*********************************** AM/FM ***********************************  (This letter came to us in Swedish, but [Ed] has for the occasion taken a part time job as a translator, so here we go...)  Hi Bjørn! Thanks for letting me know that Space Wars was sold out - I almost started to doubt your honesty! (Besides, business isn't too good, so...) Anyway, I also want your CD "Hobbits & Spaceships", so I have enclosed 150 Swedish Kroner - I hope it's worth the money!  [Ed]: Thanks for the Swedish money Paul - the CD is already in your possesion when you read this - I should think it's worth the money, if you like Amiga music in CD quality! Hope you like it...  By the way, The Gathering - is that this summer? I hope so, because if it's some time during the spring, I might as well forget it.  [Ed]: Oops! Sorry mate, but The Gathering -93 happened during Easter (April 5-10), so you're too late already! Try not to miss The Gathering -94 next Easter!  I would like to add a point to what David Cassidy wrote in AM/FM #11 about the CDTV vs CD-I "battle". He wonders if we will get to see the same thing happen, as what happened in the "battle" between Betamax and VHS. Who is going to win? I suspect that it will be just like in the Betamax/VHS fight - not necessarily that the "worst" of the two will win, but the one that gives the potential buyers what they want, and that's material that supports their machines! The fact that VHS got the foothold was because the market was overwhelmed with VHS tapes! Almost all the rental movies were on VHS. Would you buy an Amiga if there was no software for it? No.  [Ed]: I think so to!  Your "Basement Tapes" column is --> GOLD <-- as I (and everyone else) in a roundabout way get lots of good advice.  [Ed]: Thanks! It's lots of fun to write this column too!  I've been thinking about writing some reviews for AM/FM. I haven't seen any review on classic CD's (Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven, etc.) yet, så I thought I might give it a shot. So what do you say? Would you like a review on, for example, Bach? (Don't worry, I can handle English).  [Ed]: Yep, Reviews on classic CDs would be more than welcome, although something tells me this isn't the most popular field of music among Amiga-freaks!  Paul Draaisma, Lund, Sweden  [Ed]: Thanks for the letter, Paul. *********************************** AM/FM ***********************************  Tech/MIDI message #57 from JASON CRUSADERS to BJORN LYNNE (read). Entered on 1st March, 1993 at 17:46, 33 lines. Reply to msg # 56. (There are no more replies.) Subject: PATCHES ================  >Do you have any good suggestions as to which program that's "best suited" to >save PATCHES from M1/Wavestation?? (Apart from Music-X).  MOPED (M1's Only Patch EDitor) is a patch-storage program (but NOT an Editor, like the name implies!) for the M1. I don't know if there are any special ones for the Wavestation. MOPED can be found on AM/FM Magazine Disk #5. Apart from that, there are several different general MIDI sysex storage programmes. I, for example, use a little program simply named "SysEx", which should work ok with just about any synth. It works like a charm on my Ensoniq SQ-R+. Another program of the same type is MIDICom. This one looks a bit more fancy and has some extra features, but hasn't been quite stable when I've used it. SysEx: AM/FM Magazine Disk #8. MIDICom latest version: AM/FM Magazine Disk #7.  >Do you know of any company who's got some good RAM-cards for the M1?  Try: MIDI Music 1810 Slitu NORWAY Tlf. +47-(0)94-77600 eller +47 (0)9 894450 Fax +47 (0)9 894450 They've got RAM cards and other accessories for just about any synth you can think of. Bjørn Lynne  *********************************** AM/FM ***********************************   Dear AM/FM, I have only recently aquired an AMIGA having changed direction from the ACORN BBC MICRO + HYBRID TECHNOLOGY SYNTH which uses an MCL language called AMPLE. Therefore I am on a steep learning curve in terms of the AMIGA + MIDI. I recently purchased a few back copies of AM/FM which I like very much - but there are a few problems which you perhaps can assist me with. MY EQUIPMENT: AMIGA 500 (1.3) - no additional drive yet MIDI INTERFACE YAMAHA QY10 (HARDWARE SEQ./SYNTH-MIDI) NOVATION 2 OCTAVE VEL SENSITIVE MIDI MASTER KEYBOARD MUSIC-X 1.1 PROBLEMS: 1. TracksheetX Utility - I could not get this programme to load a Music- X performance file. The following inputs and responses were obtained when TracksheetX is run. Hakemistopolku? (Music-X_Data:Performances/" Fileenimi? shows---- Directory of :{Performances} river ipanema QYdemo.3.perf | | etc. (These files load successfully into Music-X.) Fileenimi? "river" (I also tried without "") response: Ei Loydy sellaista filetta! (what does this mean??) Hakenistopolky? (Etc...) Eventually the programme crashes and returns to the Extras 1.3 window having indicated "file not found".  [Ed]: I have to admit, I haven't been able to figure out how to get around this problem with Tracksheet-X. The fact that my Finnish is a bit rusty (to say the least, I don't understand a word of it myself) doesn't help much, so I think I will have to ask our finnish readers to try to sort this out for us. So readers, if you're finnish or can understand finnish, please help by writing to AM/FM and explaining!!  2. Printing AM/FM text files e.g. doc files. a) The print function in AM/FM does not work if the AM/FM disk is booted and run. b) Loading Workbench1.3, then selecting the main icon for AM/FM does not allow the SHIFT-ALT-O to work. c) Selecting the quick-startup version, then pressing SHIFT-ALT-O prints out the current document, but then the AMIGA totally hangs! My printer driver for CITIZEN 120D is installed in Workbench preferences --- what am I doing wrong?  [Ed]: The problem is that there is no printer-driver installed on the AM/FM disk; and when you start AM/FM by booting it or running the full startup-script, then it wouldn't print. We apologise for this, and will include a generic printer driver on all future AM/FM disks. The "generic" printer driver will be able to print plain text on 99% of all printers, but it won't handle graphics etc. But it still should have worked when you used the quick-startup script, because in this case, it should use the printer driver and setup from your Workbench disk, or whatever you booted with.  3. AM/FM SAMPLES DISC #8 Having decrunched the sample files they would not load into Music-X as indicated in the doc file for disc #8. They did load into MED (as "raw" samples) which I then saved as IFF format files --- then they loaded into Music-X. Incidently I phoned 17-Bit whose staff said that they had had complaints before about files loading problems (Music-X) --- perhaps you are losing sales here! Problems like this are a particular problem for someone like me - a newcomer, since you are not sure if it is something that you are doing wrong!  [Ed]: Ok, once again I think I will have to admit that we must take critisism for not making sure our samples are 100% compatible with all software. The problem lies in Protracker, which is often used as the sampling software, because of it's speedy sample handling and editing. However, even when you select "Save Sample as IFF" in Protracker, it turns out that this IFF format isn't PROPER IFF format. It loads into Audiomaster, which also recognizes it as an "IFF Sample", but Music-X doesn't recognize it as an IFF sample. The solution is therefore to load it into MED or Audiomaster and then save it back out - NOW it will be in PROPER 100% IFF format. We apologise for the trouble, and in the future we will see to it that ALL samples on AM/FM disks are in PROPER IFF format, saved from Audiomaster. Thanks for letting us know about this problem. (Isn't it great to know that you have helped make AM/FM even better?) :-)  4. YAHAMA QY10 --- while I have found a SysEx Dump program in the public domain which works with the QY10, it would be nice to have a protocol for Music-X. Do you know of one?  [Ed]: Sorry, I don't know about a Yamaha QY10 Protocol for Music-X. If any of our readers has one, please send it in! Also, watch out for our Music-X Synth Protocol Special Feature (with almost 100 protocols!!!) in the next issue of AM/FM!  I look forward to hearing from you. Regards, STEWART M. WILKIE ANGUS, SCOTLAND  [Ed]: Thanks for your letter, Stewart. Hope to hear from you again. *********************************** AM/FM ***********************************