[sdiy] Hammers/ SID under MIDI

[Moho Disco]

Dang, and just after I ripped the SID out of my old
C64 and threw the rest away...!

Lava

----- Original Message -----
From: <CCartCat at aol.com>
To: <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 1:28 PM
Subject: [sdiy] Hammers/ SID under MIDI


> Think it was Mark Twain who said that--a very funny and useful line.
>
> As for SID and MIDI, aside from the no-doubt quieter and more flexible
> solutions already mentioned, there is a shareware program for the C64.  If
> you have a MIDI interface for the C64, and the C64 itself, you can control
> the SID inside via MIDI.
>
> For anyone curious, the documentation with contact info (maybe still
current,
> can't say) is copied below.
>
> Kevin Seward
>
> <<Who was it that said, "When the only tool you have is a hammer,
> everything looks like a nail"?  My hammer looks a lot like analog
> tools/experience and my nails look like caps, OP-AMPs, etc.
>
> But I think it was somebody here on this list who's made a MIDI synth
> out of a SID chip (Commodor computer sound chip) and I know there are
> other digital SDIYers.  Their hammers look a lot different.
>
> _Buck (needing more hammers)
> >>
>
> ++++++++++++CONTACT INFO+++++++++
> King Fisher / TRIAD
> Linus Walleij
> Magistratsv?gen 55 N:306
> 226 44 LUND
> SWEDEN
> Fone: +46(0)41868513
> E-mail: triad at df.lth.se, linus.walleij at microbus.se
> Homepage: http://www.df.lth.se/~triad/
> Usenet: comp.sys.cbm or alt.fan.hofstadter
>
> +++++++++++++Documentation++++++++++++++++++++++
> TRIAD MIDISLAVE MANAGER V1.1
>
>
> This helpfile contains:
>
> 1. What is the Triad Midislave Manager?
> 2. Getting started
> 3. The main menu
> 4. The MIDI-mode screen
>   a. Channel
>   b. Transpose
>   c. Programme
>   d. Concate
> 5. The sound editor
>   a. Sound Number
>   b. Name
>   c. Definition
>   d. Pulsewidth
>   e. CTRL-byte
>   f. Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release
>   g. Macro speed
>   h. Fixed note
>   i. Pitching
>   j. Vibrato
>   k. Pulse vibrato
>   l. Filters
>   m. Macro definition
> 6. Loading and saving sounds
> 7. Upgrade, and the future of this program
> 8. Known bugs
> 9. Technical notes
> 10. Thanks to...
> 11. Address
>
>
> 1. What is the triad midislave manager?
>
> So, you've just recieved this program right? OK. If you've got a DATEL /
> Siel+JMS / Passport or Sequential MIDI-interface (or compatible) and a
> keyboard
> or sequencer, you're a real lucky person.
>   The whole idea of the midislave started way back in 1992, some late
night in
> Ljungby, while I visited my good friend Hans Axelsson (that is: TDM of
TRIAD)
> and we discussed the matter of 64-sounds. We talked about rerecording some
of
> TDM's old 64-songs with our MIDI-equipment, but as we had tried it before,
we
> knew the tunes never sounded the same after being transfered from the
original
> note-script to the MIDI-sequencer. Ofcourse there was nothing wrong with
our
> sequencer, it was the sounds that lacked.
>   So I said: "Look, I'll construct a program that reads the MIDI-bus and
> replays the notes with the SID-chip. That should not be too hard."
>   Now I've done it, and the "Triad Midislave Manager" is the result. And
now I
> release it for the market. You can finger your keyboard, and there will be
> sounds flowing out of your C64. Isn't that just wounderful? All of you who
> have
> ever dreamed about using the C64 sounds in MIDI-arrangements, playing live
on
> your 64 or just play around with it - this is the program you need. Share
and
> enjoy!
>   Since I believe "Intellectual Property" (ie Copyright) to be equal to
theft
> from our common legacy of information, this program is released as
freeware.
> Releasing it as freeware also gives me the opportunity to use rude
language in
> the program and this documentation without having to worry about sensitive
> customers, and also free me from any duties in maintaining the code and
making
> the users happy. Yes, it is supplied on what we call an "as-is" basis. If
you
> want me to implement new features and remove bugs, all you have to do is
to
> ask
> me nicely, and perhaps I will do it. I make no promises whatsoever,
because I
> don't WANT you to believe there is some market-sensitive organization
behind
> this program, it's just me.
>   I will not supply you with any standard disclaimers or legal bullshit,
so
> sue
> me if you think this program has made damage to your equipment or
software.
> Any
> court would believe you to be brain-damaged if you think you can nail a
> freeware producer for supplying bad software. I assure you this program is
not
> a Trojan Horse.
>
>
> 2. Getting started
>
> Switch off your computer, insert your MIDI-interface, switch it on again.
Then
> load and run the midislave software. As soon as the midislave main menu is
on
> the screen, your 64 is reading the MIDI-bus for incoming commands. When
the
> menu is lit, turn on your keyboard. If you can't connect the
MIDI-interface
> with the keyboard, the problem is likely one of the following:
>   a. Your keyboard doesn't have a MIDI-port. You should have thought about
> this
> before you bought you keyboard. Sorry to say this, but your keyboard is
pure
> crap.
>   b. You have not understood the VERY simple concept of
MIDI-interconnections,
> which means, you should connect a cable from MIDI OUT on your keyboard, to
> MIDI
> IN on your MIDI-interface. If you can't see what's IN OUT and THRU on your
> interface, LOOK ON THE BACK OF IT!
>   c. There is something wrong with your equipment. Highly unlikely. It's
> probably your fault instead.
>   Once you've got this far, things will hopefully solve themselves. Set
the
> presets, go into MIDI mode, finger your keyboard and... Voila!
>
>
> 3. The main menu
>
> This is your command control centre. You can choose to enter MIDI-mode,
the
> sound editor or to load or save your sounds. Quite self explaining with
the
> exception for "Presets" described below. Oh, and by the way: you can't use
> your
> joystick to choose from this menu. And you never will. This is a tool, not
a
> fucking game.
>   The preset section: This is where you select your MIDI-interface type.
Press
> +/- to change interface type (3 in all) and RETURN when finished. The
> configuration is written to disk and the program is restarted with the new
> interface configuration. I only know about these three Interface types
thanks
> to Frank Prindle who wrote a schematic for an interface, which is
published on
> Internet and available if you look around for it. I haven't tested the
program
> with any other interface than DATEL / Siel+JMS, so I can't assure you it
will
> work with the other types.If you have some other interface, please tell
me!
>   In case you absolutely need it, you can hack the configuration yourself
> using
> a machine-code monitor. Load the file called "-PROGRAM SETUP-" to $1000
and
> edit the adresses used for Control, Transmit, Status, Receive, Reset and
> Enable. The first four values are adresses to the 6850 chip and the 2 last
> values are the byte-values being poked to the command register at startup.
> Doing this requires knowledge of the 6850 chip configuration used by your
> interface, something you could perhaps find out by hacking the software
> distributed along with the interface. If you have an interface which
doesn't
> use the 6850 chip then WOW!, I've never seen such a thing... Almost all
MIDI-
> equipment use the 6850. The Triad Midislave can't handle any other
hardware.
> Sorry.
>
>
> 4. The MIDI-mode screen
>
> This is where the tricky things start. You can see a screen saying "Triad
> Midislave Manager" and some lines of text. Is this all there is? Yes. This
is
> a
> sound program, not a graphics program.
>   Keys you can use in this mode are:
>
>   +/- To increase/decrease option
>   Arrows up/down To choose option
>   Run/Stop to return to the Main menu
>   CTRL To shortcut to the sound editor
>
> The meanings of the different options are:
>   a. Channel. This is the number of the MIDI-channel the midislave is
> currently
> reading. Valid figures are 01 thru 10 (hexadecimal) which gives you access
to
> all 16 MIDI-channels. If you don't know hex numbers: LEARN!
>   b. Transpose. Here you can transpose all played notes by a desired
number of
> halfnotes. Again in hex. You can also antitranspose using the same method.
For
> example +0C = up one octave, -0C = down one octave.
>   c. Programme. This is the number of the current sound. Valid figures are
01
> thru 80, which makes a total of 128 different sounds, as on any good sound
> module. I've given you the possibility to see the decimal number of the
sound
> here. Mainly because many keyboards and sequencers don't use hex... (Even
> though I think they should!)
>   d. Concate. As you already know, the C64 has got only 3 voices, and you
> simply can't do anything about that. This option tells the midislave how
to
> handle a situation where you press more than three keys at a time. If you
have
> CONCATE=YES, the notes you pressed first will be kicked out and replaced
with
> the newer ones. If you WANT the midislave to lock up the three first
pressed,
> not yet released keys, set CONCATE=NO. There is a simple way of avoiding
all
> this trouble: don't press more than three keys at a time. However, piano-
> maniacs have a strange habit of doing so.
>   These are all options and keys on this screen really. There is aswell
some
> text in the windows giving you information that you might be interested in
> during play. If you don't understand this (very simple) information, then
just
> forget about it and pretend it isn't there.
>
>
> 5. The sound editor
>
> Phew, this is the heavy one. (Had to put on som coffe here, recommend
Zoegas
> SkÂnerost.) Again you can press Run/Stop to reach the main menu, and CTRL
to
> shortcut to MIDI-mode. You can press Home to get home, and CLR to clear
the
> whole sound. (Careful!) I will state the rest of the options line by line:
>   a. Sound number. Here you choose the sound you want to edit. Key in the
> sound
> number (in hex ofcourse) or use +/-. Very simple, really.
>   b. Name. State/Edit the name of the current sound. Valid keys are all
> letters
> and numbers, space and Inst/Del.
>   c. Definition. You can't alter this one. I had some idea of making a
> monophonic mode where you could only play one note at a time, using macros
on
> all three channels with ring modulation and such funny stuff. But I've not
> done
> that yet. Maybe in the future, V3.0 or so of midislave.
>   d. Pulsewidth. If you're using pulse sounds (P-bit set in the CTRL-byte)
you
> state the pulsewidth of that wave here. A value of around $800 is
recommended
> for beginners. You can enter the digits directly or use +/-.
>   e. CTRL-byte. This byte tells you the main characteristics of your
sound. If
> you are familiar with C64 sound editors you will easily understand this
one.
> It
> is in hex, and you can key in the digits one by one. Since the gate
bit -MUST-
> be set, you can only enter odd numbers here. Easiest way to experiment:
use
> +/-
> . Beginners should use values of $41, $21 or $11 to get some decent
sounds. To
> the right you've got a binary representation of the CTRL-byte, so you can
> easily see which bits are set. Soundwizards tend to develop a "fingertip"
> sense
> for these bits.
>   f. Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release. Those four lines make up the velocity
> (volume) curve of your sound. If you don't understand it, look it up in
any
> synthesizer book or the C64 programmers reference manual. Or just play
around
> with them until it sounds good. General rule: avoid big figures on
"Attack"
> and
> don't set "Decay" to 0.
>   g. Macro speed. Use +/- to select the macro speed. That is: how often
the
> crap at the bottom of the screen should step up by one, unless the end is
> reached. A frame is a fiftieth of a second, which equals, for exaple: "4
Per
> frame" means the macro is updated every 1/200th of a second. The normal is
> "Every frame".
>   h. Fixed note. If you're making, for example, lasers or drum-sounds,
this
> one
> will be useful. If you've chosen a certain note here, the keyboard will
always
> trigger THAT note, unregarding which key was pressed. Use +/- to select
note,
> or DEL to disconnect this option.
>   i. Pitching. This defines the influence the pitch wheel will have on the
> notes you're playing. You can pitch by halfnote, note, half octave or full
> octave. (Not bad eh?) Thanks to Fredrik Sch^n (best swede at the computer
> olympics in Stockholm) for sketching the interpolation algorithm for me in
a
> few minutes. Again press DEL to disconnect.
>   j. Vibrato. DEL disconnects. Pressing "A" gives you a fixed amplitude, a
> certain speed divisor (relative to the macro speed) and a "Delay-before-
> vibrato" value to play around with. You can't use +/- here, sorry. But
there
> is
> more! Press "W" and you can control the vibrato with a definable wheel on
you
> keyboard! (Most keyboards use Wheel $02 "Modulation" for this.
>   k. Pulse vibrato. Works exactly as the above, just that you can't set
any
> delay for the vibrato. And that the wheel actually don't control the
amplitude
> of the vibrato, it rather controls THE pulsewidth. (Pink Floyd used that
kind
> of effects a lot on their "Wish you were here" album).
>   l. Filters. Here you choose the filter settings. Here it is a lot easier
to
> understand what happens than with most other sound editors. TYP sets the
type
> of filter you use. Use +/- to select. LP means Lowpass, HP = highpass, BP
=
> bandpass and NC = Notch filter. The lowpass cuts the higher overtones
> (treble),
> the highpass cuts the bass, the bandpass cuts both treble and bass (like a
> Wah-
> wah) and the notch cuts a certain interval. The frequency determining the
> -20dB
> threshold can be set with the FRQ value. The frequency will be something
like
> 5,8*FRQ(Decimal)+30 Hz. (You need a calculator for that.) The low and
higpass
> filters attenuates by 12 dB per octave while bandpass and notchfilters
> attenuates by 6 dB per octave. The resonance nibble will peak the
frequency
> nearest the threshold to make the cutoff sound sharper. But it sounds like
> distorsion really. (Useful as such too) If you don't understand a shit of
> this,
> don't bother. Only us electronic phreaks really bother. Play around with
it,
> and you'll soon enogh have that "fingertip" sense for these values. Sorry
for
> not implementing wheel reading on the filter - YET.
>   m. Macro definition. Unless you have a value of $FE in the first
position
> here, these steps will be gone through as described under "Macro speed"
above.
> You can change CTRL-byte, transposing and filtervalue (low byte) for each
step
> of the macro. You can use up to $46 different steps here, and either loop
> ($FF)
> or end ($FE) the macro after these. You have the option of reseting the
Gate
> bit (bit 0 of the CTRL-register) in order to create certain effects, but
be
> careful! It might make your sound sound "instable". A funny way of using
the
> transpose value is to make "Arpeggio", which is: playing chords with
> monophonic
> instruments. The theory behind this is very simple (skip this if you don't
> understand at least a little bit of musical theory): your keyboard
consists of
> 12 different notes: C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# and B, in different
octaves.
> (Warning, most NORMAL musicians often use Eb instead of D#, Ab instead of
G#
> and Bb instead of A#.) These twelve notes can be combined into different
> harmonies known as CHORDS. For example the Emajor-chord, consisting of the
> tones E, G# and B (known as TONIC, TIERCE and QUINT in music theory), of
which
> E is usually played in the lowest pitch. To make this chord, assume that
the
> user will press the E-key on the keyboard, and call that note 0. The first
> transpose value (step 01) should then also be $00. Then you want to play
G#.
> G#
> is 4 halftones higher than E, so the next transpose value (step 02), you
set
> it
> to $04. The last tone, B, is 7 halftones higher in pitch than E, why you
set
> the last transpose value (step 03) to $07. (Pay attention to that we are
> referring to the lowest note (in this case E) all the way.) To create a
> complete arpeggio you should the loop this macro by putting a value of $FF
> into
> the last position (step 04). When E is triggered, all three notes will be
> played ONE AT THE TIME, and then restared, and that will sound lika a
chord or
> some kind of. The funny thing about this is, that whatever key you press,
the
> midislave will produce a major chord with that key as tonic (the chord
main
> note). For most major and minor 3-tone chords the values of the
transposemacro
> will most often be 047 for major and 037 for minor chords, but as you see,
> every chord can be calculated, even jazz if you like. Now, try to put G#
as
> the
> lowest pitch and move E up one octave. Assuming G# is pressed on the
keyboard,
> the transposemacro will be 038. Put B as the lowest and move both E and G#
up
> one octave, and assuming the user pressed B, the macro will be 059. Those
> three
> variations of any 3-note chord, are known as VOICINGS. You can use them to
> colorize your music. (Why don't they ever tell you these things in the
> instructions for common 64-musicprograms?) Quick rundown: Major chord:
047,
> 038
> or 059 - Minor chord: 037, 049 or 058, 047 and 037 are easiest to handle,
when
> you use 038 or 049 arpeggio you must press the tierce of the chord to play
the
> proper chord, and with 059 or 058 chords you will have to press the quint
of
> the chord you want to produce. (Easy, yes?)
>
>
> 6. Loading and saving sounds
>
> To load or save the soundfile, press these alternatives on the main menu.
If
> there is already a soundfile on the disk, it will be scratched and
replaced
> with the new one. Please note that commands (ie. program changes) sent
during
> load or save will not be recognized. This occurs due to the reading of the
> MIDI-bus being switched off during load and save. (Disk routines in the
ROM
> uses timing, and don't want to get interfered with.) This doesn't mean I
> forbid
> you to play while loading or saving, just that funny things could happen
if
> you
> do so. Things might hook up, due to the asynchronus realtime nature of the
> MIDI-protocol.
>
>
> 7. Upgrade, and the future of this program
>
> If somebody else want to be involved in the evolution of this program,
please
> contact me. Also I DEMAND you to fill bug reports and send them to me.
That's
> the only thing you have to do. Or just PLEASE send a postcard telling me
> you're
> using this program, just so I know there's somebody out there. If you send
me
> a
> disk, preferably containing your private sound-file, (so I can implement
new,
> nice sounds in coming releases) I will send you the next version as soon
as it
> is finished. Address at the end of this text.
>
>
> 8. Known bugs
>
> Don't report these bugs:
>   a. Sometimes when you shortcut to the soundeditor from MIDI-mode the
sound
> number goes -1 realtive to the last used.
>   b. Notes sometimes "hook up" in the slave mode. (Solution: Use
> Sustain/Release=00 sounds if it bothers you (and it does))
>   c. Pitch doesn't work on chord, just affects the last note.
>   d. Author is sometimes very arrogant in the documentation.
>   e. Misspellings in the documentation.
>
>
> 9. Technical notes
>
> Triad Midislave Manager uses memory from $0801 to $f000 with a few
glitches.
> The MIDI bus is read by an $00f0-speed divisor NMI interrupt running all
the
> time except during load and save. The MIDI-mode section runs with the ROM
> disconnected. The scales used for generating notes are NOT
equally-tempered
> since that sounds crap, but rather tempered like a normal piano or
keyboard.
> This documentation is written in Microsoft works on the PC and trasfered
using
> a vert smart RTF-file converter by me called GNYLF V1.1 (get it!). Your
MIDI-
> interface uses the 6850 ACIA (Asynchronus Communications Interface
Adapter)
> chip, the same as is used in the Atari ST(e) computers. The midislave has
been
> tested with Casio VZ-1, Roland D-50, Kawai K4 and Ensoniq SQ2 keyboards
and
> with Roland stand alone, Cubase 2.0, 2.01, 3.0 and Cakewalk pro
sequencers.
> And
> it worked out fine. The author used Zoegas coffe, Black Dog Productions,
Pink
> Floyd, Hawkwind, The Prodigy and various collections of trance music to
get
> by.
>
>
> 10. Thanks to...
>
> TDM / TRIAD (Hans Axelsson) for all hints and betatesting.
> STORMBRINGER / ONYX (Fredrik Sch^n) for algorithmic help.
> CHRIS / ONYX (Christian Luddeckens) for lending of Midicables and
keyboards.
> ANDERS VON HOFFSTEN for lending me his Ensoniq SQ2 Keyboard.
> DANE / TRIAD for cheering me up. (I will do 100% work on the demo now, I
> promise)
> JERRY / TRIAD for the patience.
> MOTLEY / G*P for always being such a happy and nice person.
> TWOFLOWER / TRIAD for liking this program.
> FRANK PRINDLE in the States for publishing the MIDI-interface schematic on
> Internet.
> STEVE COWAN in Canada for support
> and YOU for using and spreading this program!
>
>
> 11. Address
>
> If you want to report bugs, complain about something or everything, swap
> software, music, coffe or swedish poetry and short-stories, if you just
want
> to
> make me glad, please write to:
>
> King Fisher / TRIAD
> Linus Walleij
> Magistratsv?gen 55 N:306
> 226 44 LUND
> SWEDEN
> Fone: +46(0)41868513
> E-mail: triad at df.lth.se, linus.walleij at microbus.se
> Homepage: http://www.df.lth.se/~triad/
> Usenet: comp.sys.cbm or alt.fan.hofstadter
> (But the extropian netnerds on Usenet really piss me off from time to
time.)
>
> And remember: We are all a part of the inevitable...
>