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Simple Sampling Part 3
"All good things must come to an end"
For our final look at sampling for beginners, I have decided to give
you some improved docs cum tutorial for
SuperSound 3
, the superb
sample editor now available as Freeware. Before you all begin to
scream "Where, oh where can I find this mystical and enchanting
program, which will undoubtedly help me threefold with my sampling
productivity, O Sage?" I will tell you. The program, along with the
effects program
TREG
(see last issue) is available in
"No Sampler?
Utilities Volume 3"
(Plug, plug, plug). You can get a copy from
most good PD libraries, including Seasoft Computing, 17 Bit Software
and NBS. You can't get a copy from your local chip shop, Debenhams
or Asda. Not only does NSU3 contain these marvellous programs, it
also contains other things. There will probably be a short piece of
text in the mag about NSU3, so I won't go on. (for the first time)
Before lunging irresponsibly onward into the main text of this
article, I would like to dampen your enthusiasm slightly with a few
words of caution. If you are new to sampling (or indeed if not),
make sure that your sampler is plugged into the parallel port
(assumong that is where it is intended to go) BEFORE switching on
your computer. NEVER unplug or plug in peripherals when the power
is on. If you get confused while reading this article (I am sure
you will, I am confused writing it 8^) then I suggest you read
"Simple Sampling"
part 1 (in TI5).
Please tread cautiously onward...
Basic Bits
The first thing you must learn about
SuperSound
are the major
operating principles. I will assume a marginal degree of
friendliness with
OctaMED
's Sample Editor, which, although handy, is
not exactly the best Sample Editor the world has ever seen (sorry,
Teijo). If you have
OctaMED v5
, you will be glad to know that
SuperSound
, like
OctaMED
, expects you to highlight the range by
drgging the mouse (moving it left or right while holding down the
left mouse button).
OctaMED v4
and below used the right mouse
button so you may have to get used to a new way of doing things.
While playing a sample (essentially a long sample), you can press
the right mouse button to stop playing. With short samples, you
could always just wait until the sample stops.
When I mention menus (full name - Pull Down Menus), I mean the
things you get while holding down the right mouse button. In
SuperSound
, because the right mouse button is sometimes used for
other things, you have to move the mouse pointer all the way up to
the very top of the screen before holding down the right mouse
button to access them. Apart from being unable to make multiple
selections, they function in exactly the same way as the standard
Workbench menus.
You normally click on the gadgets (or buttons, as I tend to
incorrectly call them) with the left mouse button (LMB). Some
gadgets have an alternative function accessed with the right mouse
button (RMB), like those in Deluxe Paint. In the following text I
will point out where there is a difference betwwen left and right
mouse clicks. Note that when you click on a gadget you cannot
cancel the action by moving away the mouse as you would under an
Intuition environment so be careful not to click on gadgets you
don't intend to click on.
The SuperSound Screen
The
SuperSound
screen is split up into several sections, the
contents of which are outlined below.
The Title Bar
This is the thin bar at the top of the screen with
"SuperSound 3.0"
written in it. This also displays the length of the sample being
edited (in bytes). The button (oops, gadget) on the left is called
the "close gadget". It acts in the usual way. Click on it and a
requester comes up saying "Are you absolutely, truly and utterly
certain that you actually intended to press this button, hence leave
the program?" (or words to that effect).
The Sample Waveform Display
This is the big, blue box towards the top of the screen. it
displays all or part of the sample you are currently editing as a
waveform. Just like
OctaMED
. And all other modern sample editors.
The Gadget Array
A large number of gadgets are available on the right hand side of
the screen, the functions of which I will explain in due course.
The Bottom Panel
This is full of information such as the offsets of the start and end
of the range, the volume the sample is to be played at and many
other useful things.
The Gadget Array
I will now describe each of the buttons on the right hand side of
the screen, working left to right, top to bottom.
Play Display
Play the part of the sample that is currently being displayed in the
main waveform editing window. This may or may not be the full
sample. Use the right mouse button to stop playing.
Play Sample
This plays the entire sample. If all of the sample is not shown,
SuperSound
will redraw the sample then play it, then redraw the part
you had showing before. I think 8^) Use the RMB to stop playing.
Play Range
Play the part of the sample you have highlighted with the LMB.
Display Sample
Shows the whole sample
Display Range
Zooms into the highlighted range.
Range --> Display
This makes the range all of the displayed area. Use it to select
the whole sample as the range or after zooming in.
Zoom In/Zoom out
Click this icon with the left mouse button to zoom in. Thr right
button zooms out.
Cut Range
This handy tool cuts the selected range out of the sample. The bit
you removed is stored in the copy buffer ready to be pasted back on
again if required.
Paste Range
This sticks the bit you have just cut out back into the sample at a
point determined by the start of the range, or the START or END of
the current sample (choose from a handy little requester)
Copy Range
A bit like Cut Range except the bit is kept in the sample - a copy
of it is held in the buffer.
Copy Sample To Buffer
As Cut Range but puts the entire sample in.
Copy Buffer To Sample
Erases the current sample and rams the copy buffer in there instead.
Erase Buffer
Deletes the contents of the buffer (frees some RAM)
Octave Up
Puts the sample up one octave (doubles its playing speed)
LED Filter
Toggles filter On and Off. When the power light is bright, the
filter is on (This is supposed to remove hissing buts ends up
cutting off the high frequency in your sound). I recommend leaving
it off (the default)
Octave Down
Puts the sample down an Octave (halves its playing speed)
Mix
Mixes the contents of the buffer with the sample (at the start of
the range)
Reverse
Reverses the range. Good for finding hidden Satanic messages in
heavy metal records. Apparently...
Set Sample Rate
Set the sample's playback speed (in Hertz [Hz])
Sample Rate (Finetune)
A button split vertically in two.
Increase
Increases the sample rate. Left mouse for slow increase,
right mouse for faster increase.
Decrease
Ditto, but decreases the rate.
Zero
Erases the entire range. Use it to remove crackles from supposedly
silent parts of the sound.
Swap Sample and Buffer
If you are editing the sample then you can now edit the buffer. And
vice-versa.
Double Volume
Doubles the volume of the range
Halve Volume
Halves the volume of the range.
Undo
If the Undo buffer is activated (in the settings menu), you can undo
the last change (like in
DPaint
)
Play Repeated Section
Play the part of the sample that is repeated.
Main Buffer
Select the main sample buffer
Spare Buffer
Errr.... Not too sure about this one.
The Bottom Panel
As well as showing the current date and time (if you have a battery
backed clock), and the amount of free chip and fast memory (unlike
SSound 4
, this version cannot access fast RAM for sample storage),
this panel has some useful buttons.
Range Start
Click on the main button to set an offset for the range start (in
bytes). Use the
+
and
-
buttons to finetune the value.
Range End
As Range Start, but different.
Rep Start/End
As Range Start/End. This sets the repeat markers (you can also drag
them using the left mouse button). To enable repeating you must
first click on Rep On/Off (assuming Repeat is off).
Volume
This sets the playback volume. drag the slider to change it.
Finally there are a few more pieces of information. Period is the
sample's period value and Note is its equivalent note. These act in
the same way as their
OctaMED
equivalents. Play Time is the amount
of time the current sample has been playing, as opposed to what ypu
have at 11.00 every morning at school.
The Pull Down Menus
The first word is the title of the menu feature, the second is its
keyboard shortcut. Then a description of what it does.
The Project Menu
New (Shift N)
Delete allsample data, copy buffer data etc. Just like reloading
the program (but quicker).
Load (Shift L)
Load a sample. The load requester is very easy to use. The tick (or
check mark) means OK, the cross means cancel, and the other
functions are self explanatory. The Show info button is best left
un-highlighted (its default position is highlighted), unless you
want to load in icons as samples. Maybe you do.
Save ->
Save Sample (Shift S)
Saves the entire sample as an IFF or RAW sample file. RAW
samples are shorter, but do not include repeat data.
I normally just use IFF for better compatibility.
Save Range (Shift R)
Just saves the highlighted range data.
About ->
Information on the program. Move the mouse across the words (while
still holding the RMB) for more information on that part.
Quit (Shift Q)
Quits
SuperSound
. Why anybody would want to do that I don't know.
maybe it is for testing (like the one in
MED
) ;-)
Iconify (I)
Lets you see the Workbench screen. Close the little window
SuperSound
opens to return to Workbench.
Print ->
Print Sample (Shift P)
Prints the whole sample. Remember that you must have your
printer plugged in. NEVER unplug your sampler or printer
while your computer is turned off. Turn off first, then
reload
SuperSound
.
Print Display (Shift D)
Prints the part of the sample shown in the Waveform
display.
Print Range (Shift O)
Prints the highlighted range.
Load Printer Preferences (Shift W)
Loads in the printer prefs from disk.
Open NewCLI
Opens a CLI window and lets you see it. Use EndCLI to get back to
SuperSound
Open NewShell
Same as a CLI window (under Workbench 2 or 3). It is only different
in Workbench 1.3. You can't open one under Workbench 1.3 unless you
load from Workbench. Please upgrade to Kickstart 2.
Effects 1
All of these effects affect only the highlighted range.
Bass Boost ([Right] Amiga B)
Boosts the bass.
Treble Boost (Amiga C)
Boosts the treble.
Brighten Sound (Amiga D)
Brightens the sound. (I am getting good at this!!)
Smooth Wave (Amiga E)
Smoothens the wave
(oh dear, he's at it again)
. This gets rid of
those tiny crackles.
Tremolo (Amiga F)
A sort of vibrato with volume (according the the
OctaMED
docs).
Echo (Amiga G)
Yes, the famous one. The range is echoed along the sample.
Lowpass Filter (Amiga H)
Gets rid of crackles in the sound, in a lowpassy kind of way.
Highpass Filter (Amiga I)
Same as lowpass but leaves more of the sound's high frequencies.
Change Volume (Amiga K)
Errrmmm....
Metallic (Amiga L)
Lovely - a sort of metally effect, like a badly tuned radio.
Effects 2
Treble Waah (Amiga M)
A sort of Waah on the treble (there goes my job!). hard to explain,
but the onomatopoeic (phew) title says it all. Honest. It seems
to be a glorified treble boost, but variable.
Fade In (Amiga N)
Fades the range in, from 0% at the start to 100% volume at the end.
Fade Out (Amiga O)
Fades it out.
Waah In (Amiga P)
It's that word again. From 0% Waah at the start of the range to
100% Waah at the end. Oh, just go and try it out for yourself. You
should get a slow graduation of boost so the sound is muffled at the
start of the range and normal at the end.
Mix (Amiga Q)
Mix the buffer with the range.
Reverse (Amiga R)
Reverses the range.
Octave Up (Amiga S)
The same as the button on the right-hand panel but just for the
range, not the whole sample.
Octave Down (Amiga T)
Do I really need to tell you what this does?
Waah Out (Amiga U)
Oh, great. Another Waah effect, but graduates from 100% to 0%.
Phaser (Amiga V)
I like phasers. It mixes the sample with a background noise that
changes pitch, giving a kind of rocket effect. You will hear it a
lot on records, usually with the drum beat. Some groups use it on
the vocals (it happens on one of
Queen
's tracks but I can't remember
offhand which one it is. Maybe it is
Breakthru
). Also, there is a
truly lovely phased drum during the intro to
Living in the Love of
the Common People
by
Paul Young
. Now you can do it on your Amiga.
Distort (Amiga W)
Yes, at last you can make
Kylie Minogue
records sound good.
Sample Menu
Sample (Alt S)
Brings up the sample window. Use the sliders to set the smaple size
and rate. Click on Sample to Sample, then use the right mouse
button to kick off sampling once you have cued up your sound source.
The Vox option lets you autotrigger sampling when a certain volume
is inputted. The docs recommend about 10 to start with. I usually
find it easier to do it by hand.
Monitor (Alt M)
Displays a monitor to set the right input level. See
Simple
Sampling Part 1
(in
TI5
) to find out how to set the level in more
detail. The idea is to make sure all the waveform fits in the box
without "clipping" (distortion on the load parts).
Display ->
Select the monitor display from
Flash (Alt 1)
The classic C64 fast loader screen. No use at all for
setting the input level but is useful to see if there is
any sound coming into the sampler.
Oscilloscope (Alt 2)
Ah, a useful one. I'd leave it here if I were you. Don't
use the others.
Nothing (Alt 3)
Saves processor time.
Input ->
Where is the sound to be taken from?
Left Channel (Alt 5)
Only the left channel (in mono)
Right Channel (Alt 6)
Only the right channel (in mono)
Stereo (Alt 7)
OctaMED
cannot use Stereo Samples so I would recommend just
using the left or right channel.
Mono (Alt 8)
In mono, but using both channels. Not worth it, really.
Real Time ->
A few real time effects. Note that ypou can't sample a sound while
using these effects.
TREG
is on the NSU3 disk, too, so I recommend
using that instead. it has more, better, effects.
Graph ->
There are two ways to display the sample.
Outline (Ctrl 4)
The default. Fast, but not perfectly accurate.
Filled (Ctrl 5)
Accurate, but slow to redraw.
The Misc/Prefs Menu
Workbench
If it has a * next to it Workbench is enabled. Select it to toggle
Workbench on and off.
Filter (Shift F)
Same as the button in the Gadget Array
Icon (Shift I)
If it is *ed then icons are saved with samples. Otherwise they
aren't.
Swap Banks (Shift J)
Same as the Main and Spare buffer gadgets in the Gadget Array.
Use ->
Mono (Shift M)
Monophonic playback.
Stereo (Shift S)
Stereophonic playback.
Undo Buffer Disabled/Enabled
Enable or disable the undo buffer. I can't enable it with 2 Megs of
Chip RAM, so I have no idea of how to do it.
Config Editor
A self-explanatory config editor.
Clock Mode ->
Set the clock mode to
12 Hour (British)
or
24 Hour (European)
you can also set the
Alarm
The Alarm beeps and the screen flahes at the appointed
time.
Bleep On/Off
Normally, when
SuperSound
has finished doing something, it makes a
loud bleep to wake you up. You can turn it off if you feel so
inclined.
Use Range/Waveform (Amiga Y)
Normally the effects in the Effects 1 and Effects 2 menus affect
the highlighted (or should that be highlit?) range. If this menu
option is selected then these effects will affect the whole
displayed waveform.
Shut Down Config Ed
Free some valuable memory. Note that once you have shut it you have
to reload
SuperSound
to edit your configuration.
The Repeat Setup Menu
Repeat On/Off (Shift R)
Same as the button in the Bottom Panel.
Seek Zero
Finds the next zero point to the left or right of the currently
selected repeat marker.
Find Loop
Finds a possible loop in the sample by finding two 0 levels at
either end then putting the repeat markers there.
OctaMED
has a
similar feature.
Graph Repeat
Show the repeated area.
Play Repeat
Play the repeated area (RMB to stop). Same as the button in the
Bottom Panel.
The Edit Menu
Cut (Ctrl X)
As in the Gadget Array.
Copy (Ctrl C)
Ditto.
Paste (Ctrl P)
It should be Ctrl V, but who's complaining.
Del (Ctrl D)
Removes the range, like Cut, but does not put it in the copy buffer.
Chop (Ctrl K)
Removes the bits of the sample to the left and right of the sample.
So it makes the range into the whole sample.
Clear
Zeros the range
Swap
Swaps the sample and the buffer. Same as the button in the Gadget
Array.
I hope that this text has been of some use to you when using
SuperSound
. Don't forget that the latest version is available from
CLR licenseware
dealers. It is really very good (certainly better
than the program you got with your sampler, unless you bough
MegaLoSound
, which contained the
SuperSound
program).
If you have any queries, problems or ideas for future tutorials, why
don't you let me know, contact me at...
86, Station Road,
Hessle,
North Humberside,
HU13 OBG.
********************************************************************
* Next month : I have taken a break from Tutorials for an issue. *
* Next issue sees the start of my new two part *
* series all about the history of computer music. *
* Expect loads of mentions of Rob Hubbard, Martin *
* Galway, C64s and Synthsounds. Maybe even a couple *
* of jokes. *
********************************************************************
Mike Richmond
*****************************************************************************
Super Sound V3.0 ©1992 K.B.E Software
----- ----- ---- ----- ----- --------
NOTE:
All care has been put in to make sure this program reaches you in a bug free
form. We can't say that it is 100% bug free and we can't be held responsible
for any damages or loss caused by use of Super Sound.
Please also note that this version of Super Sound is totally free and
provided that no part is changed it may be sold for a reasonable fee and
copied at will.
Thanks ... Dave
Contact KBE Software at...
12 ,Salters Close,
Werrington,
Stoke On Trent,
Staffordshire,
ST9 ODB.