PC World Komputer 1996 February

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====================================== WaveBlaster Tamer by Keith Cowgill Copyright (C) 1994 ====================================== Version 1.5 - 03/01/94 (Note: This is a major upgrade from the previous release. please take a few minutes to read this section). -------------- - Easier ordering. Now ordering is easier than ever! Don't have a CompuServe account? Now you can order WaveBlaster Tamer by phone using most major credit cards and have it shipped, along with a comprehensive 50+ page printed manual, within 48 hours. I've made special arrangements with Public (software) Library, one of the most respected distributors of shareware, to make getting your copy of WaveBlaster Tamer as easy as can be. Here's the arrangement: ------------------------------------------------------------ CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY - You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public (software) Library by calling 800-2424-PsL or 713-524-6394 or by FAX to 713-524-6398 or by CIS Email to 71355,470. You can also mail credit card orders to PsL at P.O. Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705. THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR ORDERS ONLY. Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc, must be directed to: Keith Cowgill 582 Thistle Ave. Gahanna, OH 43230 CIS: 73147,2253 AOL: KeithCgill GEnie: K.Cowgill To insure that you get the latest version, PsL will notify me the day of your order and I will ship the product directly to you. ------------------------------------------------------------ When you call PsL, ask for WaveBlaster Tamer. Their product number for this software is #11262. All other ordering options--direct mail w/US funds to me and CIS on-line registration (product #1821) remain in effect--giving you three convenient ways of receiving WaveBlaster Tamer! - Automate option. This is the easiest way to get automatic control of the WaveBlaster. Most folks who have regular synths or keyboards expect those instruments to remember their setup parameters and patches so they are ready to go at power-on. But the WaveBlaster "forgets" all that stuff whenever your turn your computer off. As I've used my WaveBlaster, I've recognized the need to automate some of its features. I want to be able to turn on my computer and have the patches I use uploaded, the bank I want switched to, and the channels I want reserved for another synth muted. Automate, available from the Main menu, will create a script for WaveBlaster Tamer to accomplish these tasks. The script file will be called WBTAMER.AUT and will reside in your WaveBlaster Tamer directory. When you call WaveBlaster Tamer and you want use this script, just type WBTAMER /A and press ENTER. The script will execute and WaveBlaster Tamer will terminate. NOW, you can add the line C:\WAVEBLST\WBTAMER\WBTAMER /A (if this is where you installed WaveBlaster Tamer) to your AUTOEXEC.BAT and set the WaveBlaster up just the way you like it whenever you turn on your computer! Create a .PIF in Windows and you can run the automate script from there as well. In the working model, if you use the /A switch, WaveBlaster Tamer will upload "WBTAMER.CBK" to Bank 1, no matter what you ask for. It will ignore the bank change command, but it will honor the muted channels command. --03/24 - Switches. This a far more powerful way of automatically using WaveBlaster Tamer than the Automate function described above, but you have to me a little more of a "hacker" to use it. Switches are little commands you can send to a program on start-up for the program to act on immediately. They look like this: PROGRAM /(switch) You type the name of the program, and then the switch command itself, and press ENTER. Often, programs request that the switch command be preceded by a "/" as you see here. WaveBlaster Tamer now recognizes a bunch of switches, which you can call whether you are running WaveBlaster Tamer in DOS or Windows. I have created a couple different .PIFs in Windows that call switch settings I use often. With WaveBlaster Tamer, the conventions you need to follow are these: (1) Precede each switch with a virgule "/" or hyphen "-". (2) Don't put any spaces *within* each switch command (except where indicated below), but you should *separate* each switch command with a space. Just follow the examples below-- it's pretty easy once you get used to it. NOTE: WHENEVER YOU USE A SWITCH COMMAND, WAVEBLASTER TAMER PERFORMS THAT FUNCTION AND ENDS. THIS IS A FEATURE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO CONTROL WAVEBLASTER TAMER THROUGH BATCH FILES (SUCH AS AUTOEXEC.BAT) OR WINDOWS .PIF FILES, WITH HAVING TO RUN WAVEBLASTER TAMER, USE THE MENU SYSTEM, AND EXIT. Here are the switches available to you in WaveBlaster Tamer. SWITCH WHAT IT DOES ----------------- -------------------------------------------- /A Automate. Described above. /Bn Switch banks. Instead of "n," you would use either a "1" or a "2". For example, WBTAMER /B2 would tell WaveBlaster Tamer to begin using the presets in Bank #2, /GM Set WaveBlaster to General MIDI (as opposed to Proteus) mode. /Hnn This is as powerful as a switch can be. It will take any sysex hex command you can enter and send it to the WaveBlaster. For example, WBTAMER /HF018040023F7 Will reset the WaveBlaster to its power-on default state. Information on such hex commands are covered in the WaveBlaster Tamer manual. But wait, there's still more. If you enter /H alone (not followed by any hex command), WaveBlaster Tamer will look in the WaveBlaster Tamer directory for a file named WBTAMER.HEX. If it finds it, it will send the entire file, line-by-line, to the WaveBlaster. Using your favorite editor, you can create a very sophisticated set of instructions and use WaveBlaster Tamer to send it with a single switch. If the hex command is bad and/or WaveBlaster Tamer can't find WBTAMER.HEX, WaveBlaster Tamer will end with an error message. /MCn n n Mute channels. This command will let you silence any of the 16 WaveBlaster channels. Note that the first channel number is *not* separted from /MC with a space, but that subsequent ones are. For example, this command WBTAMER /MC2 3 4 would mute channels 2, 3, and 4 on the WaveBlaster. /MMn Set Midi mode. "n" can stand for one of the following: 1. No Change 2. Mode 1: Omni On, Poly (Multi Mode) 3. Mode 2, Omni On, Mono (Omni Mode) 4. Mode 3: Omni Off, Poly (Poly Mode) 5. Mode 4, Omni Off, Mono (Mono Mode) /MVn Set Master Volume. Volume can be any number from 0 to 127. /PR Set to Proteus (as opposed to GM) mode. /Q Quiet. All switches here give a status report when they operate. If you include /Q in your command line, that won't happen. /R Reset to power-on default state. /Sname Send (upload) a preset (.CBK) file to the WaveBlaster. This is a "smart" switch that looks in your current directory and then in the .CBK file directory you specified in WaveBlaster Tamer configuration routine. For example, if you just type WBTAMER /SGENMIDI WaveBlaster Tamer will look for GENMIDI.CBK in the directory you called WBTAMER from. Failing that, it would look in your .CBK directory for the file. If it doesn't find it in either place, it will terminate with an error message. /Unn Set user options. This switch requires two numbers--the option itself (as specifed below), followed by a 0 or 1 to indicate whether the option should be set Off or On. There should be no spaces between the two numbers. 1. MPC Map (Default On) 2. MIDI Channel Prioritization (Default On) 3. Exclusive Drums (Default Off) 4. Single Assign Drums (Default Off /VCn Velocity curve. Set from 1 to 5. /? Help. Show a list of available switches. Two of the switches--/B and /H--don't work in the working model. --03/23 - Full Cakewalk support. Since version 1.3 of WaveBlaster Tamer, every .CBK file that is modified and saved has a corresponding .INI file automatically developed for it. This feature is to support a function in Cakewalk Apprentice, with which you can (1) associate a set of patch names with a specific port and then (2) call those patches by name rather than number. Cakewalk makes this very easy for you by repeating your port series througout its port numbering system. For example, if you have an MPU-401 driver assigned to Port 1 and an SBMIDI driver assigned to Port 2, then Cakewalk will also assign the MPU-401 driver to ports 3, 5, 7, etc., and the SBMIDI driver to ports 2, 4, 6, etc. Next, you can assign *to any one* of those ports a set of preset patch names. Then, depending on what instruments you have attached to those ports, you can call up the right patch names. Here is why this is so convenient. My WaveBlaster is set to my SBMIDI driver, which Cakewalk assigns to Port 1. I have assigned the GM patch names to that port. Whenever I call set my Port to 1, I can call up patches by name. However, I have assigned my WaveBlaster Tamer patch names (the patches in the WBTAMER.CBK file) to Port 3. That's still the SBMIDI port, but whenever I switch to Port 3, Cakewalk switches the patch names from GM to WaveBlaster Tamer. No memorizing or writing notes for me--Cakewalk makes it all very easy. WaveBlaster Tamer has a new function to take even greater advantage of this. With WaveBlaster Tamer, you can call up PATCHES.INI in the \WINCAKE directory and delete preset bank names or add or replace preset bank names in PATCHES.INI with the .INI files that WaveBlaster Tamer creates. I caution you to copy the PATCHES.INI file to another disk or to another file name (for example, PATCHES.INO ["O" for Original]) before you experiment with this, especially if you are unsure of what you are doing. This is a flexible and easy function, but it *will* delete any preset name bank you ask it to! As one additional fail-safe, this function will save the current PATCHES.INI to PATCHES.BAK whenever you make modifications. When you run Cakewalk Apprentice next, Cakewalk will recompile the PATCHES.INI file and you'll be ready to go. --03/22 - Patch transfers. I've Installed a patch transfer system that will let you snag any good presets you find when you convert a Proteus file, etc. These patches are kept in a special WaveBlaster Tamer file called "WBTAMER.TRN." You can import them into any preset (.CBK) file you like. You can also maintain WBTAMER.TRN, deleting patches you no longer want. You can grab the patches when you are in the preset editing mode by pressing F7. This kind of system makes it a snap for you to install favorite patches across several different .CBK preset files, rather than a 1-for-1 swap. ** I have included in this release some additional free presets in the WBTAMER.TRN file that you can experiment with. Just call up the file transfer utility and import then into any preset file you like! ** --03/21 - Edit Patch Numbers. I didn't think this was all that big a deal when I first wrote WaveBlaster Tamer--the designers at E-mu mostly expected whole patch banks to be up and downloaded from their SoundEngine. Therefore, I didn't bother including it. However, now that you have the option of creating mini-CBK files (see below), I've given you the extra functionality of changing the patch number. You'll probably find this coming in handy from time to time. This adds another ALT key to the Preset Edit screen. Just hit ALT-U to change a patch number. --03/21 - Append patch. I squished a bug in WaveBlaster Tamer 1.4, in which you could scroll to a non-existant patch at the end of a preset file. It got me to wondering if it might be useful to have the option to append a patch to a .CBK file, if you want. So I put that option in here. Now, when you hit PgDn on the last patch, WaveBlaster Tamer will ask you if you want to append another one. If you do, WaveBlaster Tamer will put the Acoustic Piano patch (for you to use as a starting point) at the next patch number. --03/21 - Patch file sorting. I've created a couple of patches I liked, and then realized I didn't like where they were in the .CBK preset file. This option lets you either do a hand sort of .CBK patches or a global renumbering of the entire file. You'll notice that the routines for patch sorting and mini-CBK creation (see below) appear quite similar. The only big difference is that patch sorting will always renumber a selected patch to the next consecutive number and mini-CBK mode will never alter a patch number. --03/20 - Mini-CBKs. A preset (.CBK) file is nothing more than a long list of 192 MIDI commands, each one uploading one patch to the approprate place in a WaveBlaster bank. (The 192 commands equal 128 instrument patches followed by 64 percussion patches, by the way.) When you turn on your computer, the WaveBlaster initializes with both banks set to the GM patches. This is the very same information contained on your GENMIDI.CBK file that came with your WaveBlaster. If you use the GENMIDI.CBK file as a template, and change some of the patches, you do not necessarily need to send the whole edited .CBK to the WaveBlaster. Patches that have not changed will simply overwrite identical patches. To save you a little time, I've given you the option of creating a .CBK file with just the changed patches, which you can subsequently use for speedier uploading to the WaveBlaster. --03/20 - WBTDEMO.WAV. I've had some very nice compliments on the free patches and demo song I've included with WaveBlaster Tamer (thank you all very much). However, from time to time some users wonder if everything is working for them the way it's supposed to. I've included this file for you to double-check. To hear the Cakewalk demo song WBTDEMO.WRK, you must first use WaveBlaster Tamer to upload WBTAMER.CBK. If you do, the patches in that file will remain installed in the WaveBlaster until you reset it. Then, you can start Cakewalk and hear this song. If you want to verify if you've done everything right, I've recorded the first few bars in this .WAV file. Just play it back and listen, and verify if it sounds the same as the Cakewalk song. --03/20 - Patch file deleting. This option will delete any .CBK file (and its corresponding .INI file) from your .CBK directory. --03/20 Version 1.4 - 02/15/94 (Unreleased) --------------- - Preset Edit Bug. Found a little bug in the Preset Edit section. If you pressed PgDn on the last patch in the preset file, you would scroll to a non-existant patch. --02/01 - New Preset Edit help screen. Expanded the Preset Edit help menu. Added another page to make function key use clearer. --02/01 - Bank numbers change. When I first wrote WaveBlaster Tamer, I succumbed to the ultimate in computer geekese, namely, using "0" as a starting point for numbering, rather than "1" as most normal folks do. For example, my program numbered the two WaveBlaster banks as Bank 0 and Bank 1, rather than Bank 1 and Bank 2, which tends to make more sense. The "0"s have now been banished. --02/01 - Sundry nips and tucks to make version 1.5 modifications possible. --02/01 - First modification of the new year, based on a request from Holger Broemmelsiek, of Dusseldorf. When you press Alt-F1, in Preset Edit mode, a single note will play, and decay naturally until you press another (computer) key. It mimics the effect of depressing a (MIDI) key down and holding it down. Pressing the (computer) key again is like releasing the (MIDI) key. Therefore, of course, some notes would sustain forever if you let them. This lets you analyze in detail the effects of your envelope edits. --01/04 Version 1.3 - 12/29/93 --------------- - NOW! Register your version of Waveblaster Tamer on-line with CompuServe. Go SWREG at any ! prompt. The registration ID for WaveBlaster Tamer is 1821. When I receive your registration notice, I will immediately ship your registered version of WaveBlaster Tamer along with a 50+ page user manual. -- 12/29 - In Preset Edit mode, pressing TAB in the instrument editing menu was supposed to send you to patch # 128. It didn't. Now it does. -- 12/26 - Fixed bug in configure routine that would inaccurately specify the alternate .MID file -- 12/26 - WaveBlaster Tamer used to exit in a way that would lock up your computer if you tried to access the FM synth afterward. Thanks to Gary Maddox for alerting me to that one. It shouldn't happen now. -- 12/23 - Composed a demo song, WBTDEMO.WRK, to be played with Cakewalk Apprentice that demonstrates many of the included WaveBlaster Tamer free presets. I probably should have done this right from the beginning, since it demonstrates the whole point of WaveBlaster Tamer. The song shows you the control you have when you can not only compose on the WaveBlaster but also have complete control over each individual preset, or instrument, you use. IMPORTANT: To hear this demo as it was composed, you must (1) use WaveBlaster Tamer to upload WBTAMER.CBK to your WaveBlaster and (2) make sure all of the ports (which are currently set to 1 in WBTDEMO.WRK) are changed to reflect the SB16 MIDI Out Port number you use in your version of Cakewalk Apprentice. -- 12/20 - Improved MS Windows support. When Windows is detected (which will occur when you are running in Windows Enhanced Mode), conflicting WaveBlaster Tamer operations will shut down. This includes recognition of a Roland MPU-401 card, external calls to PLAYMIDI.EXE and SB16SET.EXE (these two Creative Labs utilities don't seem to operate all that well in enhanced mode--on the other hand, you still can achieve those options with substitute Windows applications). All other functions still work, including MIDI In support on the SB16 MIDI port, so, with the exception of the above, WaveBlaster Tamer is fully functional under Windows. WBTAMER.PIF and WBTAMER.ICO are now included in all distribution disks--see your Microsoft Windows user manual for installing DOS applications in Windows using .PIF and .ICO files. Also, some menu colors will change slightly, to make them a little easier to read should you be running WaveBlaster Tamer in Enhanced Mode using a window. -- 12/19 - A little change in the way WaveBlaster Tamer works in the Preset Edit area, for your convenience. Before, whenever you changed a preset, it would be saved, but not be updated in the WaveBlaster. When you were completely through editing, you were supposed to upload the entire preset file from the File Util menu. Now, every time you press F1, Shift-F1, or F2, WaveBlaster Tamer will send a changed preset not only to instrument #1 for temporary auditioning, but also to its actual location in the WaveBlaster--so you don't have to upload the whole file each time you change one preset. -- 12/18 - Added several new demo presets. Added a new file, PRESETS.DOC to the distribution package that tells you what in the world I was thinking of when I created these presets. -- 12/18 - Fixed bug that would cause WaveBlaster Tamer to crash if multiple Shift-F2s or F9s were pressed. -- 12/16 - Added F3 (Panic!) to global function keys. This turns all notes off. -- 12/16 - Cleaned up Configuration routine to allow longer pathnames, and added address support for additional true Roland-compatible MPU-401 MIDI cards. -- 12/16 - Added the capability of supporting true Roland-compatible MPU-401 cards. Now, MIDI input can come from SB Midi In port, Roland MIDI In port, or both. Input from either port will be sent to the WaveBlaster. (However, the routine chokes on simultaneous key presses from both keyboards. You can play both keyboards with WaveBlaster Tamer, but not at the same instant.) -- 12/16 - Discovered (to my shame and embarrasement) that some keyboards, such as the Casio CZ-101 (which turn notes off by sending Velocity=0 commands rather than NoteOffs) didn't work as well with my assembler MIDI-In routine as others. But they do now. -- 12/16 - Cakewalk Apprentice uses a file called PATCHES.INI that maintains the names of all the patches on a particular sound module. Now, whenever Waveblaster Tamer saves a .CBK file, it also creates an .INI file of the same name (e.g., if you save a file name WBTAMER.CBK, WBTAMER.INI will also be created. If you know how to import that into your PATCHES.INI file, you'll be able to put call your new patches by name in Cakewalk. Details on this operation are available in your Cakewalk manual and your WaveBlaster Tamer user manual. Included WBTAMER.INI in the distribution package for you to explore. -- 12/15 - Up until now, selecting a sample--both in the preset editing menu and the audition sample menu--required different keystroke routines to scroll through those parameters than parameters in every other part of WaveBlaster Tamer. Rewrote routines to include normal scrolling keystroke routines, so everything works the same. -- 12/14 - When you are scrolling through samples in the preset editing menu, the current preset is immediately uploaded to the WaveBlaster with the new sample as soon as the sample's name appears on the screen. If you have a MIDI In device attached to your MIDI port, you can have one hand on the scrolling key and the other playing the MIDI In device until you find the sound you want. If you reject all changes when you are through with the preset edit screen, the original sample will be restored, so you don't have to re-upload the preset file. -- 12/14 - Internal improvements to reduce memory and speed execution. -- 12/14 Version 1.2 - 12/12/93 ----------------------- - On a morning somewhere between December 5th and 11th, I woke up with an extraordinarily embarrasing question on my mind: Why didn't I make WaveBlaster Tamer capable of responding to MIDI input? Then--using WaveBlaster Tamer as the front end--I could have a WaveBlaster/keyboard combination that would act as any other sample-playback keyboard. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier, but here it is now. Just so the program can keep up with you speed demons out there, I wrote the MIDI IN routines in assembler. Debugging assembler code always gives me hives, so I hope you're satisfied with yourselves. Notes: The demo version of WaveBlaster Tamer quits responding to MIDI input after a while. As before, hitting F1 will play a few notes with your changed preset. What's new is that you can hit Shift-F1 to send your preset changes to the WaveBlaster without hearing the audition tones (which you will be playing instead on your MIDI IN device). I've added a new preset to the WBTAMER.CBK file that demonstrates the potential of WaveBlaster Tamer and your MIDI input device. It's a keyboard split with Fretless Bass on notes below Middle C and Electric Piano on notes Middle C on up. -- 12/12 Version 1.1 - 12/05/93 ----------------------- - Fixed preset name pop-up menu to reflect any name changes entered during an editing session. (In demo mode, change is not reflected on preset editing screen. -- 12/5 - Fixed default directory suggestion for alternative .MID file in setup. -- 12/4 - Pressing ESC in initial patch list prior to entering patch editor leaves unnecessary .BAK file. -- 12/4 - Trying to upload WBTAMER.CBK in the demo version from any other than logged directory would be unsuccessful and leave a 0-length file. -- 12/4 Version 1.0 - 12/03/93 ----------------------- First version, first release.