Precedence: Bulk
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 93  3:23 MDT
Errors-To: gus-music-owner@dsd.es.com
From: gus-music-server@dsd.es.com (GUS Musician's Server)
Reply-To: gus-music@dsd.es.com (GUS Musician's Digest)
Subject: GUS Musician's Digest V1 #4


GUS Musician's Digest       Sat, 23 Oct 93  3:23 MDT     Volume 1: Issue   4  

Today's Topics:
                       *** New piano patch ***
                           acoustic patches
               Choir Patch and MidiSoft Studio/Session
                              Correction
                     GUS Musician's Digest V1 #3
                Jitter/Dropout Free Recording with GUS
                               keyboard
                            Midi Mapper...
                           MIDI sequencers
                          Patch auditioning
             Patch Caching Performance / Keyboard Choice
                             Patch making
                            powerchords..
                      Power Chords Inst Patches
          Retry: Yes, we *DO* need some stinking patches...
                          subscribe (2 msgs)
           Well, yes, we *DO* need some stinking patches...
                           What is a NetJam

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: 22 Oct 1993   16:49:37 PST
From: chrisw <chrisw@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: *** New piano patch ***

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

Hi everyone. Thought I'd set forth a new piano patch to celebrate the
creation of the music digest!

It's sampled in 16-bit at 22khz on  the low notes, 44khz on the high notes
(6 samples). All up it's about 180k.

I'd suggest replacing both acpiano and britepno with this one. It's FAR
superior to those patches. (It even sounds like a piano most of the time!).

For those new to the business, you'll have to copy the file piano.pat into
your ultrasnd\midi directory. You'll then have to edit your ultrasnd.ini
in the ultrasnd directory (for Windows) and your default.cfg file in 
ultrasnd/midi (for Playmidi). Just replace the words `acpiano' and `britepno'
with `piano' and you'll be fine.

Check out the file `swngcafe.mid' once you've got things set up (it's one of
the standard GUS demo files). It used to sound like shit but now it sounds
great (well, pretty good, anyway).  Also striving and a-bridge are much 
better.

I'm afraid the origins of the patch are shrouded in secrecy. (But if you
remember my question from 2 days ago, you'll get the idea). In fact, I've
forgotten where it came from already...

Oh. I forgot the important bit. It's on epas in submit and it's called
piano.pat. Can't miss it.

Chris.

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 93 20:05:16 EDT
From: dmcintyr@muselab.ac.runet.edu
Subject: acoustic patches

I'd also like to know if anyone has ever gotten any good acoustic patches.
I'd be particularly interested in a 12-string guitar.  I tried to do my
own but the results were less than spectactular at 8-bits.  I guess to get
any kind of good quality we'd need someone like Francois Dion with his
expensive sampler, or the daughtercard which has yet to hit the market.
--Michael--

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 15:40:33 +0800 (PST)
From: Francis Li <fli@nermal.santarosa.edu>
Subject: Choir Patch and MidiSoft Studio/Session

I have seen alot of people talking about replacing their drum patches, and
their guitar patches, etc. But what about the Choir Aahs patch? I find it
to be of low quality when compared to other cards(in other words, SCC-1).
It really gets wierd sounding in the high and lower ranges. It only sounds
good around middle-c.

About the MidiSoft Recording Session program, I find it to be a useless
piece of stripped-down junk. I don't blame Gravis or Forte, because I see
that Media Vision ALSO gives it as part of their PAS Studio package. My
question is: Does the full-fledged MidiSoft Recording Studio work like its
supposed to? Patch-caching, time signatures OTHER than those with
denominator 4, etc? Thanks...I think I have seen Recording Studio (I
think...It may have been Session) on a CD-ROM with a few other MidiSoft
programs at a pretty low price: $29 bucks without manuals(just the CD) at
a computer show....

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 17:56:37 -0400
From: davidm@marcam.com (David MacMahon)
Subject: Correction

Hi (again),

In another message I incorrectly stated the name of the FTP site.  It is 
archive.epas.utoronto.ca.  It is NOT .edu as given in my other message.

Sorry for any confusion this caused,
Dave

David MacMahon
Systems Administrator
davidm@marcam.com  <---New address, use this one
davidm@opl.com     <---Old address, don't use this one

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 12:25:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: dionf@ERE.UMontreal.CA (Francois Dion)
Subject: Re: GUS Musician's Digest V1 #3

Adam Boyt asks:
> > Does anyone know where to get a basic midi keyboard (maybe with velocity 
> > and pitch wheels)

David Vu sez to Adam:
> It's probably best to look in the second hand market.  You most probably
> can find one at a good price.  Most toy keyboards have MIDI but lack 
> velocity/pitch/mod.  You'll definitely have to look for second hand semipro
> keyboards.  Other than that, a new 61-key keyboard with velocity, pitch 
> bend and modulation wheels will set you back > $750 (Australian).

Michael sez to Adam:
> You won't find a MIDI keyboard that's just a controller, I don't think. 
> If you could find one it would probably be more expensive than an
> inexpensive MIDI keyboard with lousy instruments, because it would be so
> specialized.
> 
> 88-keys is out of the question.  I think 60 is the biggest you can get
> without paying a smal fortune.  I would recommend getting a cheap consumer
> keyboard from Casio or Yamaha from a popular department store that has the
> features you want as far as MIDI capabilities, controllers, etc.  You
> should be able to pick up a cheap for around $250-$300 (US) that has weighted
> keys, key velocity, pitch and perhaps modulation controllers, and maybe
> some other stuff.

And a few others (I think Lee) made suggestions. I think this has to be THE
musical most FAQ.

For 300$ CDN you can get a MIDI controller keyboard: The Roland PC-200. It has
49 keys, velocity, pitch bend and mod wheel. A Fatar studio 61 key is around
500$ and 88 key is 800$ which is quite reasonnable. If money is not an object
and you want the best midi controller, get a Peavey C8. I didn't even bothered
to ask the price because it is automagically outrageously priced. You could
also go for toy midi keyboards but usually dont have full size keys and/or
lack velocity, bender and wheels. Mid ranges casio will get you what you want
but for more than 300$ CDN. If you dont need velocity, go for a used midi
synth like Roland synth plus or stuff like that. You can get them under 200$.
Also a used PC-100 is probably 50$. It's only 49 keys, no velocity, no bender,
no wheels but it is very cheap and portable. You can even use it as a trigger
input when you are tired of it (or resell it) by removing the key switches and
minimal circuitry.

Ciao,
-- 
Francois Dion
    '  _   _   _ 
 CISM (_) (_)  _) FM       Montreal , Canada       Email: CISM@ERE.UMontreal.CA
      (_)  / . _)             10000 Watts          Telephone no: (514) 343-7511
_______________________________________________________________________________
Audio-C-DJ-Fractals-Future-Label-Multimedia-Music-Radio-Rave-Video-VR-Volvo-...

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 17:51:36 -0400
From: davidm@marcam.com (David MacMahon)
Subject: Jitter/Dropout Free Recording with GUS

Hi,

I have uploaded TESTRECS.ZIP to archive.epas.utoronto.edu in the
/pub/pc/ultrasound/submit directory.

TESTRECS.ZIP contains three test recordings from the Gravis UltraSound 
soundcard.  I made these recordings to compare the quality of three 
different recording programs: USS8, PLAYFILE, and GUSDELAY (a new, 
unreleased version).  This new, soon-to-be released version of GUSDELAY 
uses a revolutionary new recording technique that I developed (so I may be a 
little biased when I say "revolutionary") which allows jitter-free and 
dropout-free recording with the GUS.

Dave

David MacMahon
Systems Administrator
davidm@marcam.com  <---New address, use this one
davidm@opl.com     <---Old address, don't use this one

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 20:21:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: "(0)(0)c?" <uwtl@sunyit.edu>
Subject: keyboard

This will probably sound stupid but what the hell...

 	Would it be possible to wire some kind of "velocity
sensitive pads/sensors" to where the mallets hit in a piano, and configure
this into a midi keyboard??? 

        Of course I don't know if this how a velocity keyboard works in
the first place(keys hit some "sensor"), or for that matter if you could
obtain "velocity sensitive pads".......

        Also, does anyone plan on buying the 16-bit daughterboard, and do
you think it is a better deal than buying another separate sound board?


     Thanks

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 93 14:07:38 BST
From: Jason Dore <jase@praxis.co.uk>
Subject: Midi Mapper...

Hi,

Not really a specifically GUS question, but here goes...

Does anyone know if it is possible to ask Midi-Mapper for the names of
the patches currently available?

Ta,
Jase.

(ps. I'm very happy with my GUS)
--
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
jase@praxis.co.uk             My opinions - not those of my employer

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 13:25:06 +0000
From: Clarke Brunt <CLARKE@lsl.co.uk>
Subject: MIDI sequencers

I've just ftp'ed the CakeWalk demo, but haven't tried it yet.
It dates from 1992. I've heard that there is a version 2 - does
anyone know if there is a demo of that anywhere? There were demos
of Cadenza and Musicator in the same directory - I may try them
later.

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 16:21:40 -0500
From: Steve Sullivan <sullivan@bird.cs.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Patch auditioning

OK, I give up. I've been poking around on the archive sites and
sifting through the digest, and I haven't seen any mention of a good
way to audition patches. There is a utility called "ped" which allows
you to view and edit patches, but I can't figure out if/how you can
PLAY the patch. So far, the only way I know is to change ultrasnd.ini,
reboot, and use patch manager. There MUST be a better way!?!

Any ideas, pointers?

Thanks,
  Steve Sullivan
  sullivan@cs.uiuc.edu

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 93 10:06:00 EDT
From: "Horowitz, Matthew" <mhorowit@wtcpost.daytonoh.NCR.COM>
Subject: Patch Caching Performance / Keyboard Choice

I have a question and an answer.  I haven't received my GUS yet (two weeks 
in a row Computability has told me, "Next week!"), so excuse my ignorance, 
but I'm wondering:  How efficient is patch caching?  Is there a noticable 
lag/slowdown when patches are loaded?  I assume that patches aren't loaded 
frequently in the course of playing something, but if they were, would I 
notice it?  Finally, does it make sense to create a RAMdisk on my PC and 
store the patches there?

And here's my two cents:
>From: Adam Boyt <aboyt@tartarus.uwa.edu.au>
>Subject: keyboards
>Does anyone know where to get a basic midi keyboard (maybe with velocity
>and pitch wheels).  I don't need instruments (GUS will do me fine) on it,
>just the midi capability.  Also what sort of sizes are there?

I just purchased a Korg 707 keyboard through rec.music.makers.synth.  It has 
the following advantages:
     - 61 full-sized, velocity-sensitive keys w/aftertouch
     - 8 note polyphony
     - MIDI in/out/thru, foot pedal inputs, etc.
     - Pitch / mod wheels
     - lots of new-age (&other) kinds of sounds: 100 built-in + 100 on a 
little card
     - I believe it uses FM synthesis.  This isn't really an advantage, but 
it'll augment those beautiful "real" sounds coming from your GUS.
     - You can custom-build waveforms if you have the patience
     - LED display tells you all kinds of info
     - 3 envelope change slider switches
     - I don't have to embarrass myself by saying, "I own a Casio/Yamaha"
     - Cheap: I paid $225US + shipping.
     - If you want to ignore the built-in synthesis, it's cheap enough that 
you can do just that

     Even though I still can't MIDI-anything (until my GUS arrives), I've 
still had plenty of fun with this synth in the few days I've owned it.  I 
recommend it.

Matt

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

Date: 22 Oct 1993 21:21:23 +0700 (SST)
From: TC <SH7126146@NTUVAX.NTU.AC.SG>
Subject: Patch making

Hello,

Seems that there has been an increase in the number of people interested in
making their own patches lately. I was wondering, if it is legal to distribute
patches, would this group be interested in making an "alternative" patch set
for the UltraSound? It could combine the best from various synths.

 tc

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 18:48:05 -0400
From: jericho!gord (Gord Wait S-MOS Systems Vancouver Design Center)
Subject: powerchords..

I think you got it: The patch: piano 1 message is meaningless
on the chord rythm editor window. The guitar is set to whatever the
tuning window says (on PowerChords for gus)
In power chords pro, you can select the instrument for each chord
pattern if need be..

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

Date: 22 Oct 93 09:07:31 EDT
From: "Eric Bell, Howling Dog Systems" <71333.2166@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Power Chords Inst Patches

ciabatto@esc.syr.ge.com (David Ciabattoni)

> This question is for users of PowerChords. I was playing with it a few days ago
> and noticed that when editing a rhythm (that is double clicking on the 'chord
> rhythm' part in the song window) a little dialog box appears, in it , it states
> the name of the rhythm, patch name and channel. It always says, "Patch : Piano
> 1".
> How can I change that, or is it just a mistake (there seems to be no way to
> change it in the dialog box) Im hoping (and it seems to sound like it) that
> whatever Instrument I have selected in Tuning is the one that is being
> played??? Correct??????

Yes, Dave, the patch played for the chord part is whatever is selected for the
Instrument Tuning. You'll notice that the "Patch: Piano 1" is grayed out when
you double click on a chord rhythm.

In Power Chords Pro, you *can* assign specific patches to specific chord
rhythms (which is way cool for switching instrument sounds mid song), or
leave them at the default - whatever is selected in the instrument
tuning.

>>Actally, what Im trying to do is create some basic 12 bar blues in different
>>keys so I can play the 'solo' on my guitar along with it. Maybe someone has done
>>something like this??? a demo perhaps of what they did???? or exchange of
>>ideas.???

The 1.1 version of Power Chords has a key transpose feature - you could create
one tune and just dial up whatever key you want to jam in.

Eric Bell
Top Dog

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 93 07:00:09 PDT
From: deraud@power.amasd.anatcp.rockwell.com (Robert Lee DeRaud)
Subject: Retry: Yes, we *DO* need some stinking patches...

Sorry if this is a repeat: I think my editor/mailer took a bite out of 
the first attempt...

>From: "Bryan Cass" <bc%vti.idx.com@sadye.EMBA.UVM.EDU>
>Subject: Patches?  We don't need no stinkin' patches!

>Where can I find better acoustic instrument patches for the GUS?  Some of them
>are just downright lousy - I'm sure it's possible to get better piano, string,
>sax, choir, etc samples.  I've played Kurzweil keyboards that sound so good
>they almost make you want to sing!  (Ahem).

I always have the same reaction to Kurzweil keyboards that I have to 
Mercedes automobiles: "VERY nice! Damn well oughta be, at that price!" 
Not really a fair comparison, IMHO: it shows what you can do with a LOT 
of memory, multi-sampling in both pitch and velocity, and backend signal 
processing.
Leaving aside the lack of filters and effects processors, what we
could REALLY use is a turn-key way to use the thousands of commercially-
available samples/patches for the pro keyboards like the Kurzweil. Note 
that, while the real-soon-now 16-bit-sampling daughterboard is a Good 
Thing (tm), it does NOT solve this problem.

***********************************************************************
Lee DeRaud                             Will program Windows for food.
Rockwell Int. AESD                   (Hey, I'm easy but I'm not cheap!)
   DoD #985 - Fast and ugly beats slow and cute any day of the week.
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
      My own opinions only, not those of Rockwell International.
   (Yeah, right: like anyone around here cares what *I* say...NOT!)
***********************************************************************

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 09:57:01 -0400
From: gt5543b@prism.gatech.edu (Antonio C. Rodriguez)
Subject: subscribe



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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1993 09:59:21 -0400
From: gt5543b@prism.gatech.edu (Antonio C. Rodriguez)
Subject: subscribe



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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 93 06:55:45 PDT
From: deraud@power.amasd.anatcp.rockwell.com (Robert Lee DeRaud)
Subject: Well, yes, we *DO* need some stinking patches...

>From: "Bryan Cass" <bc%vti.idx.com@sadye.EMBA.UVM.EDU>
>Subject: Patches?  We don't need no stinkin' patches!

>Where can I find better acoustic instrument patches for the GUS?  Some of them
>are just downright lousy - I'm sure it's possible to get better piano, string,
>sax, choir, etc samples.  I've played Kurzweil keyboards that sound so good
>they almost make you want to sing!  (Ahem).

I always have the same reaction to Kurzweil keyboards that I have to 
Mercedes automobiles: "VERY nice! Damn well oughta be, at that price!" 
Not really a fair comparison, IMHO: it shows what you can do with a LOT 
of memory, multi-sampling in both pitch and velocity, and backend signal 
processing.
Leaving aside the lack of filters and effects processors, what we
could REALLY use is a turn-key way to use the thousands
of
commercially-
available samples/patches for the pro keyboards like the Kurzweil. Note 
that, while the real-soon-now 16-bit-sampling daughterboard is a Good 
Thing (tm), it does NOT solve this problem.

***********************************************************************
Lee DeRaud                             Will program Windows for food.
Rockwell Int. AESD                   (Hey, I'm easy but I'm not cheap!)
   DoD #985 - Fast and ugly beats slow and cute any day of the week.
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
      My own opinions only, not those of Rockwell International.
   (Yeah, right: like anyone around here cares what *I* say...NOT!)
***********************************************************************

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

Date: Fri, 22 Oct 93 10:10:16 EST
From: "Bryan Cass" <bc%vti.idx.com@sadye.EMBA.UVM.EDU>
Subject: What is a NetJam

For those of us who don't know:  What is a NetJam?  and why are you all getting
so excited about it?

Bryan

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

End of GUS Musician's Digest V1 #4
**********************************

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