           EPSS - Enhanced Polyphonic Sample Synthesizer
           ---------------------------------------------

Program Copyright (c) 1990-2018 by Copson IT Ltd/Unit Seventeen

Documentation Copyright (c) 1994-2018 Copson IT Ltd

All rights reserved

This document is a subset of the developer documentation for EPSS sound system
available from Copson IT Ltd.

Permission to use, copy and distribute this software and its documentation
for educational, research, and not-for-profit purposes, without fee and
without a signed licensing agreement, is hereby granted, provided that
the above copyright notice, this paragraph and the next paragraph appear
in all copies and distributions. If .BIN files are used in non-profit demos
or part of other non-profit software, include as a minimum the copyright
notice above with link to http://epss.copson.se.
Contact Copson IT Ltd, http://epss.copson.se for commercial licensing
opportunities.

THE SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION, IF ANY, PROVIDED HEREUNDER
IS PROVIDED "AS IS". COPSON IT LTD HAS NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE,
SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.

Program written & designed by Conny Pettersson

Copson IT Ltd
United Kingdom

Overview of the contents in this package:
-----------------------------------------
/README.TXT : Instructions for quick installation of EPSS.

DOC/EPSS1ST.TXT : This is this textfile and describes how to get started
with EPSS.

DOC/EPSS.TXT : Here you willfind descriptions to all the functions that 
offers.

DOC/EPSSTECH.TXT : Here you will find techincal programming information about data
structures etc and how to develop for EPSS.

MODULES : In this folder you will find different sound drivers, i.e. .BIN files.
See EPSS.TXT for additional information.

MROS : This folder contains a MROS driver for Cubase. README.TXT contains info.

SAMPLES : Some simple example samples.

SONGS : Demonstration songs and soundpatches by Unit Seventeen.

                           1st Guide to EPSS
                           -----------------

We are very proud to welcome You to our E.P.S.S.-system!

You have now access to a very powerful tool for making computermusic, but
before you start, you must have some basic knowledge about the system.

EPSS's graphical user interface is EPSSCTRL.PRG/EPSSCTRL.ACC. They are
exactly the same program so you can for example rename EPSSCTRL.PRG
to EPSSCTRL.ACC to run it as a Desk accessory.
The EPSS Sound drivers (for example EPSS25_8.BIN) contains the
the actual MID and Sound player. They are used by EPSSCTRL.PRG/ACC
or can be separately compiled into other programs, see DOC/EXAMPLE for
an example of this.
The sounds are stored in SPI files (Sound Patch Information) and the
songs are using standard .MID files.

The EPSS-system is based on the standard MIDI-format. The EPSS could be
compared with a synthesizer or replaysampler, but it is different because
it is totally software-based. It uses samples to make the sound which it
plays through the soundhardware of the STe/TT/Falcon-computer. The sampled
sounds are mapped out on a keyboardlayout, and a sound is played when
the key attached to the sound is activated by MIDI. MIDI has 16
different channels, and so has EPSS. The samples and their parameters
together with the keyboardlayouts are saved in a separate file, called
"soundpatch". This patch has always the extension "SPI".

To create a song for EPSS you have to use an ordinary sequencerprogram
together with EPSS running as an ACCessory. If you already have a sequencer,
you are especially lucky if you use the Steinberg Cubase(R) or a similar
sequencer which is based on the MIDI operating system MROS(R). EPSS has
a special driver for MROS(R) which makes it very easy to use EPSS together
with the sequencer. If you don't use a MROS(R)-based sequencer, EPSS is able
(or will be able) to recognize some of the most popular sequencers on the
market and take over their MIDI-transmit and link it to EPSS. This is done
in a more 'rude' way, so this might not work as smoothly as from MROS. If
you have a sequencer which is not supported in EPSS, please contact us and
we will try to make EPSS work together with it.

When you have created a song, you must save this as a standard MIDI-
file, with the extension ".MID", if you want to replay it directly
from EPSS independent of your sequencer. It is also possible to use
the songs from your own programs if you use the separate BIN-modules.
If you are interested in using this feature, contact us and you will
get the technical documentation and some source-files which explain
how you use the BIN-files from inside your own programs. Currently
only assembler source-files is availible.

The EPSS ACC-file handles the MIDI-input and output of the sounds as
well as the editing functions for the patch and the samples. The
ACC-file can also be renamed to .PRG and be run as a standard
application.

Install EPSS
------------
EPSSCTRL.PRG and EPSSCTRL.ACC is a program for STe/TT/Falcon. It is 
exactly the same program so it can be renamed according to need.

To install EPSS for use with a sequencer, copy EPSSCTRL.ACC and EPSS_SEQ.INF to
your bootpartition on your harddisc or a bootdisk. Rename EPSS_SEQ.INF to
EPSS.INF. This INF-file are set up to reserve 300 kB for the patch, 50 kB
for the song and 50 kB for workmemory, which is necessary if you want to
modify a patch and extend it by loading more samples, or use EPSSCTRL.ACC
together with a sequencer. This is also always necessary if you use a computer
with an older TOS-version than 2.0. This amount can be changed with a simple
ASCII-editor if you find it too little or too much for your needs.

Reboot your computer to install EPSS. It probably won't find the sounddriver,
if you haven't changed to the correct path for the sounddriver in the
EPSS.INF-file, so you must choose the driver with the fileselector. There are
currently four drivermodules supplied with the standard package:

1) EPSS25_8.BIN (or EPSB25_8.BIN) is the module for 8 channels in 25 kHz with volumes.
2) EPSS25_4.BIN (or RPSB25_4.BIN) is the module with 4 channels in 25 kHz which has
   higher volumes and better dynamics than the 8 channel driver.
3) DUMMY.BIN is a silent module which lets you use the program to look at or
   perhaps make a patch on a ST not equipped with the PCM-sound.
4) EPSS2516.BIN (or EPSB2516.BIN) is a module for 16 channels in 25 kHz with
   volumes. To use this module you must run the program on a TT030 with 32 MHz,
   otherwise you cannot use 16 channels simultaneous. The soundquality is
   lower than the other players.

Next you have to choose a default file to be loaded, because the program
can't run without a patch from start. Locate the empty patch 'EMPTY.SPI'
and load.

If all works correctly the EPSS main window should appear on the screen. Press
'Save Inf' to save information about your settings so you don't have to choose
driver and patch next time you boot.

Your first patch
----------------

Now we will explain the basic method for making a patch:

Load the empty patch EMPTY.SPI by pressing 'Load' in the main window and
choose the file. This patchfile is made with 16 MIDI-channels and contains
32 empty sounds. To edit the patch and define the sounds, open the
patcheditwindow by pressing 'Edit'. We have then opened the 'Patchedit'-
window in which you can load samples, edit their playing parameters and
define their ranges on the keyboard shown.

Next we want to load a Bass-Drum to sound 0. Set the current sound to 0
by either pressing + and - buttons or choosing the sound directly from
the submenue which is accessed by just pressing at the filename.

Press 'Load' and choose the file "BD.SPL". Notice that this is a unsigned
sample with the extension SPL. If you press at the extension name you will
get a submenue from which you can choose another format of the sample.
Right now you only want to use unsigned soundfiles and therefore you should
set the sampletype to SPL.

When you have loaded the sound, press 'Show Sample' to see what the sample
looks like in the sample window. You can see that the volume of the sample
is too low. You can also hear how the sample sounds like by pressing at its
filename. Notice the line which is rapidly moving through the sample as it
is playing.

Adjust the volume to 150% by pressing the right mouse button when the mouse
is placed above the volume value. If you press one of the shift-keys while
increasing the value with right button, the increment is 10 instead of 1.
Another way to change the value is to doubleclick with the left mouse button
on the value. You then get a inputbox in which you can write the value you
want, in this case 150. Either press return or click at the value to set it.

Then press the 'Reload' button to reload the sample. You will notice the change
in volume by the wave getting bigger. In the sample window you can zoom in at
a particular point by single pressing the left mouse button. To zoom out to
normal, press the right mouse button. It is also possible to drag out an area
which you want to zoom with the help of a rubberbandbox.

If you want to modify the samplepointers, you could do that by changing the
value manually, in the same way you changed the volume, or you could place
the mouse over the pointer, press and hold the left mouse button and drag
it to the position you want it to be moved to. This can also be done when
you have zoomed the sample.

Next we want to define at which MIDI-note the sample should play at. Unselect
the 'Show Sample' button to make the keyboard visible again, and unselect
the 'Play'-button to make marking at the keyboard possible.

Select the MIDI-channel you want it to be placed at by either pressing the
+ and - buttons beside the MIDI-text or press at the MIDI-text and choose
channel from the submenue. It is some sort of standard to place all drums
on channel 10, so choose channel 10 from the submenue.

Next we should select where in the keyboard you want to place it. The
bassdrum in a MIDI equipment is most often placed on the C2-key so it is
there we want to place our too. Above the keys of the keyboard the octave
is shown. Find Octave 2 and doubleclick with the mouse at the C-key. You
notice that the 'OrgTone' reads 'C2'. We have now told the program that
we want to play the sample at its original pitch on the note C2. This is
very important to remember every time you make a new split otherwise you
may not be able to play with the sound at all keys you want.

Next you must mark the keys you want to place the sound at by selecting
them with the mouse. In this case we only want the drum to be playing at
the C2-key so we just select the key by pressing it once with the mouse.

To make the actual split and place the drum at the C2 key we now press the
button 'Make'. This button attaches the current sound to all selected keys
on the keyboard. You see that the keyboard is redrawn and updates with the
number '0' directly below the C2-key. This indicates that the sound 0 is
playing at the C2-key. You could now activate the keyboardplay by selecting
the 'Play'-key and pressing with the mouse at the C2 key. If all is correct
you should hear the drum in your monitor or speakers connected to the
computer.

If you now have a MIDI-keyboard connected to your computer you could activate
the main window by selecting it (it should be located behind the patchedit-
window) and press the button 'MIDI In'. Choose channel 10 at your keyboard
and try to find the drum by pressing C2 at your keyboard. Depending
on how large your keyboard is, you may not be able to play the C2 without
first shifting the octave on your MIDI-keyboard.

When playing at your MIDI-keyboard, activate the button 'Show Inp'. If your
MIDI-keyboard are set to MIDI-channel 10, you should now see the keys you
play to select at the keyboard. This is useful when you want to see at which
keys your MIDI-keyboard actually is playing.

The next step is to place a bass-sound at keys C2-B5 on MIDI-channel 1.

Change sound to sound number 1 and load the sample 'PLUCKBAS.SPL'. Adjust the
volume if you find it too low in the same way as for the drum. Unselect the
'Play' and 'Show Inp' buttons and change MIDI-channel to channel 1. Press
the 'Octave'-text and choose the octaves 'C2-B5' from the submenue. The
keyboard should update and the octaves change to show the keyboards actual
position.

We must then decide at which key we want the original pitch to be placed.
Because EPSS is capable of replaying four full octaves, two up and two
down from original pitch, we want of course access to all this range. This
means that the middle tone of the keyboard is ideal to place the original
pitch at. Therefore you doubleclick at the C4 key. You will see that the 
OrgTone' changes to C4.

Next is to define the range of the tones where we want the sound to be
placed at. This could be done by manually selecting all keys that you
want to make the split at, but EPSS has also a more convenient method.
Select the lowest note that you want the split to start at. In this case
it is C2 which is now situated at the bottom of the keyboard. Next is to
select the highest note for the split which is B5. Then press the 'Mark'-
button and all keys between the lowest selected and the highest selected
is marked automatically. Note that the button has dual functions, 1) to tell
the program where the original note is placed by only selecting ONE key and
2) to mark a range automatically by selecting TWO (or more) keys.

We are now prepared for the actual split which is done as before by pressing
the 'Make'-button. The keyboard should now update to show all sounds
splitted. You can now select the 'Play'-button and listen to the sound in its
different pitches by pressing at the keys, or select channel 1 at your
MIDI-keyboard and play with the sound from there.

You can now start to exploring the special soundattrbutes such as the VVFE-
functions and the subtone functions.

Hopefully this little description have showed you how you should do to make
your own patches and experimenting with the many features that EPSS gives
you.


Best Regards, 

Conny Pettersson, Copson IT Ltd/Unit Seventeen


Cubase and MROS is trademark of Steinberg, Germany
Atari is a trademark of Atari Interactive Inc, USA
