From cindy@hyperreal.comMon Apr 10 11:08:44 1995 Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 11:00:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Sea Of Sin To: tint@taz.hyperreal.com Subject: Mirage FAQ (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 17:14:29 +1030 (CST) From: Peter Sansom To: cindy@hyperreal.com Subject: Mirage FAQ Mirage-Net - FAQ $Header: FAQ,v 1.4 93/07/07 17:07:09 johnny Exp $ This is the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for Mirage-Net - a collection of Ensoniq Mirage owners (and others). We strive for accuracy and completeness, but this is not a perfect world - if you find anything wrong or want something included, please let me know. Mirage-Net was started in January of 1991. It is pretty minimal and consists of: - Two mail addresses: mirage@hpdsojk.ptp.hp.com and: mirage-request@hpdsojk.ptp.hp.com - The mailing list on hpdsojk.ptp.hp.com - An ftp site (more on this later) - This FAQ (with helpful answers like where the ftp site is!) This, being said FAQ, contains: - A (very) short primer on Mirage-Net (you should have received a separate Greeting message). - Mirage history - Mirage factoids - Information on the ftp site(s) - Addresses for Ensoniq, the Transoniq Hacker, and other goodies - Information on third party software and accessories - The Stereo Mirage Mirage-Net primer ----------------- The Mirage-Net is nothing more than a set of mailing lists on a Hewlett-Packard workstation in Cupertino, California. By sending mail to one of the special addresses on this machine, you can send mail to the rest of the members of the net or to the administrator. To send mail to the other members of Mirage-Net, send e-mail to: mirage@hpdsojk.ptp.hp.com The message will be sent to all current members of the net. To make a change to that list (addition, change, or deletion) send a message indicating what you would like done, to: mirage-request@hpdsojk.ptp.hp.com Mail to this address is sent directly to the administrator, and for now at least, is handled by a human - there is no special format at this time. Also, send questions about the network to this address. Mirage history ------ ------- The Mirage was introduced in 1984 as the first product by Ensoniq. It was the first sampler under two thousand dollars ($1995). It was only about $200 more than the then master of keyboards, the Yamaha DX-7, but it was much less than the nearest competing sampler, the EMU-systems Emulator-III (around $8000 as I recall). The original Mirage was a steel cased beast designated the DSK-8. The following is a list of the different models of the Mirage through the years: DSK-8 Original black steel case mirage w/user port and mono output. The DSK-8 used a Pratt-Reed keyboard assembly (not exactly the Mirage's strong point, this) and had MIDI in and MIDI OUT/THRU connectors, and the serial port. The serial port allowed for connection of the SQX-1 sequence expander (expanded the sequencer from 333 events to 1000), and also for connection of the ISF-1 input sampling filter - (see M.U.G. below for more on the ISF-1). Pretty early on the DSK-8 went through a minor revision to reduce the noise output. With the update were updated versions of the Mirage operating systems: Mirage OS 3.2 and MASOS 2.0 - these are still the current revisions. Not clear if the upgrade is still available, but if you can boot OS 3.2, you should be in good shape. DSK-8+ Not really a designation, but this refers to DSK-8 keyboards with serial numbers 14731 and above. The DSK-8+ used an improved keyboard assembly and a case similar to the original ESQ-1 case (gray instead of black). DMS-8 This is the rack mount mirage. Basically a DSK-8 without the keyboard. DSK-1 ~1986. Newer case, stereo outputs - no more serial port. Another keyboard, this one was an unweighted, "synth" style. Mirage factoids ------ -------- The Mirage is based around an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) called the Q-Chip which does much of the hard work associated with getting the sounds out of the memory. That memory is in two banks of 64k: the upper and lower banks. The Mirage is an eight bit sampler meaning that each sample can have any of 256 values (though, in actuality, the value 0 is reserved for marking the ends of samples, so there are only 255 possible values). The processor in the Mirage is the Motorola 6809, a sibling to the once famous 6800 (not to be confused with the highly successful, and still in production 68000). Documentation on the Mirage includes the Musician's Manual - the red book that was shipped with it, and the Advanced Sampler's Guide (ASG). The Musician's Manual is a basic owner's guide and is not a bad reference for using the Mirage's basic functions. The ASG is pretty much required to do any serious sampling or other work. It includes MASOS 2.0 which is an alternate OS for the Mirage that eliminates the sequencer and adds in additional sample manipulation functions. The ASG also includes the necessary information for accessing the Mirage via MIDI SysEx messages. Information on the ftp site(s) ----------- -- --- --- ------- FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It's a fairly standard way of transporting files from one computer to another, independent of the type of computer. Typically a computer is set up somewhere that contains files of general interest to a group. That is the case here; Leigh Smith has kindly set up a site in Australia that contains Mirage files. If you have direct access to the Internet, you can connect via ftp with the following: ftp marsh.cs.curtin.edu.au anonymous user@your.system.where.u.r cd pub/midi dir binary get ensqutil.zoo get (etc) quit You can access ftp via email without requiring direct Internet connection. Send the following (or similar) message to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com: connect marsh.cs.curtin.edu.au dir pub/midi get pub/midi/README binary uuencode get pub/midi/ensqutil.zoo quit If you need help, your best bet is probably to try posting a message to Mirage-Net. Currently (as of March 93) the README in pub/midi is: The file miraglib.zoo contains files for communicating between an IBM PC equipped with a Roland MPU-401 and an Ensoniq Mirage Musical Sampler. The compression on the zoo file is fantastic - 99%!, do the compression on your end site. Zoo files containing public domain Mirage sounds have been added as well: cd70.zoo - Yamaha CD70 Electric Piano, Picked Bass samples and my own dubious sample of a Yamaha Y???? organ. soundeff.zoo - Cars taking off, Thunder and Rain samples chimes.zoo - Chimes, Cave Organ samples A collection of Ensoniq related utilities (for the Mirage and ESQ-1) are now also available: ensqutil.zoo - Containing: ESQBANK DOC 2825 9-28-87 10:47p ESQBANK COM 29104 9-28-87 4:41p REMTMIRG DOC 182 9-19-87 10:36p REMTMIRG EXE 50970 9-19-87 10:28p BLANK 179 8-17-87 12:51a MDE1 DOC 9205 1-13-88 6:22p MDE2 DOC 15455 1-13-88 6:53p MDE EXE 40687 1-13-88 6:50p ESQSTAND TXT 2688 1-01-80 2:05a MASOSPEC TXT 1152 1-01-80 2:06a MIRAGOS3 TXT 14080 1-01-80 1:39a SMPLEDMP TXT 6656 1-01-80 1:42a SAMPLE1 TXT 11264 1-01-80 1:48a SAMPLE2 TXT 7296 1-01-80 1:51a SAMPLE3 TXT 6272 1-01-80 1:53a STERMIRG TXT 13184 1-01-80 1:59a ESQ2TXT2 DOC 1800 7-04-87 11:16a ESQ2TXT2 EXE 64392 6-30-87 10:33p NOTICE TXT 1920 1-01-80 1:29a Contributor: Leigh Smith, leigh@psychok.DIALix.oz.au OR smithl@marsh.cs.curtin.edu.au Addresses --------- Ensoniq: Ensoniq Corporation 155 Great Valley Parkway Malvern, PA 19355 (215) 647-3930 (voice) (215) 647-8908 (fax) Transoniq Hacker: Transoniq Hacker 1402 SW Upland Dr. Portland, OR 97221 (503) 227-6848 trnsoniq@teleport.com Subscriptions are (as of March '93) US: $23/year; all others, $32/year, payable in US funds. The Transoniq Hacker is a monthly newsletter with articles of interest to users of Ensoniq products - Mirage articles are pretty few and far between - but they're still coming in so a subscription is still a good value for a Mirage user. Also, some back issues are available at $2.00 a copy. M.U.G. (MIDI Users Group, formerly the Mirage Users Group) The M.U.G. has thousands of Mirage Users, as well as others. They are a source for stuff Mirage users are often looking for: samples, SoundProcess and the ISF. One year membership is $20, a lifetime membership is $65. M.U.G. Hotline: (212) 465-3430. M.U.G. c/o G-4 Productions P.O. Box 615TH Yonkers, NY 10703 Information on third party software and accessories ----------- -- ----- ----- -------- --- ----------- The following third parties offer products that are likely to be useful to Mirage owners. MIDICaster A must! MIDICaster turns your Mirage alternately into: - A 128k sysex dump device with floppy drive - A 20,000 note (approx) multichannel sequencer - A disk formatter with OS copy capability - A Casio CZ librarian MIDICaster is an alternate form of OS 3.2 that replaces sampling with new capabilities. One nice feature is that additional functions can be loaded into the sequencer memory, allowing lot's of different functions to be used without having to reboot. At last check, MIDICaster is available from: Tim Martin 1510 S 5th W Missoula, MT 59801 (406) 542-0280 As of March, 1993, Tim is quoting $50 US for MIDICaster and manual, $55 US for the same with a second, backup disk. ---- The following products are no longer available new ---- (but may be found used - check the Hacker!) SoundProcess OS (available through M.U.G.) SoundProcess turned the Mirage into a multitimbral synth. It could receive on more than one channel at a time with different sounds produced on each channel. There is a fair amount of "fourth party" software available for SoundProcess, though with SoundProcess no longer available, this doesn't exactly look like a growing market. uPward Concepts (no longer in business) Dick Lord did some amazing work on the Mirage. I believe he was the first to take OS 3.2 (A very stable OS - still current on the Mirage after all these years), and modify it to do other things. Dick sold alternate versions of OS 3.2 that could process volume and other MIDI controllers, a couple of disks that could give your Mirage alternate tunings (temperament) and transposition, as well as a monitor disk that allowed you to looking other 6809 processor code on the Mirage, and patch it or modify it for your own purposes. His company uPward Concepts no longer exists but I understand that M.U.G. is trying to arrange a licensing agreement. Watch this space for more news. The Stereo Mirage --- ------ ------ The Mirage DSK model introduced a stereo Mirage. That upgrade is possible for older Mirages if you're willing to open it up and make some changes. (I guess none of us have to worry about voiding our warranties, eh?) There are two do-it-yourself articles in old issues of Electronic Musician. The first, by Don Slepian is in the January 1987 issue. A second article written by Ensoniq engineers Bob Yannes and Tom Metcalf, is a bit safer to implement and provides a fuller stereo field. This article is in the June 1987 issue - I highly recommend this one. If you're going to get back issues, it wouldn't hurt to get both. Back issues of Electronic Musician are available from: ACT III Publishing 6400 Hollis St #12 Emeryville, CA 94608 (510) 653-3307 At one point (when the "Ensoniq" article appeared) Alan Gary Campbell's company Musitech, had a board and full kit available. You should check with him first at: Musitech P.O. Box 3717 Chatanooga, TN 37404-0717 Both modifications involve taking the eight voices of the Mirage, which are actually eight separate signals inside the Mirage, and arranging them in a stereo field. The Slepian article describes a rather brute force method of wiring four of the voices to the left, and the other four to the right. The Yannes/Metcalf article uses active electronics for better signal matching and a resistor network that pans each of the eight voices to a different location in the stereo field. This second method can produce some beautifully full pads and can give motion to other types of sounds (a piano tends to bounce around too much, but panning the channels towards each other compensates nicely). Note the following correction to the Yannes/Metcalf article on page 38: in figure 2, make the following corrections: Voice 5-C131 should be C117 Voice 6-C118 should be C130 At this date (March, 93) I have sent a letter to the above address asking if the board and/or kit are available. I have a nagging fear that Musitech is no longer in Chatanooga, but we'll see.