Ultrasound Daily Digest Fri, 15 Jan 93 Volume 2 : Issue 12 Today's Topics: A fix for the StarCon2 and GUS 1mb problem? Gravis UltraSound 3D! & Qsound GUS and new WinJammer trouble GUSDAC? (2 msgs) GUS Disks version 1.22 GUS SBOS doesn't support the Mic. input GUS Tech support - please read! Making samples, anyone? Names for the .MID files in SCDEMOS.ZIP on epas Revised FAQ candidate: No MIDI sound under Windows Sbos help needed. Star Control II review THE 3D in GUS 3D IS SOFTW Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #11 WinJammer, Band-in-A-Box for Windows Information about the UltraSound Daily Digest (such as mail addresses, request servers, ftp sites, etc., etc.) can be found at the end of the Digest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 14:41:49 -0800 From: Andrew Krenz Message-Id: <9301142241.AA02045@hub.ucsb.edu> Subject: A fix for the StarCon2 and GUS 1mb problem? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I think I might have found a way to get rid of the "endless" noise problem with 1mb GUS's and Star Control 2. Before playing SC2, use the P669GU0 program to play a .669 file. After that when you load SC2, the problem goes away (at least on my system). Can anyone else confirm this? -Andrew Krenz uznerk@mcl.ucsb.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1993 09:24:36 GMT From: stewarta@netcom.com (Alex Stewart) Message-Id: <1993Jan14.092436.8971@netcom.com> Subject: Gravis UltraSound 3D! & Qsound To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Harlan W. Feinstein (feinstn@newsserver.rest.tasc.com) wrote: : If I recall correctly (at some point I had been researching this) there are : two different ways that the ears/brain figure this out, one for low frequencies : and one for high. I think the high frequencies were obvious to the brain : because of phase differences, and the low frequencies were discriminated : using the difference in start times of the sound in each of the ears. Some- : one correct me if I'm wrong. Sounds right to me :-) One thing that everybody seems to be forgetting, though, is that one of the primary ways that any animal distinguishes this is by listening to what happens when it turns its head. This is very difficult to simulate with two (normal) speakers. (I believe someone mentioned earlier that the headphones that come with the GUS 3D have a sensor to determine the physical position (this, I think, explains why they're not just selling it as a software upgrade). -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alex Stewart: Sysop of YBBS (510) 689-8952 | This space for rent. stewarta@netcom.com .----------------------------'------------------------- stewarta@carleton.edu | Somebody, somewhere, is offended by what I am saying. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 14 Jan 93 02:15:31 GMT From: bs@mdavcr.mda.ca (Bruce Sharpe) Message-Id: <3952@mutt.mdavcr.mda.ca> Subject: GUS and new WinJammer trouble To: Ultrasound Daily Digest In article <1993Jan10.222122.12147@cunews.carleton.ca> dp@hydra.carleton.CA (Dave Perry VE3IFB) writes: >In article d2henan@dtek.chalmers.se (Andreas Henning) writes: > >(stuff deleted) >> >>Does anyone have the same problem, or is my Windows configuration wrong? >> >I am getting general protection faults with the new Winjammer as well, >usually when recording something from my keyboard. It doesn't seem to be >repeatable very easily. Hi Dave After fooling around some, I found a bug in the DLL. It'll only occur when you've got more than one output device configured, and the song you're playing doesn't use all of the output ports. For example: let's say you've got port 1 set up as the Gravis Synth, and port 2 set up as the Gravis MIDI port. If you load a song that only uses port 1, and press play, you'll get any warnings about unloaded patches, followed by the error. What's happening is WinJammer is trying to check for problems on the second port, but nothing was cached for it (because the song didn't use the second port). Knowing that, the work around becomes pretty easy. Don't use both ports unless you've got something connected to the MIDI (like a keyboard). And if you do, then make sure there's at least one track for each port. The tracks can be empty if you like. I'll look at it to see what I can do about a quick fix. I'm not sure I want to release 2.24 so soon , but this is rather nasty and needs fixing. Feel free to quote/pass on as much of this message as you'd like. Dan (I posted this for Dan McKee, author of WinJammer, who doesn't have access to the Internet. He can be reached via e-mail at 70742.2052@compuserve.com.) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1993 07:33:25 GMT From: goh@deathstar.dell.com (Peter Goh) Message-Id: Subject: GUSDAC? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest francisco.perez@rose.com (francisco perez) writes: >Date Entered: 01-14-93 00:20 >M(>Has everyone checked out the GUSDAC on epas yet? Let's modplay use >M(>the gus as a quadrophonic dac or stereo-on-one. >Can somebody please send a UUENCODEed GUSDAC and post it here if its not too >large? It sounds interesting, but alas, no FTP access for me... Since you mentioned about GUSDAC, I thought I would throw this comment in to see whether people using GUSDAC notice that the sound produced from "mp" doesn't sound all that "clean". I've tried boosting the mixing speed to 30000 loading mp4to2.exe (with mp4to4.exe, 30000 slow things even on my 50Mhz 486DX). If I never use GUSMOD.EXE to play back the same MOD that I did with GUSDAC, I would never have realized that. I like the features and convenience of using "mp" compared to the command line of GUSMOD.EXE, but with sound output quality of "mp", I rather stick to GUSMOD.EXE until there is improvement make to "mp". Or am I the only one having this problem? I would appreciate if anyone who have similiar problems to share their opinion, or anyone who have a work-around to this problem. Thank you. Peter Goh goh@deathstar.dell.com ------------------------------ Date: 14 Jan 1993 13:11:53 +0200 From: justin@nuustak.csir.co.za (Justin Benade) Message-Id: Subject: GUSDAC? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Thus spake goh@deathstar.dell.com (Peter Goh): >francisco.perez@rose.com (francisco perez) writes: >>Date Entered: 01-14-93 00:20 >>M(>Has everyone checked out the GUSDAC on epas yet? Let's modplay use >>M(>the gus as a quadrophonic dac or stereo-on-one. >>Can somebody please send a UUENCODEed GUSDAC and post it here if its not too >>large? It sounds interesting, but alas, no FTP access for me... >Since you mentioned about GUSDAC, I thought I would throw this comment in >to see whether people using GUSDAC notice that the sound produced from "mp" >doesn't sound all that "clean". I've tried boosting the mixing speed to >30000 loading mp4to2.exe (with mp4to4.exe, 30000 slow things even >on my 50Mhz 486DX). If I never use GUSMOD.EXE to play back the same MOD >that I did with GUSDAC, I would never have realized that. I like the >features and convenience of using "mp" compared to the command line >of GUSMOD.EXE, but with sound output quality of "mp", I rather stick to >GUSMOD.EXE until there is improvement make to "mp". >Or am I the only one having this problem? I would appreciate if anyone who >have similiar problems to share their opinion, or anyone who have a >work-around to this problem. Thank you. >Peter Goh >goh@deathstar.dell.com > Yes, I'm afraid that you are correct. When I wrote GUSDAC I noticed the problem that the sound is not so clean. I'm afraid that there is nothing that can be done about it. GUSDAC uses the GUS in a way which is not really standard. The resulting quality is not much better then a SB pro. On the up side, although gusmod sounds much better, it still has bugs, such as the disappearing voice bug, and it cannot play certain modules. I only wrote GUSDAC to allow me to listen to the mods which GUSMOD cannot play very well. Never fear though, I am working on a mod file player and editor. Actually it looks as though it will play mod files and it will have its own 16 voice native file format. Maybe it will be released in the next few weeks. Irmin Ziegelmeier IRMIN@SCINET.UP.AC.ZA ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 10:13:49 -0800 From: kejohnso@nike.calpoly.edu (Kurt E. Johnson) Message-Id: <9301141813.AA1302588@nike.calpoly.edu> Subject: GUS Disks version 1.22 To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Could someone upload the version 1.22 disks to epas or wuarchive? Thanks, Kurt ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1993 13:51:46 GMT From: dp@hydra.carleton.CA (Dave Perry VE3IFB) Message-Id: <1993Jan14.135146.14734@cunews.carleton.ca> Subject: GUS SBOS doesn't support the Mic. input To: Ultrasound Daily Digest In article <1993Jan14.041732.6778@viewlogic.com> paulsen@mako.viewlogic.com (Bill Paulsen) writes: > >It seems the Microphone input on the GUS is not supported by SBOS. >I called Gravis support, and the person said Gravis had not considered >this support. > >I'd like to be sure about this - has anyone actually used the Mic >input with SBOS on the GUS? > >Thanks > > I believe the mic *is* supported. I've used sbos with a program called fftmorse, which takes the mic audio, does a fast Fourier transform on it, and tries to decode any Morse code it finds. It worked very well (somewhat to my surprise). Cheers, Dave Perry -- Dave Perry | Any opinions stated here are mine dp@hydra.carleton.ca | and have nothing to do with Carleton University ve3ifb@ve3jf.#eon.on.noam | ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 16:15:42 EST From: ebynum@server.cs.jhu.edu Message-Id: <9301142114.AA07436@orca.es.com> Subject: GUS Tech support - please read! To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Howdy folks, I need some help with my GUS. If you check your back issues, you'll see that I posted to the digest last week asking detailed questions about how to eliminate the static that seems to work its way into my samples (especially at high sample rates). To refresh your memories, I am using the *line in* port on the GUS, the signal comes from my stereo receiver, and I am recording onto a RAM disk, so there's no fragmentation or slow hard disk problems. Do I need a RAM upgrade for the card (currently 256K)? What I want to know from you is who out there in the cold world can help me solve my problem. The folks on the internet suggested a variety of possible solutions, none of which has worked. I sent mail to Chris Yuzik, but his E-mailbox is no doubt inundated with complaints and requests, so I don't expect a reply from him anytime soon (but it would be very much welcomed, Chris). I don't want to make a 31-cent-a-minute phone call to Gravis Tech Support, but if, in your opinions, I must, then I guess I'll have to. Has anyone had any experience with tech support that I should know about? The funny thing is, page 70 of the owner's manual touts "Access to FREE technical support" but, of course, page 76 reminds you that "There is no charge for this service, but you may have to pay long-distance telephone charges..." Thanks, guys. How 'bout an 800 number? Drop me a line, Evan H. Bynum ebynum@cs.jhu.edu P.S. If *anyone* has *anything* to say about how to record with this card, please have a heart and let me know. Tell me I'm doing it all wrong, even. I want this thing to record cleanly. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 15:11:15 CST From: ken@batman.austin.ibm.com (Ken Goach) Message-Id: <9301142111.AA17812@batman.austin.ibm.com> Subject: Making samples, anyone? To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Could someone who's creating new GUS patches post something about it here? Or drop me some email? Also, if anyone has a good snare drum patch, let me know. Is there a crash cymbal patch, or what? I can't find it, and drums are pretty boring without it. Ken ken@austin.ibm.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 21:57:52 EST From: Meshreki@ee.udel.edu Message-Id: <9301150257.aa01023@zip.ee.udel.edu> Subject: Names for the .MID files in SCDEMOS.ZIP on epas To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I noticed the following song titles using TRAX's import midi file option. Sam file name size song name ------------ ----- --------------------------- demo0001.mid 19119 Star Games demo0002.mid 18380 Jazz Lagoon demo0003.mid 13490 Sorcery demo0004.mid 18638 La fille aux cheveux de lin demo0005.mid 17028 B.Y.T. demo0006.mid 8424 Leya's Song demo0007.mid 17131 INSIDER demo0008.mid 12062 Le cygne demo0009.mid 11723 2nd time Foreground demo0010.mid 15359 AQABA demo0011.mid 27247 Martians In Love demo0012.mid 29944 La primavera demo0013.mid 22599 Symphonie No.5 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 10:24:54 PST From: bs@mda.ca (Bruce Sharpe) Message-Id: <9301141824.AA21298@ mda.ca> Subject: Revised FAQ candidate: No MIDI sound under Windows To: Ultrasound Daily Digest I have uploaded the file ULTRASND.INI from the Gravis BBS to epas and have revised the following FAQ accordingly. Q: I'm not getting any sound when I play MIDI files under Windows. The Patch Manager shows empty boxes. A: You need a file called ULTRASND.INI. You can find this file in any one of the following places: 1. The v1.21 distribution disk set. 2. ftp site: klingon.epas.utoronto.ca (128.100.160.36), directory /pub/pc/ultrasound/submit. 3. Gravis BBS: (604) 431-5927. 4. CompuServe: GO PCVENB, Library 14, name is ULTSND.INI (rename it to ULTRASND.INI after downloading). ULTRASND.INI must be placed in the directory pointed to by the environment variable ULTRADIR (usually C:\ULTRASND). It does *not* go into the WINDOWS or WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. Even if you have an ULTRASND.INI in your ULTRADIR directory, look at it. It should have many lines in it saying things like "0=acpiano1". If it is only a few lines long, get another copy and put it into the ULTRADIR directory. Reboot Windows and you will soon be hearing beautiful music! (The purpose of the ULTRASND.INI file is to let the Windows driver know what patch file goes with what patch number. If the driver doesn't find the .INI file in the ULTRADIR directory it creates a truncated version with no patch names in it.) Bruce Sharpe ------------------------------ Date: 14 Jan 1993 16:01:21 -0400 (EDT) From: JAM@eclx.psu.edu Message-Id: <01GTIJ7I7D8YAW2ESI@eclx.psu.edu> Subject: Sbos help needed. To: Ultrasound Daily Digest As a new GUS owner I haven't yet been able to get Sbos (version 1.22) to work with siege and WC2 and SO1,2. Any suggestions? What are the best values for set ultrasnd and set blaster. I currently use the defaults of DMA1, IRQ11 and 220h for ultrasound and DMA1, T1, IRQ 5 for set blaster. I have a 386/40 with qemm 6.? and stacker. Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1993 15:50 MST From: Bryan Brown Message-Id: Subject: Star Control II review To: Ultrasound Daily Digest > Lots of GUS owners would probably be very interested in a review of > Star Control II ... I know I would. We've all heard the sounds are > great, but is the game good? > > Thanks, > John I have recieved a few requests for a review of this game (Star Control II) so that other GUS owners will know a bit more about it. When I bought the game I did it just because it has GUS support, I was afraid that it would have cool sound and be a stupid game, I couldn't have been more wrong. Game: Star Control II Publisher: Accolade Price: $50ish Graphics: VGA Sound: GRAVIS ULTRASOUND Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 First, it comes with two seperate but related games. The first is called 'Super Melee'. It is a game that just allows you to match several different ship types against each other and go to work blasting. It's fun, and playable but not to involving. If you just like to shoot things for no apparant reason thou' this will be fun. The second game is 'Star Control II', it uses the same ship types and the combat scenes are similar to the Melee game but it also includes a strategic roll playing aspect to the game that makes the combat much more satisiying. There are about 3000 worlds to explore and exploit as well as many alien races that you can either ally with or attack. The story line is reasonably fast and very entertaining. There is a lot of humor when dealing with other people and races. The controls were very simple to learn and feel very natural. I'm using a joystick wich is recomended (you can control all parts of the game except typing in a name for your save game with a joystick) although you can use the keyboard as well. And of course the sound is incredible. I recomend that you buy it, not only to send a message to Accolade and other companies to support the GUS in it's native mode but also because it's a VERY intertaining and playable game. Just ask me how much homework I've done since I bought it, to know how involving the game is. :) ******************************************** * * * Through the darkness of future past * Bryan Brown * The Magician longs to see. * Bryan@gse.utah.edu * One chants out between two worlds; * * Fire walk with me. * * -Mike, ^Twin Peaks^ * ******************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 01:15:55 EST From: mbenson@sytex.com (Michael Benson) Message-Id: Subject: THE 3D in GUS 3D IS SOFTW To: Ultrasound Daily Digest JG>Okay, I know this may be a stupid question, but does anyone out there have a >more concrete release date for the GUS3D other than "the end of the first >quarter?" I just sold my SB to buy a GUS, and now I am going to wait for >the GUS3D; basically, I want to know how long I will be without a sound card I have talked to the folks at Advanced Gravis - (Software development) and they have assured me up and down that the 3D part of gus will NOT, I repeat NOT require any additional hardware. IT IS ALL SOFTWARE. Michael --- * QMPro 1.01 41-2370 * <<<< YUKE! I hate advertisements! ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Jan 93 11:54:48 GMT From: M.D.Hennessy@cen.exeter.ac.uk Message-Id: <6151.9301151154@olib> Subject: Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #11 To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Does anyone else have trouble with the 699 player? I have downloaded the player and loads of 699 files (or is it 669 ? ) but nothing happens after the 'clearing memory...' message. I have tried booting clean without memory managers, but this does not help. Anyone help me out? Thanks Mark.H. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 13:28:47 PST From: biggles@berlioz.nsc.com (Winston Worrell) Message-Id: <9301142128.AA21919@berlioz.nsc.com> Subject: WinJammer, Band-in-A-Box for Windows To: Ultrasound Daily Digest Hi, I just want to know, where exactly is winjammer and what is it really called? (is it at klingon? where? which directory? what file name?) I just got a listing of the epas site for the Ultrasound and its doesn't seem to be in there and since I'm doing this via ftpmail, it would really help to know exactly where it is. I just got band-in-a-box for windows and I'm trying to figure out, exactly how I'm supposed to get it to work. directly with the GUS. Anybody know how/ I think it falls into the same category as Cakewalk for Windows, and MasterTraks. (BTW PowerTraxs, the sequencer I also brought, looks a lot like a stripped down MasterTrax Pro -- but for $49 what do you expect right). I can get it to sprodically work if I generate a midi file, play it in the media player and then reload it into BAB, but then I don't get to see the chord progressions. Thanks in advance Winston. ------------------------------ End of Ultrasound Daily Digest V2 #12 ******************************