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======================================================================== << BLASTER Master v5.2 >> for the Sound Blaster and compatibles Copyright (C) 1992 by Gary Maddox ======================================================================== BLASTER Master is a program designed for serious PC soundcard enthusiasts who are interested in getting the most from their PC audio cards when sampling sounds and then playing them back. A tool kit for working with Sound Blaster type VOC, .WAV and .SND files, BLASTER Master offers many features that are available on Digital Audio Workstations which normally cost many thousands of dollars. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS --------------- Before running BLASTER Master on your PC, please check the system requirements and user information listed below: > This program requires EGA/VGA graphics, a mouse, a hard disk and at least a 286 PC. > NOTE: BLASTER Master will function without a soundcard being present, but the PLAY, RECORD and SCOPE functions will be disabled. > Unregistered versions will only process a 25 second sound file while the registered version will process any size sound file. More requirements and performance tips for using BLASTER Master can be found in the section entitled "Performance Tips" (near the end of the documentation). OVERVIEW --------------- One of the great features of the Sound Blaster and other PC audio cards is the ability to sample sound and play it back. Now you can tailor your own sound files using the BLASTER Master program, a very fast EGA/VGA graphic editor. Useless and noisy sample data (at the beginning and endings of VOC files) can be quickly removed and sections from within the sample can be saved as a new sample file. A graphic of the entire sample appears on your monitor along with a grid that divides the sample into seconds to aid in selecting the "cut points". A zero-crossing/phase approximation method allows you to select the displayed bytes, helping you choose the "cleanest" points for processing. Cross-fading is applied to splice points when needed. During playback, a pulsing index line displays the position of the file being played. The various digital processes can be selected using the mouse, or in most cases, you can use ALT plus the first letter of the option. > Example: ALT-P (holding down the ALT key while pressing the "P" at the same time) will "PLAY" the currently selected sound file. A color palette is also included in BLASTER Master's graphic capabilities. Using your keyboard's function keys F1-F10, you can control the colors displayed on the screen. Play around with the available color combinations to find the one that best suits you! For a listing of the function key color settings, refer to the section entitled "Changing Screen Colors" on page 7. Functions of a sound file -- SELECTing, IMPORTing, RECORDing and EDITing -- are covered in the following four sections. page 2 SELECTING A SOUND FILE --------------- If you don't specify a sound file when starting the editor, a file selection dialog box will appear. The current path can be changed by selecting the right selection box and selecting a new path. From this dialog box, you can PLAY the sound file, RECORD a new sound file, DELETE an unwanted sound file, ACCEPT the file to process or QUIT the program, returning to DOS. You can also display useful file information to audition a file by choosing the PLAY option. The various options can be selected using the mouse or, in most cases, pressing <ALT> plus the first letter of the option as explained earlier. You can also select files with your mouse by double-clicking on the file you want to access. If you accept a sound file that is multi-blocked, BLASTER Master will allow you to remove the blocks and convert to a RAW VOC file. IMPORTING A SOUND FILE --------------- Choosing the IMPORT option from the File Selection Dialog Box will allow you to import .WAV, .NTI, .8SV and .SND format files into BLASTER Master. > WAV files are the Microsoft Multi-Media format and are supported by the Pro Audio Spectrum and the ATI Stereo F/X sound cards and others. > SND files: completely raw wave data files not including header information. > NTI files are Amiga sample files as used by Tetra Compositor. > VOC type files can also be saved in these three formats. > 8SV: the extension normally used for Amiga IFF sound files. You can import Amiga IFF sound files, but cannot currently save files in Amiga IFF format. RECORDING A SOUND FILE --------------- When you select RECORD from the File Selection Dialog Box, the Record Dialog Box appears. Here, enter the name of the VOC file you wish to record. > NOTE: If specifying a VOC file that already exists, it will be overwritten! Using a mouse, select the sample rate to use when recording-- 13,000-4000 if using Sound Blaster or 44,000-4000 if using Sound Blaster Pro. (The higher the sample rate, the better the file will sound.) When using the various digital processes, a higher rate will produce much better sounding file. Choose SCOPE to display a graphic scope, which is very useful for setting the volume on a device from which you are recording. Select RECORD when ready to begin recording and <ESC> when ready to stop. Your file is then displayed on the Editor screen so you can modify it. > NOTE: Sound Blaster Pro users will also select the recording input source, input filter, and MONO or STEREO recording. Users of Creative Lab's MultiMedia CDROM need to read about Syncro CD sampling on page 3. EDITING A SOUND FILE --------------- The EDIT option enables you to edit selected sections of a sound file. When selecting a sound file section to edit (remove, save, hear or zoom), position the cursor over the graph at the first desired cut point and press the LEFT mouse button. Now, position the cursor over the second cut point and press the LEFT button again. This marks a section with a blue box, signifying that you can HEAR that section, CUT it from the sample or SAVE it as a new file. The ZOOM option displays the marked section so you can choose a new block from the zoomed area, editing the sound file with surgical precision. (You can zoom the file until the resolution reaches 1:1. The current resolution is shown just above the options selection box.) > MOVE: allows a selected block to be moved to a new section in the same file. > COPY: (Vanishing Menu only) moves a copy of the selected block to a new section of the same file. page 3 USING SYNCRO CD --------------- Anyone using a CDROM from Creative Labs MultiMedia can use BLASTER Master to sample recordings directly from your favorite CDs! I have gotten excellent (if not the BEST) recordings with the Sound Blaster Pro using the CDROM. If you are equipped with a CDROM, a standard CD player control bar will appear on the RECORD dialog box you see on your monitor. BLASTER Master currently supports the following CD player controls -- PLAY, PAUSE, STOP, REWIND, FAST FORWARD, PREVIOUS TRACK and NEXT TRACK. To sample from your favorite CDs, make sure you have selected "CD" as your input source. You can either start the CD and then pick RECORD, or what I have found works better is to use SYNCRO CD, as explained below. If BLASTER Master detects that your CDROM is in PAUSE mode, you can select RECORD to automatically synchronize the sampling and the CD audio playback. When you press <ESC> to stop recording, the CD playback will shut off automatically. Using this SYNCRO CD feature, your results are a very precise, high quality sample that should require very little editing. SETTING A MARKER --------------- BLASTER Master features a marker function which allows you to pre-select a point in a sound ile. This function is especially useful for mixing and inserting sounds in sound files. To set a marker, position the mouse cursor at the appropriate spot on the blue bar just below the sound file grid. Then, using the right mouse button, click on this position to place a white arrow on this blue bar. TOOLS --------------- This program includes special processes, called tools, that operate on a block of data. When you select the TOOLS button, a selection menu containing special block functions pops up on your screen. These tool functions are listed below: LOOP: Repeats block up to 10 times, adding a Max Headroom-type stutter to the file. MUTE: Replaces the block with silence bytes, which is very useful for removing glitches and other undesirable noises without effecting the playback time. REVERSE: Reverses the block to playback backwards. PITCH: Changes the pitch of the block (lowering/raising it); effects playback time. ECHO: Adds echo to the block. Same parameters as in Echo function for whole files. VOLUME: Adjusts the block's playback volume. Same parameters as in Volume function for whole files. > NOTE: The editor program should work on all single block compressed data. This does not include silence encoding. The graphic representation of the sound data will not be accurate,but the time display should be very close. page 4 SPECIAL PROCESSES --------------- BLASTER Master supports several special digital processes for modifying your sound files: SCOPE, ECHO, REVERSE, INSERT, FAST, SLOW, RATE, VOLUME, PITCH, PACK, FADE, VOCALS and MIXER. The processes are not all displayed at the same time on the Wave Edit screen, so to display the next set of options, press the MORE button. Once again, options here are selected using the mouse or, in most cases, pressing <ALT> plus the first letter of the option you want. > EXAMPLE: ALT-E (holding down the ALT and "E" keys simultaneously) allows you to "ECHO" the currently selected sound file. You can use the NEW button to select a new file when in the Editor screen or to unmark a block when in the Cut/Save/Zoom screen. The special processes listed above are described in detail as follows: SCOPE: Graphically displays sample input real-time. To see this first-hand, speak into a microphone and see what your voice looks like or play music directly into the Sound Blaster. (This works particularly well on faster machines and is an excellent way to check your system's quality.) When there is no sound input, you should see a straight, flat line that is exactly even with the white line on the sound file grid. Any spikes you see above or below this white line indicate that your system is registering noise of some kind. Pressing any key or either of the mouse buttons will cancel the scope and return you to the editor. ECHO: Adds echo or delay to a VOC file to give it a richer, fuller sound. This feature is also great for adding special effects. Two parameters are used to determine the type of echo desired: 1) SIZE -- The "size" of the effect is determined by the number of milliseconds before the echo starts. Delays of 60-100 simulate a large room, while larger delays (up to 200 milliseconds) will sound like a cavern or canyon. 2) MIXTURE -- The mixture (how loud the echo should be mixed in) has an effect on the type of echo desired. A 30-60% mixture will sound more realistic than using a higher volume for the delayed sounds. To determine how the echo will repeat, select either INFINITE or FINITE. REVERSE: Reverses the playback of a VOC file, which is effectively the same as playing a tape backwards. You older Beatles fans can see for yourself if the song "Number 9" really says "turn me on, dead man" backwards. This is also a great tool for televangelists to use in searching for those pesky satanic references in rock & roll songs! Did you know that the famous Tarzan yell sounds the same backwards as forwards? Try it! page 5 INSERT: Allows another sound file to be inserted into the sound file you are currently editing. When you select INSERT, the File Select Dialog Box will appear. From here, you can SELECT a VOC file, RECORD a new sound file or CANCEL the INSERT process and return to the Edit screen. Once you have selected a VOC file for insertion, the system will give you the option of selecting the point in the original file for insertion by using either the mouse pointer, the marker, a sample point in the file or a point in time. If the sample rate of the new sound file does not match the original file, the sample rate will be adjusted to blend in correctly. > NOTE: Use care when selecting a new sound file that is not packed, contains silence compression or is a multi-block file. The resulting sound file will not be usable! SLOW: Extends the time domain without effecting the frequency domain... or in plain English, the SLOW process allows you to re-sample a VOC file that will play back at approximately 1/2 speed without effecting the pitch. This function will double the size of the original sound file. Imagine you are a guitar player and want to learn the latest white hot guitar licks from Joe Satriani or Eric Johnson... SLOW makes listening and learning MUCH easier! It is also very useful for preparing multi-media presentations. > HINT: Sound files with sample rates above 12khz produce a more natural sound. FAST: I couldn't have a "slow down" process without a "speed up" one, too, could I? Unlike SLOW, the FAST process includes a "slider" for selecting how much of a speed increase you desire. This function will decrease the size of the original sound file accordingly. > HINT: Like SLOW, sound files with higher sample rates produce better results. RATE: Allows a VOC file created with a high sample rate to be "down" sampled to a lower sample rate. Some PCs have problems playing VOC files with the higher sample rates, so this RATE process provides you with a way to change the sample rate to something more compatible with your PC. It is also a good way to make files smaller without the degradation associated with compression. > A VOC file recorded at 12,000Hz+ down-sampled to 8000Hz will probably sound better than if it had been originally recorded at the slower rate. > Sound files originally sampled on the MAC at 22,000Hz can be down-sampled to 12,000Hz or less with almost no loss in clarity. The RATE process is also capable of "up" sampling, although you WILL NOT gain any noticable resolution. Approximating the "missing" byte is just not the same as having the original bytes in all cases. page 6 VOLUME: Either increases or decreases the amplitude of VOC files. One way to get a very clean sample is to make your sample at a fairly low volume and then re-sample up to a higher volume. (The Sound Blaster has a tendency to introduce distortion as you increase the volume used for sampling.) The VOLUME process works very well for sampling directly from a CD or tape deck. Enter either "I" to increase the volume or "D" to decrease the volume. The numeric value you enter after either "I" or "D" will determine the amount of change in the resulting file. > Increasing the volume: values of 10-50 have a subtle effect on the resulting sound file. Values of 50-200+ will have an even more dramatic effect. > Decreasing the volume: values of 1-99 will cause the resulting file to have approximately the same volume as the percent of the number entered. Entering "50" will produce a sound file that is only 50% as loud as the original. If a value greater than 100 is entered, the effect will be to INCREASE the volume, even though you selected to DECREASE. MIXER: Blends two VOC files into a single sample. There is also a volume mix parameter that controls how loud the mixed-in sample will be. The volume mix can be a number between 1 and 100; 50 to 60 is often a very good mixing level. Before beginning the MIXing process, you can select the point within your original file where you want to begin mixing. If you want to start at the beginning of your file, choose the farthest point to your left. The Mixer is a great way to add special effects to your sound files. This process does not try to adjust the sample rates if the files are different. PACK/UNPACK: These processes will either pack or unpack a sound file, depending on its current state. The previously-discussed functions only work on unpacked files. Many of the available files come packed; once unpacked, all of the special BLASTER Master features can be applied to the files. PITCH: Alters the sample rate value contained within the VOC file. If you want to raise or lower the pitch, you can select the slider. Altering the pitch will also effect the playback time, but not the size of the file. FADE: Allows you to fade in or out on the volume of a sound file at the file's beginning and ending points. When choosing this function, you can specify the amount of time you want for the fade in and fade out. Neither of these times can exceed 1/2 of the total time of the sound file. If for instance, you wish to only fade out a sound file, use zero as the fade in time. When combining multiple files, a little fading can result in a smoother transition in the sound, making the switch between sounds less abrupt. This can be especially effective when a sound file has lots of background noise and the joining sound file does not. page 7 VOCALS: (Stereo files only) "Removes" vocals from a stereo sound file. This process actually inverts the left channel 180 degrees and mixes it back into the right channel. This has a tendency to cancel out all the center waves where vocals are often mixed in. The effect varies significantly from song to song depending on how it was originally mixed. For example, "I Feel Fine" by The Beatles will process out 99% of the vocal, whereas "Eleanor Rigby" has the effect of enhancing the vocals and reducing the cellos. You can also tweak the results by modifying the sampling SOURCE -- that is, play around with the channel balance and use some EQ or even stereo synthesis. In any case, VOCALS is lots of fun and works as well as the $350 unit you see advertised. USING THE VANISHING MENU --------------- The system reveals a drop-down bar menu when, during file editing, you move the mouse cursor to the top of the screen or hold down the <SHIFT> key. All of the button functions are available from the Vanishing Menu. Many other useful functions are also available, as explained below. FILE MENU: > SAVE -- Save the current sound file. If the current sound file is UNTITLED, you will be prompted for a file name. > SAVE AS -- Save the current sound file by a new name or file format. > QUIT -- Quit to DOS immediately. If the current sound file is UNTITLED, you will be prompted for a file name. OPTIONS MENU: > LOOP PLAY ON/OFF -- Causes playback to be single or looped. > SAVE SCREEN COLORS -- Saves the current screen colors. For more details, see the sections about Changing and Saving Default screen colors. > BLOCK PLAY ON/OFF (block edit only) -- Plays either the whole sound file or selected block. This function is not supported in ZOOM. HELP: Displays a short help file that briefly details the various functions. You can access these menus quickly from the keyboard by using <SHIFT> and the first letter of each option: Shift-F for FILE, Shift-H for HELP, etc. CHANGING SCREEN COLORS --------------- BLASTER Master's graphic screen colors can be changed via these function keys: [Default colors are given as <color> after each function key description.] F1: Background <Cyan> F2: Fileselect Playbox <Red> F3: Time Grid <Brown> F4: File Info text, Highlighted text, Vanishing Menu text <White> F5: Field labels, backgrounds of Vanishing Menu & Dialog Box <Blue> F6: Vanishing Menu Bar background, Pipe shading <Bright Blue> F7: Button Highlights, Pipe shading <Bright Cyan> F8: List Box Highlight, Fileselect Playbox text <Yellow> F9: Wave Tip Highlight <Bright Red> F10: Wave Background <Cyan> CTRL-F2: Wave <Red> If you have color VGA graphics, you can choose from 256 colors. EGA users can choose from 64 separate colors. Keep in mind that the way certain colors interact with each other should effect your color choices. A poor choice of screen colors (the poor interaction between F4 and F5, for example) could result in unreadable dialog boxes and help screens. page 8 SAVING SCREEN COLORS --------------- To save your current screen colors, select the Options Menu available via the Vanishing Menu, which saves the colors in a file named BMASTER.CFG. Return to the Default screen colors by renaming or deleting this file. > NOTE: When renaming BMASTER.CFG, always use the file extension .PAL. Future versions of BLASTER Master may include support for "point and click" PAL file selection. USING PAL FILES --------------- I have included several small saved screen colors files with the file extension .PAL. To use a PAL file, copy it to BMASTER.CFG. > Example: COPY OLDMOVIE.PAL BMASTER.CFG BLASTER Master can also be started up with a particular PAL file by using the command line switch /P. > Example: BMASTER /POLDMOVIE.PAL SETTING BLASTER MASTER DEFAULTS --------------- SB Pro card users can set certain recording parameter defaults by using the SET BMDEFS environment parameter. Input Source Input Mode Filter Rate CDROM SET BMDEFS= {CD/MIC/LINE} {STEREO/MONO} {LO/HI} {NN} {ROMx:} To set BLASTER Master's default recording parameters to stereo line input with lo-pass filter and a sample rate of 22khz, use settings like the one shown in this example: SET BMDEFS= LINE STEREO LO 22 The order of the parameters does not matter. Use the SET command alone at the DOS prompt to check your environment. Users of the Multimedia upgrade CDROM may find a long pause on the Fileselect Dialog Box when an Audio CD is in the drive. Use the ROMx: parameter to skip verifying that drive. To skip CD ROM drive F:, use ROMF:. SETTING THE BLASTER ENVIRONMENT --------------- Users of compatible soundcards and 1.0 Sound Blasters can skip the port/IRQ/DMA scanning by using the SET BLASTER environment parameters supported by the 2.0 and Pro versions of the Sound Blaster. > Example: SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 (A = the port address; I = the interrupt; and D = the DMA channel. If you have problems with BLASTER Master executing on your machine, try using this setting. It will also make the program boot up quicker! > NOTE: It is possible that BLASTER Master may not correctly identify your graphics interface. If BLASTER Master tells you that you don't have EGA/VGA graphics and you know you do, try using the command line switch "/G". This switch forces graphics mode and bypasses the interface check. page 9 REPORTING TROUBLE --------------- If you find a bug in BLASTER Master, please report it in as much detail as possible so that I can fix it in the next version. I need to know which specific function you were using, where the VOC file originated from and the sample rate. If the problem is hardware-related (i.e. video display, mouse functions), please include information about the system you are using. Support beyond that will only be provided to registered users. COMMON PROBLEMS --------------- ERROR 5: This is a DOS error meaning Illegal Function Call, which could signify just about anything. The most common occurrence of this is when try to run BLASTER Master on a PC with a graphics card that does not properly support 640x350x16 HI-RES EGA graphics mode. If you get this error immediately after typing BMASTER, then the problem is probably with your graphics card. The only fix in this case is to change your graphics card. MOUSE CURSOR ERASE SYNDROME: I have recently heard of three or four instances of the mouse cursor seeming to erase the screen when it is moved. This is a problem with your mouse driver. I only make calls to the Mouse API; I don't re-paint the screen. Switching mouse drivers has fixed this problem in every case so far. PERFORMANCE TIPS --------------- BLASTER Master works best on a very fast PC -- fast processor, fast graphics and fast hard drive. I use mostly floating point operations for accuracy. A Math Co-Processor speeds up most of the functions by as much as 40%. For example, mixing two 50K files requires over 1,000,000 calculations. A slow graphics card can cause wait states on your processor. That bargain-priced VGA system may not be such a bargain if you saved a mere $50 yet slowed your PC down by 40-60% in graphics mode. BLASTER Master is based on using "virtual memory", i.e., using your hard drive wherever possible. While this is slower, it is much more reliable and supports a wider system base. It also easily supports HUGE file sizes. If you are lucky enough to have several megabytes of RAM, try running from a RAM Disk or at least use an extended/expanded memory Disk Cache. It makes a big difference in performance. Disk fragmentation can also lessen performance, regardless of what software you are running. page 10 SUGGESTED READING --------------- If you are interested in learning more about how BLASTER Master works, I suggest you read the following books: > "Principles of Digital Audio" by Ken C. Pohlmann (Howard W. Sams & Co., 1985, 1989 second edition) An excellent introduction to everything from fundamental acoustic theory to the way compact disks work. Some chapters are relatively easy to understand & others are definitely NOT for the faint of heart. > "Musical Applications of Microprocessors" by Hal Chamberlin (Hayden Books, 1985, 1987 second edition) Absolutely the best edition ever published in the field of digital sound production and is universally considered a classic. This book is 800 pages long and you really must have an understanding of advanced mathematics to read it. > "Elements of Computer Music" by F. Richard Moore (Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1990) An excellent source of information about digital sound reproduction. Especially good for C programmers; examples are working C routines. > "An Introduction to Digital Signal Processing" by John H. Karl (Academic Press, Inc. 1989) This is a very good crash study course in DSP and assumes the reader is familiar with higher mathmatics. Distribution BBS Numbers --------------- These BBS's should always have the latest release. BLASTER Master is also available on hundreds of other BBS's around the world. CompuServe GO MIDIFORUM Channel One (617) 354-3137 Data Dimension (404) 921-1186 America Online PC MUSIC New Dimension (408) 274-5550 Rusty & Eddy's (216) 726-3589 User-to-User (214) 492-6565 GEnie IBMPC Music Connection (214) 596-2827 EXEC-PC (414) 789-4360 BLASTER Master is the result of many, many hours of programming, study and experimentation (not to mention 6 years of college). If you find this program to be interesting and of use to you, please register BLASTER Master and help support future development towards more applications of sound files. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the individuals and institutions that have already registered. Your support has made this version possible. As long as you continue to support BLASTER Master, I will continue to release new versions. All future updates are free. One registration will automatically register future versions. Please mention the version number in your letter and include your telephone number and computer system hardware. I will also be interested to hear which BBS you downloaded it from. Please tell me of your suggestions for future enhancements, too! Think of it this way... when you register BLASTER Master, you aren't paying for the version you are currently using; you are helping to finance the next release! When I receive your payment, I will send you your registration number and instructions on installing it. page 11 To register, send $29.95 in US dollars to: Gary Maddox 1901 Spring Creek #315 Plano, TX 75023 USA Foreign orders mailed directly to me should include $5 for the extra postage. PLEASE send payment in US dollars only. To register in Germany, send 59 Deutche Marks plus handling fee to: CDV Ettlingerstr. 5 D-7500 Karlsruhe 1 Germany I suggest you contact CDV to find out the current handling charges and to obtain a catalog of their other excellent shareware offerings. To register in the U.K., send 16 pounds Sterling to: Carl Ricketts 54 St. Anne's Road Tankerton Whitstable Kent CT5 2DR England >> You can drop me a line on Prodigy at KTSM62A or CompuServe at 76711,547.<< Thank you for using my digital sound software. * Sound Blaster is a registered trademark of Creative Labs, Inc ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLASTER Master Copyright (C) 1990,1991,1992 by Gary Maddox, all rights reserved -------------------------------------------------------------------------------