In this program, key "frames" are specified (here called nodal
frames), and the number of frames for the computer to fill in between
each frame is also specified. This means that you only need to draw the
parts of the sample where the changes occur.
| Contents |
| Maes>Trak
| EasySynth
|
Clicking on this program's icon on the icon bar should bring up two windows.
One of these is the main window, which looks like this:
In this program, key "frames" are specified (here called nodal
frames), and the number of frames for the computer to fill in between
each frame is also specified. This means that you only need to draw the
parts of the sample where the changes occur.
The width, set by default to 64, is the number of bytes per frame. Changing this alters the overall pitch of the sample.
The white noise level is a value from 0 to 255, controlling the amount of white noise which is added to the waveform. Note that "white noise" just means random sound - the name for the kind of hiss your radio makes between FM stations.
Drawing a frame is just like making a Draw object; the blue end points and the red control points are dragged around as desired. The currently selected segment is drawn in light green.
After clicking on the frame display, the window will become "live" (ie have cream borders), but no caret will be visible. This means that the following keystrokes will now take effect:
Delete: |
Delete current segment |
Insert: |
Insert a new segment (up to 24 per frame) |
L or F10: |
Change current segment to a straight line |
C or Shift+F10: |
Change current segment to a curve |
Page Up: |
Move to next nodal frame |
Page Down: |
Move to previous nodal frame |
Ctrl+Page Up: |
Move to last nodal frame |
Ctrl+Page Down: |
Move to first nodal frame |
Ctrl+X: |
Store current nodal frame in clipboard memory ("cut") |
Ctrl+V: |
Replace current nodal frame with one in clipboard memory ("paste") |
Ctrl+W: |
Wipe current nodal frame (reset to 2 straight lines) |
You can save the data, to be loaded and edited later, by clicking
MENU and following the "Save data" arrow to a standard
save box.
The sample can be calculated and saved by following the "Save sample" arrow, but remember: only sample DATA files may be edited. Sample files may only be played or viewed, not edited in SampMaker.
"Calc & play" calculates the sample (this can take a long time), allows you to play it, then discards it. This is so you can check a sample before saving it, but I would advise you to only use this option for short samples, unless you have a fast computer.
The sample's attributes - name, repeats and so on - can be seen in the "Sample attributes" window, above the main window. The repeat offset and repeat length are given in nodal frames.
The two options at the bottom of the main window control the backdrop of the frame display; you can have the previous nodal frame in the background, and/or a sample (STSample format only) that has been dragged in.