Oberheim Prommer MIDI Sampler/ PROM programmer USER'S GUIDE Prommer User's Guide 1 Table of Contents Prommer User's Guide 2 Table of Contents Oberheim Prommer User's Guide By Paul J. White Preliminary Edition, June 1986 CAUTION: To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture. Do not remove cover. No user servicable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel. WARNING: This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly, i.e., in strict accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference in which case the user at his own expense will be required to take whatever measures may be required to correct the interference. © 1986 - Oberheim - A division of ECC Development Corporation 11650 W. Olympic Blvd. , Los Angeles, CA 90064 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without permission. Oberheim, the Oberheim logo, Prommer, Matrix-12, Stretch, DMX, and DX are trademarks of ECC Development Corporation. Drumtraks is a trademark of SEQUENTIAL (Sequential Circuits, Inc.) Simmons is a trademark of Simmons Electronics Limited LinnDrum and Linn9000 are trademarks of Linn Electronics, Inc. Prommer User's Guide 3 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1. Introduction 2. Getting started 3. Blocks A. Select block B. Block address C. Block length D. Protect 4. Sampling A. Sample rate B. Sample time display C. Record trigger threshold D. How to record a sound 5. Playback modes A. Play mode B. Loop points C. Looping guidelines D. Transpose E. Fine tune F. Filter frequency G. External trigger H. Retrigger delay I. Emphasis J. Idle bypass 7 9 13 17 21 6. EPROMs 25 A. Cautions B. Select PROM type C. PROM offset D. Check erasure function E. Erasing EPROMs F. Compare data function G. Program PROM function H. In case of an error... I. Program linear function J. Program setup function K. Load data function L. Load linear function M. Load setup function N. Run program function O. Example1: Programming EPROM with block of equal size P. Example 2: Programming multiple EPROMs with one sound Q. Example 3: Programming multiple sounds on one EPROM Prommer User's Guide 4 Table of Contents 7. Block functions A. Copy block function B. Swap block function C. Erase block function D. Erase all function E. Reverse block function F. Bit manipulation function G. Examine memory function 8. Sound modifications A. Envelope function B. Envelope decay time C. Envelope start point D. Mix block function E. Mix ratio F. Ring modulate function G. Stretch function H. Squash function 9. MIDI A. Channel select B. Keyboard pitch enable C. Echo D. Modes E. Zones F. Zone limits G. Pitch bend range H. Velocity I. Pressure J. Program change enable K. System exclusive - dump one block L. System exclusive - dump all blocks M. Universal sample dump N. Universal sample dump request O. Receive data P. Transmit data Q. Receive / Transmit example 10. Miscellaneous Information A. Software Version B. Battery backup system C. Test programs D. Bytes & Samples 11. Function Summary 35 39 43 51 55 Prommer User's Guide 5 Table of Contents Appendix 1. Application examples A. EPROMs and Drum Machines B. Using MIDI Zones Appendix 2. Appendix 3. Appendix 4. PROM cross reference Prommer MIDI specification Warranty 59 67 71 77 85 Prommer User's Guide 6 Table of Contents Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION This guide is intended to describe the operation and general use of the Oberheim Prommer, a powerful and versatile tool for the modern musician. The first chapters will describe the basic operation of all functions and the appendices will provide information on some specific applications. Although the Prommer was designed to be very versatile and easy to use, it is still a complex instrument and will require some learning on the user's part in order to use it properly. Please read this manual carefully and keep it with the Prommer for future reference. WHAT DOES IT DO ? SAMPLES S O U N D S The Prommer is a digital audio sampling device, that will convert an audio signal into digital form and store the digitized signal in its memory. The Prommer will record at a rate of up to 32,000 samples per second and has a maximum memory capacity of 65,536 samples. This means that you can record a sound that is about two seconds long at the fastest sampling rate. Longer sounds may be sampled by using a slower sampling rate at a reduced audio bandwidth. One primary application of the Prommer is sampling drum sounds and other percussive sound effects. There is an input for line level signals (with switchable sensitivity of +4 dB or -10 dB), and a balanced input for a low impedance microphone. A peak reading LED meter allows monitoring the level of the input signal in order to set the correct recording level. BURNS P R O M S The Prommer is also a PROM programmer. It can program ("burn") most popular types of EPROMS, PROMS and EEPROMS. This means that you can make your own custom sound chips to use in your Oberheim DMX or DX digital drum machine. The Prommer will also program chips for other brands of drum machines, that is any drum machine that uses individual sound chips with eight bit companded or linear data format. PLAYS BACK S O U N D S The Prommer can play back sounds in memory over a twelve octave pitch range when used with a MIDI controller, with control over transposition and fine tuning. Sounds may be looped to add sustain, with adjustable loop points. An external trigger may be used to play a sound, and a low pass filter at the output will track the playback rate or can be set to a selected frequency. UNDERSTANDS MIDI MIDI note-on commands can be used to play sounds at different pitches with velocity and pressure controlling loudness and/or filter frequency. MIDI pitch wheel information can also control pitch to allow 'bending' notes. The Prommer can transmit sound data over MIDI to another Prommer or to another machine that uses a proposed standard MIDI sample dump. The Prommer can also record received MIDI data directly into memory and retransmit it on command. This feature is useful for saving synthesizer patches, drum machine sequences, etc. Prommer User's Guide 7 Introduction STORES MULTIPLE S O U N D S The memory of the Prommer may be divided into 16 blocks. Each block may be defined to cover any portion of memory and may even overlap other blocks. All operations (Record, Play, Program PROM, etc.) take place only within the currently selected block. When you record a sound, for example, sound is recorded only into that part of memory defined by the current block. This means that you can have as many as 16 different sounds in memory at one time. Non-volatile (battery powered) memory is used so all your sounds will be retained in memory even with the power off. MANIPULATES SOUND D A T A Sounds may be modified in several ways including reversing, mixing, stretching, squashing, and enveloping. These Sound Mod functions don't take place in real time but actually change the data in memory so that the change is permanent and the modified sound can be burned onto a PROM. Data in memory may also be examined and modified numerically one byte at a time. AND MORE ! The Prommer has an almost endless variety of possible applications including (but not limited to) - sampling sounds for drum machines, copying EPROMs, transferring multiple EPROM sounds to a single EPROM, drum machine sound editing, transferring sounds from linear format drum machines to companded format machines and vice-versa, playing sounds with a keyboard, and MIDI data storage. Prommer User's Guide 8 Introduction Chapter 2 - GETTING S T A R T E D This chapter is designed to be a step by step tutorial look at the Prommer for the new user. It is not intended to cover all the features of the Prommer, but rather to familiarize the user with the basic controls and the process of recording and playing back a sound. Figure 1 - Basic setup ABOUT THE SWITCHES The switches that control the Prommer are arranged in three main groups; the function switches which are arranged in a rectangular pattern in the center of the front panel, the number pad and data entry switches on the right side of the panel, and the three raised pushbuttons on the lower part of the front panel PLAY, RECORD and EXECUTE. Most of the function buttons have more than one function and in this manual these switches will be referred to mainly by their topmost label. Function switches are grouped by function type into horizontal rows. The top row of buttons deal with MIDI control of the Prommer. The next row contains EPROM functions, the row beneath that has Sound Modification functions, and the bottom row contains sampling, playback and other miscellaneous controls. Please notice the button just beneath the right side of the function buttons. This is the PARAMETERS button and is also marked with a plus sign "+". Also notice that some of the function buttons have labels preceded by a plus sign. This indicates that this is a Parameter of the Function listed above it and to access the Parameter, you must first press the desired function button, and then press the PARAMETERS button. Prommer User's Guide 9 Getting Started MAKING YOUR OWN SOUNDS The following is a step by step explanation of how to get the Prommer to record and play back a sound and some exercises in using some of the simple functions. CONNECTING THE PROMMER (See figure 1). a) Connect the AC cable and plug it in to a suitable source of power. Turn the Prommer power switch ON and set the input level control all the way down. b) Connect an amplifier to the Prommer's line output. If you will be using a microphone, the amplifier output should go to headphones or speakers physically distant from the microphone in order to reduce the possibility of audio feedback. c) Connect a low impedance microphone to the MIC. INPUT of the Prommer using a standard microphone cable and set the input level switch on the back panel to +4. RECORDING A S O U N D 1. Set the record level. Speak into the microphone and say "Hello" a few times. Watch the LED meter on the Prommer and raise the INPUT LEVEL control until the yellow LED lights while you speak. 2. Get ready to record. a) Press the "SELECT BLOCK" button. b) Press "1" to select block number 1. c) Press the "PARAMETERS" button to see the address of block 1. d) Press "0" to set the address of block 1 to zero. e) Press the PARAMETERS button again to see the length of block 1. f) Press "3" and then press "2" to set the length of block 1 to 32k. g) Press the "SAMPLE RATE" button. h) Press "CLEAR" to set the sample rate to 32kHz. i) Press the "SAMPLE RATE" button again to set the record threshold. j) Press "CLEAR" to set the threshold to -18db. 3. Record a sound. a) Be quiet. b) Press and HOLD the "RECORD" button. Display will read "PRESS PLAY. . .". c) Press the "PLAY" button and then release both buttons. The display should read: "RECORDING. . ." d) Speak into the microphone - "Hello". The display will read "RECORDING. . .NOW" for about one second. Prommer User's Guide 10 Getting Started PLAYING BACK A S O U N D 1. Play the sound normally. a) Press the "PLAY" button and listen through the headphones. You should be able to hear the sound you just recorded. 2. Try changing some playback parameters. a) Press the "SAMPLE RATE" button until the sample rate is displayed. Press the "<" button and see that the rate changes to 24kHz. b) Press "PLAY" and hear how the sound has changed. Press the "<" button again to change the sample rate to 16khz and 12kHz. Press "PLAY" at each sample rate and listen to how the pitch changes. c) Set the sample rate back to 32kHz. d) Press the "TRANSPOSE" button. The display should read "1 TRANSPOSE= +0". e) Use the number pad to enter a number between 1 and 48. Press "PLAY". Use the "+/-" button to change the sign of the transpose value displayed. Press "PLAY" again. Try entering different values and listening to how the sound changes each time. f) Set the transpose back to zero. MODIFY THE S O U N D a) Press the "REVERSE" button. The display will read "1 REVERSE *". b) Press the "EXECUTE" button. The display will read "BUSY. . ." for a moment. c) Press "PLAY". Hear how the sound plays backwards. Press "EXECUTE" again. Press "PLAY" and notice that the sound has returned to normal. Prommer User's Guide 11 Getting Started PLAYING SOUNDS FROM THE OBERHEIM STOCK E P R O M An EPROM containing some sample sounds and a demonstration program comes packaged with the Prommer. Before handling the EPROM, please skip ahead and read the warnings at the beginning of Chapter 6 (EPROMs). a) Insert the Oberheim EPROM in the socket on the front panel. Be sure to raise the lever first, orient the EPROM with its notch toward the rear of the P ...