=============================== Paxanga MSX Synth Project =============================== Release notes. -------------- - Ver 0.2 - 1-Dec-2013 - Second public beta. Files included: English manual, syntbeta.dsk and a folder with separate files to load directly on MSX. Things to know: --------------- - MSX Synth is a test to use your MSX as a 3 oscillator monophonic synth (a very simple one!), included the option to use a MIDI keyboard to play notes (with the use of a Philips Music Module, only MIDI-In plug). Anyway, you can use MSX's keys to play. With a MIDI keyboard controller, you can use pitchwheel and MIDI CC to change some parameters. - It uses the excellent Vincent Van Dam's MIDI Framework. Many thanks from here :) - The software is still at beta stage, lots of things should be added/fixed... There are some bugs, and some stuff like Arpeggiator don't work yet. - Requirements are MSX with 64kb RAM, so it can run MSX-DOS. Philips Music Module for MIDI input is optional. By now it supports PSG and the Playsoniq's SID. PSG version has a bit of SCC support, but quite basic, mostly as a test. - This user manual is probably not totally complete. - As addition, now it has a little drum box for use with the Music Module OPL sound chip+MIDI ouput. - At the beggining, on the splash screen with the MSX synth title, you can select any of the 3 different modules PSG,SID and Drums. They share lot of code, all the MIDI Framework and common routines for disk and so. More modules can be done using the same "core". Things to do: ------------- - Lots of tests. I hope you and other people can help! - Perfomance and usage improvements. - Configuration menu and so. - Support for other MIDI interfaces. Need help on this, I only own Philips Music Module! - Better User's Manual :D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE SYNTHS - PulsSinG (PSG) and SIDeline (SID) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How to Use ---------- Using MSX Keyboard: With cursor keys up & down, you move the pointer thru the parameters on screen. With cursor keys left & right you can change the parameter's value. As extra control, you can use some other keys: TAB: Quick jump between oscillators. CTRL+TAB: Quick jump to the non-oscillator parameters. F1-F3: Mute/Unmute oscillators. F5: Menu. (not all the options on it are working). RETURN: Store the current preset into memory. After change some parameters, if you select another patch, you'll loose them. So, to keep them, press RETURN to store them into memory. ESC: Panic! Press is if MIDI gets dizzy. This can happens sometimes. CAPS: Used to lock/unlock any input from MSX keyboard. This freezes the interface, and no screen update is done, so this way it uses less CPU and external MIDI perfomance can be improved. Usual alphanumeric keys are used to play notes. 2 octave keyboard is simulated, as follows: OCT+1 2 3 5 6 7 Q W E R T Y U # # # # # C D E F G A B OCT S D G H J Z X C V B N M # # # # # C D E F G A B Using external MIDI keyboard (or other MIDI gear): Using an external MIDI keyboard/controller plugged into the Philips Music Module is an easy way to play notes. By now the own Philips keyboard is not supported (well, try, but it shouldn't work...). Only stuff plugged into MIDI-In connector is used. It also supports MIDI CC input. Up to 8 MIDI CC parameters are used by default. You can add more using MIDI Learn but it doesn't check for any limit. Adding too many MIDI CC could make the program crash. To assign a MIDI control to any parameter, just move the screen pointer to that paramenter, press CTRL and, while keeping it pressed, move the desired MIDI control on your MIDI gear. By default MIDI CC 71 to 73 are asigned to each oscillator's detune. MIDI CC 75 to 77 are asigned to each oscillator's octave. MIDI CC 74 is used to move the pointer between the parameters (just as cursor keys up & down). MIDI CC 78 is used to change current parameter's value (just as cursor keys left & right). Note: Those MIDI CC where enabled on the past beta, but after all those changes, they can be messed. Anyway, while using an external MIDI keyboard/controller, you still can use the MSX keyboard (unless you lock it with CAPS). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Synth Menu -------------- By pressing F5 you can access the menu. It shows some options to manage data and mini config. The options that actually works are: - Load Preset Bank: It loads a bank of presets from disk. - Save Preset Bank: It saves the current bank of presets to disk. *Note: To exit of the File Load/Save screen, press ESC. Warning! The software still doesn't check if a preset file is from the PSG or the SID version. So avoid to load PSG presets into SID synth or viceversa. - Load Clip Bank, Save Clip Bank, Load Clip, Save Clip: They show the file screen, but clip management is currently stopped until the synths are working fine. - MIDI Chan: This allows you to change the MIDI channel the synth will listen thru the Music Module. By default it's zero, so it will listen to all channels. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Making Sounds ------------- Both synths have some common areas with parameters that you can change in order to make sound. - The OSCILLATOR part: Here you can control the octave and detuning of the note played. IT also has the envelope for that channel. PSG: At PSG synth you can also control the volume of each channel. It adds an SCC channel with (by now) fixed waveform so you can make richer sounds. The SCC can be enabled or disabled. Of course, you'll need some SCC. If it's found, you can change the SCC volume too. In addition, the PSG counts with a separate Noise control where you can set the noise frequency and select on which channels it will sound. Note: Due to some bug, depending on how the envelope is set, the SCC can not sound. If that happens, try changing Decay and Sustain values a little bit. Sorry. SID: The SID has 4 waveforms to choice from. Also, if you select the square wave, you can control the Pulse With (PW). The SID adds some other features, like the possibility to sync that channel with the previous one, or (if you've selected triangle wave), use Ring Modulation. There's a filter switch too, to enable the signal being filtered or not. - MODULATION part: By now, only the PSG version shows this feature. SID will do too, in the future, switching it with the Filter part. Modulation is used to make the sounds more interesting. You have a source and a destiny for the modulation. For the source you can select different kind of waves, and for destiny, you have several options too. To contol the modulation itself, you can change the Speed, Amount and Attack parameters. - The FILTER: Only for the SID. It controls the built in filter of the SID sound chip. You can control the Cut Off and the Resonance of it. The Cut Off shows a 16bit value, while the software is still using an 8bits value (setting only the MSB). Still have to change that. I'd thanks test on this part, as I can't. My SID's filter seems to be mostly dead :( The type of the filter can also be set. You have High Pass, Band Pass and Low Pass. You can select more of one at once! The 3O disables the 3rd oscillator from the mixer, so it can be used just for modulation purposes. You can also change the volume of the SID chip, that is common for all channels. - The ARPEGGIATOR: NOT WORKING YET. - KEYBOARD transpose: This adds an offset to the note entered via keyboard, so you can use small keyboards and still can play a wider range of octaves. - The PATCH selector: It allows you to change between the different presets stored in memory, each one being a different sound. Remember to press RETURN if you want to store your current preset before using another one, unless you don't mind to loose the changes. - The PIANO: It shows the note you are entering. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE DRUMBOX - DRUidisMm (only for Philips Music Module) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What is it? ----------- Druidism is a little tiny drum box inspired by the good old EKO ComputeRhythm. It has a tiny sequencer with 16 steps, where you can enable or disable note playing on any of them, for each channel. It uses the OPL part of the Music Module to generate percusive sounds, up to 4 channales (FM Out), and adds another 4 extra channels for MIDI-Out, using the MM built-in MIDI. It was creater for my own use, as with 4 MIDI-out channels, I can control 4 external samples using a Korg KaossPad 3. This way I can have 8 percusive sounds, 4 FM and 4 samples. Connecting the audio output of the Music Module to the audio input of the KP3, you can mix all 8 sounds. Also, it needs MIDI clock plugged to the MIDI-input of the Music Module, in order to play. Without that, when you press SPACE it will keep stuck waiting some signal. How to Use ---------- This one is less handy (yet) as it should, as it was made to use only at some moment. Still, it's usable. You can use F1-F4 or F6-F9 to select which channel you are going to edit. It's printed on screen, so easy to remember. Using keys from 1 to 8 and from Q to I (or also SHIFT+1 to SHIFT+8), you can set on/off each step on that channel. You can also press from CTRL+1 to CTRL+8 to change the sequence between the 8 different ones that you can have stored in memory. Using CTRL+F1 to CTRL+F9 will mute/unmute the channels. You can mute/unmute more than one at once. CTRl+F5 is used to mute all channels at once, while SHIFT+F5 is used to unmute them. GRAPH+F1 to GRAPH+F9 is used to make a channel to play SOLO. F5 is used to mute all sound on/off. SPACE key is used to SART and STOP playing the sequencer. * When no sequence is playing (sequencer is STOPPED), you can also use this keys: Using cursor LEFT/RIGHT you can change the MIDI note that will be send out on any step on for the MIDI-out channels, or change the FM instrument on the FM out channels. You can use SHIRT+cursor LEFT/RIGHT to shift the sequence of the selected channel. Pressing the RETURN key you can manually play a note on that channel. INS key can be used to copy the selected pattern on clipboard (that means, all the 8 channels), while SHIFT+INS will just copy the patter of the selected channel. HOME key will be used to paste the clipboard to the current pattern while SHIFT+HOME will paste only the pattern in memory to the selected channel. DEL key will clear totally the current pattern and SHIFT+DEL will delete only the pattern on the current instrument. The Config Menu --------------- TAB key is used to access to a mini confing menu, where you can set the Clock Ticks (6 is the standard, 3 will make it go double fast) and the Seq Lenght. Seq Lenght means that when you are playing a sequence, it will only play one by one (if set to 1), or in groups of 2 or 4 sequences, or all together (if set to 8). This was, setting Seq Lenght to 2, for example, will play a pair of 16 steps, making a total of 32. They go one after each other, so sequence 1 & 2 will play together, same for 3 & 4, 5 & 6 and 7& 8. If set to lenght 4, it will be seqs. 1-4 and 5-8. By now, it only uses external clock as master clock. So it needs also to plug some master clock into the MIDI-input of the Music Module. In my case, the Kaoss Pad 3 was the master clock. Then changing the tempo on the KP3 changes the speed of the sequences processed by the MSX. Cause of that, the Clock selector and the Tempo on the config menu still doesn't work, as it doesn't make sense with external clock. But once internal clock is implemented (and won't be very accurared), it will be necessary. The Instrument Editor --------------------- With SELECT key you can change to the instrument editor screen. In this screen, you can change any of the 16 default FM instruments, as well as store them to disk (F1), or just load a previously stored ones (F2). You can also Load/Save all the 8 patterns of sequences stored in memory using SHIFT+F1 (load) or SHIFT+F2 (save) *Note: To exit of the File Load/Save screen, press ESC. There's the possibility to change the current instrument name by pressing F3, and also Copy it into clipboard (F4) to later paste it into another instrument (F5). With cursor keys up and down you can select the instrument you want to edit and choice it with SPACE key. You can preview how it sound by using RETURN key. Also use cursor keys to move between the different parameters and to change them. When finished of editing an instrument you can press SELECT to go back and select a different one. To return to the main sequencer screen press SELECT again. The FM parameters ----------------- FM synthesis is not as intuitive as substractive synthesis, for example. But the FM part of the Music Module is quite simply. You have to operators with some parameters that define the kind of sound. Just have fun trying them! As addition, the Note parameter sets the note that will play on any step on (or if you press RETURN). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One last thing ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see, the Synths can have lot of variety. You can wish an only SCC synth, or a SID DrumBox, or a SID+SCC synth. By now I'm focused on the simply stuff but, even that, it takes some time, as not many people is interested and I'm focused on videogames. Thank you for downloading and testing the software :) We hope it is funny or useful to you, and we'll be happy to read your comments and/or suggest to make it better! Greetings! ============================================================================================ MsxKun Paxanga Soft http://http://paxangasoft.retroinvaders.com paxangasoft@yahoo.es ============================================================================================