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┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ EdLib v1.05a rev 055 ................... AdLib editor by Jens-Christian Huus │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ │ │ INTRODUCTION │ │ ──────────── │ │ │ │ At last you can lay your hands on an editor which makes full use │ │ of the OPL2 AdLib capabilities of your AdLib card or compatibles │ │ such as the entire Sound Blaster series! The editor you now have │ │ in your possession was in fact developed mainly in 1992-1993. In │ │ 1993 I enhanced it furthermore, this time mostly cosmetical only │ │ but also a few userfriendly additions such as a filesystem which │ │ packs the work tune on your harddisk to save space. Since 1993 I │ │ hardly touched it - however, it was used a lot in games projects │ │ such as LollyPop from Brain Bug (released by Rainbow Arts). │ │ │ │ Actually it was my intention to keep the editor for ourselves in │ │ order to support AdLib in games. However, since the development │ │ of the editor I have experienced a generel hostility towards the │ │ old AdLib standard. People begun to actually hate FM sounds. The │ │ arrival of GUS and AWE 32 made wavetable techniques very popular │ │ and indeed it sounds very good, but there are some things in the │ │ old FM standard that is unique. You can't fiddle with samples in │ │ the same way as you can with FM. I personally never quite liked │ │ sampling, I find it downright boring. With a FM chip it is like │ │ on a C64; you have a few parameters and everything you do has to │ │ be done within these parameters. These boundaries makes it funny │ │ to make music, to see how far you can actually push AdLib. To do │ │ sounds on FM requires expertice but if you're good at it, almost │ │ any instrument can be reproduced properly, except perhaps drums. │ │ │ │ This is the reason why I decided to release my editor. It uses a │ │ system very similar to the ordinary tracker system, but has been │ │ enhanced with individual sequences for each track. Each sequence │ │ can even vary in size. Because of the natural way of designing │ │ my system, I find it vastly superior to the tracker system. It │ │ uses much less memory and allows each sequence to be transposed │ │ individually. This is the exact same system as I used on the C64 │ │ editor which was heavily used in that scene. │ │ │ │ Freaks from the good old C-64 with the editing system used there │ │ should be able to use the editor right away. Just tap ALT-F1 and │ │ a list of keys will appear. :) │ │ │ │ As an extra bonus I have included a player with the instructions │ │ on how to use the finished music in your own programs! Please go │ │ to the "USE" directory and read the DOC file there for some more │ │ information on this. │ │ │ │ All files in this archive is freeware - if you payed for it, you │ │ have been cheated! However, I reserve the rights to maintain all │ │ copyrights. Do NOT reverse engineer my code or else! :( │ │ │ │ If you make some nice tunes in it, why not let it be "EDL-Ware"? │ │ I would be very happy to hear what you can do with this! :) │ │ │ │ │ │ FEATURES │ │ ──────── │ │ │ │ The archive contains both the editor and loads of demo songs to │ │ demonstrate the editor. Below is just some of the things you can │ │ do with the editor... │ │ │ │ │ │ - Edit and play 9 voices of AdLib while viewing and editing 1024 │ │ instruments complete with a name for each instrument. │ │ │ │ - Save all music and instruments in a work file of approximately │ │ 3 to 9 Kb size. These files will have the extension "EDL". │ │ │ │ - Pack the music to a compressed format (around 1 - 6 Kb), which │ │ is directly playable in your own programs. Extension is "D00". │ │ Packed music also uses much less processor time. │ │ │ │ - Edit song name and composer name. This information also exists │ │ in the compressed D00 format. │ │ │ │ - Because EDL and D00 is not compatible, you can be sure the D00 │ │ cannot be ripped and edited. The editor does not load D00. You │ │ may find this bad, but I actually see this as an advantage. Do │ │ you like people to mess around in your source tune? ;) │ │ │ │ - All AdLib parameters editable, with extra enhancements such as │ │ hard restart, arpeggio, modulation programs and finetune. │ │ │ │ - Both tune speed and timer IRQ speed may be edited. The normal │ │ tune speed uses a floating point system to access more speeds │ │ with a smaller granularity than normally possible. │ │ │ │ - Use "+++" to hold a note in sequences and "---" to release it. │ │ This makes it easier to control the ADSR of an instrument. │ │ │ │ - Play with instruments using "QWERT..." - and if your keyboard │ │ is connected via a MPU-401 compatible MIDI interface, you can │ │ even play the AdLib instruments on it, complete with velocity │ │ and aftertouch. And polyphonic too of course. I've tested this │ │ on both the original MPU-401 and the Sound Blaster 16. I only │ │ use the UART mode on the interface. │ │ │ │ - Very flexible track and sequence system taking less memory and │ │ is much more efficient than the standard tracker system. Every │ │ sequence is piled on top of each other to show you exactly how │ │ the music is played. │ │ │ │ - Unique tienote command makes it possible to play notes without │ │ restarting the effects set for the instruments. │ │ │ │ - Full delete, insert, copy and other similar editing facilities │ │ available in both tracks and sequences. │ │ │ │ - Use "FollowPlay" to see the music scroll as it is being played │ │ at the same time. You may even use fast forward in this mode. │ │ │ │ │ │ REQUIREMENTS │ │ ──────────── │ │ │ │ The editor requires a PC with 80x50 text screen capabilities and │ │ an AdLib card or compatible. Anything that is equipped with an │ │ OPL2 chip or better. I wouldn't recommend using the SBOS program │ │ for the GUS however - it doesn't emulate FM sounds 100% correct. │ │ │ │ Enhanced keyboard is optional - F11 and F12 is used but has been │ │ duplicated elsewhere to support all keyboards. │ │ │ │ If you have a MPU-401 interface (or compatible) you can use your │ │ synthesizer to play with AdLib instruments through MIDI. │ │ │ │ │ │ FILES │ │ ───── │ │ │ │ The following files should be present in the archive. If they're │ │ not, the archive has been tampered with and should be replaced │ │ by a new copy. Remember to unzip with the "-d" switch. │ │ │ │ │ │ EDLIB.001 7382 Part of the main editor │ │ EDLIB.002 7350 Part of the main editor │ │ EDLIB.DOC 96022 This documentation │ │ EDLIB.EXE 19184 The main editor │ │ EDLIB.REV 1722 Revision update list │ │ │ │ PLAYER\DATA.BIN 164 Initialized player data │ │ PLAYER\INTERFAC.BIN 801 Combines player with editor │ │ PLAYER\PLAYER.BIN 4576 AdLib player v04.01 │ │ │ │ SONGS\DRX_BUS.EDL 3593 Drax - "Bus" │ │ SONGS\DRX_FLAS.EDL 4513 Drax - "Flash2" │ │ SONGS\DRX_HUMA.EDL 3962 Drax - "Human Nature" │ │ SONGS\DRX_SAD.EDL 3253 Drax - "Sad" │ │ SONGS\DRX_STRE.EDL 3671 Drax - "Street Wise" │ │ │ │ SONGS\JCH_INS8.EDL 2526 Jch - "Instrument Test #8" │ │ SONGS\JCH_PH6.EDL 2383 Jch - "Phase" (TEST) │ │ │ │ SONGS\MSK_FRSH.EDL 2782 Msk - "Fresh" │ │ SONGS\MSK_OBER.EDL 3086 Msk - "En lille test" │ │ │ │ SONGS\MTL_ALTT.EDL 3173 Metal - "Alttoga" │ │ SONGS\MTL_HY11.EDL 4185 Metal - "Hybrid" │ │ SONGS\MTL_NM11.EDL 4212 Metal - "Soul Shock" │ │ SONGS\MTL_SL12.EDL 3477 Metal - "Sulfo12" │ │ SONGS\MTL_SP13.EDL 4087 Metal - "Space13" │ │ │ │ SONGS\PJO_ARGH.EDL 2483 Jo - "Aaaaarggghhh" │ │ SONGS\PJO_DIP.EDL 2137 Jo - "Dip" │ │ SONGS\PJO_GALW.EDL 2549 Jo - "Like Galway" │ │ SONGS\PJO_HORR.EDL 2461 Jo - "Fly in Spiders Web!" │ │ SONGS\PJO_KOER.EDL 2472 Jo - "Koere" │ │ SONGS\PJO_LAL.EDL 2707 Jo - "Drums are hard to do" │ │ SONGS\PJO_MTHS.EDL 2748 Jo - "Submission to -X-" │ │ SONGS\PJO_REGG.EDL 2293 Jo - "Reggae" │ │ SONGS\PJO_SUND.EDL 2513 Jo - "Boring Sunday" │ │ SONGS\PJO_TRY2.EDL 2784 Jo - "Hard Guitar" │ │ SONGS\PJO_WAIT.EDL 2393 Jo - "1st Interstellar Jmp" │ │ │ │ SONGS\VIB_FIS3.EDL 2812 Vibrants - "Fis3" │ │ SONGS\VIB_VOL3.EDL 2619 Vibrants - "Volly3" │ │ │ │ USE\- 277 MakeFile for Borland "MAKE" │ │ USE\GLOBALS.INC 2937 Labels used by the player │ │ USE\MPLAYER.DOC 32636 Documentation on how to use │ │ USE\MPLAYER.OBJ 5783 Player v04.00 OBJ link file │ │ USE\STR_WISE.D00 3082 Drax - "Street Wise" tune │ │ USE\TEST.ASM 12523 Example source code │ │ USE\TEST.EXE 5869 Run this to hear the music │ │ USE\TEST.OBJ 1285 Test OBJ link file │ │ │ │ USE\DOS\THE_EGA.CPI 9805 New character set for DOS │ │ │ │ │ │ CPI FILE │ │ ──────── │ │ │ │ I have included a file named "THE_EGA.CPI" which you can use in │ │ your AUTOEXEC.BAT instead of the old "EGA.CPI" file. It contains │ │ a new 80x25 character set by Claus Marn¢e (Banshee/Bonzai) and a │ │ great new 80x50 character set by Niels Krogh Mortensen (Who made │ │ the original Hugo TV character for SilverRock Productions). When │ │ using EdLib the editor will look much better with this installed │ │ in your AUTOEXEC.BAT. The editor redefines a few characters, but │ │ still uses the rest of the character set in DOS. If you live in │ │ Denmark as I do, these lines will do the trick: │ │ │ │ C:\DOS\MODE CON CP PREP=((865) C:\DOS\THE_EGA.CPI) │ │ C:\DOS\MODE CON CP SELECT=865 │ │ │ │ Remember to copy the file in USE/DOS into your DOS directory and │ │ you are off running with the new character set. Look in your DOS │ │ manual for other contry codes specific for your country. │ │ │ │ │ │ INSTRUCTIONS │ │ ──────────── │ │ │ │ In the following chapters I will try to describe all the things │ │ that you really need to know. I will not go into detail on how │ │ to make music, enter notes and build up a tune from scratch - I │ │ leave that up to you to figure that out. If you have previously │ │ been using trackers, you should have no trouble using my editor. │ │ │ │ During these chapters I will discuss the commands available in │ │ the tracks and sequences, the instrument and SpFX tables, keys │ │ available in the entire editor - and the command line switches. │ │ Other things global to the editor will be discussed here. │ │ │ │ While editing tracks, sequences and tables you can benefit from │ │ the help window in the lower left corner of the screen. I advise │ │ you to read this DOC at least once, however. │ │ │ │ All the three-letter box values in the lower right corner of the │ │ screen will be discussed in the section over keys. The space you │ │ see above the "Oc?" box (octave) will be ticked whenever a tune │ │ has been modified without saving. This way, you can always check │ │ if it is time to save your tune. However, this version of EdLib │ │ does not check the box if you only alter the tables. This is due │ │ to technical reasons; the table routines have been placed in a │ │ seperate module - and frankly, I was too lazy to fix it! ;) │ │ │ │ The version v04.01 of the player is displayed in the upper right │ │ corner of the screen. In the subdirectory "PLAYER" you will find │ │ the file "PLAYER.BIN" which is the actual player. It is possible │ │ that later versions of the editor only requires this player to │ │ be replaced - in case of player updates only. In the upper right │ │ corner you will also find a tune clock. Useful if you want to │ │ measure the exact length of the song. │ │ │ │ When using the load/save requester, all EDL files will be placed │ │ in a subdirectory called "SONGS". Later I may enhance the editor │ │ with diretories and path input, but until then you must save and │ │ load all your songs in this directory. Note that when saving the │ │ song you can type the new name at the input prompt in the bottom │ │ of the requester. Songs with an EDL extension will be compressed │ │ to save disk space. │ │ │ │ It is possible to predefine the contents of all sequences in the │ │ editor before actually using them. Edit sequence #000 until it │ │ has the appearance you want all sequences to have and then press │ │ Shift-F1 to fill all other sequences with it. Because this is │ │ really happens when the song is cleared; sequence #000 is copied │ │ into all the other sequences! │ │ │ │ │ │ SEQUENCE COMMANDS │ │ ───────────────── │ │ │ │ The first column of two in the sequences may take any command of │ │ four hexadecimal digits each. The commands in player v04.01 is: │ │ │ │ │ │ 6000 Cut/Stop the voice instantly. Instrument #000 in │ │ the instrument table is used to cut the voice. │ │ │ │ 7XYY Vibrato - X defines the speed (0-F), and YY the │ │ depth (00-FF) of the vibrato effect. This effect │ │ does NOT make use of the internal OPL2 vibrato. │ │ │ │ 90XX New level - XX defines the level (00-3F), where │ │ 3F is silent. Level is another word for volume. │ │ │ │ BXXX Pointer to SpFX table. The SpFX table is the one │ │ you can access with the "K" key. Refer to this │ │ table for more information. This command works │ │ like an instrument, thus it overrides a CXXX. It │ │ may range from 000-7FF. │ │ │ │ CXXX Instrument. XXX may range from 000 to 3FF. It is │ │ good practise to leave #000 as a "no sound" as │ │ this instrument is in fact used when typing the │ │ cut command (6000). The table may be entered by │ │ pressing the "M" key. Refer to this table for │ │ more information. │ │ │ │ DXXX Slide up. XXX defines the speed of sliding. │ │ │ │ EXXX Slide down. XXX defines the speed of sliding. It │ │ does not automatically "tie unto" the next note │ │ like in other music players. You must "tie" the │ │ next note yourself with the ½-key and adjust the │ │ speed of sliding until it is perfect. This may │ │ sound awkward at first, but this way of sliding │ │ is much more flexible. │ │ │ │ │ │ TRACK COMMANDS │ │ ────────────── │ │ │ │ The track consists of a DWORD in the editor, but the table is in │ │ fact interpreted word for word internally. │ │ │ │ │ │ 8XYY???? The 8000 command defines the transposition of a │ │ sequence. X is the direction, 0=Up. YY defines │ │ the number of halftones to transpose. A value of │ │ 810C transposes the sequence down one octave but │ │ does not change the on-screen appearance of the │ │ notes in the sequence. Using the transposition │ │ feature properly, you can save a LOT of space │ │ compared to the average tracker system! The word │ │ ???? defines the sequence number itself. │ │ │ │ FFFFXXXX When this DWORD is met, the voice will restart │ │ at the position defined in XXXX. It is important │ │ to know that it counts in WORD steps. This means │ │ that if you have ten sequences in a row with a │ │ FFFFXXXX in the end, use FFFF0006 to wrap to the │ │ fourth sequence - like this: │ │ │ │ 80000001 0 - 1 1st... │ │ │ │ 80000003 2 - 3 2nd... │ │ │ │ 80000001 4 - 5 3rd... │ │ │ │ ┌> 80000004 6 4th... │ │ │ │ │ │ 80070001 5th... │ │ │ │ │ │ 80070003 6th... │ │ │ │ │ │ 80070001 7th... │ │ │ │ │ │ 80070005 8th... │ │ │ │ │ │ 80000002 9th... │ │ │ │ │ │ 80000006 10th... │ │ │ │ │ └─ FFFF0006 Wrap... │ │ │ │ The player interpretes the wraps independantly │ │ from voice to voice. This means that neither the │ │ wrap position nor the length of tracks has to be │ │ aligned. │ │ │ │ FFFE???? This command stops the voice entirely. The ???? │ │ WORD will be ignored. Very useful for jingles! │ │ │ │ │ │ THE INSTRUMENT TABLE │ │ ──────────────────── │ │ │ │ This is the table you enter when pressing "M". You can also use │ │ the "L" key to toggle between this table and the SpFX table. If │ │ the table window is not active, it will be made active (pop-up) │ │ before entering the table. │ │ │ │ The instrument table consists of 400h (1024) instruments, each │ │ of 16 bytes in size. The bytes mainly controls the hardware OPL2 │ │ registers on the card, but I have added a few of my own as well. │ │ When an instrument has been defined, use the CXXX command in the │ │ sequences to use it. │ │ │ │ But first, lets have a look at the instrument itself: │ │ │ │ │ │ FFFF 3F 20 00 FFFF 3F 20 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 │ │ └─────────────┘└─────────────┘ │ │ Carrier Modulator │ │ │ │ │ │ The parameters in both carrier and modulator uses the exact same │ │ parameters, only the "modulator" part usually changes the color │ │ of the sound while the "carrier" changes the volume and pitch. I │ │ said "usually", because this depends on the way the operators is │ │ connected. More about this later. │ │ │ │ NOTE: It is wise to leave instrument #0000 at the values defined │ │ in the example above since this instrument is in fact used when │ │ executing a CUT command (6000 in the command column). │ │ │ │ The carrier and modulator parameters will be send to the OPL2 FM │ │ chip directly, as they are hardware based. Lets have a look at │ │ the parameters individually. │ │ │ │ │ │ FFFF This parameter controls the ADSR of the instrument. Some │ │ of you already knows what this means. If you come from │ │ the Commodore 64 and have been fiddling with ADSR here, │ │ all you have to know is that is behaves upside-down - it │ │ takes FF02 instead of 00FE! Otherwise it is very simple. │ │ Each nibble ("F", a halfbyte), takes a parameter from 0h │ │ to Fh, to define four parameters named the Attack, Decay │ │ Sustain and Release. The attack defines the speed of the │ │ volume to reach maximum level, Fh is fastest. As soon as │ │ this level has been reached, the Decay value defines the │ │ speed of the volume to reach the Sustain level. Again, │ │ Fh is fastest. Sustain is a pseudo-volume level (volume) │ │ where 0 is loudest. Release again defines the speed of │ │ the volume to go from the Sustain level to silence. All │ │ in all, a diagram like this can be drawn to illustrate │ │ the ADSR envelope: │ │ │ │ │ │ /\ │ │ / \ │ │ / \ │ │ / \________________ │ │ / \ │ │ / \ │ │ / \ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────┴───┴───────────────┴───┘ │ │ A D S R │ │ │ │ │ │ In the sequence itself, the ADS part of the ADSR will be │ │ run as soon as the note is triggered, and maintained for │ │ as long as the HOLD events (+++) are present. As soon as │ │ the REST events is met (---), the note releases (R). An │ │ exception to this rule exists in the instrument however. │ │ If bit 5 is set to 0 in the 4th/9th byte (the bytes set │ │ to 20h above), the Sustain is ignored and only an ADR │ │ is executed. In other words, it ignores the HOLD (+++). │ │ │ │ In the modulator, the ADSR works is a similar way - only │ │ it affects the modulation instead of the volume. Use it │ │ to give "life" to the instrument. │ │ │ │ │ │ 3F This parameter is split into bit 0-5 for the main volume │ │ (level) and bit 6-7 for keyboard scaled level (KSL). The │ │ level is 00h-3Fh, where 00h is loudest. Add 40h, 80h or │ │ C0h for three rates of KSL. The KSL defines how much the │ │ volume decreases in volume as the notes climbs upwards. │ │ In other words, the higher the note, the lower the level │ │ of the note. This feature is not used very often. │ │ │ │ In the modulator part, the level affects the modulation │ │ instead of the volume. 00h is full modulation (100%). │ │ │ │ │ │ 20 This is a multiple purpose register of the FM chip. Bits │ │ 0-3 defines the multiplier, which works like an octave │ │ parameter only it steps in a rather absurd way. With it, │ │ you can change the pitch without editing the music - to │ │ some degree! Bit 4 (add 10h) sets the KSR - which means │ │ keyboard scaled rate. It works like KSL only it affects │ │ the speed of which the ADSR is processed. The higher the │ │ note, the faster the ADSR. Bit 5 (add 20h) selects ADSR │ │ or only ADR. Normally, you would set this to 1 (ADSR) or │ │ the HOLD/REST in sequences will be ignored; notes will │ │ release as soon as the note has been triggered. This may │ │ come in handy at times though. Bit 6 (add 40h) enables a │ │ hardware vibrato. This vibrato is quite insufficient at │ │ times to say the least, so I added my own vibrato to the │ │ sequence commands (7XYY). Last, bit 7 (add 80h) enables │ │ the hardware tremolo. Tremolo vibrates the level - think │ │ of it as the "Elvis Costello" bit! ;) │ │ │ │ │ │ 00 Only values from 00 to 03 is used here (bits 0-1). All │ │ other bits is ignored. This value defines the waveform │ │ of the operator. If you come from the Commodore 64 with │ │ its marvellous SID-chip, you will be disappointed to see │ │ what waveforms this chip has. They are not as flexible │ │ as the SID-chip waveforms. 00 is a sine and is loudest. │ │ I have also noticed that waveforms 02 and 03 seems to be │ │ one octave higher than 00 and 01. I will try my best to │ │ draw the waveforms now using the terrible ASCII chars. │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌──┐ │ │ ┌┘ └┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌┘ └┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 00 = └──────┼──────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └┐ ┌┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ └┐ ┌┘ │ │ └──┘ │ │ │ │ ┌──┐ │ │ ┌┘ └┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌┘ └┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 01 = └──────┴─────── │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌──┐ ┌──┐ │ │ ┌┘ └┐ ┌┘ └┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌┘ └┬┘ └┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 02 = └──────┴──────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ │ │ ┌┘ │ ┌┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌┘ │ ┌┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 03 = └───┴──┴───┴─── │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ This should give you an idea of what the waveforms looks │ │ like. All waveforms are variations on the sine waveform. │ │ │ │ │ │ That concludes the five bytes in each operator, which constructs │ │ the actual sound. The last 6 bytes in the instrument all behaves │ │ globally to the instrument. │ │ │ │ │ │ 01 This is the last hardware register. In bit 0, you define │ │ the connection of the two operators. Normally it is set │ │ to 0 (modulation), but if set to 1 (additive), the modu- │ │ lator operator will behave exactly as the carrier. This │ │ is great for organ sounds! Bits 1-3 defines the feedback │ │ of the modulation (0,2,4...E), which is the number of │ │ times the output is fed right back into the modulation │ │ process, creating overtones. If you set it high (E or F) │ │ you get so many of them that you get...noise! So this is │ │ the parameter you use the make drums. Again, if you come │ │ from the Commodore 64 you will be a little disappointed. │ │ The noise is stuck at a high frequency, and cannot sound │ │ as good as the noise on the SID-chip. :( Often drums on │ │ AdLib can be improved by using a second voice, in which │ │ you create a bassdrum-like sine which is sliding down. │ │ │ │ │ │ 02 This is a software parameter. Use values 00-7F to fine- │ │ tune the instrument - if you are using two voices on top │ │ of each other, this may phase the two voices together in │ │ order to produce a chorus effect. │ │ │ │ │ │ 03 Hard restart timer value. Defines the number of frames │ │ BEFORE the next note, that the next value below is to be │ │ processed. 00h turns this OFF. Frames is a term for the │ │ smallest timeunit a player can measure, which of course │ │ is the number of times the player is called. If the IRQ │ │ value is set to 46h, the frame corresponds to 1/70'th of │ │ a second. Good values are 01-03. │ │ │ │ │ │ 04 Hard restart Sustain/Release value. When the timer is up │ │ in the previous byte above, this value is put into the │ │ Sustain/Release on the soundcard for that voice. This is │ │ useful to "cut down" on a long release before the next │ │ note in a sequence. ADSR usually continues on the Attack │ │ from whatever point the Release from the last note might │ │ have reached, but this is not always desirable. You can │ │ also use these parameters to make the music more funky. │ │ │ │ │ │ 05-06 These bytes are unused in player v04.01. Do not put any │ │ information into them as they may be used later on. Keep │ │ them at 00h. │ │ │ │ │ │ THE SpFX TABLE │ │ ────────────── │ │ │ │ This is the table you enter when pressing "K". You can also use │ │ the "L" key to jump between this table and the instrument table. │ │ If the table window is not active, it will be made active before │ │ entering the table. │ │ │ │ The SpFX (Special Effects) table consists of 800h (2048) effects │ │ lines, of 8 bytes in size. When an SpFX has been defined you can │ │ use the BXXX command in the sequences to point to it. │ │ │ │ A SpFX "set" may look like this: │ │ │ │ │ │ 0001 0C FF 10 20 0002 │ │ │ │ │ │ Let's have a look at these parameters individually. │ │ │ │ │ │ 0001 This WORD defines the instrument to use for the set. Use │ │ values 000-3FF. Add with 8000h to use locked frequencies │ │ with the next byte below. │ │ │ │ │ │ 0C Half note value, added to the actual note for as long as │ │ this "set" lasts. Eg, if the note in the sequence is C-2 │ │ and this value is 02, the note will sound as D-2. If you │ │ add the WORD value above with 8000h, the values will NOT │ │ be added. Instead, the values will refer to raw notes as │ │ if 00h equals C-0, 01 equals C#0 and so forth. When used │ │ to add the note, the value is signed; 00-7F for positive │ │ and FF-80 for negative (-01h - -80h). Locked frequencies │ │ can often be useful for drums which should be unaffected │ │ by tranpositions. │ │ │ │ │ │ FF New modulator level. The value overrides the 8th byte in │ │ the instrument. If this value is FF, the 8th byte is NOT │ │ replaced and this value will be ignored. Useful if you │ │ want to add to the original value in the instrument. │ │ │ │ │ │ 10 Modulator level add. Added each frame to the 8th byte in │ │ the instrument, as an alternative to the ADSR modulating │ │ process. The value is a signed byte; 00-7F for positive │ │ and FF-80 for negative (-01h - -80h). Use the byte above │ │ to set the start modulator level if needed. │ │ │ │ │ │ 20 Duration. Defines the number of frames (00-FF) of this │ │ set. 00h is ONE frame. When the counting is up, the next │ │ WORD specifies the next SpFX line to interprete. │ │ │ │ │ │ 0002 Pointer to next SpFX line. After the duration counter in │ │ the previous byte above is up, this WORD specifies the │ │ next line to jump to. Values ranges from 0000h-07FFh. │ │ │ │ │ │ This table is very useful if you want to make arpeggio or sounds │ │ with more life than the normal ADSR modulation can give you. Now │ │ I won't advise you to make arpeggio chords when you have as much │ │ as 9 voices, but it could come in handy when improving drums. As │ │ an example, here is the dreaded 0-3-7 arpeggio chord: │ │ │ │ │ │ 0000: 0001 00 FF 00 0001 │ │ 0001: 0001 03 FF 00 0002 │ │ 0002: 0001 07 FF 00 0000 │ │ │ │ │ │ The above example uses instrument #0001 to produce a 0-3-7 chord │ │ using arpeggio. The duration bytes are all 00, meaning that the │ │ arpeggio will run at the fastest possible speed. No modulation │ │ adding is involved. Notice how the pointers makes the three sets │ │ spin around in an endless loop! Use B000 in the sequence to try │ │ out this minor arpeggio chord. │ │ │ │ │ │ KEYS │ │ ──── │ │ │ │ Here is a list of all keys available in EdLib, some of them with │ │ a deeper description than found in the HELP pages (Alt-F1). │ │ │ │ │ │ F1 Play normally from StartPoint (SP) position. │ │ │ │ This key does not scroll the music, useful when │ │ editing the music while it is playing. │ │ │ │ │ │ F2 Stop all music activity. │ │ │ │ You can also use the ESCAPE key. If you're using │ │ a MIDI keyboard, you can also cut hanging voices │ │ with this key. │ │ │ │ │ │ F3 FollowPlay from StartPoint position. │ │ │ │ The music scrolls as the music plays to show the │ │ current position being played. Use the CTRL keys │ │ as a fast forward function in this mode. NOTE: I │ │ do not recommend using disk cache software such │ │ as "SMARTDRV" as it disrupts the scrolling! :( │ │ │ │ │ │ F4 Set new StartPoint position (SP). │ │ │ │ You can set the new position anywhere, no matter │ │ if you're halfway through a sequence or not. The │ │ hexadecimal stepcounter to the left of the main │ │ editing area will turn dark blue below the point │ │ and light blue after it. │ │ │ │ │ │ F5 Copy any sequence into the current sequence. │ │ │ │ Use this key to overwrite the sequence you are │ │ currently editing, with the contents of another. │ │ │ │ │ │ F6 Decrease the tune speed. │ │ │ │ Hold CTRL to specifically define it. │ │ │ │ │ │ F7 Increase the tune speed. │ │ │ │ Hold CTRL to specifically define it. The Spd box │ │ in the bottom right corner of the screen informs │ │ you of the current value. │ │ │ │ │ │ F8 Define new SuperInsert size. │ │ │ │ │ │ F9 Execute the SuperInsert in a sequence. │ │ │ │ When pressing this key you will insert as many │ │ events into the sequence as defined with the F8 │ │ key. The SpI counter in the bottom right corner │ │ of the screen informs you of the current value. │ │ Note that you can have no more than 5Fh events │ │ in a single sequence. If you want more than this │ │ you have to split it up into two sequences. │ │ │ │ │ │ F10 Goto any stepcounter line. │ │ │ │ The hexadecimal stepcounter is the column to the │ │ far left of the editing area. │ │ │ │ │ │ F11 Define new RhythmJump value. │ │ │ │ Sets the number of events the cursor jumps after │ │ pressing a note key in the sequence. The RtJ box │ │ in the bottom right corner of the screen informs │ │ you of the current value. │ │ │ │ │ │ F12 Load music in EDL format. │ │ │ │ Brings up a file requester from which you can │ │ choose an EDL file to load. You can also use the │ │ Ctrl-F3 key. │ │ │ │ │ │ Shift F1 Clear all tracks and sequences. │ │ │ │ Leaves the instruments and SpFX tables intact. A │ │ useful function when borrowing instruments from │ │ another song. Sequence #000 is actually used to │ │ fill all sequences, so if you edit this sequence │ │ before clearing you can userdefine all at once. │ │ │ │ │ │ Shift F2 Clear instruments and SpFX tables. │ │ │ │ Leaves the tracks and sequences intact. May come │ │ in handy if you disliked all the instruments and │ │ want to start all over defining them again. │ │ │ │ │ │ Shift F5 Copy any sequence into another sequence. │ │ │ │ As the F5 key, only it takes both a source and a │ │ destination input. │ │ │ │ │ │ Shift F12 Save music in EDL format. │ │ │ │ Brings up a file requester from which you can │ │ save your song. You can also use the Ctrl-F4 key │ │ instead. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl F1 Decrease the IRQ timer speed. │ │ │ │ Ctrl F2 Increase the IRQ timer speed. │ │ │ │ The above keys changes the timer interrupt speed │ │ of the song. Be careful when using these! Better │ │ have a talk with the programmer using your music │ │ to make sure he accepts the new value. Normally │ │ they are set to 46h (70) which matches the speed │ │ of the screen update in 320x200 mode. This way, │ │ the music can be used in a vertical retrace. In │ │ some situations you can make use of a fast timer │ │ interrupt to speed up the arpeggio in an instru- │ │ ment. If you only want to change the speed of a │ │ song, use the F6/F7 keys instead. The Irq box in │ │ the bottom right corner of the screen keeps hold │ │ of the current timer interrupt speed. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl F3 Load music in EDL format. │ │ │ │ You can also use the F12 key. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl F4 Save music in EDL format. │ │ │ │ You can also use the Shift-F12 key. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl F5 Convert the music to D00 format and save it. │ │ │ │ This brings up a requester asking for a filename │ │ of the packed tune. After typing this, the music │ │ will be packed and saved as a D00 file - to be │ │ used in your own programs. The packed tune can't │ │ be loaded into the editor again, so be sure you │ │ save your source with Shift-F12 or Ctrl-F4! Note │ │ that the packer goes into a 9-PASS process. It │ │ has been tested intensively with no problems so │ │ far - however, should the packer ever lock up at │ │ any time, please note the pass number and mail │ │ me this number. My address can be found in the │ │ end of this file. Thank you! │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl F6 Define new tune speed. │ │ │ │ Input the speed. Use F6/F7 to decrease/increase. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl F7 Define new tune speed. │ │ │ │ Input the speed. Use F6/F7 to decrease/increase. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl F9 Input music name in top of screen. │ │ │ │ The input takes 20 characters as the name of the │ │ music. Remember to do this before saving a tune │ │ to disk or packing it! D00-files also contains │ │ this string. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl F10 Input composer name in top of screen. │ │ │ │ Again takes 20 characters. Remember to press it │ │ before saving or packing the tune! The D00-files │ │ also contains this string. │ │ │ │ │ │ M Enter instrument table. │ │ │ │ Will enter the instrument table at the position │ │ you left it at last time. If the table window is │ │ not active, it will be made active first. │ │ │ │ │ │ K Enter SpFX table. │ │ │ │ Will enter the table at the position you left it │ │ at last time. If the table window is not active, │ │ it will be made active first. │ │ │ │ │ │ L Toggle between instrument and SpFX tables. │ │ │ │ Enters the other table. If you type it outside a │ │ table it will enter the other table than the one │ │ you edited last time. If the table window is not │ │ active, it will be made active first. │ │ │ │ │ │ Alt Down Change main volume byte below the current voice. │ │ │ │ Beneath each voice you'll find a value which can │ │ be edited with this key combination. The volumes │ │ controls the main volume for that voice, and has │ │ priority over volume commands in the sequence. │ │ │ │ │ │ Alt Up Change logical voice byte above the voice. │ │ │ │ Using "Alt-Up" you can change the value above a │ │ voice. This value is the physical voice number │ │ attached to the voice. Changing the values, you │ │ can completely rearrange voices - you can even │ │ make the same voice appear at several places! It │ │ may come in handy when some voices has something │ │ in common, like chords or double-voice drums. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl Fast forward while in FollowPlay mode. │ │ │ │ Only works when in FollowPlay mode. You cannot │ │ use fast forward when playing with F1. │ │ │ │ │ │ Alt 1-9 Toggles voices 1-9 ON or OFF. │ │ │ │ Note that the logical voice numbers above voices │ │ goes dark grey when a voice is OFF. │ │ │ │ │ │ Alt Tab Turn all voices OFF except the edited voice. │ │ │ │ │ │ , Turn all voices ON. │ │ │ │ │ │ . Turn all voices OFF. │ │ │ │ │ │ - Toggle current voice ON or OFF. │ │ │ │ │ │ Q2W3ER5... Play in note column or instrument/SpFX tables. │ │ │ │ Use these keys to play with the instrument or to │ │ type notes in the right column of a sequence. As │ │ you type a key the instrument last edited in the │ │ main instrument table will play. Use the Ctrl-Up │ │ and Ctrl-Down keys to change the octave. │ │ │ │ │ │ Spacebar Erase sequence command or a REST in note column. │ │ │ │ In the sequence itself you can erase commands or │ │ notes by tapping space on them. SPACE on a note │ │ enters a REST (---) event. │ │ │ │ │ │ X/C/V Put a HOLD (+++) in the note column. │ │ │ │ All 3 keys have the exact same meaning. I made │ │ this to make it easier for you to edit blindly. │ │ As the key is pressed, a HOLD (+++) appears. │ │ │ │ │ │ Z HOLD to the previous note, REST to the next. │ │ │ │ A very useful command that should be used when- │ │ ever possible instead of SPACE and X/C/V. Press │ │ it to put HOLD (+++) up towards the note and put │ │ REST (---) down towards the next one. It ignores │ │ the presence of old HOLD and REST. Also, it may │ │ be pressed in the command column - which is not │ │ possible with the other HOLD/REST keys. │ │ │ │ │ │ ½ Toggle tienote ON or OFF. │ │ │ │ On my keyboard it is the key just below the ESC │ │ and above the TAB key. When pressed on an event │ │ in a sequence, it toggles the note white/yellow. │ │ When white, the note is changed in the music but │ │ the effects of the instrument is NOT restarted. │ │ │ │ │ │ Enter Jumps between track editing or sequence editing. │ │ │ │ Also used to edit names in the instrument table. │ │ │ │ This is probably the most used key when editing │ │ notes as it jumps in and out of track values. In │ │ the instrument table you can edit the name of an │ │ instrument with this key. This name may contain │ │ up to 16 characters. │ │ │ │ │ │ Tab Jump to the right voice. │ │ │ │ Ctrl Tab Jump to the left voice. │ │ │ │ Use the above keys to switch between voices. As │ │ you enter a new voice the voice is "blown up" to │ │ show the entire voice (track, commands & notes). │ │ The other voices will be shrinked, so that only │ │ the notes can be seen - the most essential part! │ │ You can spot the beginning and end of sequences │ │ by observing the "> <" signs around the notes. │ │ │ │ │ │ Q Enter the next unused sequence in the track. │ │ │ │ Another useful function. When editing a song and │ │ deleting/inserting sequences, you may at times │ │ forget which sequences you have used and which │ │ you have trashed. By pressing the key on a track │ │ number, the editor will automatically find the │ │ first unused sequence number and enter the value │ │ for you. │ │ │ │ │ │ /// Cursor keys, used globally in the editor. │ │ │ │ │ │ Home/End Used globally in the editor. │ │ │ │ │ │ Delete Delete in track or sequence mode. │ │ │ │ │ │ Insert Insert in track or sequence mode. │ │ │ │ Note that you can have no more than 5Fh events │ │ in a single sequence. If you want more than this │ │ you have to split it up into two sequences. │ │ │ │ │ │ ESC Exits modes, also stops the music. │ │ │ │ This is also used to remove the windows with the │ │ instrument and SpFX tables. │ │ │ │ │ │ Page Up/Down Used globally in the editor. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl Up Increase the note octave. │ │ │ │ Ctrl Down Decrease the note octave. │ │ │ │ The above keys changes the octave available with │ │ "Q2W3ER5..." keys. The Oc? counter in the bottom │ │ right corner of the screen informs you of the │ │ current value. Also Ctrl-Right may decrease. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl Pg Up Home to the absolute top. │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl Pg Down Home to the absolute bottom. │ │ │ │ Does not yet work in the voice editing area. │ │ │ │ │ │ S Toggle CPU rastertime ON or OFF. │ │ │ │ The rastertime is shown as a grey block in the │ │ outscan border. May be useful for the programmer │ │ but keep in mind that the music takes much more │ │ rastertime in the editor than when packed! │ │ │ │ │ │ Ctrl Break Exit to DOS. │ │ │ │ You can skip the palette fade with the /P switch │ │ on the commandline. │ │ │ │ │ │ COMMANDLINE PARAMETERS │ │ ────────────────────── │ │ │ │ Note that all switches may be preceeded with either a slash "/" │ │ or a minus "-" character. Slash is used in the examples below. │ │ │ │ You can load an EDL file from the commandline prompt, if needed. │ │ │ │ Usage: EDLIB [<Switches>] [<Name of EDL file>] │ │ │ │ │ │ /? Help page briefly describing the switches. │ │ │ │ │ │ /F Use followplay immediately. │ │ │ │ Useful when loading an EDL file from the command │ │ line and you want to play it right away. │ │ │ │ │ │ /P Do not fade colors when quitting. │ │ │ │ If you feel annoyed having to wait for the fade │ │ to get finished, use this switch to skip it. │ │ │ │ │ │ /C Convert EDL to D00 (NOT READY YET). │ │ │ │ Reserved for future expansion; may in later ver- │ │ sions of EdLib convert from EDL to D00 without │ │ having to enter the editor itself. Until this is │ │ implemented you must do it with Ctrl-F5 inside │ │ the editor. │ │ │ │ │ │ /M Use the MPU-401 interface. │ │ │ │ If you have an external synthesizer connected │ │ through you MPU-401 MIDI interface you can play │ │ the AdLib instruments on it. Cursor up and down │ │ in the instrument table to choose the instrument │ │ and change the octave with Ctrl-Up or Ctrl-Down. │ │ Now you can play this instrument on the keyboard │ │ synth, using full polyphony and velocity. Note │ │ that aftertouch uses a default vibrato setting │ │ which is independant of the bytes in the editor. │ │ You cannot use the MIDI to record music in this │ │ version of EdLib. │ │ │ │ │ │ /A Ignore AdLib detection. │ │ │ │ Useful at times when the detection routine might │ │ fail, even if an OPL2 IS present! E.g, if your │ │ computer uses both a Sound Blaster and a Gravis │ │ Ultrasound at the same time. The timer detection │ │ does not always work in those circumstances. │ │ │ │ │ │ CONTACT ADDRESS │ │ ─────────────── │ │ │ │ That does it for this DOC. I'm sorry if I haven't been nice to │ │ your printer making formfeeds, table of contents and other nice │ │ stuff. But what the heck - you only want to read this once - the │ │ help pages in the editor ought to do the rest. :) │ │ │ │ I hope you actually managed to read the DOC in spite of my awful │ │ grammar! I know it turns out a smile once in a while. As long as │ │ you can understand what I mean, I don't really give a damn... │ │ │ │ If you want to contact me for some (legal only!) reason, you can │ │ write to the following snail mail address: │ │ │ │ │ │ Jens-Christian Huus │ │ Tranegaardsvej 71 a │ │ 2900 Hellerup │ │ Denmark │ │ │ │ │ │ FidoNet: 2:236/86.22 (Kilroy BBS) │ │ │ │ │ │ THE BORING STUFF │ │ ──────────────── │ │ │ │ All files in the archive should be distributed in their original │ │ form - it is forbidden to modify anything. The player may not be │ │ used commercially in any way without permission from the author. │ │ │ │ The names Vibrants, the SirFace System and EdLib are trademarks │ │ of Jens-Christian Huus. Other product and company names are the │ │ trademarks of their respective owners. │ │ │ │ All warranties are disclaimed, including damage to your hardware │ │ and/or software from use of this product. In no event will I be │ │ liable to you for any damages - including any lost profits, lost │ │ savings or other incidental or consequential damages arising out │ │ of your use or inability to use the program, or any other claim │ │ by any other party. │ │ │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘