Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!ucsd!hub.ucsb.edu!ucsbuxa!6600prao From: 6600prao@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Parik Rao) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Once again, questions concerning the ensoniq chip... Message-ID: <10919@hub.ucsb.edu> Date: 29 Apr 91 02:20:07 GMT References: <1991Apr28.221627.24547@utstat.uucp> Sender: news@hub.ucsb.edu Lines: 44 There is no "ensoniq midi mode" on the IIgs. Whats happening is that a bunch of instruments are stored in the 64k area of the DOC ram (totally seperate from main memory). Then each MIDI note is translated into a certain frequency (a combination of how many bytes to skip in the instrument ["speed"], and how long to play the sound) and that frequency is used to play the digitized instruments. Drawbacks? [a] 64k limit for instruments [b] instrument quality [c] the routine to convert from a "human" (MIDI,etc) value to a frequency can be complicated. Fortunately, things like SynthLab and Soundsmith automate this. Now, on the IIgs [a] is the biggest problem. The IIgs offers 15 (Soundsmith and Synthlab only allow 14, since they use the 15th for a timer) generators, so you can have many different notes playing at once (Synthlab combines multiple generators for a more richer sound). Unfortunately, with only 64k for instruments it tends to be a real pisser! Someone has done a 128k DOC ram hardware mod, you can email him on AO @ CENTAURC (he's also on GEnie, dunno his address). On the Amiga/IBM, you have a much larger space for instruments (on the amiga, its the size of chip ram, on the ibm, its practically unlimited) but less channels, so you can have better sounds. The NeXT does sound better, I think you haven't gotten the good stuff yet (no ones really written a nice midi player as far as I know). But once someone does, with 16 bit sampled instruments, and unlimited size for the instruments, things could be hot! BTW, the ensoniq on the IIgs automates a lot of things, whereas on the amiga and such a lot of extra overhead is required to just start up a sound (latching onto the dma, a synchronized interrupt, etc). I hope that helps a bit, I'm not 100% sure on the above of course but a few years of experimenting has helped out. :-) -- Apple II Forever | 6600prao@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu | IBMs get the job done Parik Rao | Amiga - for the creative mind | Class of 1994 Macintosh - buy it or Apple will sue you.