Whiteline: Alpha/Whiteline Alpha.iso/sound/midi/dx_patch/patch.doc

Text File | 1994-09-24 | 9.5 KB | 194 lines

FUNCTIONAL OVERVIEW





Automatic Patch Generation and Archiving for the DX100 and CZ-101





The following instructions apply both to DXPATCH.PRG and CZPATCH.PRG .



Both of these programs interact with the user identically.  To use either,

MIDI your synthesizer to the ST (ST MIDI IN -> synth MIDI OUT, ST MIDI OUT ->

synth MIDI IN) and run the program (in any resolution).  Due to extensive memory

requirements, it might be necessary to de-activate RAM disks before doing so,

however.  You will then be presented with a menu of options.  They are:



n - Generate and load a random voice into the synthesizer.  The voice does

    not go into any permanent storage area of the synth.  It goes into a

    temporary area for the currently sounding voice.  To store it *in the

    synthesizer* permanently, follow the normal synthesizer procedure for

    storing an edited voice.  The program can store the voice on disk using

    the next option.



s - Save the synthesizer's currently active voice on disk.  Random voices can be

    improved using the synth's normal editing facilities, for instance,

    before being saved.  You will be prompted to give the voice a name

    before it is saved.



l - Load a voice from the program's library into the synth.  You will be

    prompted for which voice you want.  The loaded voice's name and number

    will be displayed on the upper right of the screen.



r - Re-load the current voice (shown on upper right of screen) into synth.

    Useful if you made an error while editing the voice with the

    synthesizer.  Random voices are re-loaded correctly.



a - Audition next voice in library.  Loads next voice number (see upper right of

    screen) into synth.  Will wrap around from end of library to beginning.



f - Find voice by name.  Will prompt you for a search string and will find all

    voice names that contain that string.  The search is case sensitive.

    Unfortunately, there is no wildcarding.  It is possible to find names

    that contain *more* than one string.  To do so, enter the strings on

    one line, separating them with the *keypad* plus key.  In this mode,

    the keypad plus key will generate a special symbol to avoid confusion

    with the normal plus key.



w - Change weirdness factor.  When random voices are generated, the weirdness

    factor determines whether the voice is more like a musical tone or a

    sound effect.  The *higher* the weirdness factor is set, the more

    *normal* the voice is.  This is because the chance that the program

    sets a voice parameter to a weird value is 1/(weirdness factor).  This

    factor is displayed in the upper right of the screen.



e - Go to the edit screen (explained below).



q - Quit program.





The 'e' option above changes you to the edit menu, which has the following

options:



c - Change the name of a library voice.



d - Delete a voice.



D - Delete a range of voices.



m - Move a voice to a new position in the file.  Useful for grouping similar

    voices or for putting your favorites in the first positions.



M - Move a range of voices.



r - Read in an alternate voice file and append it to the current library.  This     is useful if you are sharing voice files with others or manage your

    voices in several separate files (one file for each class of voice,

    for example).  When prompted, specify the file as follows:



            [Drive:][\Path\]Filename



    For instance, if your file was VOICES.OLD in folder OLD on drive A, it

    would be specified as A:\OLD\VOICES.OLD. If drive A is the drive you

    were already using, you could drop A: and just type \OLD\VOICES.OLD.

    Finally, if OLD was the folder that you started the program from, you

    could just type VOICES.OLD.



x - Execute the changes specified in this editing session and save them to

    disk.



q - Quit the session without saving the changes specified.  If you goofed up,

    this is your option.  The library will be restored to its pre-edit

    form by reading it back off the disk.





A lot of sample voices have been included on the disk for you to try out.



These two programs have various support files associated with them on the disk.

For DXPATCH.PRG to function, the files DX100.DTA and KEYTAB.DTA must be present

in the same folder.  For CZPATCH.PRG to function the files CZ101.DTA, CZMIDI.DTA

and KEYTAB.DTA must be present in the same folder.  KEYTAB.DTA contains the

keyboard translation tables used in the 'find voice' menu option.  CZMIDI.DTA

contains tables to translate CZ101 vibrato setting levels to the MIDI data the

CZ expects.



The program you run will expect to find a voice library file (DXVOICES.DTA and

CZVOICES.DTA respectively) in the same folder.  If one is not found, an empty

one will be created.  Otherwise, the file will be read in automatically and

be ready for use.  No more than 1000 voices are allowed in one file.



The DX100.DTA and CZ101.DTA files contain the parameters used by the

respective programs to generate random voices.  Unlike the previous files

mentioned, which are all binary, these are in ASCII and can be edited with

any word processor or editor to customize them as you see fit.  Each file

contains three large groups of numbers, each group enclosed in braces [{}].

The numbers in each group correspond in a one-to-one manner to the voice

parameters of the voice being generated.  For the DX100, these voice

parameters are listed on page 54 of the DX100 owner's manual.  For the CZ101,

these parameters are listed in the file CZ101.DOC on the disk.  In the

first group of numbers, each number is the highest value that its respective

voice parameter can assume (lowest value is always 0). In the second and

third group of numbers, there are two numbers for each parameter.  The first

number is the value the program uses when it has decided to set this parameter

to a weird value (see 'w' menu option, above), the next number is the normal

value.  Numbers in the third group tell the program how many times it should

generate a random number in the range (0 - maximum parameter value).  Numbers

in the second group tell the program whether it should set the parameter to

the highest, lowest, or median value just generated (1=high, 2=median, 3=low).



This whole process can be thought of as glorified die rolling.  The first

group of numbers defines the number of sides on the die.  The third group of

numbers tells you how many times to roll the die, and the second group of

numbers tells you whether you are taking the highest, lowest or median value

you roll.



Note that the program will ignore any non-numeric characters that are put in

the file, so you can put notes in the file if you wish.  The program will

ignore *any* characters that are between asterisks [*], including numbers.

So the numbers already in the files that are between a '/*' and '*/' are just

there to help you see which values correspond to which parameter numbers, and

are ignored by the program.







NOTES





There are many safety features included in the program to prevent you from

inadvertently clobbering your voice file or going over the 1000 voice limit

(if you have more than 1000 voices, remember the 'r' edit option!).  However,

if you manage to do it anyway, remember that as long as you stay in the

program you can save a new voice file with the 'x' edit option  (as long as you

move one voice so that the program knows the voice library has changed and will

therefore re-save the file).  Also note that a voice is not lost as long as

it can be sounded on your synth (if you accidentally quit before saving).  Just

restart the program and save the voice!



Nonetheless, it is advisable to occasionally backup your voice library just for

your own peace of mind.



If you change the voice parameter files, back them up first.



Don't set the weirdness factor to greater than 32767 (highest value for an

normal integer on the ST).







HINTS





Some voices generated for the CZ will be garbage, a few will be perfect without

any change, but many will need just a little fiddling to be very useful.  Try

each line select.  Hit the ring mod button.  If the voice does things you don't

like after the key is released, make the DCA1 or DCA2 END step closer to the

SUSTAIN step (or nearer first step if no SUSTAIN).  If the voice clicks when

the key is hit, reduce the attack RATE of the first step of either DCA1 or

DCA2.  If the voice is too quiet raise the LEVEL of the SUSTAIN step of DCA1

(or first step if no SUSTAIN).  If the voice seems out of tune check the value

of NOTE in the DETUNE section, if it is 1 or 11, change it.  Remember the

re-load option in the main menu.



The DX is much harder to fine tune.  On the other hand, the random voices

usually sound much better to start with.  But don't ask me how you fix 'em

if they don't.  [Actually, if you are familiar with all the voice parameters,

you can probably fine tune the voices.]



You might consider putting some code on the end of the voice name to tell

you what it is useful for (e.g. 10=effect, 20=bass, 30=lead, 40=bell).  You

could then use the main menu find option to find all voices with a certain code.

Alternatively, you could use the edit menu move option to keep all your

voices sorted or you could keep similar voices in separate files.  Or you

could be like me and just sit there.



Have fun!



If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I can be reached via

USENET electronic mail.  My address is: ucbvax![e-mail].