449 Reply by yogi

(5 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)

losergenerated wrote:

New to this forum. Hello everyone. Just ordered an Everdrive-N8. I'm thinking it might be possible to use the usb connection to martial midi commands to the NES running a MidiNes-like software. I'm thinking this might be possible by simply modifying the already existing ChipMaestro or FaMi software packages. Here's what I know so far.

Both ChipMaestro and Fami appear to be designed to communicate with a UART. ChipMaestro's arduino source is available, but the NES assembly code is not sad bummer.

Does anyone know how I can get access to either's source?

I've been interested in the Chip Maestro also. As far as I can see, based on the proof of concept project Tsundere, There isn't any 2A03 'code', but rather a looping state machine that generates Address and Data bytes to push values into the 2a03's PSG regs.
Where as Jarek's Tsudere started as a stand alone 2A03 sort of synth, the Maestro cart seems to integrate the Arduino and a CPLD connection to the NES cart bus. I believe that most of the discrete logic is just implemented in the CPLD, but there may be some advances to the design.
So I don't see how useful this might be; on the other hand, Neil Baldwin has some really great softs and he is working on a sync solution for them.
Plus, as I understand, the USB connection is just for dumping to the ram in lieu of the SD card. Faster for developers, but not used as an IO port ( like on an Arduino).
BS disclosure: Take nothing I say as 'Truth', 'Fact' or 'The last word'.! I HAVE BEEN WRONG BEFORE!
Yogi wink

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450 Reply by yogi

(7 replies, posted in Trading Post)

OH that was cheaper then the one I never got!

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451 Reply by yogi

(23 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

@4mat  Thanks also for the MAmiga doc. Very good info there, even though allot of the DSP clipped the top of my head wink
@broomlinde I hadn't considered the NES/Famicom but the DCPM was intended for samples indeed. Of course with the Japanese release date of '83 it pre dates the Amiga.
Did some fact checking on myself: the mocking board had a AY 3-8910 for the first ver, but later options included 'Speech'. But this was based on the SC-01 Vortrax chip. On the other hand, the later Covox Speech Thing was only PC and  was an R-2R DAC.

When I think about "wavetable synthesizers" I think of the likes of MT32, AWE etc., though.

smile smile I'm the other way round, thinking of the MT-32 and later GM Midi as a subset of wavetable. smile So much of the current soft synths are wavetable/sample based. the lines are blurred.
Yogi

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452 Reply by yogi

(23 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

boomlinde wrote:

There were a few home computer sound chips built to facilitate sample playback at the time Amiga was released.

This is interesting. I know that a noise channel was included on most sound generators at that time but I didn't think that sample play back was by design, but more for enhancement of the tone channels.

Well, it is a sound chip (but it has a few other features totally unrelated to sound). To be fair, the Paula behaved a lot like PSG sound chips of the time. Beyond setting up sample pointers and playback lengths, it's a lot like a PSG in that you typically produce music by changing the period length of each channel.

The home computer sound device that best embodies the idea of "sounding like whatever you feed it" is probably something like the Covox Speech Thing or a beeper. You literally push samples to it at whatever rate you want/can, and it outputs them on its resistor ladder without any fuzz.

When you say 'like a PSG', did/does it generate channels of digital waveforms or are you referring to shifting the pitch of a sample, as most wavetable synths do?
As to the Covox, when it was introduced on the Apple]['s MockingBoard,  seemed like a response to the Amiga and it's Paula.

The Amiga was released at almost the same time as the ST and didn't sound quite like it right at the start. But people had already been using tricks to play samples back on at least SID chips, but probably all kinds of beepers and PSGs.

Yes, these known tricks were rolled into the Palua by design. Where as the AY could be pushed to do samples, at a high cost of CPU cycles,  but it's main application was generating waveforms.
The development history of the two machines is a good soap opera, full of twists and  tangles. From my reads, seemed like the Amiga was designed for the Paula, when the original customer, Atari, dropped support for the sound chip.

....The software and sample sources are probably more important aspects of its perceived uniqueness.

So true. IMO the Paula set the stage for digital sound. And at the same time it's revolutionary approach limits it's attraction for a stand-alone 'chip' synth. The Amiga has far more appeal as a whole system, from a retro aspect smile
Yogi

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453 Reply by yogi

(23 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

TSC wrote:
boomlinde wrote:

or a tracker-in-a-box.

That's all the Amiga ever was to me anyway. Samplers are only as boring as the user.

Bingo! TSC
Isn't that what made the Amiga great, it was the first sampler? Got totally away from the concept of a sound chip, it sounded like what ever you feed it?  After people were making the amazing mod music that DIDN'T sound like a chip, people started figuring out how to play samples on the ST's AY?
Never had hands on an Amiga, so does it have a a unique sound, aside from the filters?
I can see building a synth from a Paula just because 'you can' (trust me I have more then a few projects like that).  But for me, it does seem like allot of effort to play samples. There are far more straight forward project that would get me there.

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454 Reply by yogi

(11 replies, posted in Atari)

Hey Fudgers, sorry I kind of dropped out for a while, got going on some other things.
Where do you stand? From your last post, sounds like an issue with your Synth Cart. If the Jr can run other carts even with the video problem, then it should run the Synth cart also. So that's 2 systems that are seem to have a problem with this cart.
Where did you get the Synth Cart? Is it old? If you got it recently from AA, I would contact them. Once or twice I had read problems plz have had with the Melody based cart. Not that the cart is a bad design but they may be more sensitive to a poor connection or weak power supply.
Anyway I hope you have already solve the problem,
Yogi

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455 Reply by yogi

(20 replies, posted in Other Vintage Computers & Consoles)

Just a bit of an update.
After a little setup, FM801 is running fine on my Dell Dim 2400 under XP SP3. using a Labway A301 G50  YMF724 based card. I'll add my install notes later for anyone interested. On a side note, both the OPL core and the XG midi synth are playable in parallel, so let your imagination run wild sequencing the XG midi synth AND the FM801. ( I had never liked GM midi, only heard the pissy MS GM midi, but the Yamaha XG is a whole 'nother thing)
Unlike AT2, this is a hard synth meant to be used with an ext midi source, thinking Renoise here but could also be a keyboard and CS. ATM I have the soft keyboard as per the instructions @ the site.
Speaking of the site's instruction pages, beyond the FM801 setup, there is a section about looping into a SB Live!/Audigy and the kx Project driver. DSP=Very cool.
FM801 includes several nice options: LFO, 16 note Seq (AT2 macro-ish)  and 'circuit bend'(this applies changes to the midi stream (AND OR XOR to bits of the register data). 70+ controls are mappable to CC messages
The minor downside is the basic user guide at the home site, but don't let this put you off. For the little I have played with it, things are fairly easy to figure out.by trial and error (very fun).
Bottom line is: the better your understanding of OPL FM  is, the easier this package is to pick up. And if you are a FM noob (raises hand) it's a great learning tool. 
Yogi
PS now to investigate AT2 on XP in DOSBox with the OPL passthrough patch!

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456 Reply by yogi

(21 replies, posted in Releases)

TDK wrote:

There was a piece on the BBC news a while ago, where they took a C64 in to a school, it was fascinating watching them try to figure out what the cassette recorder was.

Think I saw the same piece on YTube, OH yes the joys of CLOAD

TDK wrote:

I'm waiting for my GenMDM too wink
m

smile)

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457 Reply by yogi

(23 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

With a MB LPC Core you should be able to drive the Paula ( a 32bit core running @ ~90MHz compared to a 16b 68000 @ what? 16MHz) If you'r really determined. Not sure how much MIOS will help you, but you would need to write most of the app from the ground up, There is a user project for a sample player with just the core, a DAC and a SD card. Might have some re-usable code routines.
Luck, Yogi

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458 Reply by yogi

(21 replies, posted in Releases)

VCMG wrote:

Dunno about other people but I somehow totally missed this thread even though I downloaded and really enjoyed your album when you released it. Probably just blended in with all the other thread titles at the time or something.

Yea, ditto. I think Littlrscale's 2nd batch order for his GenMDM was heating up about that time frame, so all I could think about was 'Sega FM, must have Sega FM'
Yogi

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459 Reply by yogi

(21 replies, posted in Releases)

Hey TDK, lots of people here weren't alive 20+ years ago. For myself I was never in the demo scene. I still have the Atari800, but back when I still USED it, there wasn't an interwebbie, so I didn't even know what a demo or cracktro was wink Wasn't till '96ish that I got online.
  So don't be too harsh on folks, most are just overloaded with the volume of material OL and no clue 'bout old micro music. Don't hate me 'cause Im blond wink
@ CSUnleashed7 the riff in the middle just reminds me of the first bars of MCombat, (the back story is: when I was in the ARMY in 97, I was stuck for 2 weeks in the barraks outprocessing, One of my room mates had a VCD disk of the movie Mortal Combat. We didn't have a tv, so we watched it at least 40 times. The sound track is seared into my brain)
Anyway Thanks for putting the jams out again. Would love to see your midi fiddle, if you ever do a show in DC or Baltimore,
Yogi

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460 Reply by yogi

(162 replies, posted in General Discussion)

15 yrs in construction, carpenter. 25 yrs as a Electronics Tech, working on communications systems from two way radios to paging base stations. Semi retired for the last 4 yrs

  Best advice: no matter what you do, LEARN how to run a business. Once you start earning money, everyone has a hand in your pocket, you need to know how to make your money work for you. Learn the difference between spending and investing. Old saying: "The dollars look after themselves, you need to watch the nickles and dimes"

  Music is a fun thing for me; chip is retro memories of good times on systems past and times with the kids when they were young. smile
Yogi

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461 Reply by yogi

(5 replies, posted in Trading Post)

Hey I have a cart port already removed from a heavy sixer. The pins are longer then the ports that mount flush to the board on four switchers.
If you want it, I'll have to dig it out (have a good idea where it might be.  PM me if you want it.
Good luck with your mod, I picked up a Flash back a couple yrs ago but never got around to the mod.
Yogi

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462 Reply by yogi

(21 replies, posted in Releases)

Thanks for the bump LaszerBeats
@TDK Very glad you'r  'back'. The world needs more of  your sweet SID jams! Very nice, really enjoyed Cyber Speed Unleashed. liken @7, little hint of Mortal Combat flavor?
Yogi

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463 Reply by yogi

(20 replies, posted in Other Vintage Computers & Consoles)

sandneil wrote:

well ive got one of these cards and you can use pretty much any dos adlib tracker. but you have to be running windows. install the drivers in windows and then reboot in dos mode and run the setup program (have to do it every time you boot into dos mode) & then you can use dos trackers like adlib tracker or reality adlib tracker

Cool. Which Ver of Windows? Sounds like the process with Win98, the VxD drvier, If you are using XP please advise me on the driver ver you'r using.
@ herr_prof, the web site has a whole page of shots. Never posted an image to this board, so I'm 'riding the short bus' ATM. It looks very nice, just about every pram of the OPL has a control, which are midi mappable.

OK, we got posting pixs figured out wink
Yogi

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464 Topic by yogi

(20 replies, posted in Other Vintage Computers & Consoles)

I've been on a OPL3 quest for the last month. Been delving into Yamaha's LSI drivers and sound cards. So if you want'a get alittle FM on and you are using a newer PC there is the YMF 724-75X PCI chips (these chips also offer the XG extended midi format which is a whole nother story, Anyone remember the DB50XG plug in card?). The problem with using their OPL core in NT is the WDM drivers, it doesn't include support for the legacy SB16/OPL hardware block on the die of these PCI chips. Even in pure DOS there are problems using these PCI cards, IRQ and NMI missing from the PDI buss. There seems to be soft and/or hard work-arounds, but for DOS games it's still hit-and-miss. As far as I can see, they preform best with the VxD drivers for Win9x.
But all isn't lost. I found FrequencyMonster 801. Check It: http://fm801.kewl.org/app/about/
It's a Midi Synth front end for FM sound chips. Runs in Win95 through XP on hardware, EMU upto Win7. I think it gets around the Yamaha WDM issue with GiveIO.sys and direct control of the OPL registers (but don't quote me on this). You could instead use one of the "OPL wantabe" cards (they don't seem to suffer from the driver problem). I'll report back after I get some hands on.
It allows for real time midi control of the FM chip and adds some interesting Fx, think 'circuit bends'.
Yogi

EDIT
So here is the rundown on my install:
First off my system is a Dell 2400, [email protected] with ~760MB, WinXP Pro SP3. Installing a Labway A301-G50 YMF724 card
You'll need the get:
Yamaha' DSXGXP.exe  YMF724 XP driver v.5.12.021.5244
http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/product/lsi/download/
PowerYMF, copy the registeration key down for when you install
http://web.archive.org/web/200903220330 … nload.html
FreqMonster801, http://fm801.kewl.org/app/about/
GiveIO.sys 
http://fm801.kewl.org/assets/files/download/giveio.zip

1. After plugging the card in, Windows installed it's generic drivers. Device Manger showed:
DS1 Native
DS1 Legacy
These installed a FM midi synth, which could be nice for VGM midis
2. I then installed the Yamaha Driver package 5.1201.5244 WDM found at the Yamaha LSI site. It removed the generic Windows drivers and installed
Yamaha DS-XG PCI WDM
This is the Yamaha XG midi synth, very nice extensions to GM midi
3. After installing PowerYMF, I enabled legacy support with it. After the required reboot, Dev Man shows;
Yamaha DS-XG Legacy WDM has been added.
With PowerYMF you can also load different sound banks for the XG synth. So when you DL PowYMF grab the sound bank there also.
4. To install Giveio.sys, run the installer. It will open a console window and then popup a dialog box. You need to add 'Giveio.sys' to the address and then click the 'install' button. This only needs to be done once on your system. After it confirms success, hit the 'start' button. The Diag Box will confirm success, then you can close it. This driver will have to be started after every system reboot, before you start up FM801. Remember to add 'Giveio.sys' to the address line each time. There are instructions for running Giveio.sys automatically but you will have to seek them out yourself.
5. In FreqMonster801, you need to select SBPRO2 in the setup screen 

Thats the short story. At the FM801 site there is the detailed install instructions that I followed; as well as further enhancements for using SB Live! or Audigy cards and their DSP with the fantastic KX Project Drivers.
Hope you give it a try if you have the HW, or grab one of the Yammy cards on EBay, 10 bucks will get you some FM Bliss!

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