Ultrasound Daily Digest     Mon, 16 Nov 92       Volume 1 : Issue  21 

Today's Topics:
						  Digital Inputs ??
							FAQ: ftp sites
							 first notes
					GUS windows MIDI capabilities
				  Ken Goach's correct email address
					   Not-so-Novice GUS User!
				   SBOS, 286 and other problems...
					Ultrasound Daily Digest V1 #19
					WILL GUS EVER EMULATE ROLAND?

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 22:38:48 GMT
From: erikt@sfbbs.edvina.se (Erik Tjernlund)
Message-Id: <cBVauB1w164w@sfbbs.edvina.se>
Subject: Digital Inputs ??
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>

Hi...
I'm extremely interested in ordering a GUS (I'm in no hurry....), but 
I are there anyone out there who knows if Gravis are planing to make 
a daughterboard that has a direct digital input on it ?
It seems to me that that would be logical product....most people who 
want to sample stuff have cd-players and/or dat recorders and if the 
GUS had an input you could sample with better quality than analog 
inputs.
And even better is that it's gotta be cheaper to make a direct 
digital input than an analog one....




Erik T.

 _Tel: +46 08-6424077 _24h/day V.32/32"_   _  _  
(_' _ , _  _  _ _    l_ , _ l_, _  _  l_) l_)(_'
._)(_ l(-'l )(_(-'   l  l(_ l l(_)l ) l_) l_)._)
erikt@sfbbs.edvina.se Author: Erik Tjernlund, Date:15-Nov-92

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 1:03:17 EST
From: dionf@ERE.UMontreal.CA (Francois Dion)
Message-Id: <9211160603.AA03100@brise.ERE.UMontreal.CA>
Subject: FAQ: ftp sites
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>

>Apologies if this is a FAQ, but I have heard mentioned several times that
>there is a ftp site with ultrasound demos ( better than the ones supplied
>with the card ). Can anyone tell me the site address ? 

The official ftp site #1: epas.utoronto.ca

not GUS related ftp site but with lots of midi files: ftp.cwi.nl

Another site with midi files is louie.

windows stuff ftp site: ftp.cica.indiana.edu

csound for dos ftp site: bath.ac.uk (doc on cecelia.media-lab.mit.edu)

mod files site: wuarchive.wustl.edu & info.brad.ac.uk

Ciao,
-- 
Francois Dion
	'  _   _   _ 
 CISM (_) (_)  _) FM       Montreal , Canada       Email: CISM@ERE.UMontreal.CA
	  (_)  / . _)             10000 Watts          Telephone no: (514) 343-7511
_______________________________________________________________________________
Audio-C-DJ-Fractals-Future-Label-Multimedia-Music-Radio-Rave-Video-VR-Volvo-...

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 16:24:50 -0500
From: hugh@mimosa.com ("D. Hugh Redelmeier")
Message-Id: <9211152124.AA17395@redvax.mimosa.com>
Subject: first notes
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>

I just got a GUS Friday.  I have not had much time to play with it,
but I do have a few notes that might be useful.

- I bought it from NTC Software of Toronto (416) 292-9000.  They
  said they have plenty of stock.  I paid C$169.95 plus tax
  (~US$136).  I was going to wait for the soundcard market to settle
  down, but when I saw it (at a computer show), I just bought it.

- The GUS came with a pair of Koss SA/20 Digital Stereo Speaker
  System speakers at no extra cost.  Is this normal, or was this an
  extra thrown in by the store?

- Looking at the board, I noticed:
  + All chips have date codes 9217 or earlier (around the start of
	May).  Was this board ready for a while?
  + The latest date on the software is Nov 4 -- version 1.21
	(no, this was not discovered by looking at the board).
  + There seem to be a lot of capacitors and resistors
  + The board is single-layered
  + The jumpers have handles!  I've never seen that before (but I'm
	a software guy).  This makes them a lot easier to play with, but
	the handles seem to (almost?) touch the next board.
  + The main custom chip is labeled "GARVIS" (sic)!
  + The RAM chips are Motorola MCM514256AP70.  I think that means
	that they are 70ns, rather than the 100ns specified.

- The installation seemed easy.  The sticking points were:
  + I didn't notice that I had to manually install midimap.cfg.
  + The README.BAT on the first disk was fairly large.  Instead of
	trying to memorize it all, I massaged it and printed it.
	It would be nice if there were a version on the disk that was
	suitable for printing.
  + The windows driver had two parts that could be selected, but I
	only installed "Ultra Wave and MIDI Synth".  Should I have
	installed the other one too?

- So far, we have tried.
  + mididemo (nice, but too loud for a 3AM installation :-)
  + Silent Service II (installed to use AdLib)
  + Monkey Island II (seemed to configure itself) (a few sounds
	seemed questionable)
  + USS 8.  Could record sound from my mic.
  + Windows Sound Recorder applet.  Recorded from the mic at much
	too low a level (barely audible and lost in noise floor)

- I have a few problems that I have yet to solve, but I haven't yet
  worked hard on them:
  + The sound level is too high with every program that I have tried.
	I wish the speakers had a volume control, but they do not.
	Each program from Gravis has a volume control flag, but that
	is awkward.  I wonder if there is a permanent (until reboot)
	volume control setting (say, as a flag to ultrinit.exe.  If I
	reduce the volume, does that cut into the 16 bits of resolution
	(say, by making the top bit always 0)?
  + Running SBOS seems awkward.  I haven't yet looked at ubat.

P.S.  As a techie, I would like to know more about the structure of
the card & how to program it.  I bet that I would never get around
to using the info :-)

P.P.S. Let's try to keep this mailing list full of information.  As a
reader, I find the emotional flames and pleas to be embarassing,
off putting, and a waste of my time as a reader.

P.P.P.S.
| Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 2:36:33 CST
| From: janicek@ccu.UManitoba.CA
| Message-Id: <9211150836.AA05321@vogt.cc.umanitoba.ca>
| Subject: GUS for salecat txt
| To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>
| 
| For sale:     Gravis Ultrasound (you guys know the specs!).
| Price:        $200 Canadian + Shipping
| Availability: Immediate! (Shipping depending on how you order it may take max 1
|                           week)
| 
| If interested mail me : Janicek@ccu.umanitoba.ca

This seems a little expensive given what I paid.

Hugh Redelmeier
hugh@mimosa.com or {utcsri, uunet!attcan, utzoo, scocan}!redvax!hugh
When all else fails: hugh@csri.toronto.edu
+1 416 482-8253

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 23:40:37 EST
From: dionf@ERE.UMontreal.CA (Francois Dion)
Message-Id: <9211160440.AA01270@brise.ERE.UMontreal.CA>
Subject: GUS windows MIDI capabilities
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>

I was going thru some really old mail about the GUS and i found this that has
not been answered. (I couldn't at the time). It's a reply to Gord's question,
but also a comment for everyone who is contemplating using an external midi
device in windows.

In a message of Gord Wait was asked:
>OK, so if Gus can use the WINDOWS mm midi support, then it will allow
>cakewalk to run. The question I ask is how good of a midi sequencer can you
>make with the windows driver in terms of midi clock resolution??
>1. Some quick and dirty midi sequencing programs offer LOW beats per quarter
>note resolution (ie 96 beats per quarter note) which is OK for mucking about,

In Windows, Midisoft studio offers 96 pqn, Master Tracks Pro 240 pqn,
Cadenza for Windows 480 and Cakewalk 480.

>but doesn't cut it for more serious music production. I would like to see over 
>300 beats per quarter note for heavy sequencing.

On my 386-33, 480 pqn is achievable, no sweat.

>2.Clock jitter: how stable is the Windows midi clock? Even if a system provides
>decent clock resolution,if the clock timing jitters around due to mouse interru
>pts and or other CPU interruptions, then again, its not much good for anything
>except game soundtracks..

I have not tried anything with either my Roland or Ensoniq for the midi in
because it is not implemented: midiInGetNumDevs returns 0 devices. Also
midiOutGetNumDevs return 2 and are the midimapper and the ultrasound synth,
but no trace of the midiout connector. No wonder i have not been able to do
any playback on my keyboards. The window driver is version 0x0100 (1 i suppose)
and is from the 1.21 disk set (on epas.utoronto). But to answer the question,
i had no problem with the ultrasound playback. Now, when we'll have the general
midi patches and the midi connector, we'll be able to use it more seriously.

Ciao,
-- 
Francois Dion
	'  _   _   _ 
 CISM (_) (_)  _) FM       Montreal , Canada       Email: CISM@ERE.UMontreal.CA
	  (_)  / . _)             10000 Watts          Telephone no: (514) 343-7511
_______________________________________________________________________________
Audio-C-DJ-Fractals-Future-Label-Multimedia-Music-Radio-Rave-Video-VR-Volvo-...

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 15:13:21 CST
From: ken@batman.austin.ibm.com (Ken Goach)
Message-Id: <9211152113.AA10388@batman.austin.ibm.com>
Subject: Ken Goach's correct email address
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>

HI all,

Chris (chrisw) noted that email to me was bouncing. I forget
that my address includes the node name in notes from me, but
notes to me should be addressed without the node name. So
you all can (if you want to) email me at:

ken@austin.ibm.com

Sorry, folks!

Ken

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 12:18:43 EST
From: warrenl@graphics.rent.com (Warren Lieuallen)
Message-Id: <w0iauB1w165w@graphics.rent.com>
Subject: Not-so-Novice GUS User!
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>

   Well, all my whining and pleading in my last message (2 days ago)
are mostly forgotton now.  By fiddling around with DMA channels and
IRQ's, I've now gotten the GUS working pretty well.  Just a few final
comments I thought I'd pass on....
  
   The volume control keys in SBOS wouldn't work.  I finally got them
to work by redefining them (in the SBOS.CFG file) as "<" and ">".
However, it's STILL the "[" and "]" keys that now work!  Go figure!
  
   Many of the MIDI files still don't play to completion  --  do I
need more RAM in the GUS, or just in my system?  I don't know.
  
   PLAYFILE just doesn't work for me, but AUDIO and PLAYDIGI are
just fine.  USS8 apparently REQUIRES AUDIO, but this wasn't mentioned
in the manual.
  
   Most of the games and programs I've tried work with SBOS quite well.
Had to search for a MOD player; MODPLAY sounds lousy, MODEDIT won't
work, DMP is silent.  Finally got TRAK, and that's quite good.  Wing
Commander I is VERY slow (but I've got a 12 MHz '286); I'm afraid to
even try Wing Commander II!  Lemmings works, but the screen colors
flash in time to the music (kinda cool, actually!).
  
   All in all, after three days with my GUS, I'm quite happy.  I 
suppose nothing's perfect the first time around.  I am hoping, though,
that Gravis will have new releases (SBOS, PLAYFILE, PLAYMIDI), and
that I'll get them (either from Gravis, or here!).

  ======================The Graphics BBS @ (908)469-0049=====================
  Dr. Warren G. Lieuallen    R.W.Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute
  BitNet: LIEUALLEN@ALLOY    Raritan, NJ   (908)704-4368
  InterNet: warrenl@graphics.rent.com
  ===="Imagination is more important than knowledge." -- Albert Einstein ====

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 1:33:31 EST
From: dionf@ERE.UMontreal.CA (Francois Dion)
Message-Id: <9211160633.AA03291@brise.ERE.UMontreal.CA>
Subject: SBOS, 286 and other problems...
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>

> From: elewis@eve.wright.edu (Edward Lewis IV)
> Subject: GSBOS settings --HELP!
> 
> To Experienced Gravis Ultrasound Users ----  HELP!
>    ( if there is such a person yet?)
> 
> Well, after the long wait I have received my Ultrasound.  The
> installation was very simple and straightforward, although it would've
> been nice if I had received DISK 4 and not 2 DISK 5's.  Just missing a
> few patches...Very annoying when going into windows due to all the error
> messages.  I am very pleased with it so far.  I have had some trouble
> getting SBOS to work with a few games and was wondering if anyone else
> has had any luck with them either.  The list is below.
> 
> 
> Links386 Pro            --  Can't get Soundblaster to work.  Adlib
>                             really really bad then locks.  

The solution was posted by gravis a few days ago. check the digest
archive on epas.utoronto.ca

> CakeWalk Pro /windows   --  I did get it to play once but now I get 
>    (demo version)           nothing.  I know -NOTHING- about MIDI so
>                             this could be my problem. How do you set it
>                             up to work correctly.

This is a complex problem. See my message about MIDI and Patch Caching.

> SoundTool V2.6          --  Are there any drivers for the Ultrasound or
>                             soundblaster or adlib.  I don't have any and
>                             I read someones post about how the like
>                             using Soundtool with the Ultrasound.

Get wham.zip. It will allow you some basic operations. If you register
soundtool, you get support for Multimedia extentions so that will work
with the GUS. There is also another package called waveedit but it is real
slow. Check it out anyway. wham and waveedit are on ftp.cica.indiana.edu.

> ------------------------------
> 
> From: impster@ais.org (Charles Budensiek)
> Subject: GUS and Windows on a 80286?!
> 
> Time for me to whine...
> 
> I CAN'T USE THE GUS IN WINDOWS 3.1 ON A 286!?!?!?! AAARRGGHHH!!!

No. The driver need the 386.

> Is there ANY way for me to play *.wav files in windows through my GUS on a
> 16MHz 80286?

Well, there is a way, but you won't like the answer. Are you sure you want to
know? Yes. Really? YES. But you wont like it... SAY IT ANYWAY (does it
sound like hitchhikers guide to the galaxy or what!).

You need to write a simple driver that will write data in the GUS buffer and
then use the timer to trigger the DAC. Of course you need the developper kit
and a window 3.1 compatible compiler like Borland CPP3.1 or Microsoft C7.0.

I told you, you wouldn't like it!

> Thanks

Hey, anytime! 8)

> ------------------------------
> 
> From: ylee@norton.uwaterloo.ca
> Subject: kbmidi & mididrum
> 
> Hi all,
> 
>I'd like to apologize to those who downloaded kbmidi from epas. I accidentally 
>put a wrong .exe....:( Anyway, I've uploaded a correct one ( kbmidi_new_exe.zip
>so try it out and see if that one works. I've also uploaded mididrum ( by 

Do you get any percussions or effects? (yes i get the applause i think, but
that's about it...)

>Charles Petzold - also modified for Ultrasound ) , a drum machine sequencer to
>epas.utoronto.ca so try that one out too. Both of them WORKED on my PC but
>I can't guarantee that they will work on any PCs although it should work on
>any PC with Windows 3.1.    

Did you compile drum.c? or just drumdll.c? I have modified drum.c to have a
better resolution (theorically up to 1000 ppqn, in 1ppqn increments) but
i get 4 compile errors in drum.c. I do get them also in your source without
my additions. If it works for you, would you mind sending me the .prj file?

I have also added the detection to be sure that the midiOutCacheDrumPatches
is supported by the card, in case the modified mididrum gets in the hands
of an owner of another card...

And BTW, i can only use bass drum1, closed hihat, open hihat, tambourine,
high bongo, low bongo, Muted high conga, low conga and low timbale. I have
installed the 1.21 disks. Do you get anything more?

> ------------------------------
> 
> >Keyboard magazine in October suggested that Win 3.1 was useless for
> >playing back samples along with sequences because
> >the timing was appalling (3/4 of a second slop each way).
> 
> What keyboard was talking about was triggering .WAV files from MIDI
> sequences, which has lousy performance. I didn't notice any problems
> playing MIDI sequences with Cakewalk Professional in Windows.

And that would be from cakewalk i suppose. Theorically cakewalk can trigger
to 1/500th of a second, so i guess that they messed up the programming...

> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Fri, 13 Nov 92 10:30:45 PST
> From: mtichy@sfu.ca
> Message-Id: <9211131830.AA26695@fraser.sfu.ca>
> Subject: software and problems
> To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>
> 
>      Well, the author of Blaster Master, Gary Maddox is 
> getting his latest version Ultra Master tested by Gravis.  
> This will probably be the first shareware release for the GUS 
> to appear.

And Yuri has made the first freeware... by modifying kbmidi. (and mididrum)

> > This is because the drums are on channel 10, with no patch
> > associated. The
> > driver should have the possibility to assign a drum kit to channel
> > 10.
>  
> How do I do this?

That's the problem. I have not tried this, but maybe you can assign a patch
to the channel, and then in the ultrawin.cfg, associate percs.pat to this
patch entry.

> > Why would you want to run sbos before windows? You can deinstall
> > sbos with the -f option.
>  
> So when I multi-task small dos games, I can get soundblaster 
> emulation.

I didn't tought of that... Do you get acceptable speed? And what games?

> I thought the Gravis BBS was supposed to up by now.  Where is it?

Yeah? Where is it?

Ciao,
-- 
Francois Dion
	'  _   _   _ 
 CISM (_) (_)  _) FM       Montreal , Canada       Email: CISM@ERE.UMontreal.CA
	  (_)  / . _)             10000 Watts          Telephone no: (514) 343-7511
_______________________________________________________________________________
Audio-C-DJ-Fractals-Future-Label-Multimedia-Music-Radio-Rave-Video-VR-Volvo-...

------------------------------

Date: 14 Nov 92 17:04:26 +0100
From: BJORNHK@dhhalden.no
Message-Id: <MAILQUEUE-101.921114170425.480@sofus.dhhalden.no>
Subject: Ultrasound Daily Digest V1 #19
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>

> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 92 2:49:21 EST
> From: Phat H Tran <ptran@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>
> Message-Id: <9211140749.AA14709@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>
> Subject: Making GUS coexist with SB.
> To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>
>
> - Falcon 3.0 stuff deleted -
>
> the digitized speech almost incomprehensible.  So, I'm working on making
> my GUS coexist with my SB.
>
> I managed to get every feature of both cards to function together except
> the SB's Adlib compatibility.  Games that drive the SB as an SB work fine
> with my GUS/SB setup, but those that use the SB as an Adlib card do not
> detect Adlib compatibility.  It seems that the GUS is hogging port
> addresses 388h and 389h which the SB uses for Adlib emulation.  Is there
> any way to force the GUS to let go of these two addresses?  Seeing as
> how there are many undocumented jumpers on the card, there must be a way
> of doing so.  If not, then is there a utility which will let me map
> addresses 388h and 389h to 228h and 229h?
>
> My two cards' base addresses, IRQ's and other vital stats are as follows:
>
>                     GUS                 SB
> Base Address        230h               220h
> DMA channel          3                  1
> IRQs             (GF1) 11               5
>                 (MIDI) 12
>

You mean you actually got the SB and GUS to coexist, that meaning
your computer actally booted with both cards in? My computer just
refused doing anything at all when I tried that. Great if it works,
though, since that would solve quite a problem for us who already
have got an SB in addition to the GUS

Now, the problem you mentioned about Ad Lib compatability may stem
from an 'Ad Lib comptatability interface chip' I've heard talk about.
This chip was - if I remember corectly - the only solution for geting
the board Ad Lib compatible at all. Some sort of compromise between
hardware and software compatability, you might say.

Anybody know anything more about this?

	-=* Bjorn :: bjornhk@sofus.dhhalden.no
  ACCESS DATA :: TEL: (+47)-9-17 50 48/61-97 791
				 BBS: 61-97 304/97 945

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 14:14:48 EST
From: adrianr@ecr.mu.oz.au (Adriano_Ennio RAIOLA)
Message-Id: <9211160315.12076@ecr.mu.oz.au>
Subject: WILL GUS EVER EMULATE ROLAND?
To: Ultrasound Daily Digest <ultrasound@dsd.es.com>

HI, first of all I'm new to this list, I don't own a GUS (yet :) but as I've
only seen 1 in Australia for the first time, and it costs $325! I think I'll
wait a little bit, also to see if this promised extra demo software and manuals
gets released,

Anyway, my question is, if the GUS is supposedly so good at playing midi files
etc, can it be too hard for Gravis to write a Roland MT-32 or LAPC or SCC-1 
emulator? Surely all the games that support the Roland simply select from
the Rolands 128 voices or whatever and plays them via midi, why cant the
gravis do the same, either substituting its own patches for Roland voices,
or even getting a ROland patch collection together??

Another query, since these GUS's do cost so much in Australia, and knowing
things here not likely to come down, can someone email me the name,address,
fax no. etc of either Gravis itself or a mail order company i might be
able to get an order form from? 

I know the Gravis costs about 160-170 US (doesnt it?) and supposedly 200
canadian, ive also heard it can be bought as low as $130-140 US, can someone
fill me in on details where I can mail order to get it at this or any price?

Thanks v.much

-- 
| adrianr@ecr.mu.oz.au --------| Adrian -aka- Plugger | *  * *  *   *  |  _/_\
| adrianr@mundil.cs.mu.oz.au --| What time is love?   | *_*  * *_  *_  | / OZ |
| adrianr@munagin.ee.mu.oz.au -| I think its gonna be | * *  *   *   * | \__-_/
| adrianr@mullauna.cs.mu.oz.au | a long, long time.   | *  * *  *   *  |     v

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End of Ultrasound Daily Digest V1 #21
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