Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

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you to store up to 18 samples in
memory (if you've enough free ram).
These can be played in any order by
pressing the keys that you have
assigned so that you may record a
sequence and replay it later.
The software is controlled by
pointing and clicking with the mouse.
If the icons on the buttons in the
screen shot look familiar, they should_
The icons are exactly the same as
those used in A.M.A.S as it's the same
group of people behind the product.
As with all sampling hardware, you
must achieve the correct input level so
that you so do not get any clipping at
the peeks of the sample. Adjusting the
signal input level can he done with
the help of a LED style peek level
meter. If the signal is high it beats to
the red lights towards the top of the
scale. The manual suggests that you
use the oscilloscope to do this, which
is quite reasonable is you happen to
have a sine wave generator to produce
exactly the same frequency all the
time. Seeing as the kind of stuff
people usually record are pulsing
sounds, this can sometimes be a bit
unreliable. Still it's there to be used. In
addition a spectrum analyser also aids
your perception of the incoming
signal.
Mastersound is capable of sampling
from between 3,0kHz to 55.9kHz
inclusive and has the widest sample
range of all the products in this test.
Samples in memory can be reversed so
that they play backwards, but this is
the only effect you can impose upon
the sound.
Files can be saved in IFF and IFF
instrument formats in one three or five
octaves so the sounds can be readily
loaded into other popular music
packages such as Aegis Sonix.
Alternatively, the sample data can be
stored in it's purest raw data form
however information such as the
sample frequency is not stored in raw
file mode.
The sounds recorded by
Mastersound are of a high quality.
Apart from being mono, which really
doesn't make a great deal of difference
with 8-bit samplers anyway,
Mastersound is a really good package.
It offers a comprehensive range of
features which are unsurpassed at this
price. It's ideally suited to someone
who wants to dabble, and includes
software to enable you to play samples
independently of the main editor
software.
74 AMIGA COMPUTING November 1990
Pro Sound Designer Gold,
p is the sloppiest
Rlooking
unit out of the
O lot. The hardware is
unlabled S and styled in a
repulsive o grey plastic
case.
u
Apart from this, it is
poorly designed and sits
at
n
right-angles to the
Amiga. d Because the ports
on D the A500 are recessed.
an e extender socket is a
must s as you can't connect
iit
otherwise. Of course, such an
extender g is supplied. Audio input is
via
n
a 3.5mm stereo jack assembly.
Another complaint I have about
e
the package is the manual. Although
it's r well written, it's not too
informative because of the cost
cutting layout technique. The
documentation covers too many
versions of the product (Pro Sound's
available for the ST as well) and
though it's not difficult to sort out
which bits are relevant to your
version, it would be nice to have a
manual for each computer rather
than one trying to explain the ins
and outs of both.
Another point is that it keeps
referring to Figure 2 to show which
button does what instead of showing
the symbol next to the section where
it's function is described. Later in
the manual this system is employed
and it makes operation a lot simpler
not having to keep turning back
through the manual.
You've probably already realised
that, like all the other products in
this article, Pro Sound uses the
button operation technique using
symbols for identity. In fact, I hate
these symbols. Many look so similar
with only a slight difference so it's
all too easy to press the wrong
button. However, this is true of all of
the products in this round-up.
Pro Sound Designer Gold is a
stereo sampler however it cannot
display both left and right channels
simultaneously — but this is no great
loss. The beauty of it is that because
the Amiga has four channel sound,
Pro Sound allows two stereo
samples to play at the same time. If
you're clever with the recording
system, you can even have four
mono samples playing together.
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Pro Sound will allow samples to be
taken between lkHz and 28kHz
inclusive. Samples at 28kHz sound
OK but are not brilliant. Invariably
samples taken from a stereo source
sound better when recorded in stereo
and mono sound better when recorded
in mono.
Samples are stored as standard DT
files so that they can be loaded
directly into standard software for
further sound manipulation. If you
prefer you can save the sample in raw
format to save space. Basic functions
allow you to cut and paste sample
chunks with relative ease using the
magnify function which give an
expanded display of the sample so
that cursor positioning is easier. It is
possible to double the sample's length
which usually increases the signal to
noise ratio to provide a better sound.
Similarly you can halve the sample
using another function which has the
opposite effect.
MIDI capabilities are included in
the Pro Sound Designer Gold package
in the form of a separate program, Pro
Midi. However the package does not
include a MIDI interface and so more
money will have to be spent in
obtaining one. Non-MIDI folk can still
use this software as you can trigger
sounds by pressing assigned keys on
the Amiga.
The software includes a variety of
sampled instrument sounds which
you can sequence together using a
MIDI synthesizer or the Amiga's
keyboard. Naturally you can sample
your own sounds and then use them
instead of those supplied.
Pro Sound Designer Gold is a
versatile package. I don't think the
sound quality is up to that of A.M.A.S
but it is a bit cheaper and offers a wide
range of features.