Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard,comp.music,rec.music.synth,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.answers,rec.answers,news.answers From: mailserv@itchy.dsd.es.com (Mail Request Server) Subject: FAQ: Gravis Ultrasound ("GUS") FAQ v1.12 Reply-To: ultrasound-request@dsd.es.com Date: Thu Feb 25 16:07:31 1993 Archive-Name: gravis-ultrasound/faq Last-Modified: 02/16/93 Version: 1.12 GRAVIS ULTRASOUND ("GUS") FAQ VERSION 1.12 [02/16/93] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Certain questions concerning the Gravis UltraSound ("GUS") sound card are asked over and over on the UltraSound Daily Digest (a mailing list for GUS users) and on comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard. These questions tend to grate on frequent readers of both groups in much the same way that Ed "You May Already Be A Winner On Star Search" McMahon does on every living creature on the planet. In an attempt to alleviate some of that stress from the lives of USENET/Internet folk, this FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list has been created. It's maintained by Dave DeBry (ddebry@dsd.es.com, debry@peruvian.cs.utah.edu). If you have any questions, comments, complaints, or extra cash, please feel free to send them to him. Don't expect a reply very quickly, as Dave does have a life outside of this FAQ (contrary to the belief of his friends). If you would like to join the mailing list and be privy to the latest and greatest information, banter, and poor spelling concerning the GUS, mail to . The automated server will tell you how to sign up for the mailing list, tell you where the FTP sites associated with the Digest are (they recieve software updates directly from Gravis often), and other such information that will eventually lead you down the trail to Nirvana, Valhalla, Heaven, or whatever Land O' Happiness your religion wants to get to. BTW: Many FAQs, including this one, are available on the archive site rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers. The name under which a FAQ is archived appears in the "Archive-Name:" line at the top of the article. This FAQ is archived as gravis-ultrasound/faq. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Index of Questions ------------------ 1] What is the GUS? 2] How does the GUS emulate the SoundBlaster and Adlib cards? 3] Where can I get a GUS, and how much will it cost? 4] What version of the GUS hardware is the latest? 5] What version of the GUS software is the latest? 6] Where can I get the latest GUS software? (AKA: Where is the GUS FTP site and/or Gravis BBS?) 6a] What if I don't have FTP access? 7] Is the GUS still in beta-test phase? 8] What machines will the GUS work with? 8a] What about OS/2? 8b] I've heard about problems with the OPTi chipset... 9] Why should I upgrade the memory onboard my GUS? 10] Where can I get memory for the GUS, and how much will it cost? 11] I'm having trouble installing the GUS software... 12] I'm having trouble getting the GUS to work with Windows... 13] How do I get the GUS to work with this program? 14] How do I get the GUS to work with this aardvark? 15] What new hardware is coming out for the GUS? 16] What new software is coming out for the GUS? 17] How do I build the MIDI interface for the GUS? 18] What are *.PAT *.VOC *.WAV *.SND *.MOD *.669, and *.MID files, and how do I use them? 19] What exactly is GUS 3D? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1] What is the GUS? The Gravis UltraSound (generall referred to as the "GUS") is a sound card built by Advanced Gravis Technologies (GRVSF on the Nasdaq exchange). It is a stereo card that can play 32 synthesized voices and 32 sampled voices simultaneously. It is also MIDI compatible. The synthesizer on the GUS is based on a technology called Wavetable Synthesis (WS) instead of FM synthesis (like the Adlib and Soundblaster series). WS is flexible enough to emulate FM synthesis, and so an emulator has been created so SoundBlaster and Adlib programs can use the GUS (see question #2). The GUS, in its basic state, can sample 8 bit stereo at 44kHz. It can playback 16 bit stereo samples at 44kHz. There is a daughterboard that you can buy and plug on to the GUS that makes it possible to sample at 16 bit stereo 44kHz. The GUS has the following "external" ports: o Stereo line in o Stereo line out o Stereo amplified out o Stereo microphone in o Game port / MIDI port The game port can be changed to MIDI in/out/through ports by means of an adapter available from Gravis. Alternatively (and for a LOT less money) you can build your own (see question #17). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2] How does the GUS emulate the SoundBlaster and Adlib cards? Currently, the emulation is done in a TSR/device driver that comes with the card, called SBOS. It's pretty small, and doesn't conflict with too many programs. SBOS has several command line options available (if run in the TSR version; the device driver version requires a reboot to change the setup) for compatibility with various different programs. To find out what switches to use for which programs, there is a list of options being maintained (see question #13). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3] Where can I get a GUS, and how much will it cost? The "suggested retail" for the card is $200 (U.S. dollars), but if you pay that much, you haven't done your homework. However, homework on this card isn't easy because Gravis still hasn't actually advertised (they have a weird policy concerning advertising). If you call around, you should have no trouble getting the GUS for less than $150. Suggested places are Babbages, Bizmart, and Telemart. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4] What version of the GUS hardware is the latest? This is a question that is actually pretty irrelevant. Yes, there have been different "releases" of the GUS card (the number is etched into the board), but there really aren't any differences. Evidently, some of the newer cards have been redesigned to require less hardware (and less cost to Gravis), but no functionality changes have been made. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5] What version of the GUS software is the latest? SBOS: 1.23 Playmidi: 3.50 All updates are available on the GUS FTP sites. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 6] Where can I get the latest GUS software? (AKA: Where is the GUS FTP site and/or Gravis BBS?) GUS FTP sites: archive.epas.utoronto.ca pub/pc/ultrasound wuarchive.wustl.edu systems/msdos/ultrasound BTW: You can get a LOT more than just GUS software releases from Gravis on the FTP sites. There's lots of PD software written specifically for the GUS, music (midi music, midi patches, mods, 669 music, samples, etc., etc), tech info on the card, back issues of the UltraSound Daily Digest, etc., etc... check it out! Gravis BBS: (604) 431-5927 6a] What if I don't have FTP access? For those of you who don't have FTP access, find out about the email request servers that do remote FTP for you. (I don't have enough space to let all the files be requested by the Digest Request Server, and it's useless to duplicate that info anyway.) There are several mail-FTP servers out there; ask around on the net if you can't find them. Alternatively, you can call the Gravis BBS. There are several major disadvantages with this, though: 1] Long distance to Canada (no offense to you Canadians :). 2] 2400 baud. 3] The BBS doesn't have all the public domain stuff that the FTP sites do. 4] It's almost *always* busy. Please *DO NOT* ask people to post binaries to comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard. It's not a binary newsgroup, and that's a lot of wasted bandwidth to people who don't want the programs. Use email. It saves bandwidth, fights cavities, and builds character. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7] Is the GUS still in beta-test phase? Absolutely NOT. It doesn't matter where you hear this rumor, it's false. The rumor stemmed from the idea that you could get the very latest GUS driver software, SBOS, etc., from the Gravis BBS. These programs aren't beta test stuff. They are concrete examples of Gravis listening to bug reports from GUS users and turning out fixes as fast as they can. That's commitment to customers on Gravis' part, NOT a lack of a quality assurance department. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 8] What machines will the GUS work with? You need an IBM compatible computer with at least a 286 processor. It needs to be at least a 386 if you want to use the GUS with Windows. 8a] What about OS/2? Written by: Thomas Wong As it is right now, what you'll have to do is use a 8 bit DMA channel in your setup of the GUS to make it work under a DOS window under OS/2. If you have already installed/setup your GUS card, just go into the c:\autoexec.bat file under OS/2 and manually change the number in the environment variable. So, for example, use DMA channel #1. By doing this, you can now use playmidi, 669 player, gusmod... a number of GUS programs. But you still can't run playfile or SBOS (it may crash). In other words, you can use a play a list of midi, 669, mod...etc files in a DOS window, but can't play games. Gravis did say they will come out with an OS/2 driver but no date is set. 8b] I've heard about problems with the OPTi chipset... There have been troubles with the GUS if your computer's chipset is made by OPTI. Not all OPTI chipsets are bad, but some of them have a faulty DMA controller. We're still trying to pin down which chipsets are flawed; when we have a better idea of exactly which ones are bad they'll be added here. Until then, be careful if your computer has an OPTI set, and try reading the UltraSound Daily Digest, or comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard on USENET. Written by: dantonio@magick.tay2.dec.com Actually, it's not just OPTi chipsets, UMC has been implicated as well (Gravis first noticed the problem with UMC chipsets) and according to Digital Audio Labs (who told Gravis what was going on), the bad datacode is 9149 and the bad chip is the 82C206. This is all explained in the docs for GUS0013.ZIP (I think), the OPTi fix posted to the GUS FTP sites. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 9] Why should I upgrade the memory onboard my GUS? For starters, the announcement has already come out of Gravis that the standard GUS will come with 512k instead of 256k. This means that software companies will write their programs to use *at least* 512k onboard the GUS. And with all the users going to 1meg, chances are that things will be written for that limit. It's a cheap upgrade. If your board came with 256k, it will only cost you about $30 to go up to 1meg (see question #10). There's already a lot of MIDI files out there that require the full 1meg to play them, because they use lots of different instrument patches. If you plan on doing any sampling, you'll need the space. You can do direct-to-disk sampling, but it can cause "skips" to go into the sample each time the sample goes down the bus to the drive. In a worst case situation, you could be sampling 16 bits in stereo at 44kHz. So, you're doing 88000 samples (stereo, remember) of 16 bits each every second. That's 171k (176000 bytes) every second, which means the full 1meg memory will fill up in 5 seconds at that rate. With only 256k, you can get about 1.5 seconds. Of course, only people doing very serious stuff with the card need to sample at that high of a rate in 16 bits. MOD files generally do 16kHz 8 bit mono samples. But upgrading the card is still pretty important in that case... do the math, and you'll see. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 10] Where can I get memory for the GUS, and how much will it cost? You need six 256x4 DRAM chips, with speeds of 100ns or better (in other words, 100ns OR LESS). They tend to run about $4 a piece, so the total price will be $24 + shipping. To find a place with them, just look through the Computer Shopper magazine. Check the index for 'memory' and call a few places for prices. (After a little calling, I found a place selling them for $3.45 apiece. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 11] I'm having trouble installing the GUS software... One of the earlier versions of the GUS software disks (1.21) had a problem with the install program. Check out the GUS FTP sites or the Gravis BBS for the latest stuff (see question #6). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 12] I'm having trouble getting the GUS to work with Windows... There in one possibility that accounts for about 50% of the problems people have with the GUS and Windows: you can't have SBOS loaded before going to Windows. (You don't need it... if the Windows program was written right, Windows will handle the link to the card; the program shouldn't care.) Try running ULTRINIT (it clears the GUS' program memory), or rebooting. Other problems: (a) No sound at all in Windows... Written by: dantonio@magick.tay2.dec.com People often put ultrasnd.ini into \windows\system which they shouldn't. They SHOULD put \ultrasnd\windows\midimap.cfg into \windows\system to get the MIDI stuff setup correctly. (b) I'm not getting any sound when I play MIDI files under Windows. The Patch Manager shows empty boxes. Written by: bs@mda.ca (Bruce Sharpe) 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. One of the GUS FTP sites. 3. The Gravis BBS. 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=acpiano". 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.) (c) All the list boxes are blacked out in the UltraSound Patch Manager. Written by: bs@mda.ca (Bruce Sharpe) This was a problem that was fixed in v1.02. It only occurs in certain Windows color schemes (e.g., Ocean). If you can't get your hands on a more recent PatchManager, then change your color scheme. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 13] How do I get the GUS to work with this program? Written by: rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold) GUS Tested Programs Compatability List V1.05 Jan 26, 1993 Send updates to rdippold@qualcomm.com. This is a list of compatibility settings for the Gravis Ultrasound card. I have not personally verified all of these, most of them are submitted to me by other GUS owners. Your results may vary. Nor is this a list of all programs that will run with the GUS - this is just a list of those that have been tested by those who sent me mail. It is for the purpose of helping GUS owners run a program without hunting for the appropriate options. If the switches listed don't work, try removing EVERYTHING from your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. These settings worked for someone, and memory managers and other device drivers seem to be the main culprits when something doesn't work. The "Version" indicates the version of SBOS that the program was tested with. Please note the "Most Wanted" section at the bottom of programs which just don't seem to want to work. Please check all 16 combinations of settings ( -o= none, 1, 2, 3 and -x= none, 1, 2, 3) before submitting it as a "won't work." Things are now arranged in a hierarchical fashion. If you manage to "promote" anything up the hierarchy, please let me know ASAP. Ditto if you notice a problem with a game running with an old version of SBOS that no longer occurs with a new version. Native GUS Support ======================================================================== Chuck Yeager's Air Combat (new version) Star Control II (some people have problems with 1 meg of GUS RAM) SBOS Soundblaster support Version Parameters ======================================================================== 4-D Boxing 1.20 None (Announcer's voice is too slow) 4-D Boxing 1.23 None Aces of the Pacific 1.20 None Alone in the Dark 1.20 None Amazon 1.20 None Armour-Geddon 1.22 None ATP 2.0 1.22 None AV8B Harrier Attack 1.20 -o2 Battle Chess 4000 1.23 None Blaster Master 1.20 -x3 Brix 1.23 None (Strange if with SBOSDRV.SYS) Catacombs 3D 1.20 None Chuck Yeager's Air Combat (old) 1.23 None Civilization None Comanche: Maximum Overkill 1.20 None (Get Update from Novalogic) Comanche: Maximum Overkill 1.20 None (or music=adlib, digital=sb) Commander Keen (part 4) 1.22 -x2 Contraption Zack 1.22 None Darkseed 1.23 None Daughter of Serpents 1.22 None Dinosaur Adventure 1.22 None Dragon Flight 1.22 None Dragon's Lair III 1.22 None Dune 1.20 None Dune II 1.22 None Earl Weaver Baseball II 1.20 None (digitized sounds out speaker) Elite Plus 1.20 None Escape from Alcatraz 1.20 -o3 F-117A Stealth Fighter 1.23 -o1 F-15 Strike Eagle II 1.20 -o3 F-15 Strike Eagle III 1.23 -x2 F-29 Retaliator 1.23 None Falcon 3.0 1.22 None Fate of Atlantis 1.20 None Formula One Grand Prix 1.20 -o2 Front Page Sports Football 1.20 None (voice may echo) Galactix 1.3 1.20 -o3 (not fully compatible) Galactix 1.3 1.22 None The Games: Summer Challenge 1.20 None Gobliiins (Cocktel) 1.22 None Goblins 2 1.22 None Gods 1.23 None Grand Master Chess 1.22 None Gunship 2000 1.23 None (game pauses in digitized speech) Hardball III 1.22 None Heart of China 1.20 None Hole in One Minature Golf Dlx 1.22 None Humans 1.20 -o3 The Incredible Machine 1.20 None Jill of the Jungle 1.23 None (Strange if with SBOSDRV.SYS) Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja 1.22 None Ken's Labyrinth 1.23 None Kiloblaster 1.22 None King's Quest V 1.20 None King's Quest VI 1.20 -o3 (no speech) King's Quest VI 1.22 -o2 -x3 King's Quest VI 1.23 -x3 Knights of the Sky 1.20 None L.A. Law 1.22 None Leather Godesses of Phobos II 1.20 -o1 Legend of Kyrandia 1.20 None Legend of Robin Hood 1.20 None Legends of Valour 1.22 None Leisure Suit Larry V 1.22 -o2 -x3 Lemmings 1.20 Lemmings -x for PC type Lemmings 1.22 None Links 386 1.05 or later 1.20 -o1 -x2 (turn off background sounds) Links 386 1.05 or later 1.22 -x2 (load with golf /s ) LHX Attack Chopper 1.23 None Llamatron 2112 1.22 None (Turn off QEMM) Mars 1.23 None Might and Magic IV 1.22 None (some have problems - try Adlib) Monkey Island II 1.20 None Overkill 1.20 None Patriot 1.22 None PGA Golf 1.20 -o2 Playroom 1.20 None Populous II 1.23 None Powermonger 1.20 None Prince of Persia 1.20 -o1 Putt-Putt Joins the Parade 1.22 None Quest for Glory III 1.23 -o2 -x2 Reader Rabbit I 1.20 None Reader Rabbit II 1.20 None Reading Adventures in OZ 1.20 None Red Baron 1.20 None Rex Nebular 1.22 -x3 Rome AD 92 1.22 None Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe 1.23 None Siege 1.20 -x3 Sierra Xmas Card '92 1.22 None Sim Ant 1.20 None The Simpsons 1.22 None Simusex 1.20 None Spear of Destiny 1.20 -o2 Spear of Destiny 1.22 None Starfire 1.20 None (no voice) Street Fighter II 1.22 None Stormovik SU-25 1.23 None Strange Deadfellows 1.20 GF1 int = MIDI int Stunt Driver (1.5?) 1.23 None Stunts (slight slowdown) 1.20 None Stunts 1.22 None Stunt Island 1.22 None Task Force: 1942 1.22 None Terminator 2029 1.23 None (MIDI IRQ must be 7) Thunder Hawk 1.20 -x3 (still flakey) Tristan Pinball 1.20 None Ultima Underworld 1.20 None Ultima Underworld II 1.22 None Ultima VII 1.23 None Unreal Demo 1.20 IRQ must be 2 Unreal Demo 1.23 None (sounds much better) V for Victory: Utah Beach 1.22 None V for Victory: Velikiye Luiki 1.22 None Where in the World is Carmen... 1.20 -o1 Where in the World... DELUXE 1.23 -o1 Willy Beamish 1.20 None Wing Commander 1.20 -o2 -x2 (slow) Wing Commander 1.22 -o2 -x2 Wing Commander II 1.23 None Wolfenstein 3D 1.22 None WOW II 1.3 (MOD player) 1.20 None World Circuit 1.23 -o2 Wrath of the Demon 1.20 None Note - Adlib support will usually allow you to select Adlib sounds and Soundblaster Music. You just don't get Soundblaster digitized sounds. SBOS Adlib Support Version Parameters ======================================================================== Altered Destiny 1.23 None Conan 1.20 None Covert Action 1.23 None Future Wars 1.20 None Heart Light 1.22 None So You Want To Be a Hero? 1.20 None Star Trek 25th Anniversary 1.22 None Tegel's Mercenaries 1.22 None Most Wanted List (Games that Just Don't Work so far) ======================================================================== Dr. Who Dalek Attack 1.22 Game freezes after explosion SimLife 1.22 Runs with -o3, but no sound Wizkid 1.23 Seems to wipe all TSRs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 14] How do I get the GUS to work with this aardvark? Sorry. I'm getting a little bored typing all this up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 15] What new hardware is coming out for the GUS? Written by: Bruce Sharpe (bs@mda.ca) ------------------------------------------------------------------- | Advanced Gravis Product Support BBS Pricing & Availability | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | Item When? SRP($US) | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | MIDI Connector Box | Apr '93 | $49.95 | | 16-bit Stereo Recording Interface Card | Apr '93 | $149.95 | | LMSI CD-ROM Daughter Card for CM205 and | Qtr 1 '93 | $59.95 | | and CM215 (Phillips, Magnavox, LMSI) | | | | Sony CD-ROM Daughter Card for Sony 31A | Qtr 1 '93 | $49.95 | | Mitsumi CD-ROM Daughter Card | Qtr 1 '93 | $49.95 | | SCSI CD-ROM Daughter Card | Qtr 1 '93 | TBA | ------------------------------------------------------------------- Details? Good question. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 16] What new software is coming out for the GUS? Gravis has signed contracts with several companies to release and/or support software for the GUS: a) Gravis Ultrasound 3D [ SEE ALSO -- Question #19 ] "Advanced Gravis announced a development that will forever change the way PC game players, business, and multimedia software users perceive sound from their computer software. Gravis UltraSound 3D for the PC, the next step for the Gravis UltraSound card, places the computer user in the middle of an audio environment for immersive virtual reality audio. For the first time outside virtual reality labs and at an affordable consumer pricepoint, sound effects, music, even simple clicks of a mouse can be placed in an audio space that surrounds the user like a sphere. "Utilizing Focal Point technology, UltraSound 3D processes the audio signal through a technique called "convolution," new right and left binaural audio signals are generated that create a wraparound sound effect to the human ear. The sound signal is actually a stereo signal shaped electronically to make the listener hear the sound as three-dimensional and in the correct location -- a psychoacoustic effect that can be manipulated in real time. When compared to an equalizer, binaural processing adjusts the gain and phase of the frequency band. But it would take two hundred sliders for gain and another two hundred sliders for phase shift per ear and the ability to change all of them in real time to achieve the immersive virtual reality audio effect of Gravis UltraSound 3D." b) Midisoft Recording Session "Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd. and Midisoft Corporation have signed an agreement whereby Midisoft music authoring software will be bundled together with Advanced Gravis UltraSound(tm) multimedia PC hardware. The world-wide, non-exclusive licensing agreement extends to the end of 1993. "Under the terms of the agreement, Gravis will license Midisoft Recording Session for Windows and a collection of MIDI songs for inclusion in the retail versions of the Gravis UltraSound sound card. The bundle will give users the ability to easily play, compose, record, and edit MIDI music for personal, business, or educational purposes." c) Power Chords for Windows "Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd. and Howling Dog Systems have signed an agreement whereby Howling Dog's music software will be bundled together with Advanced Gravis UltraSound(tm) multimedia PC hardware. The world-wide, non-exclusive licensing agreement extends to the end of 1993. "Under the terms of the agreement, Gravis will license Power Chords for Windows and a collection of MIDI songs for inclusion in the retail versions of the Gravis UltraSound sound card. The bundle will give users the ability to easily play, edit and compose MIDI music for personal, business, or educational purposes using a familiar guitar interface and powerful drum kit." d) Tons o' Free/Share/Cripple/*Ware Check out the GUS FTP sites (see question #6) for the latest stuff. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 17] How do I build the MIDI interface for the GUS? Written by: pcunnell@micrognosis.co.uk (Paul Cunnell) 15 pin D connector 220R pin-1 +5v ----+--------------------------/\/\/\---------------\ | \ 4 | Gnd--2 MIDI OUT | |\ |\ 220R / 5 pin-12 tr >---|------| o-----| o----------/\/\/\--------------/ | 13|/ 12 11|/ 10 | 220R +---------------------------/\/\/\-------------\ | \ 4 pin-15 rx <---|--------------------+ Gnd--2 MIDI THRU | |\ |\ | 220R / 5 | +--| o-----| o---+-------/\/\/\------------/ | | 1|/ 2 3|/ 4 | | | +------+ | 270R | 220R +--/\/\/\--+ +------+----------/\/\/\--------\ |B |C |A | \ 4 +-|----------|----|-+ | MIDI IN | 8 6 2 | ----- / 5 | | / \ IN914 or IN4148 +-/ | 6N138 | --- | | | | | | 5 3 | | | +------------|----|-+ | | | |K | | pin-5 Gnd --------------+ +------+----------------------+ Inverters are 74LS04. (This is a 14-pin IC containing 6 inverters. Connect pin 14 to +5V, pin 7 to GND). Leave pin 2 of the MIDI IN unconnected (Don't connect to ground) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 18] What are *.PAT *.VOC *.WAV *.SND *.MOD *.669, and *.MID files, and how do I use them? Written by: Matthew E. Bernold These are all different types of sound files. *.PAT files are GUS instrument files, or PATCH files. These files are what your GUS uses to recreate the various instruments it is capable of playing. Your .PAT files should be in your /ULTRASND/MIDI and /ULTRASND/SBOS directories. *.VOC and *.WAV files are basic digital sound files with headers. The *.VOC files are used on the soundblaster, and the *.WAV files are used by Microsoft Windows. Players capable of using these formats can read information on sampling rate, 8 or 16 bit, and mono/stereo from the header of these files. *.WAV files can be played in MS Windows by many programs. *.VOC files can be converted to *.WAV by many different programs, including SOX which is available via FTP (don't know where from though) *.SND files are raw sound files with no header information. This is the format currently used by the GUS. This means that you have to tell the player program about the sample, because the information on how to play it is NOT in the file, like with the *.VOC or *.WAV files. You can play these files using PLAYFILE which came with the GUS. *.MOD files are 4-voice 15 or 31 instrument music files which originated on the Amiga. They use 8-bit, 16kHz samples to produce the instruments, and note information to play the songs. *.MOD files are similar to MIDI files, but they are a bit more flexible because you can use any sample as an instrument (including voices and sound effects) instead of relying on the MIDI synth's own built in instruments. You can play these files using GUSMOD which can be found on epas. *.669 files are 8-voice music files. I don't know much about them, so maybe Tran (author of the GUS 669 player) can fill in this area. You can play these files using P669GU0 which can be found on epas. *.MID files are MIDI files. You can play these files with PLAYMIDI that came with the Ultrasound package, or with MediaPlayer in MS Windows. You might have to create a *.cfg file for the MIDI file if it was originally created for a synth that does not conform to the GM Midi standard. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 19] What exactly is GUS 3D? First and foremost: YES, this is SOFTWARE. You will NOT need to upgrade your GUS to be able to do the GUS-3D stuff. Written By: dionf@ERE.UMontreal.CA (Francois Dion) There are several systems that are in use to get 3D sounds on recordings and some have been around since the 50s. Now i wont go into the "how it works" of the more recent ones, but i think this will clear up some confusion. The first part is a "hands-on" experiment, the second is informations, including the address and phone of the owner of the technology that is used with the Gravis Ultrasound. Let's get back to the early days of stereo. One record company (i cant seem to remember) was pushing it, while another (again, blank. anyone?) competed. Interestingly enough, technological development was put on stereo, and not on the first 3D system which was called "binaural recording" and it simply consisted of two microphones placed like the ears. You can try it this way: Go to a hat store and buy an extruded foam mannequin head. You'll then need two microphones. Condenser will do, but you will need to power them if you want to use them with the GUS, since it take a dynamic microphone because it does not supply phantom power like some mixer with XLR plugs. I will post a circuit later for Radio-shack condenser mike unit (a small element that cost about 2$) if there is some interest. If you dont want to mess with that, go with a cardiod dynamic element. Note that sensitive enough cardiod will cost you a lot, so think about that. You cut holes in the ears of the head, to insert the microphone units (dont forget to make the wires of the elements go inside the head and out the rear (or wherever). Use glue to fill the crack around the mic. Also, the more the ears look like real ears, the better it will work. If you trim the foam, dont forget to use an hairdryer to soften it (it will be more uniform). That's it. Try recording sounds, and you'll be surprised. I was! I did the experiment with a polystyrene head on which i incrusted two PZM microphones. Now that you understand how 3D recording is nothing like stereo recording, we'll see what is accesible presently. First, the gadget we just built in the previous section exist commercially, and is called "Mikey" and is made by Spherical Sound. It's the only system commercialised where the microphones are placed in a head. Another system is made by Virtual Audio and claims to enhance stereo depth, but is not labeled 3D audio. I dont have much more info on it, but from the description it looks like the same thing as the "mikey". Two other systems use less restraining microphones situation and can also be used on any signal because a DSP simulate a 3D signal from parameters entered on the machine. QSound (no hyphen) was developped in Quebec, and the inventor sold the concept to another company (Archer it seems). It is not that good even with electrostatic headphones, and is pretty bad if you are listening to it thru speakers and you are not in the soft spot. And for trivia: Madonna, Sting, Wilson Phillips and Paula Abdul to name a few have used the QSound on their latest recordings. Another trivia: The Q logo is very very close to Hydro-Quebec logo... QSound cost around 18K$ and is not midi controllable. The other variant with a DSP is Roland RSS (Roland Sound Space). It is a bit better (depending on how it is used) than QSound with headphones, but suffers the same faith as QSound when you are listening with speakers. Just move a bit from the soft spot, and suddenly what was in front left is now back left. RSS was used on Suzanne Cianni _Hotel Luna_ album. RSS cost around 40K$ and is midi controllable. Another system on which i have zero information is called Audio Cybernetics. The last technology is called Focal Point 3D Audio. It was developped by Bo Gehring and first used on the Macintosh computers with a modified Audiomedia (Digidesign). It cost around 1400$ in this configuration. But, Gravis saw that (Focal Point is from Seattle) and it is the system that we will be getting. At a much better price. The system produce the sounds with these parameters: direction, elevation and distance. I am pretty sure that Gravis will have to develop a SYSEX command set. We already need it badly, but with 3D, i will shoot myself if i cant control it thru sysex. By the way, here's how to get in touch with Focal Point 3D Audio, if you're interested. Focal Point(tm) 3D audio 1402 Pine av., #127 Niagara Falls, NY 14301 Voice/fax: 1-416-963-9188 Ok, you have read the 3D thing, and you cant wait. You want big sound. The only possibility for now is surround. Now surround cost a lot of money, and it will not be useable anymore once you get the 3D driver. Wrong. Now, i hope you have an amplifier, cause if you dont, you cant use this little hack to get surrounding sound. WARNING: i am not responsible for any damage resulting from the use or misuse or anything else related to this circuit. Check that your - posts are connected to ground and not the +. If it's the case reverse the connections to the amplifier. It works surprisingly well considering the cost. Have fun! | Amplifier | | + - - + | You connect the front speakers as usual (dont mixup /| | | |\ the polarities!) _ | |_| |_| | FLS: Front left speaker (/_\) | /_\ /_\ | FRS: Front right speaker | FLS FRS | R: variable pot 50 ohm. 10 watts or more (depends on |_ _| the amplifier) > | | < ><'R R'>< RLS: Rear left speaker (use a much smaller speaker > < for rear than front. 8 ohm also.) | RLS RRS | RRS: Rear right speaker (") | _ _ | | \_/ \_/ | the 2 - on front speakers are connected to the |_/ \_._/ \_| ground of the amplifier internally, so you dont + -|- + have to connect them. |_ > | ><'R > Here, you do need to connect the 2 - thru R to the _|_ amplifier ground. - AMP GND Put the 3 potentiometer in a box so that you have the control in one place, and use enough wire so you can move with it. You'll have to experiment so that the R going to ground is a little higher than the other 2 and once that adjusment made, the other two must be adjusted so that the rear speakers are just adding a touch of depth (if you turn them off, you notice that the surround is gone). Also, if you have A-B speaker selection, plug the rear speakers on the + of B instead of A, you will then be able to switch them off easily. Of course, when you will use the 3D audio, it will affect the signal, so it's better to unplug the rear section. But for your video, tape, CD and regular GUS, you will still find it cool. ----------------------------------------------------------------------