AMPLINEX 010

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AMPLINEX issue 010 was published in March 1989. 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

We were hoping to include a review of the new Music 5000 Junior from Hybrid Technology in this issue of AMPLINEX. However, as a result of a move to new premises, the release of this product has been delayed and a new release date has yet to be announced. As soon as it is released we will, of course, include a review in AMPLINEX.
Hybrid's move will be completed on 10th April after which their address will be:
Hybrid Technology Ltd.
273 The Science Park
CAMBRIDGE
CB4 4WE
and their telephone number will be (0223) 420360.

AMPLE, MIDI and the D110

Roger Cawkwell
Since my previous report on the Music 2000 (News and Reviews, AMPLINEX 008) I have become the proud owner of a Roland D110 (similar to the MT32). I can only echo the praises for the MT32 expressed in the article in AMPLINEX 008 and I must confess that since Christmas I've only hooked up the Music 5000 in order to read AMPLINEX!
Unlike the MT32 the D110 is readily programmable from the front panel and, having had previous experience in sound synthesis, I was able to adapt presets, and write new voices with relative ease. Using system exclusive information contained in the manual I have been able to edit sounds from AMPLE (this does not mean that I have written a user friendly voice editor!) so that each piece I write can have custom-tweaked voices, pans, balances, etc.
The system exclusive stuff was pretty hard going - I sat up in bed reading the manual until the early hours for quite a few days until I cracked the code - but I will pass on the fruits of my labours in an article in a future issue along with a few simple routines.
For those who don't want to bother with all that (yet!) I can still thoroughly recommend the D110 for its 'off the peg' sounds. P.S. Ask around; I got mine (by legal means) for under five hundred quid.

Further news from Roger Cawkwell: Boosey & Hawkes have recently published a composition of his for saxophones and rhythm section, entitled 'Saxtracks', which includes a version of his piece 'New Choros' which appeared in the Music section of AMPLINEX 003. A feature of the publication is a cassette recording of the rhythm section parts produced entirely from his Music 5000 with only a touch of reverberation added in the studio.

Published in AMPLINEX 010, March 1989

Spooky Funk

by Frank Dudley

Monster computations

 

Source: AMPLINEX 010 disk, file $.SPOOKY


Published in AMPLINEX 010, March 1989

Rosemary

by Tim Sketchley

This piece uses just temperament as described in my utility in AMPLINEX 006.

To play the piece in equal temperament, type EQUAL.
 

Source: AMPLINEX 010 disk, file $.ROSE


Published in AMPLINEX 010, March 1989

Race with Devil on Spanish Highway

by Ian L Hubbard

Composed by: Al Di Meola

 

Source: AMPLINEX 010 disk, file $.RACEDEV


Published in AMPLINEX 010, March 1989

The Pink Panther

by Andrew Leahy

Composed by: Henry Mancini

 

Source: AMPLINEX 010 disk, file $.PINKPAN


Published in AMPLINEX 010, March 1989

Northumbrian Bagpipes

by Bob Ord

Composed by: Traditional

Wild Hills o' Wanny & Roslyn Castle

THE NORTHUMBRIAN BAGPIPE AND ITS MUSIC ======================================
By Bob Ord

Having grown up with the sound of the Northumbrian Pipes in my ears, I wished to reproduce their sound using the Music 5000.

Originally descended from a French Court instrument called the "Mussette" and the "English Shuttle Pipe" the Northumbrian Bagpipes are bellows blown rather than mouth blown, and being an indoor instrument they are not as loud as their Highland cousins.

Like the Highland Bagpipe the Northumbrian Bagpipe has a chanter on which the melody is played. Unlike the Highland Bagpipe the drones which play an accompaniment, do not lie up against the left shoulder but across the chest.

After looking at the waveform of the chanter upon an oscilloscope, I did a Fourier Analysis to extract the required harmonics to produce the sound of the chanter, which resulted in the following instrument definition.

2 CHANS
1 CHAN
Clear Flat Soft
120 AMP ON RM 2 POS
2 CHAN
Hollow Flat Onoff
120 AMP -2 POS

The same procedure was done for the drone which yielded the following:

2 CHANS
1 CHAN
Clear Flat Onoff
110 AMP ON RM 2 POS
2 CHAN
Hollow Flat Onoff
120 AMP -2 POS

As far as realism is concerned the words used to define both the chanter and the drones are sufficient to fool my father. "So what", you say. He makes and plays the Northumbrian Bagpipe. Those of you who would like to use the sound of the Northumbrian Bagpipe in your music will have to bear in mind the following:

The seven key Chanter can only play the following notes above middle C.

0:D E +F G A B C +C D +D E +F G A B

Hence tunes in the keys of G and D can be played.

Since the fingering of the Chanter is a closed fingering (i.e. with fingers on all holes no sound is made from the Chanter), it is possible to score rests and to separate the notes with a small silent delay. For this pause I have used '-2 Len' in the score for the Chanter.

I have used the 'Echo' instruction to give the performance of these tunes presence, using one echo with typical reverberation settings.

The four Drones are tuned:

a) -1:D can be retuned to E
b) -1:G can be retuned to A
c) 0:D can be retuned to E
d) 0:G can be retuned to A

All Drones can be turned on or off independently.

Scores for the drones generally take the following form:

%STAFF
SCORE48,3BAR
-1:144,G(DG)| number tune bars + 1
FOR(~G(~D~G)|)FOR

For a tune in the key of G major.
 

Source: AMPLINEX 010 disk, file $.NBAGPIP


Published in AMPLINEX 010, March 1989

Mood Indigo

by [unknown contributor]

Composed by: Duke Ellington

This small piece is the result of trying out AMPLE music words with help from various items and features read in AMPLINEX.

There is a random element in the transposition of some instruments, and the playing of a slide.

I was after a particular overall sound nearly, but not quite there.
 

Source: AMPLINEX 010 disk, file $.MOODIND


Published in AMPLINEX 010, March 1989

March to Battle

by Simon Hill

Hi! I am, I believe, AMPLINEX's first Electron member. I bought my Music 5000 last December, a few months after they had been released. They are being marketed by P.R.E.S. Ltd which is a company that produces lots of add-ons for the Electron.

I think the synthesiser is wonderful, although I have to say that I have a Slogger Master Ram Board fitted to my machine. This gives me 32K Shadow RAM and fast RAM banks - the Electron has a reputation for being a slow micro.

Music plays at the correct speed on the unexpanded Electron, but takes up so much processing time that trying to do anything else (like using the Mixing Desk) becomes a very slow business. Having said that, it is still perfectly usable.

Another problem is that the Electron has no Mode 7, so there is a natural lack of memory. This is no problem for me, as I always work in Shadow RAM - but unexpanded owners only have about 9000 bytes free when no editors have been installed (4000 with Mixing Desk).

This has the side-effect that all of AMPLINEX's Mode 7 displays look like a dog's dinner and that the AMPLINEX control program does fit in the memory available.

Otherwise, the system is identical to that of the BBC and everything I have tried playing on it works perfectly. I don't think that the speed and memory restrictions will be too much of a problem as a vast number of Electron owners have the Master RAM Board. Electrons are being sold with the MRB fitted. Acorn no longer markets them.
 

Source: AMPLINEX 010 disk, file $.MARCH


Published in AMPLINEX 010, March 1989

Landscape and Vista

by Jim Redfarn

 

Source: AMPLINEX 010 disk, file $.VISTA


Published in AMPLINEX 010, March 1989