Audio Compositor 4.1

For notes on new and changed features in this version, see the file RELEASE NOTES.DOC.

Introduction

Audio Compositor is software for realizing MIDI data as digital audio.  When the input comes from a standard MIDI file, Audio Compositor can render it as a Windows .WAV file; if your processor is fast enough it can also play the MIDI file through your sound card, in real time.  When the input is a MIDI keyboard attached to your computer, Audio Compositor behaves like a normal multitimbral sound module, though its capabilities will again be limited by the speed of your processor.  Audio Compositor also provides a graphical environment for editing samples and patches.

At this writing, Audio Compositor is believed to work on all versions of Windows beginning with Windows 95.  It has been tested, but not extensively, on Windows 2000 Pro.

Audio Compositor is shareware; if you use it for longer than a 30-day evaluation period you must register it.  Registration enables certain features of the program that are absent from unregistered copies.  Registration is simple and inexpensive; for details, see "Register Audio Compositor..." on the Help menu.  In its unregistered state, Audio Compositor may be freely distributed so long as the program and all supporting files are retained and unmodified.

While Audio Compositor is fully documented in ac.hlp, you can set up the program quickly by following the directions below.  The distribution includes a set of classical guitar samples and a MIDI file with which you can do a test run.  Please note that these demonstration files were chosen for their small size and not for their quality.

Questions, suggestions, etc. may be directed to audiocompositor@att.net.  See also the Audio Compositor Home Page:

    http://audiocompositor.home.att.net

If you got this program from a CD-ROM or downloaded it from a shareware site, please check our web site for the most recent version. 

Installing Audio Compositor

Audio Compositor is distributed as a self-extracting installer which runs a traditional setup program for you.  The installer for the current version is named ac41.exe.  (The Audio Compositor program itself is always called ac.exe regardless of the version.)

The Leyenda Example

Audio Compositor comes with one MIDI file, an abbreviated version of Isaac Albéniz's "Leyenda" that is prepared to work with the included guitar samples.  This demonstration was originally concocted in 1994, and presented a real challenge to most computers.  Today it’s laughable, but you can try it anyway to verify that the program is installed correctly:

1.	Run Audio Compositor (Ac.exe), choose Open Midi File... from the File menu, and open Leyenda.mid.

2.	Confirm that Ac.acp is selected as the Instrument input file.  This is the example patch file that ships with Audio Compositor and uses the included guitar samples.

3.	On the “Audio output” tab, make sure that the To soundcard box is checked.

4.	Click the Go button.

If you hear gaps in the playback, Audio Compositor is not running fast enough to create its output in real time.  This won't affect its ability to produce good .WAV file output.  To create an output file, repeat the steps above but check the To File box and specify a file name in the Output area (you will need about 5 megs of disk space for “Leyenda”).

Warranty Disclaimer

THIS SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.  THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THIS PROGRAM.  ANY LIABILITY OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO REPLACEMENT OF THE PRODUCT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE.