Editors


MacMod Pro includes two editors. The original standard editor and a new staff editor. Both editors do the same thing. The only difference is the interface with which you edit or compose songs. The internal title of the song is displayed at the top of the window and can be edited.

  • A memory graph is located at the bottom of the editor window

        Text editor
        Staff editor
        Player

    Text Editor

    The text editor lists the patterns in the current song. To edit a pattern, click the 'Edit' button.

    When you edit a pattern, a new window will be created for that pattern. These pattern windows are where you can digitally edit the current song's music.

    Staff Editor

    The staff editor is much like the standard editor. The difference lies in how you insert notes. To insert a note, select one of the different notes from the palette on the left of the Editor window. You may select a sharp, flat, or natural. If you do not, MacMod Pro will assume a natural. You can extend the note by half of it's original length by clicking the 'dot' button. You cannot use this button with a sixteenth note or rest because the staff is limited to sixteenth note accuracy. To select an instrument for a note, click the pencil button in the palette and hold down the option key while clicking on the note's head. You must hold down the mouse button for the instrument popup menu to appear. To set an effect for a note, click in the pencil button and then click on the note's head. Selecting parts of the music can be done by clicking in the pencil button and then clicking in the staff and dragging the mouse. To select an entire voice, double click on the voice's label to the left of the staff. To tie two or more notes together, select the notes, and then either click in the bottom button of the palette or choose 'Tie Notes' from the Staff menu.

    You can change the current song's key signature by choosing 'Key Signature' from the Staff menu. This only affects the way the music is displayed in the staff editor.

    You can also change the base octave in the staff by choosing 'Set Octave Range' from the Staff menu. This changes which octaves are displayed in the staff editor.

    You can change the mode for inserting and erasing notes by using the submenu 'Staff Mode' from the 'Staff' menu or by clicking on the top button above the vertical scroll bar. A menu will popup giving you the choice of two different modes:

    Pigeon Hole Mode
    This is the original mode for inserting and erasing notes. You can add a note anywhere there is space for it. It does not affect the positions of any other notes. When you erase a note, it leaves a space in the music.

    Stacked Book Mode
    This is an alternative mode for inserting and erasing notes. You can add a note anywhere. The note will be 'squeezed' in, pushing the notes after it further down the staff. When you erase a note, the resulting space is closed up. The analogy is a stack of books, where when you remove a book, the books on top fall down to fill the space.

  • You can insert and erase notes in the mode not selected by holding down the option key.

    Player

    The player editor contains two major features. The first is the oscilloscope. This is the black box in the center of the window. It is only active when a song is playing. The oscilloscope shuts off when MacMod Pro is moved to the background to save processor time. The oscilloscope shows the sound waveform going through the speaker.

    Below the oscilloscope is a scrolling box containing volume controls for each of the current song's voices. There are 32 volume sliders since a song can contain up to 32 voices. The sliders not being used are dimmed and will not operate.