be in effect by the next issue of AMPLINEX and this will allow us to include some 'copyright' music contributions. The agreement is effective for one year and is at a cost of about £35. We felt that this was a reasonable price to pay and will be confirming this to MCPS as soon as this issue is published.

Corrections

Wordwise Plus owners were frustrated in their search for a utility promised in the 'Hints and Tips' section of AMPLINEX 003. The file containing the utility (H.WWconv) was omitted from the disc after a last-minute change of contents.

Our apologies to those who were searching in vain and especially to its author, David Westbrook. It is included in this issue under the same filename.

Feedback

The 'Feedback' section was well used after its inclusion in the previous issue, and it will remain a standard part of AMPLINEX from now on.

A note from Chris de Whalley asks why the filename in 'Feedback' is restricted to seven characters (which does not allow space for a drive or directory prefix). The reason for this is to avoid filename errors (e.g. eight character filenames with DFS) which cause an AMPLE error and return (when TAB is pressed) to the main AMPLINEX menu.

Ideally, we would use an error trapping routine to allow display of such errors and return to the appropriate point in the original program but haven't yet devised the means to do this. Is there an AMPLE programming member able to help?

In the meantime, the drive and directory can still be defined via *commands from the AMPLINEX main menu.

Music from Music 4000 users

Music 5000/4000 compatibility is proving a problem with music contributions to AMPLINEX. Music programs developed using the Music 4000 software can contain module words which are not available in the Studio 5000 environment. Programs containing such words cannot be run on a Studio 5000 system. We will try to adapt such programs to run on a Studio 5000 system where possible, but we would ask members to try running any music developed on a Studio 5000-4 system on a Studio 5000 system before sending it to AMPLINEX.

Finally, please continue to send us your ideas for improving the workings of AMPLINEX - almost all the changes to date have been prompted by members' suggestions. Also, please let us know if you spot an error or omission - you may be the only one who has noticed.

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Published in AMPLINEX 004, March 1988

Welcome to AMPLINEX issue 004

Kevin Doyle

This issue should reach you before the end of March, putting us back on track after the delayed issue 003.

As the issues go by, we are gradually getting better at turning the contributions into a new issue and returning it to you quickly. As Jackie explains in her article on the Data Protection Act, we rely on computerised records to keep a track of the 80+ members and the scores of contributions to date.

I would like to make a plea to all members to read the notes on 'Making a contribution' which are included in this section in every issue. We do change these as we discover better ways of using the contributions and a few simple checks made before any contributions are sent can save us many hours during the preparation of the next disc.

One plea in particular is to those contributors of music who have included comments about the music in accompanying text files. We encourage such comments, not just for our own information, but for that of the other members who are to receive a copy of the music - but we face the task of transcribing them into AMPLE format to include within the music program. So, please keep sending the comments, but put them in the program.

In this issue we have another interesting collection of original AMPLE music as well as a promotional track from the disc 'Inside Stories' by Peter Chase (reviewed in AMPLINEX 003) supplied by Hybrid Technology.

We have the first in a series of AMPLE guides to 'music theory in action' from Roger Cawkwell and a collection of instruments to try in your own music.

We have a feature on using the AMX mouse with the Studio 5000, another on saving memory in AMPLE programs and a comprehensive index to the first 3 issues of AMPLINEX.

Prompted by the comments in the 'Update' section of the previous issue, we have an interesting collection of comments about AMPLE and the music it produces. We also have the largest ever 'Questions and Answers' section - 40% bigger than in issue 003 (which itself was over double the size of issue 002). Happily, there are about as many answers as questions.

We have a review of the new waveform design software which has just been released and an index to the AMPLE Nucleus Programmer Guide (reviewed in AMPLINEX 003).

We also have a couple of utility programs to monitor the activity on the AMPLE number stack - an excellent way to understand and use this feature of the AMPLE system.

Thank you for your excellent response to date – it’s a pleasure to have to worry about whether or not each issue's contents are going to fit on to one side of an 80-track disc!

I look forward to your contributions to AMPLINEX 005.

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Published in AMPLINEX 004, March 1988

AMPLINEX 003

AMPLINEX issue 003 was published in January 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.