Ensoniq Corporation Transoniq Hacker Archive Issue #008 Th 008

Ensoniq Corporation Transoniq Hacker Archive Issue #008 th_008 Ensoniq Corporation - Transoniq Hacker Archive - Issue #008

User Manual: Ensoniq Corporation Transoniq Hacker Archive Issue #008 Ensoniq Corporation - Transoniq Hacker Archive - Issue #008

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nia Hacker

TI'llIl5

The Independent Ensontq Mt'rnge User’.s' Newsletter

also,

FILTERS MHDE FUN

By Clark Salisbury
Before we jump into this month's column, I think it
would
not
be totally inappropriate for me to
reminisce a tad - what with it being a new year and
all.
The Mirage is now nearly a year old. The first
Mirage that we got in at our store came complete with
sound disk number one, period. No sustain pedals, no
sequencer expander, nothing. Just a disk with piano,
slap bass, flutes, a couple of drums, and some silly
guitar sounds. In a little less than a year, though,
the situation has changed a bit. Now there's MHS05,
Input Sampling Filters, UES's (at least three - and
growinglt dozens of sound disks - and it looks like
it's only the beginning for digital sampling. Lest
we forget where we've been, does anyone remember the
original Emulator? H cool $10,000 for a sampler with
a four octave, non—touch-sensitive keyboard which
would hold a maximum of two samples at any given
time.
It had no envelope generators, no dynamic
filtering, almost no waveform manipulation, and of
course no MIDI. why, you couldn't even re-tune the
samples by more than a few cents either way. find,
still, it somehow managed to amaze us. Today there
is
talk
of
developing
a
part of the MIDI
specification to allow for the dumping of sampled
waveform data in a standard way so that you could
take your Mirage samples and dump them into a
Sequential
Prophet 2000, or any other sampling
device.
This is particularly exciting news. 0nce
the programmers and techno-weenies get hold of this,
watch out!
I don't think I exaggerate when I say
that we are witnessing a revolution in the way sounds
and music are being created and performed.
Hnyway,

this month I'd like to talk a bit more about

filters

and

envelope

generators

and

such,

those

friendly processors that help make sampling such good
fun.

in Issue #& of the Hacker, I briefly touched on the
function of the Mirage filters, but, as many of you
may have realized, there's quite a bit more to it
than

I

could squeeze into that particular article.

To briefly recap, the filters in the Mirage are 2e
dB-per—octave resonant low-pass filters.
what a
mouthful.
what this actually means is that the
Mirage filters will attenuate (turn down} frequencies
above their cutoff point at, say, the frequencies at
20 kHz [one octave higher) will be some 2eaa quieter.

This,
noise

the

filters

are

known

as

resonant Filters

because the frequencies at the filter cutoff point
can actually be amplified.
This can be used to
emhasize upper harmonics present in the waveform,

of course, is useful for eliminating unwanted
and aliasing present in the original sample.

and is often perceived as quackiness, or the all too
familiar
"wah-wah"
sound that has come to be

identified particularly with analog synthesizers.
There are other uses for the filters as well. The
sound of many acoustic instruments has a tendency to
become darker over time as the upper harmonics decay.
Percussive instruments, such as guitar, piano, and
marimba are good examples of this. H looped sound,
however, remains at the same level of brightness

indefinitely, and even if a more or less natural
decay in volume is obtained through the use of
envelope
generators and
voltage-controlled or
digitally—controlled amplifiers, things can sound
somewhat unnatural if the overall brightness of a
sound remains constant.
This is one place where
dynamic filtering can be of great usefulness. By
progressively filtering the sound across time, a

gradual (or not so gradual} change in the sound from
bright to dark can be affected. find it works both
ways.
The filter can be used to make a sound get
brighter over time. 0r you can use rather unnatural
envelope
generator
settings
to
get
bizarre,
cyclic-sounding changes in brightness, as with upper
and lower Program number fi from the stringsfcellos

sample.

So how do I control all these nutty kinds of

changes,

you

Clark's

ask?

Easy.

step—by—step

Just

guide

to

check

"Filter

out

Uncle

wizardry,"

coming right up.
Let's

think

of

the

filter

as

a

“brightness

attenuator."
It can be used to filter out higher
frequency components in the waveform, while letting
the

lower

frequencies pass through — hence the name

"low—pass" filter.
cannot
add upper
waveform that
only work to
theory, then,

Note, however, that the filter
harmonics or brightness to a

does not already contain them; it can
attenuate what's already there. In
it is probably best tn pre—emphasize

the upper frequencies in any sounds you may wish to
sample.
Not to worry if your sample turns out a bit
on the bright side ~ it can always be filtered down
to

normal

brightness

later

on.

Hnd this type of

filtering can have the extra benefit of filtering out
unwanted

noise

and

hiss

from the wavesample.

The

point in the frequency spectrum at which the filter
begins attenuating is called the cutoff point, and it
can be controlled in a numer of ways in the Mirage.
The

most

obvious

filter cutoff point controller is

the Manual Filter Cutoff control, Parameter 35.
Increasing and decreasing the value of this control

has the
ISSUE HUNGER B

effect

of

raising and lowering the filter

cutoff

point

in

semitone

increments,

and will be

perceived as brightening and darkening the sound. [I
know I said that the filter could not add brightness,
but we first started with a sample that was overly
bright, didn't we? If you want to know what I mean
by overly bright, load the piano sample from the
trusty old 0isk 1 and set Parameter SS to a value of
SS or so.
See what I mean?) The next, and less
obvious,
filter
controller to be aware of is
Mavesample Relative Filter Cutoff (T0).
This is

Cutoff (30) or Helative Filter Frequency (?0) set to
maximum, or if the cumulative effect of two or more
controllers pushes the filter cutoff up to the
maximum, any other controllers you may be using can
have no audible effect.
The filter simply has
nowhere to go.

effects
the
filter cutoff point only for the
wavesample selected using Parameter ES, Mavesample
Select.
This control's raison d'etre is to give you

Next is the 0ecey Control (#2), and it works in
conjunction with the Sustain Control (#3). The decay
control determines how long it will take for the
filter to go from the maximum value (set by the Peak
control) down to the value set by the sustain
control.
Thus, if the sustain control is set to 0,
(and no other controllers are affecting the filter),

a

multiple

the filter cutoff ppint will eventually reach a value

wavesamples by being able to set filter cutoff points
independently for each of them. Nifty, huh? The
third, and last, filter controller to worry about
when setting the base cutoff point of the filter is

of 0, (even if you continue to hold down the Mirage
keys), effectively filtering out all frequencies.
The effect is that the sound will continue to darken
until it darkens itself right out of existence. If,
on the other hand, you do not want the filter cutoff
point to end up at 0, simly set the sustain control
to a value higher than 0. This will have the effect
of holding the filter "open" while the keys are being

similar

to

way

the Manual Filter Cutoff control, but it

to

balance

the

brightness

of

Keyboard Tracking, Parameter 3B. The idea here is
that if you were to set a filter cutoff point that
sounded appropriate on the low notes of the keyboard,

you may experience problems with the high notes not
sounding bright enough, because the higher harmonics
present in the upper notes would be overly attenuated
by the filter.
Keyboard tracking can rectify this
problem by actually using the keyboard to control the
cutoff point of the filter.
In other words, the
higher you play on the keyboard, the higher the
keyboard tracking will set the cutoff point of the
filter.
Parameter 38 controls the amount of this
effect.
To check this one out, simply load a sound
into

the

while
lower
end.

Mirage

and vary the value of Parameter 30

listening to notes played first on the extreme
end of the keyboard, then on the extreme upper

and

the

sound

will sustain at this level of

brightness until they are released.
Last is the
release control, and it affects the length of time it
takes for the filter to finally decay to 0 once the
key or keys have been released. Note that all the
filter controllers discussed here, with the exception

of the release control, are active only while the
keys are depressed. Ha soon as you release the keys,
the envelope generator immediately goes into the
release

position of its cycle, and all other control

input to the filter is ignored.
But wait, there's more!

So far all the controls that we've talked about are
used to set the base cutoff frequency, the point at
which the filter cutoff is set when there is no
modulation

tracking
purposes

input.

(I

know,

I

know

-

keyboard

is a type of modulation.
But for my
here, it's easier to group it with this set

of controllers.)

There are a number of other ways to

control the filter cutoff point, as you may already
have guessed, you sly devils, you.
The

held,

first

of

these

is the envelope generator.

we

envelope has a
Httack US (£5)

Each component of the filter

velocity sensing (US) counterpart.
can be used to increase or decrease

attack time according to how hard (alright — how
fast) you play the keyboard. The effect is that if
you play a key slowly, you can obtain a longer attack
time than if the key is struck more quickly, allowing
you to control, by touch, the length of time it takes
for notes to swell. Peak U5 (H6) causes the filter
cutoff point to go higher the harder the keys are
struck, giving you touch control over brightness.
Decay Kyb (H?) is a bit different. In many acoustic
instruments

the decay time for high notes is shorter

like to go into a little mere depth here. There are
5 parameters to deal with in the Mirage envelope
generator
(not
counting
the velocity sensing
parameters).
They are Attack (H0), Peak (#1), 0ecay
(H2), Sustain (#3), and Release (ea). Attack (H0)

than for low notes . Decay Kyb causes the decay time
to be affected by keyboard position; higher notes
decay more quickly than low ones. The intensity of
this effect is controlled by Parameter ea, Sustain
US.
The harder you hit keys, the higher the filter
cutoff point will be set, and your sound will sustain

controls

at

talked

about

how

these

a couple of months ago, but I'd

long it takes for the filter cutoff to

reach its highest level, with Peak (e1) determining
just how high the filter cutoff will go. In other
words, if you want a sound to go from dark to bright
at a fairly slow rate, you would set the attack
parameter to some fairly high value. If you wanted
the sound to eventually end up being pretty bright,
you would set the peak parameter fairly high. attack
controls how long it takes to raise the filter cutoff
point (get brighter), while peak determines how high
(bright) the filter cutoff will actually end up
going.

We

must

remember, however, that the filter

can not add brightness to a sound, only attenuate it.
So if you have some other controller, such as Manual

a

(es).

brighter

timbre.

Finally, we have Release US

This one's kind of fun. with Release vs, the

Mirage actually pays
release
the
keys,
accordingly.

attention
and sets

to how quickly you
the release time

If you let go quickly, you get a short

release, and the note decays quickly. If you let go
more slowly, the note will take longer to decay.
This can be a great effect on string samples.
It

should

be

emphasized that the effect of all the

filter controllers is cumulative: they are added
together to form the actual filter cutoff point.
with the exception of release and release US, these
controllers

Page Z

are

active

while

one or more keys are

being

depressed.

Filter

Cutoff,

form
the

Manual
and

Filter Cutoff, wavesample

Keyboard

are added together to

the base filter cutoff, (you can think of it as
basic

brightness setting for your sample), with

the effects from the envelope generators being added
to this.
And remember, if it doesn't make sense at
first, mess with it till it does. Thanks for tuning
in.

SAMPLE SAMPLES i SAMPLE TRICKS
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
By Erick Hailstone
Recently, I attended a Mirage clinic and among other
things heard many new samples. Some of these were
the clinician's own as well as those he has picked up
in his travels and some from local samplers. These
events are going on all over the country so many of
these sounds will show up in your area if they
haven't already.
It will be impossible to critique
these by disk because they may show up in any
conceivable combination.
Plucked violin (that Italian word I can't spell) — In
the lower range you might not guess what it is but it
is useable on it's own merit as well.

Clark Salisbury is Product Sgecialist with Portland
Music Co. in Dregon, and is also a partner in The
Midi Connection, a Portland—based consulting firm.
He has been actively involved in the comgosition,
performing, and recording of electronic music for
over five years, and is currently involved in groducing and marketing his own gog-oriented comgositions.

playing

REE Bth chords, and drums.

This is the kind

of thing that really shows off the versatility of the
Mirage.
with this sample you can create funk
grooves, the Mirage becoming a rhythm section all by
itself.
Phone - Rings on any pitch.
Berlin

-

This

sample was lifted off a recording of

the pop group "Berlin" — a huge sound, combining
vocal textures and synthesizers.
Keep on the lookout for these samples. There are
always more on the way and I'll try to keep you
advised on the commercial ones as well as those that
seem to be floating around the country.
Now for something a little different:

Jungle sounds - Multi-sampled bees, flies, monkeys,
birds, and lions.
vocal sounds - This sample contains any consonant and
vowel combination imaginable.
Some of it's pure,
some processed with filters, delays, phase shifters,
etc.
This is one of the hippest things I've heard
done with sampling; new, yet familiar organic sounds

Here are some
the Mirage.
TRICK f1:

My first thought when hearing the Fender Rhodes (Disk
5, Bank 3) was that it was very good, very useful,
but
why waste the other programs switching to

with lots of rich texture.

chorusing
pop when

1S

turning

Multisamples — This one actually uses two samples

per program.
move from
between.

The mod wheel is set up to allow you to
one

wavesample

to another or any mix in

P
Actually, it's only one of them phrase they could fit in they did.

Hoop!

certain

Sample

0ne
There

big
are

bad pipe organ with a few
several other organ samples

around but this one stands out.

French horn - Not the best fidelity. -I hope Ensoniq
does one of these soon as I get a lot of requests for
it.
Martin guitar — This is an acoustic steel string with
the

fidelity

not

as good as Ensoniq's nylon string

but useable.

3.

- Funk bass on the lower octaves, guitar

onfoff

things.

Start

within a single
Even

by loading Disk #5 UIL

Set it for UZL Program A.

These

few

chorusing
From

changes

effect

The following

will

allow

you

to

turn

on and off with the mod wheel.

the

As

rotate the wheel forward, chorusing will kick in

about

1X3 rotation.

there

vibrato

forward

control

on

it

the

At 1X2 it is full strength.
dies

away.

mod wheel.

You do give up

This

is not

something I would use on a Rhodes, but there are lots

of alternatives.
If you set 32 to 0, when you use
the mod wheel you will get chorusing and vibrato.
Another variation is to set the chorusing so that it
is

controlled

by

the

velocity

of

the keyboard.

First, perform the changes above, then change 3A to
0.
Set
35 anywhere from DE on.
This value
determines how hard or soft your touch will have to
be to bring in the chorus effect. 12 — 1S seemed
right for me.

Performance

effect

Parameter 33 (0.0. Detune) - set for DB
Parameter 32 (LFO Depth)
~ set at D1
Parameter 35 (0.0. Balance US) — set at 0

at
-

chorus

parameter changes are for both lower and upper.

you

Full organ
variations.

the

though most of the time you hear a Rhodes with
chorusing these days, a dry Rhodes is still real nice

Hanna Barbara — Cartoon sound effects from the
originators of the Flintstones, Smurfs, and other
assorted favorites.
Three Stooges
Curly.
Every

— especially since there is a noticeable
doing se?
Also, if you have a way of

program, you free some up for other variations.

for

Analog brass - This one's mostly standard brass
patches from all your favorite synths.

fairly simple tricks you can do with

can
Page 3

be

So there are several choices and these

different

for

each

half of the keyboard —

chorus controlled by the wheel on the upper and by
velocity on the lower; the reverse and vibrato tossed
in anywhere and anyway you choose. I'm sure you'll
settle on a few combinations for most everyday
playing, but having variations is nice for unusual
applications.
This effect is useful on all the samples on this disk
as well as most others. It's great on the Hammond
organ sample and if you rock the mod wheel back and
forth slightly from center, you get it to sound even
more like a Leslie. Try rocking slow and fast.
TRICK #2
0n Disk #1, Bank §2, there is a slap bass. The way
it is setup you have electric bass from key 1 — 1?
and a slapped sound from 1B - 2B. Here are a couple
of alternatives you might try.
Set Parameter 26 (wavesample Select) to 01
Raise Parameter 72 (Topkey) to 29
Select 2? (Initial wavesample) and listen to 1 — 3

THICK #3
#2,

Lower

Sample

Parameter

5&

(Amplitude

shortening

the

release

1,

Proram

Release)

to

1.

Set

15.

By

time you have a more useful

patch.
fou can play in a more staccato manner
controlling the release with your touch. Now, turn
Parameter 2B (Mix Mode) on, set 32 to 01, set 35 to
0. Again, we are using the Mix Mode to give you more
variety.
This should give you a pure mallot type
sound and you'll still have the swelling sound coming
in.
Rock the mod wheel all the way forward and
you'll
get more of an electric piano — more
fundamental and less upper harmonics. If you put the
wheel right in the middle, you'll get a mix of both
with chorusing. If you do these same sort of things
with L2, you can mix (mod wheel) from organ to
electric piano and have both in the middle.
Try

these

ideas' with

The following people
help with questions:

Sam lin — Mark Myer, (215) 323-1205.
zone (DH). Calls between Spm and 11pm.

Eastern time

Sounds — Martin Smith, Lavitae Contrar Studios.
Pacific time zone (Uancouver, BC). Business hours.

(sue) 255-1a25.

MIDI & Seguencing — Leslie Fradkin or Elizabeth Rose,
MIOI4MAI Studios.
Eastern time (NT). Calls betwen
10am and Spm. (212) S20-SSS1.

Mirage hardware i

- Markus McDowell.

Any ol' time.

firmware - Scott

0.

Millingham.

Eastern time (er). Days. (715) er?-aces.

Mira e 0 erati
S stem — Mark Cecys.
(NY). Days. (?1Ei ??3—fi0B5.

Eastern time

If you're interested in being listed
please give us a call. (503) 2&5-t?B3.

on

-1-

i

the Net,

I-

To those of you who want further elaboration on the
process involved in shuffling your sounds around from
disk to disk - good news: Steve Coscia of Ensoniq has
started on "Part II" of his earlier article on sound
moving which should cover just that.
it

-If

if

Even as we write this, Ensoniq is busy at a trade
show in Anaheim announcing two major new products: a
5-octave,
velocity-sensitive,
digital
(but not
sampler) synth and a full-size, ?S~note, weighted
action electronic piano.

Projected prices of

each

are about $1300.
Me should have more information on
these two new products in our next issue.

other samples and programs.

with some they are very effective.
these hints effective.

or organizations have agreed to

(B95) 997-9932 (Calif.)

Just to be safe, reload this sample. Set 2E to D1.
Change 72 to 29. This gives a more uniform sound up
and down the lower sample. Experimnt with 3e and 35
for some more variations. If you set 35 at 0, the
mod wheel will control
the mix of the two
wavesamples.
Disk

MIRAOE—NET

MIDI E Se uencin

You now have 3 quick variations.
If you turn
Parameter 2B (Mix Mode) off, you'll have three more
variations.

Load

RND( Jfl)

BQCK ISSUES

Hope you find

Back issues are available for $2 each.

Some hack

issues are no longer available in their original printed
form and a photocopy will be substituted.

Erick Hailstone studied cgggosition and arranging at
the Universit of Nevada and at Berklee Colle e of
Music.
He has been involved with synthesizers and
related technology for
the gast seven
years.
Primarily a guitarist, his orientation has been in
ggrforming and recording with these devices.

CHQNSE 0F PDDRESS
Please let us know at least four weeks in advance to

avoid missing any issues.

The Post Office will not

reliably forward this type of mail. We need to know
both your old and your new address.

Page e

SOME REAL 5N‘1PLE IDEAS

W

Duane L. King
Sometimes I get frustrated with my Mirage because I really
wanttemalte Q smnples for it. l haven't had my trouble

making bad samples. It's only when I try to rndte high-quality
ones that I have problems. How. we all know it can be done.

we've played the factory disks. So how do we do it‘? I've
been looking for the answer to this question for some time-

ever since I mode my first sample. All of my problems and
frustrations with sampling can be traced back to one or more
of these problem wees: 1! poor sampling environment. 2}
aliasing of high frequencies. and 3) inadequate or missing

equipment. It terns out that the key to good samples is the
equipment that is between the srnple and the Hirage. Delft

give up because you dent have money to shell out for
microphones. recording and signal processing equipment!

There's a world of low-budget solutions out there.

For

st:-ters. did you Itnow you don't have to buy pre-formatted

diskettes anymore‘? Ensoniq released their disk forrrntting
program ($19951. Iregularly formatand use the sane type

of diskettes in my Mirage that I use in my Apple Hacintosh.
These single sided. single density 3 132' Sony diskettes cost
me between $2.00 and $3.00 each depending on where I buy

my samples. This eliminates the need for microphones and
basically gtwmtees that the sumling environment will he

clean. You can plug your cassette deck directly into your
Mirage. but you wont have my gain control that way. If you

hove a quiet stereo amplifier. use one of the speaker outputs
to drive the input on the Mirage. but Q EH71! garefui with the

Qm!1 Experiment with the setting oi‘
prmneter I751. I normally leave it set to {Ii (line level

input). but you may want to use the mic level setting. I hook
thel1irageuptooneoftheBspaakero4Jtp-utsonthahacltof

my amp. l‘1y speakers use the A outputs. If you don't have
spare spedter outputs you will have to unplug one of your

speakers when you are sampling. Then I select mono L+R
outputonmyampandA+Bspealoers. The mono setting is not
mmdatory mid may not be desirable for samples of ‘stereo

enhanced'matm'ial. |usetheA-I-B sattingso | Inheringthe

material the Mirage is going to sample. The main adymtage
ofgoingtlroughyotrsteree systemisthe tone controls.

Don't cringe!

Host good stereo systems have gwhic

equalizers of some type (either built-in or add-on). You cm

usetheeoualizertecutorhoostcertainfrequoncybandsto

them. ‘lliliat this means is if I buy Ensoniq's disk formatter

get a good sample. How what re we going to slrqole‘? Ho.

md three unfermatted diskettes at $3.00 each. t'm already
saving money! (The pre—formatted diskettes were selling for
about $13.95.} But don‘t think that every thing is rosy just

not records. Host pre-recorded materials I"B protected with
e copyright. If you use sanples of copyrigited material in
productions that rndte money. contact the owner of the

yet. The Ensoniq formatting progin works perfectly except

Ct$l‘yT"i§'lt BEFE you publish. Usualiy you cm get the rijits

for one little thing. They forgot to explain to you the fact
put in the rlirage until you have turned it on using a FACTURY

to use the materials at NO COST! Be sire to explain jg
mtjggenactlywhichsm1g.andhowmuchai-ldwliatpal-tefit
you are using. If you modify the sanple sufficiently then it

FiRi‘lATTED DlSl'~'.ET|'E. lfyou turn your Hirage on with one of

|JB1IDIfl85‘fULf]JF@IBFl.]FI'ld*fDtl|Jf'0b*fil‘ffiJl11l1B0d

that the diskettes you format with this progin shouldn't be

your own formatted diskettes in it. your keyboa-d won‘t
mdte a sound. It only wants to format diskettes. This is a

small inconvenience though. Just remember to use one of yotr

elm 11% difita elm you tire on Yer "irons

aid then you can switch to yetr home-grown samples on yotr
, tgg_

diskettes.

permission to make money with it. D0 HOT smnple lyrics
unless you want to pay for the right to use them! It's also a

good idea to stay clear of recognizable melody lines. ‘what
does this leave us to sample for free‘?

New material is

mpearing all the time. Have you seen I<.erg's new SUD-2000

we have to have

sampling digital delay‘? Not interested? That's just because

diskettes to store fltl‘ samples on aid this is the cheapest way

you don't know about M__‘[AEE! Kerg packages a cassette
tape with the SDD-2000. This tape contains I6? sounds on it
that you can sample into the Mirage! The tape is not

I've found to get usable diskettes.
tilomahouttheequipmentthatstmdsbetweenyour

prospective sanple and the Mirage.

copyright protected! If the local Korg dealer won't sell you

when I bought my

just the tone. contact someone who owns a SUD-2000 and

Mirage. the first thing I had to do was sample my own voice.

offertetradesorneofyoursrrgulesforacopyoftha two. I

I'll bet you didn't think of doing that did you‘? 'El.lt.. so I'm not

found the percussion sounds and the voice sotnds to be the

tnigu-e. But did you rndte your first ‘live’ sample using the

most interesting.

right channel of e pair of stereo headphones for a

samples and fifteen or more percussion sounds. The tape also

microphone? t did, and it mdtes an incredibly lousy slnplel I

contains acoustic and electric drums. various bass samples.

still dent own a mic. Even if I did. my voice still wouldn't

guitars. pianos. brass. etc. All) THAT'S HUT ALL! You also

make good samples. I don't have a trained singing voice. i

get barking dogs. lnooing cows. breaking glass. alarms.

don't even knew myone with a trained singing voice. But I do

gunfire. etc. This is a REAL BARGAIN! Bet one! Another good

own a pretty good stereo cassette deck.

So instead of

source of samples is nattre records. Don't infill I've gotten

singing. l use pre-recorded material as the basis of most of

some awesome samples from a recording of the songs of

Page 5

There are four or five different voice

Iiultliback whales! Try looping sl‘uort sections of a natural
sound. The results you get caru be surprising! If you are
mining non-cenumercial samples. try out some of the vs-ions

formatting progin and rnalue your own forrnattad

aouludeffectrecordsinyourfavnritarecerdstore.

diskettes.
2. You can use Sony single-sided. single density 3 H2"
(microlleppyl diskettes in the Mirage for $2.00 to $3.00

‘lliluatduouttlue aling problem‘? lulihen you slruple gongs or

3. Use your stereo system components wlan you make

each.

other sounds with a lot of high frequencies you will

samples.

oyerwlueImtI1esl'rq:lirugrataoftI'ue Mirage. 'w‘eu'ueed to raise

4. Don't use samples of copyridut protected materials to

the sampling rate of the Mirage to handle really ‘crisp’ or

mite money.

'sl1I‘p'suoua1ds.Do|1'tgeoutI1dbu'ytl'ua$50.iZl'iTIirqput
5I'l'lillll'l'fl filter.

5. Bet Ililhfisluipped with the lterg SUB-2000. It has

If you have a reel-to-reel with multiple

16? smnples on it.

6. Recordthematerialyouaregoingtesmnpleat a fast tape
speed md sample it at a lower tqoe mused. This
effectively doubles the sample rate of the Mirage.

speeds.auIualspeedcassettedeu:k, or eturntuiule with a

speed adjustment you can live without the fancy filter and
still get better slnples than you can make otherwise. I have
a dual speed cassette deck. For difficult sanples I record
thau'nal.33r'4ipa. 'wluen|'mreadytostau-ttheactual
sulnpling session. I play the smuple into the Mirage at 1 ‘NB.
This lowers the SITIIII by one octave. If the original
recordedsouudcontairuedfreouuencyconupenentsupto20lfil-Ia.
thenpleybackat l.l'2speedreu:IucestI'uatto ill Kl-Ia. This is
well with in the range of e plain vauilla Mirage. After you get
agoodslnupleusepararrueter [B7ltoraisel.Iuesound up one
octave. My turrutdule has a speed adjustment that allows me

7. lfyou.uu:lo|1'thavearruu.ulti-speedtqaerecou-deu".usathe

pitch control on your turntable to slow the material down
before scnpling it.
B. Plau to borrow the Sound Ldu software or form a group"
mud purchase it.

9. Getaguuita-tuuuorauudtuaueallyoursauuplestetluesaune
pitch.
Duane Hing :i.s_ _an engineer currently

to slow the turntdula down by 33. Yours may allow you to

slow it down even mere. Reducing the speed by I58 raises
you.rafl'ective sI'ra:ulingba'udwidtI1by435 Hz. That may be

eruoluduifyouuuuseyeurequalizerteredureevuvthingduoye

working for SCI

Systems, Inc. in Huntsville, H1. Duane has grcgram—
ing cxgcriencc in scucral languages and is grsscntly
ygrEing_og_adding_ccggptgr control to his synthesizer
collection. This article was hacked on his Mac.

l5Ki-la. (Pony equalizers have a I5 Ki-Ia slider!) Yes. this is

really a low-rent approach to the aliasing problem. But if it
works. noone will know! Remember. all people will her is
the final product. They won't have any idea how you did it.
and they probdtuly dent cu-e!

V§".J'§"§'.I§'I'§".§'.I'§'§"I§'.§§'4f.§'I.I'.§'§"a“

\

I haven't mentioned my solutiouus to the problem of mining
long loops that don't click. pop. or waver. That's because so
fl-Il'nvefouIudeu1lyoruewaytorruduelorugloepsthatwork
properly. You must lave access to Tl-IE SCIIIJ LAB software!
ldiuhl. sayyeuhadto buyit! Justuseit. Trythis. Puta
difficult-to—loop slrple on I diskette. put it in you pocket.
Iudstrollintoyo\rEnsonit|dealer's showroom. Askfora

Mirage owners no longer need to buy expensive prelormatted disks. Let your Mirage format inexpensive
as-." blank diskettes for your sound and sequence

demoeftheSou.Iudtdusel'l.wa"e. lelhentlue selesrnuu is ready
teloadasurupletosluowyouluoweasyitistonudtelouug
loops. lmd him your diskette. if he hesitates. tell him tluat
the simple on your diskette is impossible to loop. what selfrespecting salesman would turn down a challenge like this‘?
Dent like this idea‘? Afraid it will only work once? Form a
uusergumuueraco-opeu-atiyewithetluer Mirage owners sud
purchase the softwre as a g~oqu.

storage. This program will quickly pay icur itself. In-

cluded is a back-up utility allowing you to copy any
Mirage operating system from one disk to another.
Send $39.95 for the THITDH DISK UTILITY.

Triton Corp.
i855 Whilzehavarufload
5uil:a- III
l.1rancllsIarucl,N.Y. 1407

Shre your sarrples with other people (like rn.e...l. But before

youdo.Ttl£YtI.IiSAl"PLES! You almosthavetobuya
guitar tuner [$15.00) if you want all your samples {factory
andhome-g'owu'uJtobe tuuruedtluesanue.

MIFIFIGE
DISK
HTTE

IN

Load the factory

pimp sound and check the tuning of it. New tune all your
otluersmq:uIestotl1efactorypiuno.IfycuudotI'uisyouwillbe

abetterpersonfou"it.Besuretoclueckthesau1uplesonSound

HY res. add Tl’: “fl tax.
Foreign orders add $5.00

Disk ""2.0becaumetl1eyI'enotalltunedtIuesaune!
Here is a summary oftha major tips and ideas in this article:

JIHJIEHIEHI HIEFI HEI H IE HI HIF

1. Don't buy pro-formatted diskettes. buy the Ensoniq disk

Mirage is a trademark of Ensoniq Gcrp.

1IH IE IEH 5IE H I E HI HIE IEH F

u”’”'””fi'”””””!

Page 6

DHTH 1 DISK HEUIEUS
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It should have

By Gordon G. E. Herbert

Sound 2 (Uox

The

Remember all the poly synths

sound I love.
range).
bottom.

the sound.)

The Uoice

Tomita-like breathy choir [bass-tenor

Sound 3 (Solo cello,

violin

{To me it sounded nothing

but I liked

spaced

so

Uoice

voice 2) - Solo cello is a solo

it

has an

extra

octave on

the

2 has an extra octave on the top for

alto range.
THUMBS: UP.

Data 1's best effort.

like vox

famaha CSSD brass {a little on the harmonica side).
Sound S (Fat bass, sound track strings) — Synthesizer
bass with straight filter. what the name says it is.
The sound track strings have a strange ambiance.
Good sound.
THUMBS: UP. Still room for improvement.

sounds.
The stacked strings have a good attack and
thickness.
Sound 2 {Synth strings, voice 1) — Like the old days
strings —

— If you

Space bass has a heavy sound.
Sound 2 (Dmni, synth brass) — Dmni is slow—attack,
poly—synth "string" sound.
Synth brass sounds like

Uol. 2 - Strings and Uoice Sounds
Sound 1 {Solo violin, stacked strings) - Good, useful

like

pipe organ)

Sound 1 {Funky bass, space bass) - Sounds like a
preset synth with "Funky Bass" labeled on the switch.

disks.
THUMBS: DDUN

with the strings setting?

combo,

Hal. 5 - Digital Synth 1

scratch sound is repeated on other

with the synth strings.

The upper half

combo, you've got it.
The pipe organ is a flute
voice register. Nice sound.
Sound 3 {Electric piano} — If you miss those days
when you couldn't afford a great electric piano and
had to buy a Soundman Sears Special, this one's for
ou.
THUMBS: UP DH DDMN. See "Dvera11 Summary" at end.

Uol. 1 — Drums and Percussion Sounds
§gggg_1_TBass drum, closed hi-hat, acoustic snare,
open hi-hat, acoustic toms) — weak, flat frequency
response, 3 octaves of tom toms [no upper multisampling, waste of space).
§gggg_§ [Heverb acoustic snare, reverb acoustic toms,
bass drum, electronic bass drum, electronic toms,
electronic snare) — H little better, but still lacks
quality.
Spacing a bit awkward.
(Kick drum in the
middle of the keyboard?!)
Sound 3 (Conga, timbale, clap, scratch, Hfrican
percussion) - Lacking quality again.
Hfrican
percussion is just a continuation of the conga
wavesample.

been multi—sampled.

ruined a great lower half sound.

Still room for

improvement.

Uol. B - Horns Sounds

§gggg__1_{French horn, bari sax, big brass) - Mo
quality to it.
The big brass is misleading - it
sounds like a tuba and uses the whole upper half.
Big brass to me is a whole horn section playing at
the same time. Listen to the Ensoniq disk.
Sound 2 (Trombone, trumpet 1, trumpet 2, french horn
2) - Flat.

Sound 3 (Clarinet, french horn 3) — The clarinet is a
joke. It's not even in the same octave range [in the
cellar) as a real clarinet.
THUMBS: DUNN.

This disk will make you cringe.

sounds like one

dull wavesample varied

It

in different

octaves.

Uol. 3 - Funk and Electronic Dance 1
Sound 1 {Slap and pull bass, laser) — They should
have sampled the bass one octave down.
Perfect
example

of not

multi-sampling

and ruining

a

good

idea.
Bass is good for only one octave.
I don't
know what the laser is good for unless you want to
accompany your own video game.
Four octaves of one
wavesample.
Sound 2 [DK—? bass,

sound.

rap, Star Mars) — Uery good DH—?

Dnly an octave and a half though.

shooting sound in

the movie "Star

Mars."

Zap is the
Star Mars

is the sound the Uookie makes. Good sounds if George
Lucas decides to call you up to do "Star Mars Strikes

Dverall Summary
ND effort or imagination in their samples. They lack
in quality.
Most sounds are flat [un—ED'd), not
multi-sampled [you get a good sound and than go up
the keyboard and start grimacing as the sound gets
worse). Repeated sounds are very frustrating.
Their biggest downfalls are ND PHDBRHM UHHIHTIDNS, ND
SEUUENEES, and vary few sounds use the Modulation
Wheel.

These all tend to push the reviews down.

Back the Jedi - Part IU."

Uol. 2 and Uol. S seem to be the best disks.

Sound 3 (Scratch 1, clap, scratch 2, Star Mars 2,
laser 2, zap 2) - Scratch and claps are repeats of
Disk 1.
Star Uars, laser, & rap are repeats of
Sounds 1 and 2.
THUMBS: DDUN.
Good slap bass and DK—T bass, but not

still room for improvement.
Ensoniq's disks.

They

Sorry if this

I'd like to

worth getting unless

George Lucas actually does call

you.
Uol. H - Piano Br an 1
Sound 1 Tflock organi — Great {Deep Purple) Hammond
sound.
Lower sound is crunchy, dirty, grinding —
classic Hermnond.
The upper wavesample is too clean
and the last

octave sounds nothing

like a Hammond.

anyone

seems harsh.

whose views

differ.

I

There's

don't compare to

hear from

still plan

to

be

openminded to Data 1's future disks ~ hopefully,
they'll take my criticisms constructively.
Gordon D. B. Gebert played with David Johanson in
1QBD, and in 1SB1-B2 was on tour with Mystigue.
He
is an active studio musician and the creative center
the

G-fi group.

material

ready to

He has folders

full of original

be turned into

dividends for the

stockholders of some farsighted record company.

Page T

CLQSS I F I EDS
USER GRUUPS

also using an

Nould like to start users group in Seattle area.
Call Loren at (EDS) B?B-BDBT, or leave a message at
(2DS] S?S—D9D.
Cleveland, Dhio (including Lorain county) area Mirage
owners:
Am interested in exchanging samples E
technique.
Please give a call — Mark: (215) 323-

1205.

M.U.S.E.

- Mirage User Group for Elmhurst, IL area.

Meetings soon to begin using the UES to loop sounds.
Please contact J. N. Adams, 2SH Cayuga, Elmhurst, IL
SD12S. (312) B3&-3??B.

Apple II+ with

programs).

If you are interested, please send a list

of your soundsfprograms to:

For info,

call

Patti (213) SB&—?S22.
Interested in contacting other Mira D e owners in the
Detroit area.
Joe Noeff, 1SSS3 Fairway, Livonia, MI
AB1SA.

Paul Mattioli,

st.. #335, Encinitas, ca ezora.

11DS 2nd

I will forward a

list of my sounds and programs.
SERUICES

Don't have MASDS?
Don't want to hassle with
arranging your sounds to give you all the patches you
need for a whole song or set? I can custom design
your disks for your specific needs - a must for live
performance. P. Nacker, A221 N Dunlap #250, Phoenix,
AZ BEUZT.

Hollywood Mirage Dwners User's Group.
Hints and
techniques.
Sound trading and demos. Meetings held
at Classic Sound Recording Studios.

Passport interface and

software (in case you would like to swap sequences or

EQUIPMENT

Mirage for sale (am getting rack-mount unit). UISUAL
EDITING SYSTEM for sale,
along with Advanced
Sampler's Package.
Requires Apple II+ or IIE. Uiew
and alter the waveform directly on the Apple screen.
Makes loop selection fun instead of a burden. A must
for quality looping and waveform clean-up.
Call
Arthur Cronos at (A15) SSB—????.

SAMPLES
ANNUUNCEMENTS

Sound
info,

Parties for Mirage owners in LA area.
For
call or write Jon St. James, Formula 1 Music,

a:1 South Palm st.. Suite n, La Habra, ca aaa31.
(213) BB1-2?1D.

NANTED: A good sample of a DH-? electric piano with
plenty of "metallic-bell" attack content!
Also
wanted: a solo french horn sample.
Mark Nyar, 1121
Middle Ave., Elyria, DH AADSS.
SAMPLING? - Use S.D.S. If you own a sampling device
or are into sampling in any form, you need S.D.S.
S.D.S. cassettes contain dozens of sounds for ygg to
sample.
All sounds are professionally recorded on
pro equipment than dubbed to high-quality chrome
Best

of all you

having

a

C—SAfC-12B,

modem,

Passport

interface, and the new Sonic
Editor from SDNIC
ACCESS, and who wants to upload and download sounds

NANTED: A quality sample of Sound 22 from the
BBERHEIM.
Jay Quinlan, 213 15th Place, Manhattan
Beach, CA BDEEB.

cassettes.

Anyone

can sample direct from

to your disk drive, call Tom at (BB3) 3SS—159?.
Nould

you void

your warranty for

512k of RAM

at a

projected cost of $3DD-SADD (US)? Ne are developing
a memory expansion for the Mirage that would allow
for instant (one-button keystroke) access to A upper
and A lower patches.
It would be a hacker's kit
which would involve installing a circuit board (easy)
and attaching S or S wires to the existing Mirage
circuit board (relatively easy for someone with HS
level electronics knowledge or any service or repair
technician).
However, before we get involved in the
setup for manufacturing we would like to get some
idea for the level of interest for such a product.
Please write to us offering encouragement, ideas,
wish list.
If you wish, we will attempt to consider

cassette deck to sampler, repeat the sound exactly
again A again, a no additional instruments-devicespeople are required.
Mix outputs from two tapes
playing different segments for totally new and
different sounds.
Easy cueing, great fidelity,
they're GHEATII
Dnly $?.QS each including postage.
Texas residents add 33 cents tax.
DHDER TDDAY FRDN:

such letters as reservations for the final product if

S.D.S. CASSETTES, Rt 2 Box SS2, Roanoke, TI T5262.
Checks payable to: LAKE SBUND.

Nell,

it is viable.

Please write to: MIRAGE UPGRADES, ZDDA

Fernwood Rd.,

Uictoria, BC, Canada UBT 2YS.

[Ed. - Me first! Me firstl]

Thanks!

FREE CLASSIFIEDS!

— within limits.

fied advertising (up

Ne're offering free classi-

to SD words) to all readers for

Buffalo and Niagara Falls Mirage owners: Interested
in exchanging sounds? Call or write: Chris Dtt, EB?1

exchanging or selling your sampled sounds on Miragereadable disks.
Additional words, or ads for other
products or services, are 1S cents per word. (Unless

Sy Rd., Niagara Falls, NY 1A3DA.

renewed, freebie ads are removed after S issues.)

(715) 73l—3?52.

I am interested in exchanging sounds by mail.

a good size collection of user—created sounds.

I have

I am
Page B

CDMPUTER PRDGRAMMING DF MIRAGE PARAMETERS

plug.

SDME PRDPDSALS
By Nalter Daniel

I think that we've all run up against the limitations

of the Mirage data entry system. Not only is working
with one parameter at a time awkward, it's easy to
lose track of which wavesample number, upper or lower
program number, and parameter number that you're
manipulating.

instrument
cost.

A

There

having

is a

a

simple

reason for

one-parameter

the

entry system

-

major expense in manufacturing any sort of

electronic equipment is
and connect panel

the labor needed

controls.

The

whole item could

be packaged with

the

programming software, increasing the price a little
but increasing data entry ease a great deal.

If

to install

you can afford

an

The issues of data entry ergonomics and status
displays have been addressed, but the system is still
hindered by working with one parameter at a time.
This is where the "page" system as used by some

synthesizers can be applied.
Assume that the
specialized peripheral bundled with the software has
five eats of potentiometers and switches instead of
the original set of one.
a specific parameter on

Now, instead of calling up
the computer keyboard, the

user calls up a specific page of related parameters.
Imagine using an
amplitude envelope page
that
consists of parameters SD through SA:

decay, sustain, and release.
peripheral sitting in your lap,

attack,

peak,

Nith your data entry
you can adjust those

Apple IIeXinter—facefUisual Editing System (HES) or
Macintoshfinter-facefSound Lab package, you can alter
the various sound
parameters with the computer
keyboard, paddles, or mouse.
However, I'm not
convinced that these techniques are the final word in
Mirage programming.

five parameters interactively until you get the
envelope just right. Having parameters that interact
on the same page could save a lot of programming

Computers are attractive for programming parameters
because they can display much more information at a

an idea for a stand—alone peripheral that doesn't use

time!
By applying the

page system further,

I came up with

can display upperflower,

a computer.
Nhat if the data entry board could be
plugged into the Mirage external computer port?
In
addition to the five sets of potentiometers and

program number,

wavesample number, parameter number,

switches, the peripheral would need LEDs for each set

parameter name,

and parameter value all at once.

more wiping out

a wavesample because you thought you

to display which parameter was assigned to that
particular set.
It would be desirable to have LEDs

given

time

than

Specifically,

were

can

the

Mirage

the computer

working on

another one!

2-digit

Note that I

LED.

No

am not

referring to another HES, just a computer utility for
programming purposes.
This utility can use MIDI
because the MASDS MIDI implementation provides access
to programs, wavesamples, and parameters. Therefore,
instead of creating a system based upon requiring the

user to purchase yet another incompatible interface
for his or her computer, the user can rely on their
present MIDI card.
The data entry problem has not been circumvented just
yet.
The status displays are much improved, but
better input techniques are possible. Instead of the

upfdown buttons on the Mirage,

the utility could use

keys on the computer keyboard.
That really isn't
much different, though.
Nhat about a joystick?
Joysticks were not designed to deal with numerical

data input and can be quite cumbersome.

Perhaps the

best data entry system would be a rotary or slide
potentiometer.
The UES uses game paddles, but they

were

designed

for

other

purposes

and

are

not

for each set to display the numerical parameter value

in addition to

the position indication of the knob.

LEDs for page number, upperflower program number, and

current

wavesample would

Because this peripheral

hand,

the LEDs

be

desirable

as

well.

would be in the programmer's

need not be the large type as in the

Mirage panel display.
Perhaps the use of smaller
LEDs would reduce the power requirements to the point
that it could be supplied by the external computer
port.
Df course, software is needed to drive this

peripheral.

Maybe a special version of the operating

system would need

to be loaded

into the Mirage much

like MASDS is loaded.
If possible, an easier method
would be for the peripheral to have a chip that
contains the programming for its functions. The real
expense in this item would be the software: the
potentiometers, switches, case, cable, and connector
would cost only several dollars.
I believe that a
product like this could list for as low as $1DD,
depending upon software costs.

sufficient for this application.

Getting back to the computer viewpoint,
How

about a

special

joystick port and

peripheral that

consists of one

plugs

into a

rotary pot of the

type found on many types of‘ audio equipment?
Nith
indicator marks, the peripheral gives both visual and
tactile feedback in addition to what is displayed on
the computer screen.
That way the user doen't have
to look up at the computer screen every time a
parameter is altered.
It would be
nice to have

upfdown buttons as
range

special

well for vernier control of widee

parameters and

peripheral

potentiometer,

for

onfoff functions.

consists

two switches,

of

an

This

inexpensive

a cord, and a joystick

main reason for the UES or Sound Lab.

consider the
Nhy do we wish

to view waveforms? To locate loop points, of course.
Instead of using a display system, the programming
software

locator

could

include

that matches

an

value

automatic

and even

loop

slope

point

of the

waveform.
To reduce the burden on the computer, the
user would specify a strict range of pages to be
examined for the loop points.
A program with a

combination
of page programming and computerassisted loop point setting (even if it didn't
display the waveform directly) would be a powerful
tool.

Page 9

There remains the
computer for which
utilityfperipheral

ever—present
to develop
package.

Passport interface is
hut

the product

problem of
the
this programming

The

Apple Ile

with

MlFIAGE* OWNERS

considered a standard by some,

would

reach more

users if it

Expand your voice library with
new sound diskettes from

was

compatible with more computers and interfaces.
Dne
obvious choice is the Commodore BA - it's inexpensive
and there is a Passport interface (and many others)
for it.
However, the SA is limited in memory
compared to other systems. Another possibility is to
develop the programming software for the Commodore
12B in its 125k mode. Most SA users could keep their
present interfaces and peripherals and upgrade by the

@é]‘Tfl 1|
V0
L. I
Iinlrns and Fsraussion I-ovlifil
Includes conventions! and electronic
drum sounds, plus digita! ravsrb
snare and toms. Percussion sounds
Include conga. timbala. Alrican parcussion and mars.
I25.-DD

purchase of just the actual computer.
The 12B in
12Bk mode is roughly equivalent to a IIe, but with
better graphics and a faster microprocessor.
Dne

last computer to
has

consider is the

a built~in

MIDI

interface,

package of computer,
monitor is $BDD.
I hope

that I've

disk

brought

new Atari ST.
and

the

It

drive,

and monochrome

some good

ideas to light

here and welcome suggestions and discussion.

VOL.
ll
String and ‘Folios lotinti I

complete

Includes a variety oi solo and stacked
string and voice sounds
IIESJEIII

VOL. Ill

Funk and Electric llama I
Includes slap and puil pass. flit? bass.
scratch. zap. iaz-or and mush more.
S25.!iD

Perhaps

some user out there who is more of a programmer could

address

some of

the

questions put

especially intrigued by

forth.

I

am

the thought of a stand—alone

Daniel

Astronautics

may

have

at MIT:

but

studied

Aeronautics

he did minor

HAND. UIIGAH I
Includes electric piano. vox combo.
pips organ and roux organ.
Si"S.IiIJ

\i'OL. V

Digital 8|-nlti I
Include-s sound track strings. Iunky
bass. space bass. and hriuristic
synth sounds.
assoc

VOL. VI

Horn Sounds!
Includes big brass. trumpet. Ironioone. bari sax. French horn and
clarinet.
S25.IJIJ

Send check or money order to:

page peripheral that plugs into the Mirage. It could
make many of us more effective,
faster
sound
programmers.
Nalter

VOL. W

@é]T¢f.i 1]

129 Squire Drive, Melbourne. Florida 32935
{3D5)254~65U9
2nd day air shipping included in price. Foreign orders add

and

$5.00. C.-D.D. orders add $5.00 {U.S.A. only). Send $5.0-D for
demo cassette. Contact DATA 1 tor an updated list of

in music (a

humanities concentration .
He is resentl
a
graduate student and hockey_goalie at Georgia Tech.

Sflllfld EIISHS.

' Mirage is s trademark of Ensoniq Corporation.

Dne of these days he is going to finish ~ really — an
indegendent recording.

THE INTERFACE
Dear Hacker,
Each issue of the newsletter gets better and better.
I would like to see more detailed and informed
coverage of MIDI - and not merely MIDI in general,
but MIDI and the Mirage, including, perhaps, the
publication of user—written programs.
I was particularly pleased to see an article by
Ensoniq Midwest District Sales Manager Tom Darling
and hope that
you can encourage other Ensoniq
emloyees to put pen to paper in the form of
tutorials such as his.
I would be particularly
interested in hearing directly from the individual
Ensoniq employees responsible for the factory disks.
[Ed. — so would I].
How did they get their sounds
and their loops down - the inside story.
For
example, how did they get such a smooth acoustic
piano tone across the entire Mirage keyboard?
Is it
a real harp on disk #1D or some syntheticfsampled
hybrid?

How were the demo sequences produced — with

Still further, I would be interested in knowing
which, if any, of these sounds were actualy created
(ie, sampled, trimmed, looped, etc,) on the Mirage
itself.
My suspicion is that none of them were, or
at the most, very few. Rather, I believe that sound
disks #1 - #1D were "made" on a larger system - one
with sophisticated signal processing software — with
software
capable of
spectral analysis,
energy
tracings,
full
visual editing,
auto
looping,
algorithmic splicing, etc., and then downloaded to
the

Mirage

to

merely

set

the

"performance"

parameters.
Along these same lines, I am surprised by the fact
that the Ensoniq sound disks are not accompanied with
"patch" sheets which fully document their settings.
The only three patch sheets which the company
publishes are those which accompany the MASDS disk in
the very end of the Advanced Samp1er's Guide.
Do
such patch sheets exist?
Dbviously, one could take
the next month off and transcribe them by hand.

However, it sure would be preferable for the sheets
the Mirage sequencer or with something comparable to
containing all the settings for sound disks §1 — §1D
Passport's MIDI B+; who played andfor realized these
to be made available for publication in the Hacker.
sequences?
Page 1D

I must say I am skeptical about getting any printouts
from Ensoniq, though. I am doubtful, in particular,
because of the fact that there is not a single
printing feature included
in the Mirage visual
Editor.
Nhat this indicates to me is that, even in
the most advanced software that the company makes
available, Ensoniq sees no need for the user getting
a hardcopy of his work.
I see this too, not only as
a serious omission in the visual Editor, but also as
the reflection of a serious misunderstanding about
how an individual - both novice and expert - proceeds
to learn a new system.
They must have assumed that
all we "professional" musicians care about is getting
a good sounding oboe from the store and "playing"
with it — rather than understanding what makes this
specific sampledfsynthetic hybrid with this specific
set of parameter values, a fairly convincing pseudooboe in a wide range of musical contexts.
I would
like to think

that they are wrong and that the depth

of the questions which continue to appear in the
Hacker, and the quality of the newsletter itself, for
that matter, are some indication to them.
As regards the problem of getting printouts from the
visual Editor, I have added lines to the code, but to
no avail.
My system is fairly standard: Apple IIe,
Epson MXBD printer,
PKASD EP 12-BDf1DD printer
interface (Revision S 1BB2), and the Passport MIDI
interface Card Type I.
Perhaps, you, or one of your
readers (perhaps John D. Senior, himself)
have
experienced similar frustration and come up with a
solution which could be passed along to similarly
aggravated owners of the visual Editor.
Dn another note, my local dealer told me a few things
which I would like confirmed and elaborated upon if
possible:
(1), that Ensoniq is marketing its own
Disk Formatter: (2), that the 19BS Mirage will be 12
dB quieter:
and
(3),
that there will be an
inexpensive 12 dB mod for the older units as well.
Nhat exactly is the mod, how will it work, and which
noise (ie,
aliasing,
quantizing, radio, output
preamp, etc.) will it he removing?
This whole issue brings to mind another question:
Nhat is the actual signal-to—noise ratio of the
Mirage? For that matter, what are the true specs of
the instrument - compared to the Emulator II let's
say? Here's why I ask.
The machine is noisy — why
else the 12—dB mod? Tet on page S3 in the ASG we are
told that the Mirage has a "12D dB dynamic rangei"
and on page SA that "in normal, full-level recording,
quantizing noise is also present, but it is S2 dB
quieter than the
signal,
making it virtually
inaudible."
Do these
two figures
sound as
contradictory to you as they do to me? Perhaps in
Hai1stone's A-track studio, S2 dB signal~to—noise
ratio is "inaudible:" it was certainly inaudible in
the combination bus stationfmusic store where I
bought my Mirage. However, it is far from "virtually
inaudible" when I record direct to my SDNT PCM F1,
or, for that matter, when I record on my portable
cassette deck! Nhat's the story?

Mirage, as ours generally are. And another thing, I
don't quite understand how the "S-bit floating—point
system" in the Mirage can have a higher dynamic range
than a 15-bit PCM F1.

In regard to the instrument's specs, another seeming
contradiction has to do with the "fixed" setting of
the output filter. Dn page SD of the ASG we are told
that there is a 1S-kHz limit on the output.
Bn page
2D that the max filter frequency (71) is 1E kHz.
Nhich is it? It also occurs to me, particularly as I
was just about to purchase an Input Sampling Filter,
(which would increase the sampling rate to SD kHz),
that if 1S kHz (or 15 kHz) is the "fixed" peak output

frequency, why bother sampling at a rate any faster
than 32 kHz?
Before I buy I will wait for you to
clear up this apparent contradiction.
Another thing I am curious about is the
specific
upgrades which have taken place in the various
versions of the operating system.
In the Hacker you
have mentioned a few things here and there.
There
are also some tips in the ASG.
However, would it be
possible to put together, in one article say, an
overview on the changes which have taken place and
why? If one can assume that these operating system
revisions are updates, it might prove useful to know
what exactly is being improved and what exactly is
being changed.
Df all the letters to appear in the Hacker so far, I
was most impressed by Dick Lord's in Issue §A. Nhat
is Ensoniq's response to his request for an upgrade
to the operating system which would allow the
specifications of arbitrary tuning systems? He has
my vote! Also, have they looked into enhancing their
mix mode feature (as he suggested) to allow for the
mixing of envelopes and other parameters as well as
wavesample pairs?
A further extension of the mix
mode feature which would interest me greatly, would
allow the user to mix, either via the mod wheel or
key velocity, any number of wavesamples - not just
two.
This would provide the opportunity for a wide
range of "remarkably subtle" to "stunningly bold"
timbre modulations.
Nhat does Ensoniq think about
implementing such a feature? Is it possible?
Nhat about portamento, the speed controlled by mix
wheel or key velocity? Nhat about an arpeggiator? I
believe the Emu II has both these features.
Does
Ensoniq plan on incorporating either or both of these
two "standard" synthesizer functions in near future
operating systems? If not, what's the reason?
I look forward to

newsletter and,
response to the

receiving the future issues of the

in particular, your and Ensoniq's
questions, suggestions, and issues

which I have raised in this letter.

Anxiously,
Dr. Richard Boulanger
1B?? Deer Street
Somerset, Massachusetts D2?2?

Sure, the Ensoniq disks are very quiet, (much better
than S2 dB signal-to—noise on them no doubt) but
this,

fact

I suspect,

that they

is,

were

as I stated above, due to the

"made" elsewhere,

not

on the

[Ed.

-

questions

Page 11

As

you probably

regarding the

already

Ensoniq

noticed,

formatter and

your
the

various improvements to the Mirage were covered in
the last issue. Readers may be interested in knowing
that we've arranged to have Dr. Boulanger conduct an
phone interview with Ensoniq's sample wizard(s).
Ne
should be able to share the results of this in a
future issue.
Regarding the noise specs for the
Mirage — check out Ensoniq's response to the letter
from R. D. villwock
elsewhere in this issue.
Meanwhile, Ensoniq's response to some of your other
points follows.]

these

give

15

bits

worth

of

output

information, or approximately SS,DDD possible levels
— 12D dB.
The upgrade is to reduce the noise in the
output circuitry.
The S/N of the amplifier circuits
(referenced to the output of the DXA converter) is
now about TD dB. Nhat the Input Sampling Filter buys
you
is a much sharper ro1l—off
at the high
frequencies - approximately 1DD dB per octave.
This
allows you to capture more of the highs in the source
while still eliminating the frequencies that would
generate aliasing noise.)

I have learned more from your informative letter than
from the information provided in the in the advanced
oner's manual.
I think an article on grafting
sounds together like Ensoniq did on disk #9 would be
very useful for everyone to know.

I think the Mirage is a great device, I only wish it
were constructed better. I had a key that wouldn't
trigger any sound properly until I got a disk with a
later

operating

system on it.

I am now starting to

a problem with the volume control.

a

decent

is

keep

later

There isn't

fingers

operating

crossed

system

setting

of

the

Input Sampling Filter

(or

a bit above) because of overtones.

obviously,

it's

not

meant

to

be

But,

left open or it

wouldn't be there.
I presume it's a trade—off
between sound quality and noise level. Nhen would

you leave it open?
If

you

know

of any other New Yorkers that are into

communicating
names

about

Mirages,

I'd

appreciate their

and numbers (and as you pointed out — not have

to bother you with questions).
Thanks a lot,
Mark Friedman
A2D E 1Dth St., #ARE
New York, NY TDDDB

of the click points and noise may be
bad disk.
In other cases, like the

strings, that's the way it is. The best thing to do
is to get a listen on another copy of the same sound.
Regarding the filter: Ensoniq recommends (as a rule
of thumb in the ASE) that the filter be set to one
quarter the sample rate, and the sample rate be set
to as high as possible and still leave enough sample
time (ifsample rate) to capture the whole sound. Df

course, when you start juggling memory allocation and
getting

good

loop

deviate

from

this.

and subjective
versus noise.)

points,

etc.,

you

may have to

Then it is just trial and error

judgement

on high~frequency content

and hope that an even

will get the bugs out of my
Dear Mr. Hailstone,

Thank you.

I have enjoyed your articles in the Transoniq Hacker.

In

Richard F. Bird
PD Box 593A?
Chicago, IL SDSSB
~

the

service center in Illinois so all I can so

my

machine.

(Ed.

Is

another matter of painstaking trial and error, or can
you offer a guide to approaching it? It'd seem that
it couldn't just be set to the frequency of the

[Ed. - SDME
caused by a

Dear Sir,

have

2)

sample

[Ensoniq's response — The correct spec for the
maximum setting of the output filter should be 15
kHz.
The 15 kHz is a misprint.
The spec for the
dynamic range is determined by the B bits of sample
information and the S bits of volume information.
Together

points (audible loop points) and noise heard around
some of the sounds, making them barely bearable
(piano, human voices, flutes and others), may, in
fact, not have to be endured?

issue

Mirage

next issue we should have an updated list of

service centers.)

#5 you indicated that you were playing the

from

a

Roland

guitar synthesizer.

I use a

Roland GH—?D? guitar and GR—?DD synthesizer to drive
my rack-mount Mirage. I agree that the results are
truly amazing. However, I am having trouble figuring
out how to get some of the version 3 operating system
updates to work with the Roland. Nhile MIDI Function

Enable

(BA)

works,

I

can't

see any advantages in

using it. Changing sounds from the Mirage keypad is
a lot easier and faster.

Dear Mr. T. Hacker,
Just got issue number S — first one I've seen and I'm
delighted.
You know
they
should include an
instruction course with every purchase but this is
still more help than I expected to find.

Have you had any success getting LFD Modulator Source
(TB),

Mix

Modulation

Modulator

Depth

(BB),

Dnffiff (3D) to work?

Mirage

Source

(TS),

After

Touch

or, most importantly, Local

I tried various combinations of

Controller Numbers D-B with the GR»?DD String

Two quick beginner questions:

Selector Switches and the Roland foot pedals and
guitar controllers, but nothing seemed to work.

1)
Some things
quality (in the
defective disk.

Dther questions include the following:

in issue #5 suggest that voice
Mirage library) may be due to a
Does that mean
that the click

How is Local DNXDFF (JD) supposed to work?
Page 12

Is there a way to have the sequencer play but not
sound notes from the guitar so that the GR—?DD can be
played along with the sequence?
Since the rack unit unit does not have a foot pedal
control, any ideas on starting and stopping the
sequencer from the Roland?
Have you been able to get any of the Roland
controllers (foot pedals, guitar switches) to affect
Mirage operations?
Dther than using a volume Pedal, any ideas on cutting
the Mirage onfoff during live performance?
Is there a way to simulate the Mirage Mod Nheel from
the Roland?

them my charge card number. I don't carry plastic,
so that was of little help. At last, my dealer used

HIS card to get me a
already paid plenty for.

working copy of a disk I'd

The second disk arrived and guess what? It didn't
boot either.
More calls to Passport who now said,
"Dh
yes, that's how a disk behaves when it's
damaged." -- seems like they HAD heard of such a
thing

before.

arriving
the

More

which,

software

hassles

glory

led

to

a third disk

be. actually worked.

I used

very skittishly until many, many weeks

later my backup disk arrived. It, too, worked. The
MIDIZB Plus system seems to perform as advertised, no
complaints. But there are lessons in this story for
computerists, novice or pro:
A) Never buy anything without seeing it (the actual
unit you're buying) in operation first.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
B)

Ron Lemos
Nest Covina, CA

get

Dear Editors:
Nhen I bought my Mirage I also purchased a Passport
MIDI interface for my Apple IIe, and the MIDIKB Plus
supporting software.
My dealer didn't stock these
so

I

bought

them

sight unseen.

They were

shipped to my dealer who, being BD miles away, than
shipped them to me.
Nhen the software arrived I
encountered Passport's inexplicable backup policy:
the disk is copy—protected. You are entitled to a
backup

disk

but

you

don't get it until you return

your warranty registration card. And guess what? My
disk wouldn't boot. I needed this system for a job I
was working on.
Frantic calls to Passport brought
little help.
They'd never heard of such a thing
happening, but if I were to return my disk they'd
examine it and send me a working version. I called
my

dealer,

don't

some

He called Passport and finally got them

to agree to send me a disk right away if I would give

walk, to your nearest micro club and

hacker

software.

(Erick Hailstone - Although in the past I have used
the GR-?DD with a Mirage, I don't actually own one
and have not had an opportunity to connect the two
with the latest software. Concerning your point on
the MIDI Function Enable (BA), you are right - the
keypad is easier, but if you're several feet away,
this remote function is certainly e good choice to
have.
The GR-?DD
does
not
send aftertouch
information and modulation is only on or off (no
variable intensity). This may be the source of some
of your mismatches.
The Local DnfDff is a feature
that makes sense if you want to disable the keyboard
on the keyboard Mirage. The function is duplicated
in the rack-mount because it uses the same disks and
therefore the same operating system(s). I don't know
of any way to start or stop the Mirage sequencer from
the GR-TDD.
As far as cutting the Mirage onfoff
during live performances, you could: simply change
MIDI channels, or use a MIDI foot switch (J. L Cooper
for one) which just shorts out the MIDI cable, or use
a foot switch to short out the audio output of the
Mirage, or just use an AXB box to switch its output
to "nowhere." Hope this helps some.]

items,

Run,

to

figure out how to back up your

This is not piracy but protection of your

investment.

'

C)
Don't
count on the manufacturer
understanding, or even an apology.

for help,

Sincerely yours,
Jim Hockenhull
I.Plane Associates

Pullman, NA
[Ed. — Sheeeshi]
Dear Hacker,

First, I want to congratulate you on becoming an
indispensable part of Mirage ownership. You provide
the necessary information regarding software updates
and applications that Ensoniq would be hard-pressed
to deliver on a monthly basis.
I would like your advice on two applications of the
Mirage concerning the triggering of a sample:
1) I own a LinnDrum which unfortunately doesn't have
MIDI capability. I would like to be able to trigger
a wavesample (i.e. snaredrum) from the Mirage by
programming the performance in the Linn and taking a
trigger out to the Mirage. I believe it is possible
to program the actual sample performance in the
Mirage sequencer, and use the Linn as an external
clock source.
If I did this, what clock pulse does
the Mirage want to see? The Linn has a clock rate
selectable in degrees of 2A, AB, and B5. If I start
up

the

Linn,

will the Mirage start in sync?

It is

quite frustrating to be able to sample at such a high
degree,

and

not

be able to access that sample this

way for mixdowns!
2) Say I purchase a MIDI drum machine, and use its
sync code to control both my Linn and the Mirage.
Nould it be possible to trigger a wavesample via
MIDI?
Nould I be able to control which of the
sixteen wavesample
s in memory was triggered? I
would appreciate step-by—step procedures in setting

Page 13

this Up!
I

yes,

could purchase the Horg SDDEDDD sampling/delay, or

the

Akai,

inputs,

and

but

accomplish

it

this

via

their trigger

seems senseless to purchase another

sampler that isn't nearly as good as the Mirage!

be

'

in

sync

providing

system.

This

the

is a set of B drum pads in a

Dne other possibility might be to use something like
J.L.Cooper's Cv to MIDI box. This is a small box
inputs

for

control

voltage

gate

signal

to

the

input

of

J.L.Cooper's device should cause a note of the Mirage
to

fire.

The

next

step

is to control which note

fires. This is achieved by applying a voltage to the
input of the Cooper box, in the range of D to S
volts.
D volts should correspond to the lowest note
on

the

Mirage,

and

wavesamples

The

correspond

to

which

drum machine sends a signal over

Try Before You Buy!

Dear Sirs,
I'd like to hear about any Mirage User Groups near
Yugoslavia (Italy, Austria, or Nest Germany). Also,
are there any official Ensoniq representatives near
here?
Also,

maybe

you can help to clear up this problem:

I've heard about some sort of warranty reply card.

I

did not get anything of the sort with my Mirage. My
dealer "knows nothing" about that (my Mirage was
bought in Munich).
Best wishes in 'BS.

Sincerely,
Andrija Pusic
Jozef Stefan Institute
EA, Jamova 3S
S1DDD Ljubljana

Yugoslavia
[Ed. — Hopefully, some of our European readers will
contact you regarding the user group.
Ne have
several readers in the area (although you're the only
one in Yugoslavia), but we haven't heard of any user
groups yet.
Ensoniq response to your warranty card
problem
and
question concerning representatives
follows.]

and gate signals

(such as are found on many analog synthesizers) and a
MIDI output.
You would need to convert the snare
output of your Linn to a gate—type signal — a square
wave which rises from zero to something like 1D
volts, probably . This shouldn't be too difficult to
do - consult your local technician. Applying the
snare—controlled

_which

keys.

Mirage part was

box.
Nhen a pad is struck, a MIDI signal is sent to
your slave device (in this case, the Mirage) and a
note is fired accordingly. There are controls on the
Dctapads to allow you to select which note of the
Mirage corresponds to each pad of the Dctapad set.
Also included are six quarter—inch inputs on the back
of the system, into which you could plug six outputs
from the Linn. These will allow you to select which
Mirage sounds are triggered by which Linn sounds, and
will also track dynamics. The system lists for about
$555.

with

re—arrange

Mirage

techno-consumers:

originally recorded in time with the Linn, and synced
to the Linn.
I doubt that this is what you want,
though — it would be just as easy to play the Mirage
part "live" during a tape over-dub. Nhat you want, I
think, is a device that will allow a particular
sample from the Mirage to be triggered from the slave
output of the Linn. The only one I know of (which
doesn't mean that there aren't others) is the Roland
Dctapad

of a lot of control over which wavesample, unless you

all MIDI drum machines will sync your Linn. In any
case,
remember
the
first
commandment
for

[Clark's response — In answer to question one, it
should be possible to sync the Mirage sequencer to
the LinnDrum sync output. Theoretically, the clock
rate of the Linn shouldn't matter, as the Mirage is
capable of analyzing the clock rate at its input and
setting itself accordingly. The Mirage should start
playback when you hit "play" on the Linn (you may
have to first hit "play" on the Mirage) and the two
should

can trigger a wavesample in the Mirage via

Se aware, however, that you won't have a heck

MIDI with each drum sound usually corresponding to
one key on the Mirage. However, be aware that not

Again, thanks for all the useful information.
Sincerely,
Peter Bliss
New York, NY

you

MIDI.

5 volts to the highest.

Notes

[Ensoniq's response — Bur European distribution is
handled fairly independently » but, there SHDULD be a
warranty card. Please contact Ensoniq Europe, SS AvE
DE STALINGRAD, BIDDD, BRUSSELLS, BELGIUM.]
Dear Sirs,
As an extremely excited new Mirage owner, I am
insatiably hungry for every piece of information on
this machine I can get. Nhile our local dealer is

supportive there aren't many units in our area yet.
I'm working in a vacuum.

in—between can be selected by varying the input
voltage: 1 volt should get you the "C" one octave

The potential of this instrument is astounding.

above the lowest "C": 1X12 volt should get you the

musically

"C#" above the lowest "C", and so on. A small,
monophonic analog synthesizer with CU out jacks might
be ideal for this type of control. Used ones can

Do you know of anyone working on an outboard RAM—disk
for

As

interface?

as

It

your second question goes, the answer is

technologically

it

Both

seems to inspire

creativity.

generally be picked up dirt cheap these days.
far

and

Page 1A

sound

could

storage.

be

How about a vES for the Amiga?

outstanding.

Maybe a 2D—Meg hard disk

Ne could go on forever.

How about sounds? The factory sounds are great - but
I want more.
My sampled sounds are ok but not
perfect yet.
I'm waiting for the UE5 - Apple
software to arrive. Maybe that'll help. (I've got
the Input Filter.)

well-designed 12-bit system inherently capable of
providing a ?2 dB SIM. Still not exactly Eopact

Dur group down here would love to build the HHM-disk.
Got
any
names of tech people at Ensoniq for
information? The pin out in your Issue #3 is not

point" encoding system, but to derive any benefit
from such a technique, each stored sample point would
have to include its own unique EXPDNEMT as well as

enough.

Does

Ensoniq

openly

support

soft

and

improve

the

SIN

by

another

E dB and this makes a

Disk quality, BUT, a lot closer!
Now, I realize that Ensoniq SHTS they use a "floating

the

B-bit NHNTISSH that's being stored.

Hs far as I

hardware developers? Is there a developmentflicense
package available? Any info would be appreciated.

can see, the only "exponent" part of the Mirage's
alleged floating point encoding scheme is ostensibly

I'll be anxiously awaiting your reply.

To imply that this somehow magically improves the SIN
is somewhat akin to saying that the performance of
any low-S/N audio system can be improved if you can

provided

Until then,

by

the various volume control mechanisms.

raise and lower the playback volume!

Burton whisker
High Point, North Carolina
[Ed. - So far, all we've heard about the various
"wish" items you mentioned are rumors - nothing
concrete yet. The arrival of your HES will probably
make a dramatic difference in your sampled sounds.
Ensoniq's
generally been
pretty
good
about
second-party type developers.
You should also
contact the people who have offered technical support

in

our

from

"Mirage
a

Net."

Canadian

There's also an announcement

group

elsewhere

in

this

issue

regarding memory expansion for the Mirage - check it
out. Ensoniq's response follows.]
[Ensoniq's
have

response

-

time

to

much

developers

-

improvements

Dur

we're

and

technical staff doesn't

devote

to

pretty

helping

busy

developments!

on

who

sign

our

our

own

But, we'll be happy

standard

non-disclosure

really

item

an

amazed

expanded

to see how popular a "wish list"
sequencer

has become for many of

your readers. Dbviously, any significant increase in
the
sequencer
capacity
would
involve
a
correspondingly significant increase in memory size,
and

if

change,

Ensoniq

eventually

wouldn't

"you

all"

does

make such a major

rather

Fact

that

the

wavesample

volume

point" behavior.

But to imply that the Mirage is

anything at all like a 15-bit resolution system is
pure fantasy!
Besides, any improvement resulting
from envelope dynamics will enhance a 12-bit system
by the same mechanism.
Unless some undisclosed,
"secret" form of companding is utilized, it seems to
me that the Mirage is simply an B-bit system with
less than &B dB SIN.

Bf course I realize that increasing the sample
resolution from B to 12 bits involves more than just
increasing memory size, however, 12-bit HID and DIR
converters are no longer prohibitively expensive, and
memory is getting almost "dirt cheap." Note that the
new Prophet 2UUD uses 12-bit sample encoding HND has
a 255k
whether

Dear Hackers,

I'm

the

envelope essentially multiplies the stored mantissa
of each sample point by a potentially different value
(assuming the envelope contour isn't just an organ
gate], DUES provide some semblance of a "floating

outside

to supply technical data and schematics on the Mirage
to
those
agreement.]

Admittedly.

see that extra

wavesample memory. It's not clear to me yet
this is supposed to be 255k bytes or 255k,

12-bit words, but in either case it means both more
resolution
HNU longer
sampling time than the
12Bk-byte Mirage.
Eome
on
Ensoniq,
the Mirage was a fantastic
breakthrough and still is an amazing product, but
what are you going to do for an encore? May I
suggest:

memory for something important to sampling?

1}
The marketplace abounds with low to moderately priced
sequencers

for

cannot

said

be

MIDI

data,

about

15 seconds {or more} of 12-bit wavesample storage

at full audio playback bandwidth.

but, the same certainly

multi-samplers.

Instead of

2)

1E

[or

more) polyphonic voices and full BB-note

adding "bells and whistles" to the Mirage, wouldn't

response

you like to have 12-bit sampling resolution and 2U to
3D seconds of full bandwidth sampling time? How
about 1E polyphonic voices and full BB-note response
when driven from a HRH-1UUD or a Kl-BB?

need to make one with a keyboard).

Isn't

t) 5D or more super high-quality factory sounds of
things that are the toughest to do - good, old
fashioned acoustic instruments.

anyone

out

there

interested

in an improved

signal-to-noise ratio? The quantization noise alone
{for an B-bit, linear system like the Mirage] can be
no lower than one part [1f2 LSB} in 25¢ of the
maximum recorded level.

Therefore, the best possible

signal-to-noise ratio, SIN, is no more than a very
marginal HE dB. Every added bit could theoretically

for

the Hack Wount unit {I don't think you

3) The ability to have 32 (or more} samples spread
across the keyboard.

5] H price tag [still] under $2DDD.
That's

Page 15

MY "wish list" and an admirable challenge for

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IJITTED MATERIAL
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Transoniq Hacker is the independent user's newsletter for
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any way with Ensoniq Corp. Ensoniq and Mirage s.re
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Opinions
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to

an innovative company.

be

after

Ensoniq's

we

response

see
to

what

they do for an encore.

your floating point comments

H. D. Uillwock
Glendora, CH

follow.]

[Ed.

be better than B (and that 15 will be better than
12}.
No argument. Uur diddling with the volume is
more of the nature of comressing the signal - this

[Ensoniq's response - he don't deny that 12 bits will
-

Glad

to

hear

some challenging "wishs" and

comments.
I think Ensoniq's feelings toward the
sequencer pretty much agree with yours. Una of their
people has mentioned to us that it was really just
intended as sort of a "scratch-pad" kind of tool, and
wasn't

you

meant

mentioned,

there's

to

be a major feature.

memory

is

getting

Uf course, as

cheaper, and if

a strong demand for this sort of thing - why

not both (larger sampling and sequencer memories]? A
few general observations — I think everyone will
agree
that
more bits will always convey more
information (Law of The Universe fllfi].

The "problem"

in any high—tech field these days is that by the time
you're done with the design there's HLMHYE better and
cheaper

with.
sense

sub-parts

?ou're

just

available

than

what you started

about always "obsolete" in some

by the time you ship your first unit.

Ht some

point, marketing will generally yell at Engineering
"ETDP HLREHDY — we have to get something out the door
or we all die!" So you ship and, if you're a company
that's going to be around for awhile, Engineering

starts working on "the way we should have done it in
the first place." [If only we knew!) I think we'll
all know better what type of company Ensoniq's going

does

improve

SIN

ratios

and

is

not

the same as

"raising and lowering a volume control." To better
clarify the Nirage's noise specs: the 52 dB in the

HEB is a misprint. (Sorry about that.) The actual
limit on sampling noise is £8 db (as you mentioned}.
The remainder of the system has a SIN ratio of
approximately TU dB {after the recent 12 dB mod} referenced to the signal from the DfH.]



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