Computer Music Interactif…al Edition 1999 December/cd.iso/pc/PC/Demos/WinAudio/SETUP1/READ_ME.TXT

Text File | 1997-01-23 | 8.9 KB | 218 lines

ZADOK AUDIO MEDIA PRODUCTS: WinAudio for Windows

Since WinAudio falls within a completely new program
category with a fairly universal field of application
within the music and Multimedia field some explanation
may be necessary.
This document's contents are as follows:

PART 1: WinAudio - FULL (STANDARD) EDITION v1.0x and
                 - MAJOR EDITION v2.0
        WinAudio - DEMO EDITION v2.0
        WinAudio - FUN EDITION v2.0

PART 2: INTEGRATION of WinAudio and MidiFrame


PART 1: WinAudio FULL v1.0x and MAJOR EDITION v2.0

In this short text the philosophy behind WinAudio will
be explained. It is not our primary intention to show
the program features. More information on these features
can be found in the help text(s), which is present in
all three versions of the software. Instead, we would
like to explain something about the background and field
of application of WinAudio. Anybody who is reasonably
acquainted with Hard Disk Recording, MultiMedia and
Midi Sequencing will recognize the power of WinAudio.
For these readers, probably only PART 2 will be of
interest.

If you are a frequent PC user you will be acquainted
with MOD-files containing FM sounds and 8 bits samples.
You may be forgiven to think that WinAudio is such a
program. However, you couldn't be more wrong.
The origins of WinAudio lie in the Midi Sequencer and
the Hard Disk Recorder instead.

The Midi Sequencer is a computer program, although
hardware versions exist, too. It primarily is a tool for
professional musicians and serious amateurs, who use it
to control sound modules by storing note information in
digital form. Sound modules generate the sound at the
moment they receive this information. This way of making
music is now common practice and offers a wealth of
possibilities. The latest generation of Midi programs,
including Sequencers, is modular in structure and
equipped with a number of intelligent music-technical
options. For example, ZADOK's latest program,
'MidiFrame' contains a number of modules which can
create arpeggio's, accompaniments, harmonic lines,
licks, grooves, etc. Furthermore, it can be fully
integrated with WinAudio. Refer to part 2 for more info.

For a long period of time, Multitrack Digital Audio
Recording has been an expensive, exclusive option only
cutting-edge digital studios could afford. Many options
which were impossible to perform in analogue studios
(including move, cut and paste operations, time
stretching and resampling), features which turned out to
be of great importance for making modern music, which is
essentially based on style-dependent motifs, licks,
shouts, breaks, beats, riffs, percussion-loops, etc.
Furthermore, excellent sound quality is of foremost
importance to the success of current music productions.

Midi Sequencing and Multitrack Digital Audio Recording
offer a tremendous flexibility, but also carry a very
high price-tag. Now that we're living in the MultiMedia
era, with Personal Computers becoming faster and faster
and harddisks becoming larger and larger, ZADOK Audio
Media Products has succeeded in building a bridge
between Hard Disk Recording and Midi Sequencing. This is
achieved in a way that is both affordable and effective
in linking the most important aspects of both worlds.
WinAudio acts as if it operates 'between' a Midi
Sequencer and a Wave Editor. Whereas WinAudio FULL Edition
v1.0x is meant for adding pieces of AUDIO to MIDI, WinAudio
MAJOR Edition is more aimed at being a complete Multitrack
Digital Audio Recording program.

WinAudio can be applied in two ways:

1: Adding acoustic sound to digital, instrumental
Midi-music. (WinAudio FULL Edition v1.0x)

2: Multitracking. Recording acoustical instrument
trackwise, comparable to the operation of multitrack
recorders. (WinAudio MAJOR Edition)

The first way is in greatest demand by musicians and
hobbyists, wishing to add acoustic sounds or shouts to
previously-made or self-made Midifiles. In this way
professionally sounding audio productions can be made,
even by amateurs. Expert musicians, playing an
acoustical instrument, will be more attracted to the
second manner of operating the software. Especially this
users group will like the non-destructive edit facilities
(like WinAudio MAJOR's fade in/out and multi-cuts). Yet,
even then the accompaniment of a MidiFile, Bassline, or
Drumtrack will probably be welcome. It speaks for itself
that less conventional musicians and producers of Modern
Dance (House, Hip Hop, Rap, Rave, etc.) will recognize
WinAudio as an essential piece of digital equipment.

WinAudio DEMO Edition v2.0 (derivation of WinAudio MAJOR):
In order to demonstrate WinAudio we have opted for a
so-called WORKING DEMO. Almost all options will work
normally during a period of about 15 minutes.
Playback of MidiFiles, Waves, configuring drivers,
recording of line, microphone, CD, etcetera, will all
function normally. The limitations in the demo version
consist of the inability to save the project you have
made, and the absence of the Time-Correction option.

WinAudio FUN Edition (Derivative of MAJOR Edition):
For relatively simple applications ZADOK has introduced
'WinAudio FUN'. This beginners' version has no time
limit (as in the case of the DEMO-version) and allows
the user to write the Project to disk. Projects are
upwards compatible with WinAudio MAJOR. Since WinAudio
FUN is intended rather more as an introduction it has
the following differences:

1. WinAudio FUN can play upto four stereo waves (instead
of eight or even more). Thus, WinAudio FUN can accept
three overlapping waves.

2. Although the total number of different waves is
limited to 16, these waves can be repeated without
limitations. This allows filling an entire audio track
with only one or two waves (e.g. drumloops), without
running into any direct limitations.

3. No Midi Sync option.

4. No Song Position Pointer. This is related to point 3.

5. No Volume Control per wave. There is, however, a
volume control for every track. In this way you can set
four seperate audio volume levels.

6. No Panning per Wave. Since panning is a kind of
volume control, this is related to point 5.

7. No Non-destructive fade-ins and -outs. Fades will
have to be made (destructively) using a wave-editor.

8. No 'Record while Play' for Waves. This is a
direct consequence of point 1. However, it is possible
to play a MidiFile while making an audio-recording.

9. No Time-Stretching (lengthening or shortening of
Waves without pitch changes) and no Resampling
(modifications to pitch).

10. No Non-Destructive Editing Facilities. Waves can
still be edited by copying and subsequently modifying
them. In the FUN version it is, however, not possible to
chop Waves using [Shift] + Mousebutton.

11. No options for 'annexation' of favourite Midi
Sequencers and Wave Editors. It is, however, still
possible to access other programs using Windows
multitasking, although any integration facilities (i.e.
Data Exchange, automatical updating of projects) are
absent in this case.

12. To conlude. No Normalize and D.C. Offset possible.

Despite its more simple constellation, WinAudio Fun
Edition remains very useful for beginners without
professional demands. Furthermore, the option to upgrade
to the MAJOR Edition remains open to all WinAudio users.


PART 2: INTEGRATION of WinAudio and MidiFrame (AudioFrame)

The true "connaisseur" will probably want to combine
Multitrack Digital Audio Recording and MidiSequencing
sooner or later; only then the optimal conditions for
intuitive operation are created: the best of both worlds.

As stated before, the latest generation of Midi software
is modular and equipped with a number of interesting
music-technical options. ZADOK's 'MidiFrame' ('not just
a sequencer') contains a number of modules used to
create arpeggio's, accompaniments, harmonic lines,
licks, grooves, etc. With the aid of these, composing
is made possible for non-musically schooled people, too!
A number of MidiFrame modules are supplied with the
program. Other modules are available seperately, which
allows the creation of a truly individual program.

Apart from the graphical track/part structure,
Midi-sync, freely selectable driver, generous editing
functions, etcetera there is also the possibility of
combining MidiFrame and WinAudio MAJOR in such a way,
that they essentially run as one integral program, using
the same program- and data-files. The user can
subsequently perform operations on both programs. Its
possibilities match those of vastly more expensive
programs.

We hope WinAudio can prove its worth to you, too!

With kind regards,
Your "ZAMP" team

For more information, refer to ZADOK.TXT, or contact us:

ZADOK Audio Media PRODUCTS
P.O. Box 1192
2260 BD LEIDSCHENDAM
The Netherlands (Europe)
Tel.: [phone]
Fax.: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: http://www.digiface.nl/~zadok