Experimental BBS Explossion 3/Experimental BBS Explossion III.iso/gus/digestv5.zip/V5N2M.TXT

Text File | 1994-02-04 | 23KB | 563 lines

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GUS Musician's Digest       Fri, 4 Feb 94  3:20          Volume 5: Issue   2

Today's Topics:
                       >64k samples in patches
                         Cakewalk is back :)
     DIGEST ADMIN: You're right, there were no digests yesterday!
                GUS Musician's Digest V4 #31 (2 msgs)
              HELP!!!  New Windoze drivers = no midi in
                            Leagal patches
                           MusicWare Piano
                       oops... a clarification
                Power Chords - switch to 8 bit patches
                         Powerchords problem
                               Sampling
                      Sampling and legal issues
                         Sampling and the Law
                  You want more samples, you got it!

Standard Info:
    - Meta-info about the GUS can be found at the end of the Digest.
    - Before you ask a question, please READ THE FAQ.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 01 Feb 94 17:38:40  GMT
From: [e-mail] (Robert Aswani)
Subject: >64k samples in patches

I can't convert samples greater than 64k into patches using Patch Maker
Lite ver 1.10 (I have the windows drivers installed that were supplied
with it), which programs will allow me to convert samples >64k to patches?



 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 \  Robert Aswani              \  Lonely signature, clean shaven & smart \
  \  [e-mail]   \  seeks short, witty quote.              \
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 01 Feb 94 10:46:00 PST
From: "Ford, Richard            x2056" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cakewalk is back :)

Morning all

As promised, here is notification that the cakewalk server is back on line.
For those of you who were interested, you can subscribe to

     [e-mail]

Have fun - Richard

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 2 Feb 1994 07:20:35 -0700 (MST)
From: [e-mail] (Dave DeBry)
Subject: DIGEST ADMIN: You're right, there were no digests yesterday!

    There were no digests yesterday.

    This may not seem like an amazing news item to many of you,
but then a lot of you thought it might be one for me, and so promptly
mailed me to let me know that there was no digest.

    Folks -- I know when the digests have screwed up.

    I'm not just the President of the Gus Digests, I'm also a
client. :)

    In any case, hopefully the sysadmins have fixed the problem (I
wish they'd just give me access to the offending machines so I could
fix them, but nooooooooo), and the digests will be sent out tonight.

--
Dave  ddebry@ debry@   \ "In summing up, the moral seems
DeBry dsd.    peruvian. | A little bit obscure...
      es.     cs.utah.  | Whatever you do,
      com     edu      /  Take care of your shoes."

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 21:51:03 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Chris Wilkins)
Subject: Re: GUS Musician's Digest V4 #31

>From: "Matthew M. Nordan" <[e-mail]>
>
>Certainly the act of sampling my CDs and using them as building blocks for
>songs is legal; after all, i can make a cassette copy of the CD to play in
>my Walkman.  I also know that i can include samples in my songs and make
>copies of the works for friends, because i'm not _selling_ the music.  My
>quandaries, then, are twofold:

I am not at all an expert on these things, but these issues have come up
every now and then on rec.music.makers.synth amongst others. So here is my
utterly untrustworthy opinion....

My suspicion is that the question of whether you are making money from it is
irrelevant. The question is if it's costing someone else money. For example,
giving a tape of a CD you bought to someone else doesn't make you any money
but it's pretty clearly illegal.

>1.  Would it be illegal to sample a disc, use the sample in a song, and
>    release the song on a commercially sold, independently released album?

I think this area is pretty grey, but you're probably pretty safe for
everything but recognisable vocals or very well known riffs. Someone once
wrote to me that there has never been a succesful case involving breach of
copyright on a noise (either a sample or, interestingly, a synth patch).
Although I wonder if the truth is that there has never have been any case at
all.

>2.  I noticed that when Francois Dion covered C+C Music Factory with his
>    GUS to show what the card was capable of, he did not upload the .MID
>    with custom patches to EPAS;  rather, he samples the finished copy into
>    a WAV and uploaded that.  What legal factors lie behind this decision,
>    and what are their implications for my own work?

Midi files of commercial songs are almost surely illegal. This is because
they are very substantially derivative of the original songs. There are, of
course, millions of them around, but this doesn't make them legal. It's
pretty obvious why: 98% of the intellectual property is by the original
authors of the song and (typically) the person doing the sequence hasn't got
permission for the sequence. This isn't to say it's a lot of work to make a
sequence of someone elses track, but a quote from one of the heavy metal
take off movies springs to mind: "(Whoever it was) didn't write Stairway to
Heaven until he was (whatever age). I could play it when I was 11. I think
that says a lot".

By the way, there's currently a court case against Compuserve for allowing
such copyright breaching midi files to be distributed across its network.
This will have interesting implications for internet if it's successful.

>On a slightly different note, Epas had been noticeably barren of user-made
>patches as of late (excepting discopat.zip and hugepats.zip).  I'm guilty
>of this too, but some of us Gravis samplers should ZIP up a meg or so and
>upload them . . .

Well, I've just been making a lot of high quality drum patches here. There
are two things that are slowing me down somewhat in distributing them (well,
three if you count the fact that it takes forever to do a good loop on a
cymbal). The first is that I'm reluctant to put out a lot of stuff until the
bank switching is implemented and I can see what it's consequences are. The
second is another of these legality questions. These are actually samples
off a CD of samples of popular drum machines. The legality is probably O.K.,
but since there's no direct gain to me distributing these things, is it
worth taking the risk?

Chris.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 02 Feb 1994 22:38:00 +0100
From: [e-mail] (Edwin van Ouwerkerk)
Subject: GUS Musician's Digest V4 #31

 >> manufactured by Fatar, the worlds leading manufacturer of master
 >> keyboards.

 > I'd like to see Gravis sell this keyboard separately as well, for $200 or
 > less.

Why? Fatar already does - I have one. I have a sneaking suspicion it's the same
as the one bundled by Gravis. (They don't make >that< many 4 octave, velocity
sensitive keyboards).
It's very good by the way, although the odd volume response curve of the old
GUS windows drivers made it almost impossible to control the volume of
playing.
I payed about $150 for it. Quite a good deal.

Still, it's now gathering dust in a corner - I bought a Clavinova, and that
keyboard is somewhat better 8-))

Which brings me to my problem : I have severe trouble getting my midi-out to
work properly. Almost any event transmitted from my gus get trashed, note-off's
never arrive, etc, etc. This happens in all windows midi programs.

I have an almost antique rev. 2.2 (yes, two-point-two) GUS, and the latest
drivers (GRVULTR.386 ver 4.01 / ULTRASND.DRV ver 3.32 / ULTMPORT.DRV ver
1.01).
I heard a rumour that old GUS'es had problems with their midi-port. Phat, do
you know anything about this?

PS. My midi adapter is OK, I have no trouble when I hook it up to a Logitech
Soundman16.


Any help would be appreciated!

CU,
   Edwin ([e-mail])

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 2 Feb 1994 03:18:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Philip Lockwood <[e-mail]>
Subject: HELP!!!  New Windoze drivers = no midi in

Can someone please give me a hand here, because I am at a loss for ideas...
I installed the gus0038 upgrade over the last full version (the one mailed
ot registered users).  When it went to make program items for me in windows,
it was unable to (I assume because they were already there).  Anyway, all
seemed to be ok, but now I can't get my midi in to work.  It worked with the
old drivers, and I can still play midi files & waves, I just can't input
anything via my synth.  BTW, I have a midibox from gravis and it is showing
midi signals being passed from the synth.

I have tried reinstalling the drivers (after removing the old ones),
reunarchiving them from the gus0038 zip, made sure that there were no extra
copies anywhere (just the copy in the ultrasnd/windows dir and
windows/system - after control panel copied them there).  But I still can't
get my midi in to work.  I also didn't see any mistakes in the win.ini or
system.ini.  Does anyone have any ideas???  I am very frustrated, because I
bought a gus primarily for the midi.  Has anyone else had similar problems?
Please give me any ideas or suggestions, cause I'm getting discouraged.

Thanks,

Philip

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 01 Feb 94 06:46:03 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Leagal patches

As for making a copy of a tape from a CD

Dont we pay a royalty to ASCAP and BMI when we buy a blank tape what does
this entitle us to do ?

Matt In NH

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 16:24:13 GMT
From: [e-mail] (AL PEREZ)
Subject: MusicWare Piano

I am very interested on acquring MusicWare Piano software.  Can you tell
me where and how I can get them.  Thank you.   Al Perez

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 1 Feb 1994 13:50:16 -0500 (EST)
From: [e-mail] (Francois Dion)
Subject: oops... a clarification

In the other post i said that any sampling without the owner approval is
illegal in theory with discretion to the courts. Actually there are some
specifications and guidelines, not just "jurisprudence" (translation anybody?).

This is of course in relation to musical recordings... instruments are not
part of that. You can sample any instrument, as long as you respect the source
and acknowledge the trademark - that's for Canada. For other countries, i'm
not 100% sure. (I consulted specialists on that).

In any case, dont take anything i say as being even close to a legal advice.
It is just an interpretation of the laws. If you want to use samples from
cds or any other source, you do it at your own risks, so consult your
lawyer before doing anything you might regret...

Ciao,
--
Francois Dion
    '  _   _   _
 CISM (_) (_)  _) FM       Montreal , Canada       Email: [e-mail]
      (_)  / . _)             10000 Watts          Telephone no: [phone]
_______________________________________________________________________________
Audio-C-DJ-Fractals-Future-Label-Multimedia-Music-Radio-Rave-Video-VR-Volvo-...

------------------------------

Date: 31 Jan 94 09:41:10 EST
From: "Eric Bell, Howling Dog Systems" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Power Chords - switch to 8 bit patches

> ..the powerchords demo works fine, but in the actual program and in the
> tutorial i get no sound...

Switch to 8-bit patches by selecting the 'Conserve Memory' option in the
UltraSound MIDI Synth driver setup. See page 19 of your Power Chords booklet
for details.

Eric Bell, Howling Dog Systems

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 09:45:56 -0500 (EST)
From: Phat H Tran <[e-mail]>
Subject: Powerchords problem

> Date: Sun, 30 Jan 1994 10:08:45 -0500 (EST)
> From: [e-mail] (LUTINS ALLEN H)
> Subject: PowerChords problems :(
>
>  ..the powerchords demo works fine, but in the actual program and in
> the tutorial i get no sound...i never tried these on my '286, so i
> don't know if i had the same problem there or not...

If you only have 256kB on your GUS, you must turn the Conserve Memory
option on in the GUS' Control Panel Drivers Setup dialog for PowerChords
to work properly.

Phat.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 1 Feb 1994 13:42:44 -0500 (EST)
From: [e-mail] (Francois Dion)
Subject: Sampling

> From: [e-mail] (djkc)
> Subject: Re: Sampling and legal issues
>
> > From: "Matthew M. Nordan" <[e-mail]>
> > Subject: Sampling and legal issues
> >
> > 1.  Would it be illegal to sample a disc, use the sample in a song, and
> >     release the song on a commercially sold, independently released album?
>
> If the sample is altered beyond recognition, then of course nobody could
> tell; but, whether this is legal or not, I'm pretty sure that it's not.
> It wouldn't matter anyway since nobody can tell, i.e. if it's REALLY
> altered.

In theory sampling is always illegal, but there are variations. Each court
can decide what is or not fair use, so if you want to be really really sure
you wont get sued, you have to ask the original artist. In the case of
just a sound (not a loop), then it is generally accepted. Vocals for
demo purpose would be ok, but for a complete song, again you have to get
permission. Note that a lot of bands give sampling permission to their
work. Bands like Negativland at one extreme (full), like shamen in the middle
(any individual sample or loop - they even separate the samples on the last
track on 2 CD to make sampling easier) and at the other extreme bands on
labels such as Island (the Apple Computers of music - they will sue anybody
trying to sample even 1 bit... i.e Winwood, U2 etc... I think only the
U2-negativland was in favour of Island... i cant log in the law database
while typing this message...).

> And I'm not sure on CD's that are labeled "sampling" CDs...like vocal bits,
> drum kits, sound effects, etc.

Sampling CDs grant you a non-exclusive license to sample and use the sounds
found on the CD without any royalties in a lot of case. If there are
royalties then they are indicated, so it's a no brainer.

> The way you said Francois used .wavs in his demo rather than .mid files
> brings up something.  The audial version of a song is copyrighted by a (P),

For Phonorecord. Quite aware of that.
If you read the text file, you'll see my justification in
relation to the fair use prescription (a recording of under 10% of a
song's cover with a different drum pattern in lo-fi is definitely
fair use)

> while the written composition (if there is one; with techno these days,
> makes me wonder) is copyrighted by a (C).

For copyright. BTW, in Canada, the (C) is accepted for copyright, but in
the US, it is not as clearly defined if a (C) is an acceptable equivalent
of a C in a circle.

However, this ((P) and (C) diff) is more a remnant from the old laws. More
and more (P)+(C) is used or just (C) or even Copr. or Copyright (the
majority of Canadian and Europeans use the later while the americans prefer
to use the (P)+(C).

> I have read that the (P) part is
> enforced more strictly than the (C) part; i.e., samples are listened for
> more often than covered songs... so be careful!

Either have the exact same legal weight. (and canadian laws are
applicable in this case too ).

> A GOOD book on the music industry which has some explanations of the
> Copyright Act (& laws) is _Sound_Advice:_The_Musician's_Guide_to_the_
> Record_Industry_, by Wayne Wadhams.

Note that books pre-93 are not of a big use to americans. You have had
changes in your copyright laws in 88 and important addendums in late 92
so anything before that may be old info...

Ciao,
--
Francois Dion
    '  _   _   _
 CISM (_) (_)  _) FM       Montreal , Canada       Email: [e-mail]
      (_)  / . _)             10000 Watts          Telephone no: [phone]
_______________________________________________________________________________
Audio-C-DJ-Fractals-Future-Label-Multimedia-Music-Radio-Rave-Video-VR-Volvo-...

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 19:45:04 -0700 (MST)
From: [e-mail] (djkc)
Subject: Re: Sampling and legal issues

>
> Date: Sun, 30 Jan 1994 20:23:34 -0400 (EST)
> From: "Matthew M. Nordan" <[e-mail]>
> Subject: Sampling and legal issues
>
> 1.  Would it be illegal to sample a disc, use the sample in a song, and
>     release the song on a commercially sold, independently released album?
>

If the sample is altered beyond recognition, then of course nobody could
tell; but, whether this is legal or not, I'm pretty sure that it's not.
It wouldn't matter anyway since nobody can tell, i.e. if it's REALLY
altered.

But, if you want to use an unaltered sample, most likely it isn't legal.
I've read that the "under 4 seconds is OK" policy is a myth.
And I'm not sure on CD's that are labeled "sampling" CDs...like vocal bits,
drum kits, sound effects, etc.

The way you said Francois used .wavs in his demo rather than .mid files
brings up something.  The audial version of a song is copyrighted by a (P),
while the written composition (if there is one; with techno these days,
makes me wonder) is copyrighted by a (C).  I have read that the (P) part is
enforced more strictly than the (C) part; i.e., samples are listened for
more often than covered songs... so be careful!

A GOOD book on the music industry which has some explanations of the
Copyright Act (& laws) is _Sound_Advice:_The_Musician's_Guide_to_the_
Record_Industry_, by Wayne Wadhams.

-djkc

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 1 Feb 1994 09:32:41 -0800
From: [e-mail] (David Altekruse)
Subject: Sampling and the Law

[e-mail] (djkc) writes concerning the legality of patches:

>And I'm not sure on CD's that are labeled "sampling" CDs...like vocal bits,
>drum kits, sound effects, etc.

As soon as I discovered I could copy CD's directly from my CD-ROM player
to hard disk, I envisioned buying audio sample CD's, making GUS patches,
and then distributing them.  I contacted four companies who produce and
sell sample CD's to get their view on the copyright issue and they all
stated that the buyer can not in any way distribute, including giving them
away for no fee, any form of their samples.  Their rational is that if
I were to make GUS patches, for example, from one of their disks and give
them away, the other people would have no reason to buy the sample CD so
I would be depriving the sampling producer from income and it would be
a violation of copyright law.

- David Altekruse, [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 02 Feb 1994 15:11:16 +1000
From: David Vu <[e-mail]>
Subject: You want more samples, you got it!

Fellow GUSicians,

With right patch editor, a sample editor, and a little bit of patience, you can
turn your GUS into many classic analog synthesisers.  If you've never heard
an analog synth before, you are missing a great many beautiful sounds of
the world.

So where 's the 16-bit daughterboard?


------- Forwarded Message

February 1st, 1994

Hi!  It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the "Analogue Collection"
sampling CD is now shipping (heh-heh... that felt good to say :)  Your copy
of the disc is ready to be mailed -- I can ship COD or upon receipt of payment
(the ordering info is in the attached message).

Thanks for your support!

Best regards,

James Grahame

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -
        The Analogue Collection Sampling CD
    Over 650 samples of 24 classic analog synthesizers

The Analogue Collection is an audio compact disc
of patches taken from two-dozen classic analog synthesizers.  The material for
this disc was provided by an intrepid and adventurous bunch of internetters,
compusmurfers, pan users, delphi subscribers (IOW, some cool guys, me included:
)
There are over 650 samples on the disc, comprising approximately 160 different
multisampled patches which can be loaded into digital sampling keyboards.
Most patches are multi-sampled over three or four octaves.

The disc is similar to a standard audio Compact Disc, and plays on any
audio CD player.  To use it, just listen for a classic synth patch that you
like, and sample the output of your CD player into your digital sampling
keyboard.

        ***** The Analogue Collection is US$30 ******

TO ORDER:

If you live in the United States or Canada, I can ship your order COD.
simply email me telling me; (a) that you'd like me to send you a copy of
the disc COD; (b) your street address; (c) your email address; (d) a
daytime phone number (answering machines are fine, as long as I can reach you
if I have to).  If you want to avoid the hassles of being around to accept a
COD shipment, you can send a check or money order for $30US to the address
below.

If you live in Europe, Asia, Africa, or South America (IOW, anywhere else),
you will have to prepay your order.  Email me telling me; (a) that you're
sending me an order; (b) send an international money order for $30US plus
$2US to cover international air mail to:

            Grahame Digital
            1940 South Broadway
            Unit 223
            Minot, North Dakota   58701
            United States of America

Should you have any questions about the disc or the status of your order,
don't hesitate to email me at [e-mail] , or telephone me
at [phone].

Happy sampling!

------- End of Forwarded Message

------------------------------

End of GUS Musician's Digest V5 #2
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