SuperHack/SuperHack CD.bin/CODING/SOUND/GUS-201.ZIP/GUS-213.TXT

Text File | 1993-01-28 | 47.6 KB | 1,117 lines

Ultrasound Daily Digest     Sat, 16 Jan 93       Volume 2 : Issue  13

Today's Topics:
                    12 Tone's CakeWalk and the GUS
                     Availability of GUS add-ons
                         F15 SE III and SBOS
                       Gravis 3d and 'Q-Sound'
                    Gravis Install Disks Ver. 1.22
                   Gravis UltraSound 3D! & Qsound
              GUS 3D and other spatial sound techniques
                               GUSDAC?
     GUS Press Release: Midisoft Recording Session to be bundled
            GUS Press Release: Power Chords to be bundled
            Gus records static from dead signal! (2 msgs)
                            Mixing in DOS?
                        More great GUS3D news!
         New enhanced GUSMOD player! (Was : GUSDAC?) (2 msgs)
                    Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #7
                          Undeliverable Mail
                     WinJammer and Band-in-a-Box

    Information about the UltraSound Daily Digest (such as
mail addresses, request servers, ftp sites, etc., etc.) can be found
at the end of the Digest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 93 17:45:19 PST
From: [e-mail]
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: 12 Tone's CakeWalk and the GUS
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Is anyone else currently using Cakewalk (either the demo or registered
version) for windows and the GUS?  If so, read on.

I really like Cakewalk but am of being forced to manually
close the midi device when I want to load new patches into the Ultrasound.
Firstly, is there a simple way around this problem?

Barring that, I called 12 Tone today but the sales rep wouldn't even
listen to my problem.  I was suggesting that they release a version
that supported patch caching directly or even a quick fix that made
it easier to turn on/off the midi device so that Patch Manager could
access the GUS.

Her response was "write a letter to 12-tone's programmers."  Is there
any GUS owners who would likely buy Cakewalk if it was more GUS
friendly?  Anyone willing to sign their name/address to my letter to
12-Tone.  Email me.

Regards,

Darran Edmundson
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Jan 93 05:11:33 PST
From: [e-mail] (Bruce Sharpe)
Message-Id: <9301161311.AA21239@ mda.ca>
Subject: Availability of GUS add-ons
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

In answer to many questions posted recently, here is the latest GUS
add-on availability list from the Gravis BBS [phone].

Bruce Sharpe

                                             Last Modified: 1/15/93
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Advanced Gravis Product Support BBS      Pricing & Availability |
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
    |                Item                           When?    SRP($US) |
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
    | MIDI Connector Box                        |  Apr '93  |  $49.95 |
    | 16-bit Stereo Recording Interface Card    |  Apr '93  | $149.95 |
    | LMSI CD-ROM Daughter Card for CM205 and   | Qtr 1 '93 |  $59.95 |
    |  and CM215 (Phillips, Magnavox, LMSI)     |           |         |
    | Sony CD-ROM Daughter Card for Sony 31A    | Qtr 1 '93 |  $49.95 |
    | Mitsumi CD-ROM Daughter Card              | Qtr 1 '93 |  $49.95 |
    | SCSI CD-ROM Daughter Card                 | Qtr 1 '93 |   TBA   |
    -------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Jan 93 3:15:22 EET
From: Kaj Laaksonen <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: F15 SE III and SBOS
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Greetings from GUS-loving Finland!

Has anyone played new F-15 Strike Eagle III with SBOS?
I just can't get any digitized speech or effects from it, FM-sounds
work beautifully but this game is supposed to have superb speech
and effects so naturally I'm eager to hear them. I've tried all possible
SBOS options and different DMA & IRQ settings from both SET BLASTER line
and F-15 setup. No luck. My SBOS is V.1.22 (final) without SBOSDRV.SYS.
I have 618272 bytes of conventional memory free after SBOS which should
be enough. For your reference I will include my autoexec.bat lines
and F15 setup options.

SET ULTRASND=220,7,7,11,7
C:\ULTRASND\ULTRINIT
ULTRAJOY 10
SET ULTRADIR=C:\ULTRASND
SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 T1

F-15 SETUP OPTIONS:

Music & Sound Effects Device: SoundBlaster (orig.)
Digitized Speech Device:      SoundBlaster (orig.)
Speech Address:               220
Speech IRQ:                   7
Speech DRQ:                   1


Thanks in Advance

Kaj "Kaizu" Laaksonen         [e-mail]

Life is a beach and then you dive!

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1993 16:02:18 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Message-Id: <199301152102.AA10231@prism>
Subject: Gravis 3d and 'Q-Sound'
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

>One thing that everybody seems to be forgetting, though, is that one of the
>primary ways that any animal distinguishes this is by listening to what happens
>when it turns its head.  This is very difficult to simulate with two (normal)
>speakers. (I believe someone mentioned earlier that the headphones that come
>with the GUS 3D have a sensor to determine the physical position (this, I
>think, explains why they're not just selling it as a software upgrade).
>--



This makes very good sense... since it doesn't even seem like the card has to
be modified in any way to get the 3d-sound imaging, Gravis is not alienating
its present user base, but moving to expand it. The logical choice for them,
from all the things/rumors I've heard, would be to release two separate
packages... a new Gravis Ultrasound 3d, with the 512k ram, headphones, and new
drivers/software, and then also release an upgrade pack, with just headphones,
and drivers/software, so that people who already own the card won't have to
buy the whole thing over again...

[e-mail]         | Why are we here?              --Neil Peart
a.k.a., Guy Elden Jr.            |   Because we're here...       ------------
Currently being 'frizzle-fried'  | Why does it happen?
in the CS realm...               |   Because it happens...  Roll the Bones...

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 93 22:01:04 -0600
From: [e-mail]
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Gravis Install Disks Ver. 1.22
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

What happened to the Gravis Install Disks Ver 1.22 ?
I saw it in epas before, but now when I want to download it, it's gone!

-Wity-

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 93 18:31:48 -0500
From: "It's your hand, Buckaroo" <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Gravis UltraSound 3D! & Qsound
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

>   This is very difficult to simulate with two (normal)
> speakers. (I believe someone mentioned earlier that the headphones that come
> with the GUS 3D have a sensor to determine the physical position (this, I
> think, explains why they're not just selling it as a software upgrade).

Actually, as I recall, the person said that the DEMO headphones at CES had
a magnetic sensor. I personally don't think they will be selling
sensor-equiped headphones in the real product.

It's still not clear what, if anything, Gravis will do for an upgrade from
the straight GUS either. Since the game sound track has to be rewritten to
include the positioning info, all this whizzy stuff will require native GUS
sound anyway...

DDA

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1993 23:14:13 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Dale Newcomb)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: GUS 3D and other spatial sound techniques
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

The only problem with saying "you have 2 ears, so why can't
you do 3D sound with 2 headphones" is that ears are not anything
like headphones! If anything they are like microphones, audio-in
not audio out! One way to create 3D sound is to use 2 microphones
in the shape of ears on a head, such that the microphones input
the exact same thing that your ear drums would, then you can use
headphones to play the 3D sounds back - problem: this is not
interactive sound, which is what I'm sure the GUS 3D would really
want, instead it's good for fixed soundtracks, etc. Another method, which we use here at the Virtual Reality Lab at NRL is to
have a speaker cube of 8 speakers hooked up to a midi-processor
(we use the EMAX II from E-MU) which is driven by the computer.
Doppler-shift, volume, and dampening effects are calculated and
change the sounds accordingly while the computer also sends 3D
coordinates to the EMAX such that the spatial location of the sounds can be produced by varying the volumes of the 8 speakers surrounding you (talk about surround sound!!). This gives a very
convincing 3D effect when coupled with a visual display and is
even better if thet display is immersive (head mounted display, etc.) but let's face it, it's not a very good home-PC-based alternative and is quite expensive. The third option, which GUS
3D seems to be attempting is done by setting up certain delays and pitch,volume, etc shifts to simulate sounds coming from different directions. Through experimentation, sounds can be sampled from different locations around the microphone (even better if its one of those ears-in-head type) and their waveforms
analyzed and hopfully reproduced dynamically. I haven't done this side of the sound work so I don't know how hard it is to
do. One main problem I forsee is that with headphones (the best
way to get spatial sound out of 2 speakers) the sounds emanate from left and right, in the real world they can come from behind us etc. If a sound is behind you, some of the sound is blocked by virtue of the shape of the ears (aimed forward), headphones
don't allow this, so the software would have to try and make up for that loss, possibly a difficult task...but hopefully not beyond the expertise of Gravis (Focal Point actually)! I just got
my GUS a week ago and was hoping to use it in some homebrew virtual reality along with my powerglove, and soon I'll be able to do even more than I had hoped!


                    Dale Newcomb, Jr
                    Naval Research Lab, DC

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1993 09:17:35 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Jerry van Waardenberg)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: GUSDAC?
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (francisco perez) writes:
|>
|> Date Entered: 01-14-93 00:20
|> M(>Has everyone checked out the GUSDAC on epas yet?  Let's modplay use
|> M(>the gus as a quadrophonic dac or stereo-on-one.
|>
|> Can somebody please send a UUENCODEed GUSDAC and post it here if its not too
|> large?  It sounds interesting, but alas, no FTP access for me...
|>
|> Later...and thanks to whoever will do it!
|> ---
|>    OLX 2.1 TD   Press any key to continue or any other key to quit
|>    RoseMail 2.00 : RoseNet<=>Usenet Gateway : Rose Media 416-733-2285

Have you tried MODGUS (or GUSMOD?) yet? It sounds a lot better than GUSDAC, since
it does not use any kind of emulation. If only those nasty bugs could be removed!
Has someone tried to play xerxes.mod? Instead of handclapping, I get bird sounds,
violin ploings and percussion sounds. Weird! Also, sometimes samples are missing.
But still, most songs sound better than on any other mod player!

Jerry

*------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
 Jerry van Waardenberg                             _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/
 Tele Informatics and Open Systems                  _/     _/   _/  _/ _/
 Department of Computer Science                    _/     _/   _/  _/   _/
 University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands  _/     _/   _/  _/     _/
 E-mail: [e-mail]                  _/   _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Jan 93 05:08:10 PST
From: [e-mail] (Bruce Sharpe)
Message-Id: <9301161308.AA20003@ mda.ca>
Subject: GUS Press Release: Midisoft Recording Session to be bundled
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Just found this on the Graivs BBS ([phone]):

January 15, 1993                              Advanced Gravis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

     ADVANCED GRAVIS AND MIDISOFT SIGN LICENSING AGREEMENT

Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd. and Midisoft Corporation
have signed an agreement whereby Midisoft music authoring software
will be bundled together with Advanced Gravis UltraSound(tm)
multimedia PC hardware.  The world-wide, non-exclusive licensing
agreement extends to the end of 1993.

Under the terms of the agreement, Gravis will license Midisoft
Recording Session for Windows and a collection of MIDI songs for
inclusion in the retail versions of the Gravis UltraSound sound
card.  The bundle will give users the ability to easily play,
compose, record, and edit MIDI music for personal, business, or
educational purposes.

"A large percentage of our sound card customers are Windows users
anxious to experiment with music composition and MIDI," said Grant
Russell, Advanced Gravis president.  "These customers are going to
find our CD-quality sound and Midisoft's revolutionary software
hard to beat, especially at the price.

Gravis UltraSound, released in early October 1992, is a 16-bit
44.1 kHz, 32 voice stereo sound card with support for Standard
MIDI, 256K of on-board memory, and a speed-compensating game port.
UltraSound features wave table synthesis for true professional
quality musical instrument reproduction.  It features Ad Lib(tm)
and Sound Blaster(tm) compatibility and supports Windows Multimedia
Extensions.  The suggested retail of the UltraSound bundle is
$199.95 and will begin shipping in March 1993.

Midisoft Recording Session for Windows is a notation-based MIDI
sequencer that displays standard music notation in realtime during
recording, editing, and playback.  The program converts a PC into
a multi-track recording studio.  With the program, users with
little if any music knowledge can easily edit existing MIDI files -
such as those being included in the Gravis/Midisoft bundle.
Amateur musicians and hobbyists with a knowledge of music can use
the software to compose and record original music.

"Our Recording Session is a sophisticated music authoring tool
that's easy enough to use by mainstream Window users," said Raymond
Bily, Midisoft CEO.

Founded in 1986, Midisoft Corporation is a privately held company
rapidly becoming recognized as the leader in music software
technology for Windows.  The Redmond, Washington firm develops a
line of Windows, DOS, VIS, and Atari software which enhances the
music experience of people of all ages and levels of music
proficiency.

Advanced Gravis designs, manufactures and markets high-quality
entertainment devices for personal computers, including joysticks,
PC GamePads, MouseSticks, and the new UltraSound, a 16 bit, 32
voice sound card for the IBM PC.

For further information : Brad Craig, at 604-431-5020.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Jan 93 05:10:10 PST
From: [e-mail] (Bruce Sharpe)
Message-Id: <9301161310.AA20723@ mda.ca>
Subject: GUS Press Release: Power Chords to be bundled
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Just found this on the Gravis BBS ([phone]):

January 15, 1993                                  Advanced Gravis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

  ADVANCED GRAVIS AND HOWLING DOG SYSTEMS SIGN LICENSING AGREEMENT

Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd. and Howling Dog Systems
have signed an agreement whereby Howling Dog's music software will
be bundled together with Advanced Gravis UltraSound(tm) multimedia
PC hardware.  The world-wide, non-exclusive licensing agreement
extends to the end of 1993.

Under the terms of the agreement, Gravis will license Power Chords
for Windows and a collection of MIDI songs for inclusion in the
retail versions of the Gravis UltraSound sound card.  The bundle
will give users the ability to easily play, edit and compose MIDI
music for personal, business, or educational purposes using a
familiar guitar interface and powerful drum kit.

"A large percentage of our sound card customers are Windows users
anxious to experiment with music composition," Grant Russell,
Advanced Gravis president.  "These customers are going to find our
CD-quality sound and Howling Dog's revolutionary software hard to
beat, especially at the price."

Gravis UltraSound, released in early October 1992, is a 16-bit
44.1 kHz, 32 voice stereo sound card with support for Standard
MIDI, 256K of on-board memory, and a speed-compensating game port.
UltraSound features wave table synthesis for true professional
quality musical instruments reproduction.  It features Ad Lib(tm)
and Sound Blaster(tm) compatibility and supports Windows Multimedia
Extensions.  The suggested retail of the UltraSound bundle is
$199.95 and will began shipping in January 1993.

Power Chords for Windows is a object oriented music sequencer that
makes use of a playable on-screen guitar as one of its input
metaphors.  Users can create chord objects, strumming patters, drum
parts, melody and base parts, all with the mouse.  Compositions are
created by dragging the various parts into position in a song
framework.  This interactive approach to music making shows the
true power of the Windows environment.  Power Chords also supports
standard midi functions.  Amateur musicians and hobbyists with a
knowledge of music can use the software to compose, play and record
original music.

"We are constantly receiving reports from users of Power Chords who
can't believe how quickly and easily they can create music on their
computer," said Eric Bell, President of Howling Dog Systems.

Howling Dog Systems is a relatively new company devoted to the
production of top quality music software in the Windows
environment.

Advanced Gravis designs, manufacturers and markets high-quality
entertainment devices for personal computers, including joysticks,
PC GamePads, MouseSticks, and the new UltraSound, a 16 bit, 32
voice sound card for the IBM PC

For further information:
   Advanced Gravis Brad Craig, at 604-431-5020
   Howling Dog, Eric Bell, at 604-436-0420

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1993 23:04:09 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Evan Bynum)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Gus records static from dead signal!
Summary: GUS records what isn't there
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Hey folks,

    I posted an article last week about how my GUS was recording popping
sounds over otherwise clean samples (as in DDD compact discs). I've tried
recording a sample of a dead signal and it inserts static into it!

    Here's the deal. I'm using the *line-in* port on the GUS - it's
hooked into my stereo receiver - and I'm sampling onto a RAM disk. I
switched the receiver to a dead input: I used VIDEO 2, TAPE (when the deck was
turned off) and PHONO. I use USS8 to monitor the incoming signal and, surely
enough, it's dead. So I set the sample rate to 44100 Hz, click on the STEREO
and LINE buttons, and hit record. I samples thirty seconds of what should be
silence. But, inevitably, the GUS has decided to put in static, which I can
see when I zoom in on the problem areas in the sample. Now, if the signal's
clean, where's the damned static coming from?

    The card is four slots away from my ATI VGA Wonder XL, and the
USS8's meters don't move at all during the recording process. Do I have a
bum card, or just bad luck?

                        Evan H. Bynum
                        [e-mail]

P.S. Anybody ever notice that the start-up music for Wolf3D sounds awfully
tinny when using SBOS? The SB plays a drum in the background, but the GUS
puts out a triangle-type sound in its place. Is there a fix for this?

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1993 12:57:37 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Merlyn)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Gus records static from dead signal!
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

I get the same problem when using USS8 etc.  I think it probably has something
to do with the way it is using its sample buffer as it occurs at regular
intervals.

Is there a way around this problem.  I know USS8 is not the best sosftware in
the world but is there an alternative sample program for the GUS ie. one with
a decent graphical interface and good quality sampling.

Mark

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Jan 93 08:20:10 JST
From: [e-mail] (Eiichi Hishikawa)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Mixing in DOS?
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

I've encountered a few problems since I obtained a GUS.
Any advice or pointer will be greatly appreciated.

(1) How do you mix sound inputs in DOS?
  I cannot utilize CD-DA through GUS in DOS, which I can do in Windows
  using MIXER.EXE provided with the GUS.  The only way to work around
  would be to connect CD-ROM audio output to another speaker set, which
  will be very incovenient.  Mixing in DOS is standard with say, SB Pro.
  -> As a result, Jones in the Fast Lane won't run correctly.

(2) How do you set up MIXER.EXE setting?
  Everytime I run Windows CD-ROM app utilizing CD-DA, I have to invoke
  MIXER.EXE to toggle LINE INPUT on, which is a nuisance.  Is there any
  way to set it as default?

Another problem is with LINKS (not LINS 386 Pro), which I cannot run
at the moment whether I use SB mode or Adlib mode.  I will try to find
out a proper option setting for SBOS, though.

One positive point: GUS & Jazz (Compton's) make a perfect match!
It sounds real grrrrrrreat!!!

  Mike
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Michael Eiichi Hishikawa        _\|/___________________________    |
|  [e-mail]      /|\   "For navigators             |
|  Faculty of Letters                 ocean currents have been rivers |
|  Kobe University, Japan                for thousands of years."     |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|

------------------------------

Date: 14 Jan 93 18:35:20 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Andrea Pessino)
Message-Id: <unity.727036520@mcl>
Subject: More great GUS3D news!
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Today on America Online Mr. Brad Craig of Advanced Gravis said the following:

"As for GUS 3D it's cool. We presented it to the press last Friday at
this bistro. While they were chowing down, we pumped up the volume and
had ...crickets chripping around the room, then cows mooing, planes and
bikes zooming, missles flying and music jumping.

There are no hardware changes....We demo it on the regular everyday GUS.
This will be a new software package. The technolgy comes from NASA.

The developers think it was great. And we WILL see lots of new amazing
new software titles with GUS 3D support."

Then he added:

"Next week... Jan 25-26 Gravis will ship the new and completed general
midi set, all 192 instruments and they do sound great.
If you are going to NAM stop by and check out 3-D...
We are sharing a both with Eye and I Productions.

Also included to all GUS owners a new SBOS that does not use any
options, and the program Patch Manager and a new set of Window's
driver's. We will also include a coupon for ULTRA CHUCK YEAGER  for $15.00.

A memory up-grade option coupon and a coupon for Howling Dog's software
and MidiSoft programs.

A quick note on the new SBOS. I have not found a program that did not
work with this new version. I am sure that you'll find it easier to use
and you'll all like the changes that we  made.

Many thanks to everyone for your valid comments. We're trying.... so
please keep up the feed back.

Brad Craig"

Well, does it sound cool or what ? :)



--
 Andrea Pessino // Kiwi Software, Inc. // [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1993 06:00:32 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Peter Goh)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: New enhanced GUSMOD player! (Was : GUSDAC?)
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

I am posting this on Joshua Jensen's behalf :

Official announcement:

Tomorrow, Renaissance will be making its first public debut in a long while
with a greatly enhanced Gravis Protracker module player.  This baby plays
almost everything correctly AND doesn't have a command line interface.  It
comes with full source code for those interested.

GUSMOD 1.1 (no beta here, folks) wedges into the GUS IRQ and plays mods in the
background with no user intervention (at least, that's the theory.  It worked
with samples and I will test it with the player tonight).  What does that mean
for you?  Unless a program shuts down the interrupts for its own purposes, the
music will keep on ticking.

Watch for this and a new intro from Renaissance.

Thanks to Yuri Lee and all others who have helped to make this possible (I
fixed ALL the bugs, Yuri!)

Peter Goh

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1993 14:40:06 EST
From: Matthew E. Bernold <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: New enhanced GUSMOD player! (Was : GUSDAC?)
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Peter
Goh) says:
>Tomorrow, Renaissance will be making its first public debut in a long while
>with a greatly enhanced Gravis Protracker module player.  This baby plays
>almost everything correctly AND doesn't have a command line interface.  It
>comes with full source code for those interested.
>
FANTASTIC!!!  This is one of the things we've been waiting for!  Will this
massive step in the right direction be available via FTP, or is it a
commercial product?  If it will be available via FTP, will it be put up
on archive.epas.utoronto.ca?

All us poor deprived GUS owners WANT TO KNOW!!!

       Matthew E. Bernold             [e-mail]
         <<APOCALYPSE>>                  [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Fri,  8 Jan 93 01:51:02 MST
From: Ultrasound Digest Owner <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <9301080851.AA17151@itchy>
Subject: Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #7
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Ultrasound Daily Digest     Fri,  8 Jan 93       Volume 2 : Issue   7

Today's Topics:
          Call ACCOLADE about your Star Control II problems!
                 Finally.. I have a GUSable computer
                    For those who don't have it...
                        GUS registration card
                 Patches other than ones from Gravis?
       SC2 (Star Control II) and 1MB GUS -- NEW suggestions???
                      Trouble recording with GUS
                           Ultrasound 3D!!
                    Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #6
                        Weird MODULATOR thing!

    Information about the UltraSound Daily Digest (such as
mail addresses, request servers, ftp sites, etc., etc.) can be found
at the end of the Digest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 14:04:35 CST
From: ibmpa!hartmann.austin.ibm.com![e-mail] (Lance Hartmann)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Call ACCOLADE about your Star Control II problems!
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

I just got off the phone with the technical support at:

       ACCOLADE
       408-296-8400

regarding my problems with a 1MB GUS and Star Control II.  If you, too,
are experiencing problems, then PLEASE call them.  I was VERY surprised,
based on my readings here, to hear the tech rep at Accolade state that he
had NEVER (repeat:  NEVER) heard of this problem!

The rep suggested I use as clean a system as possible (ie. HIMEM.SYS okay)
so I plan to give that a try tonight.  The rep didn't, however, even try to
explain why or how I didn't have problems with a 256K GUS....

Lance Hartmann ([e-mail])
               Yes, that IS a '%' (percent sign) in my network address.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All statements, comments, opinions, etc. herein reflect those of the author
and shall NOT be miscontrued as those of IBM or anyone else for that matter.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 23:51:11 -0500 (EST)
From: [e-mail] (Charles Budensiek)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Finally.. I have a GUSable computer
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

I just received my nifty 386DX-33 from the kind UPS people and have a
question or two on using my GUS in windows 3.1.

I have gotten the GUS to work just fine with WAV sounds, MIDI Mapper, Media
player... actually the GUS works great on everything. Except for two
programs, KBMIDI and DRUM. Both of these programs are sposed to make midi
... er allow me to make midi music, but I can't get any sound out of either
of them. Midimap.cfg is in my \windows\system directory, ultrasnd.ini is in
my \ultrasnd\windows directory. Have I missed something?

thanks,

--
=============================================================================
| "Anyone have a coat hanger? My brain itches." | [e-mail]
| "If I was a turnip, would I be revered and    | Charles Budensiek
| "worshipped like I would deserve to be?"      | ph #: Ask if you want it.
=============================================================================

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 11:27:42 MET
From: 07-Jan-1993 1128 <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: For those who don't have it...
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Hi GUSers,

I have been a subscriber to this mailing from its start but because of a big
lack of time I haven't been able read everything...so excuse me if the following
has been discussed before !

The GUS has been released for some months now and I still haven't seen any
article or ad about it in the press. (There was a recent article in Byte that
compared all the sound cards but nothing about the GUS).
I am almost completely convinced that the GUS is what I (and most of my friends)
need but I don't even know where I can buy it !
You have to know that I'm in France and the SB starts to be quite popular here
(;^)) and apart from the people who read the News, nobody has ever heard of the
GUS !

So can you answer to those basic questions :

- what is the best company where I could order it from ?
- what is the current (best ?) price ?
- when the daughter boards will be available ?
- what games offer a real GUS driver ?

I would be glad to organize the GUS invasion in France so please help me !

Thanks,
Stephane.

PS : If someone from Gravis reads this, please tell me how it's possible to
become an official reseller (I have some friends who have Computer Shops and
would be glad to sell the GUS in France)

PSbis : If someone in France reads that and already has a GUS, please contact me
!

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 13:09:44 EST
From: [e-mail] (Rodney CHANG)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: GUS registration card
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Hi, I recently bought GUS from a local dealer, but I found no
registration card inside.  Is there suppose to be one?  If so, how can
I register w/o a registration card?  Thanks in advance.

--
Rodney Chang          | "Dohhh!!" - Homer Simpson, Springfield Nuclear Sup.
[e-mail]  | "Dohhh??" - Richard Holden, a nobody.
[e-mail] | ** Les Expos & Nordiques in '93, '94, '95, '96  ... ***

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 14:36:47 CST
From: [e-mail] (Ken Goach)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Patches other than ones from Gravis?
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

O.K., I remember that someone posted about creating some patches
and uploading them. I have some questions.

1. What kind are they? For me, the GUS is sorely lacking in one area,
   namely "synth" patches. I'd like a nice Oberheim patch, maybe an
   ARP, who knows, but there are times when you need a more "synthy"
   sound than a natural sound. I love the strings, horns, etc., but
   for some types of music violins and trumpets just don't cut it!

   (Slap me for bitching - I really love the orchestral stuff!)

2. How can I use them? Other than downloading them, etc. I mean is
   there a way other than a .CFG for playmidi to use them? Can I
   specify them in, say, Winjammer? Or are the patch "numbers"
   predefined? I don't care much for playmidi because it sometimes
   chokes. More in #3.

3. This is a MIDI question: say I save a file at 120 b.p.m. with Winjammer.
   Then I play it with playmidi and it's sslloowweerr. A lor slower.
   Anyone know why, or how to speed playmidi up?

4. How are you all specifying the drum patch? I just call channel 10
   with no patch specified and it works (note I am using 1.1 software).
   I assume things will change with the new patches/drivers/etc.

5. Again on drums - anyone got any techno/disco drum sounds? And where
   oh where is my crash cymbal? Maybe 1.1 doesn't have it. (or 1.01,
   whatever).

Thanks,

Ken

[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 7:58:50 CST
From: ibmpa!hartmann.austin.ibm.com![e-mail] (Lance Hartmann)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: SC2 (Star Control II) and 1MB GUS -- NEW suggestions???
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Anyone have any MORE solutions/suggestions as to curing the 1MB problem
with Star Control II?

After recently posting my hesitance to upgrade to 1MB, I went ahead and
installed the chips last night after reading that I could probably "fix"
or "prevent" problems with Star Control II by changing my DMA channel.

                     NOPE -- DOESN'T WORK FOR ME!

I've tried both 8-bit and 16-bit DMA channels (DMA 1 and DMA 7, respectively).
Previous to my "upgrade", I was running on DMA 1 and withOUT any problems.
Now, of course, I'm getting the "noise" during menu selections, editing, etc.
Note, that both DMA channels work fine with other apps (thus far) on my
486/50MHz, 256K cache, 8MB RAM, ETEQ chipset, AMI BIOS, "normal" bus speed.

I logged into Accolade's (for the uninitiated, Accolade is the vendor for
Star Control II) BBS last night and spent about 20 mins. hunting through
it.  While I wasn't too surprised to note the absence of any kind of patch,
I was caught off guard by the fact that I failed to see ANY messages
on the bulletins regarding the problem.  I left a message to Customer Support
myself.  Does anyone have any recent news from them?  I plan on calling
them (voice) today.

Lance Hartmann ([e-mail])
               Yes, that IS a '%' (percent sign) in my network address.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All statements, comments, opinions, etc. herein reflect those of the author
and shall NOT be miscontrued as those of IBM or anyone else for that matter.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 08 Jan 93 03:22:15 EST
From: [e-mail]
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Trouble recording with GUS
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

Hiya fellas,

    I just got my GUS today (Telemart got it to me in 30 hours!) and it
sounds great. Playback of existing .snd and .mid files is fine. The problem
occurs when I try to record using playfile and USS8. There seems to be an
awful lot of background hiss, and the sounds pop and stutter periodically.
In addition, the volume is pathetically low. I've tried various sample rates
and other fun and obscure switches to no avail.

    Here's my setup:

    1. System - Zeos 386SX-20. DOS 5.0, 104M hard disk, 6M RAM. I am
       using QEMM to load various TSRs high. Half of my RAM is in a 3.1M
       RAM disk. The rest is left available to the OS as expanded memory.

    2. GUS - 16-bit slot, 256K RAM, using all the default IRQs, etc. The
       only other card I have is an ATI VGA Wonder XL with 1 meg RAM,
       and it's 5 slots away, so there shouldn't be any interference.

    3. Sound equipment - I'm using the line in and line out ports on the
       GUS to hook up with my stereo system - Sony receiver & tape deck,
       Magnavox CD player.

    Any help anyone out there has to offer will be greatly appreciated -
I'm eagerly awaiting the chance to record and maintain the quality of the
original sounds. You can respond through E-mail, but you might also want to
post replies to the digest for those too shy to ask.

                        Thanks in advance,

                        Evan H. Bynum
                        [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 19:48:40 -0600 (CST)
From: "Alan S. Estenson" <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Ultrasound 3D!!
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

This press release is copied verbatim from America Online.  Once you've read
it, you'll know just as much as I do....so please direct your questions to
Gravis (I don't have the answers).

Alan Estenson
[e-mail]
***************************

Subj:  Just Announced.....
Date:  93-01-07 19:42:47 EST
From:  BluJJFan

ADVANCED GRAVIS UNVEILS NEXT DIMENSION IN COMPUTER SOUND WITH ULTRASOUND 3D
LAS VEGAS (JAN. 7) BUSINESS WIRE - Advanced Gravis
(TSE & VSE-AED;OTCBBS-GRVSF) Wednesday announced a development that will
forever change the way PC game players, business, and multimedia software
users perceive sound from their computer software.

Gravis UltraSound 3D for the PC, the next step for the Gravis UltraSound
card, places the computer user in the middle of an audio environment
for immersive virtual reality audio.

For the first time outside virtual reality labs and at an affordable
consumer pricepoint, sound effects, music, even simple clicks of a mouse
can be placed in an audio space that surrounds the user like a sphere.

Utilizing Focal Point technology, UltraSound 3D processes the audio signal
through a technique called "convolution," new right and left binaural
audio signals are generated that create a wraparound sound effect to
the human ear.

The sound signal is actually a stereo signal shaped electronically to
make the listener hear the sound as three-dimensional and in the correct
location -- a psychoacoustic effect that can be manipulated in real time.

When compared to an equalizer, binaural processing adjusts the gain and
phase of the frequency band.  But it would take two hundred sliders for
gain and another two hundred sliders for phase shift per ear and the
ability to change all of them in real time to achieve the immersive virtual
reality audio effect of Gravis UltraSound 3D.

"Game players -- particularly jetfighter enthusiasts -- will be first to
embrace Gravis UltraSound 3D," said Grant Russell, president of Advanced
Gravis Computer Technology Ltd.  "As a fighter zooms past, the sound will
now follow the jet and ... WATCH OUT he's shooting you from behind!
Sound can even be placed above or below the player.

"There are many other significant applications," Russell continued.
"Entertainment multimedia such as the new music CD-ROMs featuring rock
artists can now deliver a much more interactive concert environment.
Business applications can use 3D audio to enhance presentations or even
help visually impaired users navigate complex spreadsheets."

Advanced Gravis will begin shipping Gravis UltraSound 3D during the first
quarter of 1993 for USD $249 complete with a set of headphones with 512K
of memory (Gravis UltraSound currently offers 256K standard).

The company is currently working with more than 25 developers who are
writing for, or already offer products that support the Gravis UltraSound
standard including such companies as Accolade, Electronic Arts, and
MidiSoft.

The Gravis UltraSound card, introduced October 1992, offers 16-bit, 32-voice
wave table synthesis and CD quality sound reproduction and recording
capability.  UltraSound is compatible with Sound Blaster and AdLib and
provides enhanced AdLib and Sound Blaster reproduction.  It also supports
Microsoft Windows 3.1 Multimedia Extensions.

Advanced Gravis, a Canadian company based in Burnaby B.C., is a leading
designer and manufacturer of computer input devices.  In addition to
UltraSound and UltraSound 3D, the company offers more than 14 models of
joysticks for most major computers including the Gravis Analog Joystick,
the Gravis GamePad, and the optical MouseStick for the Macintosh and IBM PC
platforms.

CONTACT:  Advanced Gravis, Burnaby, B.C.
    Grant Russell, 604/431-5020
           or
    Pat Meier Associates P.R., San Francisco
    Pat Meier, 415/957-5999

Transmitted:  93-01-07 16:48:00 EST
***************************

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 14:22:56 +0100
From: [e-mail] (Adam MIROWSKI)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #6
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

> Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 13:04:46 -0500
> From: [e-mail] (Joseph Maruschek)
> Subject: PATINFO utility
>
> I've written a small utility that lets you peek at some of the
> fields in the GUS's patch files.  Since I don't have the SDK,
> there is a lot of other information in the header that I don't
> understand.
>
> File: SLAPBAS1.PAT
> This file contains  2  sample(s).
>
> Sample # 1
> Sample length: 14658        Loop start:  14150          Loop end: 14648
> Sample rate: 18382 Hz
> Lowest note: A0             Highest note: B2            Base note: D2
> Detune: 0     Unknown: 2    Balance: 7

The "Unknown" paramater could identify the way the
sample and its loop should be played. Usually, there
are 4 possibilities:

- once, forward
- once, backward (the whole sample or just the loop)
- repeating, loop played each time from the start
- repeating, loop playing forward then immediately
    backward. This gives a smoother transition.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 14:21:52 CST
From: [e-mail] (Ken Goach)
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Weird MODULATOR thing!
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

I grabbed a modified version of modulator off the Internet sound news-
group. It's Modulator 1.0 and the poster said it had been modified for
the GUS. I'd never played with MODs before, so I thought I'd give it
a whack.

The program worked, recognizing my GUS as the target device. I loaded
a file (and kinda freaked when the "Wiping memory" message came up!)
and played a MOD someone had posted. It was distorted, but I think that's
because I really had my mixer cranked. The timing seemed off too.

Anyway, after I exited Modulator, every once in a while, I'd get part
of the song coming out my GUS! This really freaked me out. I dunno if
it was when I did a certain event or just randomly (seemed random),
but this was odd. I ran ULTRINIT thinking it would clear the GUS
memory, but the sample still played every now and then. I finally
rebooted and the problem (obviously) went away.

I ran Modulator again, but I didn't ever get the odd sample playing
like before, so I dunno. I didn't play as much of the song as I did
the first time (it was a kinda boring techno song), so maybe that
has something to do with it. Anyone else had this problem?

Ken

[e-mail]

P.S. I'm having great fun writing MIDI files for the GUS, but I'm
using a Music Quest MIDI Interface card rather than the GUS's port.
Anyone got any success stories with the GUS MIDI port working?

------------------------------

End of Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #7
******************************

Digest Address:                                        [e-mail]
                                                To post to tomorrow's digest

Request Server Address:                        [e-mail]
                                To subscribe, unsubscribe, and request files

Owner Address:                                   [e-mail]
                               To contact a human if the server has troubles

FTP Sites:                archive.epas.utoronto.ca         pub/pc/ultrasound
                          wuarchive.wustl.edu       systems/msdos/ultrasound

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Jan 93 08:00:34 EST
From: [e-mail]
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Undeliverable Mail
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

This mail message is undeliverable.
(Probably to or from system 'generic')
It was sent to you or by you.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

    Sincerely,
    utzoo!uucp

#############################################
##### Data File: ############################

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 93 21:41:13 PST
From: [e-mail] (Bruce Sharpe)
Message-Id: <9301160541.AA11872@ mda.ca>
Subject: WinJammer and Band-in-a-Box
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <[e-mail]>

>Hi, I just want to know, where exactly is winjammer and what is it
>really called? (is it at klingon? where? which directory? what file name?)

Yup, it's at klingon.epas.utoronto.ca (128.100.160.36). It's in the file
/pub/pc/ultrasound/submit/wjmr22.zip.  This is WinJammer v2.23, which works
with the GUS (i.e., loads the patches it needs).

>I just got band-in-a-box for windows and I'm trying to figure out,
>exactly how I'm supposed to get it to work. directly with the GUS.

I've only been able to make BB work by (1) creating an arrangement,
(2) looking at the instruments it needs, (3) exiting BB (so it closes the
MIDI device) after saving the song, (4) use Patch Manager to load the
required patches, (5) start BB again and open the saved song.  That may
strike you as being a little awkward, but after you do this for a bit, you
get to know what patches are needed and you load them up with PatchMgr
before starting BB.

Bruce Sharpe

------------------------------

End of Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #13
******************************

Digest Address:                                        [e-mail]
                                                To post to tomorrow's digest

Request Server Address:                        [e-mail]
                                To subscribe, unsubscribe, and request files

Owner Address:                                   [e-mail]
                               To contact a human if the server has troubles

FTP Sites:                archive.epas.utoronto.ca         pub/pc/ultrasound
                          wuarchive.wustl.edu       systems/msdos/ultrasound