Thanks for trying out the demo of Phrazer, a loop based composition tool for your Macintosh. You'll be making music in no time, either with the tons of factory content provided, or your own loops! Please forward comments and suggestions to us at info@bitheadz.com.
Installation
1. Turn off AppleTalk and reboot if necessary.
2. Close all other applications.
3. Run this installer.
4. At the end of the installation, the 'Phrazer Authorizer' application will run. To upgrade to the full version of Phrazer, you can contact BitHeadz for a registration number to use. To run the demo, simply quit 'Phrazer Authorizer'.
5. That's it! Read the included release notes and pdf documentation.
Importing Samples
The factory samples provided with Phrazer have already been trimmed in length, and have had their tempos set correctly. If you bring in samples that have not been prepared correctly, you will need to follow the steps:
1. Make sure the sample is the correct length. It will (usually) need to be 4, 8, or 16 beats long. Truncate the sample as necessary within Phrazer in the sample editor. Try auditioning the looped sample to set up the loop points correctly, and crop the loop so that there is no extra data at the end.
2. Set the sample tempo correctly. Use the sample editor munge menu tempo dialog.
3. Set the split points correctly in the sample editor (if you are using the split methods for playback).
Consult the manual for details.
Increasing Phrazer Memory
You may want to increase the memory allocated for Phrazer (the default size is 64 Mb). Select the 'Phrazer' application in the Finder, and choose 'Get Info' from the 'File' menu. Allocate as much memory as you feel you need for your samples. By default, Phrazer plays sample from your hard disk, but for editing purposes, brings the entire sample into the Phrazer memory.
OMS Users
You must run 'OMS Setup' before using OMS with Phrazer. 'OMS Setup' is included with the standard OMS install.
FreeMIDI Users
You must run 'FreeMIDI Setup' before using FreeMIDI with Phrazer. FreeMIDI must know what devices you have installed in your system before other applications like Phrazer can use them.
Demo Version Limitations
The demo version is limited in that it is authorized for twenty usages over a period of one month only. You can use all of the functionality for the demo period, with the exception of saving Phrazer files, rendering, or recording to disk. You must use the 'Phrazer Authorizer' application to register the software for complete authorization.
Versions
Version 1.0.2:
• factory content lengths and tempos corrected
• QuickTime movie support for synchronization to display, and merging audio into movie
• improved tempo calculation to set tempo based on sample length
• Roland PC 300 USB MIDI keyboard support
• FreeMIDI sync functions correctly
• Acid™ 2.0 file support
• sample munge silence
• hide editor view in main window
• master key track event
Version 1.0.1:
• preference switch to disable audio input for Sound Manager engine
• preference switch for fade ticks for transitions between adjacent clips
• smoother transitions between adjacent clips
• preference auto scroll defaults to on
• files window automatically finds the Phrazer 'Samples' folder the first time
• better import of wave file split points
• track scroll and zoom improvements
• short samples automatically mapped to memory type, not disk type
• engine palette number of clips maximum adjusted from preferences correctly
• sample tempo dialog auto-detects tempos
Compatibility
Most recent ASIO driver for AudioWerk 8 PCI card not function correctly. Version 0.9.3 works.
The Sound Manager driver for the MOTU PCI 324 (2408 and family) does not have the support required for audio input. Make sure the Phrazer preference for audio input is turned off. If you want to record from your 2408, use the ASIO driver supplied by MOTU instead, not Sound Manager.
