USER’S MANUAL

MODEL 974 SOUND MAKER SOFTWARE FOR USE WITH THE MUSICMATE KEYBOARD

TM

SEQUENTIAL CM974A November, 1984

MODEL 974 SOUND MAKER

Sequential Postbus 16 3640 AA Mijdrecht Netherlands 02979-6211 TELEX: 12721 SQNTL NL

Sequential 3051 North First Street

San Jose, CA 95134-2093 U.S.A

(408) 946-5240 TELEX: 4997150 SEQCIR

MODEL 974 SOUND MAKER

©1984 by SEQUENTIAL All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION. 1 CHECKLIST OF NECESSARY ECUIPMENT. 2 START-UP PROCEDURE . 2

GETTING STARTED. 3 CONTROL PANEL DISPLAY . 5 PRESET CONTROLS. 6 MASTER CONTROLS. 10

MAKING SOUNDS. 12 USING THE PRESET CONTROLS. 14 USING THE MASTER CONTROLS . 19

DISK OPERATIONS. 23 PROCEDURE FOR “NEW”ING A DATA DISK.24

GLOSSARY. 26

APPENDIX.31

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INTRODUCTION Welcome to the musical world of SOUND MAKER by Sequential. We hope you enjoy many hours of music making.

Your Model 974 SOUND MAKER is designed to be used with Sequential’s Model 270 Music Keyboard. With the Model 974 and the Model 270, you have an easy way to make music with your Commodore 64 computer.

The Model 974 enables you to construct a virtually infinite variety of sounds. These sounds, or PRESETS, can be saved on diskettes in sets of twenty and can be retrieved from diskettes later and played using the Model 270 Music Keyboard.

Once you have learned to use your Model 974 SOUND MAKER, explore Sequential’s musical world of other 970 Series products, including the:

Model 971 SONG RECORDER Model 972 SONG EDITOR Model 973 SONG PRINTER

Each of these products is designed for your musical education and enjoyment.

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CHECKLIST OF NECESSARY EQUIPMENT You will need the following items to use your Model 974:

1. Commodore 64 computer

2. Television set (color or black & white) or video monitor

3. VIC-1541 disk drive

4. Sequential Circuits Model 270 Music Keyboard

5. Assorted connecting cables

6. Model 974 Master Disk

START-UP PROCEDURE 1. Make sure the computer, disk drive, and monitor are installed and

operating properly.

2. Plug the Model 270 Music Keyboard into the “Control Port 1 ” slot on the right hand side of the computer. (If you have a Portable Commodore SX64 - the “Executive” - the slot is on the back of the main unit. It’s the inside one of the pair located near the right rear corner. See diagram #1.)

3. TurnonthepowertoyourCommodore64andyourVIC-1541 disk drive.

4. Insert your Model 974 Master Disk in the VIC-1541 disk drive.

5. Type LOAD “*”,8 on the Commodore 64 keyboard and press RETURN.

6. Type RUN and press RETURN.

7. Wait for SOUND MAKER to begin.

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CONNECT MODEL 270

MUSICMATE

Diagram # 1

GETTING STARTED The first screen you will see when your Model 974 begins is:

WELCOME TO SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS’ MODEL 974 SOUND MAKER.

WOULD YOU LIKE A DESCRIPTION OF HOW YOUR 974 SOUND MAKER WORKS?

PLEASE PRESS “Y” (YES) OR “N” (NO)

COPYRIGHT 1984 - THIRD STREET SOFTWARE

Press “Y” to see a description of SOUND MAKER. When you are more familiar with SOUND MAKER, you can save time by pressing “N” at this point.

There are three screens of description at the beginning of the program to refresh your memory and to allow you to use SOUND MAKER without having to dig out the owner’s manual every time you

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have a question. However, the manual contains more detailed information, and you should read it thoroughly as you are learning to use the Model 974.

Read the three information screens and press RETURN until you see the SOUND MAKER Control Panel Display (see figure #1).

Your Model 974 is designed to be so simple to use that only seven keys on the Commodore 64 are necessary to construct, load, and save your sounds.

FUNCTION KEYS

These are the large keys located together on the right side of your Commodore 64. They are labeled “FI”, “F3”, “F5”, and “F7”.

FI The Model 974 uses FI to move the cursor (the flashing highlighted control) FORWARDS through the SWITCHES, KNOBS, and SELECTIONS in the brighter menu box. Hold FI down and the cursor will move quickly along its way; press FI once and release it—the cursor moves to the next choice and waits.

F3 This key moves the cursor BACKWARDS through the choices; otherwise, it works just like FI.

F5 The F5 key is used to move SWITCH positions UP, to RAISE the settings of the KNOBS, and to make SELECTIONS. It affects only the item where the cursor is flashing.

F7 The F7 key moves SWITCH positions DOWN, it LOWERS the settings of the KNOBS, and it also makes SELECTIONS.

RETURN Press RETURN to move the cursor back and forth between the PRESET box and the MASTER box. Notice that the box containing the cursor is always brighter than the other box; this is to let you know which set of choices is active at the moment.

RETURN is also used as a kind of “continue” command, as in the description screens at the beginning of the program. In these cases, you are always asked to “Press RETURN” somewhere on the screen.

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“Y” AND “N” These keys are used to stand for “YES” and “NO”. When using the disk drive with your Model 974, you are often asked to confirm your choice of action using “Y” or “N”. This allows you to prevent errors or change your mind.

Using just the four FUNCTION KEYS, RETURN, and “Y” and “N”, you can use all the capabilities of SOUND MAKER to construct, load, and save your sounds.

Now you are ready to start making music!

CONTROL PANEL DISPLAY Make sure your screen shows the Control Panel Display with the cursor at PRESET The screen should look like this:

Figure # 1

Now play a few notes on the Model 270 Music Keyboard. You are hearing the sound of the PRESET indicated in the top left corner. It should be “PRESET: 01”, unless you have changed it already. Press F5 once and play some more notes on the keyboard. You should see

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“PRESET: 02” in the top left corner and you should be hearing a different sound. Press F7 to go back to PRESET: 01. Spend some time playing notes on the keyboard and using F5/F7 to change PRESETS. Notice that the various controls on the panel change positions as you change PRESETS, reflecting their different values in each PRESET.

There are four different types of controls on this panel:

INDICATORS — At the top left corner of each box is an INDICATOR that tells you which PRE¬ SET or MASTER has been chosen.

SWITCHES — These controls allow you a choice of one of several values.

KNOBS — These allow smooth adjustment of the control.

MENU Choosing a MENU SELECTION by SELECTIONS — pressing F5 or F7 does the action high¬

lighted by the cursor.

Now let’s take a look at each one of the controls. Remember, you move the cursor from one control to another by pressing FI or F3.

PRESET CONTROLS PRESET You have already used F5/F7 to change this

INDICATOR. It allows you to select PRESETS numbered from 1 to 20.

OCTAVE Use F5/F7 to change the setting of this SWITCH. The effect is to move the sound up or down by OCTAVES. The five switch positions from -2 to +2 allow each key on the Model 270 Keyboard to sound in any one of five OCTAVES.

SOUND This SWITCH controls which of the four basic sounds each PRESET uses as a starting point. As each SOUND is described, you may wish to change PRESETS until you find one that uses the SOUND you are reading about.

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WIND

VIOLIN

FLUTE

VARIABLE

ADJUST

PING

ATTACK

DECAY

PEDAL

SUSTAIN

RELEASE

is a broad whooshing sound which is useful for making noises and sound effects.

is a bright tone you an use to make strings and brass and other sounds you invent.

is a softer, smoother tone useful for making “nice” sounds that your mom will like.

is just that - a sound which is “thicker” or “thinner” depending on the position of the ADJUST KNOB.

This KNOB controls the thickness of the VARIABLE sound. Notice that iftheSOUNDSWITCH is notin the VARIABLE position, the cursor will skip the ADJUST KNOB because it doesn’t apply.

This section and the PEDAL section control the way the sound’s loudness changes in time.

This KNOB controls the length of time it takes the sound to reach its maximum loudness.

This KNOW controls the time it takes after the ATTACK for the maximum loudness of the sound to die down to the SUSTAIN level.

This section works with the PING section to control the shape of the loudness of each note.

This KNOB controls the loudness of the note after the ATTACK and DECAY have been completed. This level will be maintained only as long as your finger is still holding down the note on the Model 270 Keyboard.

This KNOB controls the time it takes for the sound to die out completely after you take your finger off of the key.

Note: the SPACE BAR of the Commodore 64 will “shut up” a note with a long RELEASE time. This is useful if the telephone rings, or if someone enters the room with a strange look on his/her face . . .

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HELP

FI

F3

F5

F7

REMEMBER CHANGES

SEND TO DISK

This MENU SELECTION allows you to see various screens of information about your Model 974. These screens are condensed versions of the information contained in this manual. Press F5 or F7 with the cursor in the HELP position and you will be asked to select which sort of HELP you want.

gives you the general description of your Model 974 that you saw at the beginning of the program.

gives a description of the sound controls in the PRESET box.

gives a description of the sound controls in the MASTER box (described below).

gives a description of the INDICATORS and the MENU SELECTIONS.

You may have noticed the word “CHANGES” in the upper right corner of each box. “CHANGES” in the PRESET box lights up if you change any of the sound controls of the PRESET. These CHANGES will be lost when you select a different PRESET unless you first tell the Commodore 64 to REMEM¬ BER CHANGES. Pressing F5 or F7 with the cursor in this position will unlight the CHANGES window, and it will bounce the cursor up to the PRESET INDICATOR in order to let you know that your CHANGES have been saved in the computer’s memory.

Of course, it is possible that you may make CHANGES which you don’t like. In that case, DON’T press F5 or F7 when the cursor is at REMEMBER CHANGES. You can always get back the original PRESET by briefly selecting a different one and then selecting the original one again. You can get ALL the original PRESETS back by selec¬ ting GET FROM DISK with your Model 974 Master Disk in the disk drive.

Any CHANGES you may have put in the computer’s memory with the REMEMBER CHANGES selection will be lost if you turn off the Commodore 64 or get

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another set of PRESETS from disk. If you want the CHANGES you have made to be saved perma¬ nently, you must save them on a diskette using the SEND TO DISK command.

You can save one set of twenty PRESETS and one set of twenty MASTERS on each disk. If you have more that you want to save, you may want to have several disks available.

To save a set of PRESETS, position the cursor at SEND TO DISK and press F5 or F7. A message will ask, “SAVE PRESETS - ARE YOU SURE?”. Make sure you have a data disk in your disk drive, and then press “Y” to answer yes. That’s all there is to it. For further information, see DISK OPERATIONS in this manual.

GET FROM Use this MENU SELECTION to get a set of twenty DISK PRESETS from a disk into the computer. Any

PRESETS in the computer will be replaced with PRESETS from the disk.

To get a set of PRESETS, position the cursor at GET FROM DISK and press F5 or F7. The message will ask, “LOAD PRESETS - ARE YOU SURE?”. Be sure you have the right disk in your disk drive, then press “Y” to answer yes. For further information, see DISK OPERATIONS in this manual.

Before we move on to the MASTER controls, let’s set up a demo sound that should make it easy to hear the various effects of the MASTER controls. Press FI or F3 to move the cursor, and use F5 or F7 to set the controls.

1. Set the OCTAVE SWITCH to “0”.

2. Set the SOUND SWITCH to NOISE.

3. Turn the ATTACK KNOB all the way DOWN, (counter-clockwise)

4. Turn the SUSTAIN KNOB all the way UP. (clockwise)

This should give you a sound to use for the discussion of the MASTER controls.

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MASTER CONTROLS Press RETURN until the cursor is in the bottom MASTER box. Your screen should look like this:

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v___ F i g u r e # 2

A MASTER is a combination tone and volume setting which works with the PRESET. Each PRESET has a MASTER letter associated with it and will automatically select that MASTER each time that PRESET is selected. However, since any MASTER may be used with any PRESET, a given PRESET may sound entirely different if a different MASTER is chosen. This is just one of the ways your Model 974 SOUND MAKER offers virtually endless possibilities for making sounds. To get an idea of the effect, press F5 to change the MASTER and play a few notes on the Model 270 Keyboard. Do this several times and listen to the difference in the sound; then press F7 to get back to MASTER “A”.

In Sequential’s other 970 Series products, such as the Model 971 Song Recorder, three voices (or PLAYERS) are used to make songs. Each of the three voices may have a different PRESET, but all three use the same MASTER.

If you hear some distortion (noise) in one of your sounds, you can usually solve the problem by careful setting of the MASTER sound controls (turning down the volume often does the trick).

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Let’s look at each of the MASTER controls. Remember, you move the cursor from one control to another by pressing FI or F3.

MASTER This INDICATOR allows you to select twenty different MASTERS, from “A” to “T”. Notice that when you change MASTERS, the CHANGES win¬ dow in the PRESET box lights up. This is because the MASTER selected by letter is part of the defini¬ tion of the PRESET. It you want a given PRESET to have a new MASTER letter, don’t forget to tell the Commodore 64 to REMEMBER CHANGES in the PRESET box.

TONE SWITCH This SWITCH selects which type of TONE control the MASTER will have. It is similar to the controls on a stereo set, with the exception that instead of boosting the BASS orTREBLE, the control actually cuts the BASS or TREBLE. The effect of this is that the control KNOB (ADJUST) seems to work in reverse. The TONE control colors the sound by taking out some range of sounds as described below.

BASS takes out the sounds BELOW the level set by the ADJUST KNOB.

TREBLE takes out the sounds ABOVE the level set by the ADJUST KNOB.

COMBO takes out the sounds both ABOVE and BELOW the level set by the ADJUST KNOB.

SHARPNESS This KNOB adjusts the focus or SHARPNESS oftheTONEcontrol by emphasizing sounds at the level set by the ADJUST KNOB. SHARPNESS also is useful in controlling distortion in yoursounds. To reduce the distortion, try lowering the setting of this KNOB.

ADJUST This KNOB controls the level (low to high) above or below which the TREBLE and BASS controls take out the sound. It is the TONE control chosen by the BASS/TREBLE/COMBO SWITCH.

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VOLUME This KNOB controls the overall loudness of the sound. Use this control to balance your PRESETS with each other. Many sounds will turn out to be louder than others, so you may want to turn some of them down in order that they all play at about the same loudness. You may even want to construct several MASTERS with the same TONE setting but with different VOLUME settings so you can use the same TONE with PRESETS which are louder or softer.

HELP This MENU SELECTION works just like the one in the PRESET box.

REMEMBER CHANGES

This works just like in the PRESET box, but it remembers CHANGES in the MASTER instead of the PRESET.

SEND TO DISK

You may save one set of twenty MASTERS (A-T) on each diskette. A message will ask, “SAVE MASTERS - ARE YOU SURE?”; press “Y” to answer yes, and wait while the disk drive does its job. For further information, see DISK OPERATIONS in this manual.

GET FROM DISK

Use this MENU SELECTION to load a set of twenty MASTERS from a disk into the computer. Any MASTERS in memory before the load will be lost, so be sure you have saved them on a different diskette if you want to keep them. For further information, see DISK OPERATIONS in this manual.

MAKING SOUNDS When you first load your Model 974 SOUND MAKER, it begins with one set of twenty PRESETS and one set of twenty MASTERS in the computer. These PRESETS and MASTERS are always available from your Model 974 Master Disk (which is write-protected), so you can make extensive CHANGES to them with no fear of losing them permanently.

Let’s make some simple sounds to get a feel for the SOUND MAKER controls. Make sure your Control Panel Display shows “PRESET: 01” and “MASTER: A”. Remember to press FI or F3 to move the cursor and use F5/F7 to change the settings.

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Now let’s set up a simple harpsichord sound. Follow these simple steps, and when you have finished play the Model 270 Keyboard to hear the sound.

1. Set the OCTAVE SWITCH to the “-1” setting.

2. Set the SOUND SWITCH to the VARIABLE position.

3. Turn the SOUND ADJUST KNOB up just a little above its lowest setting. About “eight’o’clock” should be about right.

4. In the PING section, turn the ATTACK KNOB all the way down (counter-clockwise), and set the DECAY KNOB to about “two’o’clock”.

5. SUSTAIN and RELEASE in the PEDAL section should both be set all the way down (counter¬ clockwise).

6. Press RETURN to move the cursor to the MASTER box.

7. Set the TONE SWITCH to the TREBLE position.

8. Turn the SHARPNESS KNOB to a straight up (“twelve’o’clock”) position.

9. Move the TONE ADJUST KNOB to about a c “three’o’clock” setting.

10. The VOLUME KNOB should be a little more than half way up, in the area of “two’o’clock”.

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PRESET :01

r OCTAVE-

-2 +1

0 -1 -2

-SOUND-

Wind Violin Flute

H Variable —.

Attack

o

CHANGES

-PING Decay

O

Sustain

0

-PEDAL- Release

0 HELP Remember Changes

Send to Disk Get From Disk

mmrmiA wmmmm i ti

J C-cr&.s ©

; ■ .> - fPP sj•

ill 11

SaraS 1fe-C53«* - a>tPromDW<

Figur e #3

Now press RETURN to move the cursor back up to the PRESET box, play a few notes on the keyboard, and we’ll examine the effects of the different controls.

USING THE PRESET CONTROLS Once you have heard what the sound is as we have set it up, press FI to move the cu rsor to the OCTAVE SWITOH and press F7 to move the switch position down to “-2”. Press a key on the Model 270 Keyboard, Then press F5 to move the switch position up to “0” and press the same key again. Do the same with the “+1 ” and “+2” positions. You are moving the note up and down by OCTAVES. In each OCTAVE SWITCH position, a “C” on the keyboard sounds a “C”, but higher or lower (in a different OCTAVE) according to the switch position. Move the setting back to “-1” and press FI to move the cursor to the SOUND SWITCH.

The SOUND SWITCH should be in the VARIABLE position as we have it set up (via the ten steps above). Press F5 to move the SOUND SWITCH to the FLUTE position and play a few notes on the Model 270 Keyboard. You should hear the smoother, softer, “dark” sound of the FLUTE setting. The name FLUTE for this setting doesn’t mean

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that the PRESET will necessarily imitate the sound of a flute, but simply that sounds which use this setting will have a timbre or tone color similar to that of a flute. As you will soon discover, the settings of the other sound controls also affect how much or how little the sound resembles an actual flute.

Press F5 again to move the switch to the VIOLIN setting. This is a louder, “brighter” setting. Play a few notes and then press F7 twice to compare the sound with the VARIABLE setting. The VARIABLE sound (“with the ADJUST KNOB at “eight’o’clock”) should bea little “brighter” and slightly “thinner” than the VIOLIN sound. Press F5 twice to move the switch back to the VIOLIN position and compare. In making these comparisons, you may find it helpful to choose a

“I group of three or four keys on the Model 270 Keyboard and to use this same group of keys each time you change the position of the SOUND SWITCH.

Next press F5 to move the switch to the WIND position. This is a rough sound more like steam or the sound of the WIND than a note of music. Press keys at the bottom (left) of your Model 270 Keyboard and then in the middle, and again at the top. Noticethat as you move up and down the keyboard, the WIND sound seems to be higher or lower. Press F3 to move the cursor back to the OCTAVE SWITCH. Move through the different OCTAVE settings as you press keys up and down the keyboard. You should hear that the OCTAVE SWITCH has an effect similar to what it had on the VARIABLE SOUND. Leave the OCTAVE SWITCH in the “-1” position and press FI to move the cursor back to the SOUND SWITCH.

Now press F7 three times to move the SOUND SWITCH to the VARIABLE position and press FI to move the cursor to the VARIABLE ADJUST KNOB. The cursorwill skip this ADJUST KNOB

/ if the SOUND SWITCH isn’t in the VARIABLE position, so be sure you have the switch in the right position. With the cursor at the ADJUST KNOB, play a few notes and then press F5 or F7 to change the setting of the knob, and play your notes again. Repeat this process until it is clear to you just what effect this ADJUST KNOB is having. At the minimum (all the way counter-clockwise) setting, the sound is so “thin” that you can just barely hear it. As you move the knob clockwise, the sound broadens out until at its maximum (all the way clockwise) setting it is quite a round sound, almost like a clarinet. Notice the variety of sounds in between. The VARIABLE setting of the SOUND SWITCH is a powerful feature of your Model 974 SOUND MAKER because of the great variety of sounds available through the use of the ADJUST KNOB.

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Leave the ADJUST KNOB in a position you like and press FI to move the cursor to the ATTACK KNOB in the PING section.

Using the OCTAVE SWITCH and the SOUND SWITCH and the VARIABLE ADJUST KNOB, you have defined the basic sound “color” or timbre of a PRESET. Now with the PING and PEDAL controls, we’ll explore different ways of giving a “shape” to that basic sound.

In the sound we set up, the ATTACK KNOB was all the way down and the DECAY KNOB was at about “two’o’clock”. Both the SUSTAIN and RELEASE knobs were all the way down. This setting gives fairly short notes which sound immediately and die out quickly even if the key on the Model 270 is held down for a long time. Press F5 to turn the ATTACK KNOB clockwise. The effect at the beginning of this knob is very small, so move it to a straight up position and play a few notes. Listen to how the sound has been changed. The little “pop” at the beginning of the note has disappeared. Press F5 again to turn the knob a little more and play the keyboard. As the ATTACK KNOB reaches about “two’o’clock” and further, you will find that you have to hold down the key for a while to hear all the note. Moving the knob clockwise increases this time that it takes for the note to sound fully. Spend some time using F5/F7 to change the setting of the ATTACK KNOB and playing the keyboard to get a feeling for the action of this control. Before moving on, turn the ATTACK KNOB back to its fully counter-clockwise (minimum) setting.

NowpressFI to move the cursorto the DECAY KNOB. It should beat about “two’o’clock”. Press F7 to turn the knob counter-clockwise and play the keyboard. The notes have gotten shorter. They will become shorter and shorter as you turn down the knob until it is all the way down to its minimum position. At that setting, all you will hear is a “click” which is barely a note at all. Next press F5 to turn the knob clockwise. The notes will get longer and longer until at the higher settings you will have to hold down the key to hear the entire shape of the note. Play with this control for a bit and then reset the DECAY KNOB to about “two’o’clock” before moving on.

The PING section (ATTACK and DECAY together) controls the beginning of each sound, and the PEDAL section (SUSTAIN and RELEASE together) controls the middle and end of each sound.

Press FI to move the cursor to the SUSTAIN KNOB and then press F5 to move the knob up from its minimum position. Press a key on the

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Model 270 Keyboard and hold it down. You should hear the sound for as long as you press the key. Remember when this knob was all the way down, the note would die out no matter how long the key was depressed', but according to the time set by the DECAY KNOB. Now the note will last as long as you hold down the key. Press F5 to turn the SUSTAIN KNOB up a little more and press a key again. Now the note is louder as you hold down the key. The SUSTAIN KNOB controls the loudness of each sound after the ATTACK and DECAY have finished, but only if the key is still depressed. Play with this control a little and leave it at about “ten’o’clock” before moving on.

Move the cursor to the RELEASE KNOB and use F5 to turn it up all the way. Until now, each sound stopped completely as soon as you released the key, no matter how the other controls were set. The RELEASE KNOB controls the time it takes for the sound to fade out completely AFTER the key is “released”. Press a key on the Model 270, hold it down for a few seconds and then let go. With the RELEASE KNOB all the way up, it takes quite a few seconds for the sound to fade completely. As you turn down the RELEASE KNOB, this time decreases. Like the ATTACK KNOB, the RELEASE KNOB has very small differences between the lower settings. This is to allow precise control of some very small amounts of time. Change settings and press keys to become familiar with this control.

Now that you have explored all of the sound controls in the PRESET box, let’s set up another simple sound that uses all these controls.

1. Set the SUSTAIN KNOB straight up (twelve’o’clock).

2. Set the RELEASE KNOB to about “two’o’clock”.

3. Set the DECAY KNOB to about “two’o’clock”.

4. Set the ATTACK KNOB to about “one’o’clock”.

5. Set the SOUND SWITCH to the FLUTE position.

6. Set the OCTAVE SWITCH to “0”.

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r "\

CHANGES

-PING- Attack Decay

0 0

-PEDAL- Sustain Release

© 0 HELP Send to Disk Remember Changes Get From Disk

Now when you press a key on the keyboard, you should hear a smooth and mellow flute sound. Play with this sound for a while. You may notice that it seems to work nicely if you leave a little space (or time) between the notes you play on the keyboard. This gives the ATTACK and RELEASE controls time to do their shaping. Feel free to change any of the PRESET controls you like. You might enjoy making a guess to yourself about what the effect of a change will be before you make it and then hearing the result.

Before moving on to the MASTER controls, set the SOUND SWITCH to the WIND position, turn the ATTACK, DECAY, and RELEASE knobs all the way down, and turn the SUSTAIN KNOB straight up. The OCTAVE SWITCH should be in the “0” position. This setting of the PRESET controls should give you just a straight burst of the WIND sound when a key is depressed, and it should be useful for hearing the effects of the MASTER controls.

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Figure#5

USSNG THE MASTER CONTROLS A MASTER is a combination TONE and VOLUME setting which governs a PRESET In the Model 974SOUND MAKER, each PRESET has a MASTER assigned to it as part of the definition of the PRESET. In the other 970 Series products, a single MASTER may rule as many as three different PRESETS. This is because the songs you can make using the Model 971 SONG RECORDER have the capability of sounding three different PRESETS at once, but your Commodore 64 can have only one MASTER in effect at a time. This means that any MASTERS that you intend to use with other programs in Sequential’s 970 Series should sound ok with a variety of PRESETS. MASTERS intended for use with only the Model 974 can work exclusively with specific PRESETS, it you so choose.

This will become more understandable once you have a good idea of what the MASTER controls actually do, so let’s move on. Be sure you have the WIND demo PRESET set up (see Figure #5):

1. Set the OCTAVE SWITCH to the “0” position.

2. Set the SOUND SWITCH to the WIND position.

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3. Turn the ATTACK, DECAY, and RELEASE KNOBS all the way down.

4. Turn the SUSTAIN KNOB straight up (twelve’o’clock).

5. Press RETURN to move the cursor to the MASTER box.

Now set the MASTER controls:

1. Set the TONE SWITCH to the TREBLE position.

2. Turn the SHARPNESS KNOB straight up.

3. Turn the ADJUST KNOB to about “three’o’clock”.

4. Turn the VOLUME KNOB to about “two’o’ciock”.

(These MASTER settings are the same as those shown in Figure #3.)

Press a key on the Model 270 Keyboard. You should hear a straight WIND sound immediately, and it should stop when you release the key. OK? Now let’s take a look at the MASTER controls.

Move the cursortotheTONE ADJUST KNOB using FI orF3. Pressa key on the Model 270 Keyboard. Press F5 to raise the setting of the ADJUST KNOB slightly and press the same key again. The sound is “brighter”. Press F5and hold it down until the ADJUST KNOB is at its maximum setting. Now press the same key again. The sound should be still brighter. Next turn down the ADJUST KNOB little by little, alternately pressing F7 to turn down the knob and pressing the key on the keyboard to hear the sound. The sound should get “darker” until somewhere in the vicinity of “ten’o’clock” on the ADJUST KNOB the sound will disappear entirely. This is because with the SOUND SWITCH in the TREBLE POSITION, the TONE control takes out the sound from the TOP down to the level set by the ADJUST KNOB.

Press F3to move the cursor over to the TONE SWITCH and press F5 to set that switch to the BASS position. Now press FI to move the cursor back to the ADJUST KNOB. Press a key and listen to the sound. The sound is back! Now the TONE control is taking out the sound from the BOTTOM up to the level set by the ADJUST KNOB because the TONE SWITCH is set to the BASS position. Press F7 to

20

turn the ADJUST KNOB down to its minimum setting and press a key on the Model 270 Keyboard. You should be hearing the whole WIND sound. Use F5 to turn the ADJUST KNOB to its straight up position and play a note on the keyboard. From there, alternately press F5 and the note on the keyboard until the ADJUST KNOB is at its maximum setting. You should hear the TONE control taking out more and more of the sound from the bottom up to the level set by the ADJUST KNOB. Even at the maximum setting, however, the TONE control in its BASS position doesn’t take out quite all the sound.

Next press F3 to move the cursor to the TONE SWITCH and press F7 to set it to the COMBO position. Then move the cursor back over to the ADJUST KNOB and do the same kind of comparison of a key on the Model 270 Keyboard as you change the setting of the ADJUST KNOB up and down. In the COMBO position the TONE control takes out some of the bottom of the sound and also some of the top of the sound, leaving a band in the MIDDLE. The ADJUST KNOB is used to move this band up and down.

Leave the ADJUST KNOB set at about “three’o’clock” and press F3 to move the cursor to theSHARPNESS KNOB. Holddown a key on the keyboard and use F5/F7 to move the SHARPNESS setting up and down. With the TONE SWITCH in the COMBO position, turning up the SHARPNESS control makes the MIDDLE of the sound louder. Move the knob setting up and down and listen carefully to the effect. Then move the cursor to the TONE SWITCH and press F5 to set the SWITCH to the TREBLE position. Move the cursor back to the SHARPNESS KNOB and hold down a key on your Model 270 Keyboard while using F5/F7 to move the SHARPNESS setting up and down. With the TONE SWITCH in the TREBLE position, turning up the SHARPNESS control makes the TOP of the sound louder. Listen to this happening for a while and then move the cursor back to the TONE SWITCH and press F5 to set the switch to the BASS position. Move the cursor back to the SHARPNESS KNOB, hold down a key and again move the knob setting up and down using F5/F7. With the TONE SWITCH in the BASS position, turning up the SHARPNESS control makes the BOTTOM of the sound louder. Listen carefully to this effect, and, if you wish, move back and forth between different TONE SWITCH positions and SHARPNESS control settings until you are sure you can hear the difference that the switch positions and control settings make.

The VOLUME KNOB simply serves to control the loudness of the sound. With certain PRESETS or MASTERS it may be necessary to

21

adjust this knob to make your different sounds seem to have about the same loudness. For instance, the mellow flute sound we set up before is quite a bit softer than the harpsichord sound, so you should turn the VOLUME KNOB up past “two’o’clock” to “three’o’clock” or “four’o’clock” when you make a MASTER for the flute sound.

If you like, refer back to the set-up instructions for the harpsichord and the flute. Be sure the PRESET indicator is showing “01” and the MASTER indicator “A”- then follow the harpsichord set-up instruc¬ tions on page 13 (see Figure #3). When you have finished, move the cursor to REMEMBER CHANGES and press F5 or F7 to store the PRESET in the computer’s memory. Set up the MASTER and select REMEMBER CHANGES in that box as well. Next, change the PRESET INDICATOR to “02” and the MASTER INDICATOR to “B” and refer back to the flute set-up instructions on page 17 (see Figure ff4). When that sound is set up, select REMEMBER CHANGES to store the flute sound in memory. Then press RETURN to move the cursor to the MASTER box and set the TONE SWITCH to TREBLE, turn the SHARPNESS KNOB to a straight up position, turn the ADJUST KNOB to “three’o’clock”, and turn the VOLUME KNOB to “two’o’clock”. This MASTER should now be the same as MASTER “A”.

Once these settings are made you can raise the setting of the VOLUME KNOB in MASTER “B” in order to get the flute sound near the same loudness as the harpsichord. Don’t forget to select REMEMBER CHANGES in the MASTER box after you raise the VOLUME KNOB setting. Then press RETURN to move the cursor to the PRESET INDICATOR and play a few notes on the keyboard. Use F5/F7 to change back and forth between PRESET: 02 (the flute) and PRESET: 01 (the harpsichord) playing a few notes on each one. In this way you can balance the loudness of the two PRESETS. Remember, each time you make a change you must select the appropriate REMEMBER CHANGES before you leave that PRESET or the CHANGES you made will be forgotten.

Now the computer has two PRESETS in it that you have set up. See how easy it is? Play with these two PRESETS for a while and experiment with different control settings in the MASTER box. You will find many different sounds are possible from just these two PRESETS.

You’re ready to goon to constructing sounds of your own using your Model 974 SOUND MAKER. Experiment and enjoy!

OO

disk operations Your Model 974 SOUND MAKER is designed for use with a Commodore VIC-1541 disk drive and 5Vi" single sided, single density floppy disks. Dysan, 3M, Maxell, and Verbatim are all acceptable quality diskettes.

As you are using the disk drive with your Model 974, you may see different ERROR MESSAGES appear in a window in the center of the screen. They are designed to give you an idea of the nature of the problem and its simple solution. Refer to this section whenever you have questions.

DISKETTE NOT FOUND IN DISK DRIVE. PRESS RETURN TO CONTINUE

You will see this message when there is no diskette in your disk drive, or if the disk in your drive is improperly formatted (see PROCEDURE FOR “NEW”ING A DATA DISK). Insert a properly formatted disk in your drive, press RETURN, and try again. This message will also appear if your disk drive is turned off. In this case, remove any disk from the drive, turn on the drive, insert a properly formatted disk, and press RETURN.

DO YOU WISH TO SET UP A NEW DISK? PRESS “Y” FOR YES OR “N” FOR NO.

This message appears during a SEND TO DISK operation after the above message appears and you press RETURN. If you wish to format a new disk, try a SEND TO DISK with no diskette in the disk drive, press RETURN when the DISKETTE NOT FOUND message appears, when you see this message, press “Y” and follow the instructions which appear on the screen (see PROCEDURE FOR “NEW’ING A DATA DISK). If you do not wish to set up a new disk, press “N”, remove any disk from the drive, make sure the drive is turned on, insert a properly formatted data disk, and try again.

PRESETS ALREADY ON THIS DISKETTE. DO YOU WISH TO REPLACE?

PRESS “Y” FOR YES OR “N” FOR NO.

This message also appears during a SEND TO DISK operation. It indicates that one set of PRESETS is on the diskette and would be lost if the save were completed. You may save the present PRESETS onto this disk, but you should be aware that the ones already on the disk will be lost.

MASTERS ALREADY ON THIS DISKETTE. DO YOU WISH TO REPLACE?

PRESS “Y” FOR YES OR “N” FOR NO.

This is the same as the above message, but it applies to MASTERS.

PRESETS NOT FOUND ON DISKETTE. PRESS RETURN TO CONTINUE.

This message appears during a GET FROM DISK operation, indicating that the disk in the drive has no PRESETS on it. Find a disk that does have PRESETS on it (your Model 974 Master Disk does), insert that disk in the drive, and try again.

MASTERS NOT FOUND ON DISKETTE.

This is the same as the above message, but it applies to MASTERS.

THERE HAS BEEN A DISK ERROR! PRESS RETURN TO CONTINUE.

This message indicates that the drive is having trouble with the diskette. It could be that you have attempted a SEND TO DISK to a “write-protected” disk such as your Model 974 Master Disk. Insert a properly formatted data disk in your disk drive and try again. This message also is used for miscellaneous disk errors. If you have repeated trouble which shows this message, remove the disk from yourdisk drive, turn off the power to the drive and turn it on again, tap the edge of the disk gently on a table once or twice, reinsert the disk in the disk drive, and try your operation again. If you still have a problem, consult your VIC-1541 owner’s manual.

PROCEDURE FOR “MEWING A DATA DISK “NEWING or formatting a data disk is an operation which sets up a disk to receive data. The disk is given a name and ID number (often called a “header”), and any programs or data already on the disk are erased. This procedure MUST be done to fresh disks that have never been used, and it MAY be done to used disks which have nothing on them that you want to keep. REMEMBER, ANYTHING ON THE DISK WILL BE ERASED.

1. Make sure the disk contains nothing you wish to keep.

2. Remove any disk from your disk drive.

24

3. Select SEND TO DISK from either the PRESET box or the MASTER box.

4 Press “V” to answer yes to the question, “SAVE PRESETS (MASTERS) - ARE YOU SURE?”. Wait for the error message, “DISKETTE NOT FOUND IN DISK DRIVE.”

5 Press “Y” to answer yes to the question, “DO YOU WISH TO SET UP A NEW DISK?”

6 Insert the diskette when you see the message, “PLEASE PUT DISKETTE IN DRIVE.”

7. Press RETURN.

8. Wait for the disk drive to do its job.

Note: Always label each disk you format. Be sure you write whatever you want to write on the label BEFORE you attach it to the disk. NEVER write on a label which is already on a disk!

Data disks which you have formatted with the Model 974 may also be used to save songs made on the Model 971 Song Recorder. Each disk can hold up to five songs recorded on the 971 in addition to one set of twenty PRESETS and one set of twenty MASTERS.

25

GLOSSARY ATTACK The time it takes after you press a key for the sound

BASS

to reach its maximum loudness. The ATTACK time is usually measured in fractions of a second.

The low range of sounds. In the Model 974, BASS is a TONE control SWITCH position which turns the ADJUST KNOB into a BASS control, taking out some of the bottom range of sounds. The size of that range is controlled with the ADJUST KNOB.

BOX A rectangular line on the screen which encloses a group of CONTROLS, MENU SELECTIONS, or MESSAGES.

COMBO A SWITCH position of the Model 974 TONE control. COMBO turns the ADJUST KNOB into a combination BASS and TREBLE control which lets through only a middle range of sounds. The size of the range is set with the SHARPNESS KNOB, and the location of the range is set with the ADJUST KNOB.

CONTROL PANEL

The Model 974screen which shows the SWITCHES, KNOBS, and MENU SELECTIONS. The CONTROL PANEL is divided into two boxes-the PRESET box and the MASTER box.

CONTROLS The INDICATORS, SWITCHES, and KNOBS that allow you to change the values which determine the sound made by the Commodore 64.

CURSOR The flashing reversed (highlighted) place on the screen that indicates which CONTROL or MENU SELECTION is active at the moment.

DATA DISK A diskette used to save and load information. For the Model 974, this information consists of sets of twenty PRESETS or MASTERS.

DECAY The time it takes after the ATTACK for the loudness of the sound to fall from its maximum level to the SUSTAIN level. The DECAY KNOB sets the length of this time.

26

DISK

DISK OPERATIONS

DISKETTE

format

FUNCTION KEYS

HELP

INDICATORS

KNOBS

LOUDNESS

MASTER

In the Model 974, DISK refers to a 5V4" single sided, single density floppy disk. More generally, a DISK is a rotating magnetic medium used for data storage and retrieval.

Processes which send information or commands to or from a disk drive.

Same as DISK, above.

A DISK OPERATION which sets up a diskette to receive information. It also erases any programs or data already on the disk. FORMATTING is some¬ times referred to as HEADERING or “NEW”ing or “setting up” a disk.

The four large keys located together to the right of the typewriter keyboard on your Commodore 64. They are labeled “FI”, “F3”, “F5”, and “F7”.

A MENU SELECTION which, when chosen, dis¬ plays various screens of information about your Model 974.

Locations on the screen which give information about the status of certain conditions. INDICA¬ TORS may be CONTROLS when they contain information which you can change directly (as in PRESET and MASTER), or they may be passive (as in the CHANGES window) and merely reflect the status involved.

CONTROLS which allow the smooth adjustment of a setting.

The perceived VOLUME of the sound. In this manual, LOUDNESS and VOLUME are used inter¬ changeably.

A combination TONE and VOLUME setting. Part of the definition of each PRESET is which MASTER is used with that PRESET. MASTERS can be saved to disk in sets of twenty, one set per disk.

27

MASTER DISK The disk containing your Model 974 SOUND MAKER program.

MENU A list of choices of action. Selection of an action is often made with the cursor, but it can also be made by pressing specified keys. The CONTROL PANEL of your Model 974 is actually two menu boxes - a PRESET menu box and a MASTER menu box. If you select HELP from either of these MENU boxes, you will see a more traditional MENU which asks you to press one of the FUNCTION KEYS to choose which type of HELP you want.

MENU SELECTIONS

The individual choices .of action within a MENU.

MODEL 270 The Sequential Circuits Model 270 Music Keyboard, a piano-style keyboard designed to be plugged into your Commodore 64.

MODEL 971 Sequential’s Model 971 SONG RECORDER allows recording on disk of songs up to 2176 notes.

MODEL 972 Sequential’s Model 972 SONG EDITOR allows sophisticated editing of songs recorded using the Model 971. The model 972 features a dynamic screen display of the actual scores of your songs.

MODEL 973 Sequential’s Model 973 SONG PRINTER makes hard copy printouts of the scores of your songs using the Commodore VIC-1525 or compatible printer.

MODEL 974 Your Model 974 SOUND MAKER, which enables you to construct an almost endless variety of sounds with disk storage and retrieval.

NEW See FORMAT.

OCTAVE Any twelve adjacent notes on a piano-style key¬ board. An OCTAVE is a measure of distance in terms of pitch (low to high notes). For instance, the second “C” on the Model 270 Keyboard is an OCTAVE above the first “C” and an OCTAVE below the third “C”.

28

PRESET

RELEASE

return

SCREEN

SELECTIONS

SET UP

SHARPNESS

SPACE BAR

SUSTAIN

SWITCHES

TONE

A combination of CONTROL settings which together determine a certain sound played by the Commodore 64.

The time it takes for the sound of the note to die out completely after the Model 270 key is released. The RELEASE KNOB adjusts the length of this time.

The large key labeled “RETURN” on the right end of the third row of typewriter keys on your Com¬ modore 64. In the Model 974 CONTROL PANEL Display, RETURN is used to bounce the cursor from the PRESET MENU box to the MASTER MENU box and back again. In other parts of the 974, RETURN is used as a “continue” command and is always requested on the screen.

A display on the screen of your TV set or video monitor. A display of information which takes up the whole screen is called a SCREEN of information.

See MENU SELECTIONS.

See FORMAT.

The focus or emphasis of the TONE control.

1. The long key at the bottom of the typewriter keyboard on your Commodore 64. 2. A place where alien beings imbibe their favorite beverages and observe interplanetary mating rituals.

The loudness level reached after the ATTACK and DECAY are completed. The SUSTAIN level is maintained only as long as a Model 270 key is depressed.

CONTROLS which permit a choice of one of several set values.

Also called “timbre” by musicians, TONE is the “color” (dark to bright) of the sound.

29

TREBLE The high range of sounds. In the Model 974, TREBLE is a TONE control SWITCH position which turns the ADJUST KNOB into a TREBLE control, taking out a range of the topmost sounds. The size of this range is controlled with the ADJUST KNOB.

VOLUME See LOUDNESS.

WRITE- PROTECTED DISK

A diskette which will not allow you to save any new information on it. Your Model 974 Master Disk is a WRITE-PROTECTED disk. You can WRITE- PROTECT your data disks by attaching a write- protect tab (supplied with each box of diskettes) over the single notch on the right edge of the disk. This is a good practice to observe when you have a disk with information you don’t want to erase by mistake.

30

appendix The knobs and switches on the Control Panel of the Model 974 correspond to common synthesizer controls. If you are used to working with synthesizers, you may want to know what the SOUND MAKER controls are in synthesizer language. If you aren’t familiar with synthesizers, you still may want to take a look at this section just for your own information, or perhaps with an eye to the future purchase of a synthesizer.

The SOUND MAKER names are on the left, and the common synthesizer terminology is on the right.

SOUNDMAKER SYNTHESIZER

attack ATTACK

BASS HIGH PASS With the TONE SWITCH in the BASS position, the TONE control acts as a HIGH PASS filter.

CHANGES EDIT Found on some synthesizers with presets.

COMBO BAND PASS With the TONE SWITCH in the COMBO position, the TONE control acts as a BAND PASS filter.

DECAY DECAY

FLUTE TRIANGLE WAVE

MASTER None. This is an exclusive feature of your Model 974 SOUND MAKER.

OCTAVE OCTAVE or REGISTER

PING & PEDAL ENVELOPE Together, PING & PEDAL form an ADSR ENVELOPE. (ADSR = attack, decay, sustain, release)

PRESET PRESET

RELEASE RELEASE

SHARPNESS RESONANCE

31

SOUNDMAKER SYNTHESIZER

SOUND WAVEFORM

SUSTAIN SUSTAIN

TONE FILTER

TONE ADJUST CUTOFF FREQUENCY

TREBLE LOW PASS With the TONE SWITCH in the TREBLE position, the TONE control acts as a LOW PASS filter.

VARIABLE PULSE WAVE

VARIABLE ADJUST

PULSE WIDTH

VIOLIN SAWTOOTH WAVE

VOLUME VOLUME or OUTPUT (or GAIN)

WIND NOISE

32

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©Copyright 1984 by Sequential Circuits, Inc.