C-LAB

MORE ARRANGEMENTS

Last month we briefly discussed the thinking behind Creator's Arrange mode. If you arrange your patterns (which contain up to 16 tracks) down one chain (eg. A) of the Arrange window, you are using one quarter of the potential of the Arrange mode, since the other three chains are still unused. That's fine for a simple piece of music, and indeed that is the way to start practising using the Arrange mode. At some point, though, you will either need more than 16 tracks, or you may reach a point where one of your musical parts has to 'bridge' the point where two patterns are joined. (This is because a pattern is a self-contained unit: a track cannot start in one pattern and carry on into the pattern which follows it in the Arrange chain). This is the point where you will start to use a second chain, thereby increasing your number of simultaneous tracks to 32.

To start using the second chain, you must decide where the beginning of the new pattern is to commence. If the pattern is to be inserted at the start of the song, press the STOP command twice, which resets the Arrange cursor back to the top of the window. (The cursor is that black rectangle that moves up and down the Arrange window.) Now press [Insert] on the Atari: this automatically inserts the same pattern number into the next chain at the same start bar, on another line. By pressing [Insert], you have simply 'cloned' the pattern under the Arrange cursor and copied it to the next chain. At this stage you have a situation that does not make sense, since what the Arrange mode is saying is 'play the same pattern in both chains, starting at the same time', which of course is a duplication of all the data! So the first thing you must do after insertion is to change the pattern number in chain B to an empty pattern so that you can start recording into it.

If the pattern in the second chain is to start somewhere other than at the beginning of the song, the principle to follow is: position the cursor on the pattern in chain A which is closest to where the parallel pattern is to start, press [Insert] then scroll the new pattern's start bar to the bar location you desire. Don't forget to change the pattern number to an empty one!

Inserting patterns into the remaining chains follows the same principles as above (cursor on a pattern in chain B: [Insert] the new pattern into chain C, etc). It is up to you and the way you have structured your music as to how you manage your Arrange window. Everyone works a different way, but you should always keep a clear head and work logically and methodically.

A final point before we leave Arrange mode for this month: the lengths of patterns are displayed at the bottom left of the screen ('Pattern Length'). Use this to alter a pattern's length: this will automatically scroll the following patterns in the same chain so that they all retain their correct lengths. Do not scroll the start bar value of patterns in a bid to alter lengths: the scrolling of a pattern's start bar enables you to move a pattern within the chain; as a by-product, its length is correspondingly altered up and down, but so is the length of the previous pattern in the same chain, which can be confusing if you are not aware of the pitfalls.

MIDI CONTROLLERS

When you input a MIDI Controller event into the Edit page (drag it into the Edit window from the partbox to the left), the event defaults to showing Controller 1 (Mod Wheel). If you need to change that to a different Controller number, it makes sense to disable the MIDI Out icon to the right (or under menu 'Edit') so that scrolling through the different Controller numbers does not lead to unwanted messages being transmitted via MIDI to your instruments. Controller 7 (MIDI Volume) is the 'dangerous' one, since it behaves the opposite way to all other Controllers: the 'default' value of Mod Wheel 1, Breath Control 2, Foot Control 4, etc, is zero; the 'default' value of Volume 7 should be 127 (ie. full volume). However, MIDI protocol says that Controller 7's default value should also be zero, which means that if you scroll through Controllers and the default values are all at zero, some of your instruments will fall strangely silent for no apparent reason. Clicking menu 'MIDI-Maximum Volume' will reset the devices to full volume.

C-LAB & ATARI

Notator Version 2 will run on a 1040ST or MegaST, with a monochrome high resolution monitor only; the next version (2.1), available in March (though please don't ring us yet!), will be compatible with medium resolution colour monitors. Its key/dongle is now incompatible with Creator Version 2.

Creator Version 2 will now only run on a 520ST if you have had the memory upgraded to 1 Megabyte; we originally thought that you also needed a double-sided disk drive, but we think we have found a way of loading the program using the old 520ST single-sided disk drive by formatting the program disk to a different specification. If you are interested, please call Sound Technology for details. Creator is colour compatible.

Finally, C-Lab's Unitor synchroniser comes in two types, 'Unitor C' for Creator and 'Unitor N' for Notator.

VOYETRA

DAMAGED SONG FILES?

Unfortunately, floppy disks are not entirely safe: files stored on disk can be damaged if the disk is maltreated or is of poor quality. To try and recover a damaged song file, start Sequencer Plus by typing the 'SEQ/f option. This will ensure that all songs loaded are checked for errors. If errors are found they are deleted, and the unaffected parts are loaded and can be used without causing problems in the sequencer.

TIME COMPRESSION

The CompEx transform in Sequencer Plus MkIII can be used to compress or expand a piece of music so that it will fit in a given time slot - an important feature if you are composing jingles or film music. The transform changes the amount of time between notes without changing the overall tempo or affecting the bar lines. The command asks you for a ratio of new time to old time, which can be any whole number from 1 to 4000. Using close ratios (2000:2001) can produce interesting flanging effects.

SCORE

Passport have recently announced a new program called Escort, which will allow Sequencer Plus files to be converted to printed music using Passport's Score Desktop Music Publishing program. Previously the MIDI support for Score was restricted to reading pitch information via MIDI in step time. This new program means that Sequencer Plus files can now be converted to printed music by three programs: Dr.T's Copyist, Jim Miller's Personal Composer and Passport's Score.

THE MUSIC NETWORK

Voyetra software users will be supported both in the States via PAN, and in Europe via The Music Network. In addition, new purchasers of Voyetra's Sequencer Plus will be eligible for a sign-up fee waiver for The Music Network. Contact Computer Music Systems for further details.

STEINBERG

SINGLE-SIDED PRO24

There are two ways of getting Pro24 onto a singled-sided disk. Both methods require two formatted single-sided disks and two disk drives (one of which may be a RAM disk).

1. Copy the file TWENTY_4.PRG from your master disk onto each of the two formatted single-sided disks. Then copy the file CTAPE.RSC onto one disk (this will become the Colour version of the program), and copy the file TAPE.RSC onto the second disk (this is the Mono version).

You may like to copy the Module files onto a third disk, which will then become your synth library.

2. Alternatively, copy the file TWENTY_4.PRG from your master disk onto one disk, and copy all other files onto the second disk. Now try loading the TWENTY_4.PRG file - you should get a TOS Error 35 displayed on-screen. Do not worry. Simply remove the first disk and insert the second disk, then click on 'OK'. The computer will then find the files it needs to finish loading the program.

PLEASE NOTE: Product information contained within these pages is supplied directly by the software manufacturers, their UK distributors or agents. The intention is to provide a 'bulletin board' service for SOS readers who own or use software for any type of computer. Although we will occasionally publish new product information, the intention is to publicise update/upgrade news, bug fixings, hints and tips about any piece of software and computer peripherals. It is therefore up to all software companies to keep us posted.