home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
DP Tool Club 19
/
CD_ASCQ_19_010295.iso
/
vrac
/
absmfaq4.zip
/
ABSMFAQ4.TXT
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-11-29
|
69KB
|
1,340 lines
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) LIST FOR ALT.BINARIES.SOUNDS.MODS
incomplete beta release v0.4 dated 19.11.94 (DDMMYY)
Maintained by jester (Tobias Reckhard), jester@rbg.informatik.th-darmstadt.de
Disclaimer: The information contained in this document is believed to be
correct, but the originators will not be held responsible for any negative
effects of its contents. Anything positive is, of course, our doing ;)
[0] Table of Contents
[1] General
[1.1] Motivation/Purpose of the FAQ
[1.2] Modules
[1.3] Terminology used in this FAQ
[1.4] Commonly Used Abbreviations
[2] Types of Modules
[3] Playing Mods
[3.1] Amiga
[3.2] Atari ST
[3.3] Mac
[3.4] MS-DOS
[3.5] OS/2
[3.6] UNIX (Sun/Linux/NeXt)
[3.7] Windows
[4] Creating Mods
[4.1] Trackers
[4.1.1] Amiga
[4.1.2] Atari ST
[4.1.3] Mac
[4.1.4] MS-DOS
[4.1.5] OS/2
[4.1.6] UNIX (Sun/Linux/NeXt)
[4.1.7] Windows
[4.2] Converters
[4.2.1] from MIDI
[4.2.2] Mod Format Converters
[5] Samples
[5.1] Acquisition
[5.1.1] Sampling
[5.1.2] 'Ripping'
[5.1.3] Conversion From Other Formats
[5.2] Sample Editors
[5.3] FTP Sites with Samples
[6] Obtaining MODs
[6.1] FTP Servers
[6.2] BBSs
[6.3] Newgroup(s)
[6.4] WWW
[6.5] CD-ROMs
[7] Distributing Mods
[7.0.1] Compression
[7.1] Usenet Posting
[7.2] FTP Uploads
[7.3] BBS Uploads
Appendix A: Contributors/Credits/Greetings
Appendix B: Common Properties of Module File Formats
Appendix C: Mods and MIDI
Appendix D: Musicians
Appendix E: All-Time Faves
Appendix F: the MOD Charts
Appendix G: History of MOD
Appendix H: Availability of Compressors/Archivers
Appendix I: Table of Note Frequencies
==============================================================================
[1] General
This is the third beta version of the FAQ for the UseNet Newsgroup
alt.binaries.sounds.mods.
Availability: It will be posted to this newsgroup and news.answers every two
weeks, as soon as it has passed beta stage (i.e. every section
is at least partially filled).
It will be available by ftp from rtfm.mit.edu and
opus.mac.cc.cmu.edu (log in as Music, password Music, leave Dir
entry blank; courtesy of Matthew Centurion).
A WWW HTML page is being prepared by Zigg (Matt Behrens). This
will hopefully be available soon after beta stage is over.
You can already obtain the most recent version of the FAQ by
fingering my address and dumping that to a file, as in:
finger jester@rbg.informatik.th-darmstadt.de > mod-faq.doc
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.1] Motivation/Purpose of the FAQ
The newsgroup alt.binaries.sounds.mods (hereafter referred to as absm) is
being flooded by a lot of questions lately, most of them cropping up over and
over again. These, commonly referred to as Frequently Asked Questions (hence
the term FAQ, but you knew that already), are pretty bugging after a while, so
this is an attempt at answering them.
What is the purpose of this FAQ? Well, it is centered around absm, of course,
and deals with the problems that are usually encountered there. It is supposed
to help new readers of the group find programs and modules, decode the posts,
make contributions of their own and give pointers on where to find further
information. This FAQ does NOT attempt to teach you how to make music. As of
now, I am also not planning to devote sections of this FAQ to the explanation
of certain editors/trackers/players. Should a question concerning a specific
program come up very frequently, it would of course qualify as an FAQ, but I
do not consider it my job to teach you how to use ScreamTracker, for example.
That's the .DOC's job.
Keep in mind, please, that I manage this FAQ in my private time, which isn't
much anyway. I only know my own hardware platform (MS-DOS/Windows/GUS/SB), so
I am dependent on your feedback and contributions. If you have something you
feel belongs here or any other form of constructive criticism, don't hesitate
to email me with it. I check my mail folder almost every day, except on
weekends, when I don't have Internet access at all. You can reach me at:
jester@rbg.informatik.th-darmstadt.de (Note: I am NOT Jester/Sanity).
If you've contributed to the FAQ, your name and address (optional) will be
listed in the contributors section. You will also be entitled to a list of
your favourite mods and composers (might be dropped in the future if it
becomes too large).
Thank you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.2] Modules (What are MODs?)
Modules are digital music files, made up of a set of samples (the instruments)
and sequencing information, telling a mod player when to play which sample on
which track at what pitch, optionally performing an effect like vibrato, for
example. Thus mods are different from pure sample files such as WAV or AU,
which contain no sequencing information, and MIDI files, which do not include
any custom samples/instruments. Mods are extremely popular in the demo world
and offer a way of making music of an acceptable level of quality rather
cheaply. With the advent of high-quality sound hardware, new generations of
mods may even rise to a sound quality nearing that of professional equipment.
Mods' sequencing information is based on patterns and tracks. A pattern is a
group of tracks with a certain length, usually 64 rows (see 1.3). The tracks
are independent of each other, meaning that a four track mod can play four
voices or notes simultaneously. The patterns can be sequenced in a playlist,
so that repeating the same sequence of patterns doesn't require rewriting of
them.
This makes mods a hybrid between pure sample data files such as WAV, VOC or
IFF/8SVX and pure sequencing information files like MIDI. One of the most
freuquently asked questions is "how do I convert a WAV to MOD?". This can be
done, but is rather senseless. The other way around might be interesting for
people with enormous hard drives, so they could listen to what used to be a
mod at higher quality than before at the cost of several megabytes of drive
space (10 MB/min. at 16 bits, 44.1kHz, stereo), or for those who want to show
off a mod to others who don't have a mod player (or worse, can only play 8kHz
AU files.. ;) ). Programs to do this don't exist yet, though.
Numerous mods have been released in the past year that were basically huge
samples off a CD (is there a connection to CD-ROM drives gaining increasing
popularity?), the only parts actually sequenced were the chorus bits. Most of
these mods were some form op top ten hit. These are, in effect, WAV to MOD
conversions. I don't mind them floating around, but it is a widely
acknowledged opinion that these kinds of mods defeat their own prupose. I
therefore don't recommend their making (but this is my opinion). Note that
this is NOT the same as using sampled drum loops or riffs in mods. While I
don't like these myself either, these do require a lot more sequencing than
huge 64KB chunks of a complete song.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.3] Terminology used in this FAQ
- Throughout this FAQ, modules will be referred to as 'mods'. This term will
be used for all types of modules, be they M.K., 8CHN, ULT, S3M, XM or
anything else. Note that MOD (i.e. capitalized) refers to the group of mods
that have this filename extension.
- A 'track' is a module voice. The number of tracks denotes the number of
notes/instruments/voices that can play simultaneously.
- A 'pattern' is a group of as many tracks as the mod has with a fixed length,
which can be referenced in a sequencing list. A M.K. pattern is 4 tracks by
64 rows, for example.
- A 'row' is the smallest unit of time measurement in which notes can be
placed on tracks. A M.K. pattern has 64 rows. OKT and FAR, for example, can
have patterns of differing length in the same mod.
- A 'slot' is an element of a row, dedicated to hold a specific piece of
information. These are notes, volume and effects, for example.
- A 'column' is an element of a track, such as the note column, the volume
column and the effect column. A 'column' is a group of 'slots' of one type
in a common track.
- A 'sample' is a digitized sound included in the mod, which serves as an
instrument. As mods don't use a fixed instrument set (as General MIDI does),
anything can be used as an instrument, including noises or human voices.
- A 'channel' is a source of emitted sound. Channel and track are often used
interchangeably in the mod community.
- A 'player' is a program that decodes mods and ouputs these on a sound
device.
- A 'tracker' is a program that enables creation of mods. Trackers usually
feature a 'player'.
- A section saying 'NHY' isn't there yet (NHY = Not Here Yet). I don't have
any information on the topic. If you do, get back to me immediately!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.4] Commonly Used Abbreviations (see section 2 for mod type abbrevs)
FT1 - Mr.H/Triton's FastTracker 1.xx, MS-DOS MOD tracker
ST3 - PSI/Future Crew's Scream Tracker 3.01b
FT2 - Triton's FastTracker II
PT - ProTracker (Amiga tracker)
GUS - Gravis Ultrasound (sound card)
SB - SoundBlaster (sound card)
PAS - Pro Audio Spectrum (sound card)
DMA - Direct Memory Access (method of transferring data quickly across the
computer's bus, DMA channel is a sound card parameter)
IRQ - Interrupt (sound card parameter)
FM - Frequency Modulation sound synthesis (used by Adlib and SB in FM mode)
CxSpd - Sampling rate at which a sample is reproduced by a tracker/player when
it encounters the note C in octave x.
DAC - Digital to Analogue Converter. Digital sound output medium used with the
parallel port of a computer.
Hz - Hertz, metric unit. 1 Hz = 1/sec. Used to express frequencies.
==============================================================================
[2] Types of Mods
This is a brief summary of mod types. For further information, see the
documentation of file formats and/or the associated trackers' documentation.
This is probably the best place to mention that the most common filetype
today on the Amiga is still MOD, while S3M and MTM have taken over on PC's. XM
is expected to gain popularity pretty quick.
Name Default No. of No. of Sample Associated
Extension tracks samples properties tracker
M.K. MOD 4 15 8 bits/fixed SoundTracker (1st ever)
M.K. MOD 4 31 8 bits/fixed ProTracker
xCHN MOD 6/8 31 8 bits/fixed FastTracker 1
FLTx MOD 4/8 31 8 bits/fixed StarTrekker
NST NST 4 15 8 bits/fixed Noise Tracker
669 669 8 64 8 bits/?? ComposD??
UNIS 669?? 8 64?? 8 bits/?? UNIS669
MTM MTM 1-32 31 8 bits/?? MultiModuleEdit 1.01b
(63)*** (16 bits)***
STM STM 4 31 8 bits/var ScreamTracker 2.xx
S3M S3M 16+9** 99 8 bits/var ScreamTracker 3.01b
(32)* (255)* (16 bits)*
ULT ULT 1-32 64 8/16 bits/var UltraTracker 1.6
XM XM 2-32 128 8/16 bits/var FastTracker II
FAR FAR 16 64 8/16 bits/fixed Farandole Composer 1.00
WOW WOW 8 31 8 bits/fixed Grave Composer
OKT OKT 4-8 255 7/8 bits/fixed Oktalyzer
DMF DMF 32 ?? ?? X-Tracker 0.3
* - The S3M format is capable of storing these, but there isn't a tracker
there yet to implement them.
** - S3M can store 9 FM-based channels (Adlib).
*** - MTM supports these, but the current version of MMEdit doesn't allow for
them.
==============================================================================
[3] Playing Mods
This section only features a maximum of 6 players per system. An extended list
is available separately (not in this release, but to come).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.1] Amiga
This section supplied by Christian Stieber <stieber@informatik.tu-muenchen.de>
All of the following players can be found on aminet in mus/play/ (see 6.1).
All of the following players are proper applications, i.e. they use windows
and don't hack the hardware (except for the sound hardware). All of the
following players use external players to allow for an unlimited number of
formats (provided that somebody writes a player). All of the following players
support Pro/Noise/SoundTracker, ScreamTracker, FastTracker. I believe that
most of the players support MultiTracker and TakeTracker as well (DeliTracker
does).
- DeliTracker 2.07
OS friendly player, currently plays more than 80 different mod formats,
including S3M, 6CHN, 8CHN, TakeTracker and MTM. Has an external player
concept. Requires AmigaOS 2.0+. Shareware $20 or DM 20.
FTP: mus/play/DeliTracker_207.lha
- EaglePlayer 1.53
Similar features as DeliTracker. Plays 100 mod formats, but seemingly no
IBM clone formats (S3M, xCHN, MTM, etc.). Crippled shareware $20 or DM 20.
FTP: mus/play/EaglePlayer1.53.lha
- D.A.S.ModulePlayer 3.4
Plays M.K., NST, 6CHN, 8CHN, MTM, S3M, Quadracomposer, MED, FutureComposer,
SoundMon 2.0, FRED, MusicAssembler and David Whittaker mods. New formats may
be added via external player libraries. Requires MUI for its GUI. Requires
AmigaOS 2.0+. Crippled shareware 25 AUD, 70 FIM, $15.
FTP: mus/play/DMODP34.lha
- PS3M 2.5 (beta)
Plays S3M, MTM, xCHN and TakeTracker. Most Amiga S3M-players probably
originated from this player.
FTP: mus/play/ps3m0025.lha.
There are more players I don't know about, and there are players I
didn't list since they support Pro/Noise/SoundTRacker only, possibly
with some support for some Amiga-only formats.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.2] Atari ST
NHY
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.3] Mac
For a description of Player Pro and Sound Tracker, the obviously most popular
Mac programs, see section 4.1.3
Rich "Akira" Pizor <pizor@lclark.edu> notes:
* The Macintosh-tracker. This freeware program plays MODs compatible with the
Mar Epsie's Tracker, Player-Pro and the Sound-Tracker. It also features
icons courtesy of Skaven and the Future Crew.
* Alpha-Tracker. This system extension is a tiny, faceless application that
automatically plays randomly selected MODs in the background while you work.
Slightly old, supports most 4-track formats.
* MusicBox XCMD. This XCMD for HyperCard adds a very functional MOD player to
a HyperCard stack, allowing the more adventurous Mac owner to quickly and
easily design their own MOD player. Supports most 4-track formats.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.4] MS-DOS
- Inertia Player 1.2
IPlay plays MOD/STM/S3M/669/FAR/MTM/UNIS/ULT/WOW on GUS/PAS16/Windows Sound
System/SB16(ASP)/SB Pro/SB/Covox(DAC8) on LPT1/Stereo-on-1 on LPT1/Adlib/
PC Speaker/General MIDI. Most (but by no means all) effects played more
accurately than by DMP. Looks pretty spiffy and features 256x oversampling.
Has a built-in file selector, but no playlists. Supports S3M panning only
for command Xxx, S8x is ignored. Freeware.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/players/iplay120.zip
- Dual Module Player 3.01
DMP plays MOD/STM/SM/669/FAR/MTM on a wide variety of hardware. It is good
for an approximation of a lot of mods, but doesn't guarantee correct
playback of anything. Does not support UNIS/ULT/OKT/WOW. Has software
filters and quality mode, supports both flavours of MOD and S3M stereo
panning. Also supports archives. Does not feature integrated file selector
or playlists. Cardware.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/players/dmp301.zip
Note: A protected mode version is also available, under the filename
dmp32295.zip
- CapaMOD 2.05
CMOD plays MOD and S3M files. Gravis Ultrasound ONLY! Claims to be the most
ProTracker-compliant MS-DOS player. S3M support has only been added in
version 2, so it might not be complete (panning isn't there yet). This
player is rubberware (you're supposed to send the dude a condom). :)
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/players/cmod205.zip
- MDP 1.1
Future Crew's Music Disk Player. Plays MOD, STM and S3M on SoundBlaster,
SoundBlaster Pro and GUS. Configurable for Music Disks. Is available in
Future Crew's Music Disks. Plays S3M pretty much like ST3 itself (I haven't
noticed differences), MOD compatibility is somewhat questionable.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/disks/chmind.zip
- Renaissance Music Player 1.2.
Plays 4, 6, 8 and 16 track MODs, S3Ms and MTMs (both up to 16 tracks) on
GUS, SB, SB Pro, SB 16, PAS, PAS16, AudioTrix Pro. Designed for ProTracker
compatibility (except effects E0 and EF). S3Ms and MTMs may not be played
100% accurate. EMS/XMS support. 16 bit DMAs might not work with PAS16 and
SB16. Doesn't feature playlists, file selector or archive support. Freeware.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/players/rmp120.zip
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.5] OS/2
From David E. Wach <dave@gladstone.uoregon.edu> on 10 Nov 1994:
Well, this is what I found: ftp hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/2_1/mmedia/dmply101.zip
This is the latest version (1.01) of "Digital Music Player" (or DMPlayer.exe)
It currently supports only .mod's, but also plays .avi, .mid, and .wav.
You must have MMPMOS/2 (included with os/2) installed. It doesn't play
as well as dos-hosted players,... Should run pretty well on 486dx33 or better
with improved sound quality. Supports mono and stereo (no surround), 8 and 16
bit modes, and includes bass, treble, balance and volume controlls.
(Shareware can't save playlists)
Supports all MMPMOS/2 supported cards (ie. anything that would be running
under os/2 anyway (which is most everything)).
There is also /os2/2_1/mmedia/tracker.zip which is another .mod-only
player, but it is rather buggy. However it includes the source code, so
it might be of interest to hackers.
One last thing at hobbes.nmsu.edu in /os2/2_1/mmedia is pmixos2.zip which
is a Pro-Audio Spectrum 16 mixer for os/2. Don't know how good it is, i
have a SB16!
Hope this helps, and glad to be of service. Keep up the posts to
alt.binaries.music.mods!!!! ;-> [I just had to leave this in ;) - jester]
By the way, i was a little mis-leading. I CAN run Mod4Win in a WinOS/2
session. DMPlayer is the only NATIVE OS/2 mod player i know of. The only
thing i have to do to Mod4Win to make it run with os/2 is to reduce its
number of buffers. And I usually run it in a full-screen WinOS/2 session
(which makes some win apps. a little more stable).
-dave
John Roland writes on 12 Nov 94 that DMPlayer 1.01 (and an early-stage beta)
is also available by ftp from ftp-os2.cdrom.com/pub/os2.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.6] UNIX (and Sun, NeXt, Linux)
A Linux S3M, MOD, 6CHN and 8CHN player is S3MOD. Anybody know anything about
it? Or GMOD?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.7] Windows
- MOD4WIN 2.11
Plays MOD/STM/S3M/669/FAR/MTM/UNIS/OKT/WOW on a Windows asynchronous wave
driver (no PC speaker). Up to 16 bits, 48kHz. Features surround sound, IDO,
panning, integrated file selection, playlists, file management and archiver
support. Most effects are more reliable than DMP or IPlay.
Shareware $30, runs for 30 days.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/players/m4w211sx.zip
- WinMOD Pro (current version 0.04ß?)
Plays MODs in Windows. Not as good as M4W. I recently deleted this one,
anyone still have it to fill out on this?
==============================================================================
[4] Creating Mods
I consider it pretty normal for most people to tire of simply listening to the
tunes others have made after a while and to decide to use (perhaps waste) some
time in composing some of their own. This is where you need a tracker. You
might also want to convert this fabulous MIDI arrangement you downloaded from
someplace to a mod so you could muck around with it a bit, or simply to be
able to listen to it with digital instruments (if you're stuck with SB FM
MIDI). You then need a converter and probably a tracker for post-processing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.1] Trackers
[4.1.1] Amiga
NHY
[4.1.2] Atari ST
NHY
[4.1.3] Mac
Barry Nathan <barryn@netcom.com> writes on Thu, 17 Nov 1994:
Player Pro: $20 shareware. Can access the sound chip directly, so it takes
less processor time than SoundTrecker. It'll still work when new Macs with
new sound chips come out, because it can also use the regular Sound
Manager 3.0 if necessary, like when the PowerMacs came out and Player Pro
didn't support their sound chip. Only edits its own format, MADF, but it
can import and export MOD, S3M, MIDI, and some other formats I can't
remember right now. Used to have a few bugs, but the latest (4.2) only has
bugs with the S3M import module, and then only on PowerMacs. Upgrades are
free, except for the upgrade from the disk to the (not yet released)
CD-ROM version (which will have extra instruments and songs), which will
cost $20 for an upgrade and $40 for a full purchase. Unlike Sound-Trecker,
it is fully PowerMac-native, which means it FLIES by on a PowerMac.
Rich "Akira" Pizor adds: Player Pro disables all but the most basic features
until the shareware fee is paid, much to the chagrin of many Mac MOD
enthusiasts.
Sound-Trecker: $40 shareware. Partially, but not fully, PMac native, but
it can do simulated surround sound for headphones or (I think...) Dolby
Surround decoders. However, with the Surround option, the fact that it's
not fully native really shows, as you hear clicks when you try to do
other stuff. However, the slowdown isn't that severe on normal Macs. The
two other advantages are that it can play (Okta)MEDs, which Player Pro
can't handle, and some MODs play better with it than Player Pro. Keep in
mind that with the extra features and bug fixes with Player Pro 4.2, most
MODs play -much- better with Player Pro, though, and PP is cheaper.
Rich "Akira" Pizor adds: Sound-Tracker is a shell program which plays formats
based on plug-ins, providing for maximum flexibility, since plug-ins can
easily be written whenever a new format is introduced. Currently, most of the
standard 4- and 8-track MOD formats are supported. Also available is a plug-in
that makes it PowerPC native. It is also known for having one of the better
interfaces of Mac MOD players. The resoucres for creating/editing MODs are
present, yet the appropriate menu items are geryed out. I've not met anyone
who could explain this anomaly to me. The two theories I've heard are that you
get editing capabilities if you register the program (German ReadMe not too
well understood) or that the resources are simply sitting there while the
author learns how to integrate the corresponding features into a later release
of the program.
Both are available from sumex-aim.stanford.edu, in /info-mac/snd/util (I
think). However, sumex itself is hardly accessible, and one of its
mirrors (like <URL:ftp://ftp.hawaii.com://mirrors/info-mac/snd/util> will
be better.
[4.1.4] MS-DOS
MS-DOS users have quite a few trackers available to them nowadays, with
capabilities superior to first-generation mods. Beta releases and unpopular
trackers are not mentioned, the ones listed should suffice to get you started
(and the best they are). That'd include:
- Scream Tracker 3.01b - programmed by PSI of Future Crew. Supports GUS, SB,
SB Pro. Edits up to 32 digital tracks (but plays only up to 16), 99
instruments (S3M format supports 255), features a superset of the
ProTracker command set (but some effects are handled a little different),
8 bit samples with adjustable C4Spd (S3M format allows for 16 bit ADPCM
packed stereo samples), 9 Adlib FM channels. Features separate volume row
(and track panning available in most players). Extensive block commands
and editing capabilities make this one of the best trackers around
nowadays. Is still in beta stage and may never pass it, so bugs may occur
(but I have found the program to be rather stable). Writes in S3M and MOD
formats (S3M to MOD conversion NOT recommended!). Reads S3M, STM (perfect)
and MOD (M.K., 6CHN, 8CHN, almost perfect MOD loader). Freeware.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/trackers/scrmt301b.zip
Note: a TSR patch to enable palette saving is available in the same
dircetory as st3fix.zip. This is NOT an FC release.
- MultiTracker Module Editor 1.01b - programmed by Daniel Goldstein aka
Starscream of Renaissance. Supports GUS, SB and SB Pro. Edits up to 32
tracks, 31 instruments, features the PT command set (which is not
completely compatible), 8 bit samples (MTM format can store 16 bits).
Features track panning. Imports raw samples and GUS patches (only
registered). Loads MOD, 669, MTM and FAR mods, more formats planned. Right
now, loading anything but MTM is not recommended (FAR and 669 sound bad).
Shareware $24.95
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/trackers/mtm101b.zip
- FastTracker II - programmed by Mr H and Vogue of Triton. Supports GUS, SB
and SB Pro. Edits up to 32 tracks, 128 instruments, multi-sampled
intruments (up to 16 samples per instrument), volume and panning envelopes
for instruments, instrument panning, 4 GB maximum sample size,
bidirectional looping, variable pattern length, built-in sample editor and
sampler, 256 patterns, separate volume/panning/vibrato column, claims full
MIDI support. Imports MOD, STM, S3M type mods (S3M import is buggy, and
imported MODs and S3Ms lose panning info), imports GUS patches, raw
samples (signed and unsigned) and IFF samples. Samples can be 8 or 16
bits. Sample tuning by finetune and relative note value. Shareware $20.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/trackers/ft2.zip
- Farandole Composer 1.00 - programmed by Daniel Potter of Digital Infinity.
Supports GUS only. Edits 16 tracks, 64 instruments, an own command set
(does not claim to be PT-compliant), 8 and 16 bit sample support, sample
size up to 1 Meg, imports MOD, 669, GUD PAT and ST3/Digiplayer samples.
Features separate volume row and track panning. Loads MOD, 669, ULT
(buggy) mods. Uses SVGA to display all tracks on screen simultaneously in
132x50 mode. Has a built-in sample editor. Shareware $15. The FAR format
is not very well supported (outside this tracker).
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/trackers/far100.arj
- FastTracker 1 - programmed by Mr H of Triton (this tracker's popularity is
dropping considerably). Supports SB, SB Pro, Soundplayer, DAC, Internal
Speaker. Edits 4, 6 or 8 tracks, 31 instruments, 8-bit samples of 64KB
maximum size, ProTracker command set, track panning supported by external
players, 100 patterns. Relatively simple, easy to use tracker, good for
starters. Partly mouse driven. Freeware.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/trackers/ftracker.zip
- UltraTracker v1.6 - programmed by MAS of Prophecy. Supports GUS. Edits up to
32 tracks, 8 and 16 bit instruments, variable C2Spd with finetune,
bidirectional looping, instrument panning, 255 patterns, subset of the PT
commands, two effect slots per note. Built-in sample editor. Imports S3M,
MOD, 669, FAR and MTM mods. Imports IFF, PAT, WAV, FSM, SND and raw sample
types. Mouse driven. Shareware $20. The ULT format is not very well
supported (outside this tracker).
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/trackers/ultra160.zip
[4.1.5] OS/2
NHY
[4.1.6] UNIX (Sun/Linux/NeXt)
NHY
[4.1.7] Windows
Most mod trackers in the IBM PC world are coded by demo coders. Most of these
dudes detest Microsoft Windows. There isn't a tracker available for it yet,
sorry.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.2] Converters
Conversion between mod formats and especially conversion from/to non-mod music
file formats is pretty sure to lose some information of the original piece.
In most of the cases, there is no way around this. You can't, for example,
convert a 16-track S3M using Qxy and excessive volume commands to a 4-track
M.K.. The M.K. just can't hold the information. It is possible, on the other
hand, to convert a M.K. to S3M very accurately. There are a few minor
incompatibilities, but these would hardly be noticeable by many.
Conversions to and from MIDI are also very difficult to get done right with
today's mod formats. MIDI files, while seemingly similar, have a very
different command set from mods. Only one of the differences is that the MIDI
output device 'knows' how to process its sounds when it receives commands from
the MIDI file/player, for example how fast to decay a piano waveform. This
information is not stored in the MIDI file itself, but a mod would have it
included. A converter has no means of asking the MIDI device how it would
handle a certain situation (this is not completely correct, at least when
using a GUS, the patches could be parsed), so it has to assume certain things.
I suppose, however, that better converters could do the trick if they were
programmed for certain situations (I think a converter that creates mod
instruments by itself from a GUS' patches, for example, could accurately
convert from MIDI to an advanced mod format such as S3M, XM or ULT).
But did you want to know any of this?
[4.2.1] from MIDI
- PTMID 0.3 - converts General MIDI files to MOD (i.e. M.K., 6CHN and 8CHN)
and MTM files. To do this, it relies on a configuration file which specifies
the samples to be used, the number of tracks to generate and the
resolution to use. A careful setup is therefore absolutely necessary if
anything good is going to emerge. The resulting mods will generally still
require some re-editing in a mod editor. MS-DOS, command-line driven. Seems
like it's freeware. By Andrew Scott (ascott@tartarus.uwa.edu.au)
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/convert/ptmid.zip
x2ftp.oulu.fi:/pub/msdos/programming/convert/ptmid3.zip
[4.2.2] Module Format Converters
The following are MS-DOS based programs.
- M2AMF - supplied with DMP (see MS-DOS players), this generates an AMF file
from all file formats understood by DMP. AMF files are generally smaller
than the corresponding MOD files. However, DMP is the only player for these
files and conversion of AMF to other formats isn't possible yet, so it's a
one-way street. And we all know that DMP, versatile as it may be, doesn't
play anything (except AMF) right. By Otto Chrons.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/players/dmp301.zip
- ScreamTracker 3.01b contains the option to save mods as M.K., 6CHN, 8CHN,
S3M. MOD output is, however, inaccurate, since S3M commands are not fully
ProTracker-compliant. Another deficiency arises from the variable C4Spd
available in S3M. ST3 tries to finetune the samples, but doesn't perform any
resampling or note adjustments. This means that an instrument with a C4Spd
of above 8795Hz or below 7902Hz (or integer multiples of these) will sound
off tune if the note isn't adjusted in the resulting MOD.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/trackers/scrmt301.zip
- 669 to MOD v1.0 - converts 669 to 8CHN mods - (c)1993 by Kenneth Galbraith
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/converters/6692mod.zip
- MOD to 669 - converts PT mods to 669 - (c)1993 by DTown Inc.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/converters/mod2669.zip
- MTM to MOD v1.1 - converts MTM to MOD - (c) Daniel Goldstein (StarScream)
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/converters/mtmmod11.zip
(also packaged with MultiModule Editor 1.01b)
- STX2STM v1.0 - converts STX (STMIK 0.2) back to STM - (c)1994 by Lutz Roeder
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/converters/stx2stm.zip
==============================================================================
[5] Samples
Samples are of crucial importance in mods. Good samples make the difference
between a quite-good and a great mod. And since custom samples are one of
mods' greatest advantages, a lot of attention should be paid to a wise choice
in samples.
It is important to know the main two qualities a sample has, the resolution,
i.e. number of bits, and its sampling rate. The number of bits in a sample
denote its ability to distinguish between levels of amplitude, a higher number
of bits can grasp a sound more accurately than a low one. The sampling rate is
directly related to the highest frequency that can be reproduced by the
sample. A sample with a sampling rate of 40kHz, for example (kHz means 1000Hz,
1Hz is one oscillation per second), can reproduce sounds of up to 20kHz. This
means that low sampling rates can be used to reproduce low sounds, but
reproduction of high frequencies (cymbals, but also pianos) require higher
sampling rates.
Another aspect of mods is the maximum size a sample is allowed to have. This
varies in the file formats from 64 Kilobytes to unlimited size. Note that some
trackers impose harsher limits on sample length than the formats they output.
The solution offered to the sample size problem is sample looping. Well placed
loop points make quite a difference in sustained instruments, so spend enough
time here.
Additional information can be found (and is strongly recommended) in:
The Audio File Formats FAQ by Guido van Rossum <guido@cwi.nl>, posted to
alt.binaries.sounds.{misc,d} and comp.dsp once a fortnight, and available in
distributed hypertext form as http://voorn.cwi.nl/audio-formats/a00.html.
PATREF24.ZIP - Windows Help file describing how to convert a variety of
samples to GUS-usable patches. Most of the information supplied is very handy
in any type of instrument sample conversion. 2PAT is also supplied, a Windows
sample conversion utility (great!). This file is available at the GUS sites,
see section 6.1.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[5.1] Acquisition
[5.1.1] Sampling
To be done, any volunteers? I haven't done it and could probably provide some
hints, but maybe someone who's actually sampled would like to fill this out.
[5.1.2] 'Ripping'
Using samples made by other people and acquired by saving out of their mods is
generally known as ripping. I won't debate on the ethical aspects of this
subject and I suggest nobody does. It has been discussed before.
Just about any tracker enables you to save the samples in a mod. So all you've
got to do is load the song you want a sample from into a compatible tracker
and save it. There are other programs that enable you to rip samples from mods
too, one of them being DMPC, Dual Module Player Companion, a mod player shell
for MS-DOS. While most trackers save samples in their own proprietary format
or as raw MOD-compatible samples, DMPC saves to WAV/VOC/RAW. It can be FTP'd
from ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/frontend/dmpc250.zip
If you don't have a tracker or a ripper, you can still obtain the samples in
mods by loading the file into a sample editor capable of loading raw sample
data. You will have to set the number of bits and style (signed or unsigned)
according to the format you're loading (MOD is signed 8 bit, S3M is unsigned 8
bit, for example). You will be presented with some static, which is the header
and pattern data, followed by the samples in the mod. Any decent sample editor
should enable you to cut out the individual samples. The next step would be to
get the sampling rate right, otherwise the samples will sound off key when
used. MOD samples generally use a sampling rate of 8363Hz for a C in the
second octave, so try this for starters (or an integer multiple). The more
advanced formats with variable CxSpds pose more of a problem, you're basically
left with your ears and perhaps a musical instrument to get them right. Note
that a lot of MOD samples are not tuned to C. Quite often, an A is played
instead when a C should be. See appendix I for a table of note frequencies to
help you calculate the appropriate sampling rate for transposing wrongly tuned
instruments.
[5.1.3] Conversion From Other Formats
Sample conversion is covered in detail in the Patch Reference and the Audio
File Format FAQ (see above).
The most general sample file converter is probably SOX, SOund eXchange
utility. It is available on most FTP servers as C source code and will run on
almost any platform. An MS-DOS compiled version exists under the name
SOX7DOS.ZIP. Note that version 10 is also available, but seems to contain some
bugs. See the audio file format FAQ for details.
Another MS-DOS utility is CONVERT, it features a wide range of input and
output formats. An interesting quality for this FAQ is its ability to extract
samples from mods of various formats. Conversion of samples to mod formats is
a bit lacking, though, but this is due to the rather large differences in the
formats concerned (GUS patches don't convert at all well, for example).
FTP:hornet.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/programs/converters/convert13.zip
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[5.2] Sample Editors
GoldWave 2.1 for Windows, available at ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/
programs/samplers/gldwav21.zip, is an excellent sample editor, capable of
reading and writing quite a few sample formats. Shareware.
CoolEdit v1.31 is another sample editor for Windows with more instrument-
specific editing capabilities than most others.
FTP: ??
Advanced Digiplayer 3.0 by PSI/Future Crew is a SB & DOS only sample editor
that reads raw and ST3-compatible samples and writes ST3 samples. This program
seems to have leaked out someplace, at least it's not an official release.
FTP: ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/programs/samplers/dp30.zip
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[5.3] FTP Sites with Samples
Kurzweil 2000: ftp.uwp.edu/pub/music/lists/kurzweil/sounds
EMAX: sweaty.palm.cri.nz/emax/emax1
SDS (Sample Dump Standard): alf.uib.no (129.177.30.3) /pub/midi/sds/samples
sweaty.palm.cri.nz/sds/samples
EPS-16+: ftp.reed.edu/eps/samples
TX16W: ftp-ls7.informatik.uni-dortmund.de/tx16w/samples
AIFF: ftp.reed.edu/eps/samples/aiff
Roland Disk Images: lotus.waterloo.ca/pub/sgroups/samples
Yamaha SY-85 and 99: louie.udel.edu/pub/midi/patches/SY99
==============================================================================
[6] Obtaining Mods
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[6.1] FTP Servers
General: The FTP servers mentioned hereafter allow for anonymous FTP. Log into
the server by specifying 'ftp <server address>', tell it 'ftp' when it asks
you for a login and supply it with your email address as a password.
Alternatively, use 'anonymous' as login and your email address as password.
Please remember that ftp is a privilege, not a right. Restrict your calls to
(the site's) non-business hours whenever possible.
The largest repository of mods is probably the Aminet. There are numerous FTP
servers all over the world mirroring it. A list follows:
>These are the members of Aminet and have the files from here. All mirrors
>have the new files but most delete old files, however ftp.wustl.edu and
>ftp.cdrom.se keep all files. Whenever possible, use the mirror that is the
>closest to your place. Most mirrors get updated three times a day.
>
>USA (MO) ftp.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 pub/aminet/mods
>USA (CA) ftp.cdrom.com 192.153.46.2 pub/aminet/mods
>USA (TX) ftp.etsu.edu 192.43.199.20 pub/aminet/mods
>Scandinavia ftp.luth.se 130.240.18.2 pub/aminet/mods
>Switzerland ftp.eunet.ch 146.228.10.16 pub/aminet/mods
>Switzerland litamiga.epfl.ch 128.178.151.32 pub/aminet/ (*)
>Germany ftp.uni-paderborn.de 131.234.2.32 pub/aminet/mods
>Germany ftp.uni-erlangen.de 131.188.3.2 pub/aminet/mods
>Germany ftp.uni-bielefeld.de 129.70.4.55 pub/aminet/mods
>Germany ftp.uni-oldenburg.de 134.106.40.9 pub/aminet/mods
>Germany ftp.uni-kl.de 131.246.9.95 pub/aminet/mods
>Germany ftp.uni-stuttgart.de 129.96.8.13 pub/aminet/mods
>Germany ftp.uni-siegen.de 141.99.128.1 pub/aminet/mods
>Germany ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de 130.149.17.7 pub/aminet/mods
>UK ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk 146.169.2.1 pub/aminet/mods
> (*) closed 6:30am to 4pm weekdays
Another good site for new mod releases is ftp.eng.ufl (Hornet/Wasp, IP
128.227.116.7), the main Internet site for demos and related material. Mods
can be found in the /pub/msdos/demos/music/songs directory, sorted by format
type. Note that due to diskspace limitations, mods usually don't stay on this
site for longer than a month. Hornet is mirrored by ftp.uwp.edu (131.210.1.4)
USA, ftp.luth.se (130.240.18.2) Sweden, ftp.sun.ac.za (146.232.212.21)
S.Africa, ftp.uni-erlangen.de (131.188.2.43) Germany, ftp.uni-paderborn.de
(131.234.10.42) Germany and ftp.cdrom.com (192.216.191.11) USA.
Hornet also publishes DemoNews on a weekly basis, it includes demo-related
news and a list of uploads and deletions. To subscribe, send email to
listserver@oliver.sun.ac.za with "subscribe demuan-list YOUR_NAME" (w/o
quotes) in the body of the message, substituting YOUR_NAME with, guess, yeah,
your name. You will then receive DemoNews weekly, it is sent out each Sunday
morning.
The GUS FTP sites also have a number of mods in their directories. Mods can be
found in the subdirectories 'sound/*'. The sites are:
Main N.American Site: archive.orst.edu pub/packages/gravis
wuarchive.wustl.edu systems/ibmpc/ultrasound
Main Asian Site: nctuccca.edu.tw PC/ultrasound
European Callers ONLY: theoris.rz.uni-konstanz.de pub/sound/gus
Submissions: archive.epas.utoronto.ca pub/pc/ultrasound/submit
Newly Validated Files: archive.epas.utoronto.ca pub/pc/ultrasound
Mirrors: garbo.uwasa.fi mirror/ultrasound
Mailserver for Archive Access: Email to <mail-server@nike.rz.uni-konstanz.de>
Following is a list of ftp servers taken from the MOD Charts list (these have
not been validated):
archie.au /micros/amiga/incoming/mods
ftp.germany.eu.net /pub/comp/amiga/mods
ftp.informatik.uni-rostock.de /pub/amiga/mods
ftp.uni-kl.de (131.246.9.95) /pub/amiga/wuarchive/mods
/incoming/amiga/mods
ftp.uni-muenster.de /pub/sounds/
ftp.uni-oldenburg.de /pub/amiga/incoming/mods
ftp.brad.ac.uk /misc/mods/ and /incoming/mods/
ftp.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) /pub/amiga/audio/modules
geocub.greco-prog.fr /pub/incoming/amiga/mods
ftp.luth.se (130.240.16.3) /pub/OS/amiga/mods
lysator.liu.se /pub/amiga/mods
ftp.uwp.edu (cs.uwp.edu) /pub/music/sounds/mods
/pub/music/lists/btl/mods
/pub/incoming/sounds/mods
/pub/incoming/msdos/modplayer/mods
ftp.cso.uiuc.edu (128.174.5.59) /pub/amiga
ftp.mcs.kent.edu /pub/SB-Adlib/ntmods
wuarchive.wustl.edu /systems/amiga/incoming/mods
(128.252.135.4) /systems/amiga/audio/music
/mirrors4/amiga.physik.unizh.ch/amiga/mods
The site freedom.wit.com has around 150 KLF releases in /klf/songs - Jensi
On hobbes.nmsu.edu/os2/32bit/multimedia/mod is a sizable archive of modules
(of various formats) available for ftp - Dave Wach
Through this newsgroup and many FTP sites I have been able to amass a
small amount of MODS (134) and have tried to categorize them by music
type. If anyone would like to download any of them they are available at
the FTP site:
opus.mac.cc.cmu.edu maintained by Matthew E Centurion contains some mods from
absm and ftp sites. Use Music as Login and PWord, leave the Dir field blank.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[6.2] BBSs
Would someone like to fill out on this? For now, refer to Appendix F, the MOD
Charts. Or check the comments in the archives you get, they usually contain
some BBS adverts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[6.3] Newsgroups
Naturally, alt.binaries.sounds.mods is THE Usenet newsgroup for mods. Binary
posts to this group are usually split into several parts and uuencoded. If
that doesn't make sense to you, that doesn't matter. Just read on. Here's how
to extract the mods from the text garbage.
How you do it exactly is up to you and the newsreader you're using. I will
cover NN, RN and TIN here, as well as telling you how to cope with dumb
uudecoders. Thanks to Stan Greene (Merlin) <sorcerer@netcom.com> for supplying
the information initially.
NN: Let's assume you have a list of five articles on screen, identified by
consecutive letters a through e, of which the last four are the file
example.mod. First, tag (i.e. mark) the parts by pressing the appropriate
letters (b through e). Then type the following: ':decode'. Choose any
directory you wish when prompted for the Decode Directory, this is where
the decoded file will go. At the next prompt (Decode test2/ Article
(* +):, for example), enter '*' to specify the previously selected
articles. NN will then decode the files for you.
RN/TRN: Assuming that the file is in multiple parts, go to the first part and
press 'e'. Continue going through all of the parts, pressing 'e' for each.
As you do each part, you should see 'Continuing filename.ext:
(Continued)'. When you get to the last part and press 'e', you're done. It
knows that the file is complete.
TIN: We will assume the same setting as in the NN example. The first thing you
do is move the scrollbar to the first part of the file you want, this'd be
the 2nd article in the list. Now press 't' to tag the file, the plus sign
in front of the article should turn into a '1' and the scrollbar should
move to the next line. Tag all the parts of the file in the same manner,
watching out so you keep the order correct. When you're done, press 's',
which gives you the following prompt: 'Save a)rticle, t)hread, h)ot,
p)attern, T)agged articles, q)uit: T'. The default should be a captial T,
which is what youy want anyway, so just hit return. TIN will prompt you
for a filename, you can use anything, basically, keeping it simple should
prove helpful (to you). Done that, TIN asks you for post-processing
options. Most of the time, you will want to uudecode the binaries, so
press 'u'. Done.
BY HAND: OK, there are two possibilities here. Either you have a smart
uudecoder (such as UU, UNPOST or UUMASTER for MS-DOS, or WinCode for
Windows), or you're stuck with a basic dumb type.
- SMART: This is pretty simple. Just save your articles to a common file
and feed it to your smart decoder. Using UU, this'd look like this,
after having saved some articled to a file called mods.uue:
'uu /i /s mods.uue'. UU will do the rest. Note that it is good to have
several smart decoders at hand in case one of them refuses to decode a
file. You can then always try the others.
- DUMB: This is tedious. Save the articles, preferrably and for your own
sanity's sake, to separate files, using some form of numbering scheme so
you'll know which part is which later on. Then call your favourite text
editor (as in ASCII) and trim out anything from the files that isn't a
valid UU line. This includes everything up to, but not including, the
line saying 'begin 640 blabla.mod', which should be in the first part,
and everything after the line saying 'end', which should be in the last
part. You also need to trim out any checksum info, mail/posting headers
and signatures (these should be at the end of the files). When you've
done all that, concatenate (i.e. join) the files, but keep them in the
correct order! Feed the resulting file to your dumb decoder.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[6.4] WWW
Todd Walsh <larson@mermaid.micro.umn.edu> writes on 19 Aug 1994:
Some sample mods from MindVox archives:
http//www.phantom.com/archives/music.html
Dan Nicholson <moddan@ritz.mordor.com> writes on 7 Nov 1994:
..however, check these sites (you'll also find more demo-related sites) by
checking these:
http://freedom.wit.com/~klf/klfhome.html
http://www.io.org/~andrewm/me.html
And Jason M. Spangler <jasons@cis.ysu.edu> tells us on 31 Oct 1994:
Just thought I'd tell everyone I updated, re-organized, and moved my
module FTP site page... it's now at: http://www.ysu.edu/~jasons/mod/index.html
Matt Behrens (Zigg) <behrensm@river.it.gvsu.edu> has set up the Virtual Music
Page. If you have authored some mods, email him according to the guidelines in
http://grfn.org/~zaphod/vm/submit.html or "Submission Guidelines" on the VMP.
Kaushik Ramakrishnan <larsen@mermaid.micro.umn.edu> says:
Site for introductory info about mods:
http://www.phantom.com/archives/mods.html
Tracker binary (for Sun2s):
http://www.phantom.com/archives/tracker.sparc
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[6.5] CD-ROMs
Aminet CD 4
* Contains 330 MB of software that has appeared since Aminet CD 3 (15-Jun-
94), 230 MB of mods, 100 MB of top downloads consisting of 1700 mods, 1600
utilities, 250 games, 100 demos and 80 animations.
* Availability: shipping (whatever that means - jester)
* Avilable in two versions, Aminet Gold and Aminet Share. The higher priced
version includes a donation o the otherwise unpaid makers of the CD, the
lower one doesn't (donations are still accepted).
* Compatible with all Amigas including CDTV/A570. Not compatible with CD32
plus Communicator. Compatible with CD32 plus SX1.
Compatible with all Amiga OS versions for the access software.
Compatible with all operating systems, except some MS-DOS CD-ROM file
systems that can't handle mixed case filenames.
* Ordering (credit cards ok):
Germany: Stefan Ossowski USA: Fred Fish
Tel: +49-201-788778 Tel: +1-602-917-0917
Fax: +49-201-798447 Fax: +1-602-917-0917
Email:stefano@tchest.e.eunet.de Email:fnf@amigalib.com
Aminet Gold: DM 29.80 Aminet Gold: $19.95
Aminet Share: DM 19.80 Aminet Share: $11.95
(Prices exclude shipping)
* More information is available in the text file docs/misc/CD-Orders.txt on
Aminet. A complete index of Aminet CD 4 is found in
disk/cdrom/Aminet-CD-4.lha
10,000 Sounds & Songs
* Volume 0 of the Digital Data Archives
* this CD contains 850 selected MODs
* also countless other Multimedia files (.wav, .mid, .avi, .fli, .voc, .sam,
and much more)
* price: $40
* For more information or to order contact: Walt Perko
P.O.Box 640608
San Francisco, CA. 94164-0608
phone: (415) 771-1788
email: wperko@netcom.com
Mystical MOD Madness
* Volume 1 of the Digital Data Archives
* available soon
* will contain about 3000 MODs, S3Ms and 669s
* Contact information (Walt Perko) see "10,000 Sounds & Songs"
Sound Site CD-ROM
* large collection of music files taken from the Saffron archives
* including over 1350 MOD files
* nearly 500 MIDI files, and also 669, STM and other files
* price $19.95 + $5 s/h
* For more info or to order contact: Island CD Creations
1960 Kapiolani Blvd. Suite 113-592
Honolulu, HI 96826
email: duane@shell.portal.com (Duane
Takamine)
Town of Tunes CD
* a compilation of the best 820 MOD music and melody files
* it takes about 70 hours to hear them all
* carefully picked from approx. 4000 files worldwide in a two-year period
* includes 21 of the newest and hottest tunes from "THE PARTY" in Denmark
Winter 1994
* also some of the newest S3M music/melody files, 100 MB of the latest
spectacular VGA graphic demos, and more
* price: $35 + $6 s/h
* For more information or to order contact: Wichman Consult
Hovmalvej 78-6
2300 Copenhagen S., Denmark
phone: +45-3151-3187
Fax: +45-3122-2744
email: ecjowh@hp3.cbs.dk
The Ultimate MOD Collection
* contains more than 1700 MODs
* a bunch of players & utilities (editors, etc.) for all sorts of computers
* some 669, STM, MED, and other file formats
* price $29
* for more information contact: The Marketplace
phone: (800) 289-1766 or (314) 521-4862
==============================================================================
[7] Distributing Mods
When you're sick of listening to other people's creations, have mastered a
tracker and finally come up with something you consider brilliant or at least
good enough for other people to enjoy, you want to spread it.
[7.0.1] Compression
It is always a good idea to compress a module before you distribute it.
Especially when using telecommunications systems (i.e. telephone lines or
networks), data compression can reduce a lot of transmission time and
bandwidth. The two main archivers used in compressing mods are LHA/LHarc and
PKZIP. LHA is used mainly on Amigas, but compatible archivers/dearchivers
exist on just about any platform. The same goes for the MS-DOS originated
PKZIP. Other archivers may perform better compression, but aren't a good
choice if you want your file to be decodable by as many people as possible.
Please be nice - compress your mods with LHA, PKZIP or compatible compressors.
See appendix H for a list of sites for these programs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[7.1] Usenet Posting (to absm)
This being the FAQ for the group, it is natural that postings to it should
find a place here. Usenet poses some difficulties concerning the transmission
of binary data, as mods are. Only 7-bit ASCII is transmitted, while binaries
are 8-bit files. This means that mods need to be encoded before they can be
posted to Usenet. There are several encoding methods, the most common being
uuencoding. Others include MIME, XX and a few others, but these are not
recommended (you want as many people as possible to hear your creations, don't
you?). Don't even attempt to post a binary to usenet without having encoded it
to ASCII.
Another problem is that some news servers don't read more than a certain
amount of lines in usenet postings. This is why most posts are split into
'small' chunks. A maximum of 1000 lines seems sensible (this is roughly
64 KBytes).
It is considered good netiquette to supply a part zero of howevermany
including a description of the posted file. I hereby propose the following as
a standard part zero for absm:
- cut here - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FILE NAME: example.mod
SONG NAME: The exemplary Song
ARCHIVE: PkZip 2.04g
MOD TYPE: 8CHN
COMPOSER: Nobody
MUSICAL STYLE: ambient deep techno house
UPLOADER: Nobody too <nobody@nothing.not>
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -cut here-
You should also give the articles similar subject lines, as in:
Subject: EXAMPLE.ZIP (1/4)
If you feel like it, put a very short description in the subject line. If part
0 is elaborate enough, I feel this is not necessary.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[7.2] FTP Uploads
Most of the ftp servers you can download mods from will accept uploads too.
These usually go in an /incoming directory somewhere. Be sure to upload a text
file with a short description (similar to part zero in section 7.1) along with
the mod. Also remember to specify 'bin' for binary transfer, or your mod might
be transmitted as a 7-bit file, thereby completely corrupting it. Making an
announcement in absm about your upload will most probably be welcome. See
section 6.1 for a list of ftp servers with mods.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[7.3] BBS Uploads
I don't know anything about this (except some BBS names), anybody knowledgable
out there?
==============================================================================
Appendix A: Contributors and Credits
This FAQ is maintained and mainly written by myself, jester (Tobias Reckhard).
Thanks go to (in no particular order):
Harald Zappe Todd Walsh Barry Nathan
Matt Behrens (Zigg) Dan Nicholson Rich "Akira" Pizor
Jens Puchert (Jensi) Jason M. Spangler
Dave Wach Matthew E. Centurion (Mashoe)
John Roland Christian Stieber
I'd like to greet (seems strange not to do it in the mod scene):
Those mentioned above, Snowman, RuffKut, Fencer, Purple, Alpha, T., Frank
(hey, got your account again? miss you!), Pallbearer, Ben Jos Walbeehm, Steve
(where are you?). And anyone I forgot.
==============================================================================
Appendix B: Common Properties of Module File Formats
They're all chunks of bytes. Heh heh. ;) OK, seriously now.
All mod files contain a header identifying the file and its format. It also
mentions song name and number of patterns in the song. The header is usually
followed by the pattern and sequencing information. Finally, the file also
contains the sample data. This usually takes up most of the space in a mod.
With today's file formats advancing more and more, those are just about all
the common properties worth mentioning, IMHO. For further information on
particular mod types, refer to the format description. This is usually found
in the same archive as the tracker it is connected to. You can also check
ftp.eng.ufl.edu/pub/msdos/demos/music/text for some docs. Following format
specs are available there:
MOD - modform.zip FTK - musfmt10.zip SSS - musfmt10.zip
PSM - psm-form.zip MED - musfmt10.zip STAR- musfmt10.zip
S3M - s3mformat.zip MOD - musfmt10.zip TT - musfmt10.zip
ULT - ultform.zip MTM - musfmt10.zip ULT - musfmt10.zip
669 - musfmt10.zip OKT - musfmt10.zip WOW - musfmt10.zip
DMF - musfmt10.zip P16 - musfmt10.zip
FAR - musfmt10.zip S3M - musfmt10.zip
==============================================================================
Appendix C: Mods and MIDI
I dread this bit, I don't really know all too much about MIDI. What is it
that'd make this appendix interesting? If no one responds, it will be omitted.
==============================================================================
Appendix D: Musicians
Note: This list reflects the opinions of the contributors and is guaranteed
not to be objective. If you've contributed or want to contribute to the
FAQ, feel free to send a note along with your all-time faves. They'll be
included, as long as they take no more than two lines. This thing is way
too big as it is.
jester's favourite composers: Purple Motion, Nuke, RuffKut, Skaven, Romeo
Knight, Lizardking, Zane, Weasel, Maelcum.
other notables: Ng Pei Sin, Jester/Sanity, Moby, Captain, U4IA, pkk,
Firelight, tR/\Sh/Enigma. The world leading PC mod group today is KLF,
consisting of (musician-wise) Maelcum, iNSPEKDAH DECk, I.Q., the Hacker,
Phoenix, Balrog, Basehead, Maral, Krystall, Lurch, Necros, Khyron,
Nemesis, Mental Floss and Piromaniak.
==============================================================================
Appendix E: All-Time Faves
Note: This list reflects the opinions of the contributors and is guaranteed
not to be objective. If you've contributed or want to contribute to the
FAQ, feel free to send a note along with your all-time faves. They'll be
included, as long as they take no more than five lines. This thing is way
too big as it is.
jester: Boesendorfer P.S.S./Romeo Knight, World of Plastic/PM, Shhh.../pkk,
Serenity/jester, Mercury Rain/Skaven, Space Trax/Maelcum, Underwater
Breathing/PM, Trans Atlantic/Lizardking, Waiting for Rain/RuffKut,
Gold Return/Nuke, Space Debris/Captain, Joyride/tip, Daisy Chain 2/uncle
tom
==============================================================================
Appendix F: the MOD Charts
The MOD Charts are a Top 50 list of mods (only 4 track types, as far as I
know), maintained by Oliver (oliver@math.uni-muenster.de, a.k.a. HITMAN on
IRC, #modcharts). For further details, connect to your nearest supporting site
(see list below) and download all text files (modchart.month, modchart.faq and
modchart.sites).
MODCHART SITE LIST March 1994
Hello Friends!
These sites are distributing the MODCHARTS:
AMINET:
Australia archie.au 192.107.107.6 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
(closed 6:30 am to 4 pm on weekdays)
Switzerland ftp.eunet.ch 130.60.80.80 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
Switzerland litamiga.epfl.ch 128.178.151.32 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
Scandinavia ftp.luth.se 130.240.16.3 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
Germany ftp.uni-kl.de 131.246.9.95 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
Germany ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de 130.149.17.7 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
Germany ftp.th-darmstadt.de 130.83.55.75 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
Germany ftp.uni-paderborn.de 131.234.2.32 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
Germany ftp.uni-erlangen.de 131.188.1.43 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
USA ftp.etsu.edu 192.43.199.20 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
USA ftp.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 /pub/aminet/mods/chart
Germany:
ftp.informatik.uni-rostock.de /pub/amiga/mods/charts
ftp.uni-muenster.de /pub/sounds/modcharts
BBS'es:
Art-Line (Wuppertal, Germany) /Musik/charts, newcomer-mods dl-free
++49-(0)202-884290 -19200/ZyXEL
++49-(0)202-89252 -19200/ZyXEL
The Abyss (Stuttgart, Germany) /Gallery/Modcharts
++49-(0)711-617291 9600-19200/ZyXEL MNP5/V42.bis
++49-(0)711-6159399 2400-14400/V32.bis MNP5/V42.bis
Tup-Off-Box (Goeppingen, Germany) all newcomer-mods download-free
++49-(0)7161-57382
++49-(0)7161-57869
++49-(0)7161-57960 2400 bps
Visitor (Muenster, Germany) /modcharts, all chartfiles download-free
++49-(0)251-295014 300-16800/V42.bis
FIDOs:
Star Fortress 2:2494/340 Flags: ZYX, XA, MO
online: 00:00-09:00 CET
Request: FILES, MODCHART
==============================================================================
Appendix H: Availability of Compressors/Archivers
from the comp.compression FAQ
lha for MS-DOS is available by anonymous ftp from:
oak.oakland.edu/pub/msdos/archiver/lha213.exe (exe)
oak.oakland.edu/pub/msdos/archiver/lha211sr.zip (sources)
garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/arcers/lha255b.exe
lharc for Unix (can only extract from version 1.xx .lzh files):
wuarchive.wustl.edu/mirrors/misc/unix/lharc102a.tar-z
garbo.uwasa.fi/unix/arcers/lha101u.tar.Z
lha for Unix (docs in Japanese):
wuarchive.wustl.edu/mirrors/misc/unix/lha101u.tar-z
garbo.uwasa.fi/unix/arcers/lha-1.00.tar.Z
lha for Mac:
mac.archive.umich.edu/mac/utilities/compressionapps/maclha2.0.cpt.hqx
lha for Amiga:
ftp.funet.fi/pub/amiga/utilities/archivers/LhA_e138.run
pkzip 2.04g for MS-DOS:
oak.oakland.edu/pub/msdos/zip/pkz204g.exe
garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/arcers/pkz204g.exe
zip 2.0.1 and unzip 5.12 for Unix, MS-DOS, VMS, OS/2, Amiga,...(compatible
with pkzip 2.04g):
ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/zip201.zip (source)
ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/unzip512.tar.Z (source)
ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/MSDOS/zip20x.zip (MSDOS exe)
ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/MSDOS/unz512x*.exe (MSDOS exe)
ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/VMS/zip20x-vms.zip (Vax/VMS exe)
ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/VMS/unz512x-vax.exe (Vax/VMS exe)
ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/OS2/* (OS/2 exe 16&32 bit)
See also AMIGA, ATARI, MAC, NT, SCO_UNIX, LINUX, Ultrix-MIPS, WINDOWS
and SOLARIS2 subdirectories.
garbo.uwasa.fi/unix/arcers/zip201.zip (source)
garbo.uwasa.fi/unix/arcers/unzip512.tar.Z (source)
garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/arcers/zip20x.zip (MSDOS exe)
garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/arcers/unz512x3.exe (MSDOS exe)
for Macintosh:
mac.archive.umich.edu/mac/util/compression/unzip2.01.cpt.hqx
mac.archive.umich.edu/mac/util/compression/zipit1.2.cpt.hqx
ftp.uu.net/pub/archiving/zip/MAC/unz512.hqx
==============================================================================
Appendix I: Table of Note Frequencies
Use this to calculate sampling rates for mistuned instruments. For example, if
you have an instrument at 8363Hz that plays an A-2 but you want it to play a
C-2, the appropriate sampling rate is 8363 * 261.7 / 440 Hz = 4974 Hz
All values are given in Hz.
(supplied by Chris Craig, author of GoldWave)
C - 261.7 E - 329.6 G# - 415.3
C# - 277.2 F - 349.2 A - 440.0
D - 293.7 F# - 370.0 A# - 466.2
D# - 311.1 G - 392.0 B - 493.9
Bear in mind that doubling the sampling rate raises a sound by one octave,
halving the rate lowers the note by one octave.