Adlib Tracker II - the official website

SID, POKEY, AY and other PSGs will be emulated on Altera FPGA + analog circuits to be as proper as possible. It will be CPU free - for software it will be just hardware sound LSI. Probably we will be able to make some native mode with more channels for SID, more channels, waveforms, filter and PWM for AY and stereo POKEY with additional... uh... something ;) Analog circuit will filter OPL3/4 aswell :)

As the software for the USB key evolves, is it possible for the OPL4 to use its wavetable channels for emulation of basic sound chips, such as SID or various PSG emulation through software emulation, or even simple waveform playback. If it is possible, we can do without the native SID's or PSG's so to bypass the problem of their scarce availability, making the soundkeys as cheap as possible to manufacture, and yet have extensive features relying on software emulation. Just throwing around ideas :)

FM-Datasheets (including OPL4/YMF278B) @ http://uru.ath.cx/uru/archive/FM_datasheet/?C=N;O=A

elan: no, it's not in AVR yet. You can download the package at me homepage. PlaySNG still contains an older build. The current supports RingMOD+Sync. And regarding OPL4: The MSX Folks have had an opl4 board for sometime. Powered with some RAM some amazing things can come out of it. AMIGA's sound is nothing compared to OPL4+SoundRAM.

OPL4 USB key sounds like a very good proposition, as I am stuck on the aged Socket 7 platform for its ISA, which is really starting to show its age these days with the demanding software, so If I upgrade which is a very rare occurence for me as I tend to re-repair my PC's until they are well untruely inoperable, or become totally useless like a 286 these days, I would definitely need to buy something like that to continue using adlib.

Malfunction: Jeri Elsworth has done 16 channel stereosid ... in FPGA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeri_Ellsworth

PS: Any OPL4 adverisement is good advertisement.Right folks???

Malfunction: When I will do that as my diploma I can use 3d CAD program and 3d printer in school.So I can do documentation for manufacturing and of course 2-3 real protos by 3d printer /ABS plast/.

DaNyL: You got AVR synth.Can you send me some link of that project.Can that AVR communicate with usb with some kind of software client on PC???

Have you some mp3 how it sounds???AVR is simulator /cpu+ram+eeprom/ right???

Hi everybody!
We revieved what is possible in that project :) First serie of product will have OPL4 with 4MB SRAM - so we will have original OPL3 sound + 24 channels of CPU-free PCM samples :) Onboard will be Zilog Acclaim! fast processor to control everything and DB25 port for direct control from old computers. On next serie we will add Altera FPGA (perhaps Cyclone II) to emulate digital parts of AY, POKEY and SID. Analog part of SID will be real analog :D That's why first serie will be OPL4 only - we need time to re-develope SID ;) So - we could easily (?;) add Your Synder synthesizer in Altera then. Start to learn AHDL/VHDL :) The main and only reason not to have original parts is COST and AVAILABILITY :( Noone will buy that card if it will cost 500$. But Altera is much cheaper and can easily behave like digital parts of those old LSIs. As I said - analog parts will be real analog ;) Please don't hestitate to write your ideas/opinions - we are trying to make good quiality (and sellable ;) product.
Elan - sure thing we will contact you! Thanks for proposal! :D

P.S. Sorry for advertisement ;)

Hey Malfi!
Any change of having an Atmel AVR on board, too?
I believe i could port my synthesizer (Synder;256byte 8bit Waveforms, Pulsewidthmodulation, Lowpassfilter; see me homepage) to it,too.

Heeh Libretto ,Satellite ,Tecra with Opl3 Rules...
But Fujitsu Siemens B or P series is cool too!!! Or my favourite Fujitsu FMV-253L ultra subnotebook...

2MALFUNCTION:-->>> OPL3 + 2xYM2203, 2xPOKEY, 2xSID Soundcard.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Excellent IDEA!!! I will support this for sure!!! (I can do some plastic case,www,logo...)

What about 2xOPL3 in usbkey??? I am product designer I can make some (plastic usbkey case) protos on rapid prototyping maschine when I will do it as my diploma work???

Imagine notebook setup fo liveact: OPL3Chipmusiccard (2x opl3 as DJ have 2 turntables)+dac build in notebook (for drum and cymbals samples)+opl and dac codec tracker under win/linux/mac os???

This is my dream last 3 years!!!

So will be avaible for new maschines ,new os ... no need opl on mainboard or isa cards... ->usb is good for future.

It can be OPL3 or OPL4 or some kind of ultramodern mobile phone soundchips like on
http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/product/lsi/prod/mol/index.html
in USB key.

MALFUNCTION write me for sure I am very interesting in that project!!!

ymf262(at)gmail(dot)com

Take an old Toshiba Libretto with working battery (is better the big capacity one which lets you about 3 hours of continuos listening), install Windows 95, put on it Adlib Tracker and a collection of your favourite tunes and you will have your "pocket" Adlib player! The old Toshiba Libretto (ranging from the 50 series to the 110 series) all have the genuine Yamaha OPL3-SAx audio chipset soldered on their motherboards. It is nice to see Adlib Tracker while playing your favourite tunes on a such small machine. Pay attention that the Libretto's audio jack is a 2,5 mm type, so you need a 2,5 > 3,5 mm adaptor to plug in your headphones or any other audio equipement. Take care that the adapter must be a STEREO one, so you can listen and enjoy even to stereo Adlib tunes. If you are mad enough to listen repeatly at the same looped tune without getting bored, you can close the Libretto's screen and listen to it for about 4,5 hours (with the big capacity battery I mean :))!
Message for the developer: There's only a little visualization trouble on the Libretto: the horizontal screen size (in characters) required by Adlib Tracker is bigger than the Libretto's one, so you have to scroll with the mouse (or the Libretto's trackpoint) even in horizontal to see the entire program screen. But is a minor bug, if it can be called bug, and doesn't affect the program's usability too much. I've tried to force the compatibility mode (80 cols * 25 rows of text) but it seems to completly ignore the setting. Maybe in the next revision the program can do a thing similar to HSC Tracker, which on startup switches the screen mode to a sort of "hi-res" mode, so the program can be seen entirely on the screen without scrolling? Take care that this trouble is seen on the 50 to 70 series (I own the 70 ct), maybe in the next series the problem doesn't appear because the screen is bigger horizontally.
Anyway, many thanks to Subz3ro for this great piece of code!

Sorry I was so excited that I didnt read all of the text, so you are incorporating DAC's... Yeeehaa. Imagine ADT2 containing an interface for software plugins to accept all sorts of interesting hardware, Plugins that automatically add extra channels for that hardware when loaded, just like as if you are working with Cubase, or Reason, allowing outside developers to create hardware expansions, making ADT2 the biggest hardware controlling tracker in the world. :)

I would be interested, as long as I have a credit card or something for easy purchase, (i dont have one). Back in my bad old MIDI days, I always wished that I had two or three OPL3 chips as I always had the problem of running out of polyphony, (the problem is no where near as bad with the tracker as it allows me to have complete control over the chip resources). is it possible to incorporate two OPL3 chips, so users can begin to do some really interesting stuff like more resources available to allow spacial stereo effects, echos, it may only be a pipedream though, as the single OPL3 is already plenty enough on most tunes. One thing though, is it possible to consider a simple stereo DAC as well to allow sample playback, or playback of custom waveforms. An internal ACD sounds like a good idea, probably achieved by adding a USB AC97 style sound core to the planned soundcard so you dont have to have expensive cable to link the soundcards for best SNR when sampling.

Theoretically we could add something similar to "AdLib Digisnap" too - to digitally record OPL3 and YM2203 ;)

Hello! Me and my friends are planning to professionally build and sell external USB soundcards with some nice soundchips onboard. Those soundcards will have OPL3 + 2xYM2203, 2xPOKEY, 2xSID, some (about 256KB) RAM buffer and maybe CPU-free 8-channel 12-bit sound DMA with hardware volumes. All sound outputs may be routed through SID filters! Besides of that, card will have 2xDB9 joy/paddle/mouse ports for use with emulators and DB25 parallel port for all those ZX/C64/XL/CPC maniacs who wants additional mega soundcard with simple RAM-disk feature. Card will have own easy to use USB driver and I hope Subz3ro that you could improve a little bit AdlibTracker][ to use at least some of those capabilities :)
I'd like to ask creators of emulators/trackers/players/etc to support that hardware. Of course we will add own tools too :)
My question is: is anyone will be interested in such an external hardware? We don't know price yet - it hardly depends of sound-LSIs price...

Essentric, massive thanks man. Simple as it maybe i'da never figured it out on my own. -sadly- lol
Thanks again

Ahh, it seems that the bug occurs anytime when switch to 4op while using ST mode... interesting...
Anyway, as stated before, will try to fix that...

madbrain> You are right, I tried that right now, and this happens when you proceed like you described and you are using ST (ScreamTracker) mode for Pattern Editor. Will try to fix that soon...

Nell> How you load your instruments is you first bring up the instrument list by pressing Ctrl+i, then move up and down the list to a free space where you want the instrument then press F3, this brings up the load page, next go to the directory where the instruments are stored, there is a huge library to choose from.

Selecting instruments is an easy way to start tracking, although eventually it actually becomes easier to make the instruments yourself on the fly, which is when the built in editor comes in handy.

To access the editor, you do the usual instrument table keyboard request (Crtl+I) then pick a free space for the instrument, press "Tab" which brings up the editor. It is also very handy to press F1, as it will help you, even more useful is that depending on what you are doing, it automatically jumps to the appropriate page for the information to help you. Remember, Help instructions are not just for idiots, it can help you get more out of adlib than what you think is possible. :)

Btw, adlib tracker 2 crashes when you turn on 4op mode (on all possible channels) and try going to the left of channel 1. Very annoying bug.

hey all,
i just hopped onto the trackin bandwagon about a week ago, ive been messin wit milkytracker
and i saw some stuff people did on adlib and it blew my mind, so of course i wanna learn this too.
Far as kno aint much difference between the two, but i got one kinda "small" problem.
*_* i dont know how to load instruments! -sigh-
does adlib have a set of instruments already for use or do i hafta create em with the editor??

Thanx in advance

Thanks for the tip. I just thought about it as I have run out of polyphony on one of my tunes in some sections, and these sections were not using that 4OP channel, so I had to cull some echo effects to try to free some polyphony on the busy sections, I guess this is the challenge of Adlib, try to do tricks on the ear when times get tough on the polyphony. I do notice that sometimes when you change instruments on a channel, the instrument sounds different to what you meant it to, especially if it switches to another instrument and back again. It seems weird, until i realised because I did not set certain parameters on the suspect instrument, it caused the instrument to be corrupted by the previous instrument played.

Essentric> No need to feel like that, pal :) As your question on altering between 2op and 4op, this would be of course possible, but I hardly believe the benefit would be worth of effort given to it. Also consider, that before you would switch from one mode to another on a track pair, you should stop (ADSR shut off) all notes playing so you would not cripple the sustaining sounds... ;)

Okay, I feel like a dickhead for the second last comment, sorry for any insults. :) My trance tune is almost finnished, just needs some small refinements before posting, a lot of work has been done on it, it is my first attempt to make the OPL talk (not speech, more like complex vowel effects), I bypassed the ADSR Envelope by only setting the Attack and Release, and wrote my own envelope by volume register writing on the modulator through one of the effects collumns on the channel, Very impressive results.

Another question, Is it possible for the chip to alternate the channels between 2OP and 4OP mode when needed, so you can free up some polyphony for sections of the song where you are not using that 4 Operator channel? If so, can ADT2 do it?

I know how to switch the OPL3 channels into 4 Operator mode, but I need to revise how to configure the slots for the desired connection. I do the spacebar routine, although I dont know whether I am conected in FM-FM or FM-AM or so on, I make the two instrument pairs, load them, then finding that it sounds completely different, so I have to do a bit of "Blind" switching to achieve the sound I tweaked. I have decided that I need to write a quick refference paper on 4-OP connection indicators, and I would suggest it to anyone else. I do read the Help file regularly, Regularly pressing F1 to referr to the effect making tips, and it is great that it actually jumps to the appropriate page on what you are curently doing. By the way I have made 4-OP instruments, I have made a very powerful bass drum, and a snarling synth sound on the Psy trance tune I am making (not finnished yet) , thanks to the 4-OP mode.

Ignore that last message. When I read DX7 I can't read any more. Sorry (pls delete)

Hey fellas. This isn't to do with trackers (yet :grin:) or, strictly, OPL3, but I came across this and thought to mention it here because some of you may find it interesting. Check this page:

http://www.yamaha-europe.com/yamaha_europe/uk/10_musical_instruments/70_synthesizer/40_plugin_boards/10_plugin_boards/10_no_series/PLG150_DX/index.html

They're saying it's the legendary DX7, and they're selling it now. OMG.

And last but not least one.... :))
You must have at least one (of 6 available) 4-OP track extensions turned on (checkbox in File Variables)

Forgot to mention it, or if it should mean confusion, I better explain it in advance.....
You are selecting a 4-op pair in Instrument Control Panel first, then just go to Instrument Editor to edit first part (or second one) of the instrument pair... hope it's clear now :)

Essentric> Haha, not messy, my dear :) 4-op instruments are supposed to work in instrument editor too, of course... you just need to pick-up a pair of instruments (instead of stopping cursor over single one) by pressing Spacebar key for each instrument of pair. You can then see the notification marks in instrument editor too... it's shortly described in the "tips" section of README document-- yeah, yeah... I know nobody read the doc files :) ...but anyway, see tips #11 and 12. Hope you will get familiarity with the behavior soon... if not so, please be dare to ask further on... ;)

I am telling you, Moogle, the Instrument editor is a godsend in ADT2, you just have to work out how it works, and not only that, there is more than just an instument editor, you also have Macros. The great thing about the instrument editor incorporated in this program is that you can edit the instrument meanwhile the tune is playing, so that you can bend and forge the insrument to fit perfectly into the whole tune, this is what a lot of sound engineers do in full scale music production. There is nothing wrong with the instrument editor in ADT2, infact, it is extremely convenient that it is there. The only problem that I do have is trying to figure out how I have connected the slots in 4 Operator mode, I swear that i am at error here (i need to revise this), I dont know what indicators to read to determine how I connected the operators. If you are referring to making 4 Operator instuments, you need to make two 2-Op, then load them both into the channels configured to 4-OP, it appears to be a messy setup (the only messy part of ADT2), but if you know what you are doing, you can make 4-OP instruments in ADT2 easily.

Moogle!: Yes, OPL3-instrument-editors don't exactly fall from the trees. :) What is the problem using the instrument editor in AT2, in your opinion? My previous experience was from Amusic (which I really hated creating instruments in) and Edlib so I thought AT2's editor was a lot more intuitive and understandable. The macro/vibrato/arpeggio-features are also nice. Being able to copy/paste instruments is also essential to me.

I've tried the one in the tracck. I can't use it. Anything else I found only let's you make OPL2 instruments. There is OPL Edit, but it is sharewarer from 12 years ago, and all I can find is the crippled demo version.

Moogle: Why not use the one inside Adlib Tracker II? Graphical ADSR and imho easy to create instruments with. Check the links otherwize, for Malfunctions page. There might be some tips handy there.

Does anyone know of a good OPL3 instrument maker that can make instuments that I can load into Adlib Tracker?

Yes, you're right that XG is a wavetable synth. However, this particular card has both the XG and the original FM - not the XG mimicking the FM. Thinking about FM, there are a limited number of waveforms stored in the chip, each represented with I think 8 bits of resolution. The OPL has to generate them and then "mux" them according to the parameters it's given, and then convert this binary data to controlled voltage. Therefore, it must be possible to exactly reproduce the Adlib FM synthesis with any soundcard at all - not just those containing the OPL chip or chipset. Since you were talking about creating a knowledge-base or some sort of Wiki with performance reports of different setups, I had an idea that might help. Users could share unprocessed, uncompressed WAVs of the captured output of their soundcards, using a specific tracked file that ships with AT2. This would be a definitive test of whether there is a genuine OPL3 chipset or whether there is some emulation going on.

Sorry about that Nutter - I've now increased the length of message from 1000 -> 2000 characters. Interesting info though. :) Also, it's true that Wavetable (such as Yamahas XG, Rolands GS and Emu's Soundfont) has its qualities, but I still think FM-synthesis has a charm of it own. Hmm, it's a little like comparing apples and oranges I guess - and I like to mix fruit. ;)

.. talking too much again - post got cut short. Anyway, I've forgotten what else I wrote, but it could have been important. But, yeah, I can run some tools I have that will let me search the card for any old bank of MIDI sounds, but until I do so I can't say one way or the other, although I think it's definitely possible that the old sounds are in there. This will take some work but if you want I can investigate whether the code to generate FM GM-MIDI instruments is there. The many DS-XG sounds (fully configurable with the right tools) are much better than the old FM imitation of instruments - I remember from when I had my old Soundblaster and listened to MIDI files I downloaded.

Hi Moogle. The proprietary drivers package I installed a few days ago appears to have set up a little utility under Control Panel, called Yamaha DS-XG control. The "Multimedia" standard little media setup program only has one option for MIDI, which is sent to it by this new DS-XG control (hereinafter referred to as the gizmo). The DS-XG control shows that the FM synthesizer is at 388h, which you'll note is unusual. This is because 330h is taken up by MPU-401 (i.e. MIDI), and the FM synth is extra, on top of what the card usually does its MIDI with (i.e. its internal Yamaha XG synth). Windows 98 runs on top of DOS. The gizmo shows that the FM synth and MIDI assignments referred to above come under "DOS-BOX". Therefore I would guess that changing the MIDI assignment to 388h would be possible, although undesirable. Yamaha DS-XG is in fact an amazing synth, and its many sounds are configured very easily using specially-designed tools like XG-Edit. I'm using the XG for MIDI on a daily basis