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BankStep User Manual

1. e Warren Burt o 3rdRowCtrlOfTiming o OldMoog o Polyrhythms o SaturdayArvo o SerialistSpecial e Mary Anne Clark o EstrRec2 e Kelly Dunn o Nusery e Gary Knudson o Counterpoint Piano file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs examples htm 1 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 56 PM BankStep Credits e John Loffink o drum machine o drum machine ultra e Antonio Piga o BetaStep2 BioStep DataBass EthnicAlgoRhythm GeneticRag to S J HardStep Quickly SlowStep TonalStep UnusualSnapshot What is cooking Qn Or O 6 s OOF Oe Or FO BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs examples htm 2 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 56 PM BankStep Data Sequencer Module Dat Data Sequencer Module 164 Clk A r LELEL OFF OFF Sequences arbitary length data files You can load any file into the Data Sequencer however it treats all files as binary byte sequences If you want to sequence data from text based numerical file data such as data base files or spread sheet files you can use the DataBin program available separately from Algorithmic Arts to convert the data file to a binary byte file that the Data Sequencer can handle Special Gray File Load Button Click button to load a file into the Data Sequencer You can load any file at all into the sequencer but you should avoid loading files that are greatly larger than you need because once the file is
2. 1 PHE Phenylalanine nonpolar V 2 VAL Valine nonpolar L 3 LEU Leucine nonpolar W 4 TRP Tryptophan nonpolar A 5 ALA Alanine nonpolar G 6 GLY Glycine nonpolar M 7 MET Methionine nonpolar C 8 CYS Cysteine polar Y 9 TYR Tyrosine polar P 10 PRO Proline nonpolar T 11 THR Threonine polar S 12 SER Serine polar H 13 HIS Histidine basic N 14 ASN Asparagine polar Q 15 GLN Glutamine polar D 16 ASP Aspartate acidic E 17 GLU Glutamate acidic K 18 LYS Lysine basic R 19 ARG Arginine basic 20 ZOT End Marker or invalid file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs bioseg htm 2 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 54 PM BankStep Arpeggio Module Just below the AA readout is the readout for the sorted AA numbers Amino acid sorting remaps the amino acid numbers so that the most frequently occurring value is given the first table position the second most frequently occurring value the second position and so on so it works musically with a pitch table that is weighted for more harmonic intervals to be at the start of the table This harmonic sorting of pitches is easily done using the harmonic sort option in the sequencer fill utilities Using the sorted amino acid output gives each protein sequence a different amino acid mapping which is less useful for scientific work but often can be more musical Inputs Clock Clk Value Yellow LED sets the
3. 9999 to 9999 but as MIDI is limited to 0 127 this is the Value range you will use most of the time For on off switches BankStep has Logical or Boolean values These have two states only On or True and Off or False Value inputs and Logical inputs are distinguished by different color buttons While you are free to specify your own color scheme here Value inputs are blue and Logical inputs are red Use Knobs to directly set the Bank stage values To change knob values use an up down click and drag for large changes and a left right click and drag for small changes There is also a pop up menu of functions available by clicking on the little green button in the upper left to automatically fill modify and save bank stage values There are no dangling patchcords in BankStep Instead module inputs the red and blue buttons connect to outputs by selecting them from a popup menu of all available outputs When an input is connected to an output the input button label indicates the connection For example Inf BnkCi The two support modules above Negate and Add are being used to subtract the output of Bank Sequencer C Row 1 Bnk C 1 shown above from the output of Bank Sequencer B Row 1 Bnk B 1 not shown The Negate module Neg A receives the output from Bnk C 1 and negates it The Add module Add A Receives apparently a value of 37 from Bnk B 1 plus a value of 12 from Neg A plus 0 from the unconnected input and it produces
4. Also there are fewer modules to learn only a couple dozen in BankStep vs nearly 200 in SoftStep BankStep does not offer the full range of algorithmic music functions found in SoftStep BankStep does just one thing step sequencing And it does it very well Quick Tour file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs overview htm 1 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Overview The main module in BankStep is the Bank module which is a 3 or 4 bank knob sequencer of any number of columns up to 48 The Bank module is a smart module with the ability to set sequence start and end points and to automatically switch direction when the end points are reversed pee Cr mole aad al oa Off 0 End Off 0 Just as hardware analog sequencers have two types of signals control voltages and on off gates BankStep also has the digital equivalent For control voltages BankStep has Values These may range from 9999 to 9999 but as MIDI is limited to 0 127 this is the Value range you will use most of the time For on off switches BankStep has Logical or Boolean values These have two states only On or True and Off or False Value inputs and Logical inputs are distinguished by different color buttons While you are free to specify your own color scheme here Value inputs are blue and Logical inputs are red Use Knobs to directly set the Bank stage values To change knob values use an up down click and drag for large changes and a left right click
5. BankStep v2 0 C ybp Ba e am DJ x File Layout Options Help WEES E E es E 7 H T o o 0 GenMiIDI tst 0 Piano1 a O GenMiIDI tat 0 Piano 1 0 GenMiIDI tst 0 Piano1 0 GenMiIDI tst 0 Piano 1 BankStep is a software emulation of hardware bank sequencers found in the big analog synthesizers that produce control for the sound but not the sound itself Instead of analog control voltages BankStep produces MIDI and can make standard MIDI music files Otherwise BankStep functionally emulates a complete hardware bank of sequencers and control modules just as it might sit on top of a analog synthesizer or your softsynth MIDI module or sound card The Freeware BankStep Player Until you purchase a Registration for BankStep it will be configured as the Freeware BankStep Player The Player can play any BankStep 2 x patch file and you are free to interact with the music by adjusting the knobs etc but it can not save Once you reg BankStep s save features will become available Difference between BankStep and SoftStep While both BankStep and SoftStep are similar in many ways they are fundamentally different programs intended to be used in different ways With BankStep you work with an existing module layout rather than creating modules as you need them This is less flexible than SoftStep but it is far easier to get started with and because you likely will use the same layout over and over you become familiar with it
6. TO delay is always 0 PW Pulse Width Value Sets the On time in ticks for each of the output pulses Logical Outputs Arp X T0 A pulse is produced at this output with no delay when the module receives a pulse at the clock input It is the same as the input pulse except the pulse duration is set to PW ticks Arp X T1 T3 Clock pulses produced after their respective delay times as set by the T1 T3 inputs Duration On is the same for all outputs as set by the PW input Yellow output LEDS flash to indicate the output status Arp X TA A series of all 4 pulses the logical OR of TO T3 BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs arpeg htm 9 28 2002 8 56 57 PM BankStep Flip Module Flp Flip Module Fip O m or Emulates a classic logic circuit known as a Set Reset Flip Flop This is essentially a 1 bit memory circuit and it is one of the core building blocks of digital computers In the context of BankStep it is like a wall light switch once it is flipped it stays there until it is flipped again Special Blue Feedback Button Causes the Reset input to be internally connected so that subsequent pulses at the Set input cause the output to alternate between On and Off Red Run Stop Button Click in to cause the Flip module to control the state of the system Run Stop button That is when clicked in a pulse at the Set input will
7. Undo Undo the last operation This is a one level undo only the last operation can be undone OK Exit the Fill pop up and return to BankStep Same as the upper right x exit button Start amp Length step buttons Sets start column stage for edit operations and number of columns to change Note that Copy Paste ignores this settings operating on the full row Value amp Range step buttons Sets value and range for some edit operations Scale quantize buttons Major Minor Penta etc Forces the selected knob values to the scale denoted by the button Right click to create a scale from scratch Set Sets all selected knobs Start amp Length to the value given in Value Add Adds Value to all selected knobs Results greater than 127 are set to 127 Sub Subtracts Value from all selected knobs Results less than 0 are set to 0 Count Sets selected knobs to an incremental count by increment set in Value Rand Sets selected knobs to a random value from 0 to Range RWalk Random Walk Sets selected knobs to a random increment of Value within limits of 0 to Range Walk start point is Range 2 Invert Inverts all selected knobs about Range by subtracting them from Range Reverse Reverses the order of selected knobs file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs row htm 2 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 52 PM BankStep Row Module Open Duplicate the step at Start moving others up one Close Delete the step at Start moving others dow
8. nonpolar 1 HKR basic file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs bioseg htm 3 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 54 PM BankStep Arpeggio Module 2 CYTSNQ polar 3 DE acidic Bio X E8 The 8 element ordering of the current AA grouped by chemical and substitution similarities maps 0 7 8 0 ILVMF large nonpolar ILV aliphatic 1 C nonpolar disulfide forming 2 GP small moderately nonpolar 3 AST small moderately nonpolar 4 YW large aromatic moderately polar 5 NQ small polar 6 DE negatively charged 7 HKR positively charged Bio X MVo Molecular volume order lowest to highest for the current AA Bio X MWo Molecular weight order lowest to highest for the current AA Bio X sMV Relative Mol Volume normalized 0 127 for the current AA Bio X sMW Relative Mol Weight normalized 0 127 for the current AA Logical Outputs Bio X S Start Flag True for the duration of the AA at the start of the sequence Bio X E End Flag True for the duration of the AA at the end of the sequence Bio X lt gt I Structure Flags True from the start flag marker to the end flag marker as set by the Bio Editor Bio X aC Amino Acid clock tick Bio X dC DNA clock tick This will be 3 to 4 times the rate of the AA clock tick depending on the setting of the blue Clk button BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs bio
9. or manually by right clicking on the stage LEDs at the top when and only when the End input is set to Off 0 Page Pag Value Sets the active sequence page 0 7 when yellow page button is out Sets the current sequence page when yellow page button is in The current page is displayed in the small number box to the left of the Page input button Reset Rst Logical Orange LED Resets to the start stage and holds it there as long as the input is held On Value Outputs Gat X The current stage number Logical Outputs Gat X G1 G2 G3 G4 State Gates on for the duration of the stage if the row LED is On Gat X GA All Gate output the logical OR of the 4 rows if any of the rows is On GA will be On Gat X T1 T2 T3 T4 Trigger outputs pulse when the stage is first selected Gat X TA All Trigger output the logical OR of the 4 row triggers if any of the row triggers pulse TA will pulse Gat X S Start Gate True at start of sequence Gat X E End Gate True at end stage of sequence Gates Fill Pop Up Utility Patern Fill for Gates amp E X Copy 1 Paste o i Copy 2 Paste 2l l p z3 Copy 3 Faste al 3j a Copy 4 Faste 4 4 4 Start Length A Copy 5 Paste 5 5 slo K Copy 6 Paste 6 E Pattern Da Afi 2 3 4 s e 7 Copy Al Paste All i 2 3 4 s5lel z s Available by clicking the little green button on the Gates module Allows transfer by Copy Paste of gate patterns plus
10. or when in PB Tuning mode the Note Root and Octave inputs see below for details Transp Two identical inputs They simply add to the note value Negative values are allowed If the total of the two Transp inputs is 9999 such as one set to 9999 and the other set to 0 Note Off messages will be inhibited This is a special mode intended mainly for use with MIDI control equipment such as light bars that blink when receiving Note Off messages When in PB Tuning mode the two Transp inputs are changed to Root and Octave For details see the discussion of Alternate Tunings using MIDI Pitch Bend below Veloc Velocity This is the part of the MIDI Note On message that determines how forceful the note will sound On most synths and sound cards it is essentially a note by note loudness control MIDI gives two ways to control loudness the note by note Velocity and the channel specific Volume Typically the Velocity is used for note dynamics and the Volume is used for fade in and fade out The Velocity value is graphically displayed on the MIDI module as a four light blue bars one for each channel Volume is displayed as the green bar to the right of each Velocity bar The MIDI protocol specifies that a Note On message with a Velocity of 0 is the same as a Note Off message In BankStep when Velocity is set to 0 no Note messages will be sent Channel Control Inputs file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs midi htm 4 of 7 9 28 2002 8 56 53
11. 12 chromatic scale numbers 0 1 2 11 The chromatic scale degree which is the value modulus 12 is matched against each of the keys in order with the matched values moved to the front Thus if you use a table with the values 0 7 4 all the octaves will be moved to the start of the table the 5ths after that followed by the major 3rds and then the other values in the original order To change or edit a sort key Ctrl Click on the HSort button and the key editor pop up appears file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs bank htm 4 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Random Module Harmonic Sort Keys Sa OE ox 07543982106111 Harmonic order Common Sort Keps Description 1 07543982106111 Hamonic order Common EJ 07543982101116 Harmonic order Tritone at end a 07410268111359 Ham series 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 27 Click on one of the 16 buttons to select a key Click on OK to keep changes and exit click on the upper right x to exit without changes Keys 1 3 are the prebuilt keys and can not be changed keys 4 12 can be user created and edited To make a key simply type in up to 12 chromatic intervals numbers 0 11 in the order you want them to sort If a key number is repeated the sort will use the same values that number of times If a key has more than 12 number of steps any values not matched are moved into place after the sorted values with their relative places unchaged Double click on a k
12. 32768 243 128 5 19 Tone 19 6 AEOLIC SCL 7 triad 7 ARABIC SCL 17 8 CARLOS_HARM SCL 12 13 17 19 21 27 9 HARRISON_8 SCL 8 10 INDIAN_12 SCL 12 more shrutis 11 OLYMPOS SCL 5 reported by Partch available from Description The standard 12 tone equal tempered chromatic scale Ratios L6d5 938 64 5 O24 453 45332 392 8s S63 95 Ratios 352123928 5264 D4 4 3 45832 392 25 16 523 Ratios 135128 92 8 625 S24 4223 45323 32 2058256 275516 Ratios 2187 2048 9 8 19683 16384 81 64 4 3 729 512 3 2 19 tone equal tempered scale Ancient Greek Aeolic also tritriadic scale of the 54 64 81 Safi al Din also Dan Schmidt Slendro Pelog with Arabic 17 tone Pythagorean mode Carlos Harmonic Harrison 8 tone from Serenade for Guitar North Indian Gamut modern Hindustani gamut out of 22 or Scale of ancient Greek flutist Olympos 6th century BC as file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs tuningtable txt 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM BankStep Semitone Modules Sem Semitone Module Produces the semitone component of a MIDI note value Normally this is the modulus or remainder function of the input divided by 12 as in the example image an input of 44 produces a semitone value of 8 That is 44 12 gives a remainder of 8 When a MIDI module is set to use microtone scales the divisor is changed from 12 to whatever the microtone scale steps are Inputs In Input Values The value to have its semitone extracted from Value Out
13. PM BankStep MIDI Module The larger lower group of MIDI input buttons control various channel messages When in Notes Mode there are 4 columns of input buttons one for each channel when in Drum Mode there is only one column of buttons for the channel the MIDI module has been set to MIDI channel controls come in two flavors general and specific General MIDI messages are called Control messages or Channel Control CC messages They have two parts the identifier which is an assigned number such as 10 for Pan or 7 for Volume followed by the control value Specific MIDI messages are messages that are specific to the function such as Pitch Bend Usually this is a detail you do not need to track in BankStep because the control messages are simply identified by name and function however you also have the ability to create custom MIDI Control messages so it is a good idea to know what control messages are reserved for specific functions The following descriptions will indicate when an input is a general control message and which identifier is assigned to it and thus should not be used for other purposes with as for Volume CC 7 Volume CC 7 Overall volume of the channel independent of the individual note Velocity Volume is displayed graphically on the MIDI module with a green bar to the right of each blue Velocity bar When in Drum Mode only one Volume bar is active as the same Volume controls all 4 note channels V Lag V
14. T2 Trigger outputs that go True for one module calculation MIDI clock cycle then return to False Use these to manually trigger events that might otherwise require a clock or strobe pulse Btn X G1 Btn X G2 Btn X G3 Gate outputs that are True when the button is depressed and False when it is up BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs knob htm 2 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 58 PM BankStep Link Module Lnk Link Module Link is used to link to other programs or synths It can be used as a MIDI Input connection or it can be used for fast and accurate direct linkage to other BankStep or SoftStep programs running on the same computer When used as a Direct Link the module acts as both input from other Direct Links and as output to other Direct Links When used as MIDI Input the module is input only MIDI output is done by the MIDI module Mode Button The small blue button on the top selects the link mode Click to change mode The modes are Direct Link MIDI Control In MIDI Key Aftertouch In The current mode is indicated by the button label of the first value input button In Direct Link CC Control In KA Key Aftertouch In Additionally the button tool tips will change for each mode Inputs for Direct Link Mode In Input Value The value to be sent to other programs Only MIDI values 0 127 are allowed Values less than 0 are set to 0 v
15. The green LEDs will highlight when the input is True On Logical Output AND X The logical AND of the two inputs file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs boolean htm 1 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 56 PM BankStep Boolean Modules Not Module Hot A Produces the logical NOT of the input On input produces Off output Off input produces On output Inputs Green LED Logical Input to be logically reversed at the output Logical Output NOT X The logical NOT of the input BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs boolean htm 2 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 56 PM BankStep Appendix Appendix Technical Support Technical support is available by email to support algoart com We try to answer all support questions promptly usually within hours but please help us help you by first reading the online manual The Main Menu Toolbar and Options sections are especially helpful for trouble shooting If you do email please include the following information 1 Describe the computer you are using including operating system amount of memory CPU speed graphics settings 2 What other audio and MIDI software is installed in your computer 3 As much information as possible relating to your question s The more information you provide the faster we can help you Feel free to attach illustrative bsp files if you think that will help Please note tha
16. adjust inputs to other MIDI modules You can simply click on the blue button of the MIDI module you want to work on the active MIDI module is indicated by its blue button turning red Input Buttons These are the same input buttons found throughout BankStep as module inputs The MIDI panel has one set of Logical inputs Clock all others are Value inputs In order to keep from clogging your MIDI channels with unnecessary MIDI traffic MIDI messages are only sent when the value at the MIDI input button changes or upon startup file load and Run Stop set to Run Note Control Inputs The MIDI Input buttons are in two groups The top group controls the Note messages and is essentially the algorithmic equivalent of a keyboard There are always four channels of these inputs when in Notes mode they are the actual 4 MIDI channels when in Drum mode they are 4 sets of polyphonic notes on the same channel MIDI values are 0 127 Any values that are outside of this range are trimmed to the legal range Values lt O are set to 0 values gt 127 are set to 127 Mute Logical When True the MIDI channel is Muted and no notes will pass out to MIDI If the blue button to the left of the Mute label is depressed then a False input will cause the channel to Mute When channels are muted by these outputs the MIDI module Mute LED turns orange instead of red as when it is muted by clicking on the LEDs Clock Logical A pulse in this input starts the
17. box file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs composer htm 1 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 50 PM BankStep Composer The larger box to the right is the play list This contains a list of Snapshots that will be played when the Run button is clicked They may be in any order and repeated as often as you like The play list can be as large as you like up to 999 steps The first column in the play list box labeled Step is just the sequential step number Each item you add to the list gets the next number This column is always in sequential order Between the column labeled Step and the one labeled Msrs is a one character column starting in the example image with B This column is for the beginning and end markers B for beginning E for End and X if both are on the same step The next column labeled Msrs is the number of measures whole notes 4 4 time that will play before sequencing to the next Snapshot in the play list To the right of this is the selected Snapshot number and label as it appears in the Snapshot box and in your original drop down Snapshot menu on the Tool Bar Creating the play list To copy a Snapshot from the Snapshot source box to the play list box first select the Snapshot you want to copy by clicking on it The highlight bar will move to your selection Click on the Add button the first in the column of buttons to the right of the play list box This will add the Snapshot to the end of the play list Or yo
18. it hits one of the 4 edges Each time the ball hits an edge a trigger pulse is generated which is available as a Logical output The Ball clock outputs are listed in the Logical Connection popup as Ball North Ball South Ball East and Ball West Additionally there is a Ball All output that triggers when the ball hits any of the 4 walls Although the Ball moves at a constant speed you have great rhythmic flexibility by changing the size of the box the ball bounces around in Ball Clocks are not synchronized with other clocks except that it restarts from the upper left corner on the Stop to Run transition Notes Pops up or closes a Notepad like text editor where you can make notes on your patch The text you enter will stay with your file when you save it Right click on the text area to pop up a menu of editing controls such as cut amp paste BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs toolbar htm 3 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 50 PM BankStep Composer BankStep Composer The BankStep Composer utility is basically a play list editor for converting a list of Snapshots into a standard MIDI file You access it with the Composer button on the Tool Bar The composer can be expanded to show the playlist or collapsed to show only the transport controls When collapsed the default clicking on the Composer button in the Tool Bar will start it playing so it beco
19. loaded the data stays with the patch you only need to load the data file once and the data becomes part of the BankStep patch file Blue Data Limit Button In to limit data to the MIDI range of 0 127 by stripping off the high bit This bit is still available as a flag at the b8 logical output Red Run Stop Button Click in to cause the system Run Stop button to go to Stop when the Data Sequencer reaches the end of its sequence Sequence End Readout The box on the left with gray text shows the end of the sequence how many bytes are in the sequence Sequence Address Readout The box on the right with blue text shows the current sequence address Logical Inputs Step Yellow LED Clock pulses at this input step the Data Sequencer to the next stage The sequencer steps and thus generates new values at the start or leading edge of the input pulse Reset Orange LED Resets to the start of the sequence and holds it there as long as the input is held On Hold Red LED Holds at the current step as long as the input is held On file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs dataseq htm 1 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 57 PM BankStep Data Sequencer Module Reverse Blue LED Reverses the stepping direction as long as the input is held On When direction is reverse the blue LED will highlight Value Outputs Dat X Adr Address of the current sequence step The readout for this value is the box with blue text just under the output reado
20. of a composition such as the MIDI modules which send out their initial control settings Stop is True when the Play button is not pressed when Stop or Pause in the Composer is pressed otherwise it is False The Gates Module is internally connected to the Stop flag and the module goes into Hold when during Stop then Reset and when Run is clicked TStart is a Trigger flag that goes to True for one cycle on startup file load or when Run button is pressed then returns to False file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs input htm 3 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Input Pop Up System Values Off 0 this is a constant that always returns the value 0 but it is also used by several modules Banks Gates Row as an Off or disconnect value WNotes gives the number of whole notes since the internal clocks are reset as when Run Stop is clicked This is useful for timing events in a composition such as volume changes etc You can delay the onset of the whole note count by setting the Options window WN Delay value BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs input htm 4 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Random Module Bnk Bank D a Cre Oy End Ore 0 The main module in BankStep is the Bank module which is a 3 or 4 bank knob sequencer of any number of columns up to 48 The Bank module is a smart module with t
21. of input at the Value output Logical output is True when input is 0 Input In Input Value Any value Value Output Neg X Same as input with sign changed Logical Output Neg X True On when input is 0 False Off when input is non zero file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs math htm 1 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 56 PM BankStep Math Modules BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs math htm 2 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 56 PM BankStep Boolean Modules OR Module Produces the logical OR of the three inputs If any of the inputs is True the output will be True Only if all three inputs are False will the output be False Available in Short version with the 3rd input hidden Inputs Green LEDs Logical All three inputs are identical The green LEDs will highlight when the input is True On In the Short version the 3rd input is hidden but it can be reached by clicking on the green LED to the left of the 2nd input The mouse cursor will change from an arrow to an arrow with a question mark to indicate the availability of the hidden input Logical Output OR X The logical OR of all three inputs AND Module Produces the logical AND of the two inputs If any of the inputs is False the output will be False Only if both inputs are True will the output be True Inputs Green LEDs Logical Both inputs are identical
22. of the currently selected Bank and Program names The blue text is the current Bank name and the white text is the Program name These names come from a file in the BankStep Names directory the default is the General MIDI Bank and GM Program names but you can change the text files in the Names directory to work with whatever Bank and Program names your sound card synth or soft synth uses See the readme txt file in the Names directory for additional information MIDI Output Control Panel file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs midi htm 1 of 7 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM BankStep MIDI Module MIDI Output I Use PE Tuning Snel l oi IC Width Delay Wolu V Lag Pan Pro g Bank Bee OFF OT E OFF 0 Orr 0 DF 0 O A Core 0 H Cre 0 m m CF 0 oF The MIDI control panel looks intimidating because there are so many buttons but most can be ignored initially as they are either preset to default values or not used at all most of the time In fact all you really need to connect to get sound is Clock and Note Pulses in the Clock input will cause the Note value to be sent out as MIDI Note On messages when the Clock pulse falls to Off a corresponding Note Off message is sent MIDI Mode Buttons Selects between Notes default and Drum mode In Notes mode 4 MIDI channels are available per simultaneous note per MIDI module This gives the ability to send separate channel messages such as Volume Pan and Program for each Not
23. point for the sequencer run and right click to set the End If you set the End before the Start or the Start before the End the sequencer will run in reverse The four larger LEDs in a square at the far right of the stage LEDs under the output value boxes show file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs bank htm 1 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Random Module the current stage Gate orange Trigger yellow flash Start green when on Start stage and End red when on End stage Inputs Step Stp Logical Yellow LED Clock pulses at this input step the Bank sequencer to the next stage The sequencer steps and thus generates new values at the start or leading edge of the input pulse Reset Rst Logical Orange LED Resets to the Start stage and holds it there as long as the input is held On Hold Hd Logical Red LED Holds at the current stage as long as the input is held On Reverse Rev Logical Blue LED A pulse at this input changes the stepping direction If direction is reverse the blue LED will highlight If input is set to Off you can click on the blue LED to manually reverse direction Start Value Sets the stage for the sequence to start on If Start is greater than End the sequencer will step in reverse and the blue Rev LED will highlight If both Start and End are set to Off 0 you can manually set Start by left clicking on the red Start End LED below each column of knobs End Value S
24. rate the sequencer steps to the next DNA codon base Depending on the setting of the blue button to the left of the clock input a new amino acid is sequenced upon every 3rd button out or 4th button in clock tick When the sequence reaches its end it rolls over to the start again Or if the red button above the Clk label has been clicked in it will stop at the end of the sequence Reset Rst Logical Orange LED Resets to the start of the sequence and holds it there as long as the input is held On Hold Hld Logical Red LED Holds at the current step as long as the input is held On Antisense Anti Logical Blue LED An On value at this input changes the stepping direction The blue LED will highlight when the direction is reverse which steps the sequence backward reversing the codon and giving its antisense This is similar to reverse playback on other sequencers except the DNA codon is spelled reciprocally A and T are switched as are G and C which in turn results in a different amino acid being translated Value Outputs Bio X Adr The sequence address of the current amino acid Note that there are 3 or 4 depending on blue Clk button setting clock ticks for each amino step in the sequence Bio X AA The current Amino Acid Number 0 20 Bio X AAs The current Sorted Amino Acid number 0 20 Bio X DNA The current DNA number 0 3 Bio X E4 The 4 element ordering of the current AA maps to 0 3 4 0 IFVLWAGMP
25. softsynth we recommend a minimum CPU speed of 500 MHz and at least 64 MB of system memory file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs overview htm 4 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Overview Most soft synths do not have their own MIDI drivers and therefor require a program called a MIDI Loop Back in order to run them with SoftStep or any other MIDI generator This gives you a set of virtual patch cords where you can send the output of SoftStep to a Loop Back input then connect your soft synth to the same Loop Back output These programs are available as free downloads they are easy to install and once installed they are trouble free BankStep works very well with any of the several free MIDI Loop Back drivers such as Hubi s MidiLoopBack Win 95 98 MidiYoke Win98 2K XP or Sonic Foundry s Virtual Midi Router Win98 2K XP BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs overview htm 5 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Main Menu Main Menu File Layout Options Help File Menu New erases the BankStep workspace If there were changes made to the current BankStep workspace the File Changed LED will be on you will first be asked if you want to Save New discards the current setup and reloads the last default Layout Note that this may be different from the QuickSave file you may have been working with because it rebuilds from the Layout file
26. steps To connect the number to the input click on the OK button For convenience two drop down lists of values are available note values in ticks for connecting to clock and other tick duration inputs and General MIDI Program Change values for connecting to the Prog input in the MIDI module There is nothing special about these values they are just numbers and will show up as numbers in the button labels Module outputs and system values are shown on the right panel Click on an input and it becomes the connection with the button labeled with the input name This list of module outputs will change according to the modules that are in the layout Logical outputs from modules are not listed so modules that have only logical outputs will not show up in this list To close the pop up without making a connection or changing the existing connection click on either the Cancel button or the upper right X close icon file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs input htm 2 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Input Pop Up Logical Connections Logical connections have two states only On or True and Off or False They may be either Gates or Triggers Gates are On for the duration triggers are On for only one tick a tick is one calculation cycle defined by MIDI as of 1 24th of a quarter note Triggers and Gates that are On for some number of ticks then go Off are collectively referred to as pulses For example the output of a Clock module w
27. that is launched While the MIDI file player is running BankStep will disappear It s still there lurking in the background waiting for you to finish auditioning the MIDI file but you won t be able to see it Once you exit the MIDI file player BankStep pops back up as it was before The other two audition buttons will be blank until you use them the first time These are for specifying whatever other MIDI file player or sequencer software you want to run If the button is blank when you click on it you will get a dialog box for you to locate the MIDI file program you want to use This will be remembered but you can change it anytime by right clicking on the button Some older programs that were written for Windows 3 1 are unable to read Windows 95 file names if the directory path has spaces in it If your audition program has trouble loading the MIDI file try clicking on the checkbox just under the audition buttons BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs composer htm 4 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 50 PM BankStep Input Pop Up Module Input Connections Just as hardware analog sequencers have two types of signals control voltages and on off gates BankStep also has the digital equivalent Values for control voltages and Logicals for on off gates MEA Blue button is Value input Red button is Logical input Value and Logical connections a
28. the rare case where a timing glitch arises because of execution order you can refer to the module list to determine where the problem originates While the calculation order cannot be changed you will be able to affect it by the module connections you make Module Size Some modules have variable sizes These are Bank Row Gates and Select Sel Sizes must be set before the module is created Set the size for these modules with the up down buttons along the top of the workspace Row modules share the same size setting as Bank modules Bank modules also may be set to have 3 or 4 rows with the button following the size setting Click the button in for 4 rows out for 3 rows Short Modules the Short button in for the short versions of these modules leave it out the default for the normal size Shortened modules have the last input hidden For example the Add module normally has 3 inputs f ofa file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs layout htm 2 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Module Layout but when the Short button is selected it has only 2 inputs Bnk B 1 Neg 4 however the third input will still be accessible When the module is in its short mode the label or LED at the bottom left of the module for Add it s the bottom label becomes active and clicking it pops up the input dialog for the missing input button You can immediately see that the label is active because the mouse cursor ch
29. triplet Bar 576 dotted Quad Bar 8 x Whole 1024 triplet Dbl Bar 1152 dotted Bar 1536 Double Bar Note Values Tick Input Values and Ticks Note Value Tapui d dotted Put Ticks Value t triplet file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs clock htm 2 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Clock Module t 32nd 32nd d 32nd t 16th 16th d 16th t 8th 8th d 8th t 4th 4th d 4th t Half Half d Half t Whole Whole d Whole t Double Double d Double t Quad Quad d Quad t Bar Bar d Bar t 2Bar 2Bar BFN BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs clock htm 3 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM Gates Module Clk Af C Pag ol Orr 0 DRs Of Gate sequencer generates Gate and Trigger pulses Used as a master control module or a rhythm generator Special Green Button Fill Utility Pops up a menu for filling copying and saving the stage gates see below Yellow Button Page Step When in automatically steps to next page upon end of sequence in current page and Page input button selects last page of sequence when out Page input button sets current sequence page 8 sequence pages are available numbered 0 7 The current page is displayed in the small number box to the left of the Page input button Red Button Stop When in the Run Stop button is automatically set to Stop at the end stage o
30. version with the 3rd input hidden Inputs In Input Value The value to be scaled This may be any value 9999 to 9999 Scale Value The amount in percent to scale the output Values greater than 100 are allowed For example a value of 200 effectively multiplies the input value by 2 Offset Value Added to the scale operation Negative values allowed In the Short version the 3rd input is hidden but it can be reached by clicking on the label to the left of the 2nd input The mouse cursor will change from an arrow to an arrow with a question mark to indicate the availability of the hidden input Value Output Scl X Result of the scale offset BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs scale htm 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Math Modules Add Module Meg A Bink z 7 OFF 0 Meg A Produces sum of the three inputs Available in Short version with the 3rd input hidden Inputs Add Values All three inputs are identical and are added to produce the sum output In the Short version the 3rd input is hidden but it can be reached by clicking on the label to the left of the 2nd input The mouse cursor will change from an arrow to an arrow with a question mark to indicate the availability of the hidden input Value Output Add X Sum of the three inputs Neg Negate Module Produces negate minus
31. when you move the Pitch Bend wheel on a MIDI keyboard Center or no Bend the default is 64 Values below 64 bend pitch down values above 64 bend pitch up The exact amount of bend is set on your synthesizer When using PB Tuning the file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs midi htm 5 of 7 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM BankStep MIDI Module PBend input is ignored ModwWh Modulation Wheel CC 1 Usually adds tremolo to the sound although this varies greatly with the synth and with the instrument selected Porta Portamento CC 5 amp CC 65 Synths that support portamento usually have a switch that enables it plus a value that determines the amount When the portamento value goes above 0 BankStep will automatically set the enable switch on by sending CC 65 with a value of 127 followed by the portamento value on CC 5 When the amount goes from non zero to 0 the enable switch is automatically turned off again CC 65 sent with a value of 0 Touch Channel Aftertouch After touch is generally used to determine how quickly a key is released but is supported differently on different synths if at all MIDI defines two types of after touch Channel and Key with Channel Aftertouch having one value per channel and Key Aftertouch having a separate value for each key User Defined Control Channel Inputs The 4 inputs with text input boxes labeled CC are available for you to set your own custom MIDI Control messages Type the CC into the text box a
32. 8 56 49 PM BankStep Options When this is checked external MIDI Program Change messages on the MIDI channel and port selected in the drop down menu just below cause BankStep to change Snapshots When checked the Composer button in the Tool Bar is disabled This control is remembered and the next time you run BankStep it will default to the prior session settings If you can t access the Composer button it is because this button has been checked previously uncheck it and the Composer button will become active again Play Resets Clock If this is checked the toolbar Run Start button will reset and synchronize all internal clocks If the Reset Modules option is checked MIDI module inputs will resend their control settings Reset Modules Upon release of the All Notes Off button MIDI module inputs will resend their control settings High Priority Check this option to force Windows to always give BankStep enough processing cycles to run smoothly even when it is minimized or in the background This is off by default to avoid conflicts with other time sensitive programs but if there are no conflicts on your computer it should be set on Change Warning Off When checked you will not receive a warning message to save files when changes have been made to the BankStep patch This is useful for performance mode when you change patches during a performance but do not want to save the changes Not available grayed out in Player SB Bank
33. BankStep User Manual Aigarithmic BankStep v1 0 Overview Connections Tool Bar Main Menu Options Composer Layout Appendix Examples Modules Clk Clock Gat Gates Bio BioSeq Dat Data Bnk Bank Cnt Count Row Row NOT OR AND eggio Flp Flip LSw LSwitch Ran Random Sam Sample Neg Negate Add Scl Scale Sem Semitone Oct Octave Sw Switch Sel Select Dly Delay Lag Tst Test MIDI Btn Button Knb XK Knob Lnk Link BankStep Overview amp BankStep 2 0 C ybp BankStep examples 2Banks bsp E 10 x Fie Layout a Help Ene aT 0 Piano 1 0 Piano 1 Ju Off 0 s JS YN 0 Piano 1 Off 0 rm ELD ED GiB LO Er o t 4 g mAs Bk AT im o 7 o D EED EED Gra EY 6 lt Pa e lt 0 Piano 1 1 BankStep is a software emulation of hardware bank sequencers found in the big analog synthesizers that produce control for the sound but not the sound itself Instead of analog control voltages BankStep produces MIDI and can make standard MIDI music files Otherwise BankStep functionally emulates a complete hardware bank of sequencers and control modules just as it might sit on top of a analog synthesizer or your softsynth MIDI module or sound card The Freeware BankStep Player Until you purchase a Registration for BankStep it will be configured as the Freeware BankStep Player The Player can play any BankStep 2 x patch file and you are free to interact with the music by adjustin
34. C vbp BankStep Help alldocs bioseg htm 1 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 54 PM BankStep Arpeggio Module is often more musically useful The amino acids of the bio sequence are displayed in the large gray text area with the current step highlighted the DNA codon bases are displayed in the readout just to the top right of the text area as the 3 letter code and the current codon step is displayed just above that as both the letter code A C T G and the number 0 3 associated with it The numerical values for the DNA codon bases are G 0 C 1 T 2 and A 3 Technically if the original data was encoded from a protein sequence instesd of from a DNA sequence the backtranslated DNA sequence will not be entirely accurate although the musical pattern will still hold somewhat simplified Read this for a detailed explanation The readout for the sequence step address is to the upper left of the gray text area just above the column of readout LEDs The LEDs show the start and end of the sequence plus the 6 available structure flags that you may optionally insert during the editing process with the Bio Editor See the Bio Editor documentation available online at the Algorithmic Arts web site for information about setting and using structure flags The amino acid number 0 20 readout is at the upper right of the module with the label AA Values assigned to the amino acids in water solubility order are I O ILE Isoleucine nonpolar F
35. Sets the knob that will be active with its value sent to the output The label box to the left of the input button is the stage number and reflects this input Value Output Row X Value of the currently selected knob This value is shown in the label box at the far right of the module Row Fill Pop Up Utility Knob Fill for Seqhow A E X Copyi Paste 1 Start Length Value Range nee Ba en ag a HE Copy 2 Paste 2 Minor T 1 1 36 Copy 3 Faste al Fenta Set Rand Copy 4 Paste al wholTone Add A w alk Copy 5 Faste s Sub l t Copy 6 Faste el g bad Count MajTriad hin Triad FRieverse Sutha Open Clase mutt 0 Dups orst 0 Sort Scatter Unido Mil Adada PERM H Sort OK file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs row htm 1 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 52 PM BankStep Row Module Available by clicking the little green button on the upper left of the Row module Allows transfer by Copy Paste plus creation and manipulation of knob values Copy Buttons 1 6 Each copy button copies the selected row of knob values to a separate hold buffer These copies are remembered after BankStep is exited or when a different BankStep file is loaded Paste Buttons 1 6 Pastes the contents of the hold buffer 1 6 to the currently selected knob row Copy All Paste All Copies and pastes all knob rows s at once Separate from the individual row hold buffers and also remembered after exiting or reloading
36. Sw Switch Module Switches output between one of two Value inputs Available in Short version with the 3rd input hidden Blue Button Changes mode between Gate switching button out and Trigger switching button in Inputs Green LED Logical Input Selector switch selects between the two value inputs In Gate mode the first value input is selected when Off the second when On In Trigger mode input selection is changed on each new trigger If Trigger mode the start trigger TStart generated on startup file load and when Run Start is clicked to Run selects the first value input The Green LED indicates the switch status Off for the first value input On for the second Red LED Value Inputs These inputs are routed to the output unchanged The active input is indicated by the highlighted red LED In the Short version the 3rd input is hidden but it can be reached by clicking on the red LED to the left of the 2nd input The mouse cursor will change from an arrow to an arrow with a question mark to indicate the availability of the hidden input Value Output Swe X The unchanged value of the selected input LSw Logical Switch Module Switches output between one of two Logical inputs Available in Short version with the 3rd input hidden file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs switch htm 1 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Random Modules Blue Button Changes mode between Gate switching button out and Tri
37. a new snap at the top of the list The delete snap button removes this last snap Files can be saved and loaded in the normal Windows manner also the current state of BankStep is automatically saved on exit and loaded again on startup You can force this unnamed quick save anytime with the menu File Quick Save or with the toolbar Quick Save disk icon button Conversely you can reload a Quick Save with the File Revert menu command Layouts are separate files that define the module layout Layouts are saved with the files but may be created separately Use the Layout menu to create your own layouts that may contain any combination of modules First Sound BankStep produces no sound by itself Instead it generates MIDI data to control your choice of synthesizers soft synths or sound cards This is the same MIDI you hear when you play a MIDI file but inBankStep the MIDI data is being created in real time and you hear the changes you make as you make them But before you can hear any sound at all you need to be sure your computer is set up for MIDI sound play and to tell SoftStep which MIDI device to use When BankStep runs for the first time an Options menu will pop up so you can set the default MIDI Out Driver on MIDI Port A the first tab One of the first choices is the default Microsoft MIDI Mapper This is probably your best choice to get started with After you have set the MIDI Out Driver Bank Step will most likely start playing a sim
38. ainst A input Set to 9999 to compare A input with previous A input Red LED Logical Input This is the logical value sent to the output when the result is True when the test result is False logical False is always sent The default for this Input is True so that a test result of True returns the expected output of True and False returns False However it can also be used as a logical switch test so that a test result of True returns whatever is connected to the input which could be an on off clock Used this way a clock at the logical input would tick when the test result is True and it would be shut off when the test result is False In the Short version the 3rd input is hidden but it can be reached by clicking on the label to the left of the 2nd input The mouse cursor will change from an arrow to an arrow with a question mark to indicate the availability of the hidden input Logical Outputs Tst X gt True if A is greater than B 1st orange top output LED will highlight Tst X gt True if A is greater than or equal to B Both top output LEDs will highlight Tst X True if A equal B 2nd yellow top output LED will highlight Tst X lt gt True if A is not equal to B 2nd yellow top output LED off Tst X lt True if A is less than B Top output LEDs both off file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs test htm 1 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Random Module BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithm
39. alue Range Major ee Te e ae Copy 3 Paste 3 H o pes 1 E Fenta Copy 4 Faste al 51 Pm wWwholTone Copy 5 Faste s an akel MlajTriad Sub Invert Copy Faste el MlinTriad Count Reverse Copy Paste awSths All All Open Close Mut Dupes Scatter undo Ofst O Sort H Sort DK Available by clicking the little green button on the upper left of the Bank module Allows transfer by Copy Paste plus creation and manipulation of knob values Copy Buttons 1 6 Each copy button copies the selected row of knob values to a separate hold buffer These copies are remembered after BankStep is exited or when a different BankStep file is loaded Paste Buttons 1 6 Pastes the contents of the hold buffer 1 6 to the currently selected knob row Copy All Paste All Copies and pastes all knob rows s at once Separate from the individual row hold buffers and also remembered after exiting or reloading Row Select 1 4 Selects the knob row to affect with edit operations If the Bank module has only 3 rows the 4th button will not be visible Undo Undo the last operation This is a one level undo only the last operation can be undone OK Exit the Fill pop up and return to BankStep Same as the upper right x exit button Start amp Length step buttons Sets start column stage for edit operations and number of columns to change Note that Copy Paste ignores this settings operating on the ful
40. alues greater than 127 are set to 127 Values are sent automatically whenever they are changed so a changing value can be used as the value itself and it can also be used to accurately synchronize other instances of BankStep or SoftStep Ch Link Channel Value Selects the Link Channel 0 127 which determines which of the 128 available channels the link value will be sent to or received from Inputs for MIDI CC and KA Input Mode CC KA Control or Key Value The MIDI Control Channel if Control mode or the MIDI Key number if Key Aftertouch Only MIDI values 0 127 are allowed Values less than 0 are set to 0 values greater than 127 are set to 127 Ch MIDI Channel amp Page Value Sets the MIDI Channel and Page to receive the input from MIDI Channels here are numbered 0 15 not 1 16 as they are in the MIDI module buttons Page is also numbered from 0 0 3 instead of 1 4 Page and Channel are combined into one value by multiplying Page by 16 This gives a legal range of 0 63 with 0 15 for Page 0 16 31 for Page 1 32 47 for Page 2 and 48 63 for Page3 Value Output file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs link htm 1 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 58 PM BankStep Link Module Lnk X The output of the Link module as seen in the blue output box shows any values that have been sent to the selected Link Channel by Link modules in other instances of BankStep or SoftStep or by MIDI Control or Key Aftertouch messages on the Channel Page selected d
41. and drag for small changes There is also a pop up menu of functions available by clicking on the little green button in the upper left to automatically fill modify and save bank stage values There are no dangling patchcords in BankStep Instead module inputs the red and blue buttons connect to outputs by selecting them from a popup menu of all available outputs When an input is connected to an output the input button label indicates the connection For example NegA eg Inf BnkC1 Off 0 The two support modules above Negate and Add are being used to subtract the output of Bank Sequencer C Row 1 Bnk C 1 shown above from the output of Bank Sequencer B Row 1 Bnk B 1 not shown The Negate module Neg A receives the output from Bnk C 1 and negates it The Add module Add A Receives apparently a value of 37 from Bnk B 1 plus a value of 12 from Neg A plus 0 from the unconnected input and it produces the sum 25 as its output Making it Go Logical values are used mainly to control timing and routing They may be either Gates or Triggers Gates are On for the duration triggers are On for only one tick a tick is one calculation cycle defined by MIDI as of 1 24th of a quarter note Triggers and Gates that are On for some number of ticks then go Off are collectively referred to as pulses For example the output of a Clock module which is a gate that cycles between some number of ticks On then some number of ticks Of
42. anges from the normal arrow to an arrow with a question mark Finally there is one other module that can have different sizes This is the expanded knob or XKnob which allows multiple knobs to be grouped together into a single module JA The number of knobs is selectable for both rows and columns up to a total of 48 knobs If either the rows or columns counter is set to exceed 48 the other value will automatically decrease Command Buttons New Clears the workspace of any existing modules Current Loads the modules from the currently active layout Load Loads modules from a layout lay file Save Saves modules to a layout files Copy Copies layout to a clipboard file Swap Swaps the current layout with the clipboard file Cancel Exits Layout utility without changing the current BankStep layout Same as the upper right X button OK Exits Layout utility and updates the current BankStep layout Delete Last Deletes modules last first To delete a module at random drag it to the lower right of the workspace area Modules will be deleted if the lower left corner and upper right corner are moved offscreen file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs layout htm 3 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Module Layout BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs layout htm 4 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Random Modules
43. atted However for those who file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs midi htm 6 of 7 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM BankStep MIDI Module want to know the details here they are For each of the 128 tables Steps 0 62 are the MIDI Key value for each of the up to 63 scale steps starting from 0 Step 63 is reserved and should not be changed Steps 64 126 are the Pitch Bend value for each scale step but 64 must be added to make the signed 128 bit MIDI Pitch Bend value positive and Step 127 is the number of the highest scale step used scale steps 1 When PB Tuning has been selected the two Transp inputs are changed to Root and Octave inputs Note Root and Octav all work together to select the note to be played and the octave to play it in Since MIDI Notes are set at 12 equal tone steps per octave a little extra care must be taken to place an arbitrary micro tone scale in its pitch environment Instead of simply adding any value to a Transpose input you set the Octave the scale is to start on separately from the Root input which is the scale step of the root You may also move to higher and lower octaves by simple transposition of the note by octaves scale steps octave note note in new octave but some scales most notably the ones that span greater than the acoustic octave or 1200 cents give unpredictable results However by modulating octaves with the Octave input and root with the Root input the scales work and you can change key
44. ave up to 4 MIDI Output and 4 MIDI Input drivers open at once by selecting Tabs A D and setting the driver on that tab Most MIDI drivers only allow one connection at a time so if you select a driver that is already in use by another port the other port will reset itself to None Selected The exception to this is the Microsoft MIDI Mapper which is actually one of the other MIDI Output drivers you can select which one in the Windows Control Panel in the Multimedia section If you select a driver that is being used as the MIDI Mapper you will get an error message telling you the driver is in use Options for Each MIDI Port The following options are on the MIDI Port Tab area and are individually set for each port selected file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs options htm 1 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Options When the All Notes Off button on the tool bar is pressed the message types checked will be sent All Notes Off sent to all 16 MIDI channels Most synths respond to this All Keys Off Note Off sent to all 128 keys in all 16 channels Only use this if your synth does not respond to the All Notes Off message Reset Controls Sets controls to their default values When Active Sensing is checked MIDI Active Sensing is sent on each MIDI tick only to the MIDI Output drivers that have this option checked Options for MIDI Port A Only MIDI Sync BankStep can synchronize to an external MIDI device as either Master
45. creation and manipulation of patterns file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs gates htm 2 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 52 PM BankStep Gates Module Copy Buttons 1 6 Each copy button copies all 4 rows of the currently visible Gates page to a separate hold buffer These copies are remembered after BankStep is exited or when a different BankStep file is loaded Paste Buttons 1 6 Pastes the contents of the hold buffer 1 6 to the currently visible Gates page Copy All Paste All Copies and pastes all 8 pages at once Separate from the individual page hold buffers and also remembered after exiting or reloading Page Select Buttons 0 7 Selects Gates page to edit The page selected becomes visible and all further changes are made to that pate When the utility exits the original Gates page is restored Row Select 1 4 amp A AID Selects the row s to affect with edit operations Note that Copy Paste and Roll ignore row select buttons and work on all rows at once Start amp Length step buttons Sets start column for edit operations and number of columns to change Note that Copy Paste ignores this settings operating on the full page gt amp lt Shift Buttons Shifts the pattern one step left or right each time the button is clicked Roll Button Rolls the pattern up one step each time the button is clicked Row select buttons are ignored all 4 rows are affected Original pattern is restored on the 4th click Flip Button Flips ga
46. directory visited click the Float button BankStep is Copyright 1999 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs options htm 4 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM file Cl vbp BankS tep Help alldocs toolbar htm The BankStep Tool Bar Dela P Be aHa TT FF The Toolbar is the control console for BankStep While it contains some duplicated controls such as the file controls most controls are available nowhere else Dieja File Control Buttons The first three buttons are file control operations New Open and Save New discards the current setup and reloads the last default Layout Note that this may be different from the patch you may have been working with because it rebuilds from the Layout file not the last saved patch file If you want to revert to the last saved patch file use the main menu command File Revert Open is a standard file open a duplicate of the one in the File menu Save saves the currently opened BankStep bsp file If no bsp file has been opened it acts as Save As Help Button Pops up this Help document Help in BankStep is a standard web type htm document that you can read with most any web browser BankStep uses your default web browser to access Help Composer Button Brings up the Composer utility This gives the ability to create and edit a playlist of Snapshots that can be made into a standard MIDI file See the Composer utility page for d
47. e MIDI device drivers MIDI sync options and other BankStep options SoftStep Options MIDI Port A MIDI Port B MIDI Port C MIDIPortD V Play Resets Clock V Note On Trigs Ran Seed 100 V Reset Modules f Mote Off Trigs MIDI Out Device Driver 5 A s WNDelag 0 i V All Notes Off High Priority Pitch Bend Trigs ae o se Audigy Synth A C400 X All Keys Off 7 Auto Align Poly AT Trigs y MIDI In Device Dri Vv ast meee PolforFCP 13 7 MIDI Ctr Trigs oe al 0 n Device Driver Active Sensing None Selected PolforFcP 96 NRPNMSB Trigs Abs Cik B 0 i NRPN LSB Trigs Triggers Off a 9 Start Dir 7 SB Banks Keybd Pages m MIDI Syne Remote Ctl ProgChg gt Snapshots None None Expanded Tempo Lock Modules ees Master Send 1A yj Prog Chg Channel E Font warning OF E Lock Page Change Slave Receive Erase Snaps Lock Page Hide MIDI Output amp MIDI Input Although you can run BankStep with no MIDI to produce sound at least one MIDI output driver must be selected and in order to respond to external MIDI messages at least one MIDI input driver must be selected The first time you run BankStep the Options menu will pop up as a reminder that you need to select a driver Once selected BankStep will remember it and will only pop up the Options menu automatically if the MIDI Port A output driver can not be found or is being used by another device when BankStep loads You can h
48. e channel In Drum mode only one MIDI channel is used for up to 4 simultaneous notes and you cannot specify channel specific MIDI parameters such as Volume and Pan for each individual note MIDI Channel Buttons Selects the MIDI channel the module will use for MIDI output If MIDI Mode is Notes this selects the first of the module s 4 channels with the other channels being assigned file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs midi htm 2 of 7 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM BankStep MIDI Module consecutively Note that while you may overlap MIDI channels with different MIDI modules this is not a good idea as the MIDI channel messages Volume Pan Program etc should be only one set per MIDI channel MIDI Port Buttons Selects which of the 4 available MIDI ports to use for sending MIDI messages MIDI Ports are selected by choosing among your computer s available MIDI drivers with the Options pop up Use PB Tuning Checkbox When this option is checked BankStep will use MIDI Pitch Bend along with Note messages to allow microtone tuning not normally allowed in MIDI When checked a drop down menu will become visible that shows the available alternate tuning tables Additionally the Note input parameters are changed somewhat For details see the discussion of Alternate Tunings using MIDI Pitch Bend below Wo OK Button Exit the MIDI control panel and return to BankStep Same as the upper right x exit button Note that you do not need to exit to
49. ed by the Knob value so for example a Mult setting of 2 gives the Knob Value a range of 0 254 in increments of 2 A value in the Ofst input adds an offset to the Knob value You can add negative as well as positive offsets XK Expanded Knob Module F a ya file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs knob htm 1 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 58 PM BankStep Knob Module An array of Value Knobs Up to 48 Knobs may be defined in a single XK module in any combination of Rows x Columns defined in the Layout dialog Knobs will be given successive letters starting with A so for example the 3rd knob will appear in the Value Input dialog as XK C Each knob s range is 0 127 Use click and up down drag to make large changes click and drag left right for small changes As for the Knob module above you can set offsets and multipliers for each knob with the XKnob Setup dialog which can be invoked by right clicking on the knob letter label You also have the option of setting an entire row or column to the same setup values and to copy or paste the knob settings to allow you to duplicate the settings into another XKnob module Setup for XKnob B A mr x Knob Help Tip Message Tool Tip Put O Set Set Copy Paste ok orst T Ror Column All All Btn Button Module Taz This is a set of two single click strobe buttons and three on off gate buttons Each button s output is available as a separate logical output Btn X T1 Btn X
50. ences so the Bio Editor is not necessary in order to use the Bio Sequencer Special Controls The drop down menu at the top of the module selects the bio sequence to play You can select one of up to 24 sequences in the Bio Sequence table that has been processed by the Bio Editor This table is a system file that is automatically loaded when BankStep starts up or when you load a BankStep file of the same name in the same directory You can also load a bio sequence file directly from the Files menu Each entery on the drop down menu shows the slot number 0 23 of the sequence being addressed the number of proteins or codons in the sequence in brackets and the file name of the sequence at the time it was encoded If there is no sequence data in a particular slot the item will display lt no data gt and the sequencer will not step The red button on the top left of the module if in sets the Bio Sequncer to stop at the end of its sequence leaving the button out the default causes the sequencer to endlessly repeat The blue button just below to the left of the Clock input if in causes the sequence to step to a new amino acid every 3 clock ticks This is the default and it is the more scientifically correct setting of 3 DNA steps for each amino acid step When the button is out there are 4 DNA steps for each amino acid step with the 4th tick repeating the 3rd DNA codon base While less scientifically accurate this setting file
51. epending on Link mode selected Logical Output Lnk X This is the Value output converted to a Logical Values of 0 are Off any non zero value is On BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs link htm 2 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 58 PM
52. etails The Composer can be expanded to show the playlist or collapsed to show only the transport controls When collapsed the default clicking on the Composer button will start it playing so it becomes a Player button for the whole composition not just the currently displayed Snapshot If the Composer button appears not to be working it is because the Composer button is set to Off when you set Snapshots below to respond to MIDI Program Change instead of the Composer play list To turn the Composer Button back on select Options from the main menu and remove the check from the checkbox that says ProgChg gt Snapshots 1 nname 3 Fei H000 Unnamed zi Snapshots BankStep s Snapshot or Patch Save system As you make changes to BankStep the changes are saved in the current Snapshot automatically Snapshots are automatically numbered from 0 to a maximum of 127 You can rename a Snapshot anytime by just typing in the new name The name takes and a number is added to it when the text box focus is lost so to force the name update you can click on a blank part of the toolbar or virtually file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs toolbar htm 1 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 50 PM file Cl vbp BankS tep Help alldocs toolbar htm anywhere else At any point you can click on the camera button to create a copy of the current Snapshot that will be placed at the end of the Snapshot list and set the new copy as the active Snapshot T
53. etc to identify the specific module If you create more than 26 of a particular module unlikely but allowed letter designations are taken from the ASCII character set CPU Loading Issues There are two related but separate MIDI timing issues in BankStep you may run in to One is the CPU load and the other is MIDI latency discussed below For the most part processing MIDI is far less CPU intensive than processing audio streams And typical BankStep setups can coexist very well with software synthesizers and samplers on the same computer running at the same time A typical BankStep patch will run at under 10 of CPU load often under 1 However very large layouts running on very slow computers can create a CPU load high enough to cause problems with co resident soft synths If your CPU speed is 500 MHz or better this is unlikely to be a problem even with the largest of BankStep layouts MIDI Latency in BankStep BankStep uses zero latency which means that when a note is created it is instantly sent out to MIDI with no timing lag latency other than the overhead of the MIDI driver itself This may cause timing problems for some users so BankStep also has a Latency setting that allows you to adjust Latency for more stable buffered timing Zero latency is the default and this setting is recommended for computers faster than about 450 MHz See the Options page for details Known Bugs None known at this time But we want to know if you ru
54. ets the stage for the sequence to end on If End is less than Start the sequencer will step in reverse and the blue Rev LED will highlight If both Start and End are set to Off 0 you can manually set End by right clicking on the red Start End LED below each column of knobs Value Outputs Bnk X The currently active stage This can also be seen on the Bank module as a highlighted red stage label Bnk X 1 Bnk X 2 Bnk X 3 Bnk X 4 Stage value outputs for the Bank Rows 1 4 These are the values of the Knobs in the current stage column If the Bank module has only 3 Knob rows then the 4th output does not appear Logical Outputs Bnk XbG State of the orange Bank Gate on off button Bnk XbT Clock pulse for 1 cycle when the yellow Bank Trigger button is clicked Bnk X S Start Gate On while the current stage is the Start stage Bnk X E End Gate On while the current stage is the End stage Bnk X G Stage Gate reflects the value of the Stage Gate LED the orange LED under each column of knobs Bnk X T Stage Trigger a single On pulse when the stage is changed if the yellow Stage Trigger LED file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs bank htm 2 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Random Module is On Bnk X Rv Reverse Gate On while the sequencer is stepping in reverse blue Rev LED will also be highlighted Bank Fill Pop Up Utility a Knob Fill for Bank 4 Ben Copy Paste Row Start Length V
55. ey entry line to generate a semi random key set The main purpos of HSort is to automate the task of building note translation tables that are weighted toward a harmonic center or grouping Usually this will be used with tables that are based on frequency of occurance with the more frequently occuring values appearing at the head of the table BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs bank htm 5 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Clock Module Clk Clock Module Generates Clock pulses Sync Free Run Button The light blue button switches the clock from Sync mode button out to Free Run button in In Sync mode the clock is hard synchronized to Gates module clocks and other Clock modules in Sync mode In Free Run mode the only time the clock syncs up to other clocks is upon startup file load clicking the Run button in Sync mode is best for most purposes because you can change clock speed without ever loosing synchronization with other running clocks however there is one problem with hard sync when you control the clock duration on a note by note basis such as by using one row of a Bank sequencer to control the Clock module s step rate the hard sync sometimes will not let go fast enough and the timing steps can become different from what you set them to In this case the Free Run mode is better and it will deliver accurate timing ste
56. f is called a clock pulse file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs overview htm 2 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Overview The basic if simplified chain of events is Bank sequencers are stepped by clock pulses the values from the Bank Sequencer may be combined and modified in innumerable ways and eventually they end up going to the MIDI module as Note Velocity etc values The clock pulses that stepped the sequencers are used as timing events to trigger the MIDI Notes Clock pulses are created by a Clock modules as well as other modules that can generate Logical gate and trigger outputs such as Bank Sequencers which have settable gate and trigger outputs for each stage in addition to the Value stage outputs Clock modules have 4 outputs regular clock plus clock 2 3 and 4 you can see the LED for each output flash as the Clock module ticks Out to MIDI The MIDI module combines 4 channels in one module When you click on the MIDI button you will see a very large field of connection buttons set up in 4 columns one column for each MIDI channel or for each note in Drum mode At first the only inputs you will need to set are Clock and Note Other values are either preset to default values or may be ignored until you have a specific need to change them Volume defaults to 127 Velocity defaults to 112 You will see these levels on the MIDI module as little bar meters Blue for Velocity Green for Volume 0 Piano 1 3 Honky
57. f the last page Yellow Stage LEDs Indicates the current stage which is also shown in the blue number box on the upper left Left click to set the end stage turns red When not running Clock connection input is set to Off right click on to manually select a stage Green Gate LEDs The 4 rows of green LEDs represent the stage gate and trigger values For each stage indicated by the yellow Stage LED the 4 Gate outputs will be On and the Trigger outputs will fire if the corresponding row LED is highlighted Left click on the green gate LEDs anytime to set clear them Red Output LEDs The red LEDs just to the right of the input buttons show the output values of the current stage The topmost Orange LED is the All output and it is the logical OR of the 4 rows if any of the rows is On the top LED will be On Inputs Step Stp Logical Yellow LED Steps Gates sequencer from one stage to another Loops back to Ist stage after end stage indicated by the top normally yellow LED being red also cycles to the next page if the yellow Page Step button is pushed in End End Value Sets the end stage at which the sequence will cycle back to the first stage If set to file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs gates htm 1 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 52 PM BankStep Gates Module Off 0 the end stage can be set by right clicking on the yellow Stage LEDs along the top The end stage is marked by a red LED Set the endpoint with the End input
58. first start up BankStep Save Saves the currently opened BankStep bsp file If no bsp file has been opened acts as Save As below Duplicated in the File Control Buttons in the Toolbar Not available in Player file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs mainmenu htm 1 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Main Menu SaveAs Invokes the standard Windows File Save dialog to save the BankStep workspace Not available in Player Bio Sequence Loads a DNA or protein sequence file for use with the Bio Sequencer as created by the Bio Editor available separately from Algorithmic Arts Does not alter the default Bio Sequence file Tuning Table Loads a Tuning Table pbt data file and makes it the current source of tunings for the MIDI module when using Pitch Bend Tuning Does not alter the default tuning table file Exit Exits BankStep If there were changes made to the current BankStep workspace the File Changed LED will be on you will first be asked if you want to Save Whether or not you choose to save your work in a named file the QuickSave unnamed file is always automatically saved If you do not want changes saved to the QuickSave file use Revert just prior to exiting Exit is the same as the Windows Close X icon in the upper right of the title bar Recently Opened File List The four most recently opened files are listed here Select a file name to open it Layout Menu Layouts are the arrangements of module
59. formance in the faster computers that are available today The amount of latency you may need for accurate timing depends on the speed of your computer and the amount of overhead software Adjust the latency by entering the number of milliseconds latency you want into the text box 200 milliseconds 1 5 second works well in many cases When the latency value is too small you will get timing errors and the red timing error LED near the tempo bar will light up Zero latency is a special case in which the output buffering is turned off completely and MIDI data is pumped directly out to the synthesizer with minimum overhead This may be desirable when synchronizing to another MIDI device If you have a fast computer you may find zero latency to be preferable to buffered MIDI There will be missed notes when you are moving windows around but normal play is stable and much more responsive Button Colors Click on the button to select value and logical input button and workspace background colors Start Dir Button Normally BankStep starts up in the last directory you used to save or load a file But you can change this to always startup in the same directory Click the button to call up a directory tree dialog pointing to the current directory If you want to start up in this directory just click the OK button if you want to select a different directory for startup select it from the directory tree then click OK To return to starting up in the last
60. g the knobs etc but it can not save Once you register BankStep s save features will become available Difference between BankStep and SoftStep While both BankStep and SoftStep are similar in many ways they are fundamentally different programs intended to be used in different ways With BankStep you work with an existing module layout rather than creating modules as you need them This is less flexible than SoftStep but it is far easier to get started with and because you likely will use the same layout over and over you become familiar with it Also there are fewer modules to learn only a couple dozen in BankStep vs nearly 200 in SoftStep BankStep does not offer the full range of algorithmic music functions found in SoftStep BankStep does just one thing step sequencing And it does it very well Quick Tour The main module in BankStep is the Bank module which is a 3 or 4 bank knob sequencer of any number of columns up to 48 The Bank module is a smart module with the ability to set sequence start and end points and to automatically switch direction when the end points are reversed ro AAEREN A A e mmo cal Off 0 Endaf Off 0 file C vbp BankStep Help index htm 1 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 48 PM BankStep User Manual Just as hardware analog sequencers have two types of signals control voltages and on off gates BankStep also has the digital equivalent For control voltages BankStep has Values These may range from
61. gger switching button in Inputs Green LED Logical Input Selector switch selects between the two value inputs In Gate mode the first value input is selected when Off the second when On In Trigger mode input selection is changed on each new trigger If Trigger mode the start trigger TStart generated on startup file load and when Run Start is clicked to Run selects the first value input The Green LED indicates the switch status Off for the first switched input On for the second Red LED Logical Inputs These inputs are routed to the output unchanged The active input is indicated by the highlighted red LED In the Short version the 3rd input is hidden but it can be reached by clicking on the red LED to the left of the 2nd input The mouse cursor will change from an arrow to an arrow with a question mark to indicate the availability of the hidden input Logical Output LSw X The unchanged value of the selected input Sel Select Module Cer Selects one value input to be sent to the value output Inputs This module has one selector value input plus a variable number of switched value inputs from 2 to 12 set when the module is created during the Layout process Sel Select Value Selects among the switch value inputs A value of 0 selects the first switch input 1 selects the 2nd etc up to the number of switch inputs showing then it wraps around For example in the 3 input module pictured the firs
62. he ability to set sequence start and end points and to automatically switch direction when the end points are reversed Special Green Button Fill Utility Pops up a menu for filling copying and saving the stage gates see below Orange Button Produces an On Off gate which is available at the Bnk X bG logical output This button is not used for anything within the Bank module rather it is just a general purpose button to use any way you like Yellow Button Produce a trigger pulse which is available at the Bnk X bT output Not used within the Bank module available for anything you like Stage Labels Located across top of Bank module above knobs Indicates the currently active stage column by highlighting to red Click on a label to make that stage current Stage Knobs Sets the stage value for the sequencer row the knob is on Set knob values by click and drag up down for large value changes left right for small value changes The knob value range is 0 127 When a stage is selected the labels at the right of each row of knobs will display the knob value Stage LEDs The triangle of LEDs below each column of knobs show set the stage Gate orange LED Trigger yellow and Start End red Click on Gate or Trigger LEDs to set that stage to fire a Gate On for the stage duration or Trigger On for one clock tick When and only when the Start and End inputs are set to Off 0 you can left click on a red Start End to set the Start
63. hich is a gate that cycles between some number of ticks On then some number of ticks Off is called a clock pulse As there are no numeric values the Logical pop up has only one panel which has the logical system flags and the list module logical outputs Click on an input and it becomes the connection with the button labeled with the input name This list of module outputs will change according to the modules that are in the layout Value outputs from modules are not listed so modules that have only Value outputs will not show up in this list To close the pop up without making a connection or changing the existing connection click on the upper right X close icon System Values and Flags System Values and Flags give access to some of BankStep s internal events The most basic use is to connect Hold inputs to Banks and Clocks to the Stop flag so the modules will be in hold or reset if reset input is used until the Play button is clicked In this way you can set modules to start at in an exact known state when you start them or record them to MIDI System Values Flags are at the beginning of the module input connection lists Logical System Flags Off a constant that is always logical False or Off On a constant that is always logical True or On Run is True when the Play button is pressed otherwise it is False Some modules are internally connected to the Run Flag These are the modules that always would want to be reset at the start
64. ic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs test htm 2 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Random Module Ran Random Module OFF 0 Generates Random value outputs and random logical clock pulse outputs Inputs Yellow LED Logical Clock pulses at this input generate a new set of random value outputs and random clock pulse outputs All values are generated at the start of the input pulse leading edge of On pulse Rn Range Value Random numbers will be generated between 0 and this value Offset Value Added to the generated random number Value Outputs Ran X1 Ran X2 Ran X3 The random values each using the same Range and Offset but each is a different random number Additionally Ran X2 will always be less than or equal to Ran X3 and therefore statistically Ran X1 will more often but not always be greater than Ran X2 and less than Ran X3 Logical Outputs Ran c 2 clock pulse with the probability of being On at 1 2 50 for each input clock pulse Ran c 4 clock pulse of probability 1 4 25 Ran c 8 clock pulse of probability of 1 8 12 5 BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs random htm 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Scale Module Scl Scale Module Ei Dif 7 Scales the In input by a percentage set by the input adding an offset set by the input Available in Short
65. iles but may be created file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs overview htm 3 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Overview separately Use the Layout menu to create your own layouts that may contain any combination of modules First Sound BankStep produces no sound by itself Instead it generates MIDI data to control your choice of synthesizers soft synths or sound cards This is the same MIDI you hear when you play a MIDI file but inBankStep the MIDI data is being created in real time and you hear the changes you make as you make them But before you can hear any sound at all you need to be sure your computer is set up for MIDI sound play and to tell SoftStep which MIDI device to use When BankStep runs for the first time an Options menu will pop up so you can set the default MIDI Out Driver on MIDI Port A the first tab One of the first choices is the default Microsoft MIDI Mapper This is probably your best choice to get started with After you have set the MIDI Out Driver Bank Step will most likely start playing a simple melody line right away If it does not the easiest way to tell if your computer is set up to play MIDI is to find a MIDI file anything with the extension mid and double click on it Do this when BankStep is not running Media Player or whatever your default MIDI player is should pop up and start playing the MIDI file If it does not you need to figure out what it will take to play a MIDI file with the defau
66. l row file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs bank htm 3 of 5 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Random Module Value amp Range step buttons Sets value and range for some edit operations Scale quantize buttons Major Minor Penta etc Forces the selected knob values to the scale denoted by the button Right click to create a scale from scratch Set Sets all selected knobs Start amp Length to the value given in Value Add Adds Value to all selected knobs Results greater than 127 are set to 127 Sub Subtracts Value from all selected knobs Results less than 0 are set to 0 Count Sets selected knobs to an incremental count by increment set in Value Rand Sets selected knobs to a random value from 0 to Range RWalk Random Walk Sets selected knobs to a random increment of Value within limits of 0 to Range Walk start point is Range 2 Invert Inverts all selected knobs about Range by subtracting them from Range Reverse Reverses the order of selected knobs Open Duplicate the step at Start moving others up one Close Delete the step at Start moving others down one Dups Removes all duplicate values throughout the sequence Scatter Randomly reposition values from Start to Length steps Sort Ascending sort from Start of Length steps HSort Harmonic sort Sorts values from Start to Length steps according to selected sort key which you can access by right clicking on the button The sort key is a list of up to
67. lt Windows MIDI player Once you have MIDI sound exit all your other MIDI software such as Media Player or any MIDI sequencer programs that may be running and start up BankStep BankStep can co exist with just about any other MIDI or audio or soft synth program but keep it simple at first Listening to the Example Patches BankStep comes with several example patches many of which have been composed by BankStep users Most but not all patches are set up as a composition of several Snapshots You can play either individual Snapshots or the entire composition To play the composition click on the Composer button in the Toolbar To play individual Snapshots select one from the drop down Snapshot menu then click on the Run Stop button Computer System Requirements BankStep runs on all Windows operating systems from Windows 95 on This includes Windows 95 98 ME XP 2000 and NT4 While there are no hard limitations on CPU speed we recommend 300 MHz or faster for best results You also need a MIDI compatible sound card or interface A graphics display of at least 800x600 High Color 16 bit or True Color is recommended For best results system memory should be at least the minimum recommended by your version of Windows Software Synthesizer Compatibility BankStep has been tested extensively for compatibility with popular software synthesizers such as Reaktor VAZ2 ABox GigaSampler GigaStudio and Pulsar When using BankStep to control a
68. mes a Player button for your whole composition not just the currently displayed Snapshot If the Composer button appears not to be working it is because the Composer button is set to Off when you set Snapshots to respond to MIDI Program Change instead of the Composer play list To turn the Composer Button back on select Options from the main menu and remove the check from the checkbox that says ProgChg gt Snapshots It is very simple to create a MIDI file from the default snapshot If you want to do this now jump to the Transport Controls below But the real fun begins when you have multiple Snapshots and you arrange them into a playing sequence and then record the whole sequence Play List Composer Msrs 8 1 Snapshot Step Misr Snapshot 8 Maj Same Inst a00 E 010 Minor Flute Add Slow Balls 00l 004 009 Medium Asian S a iE Slow Balls Fent 002 006 007 Easy Whole Pe Insert Fast F 003 003 004 Fast Min Delete e gal Fast Min 004 003 005 Easy Whole pa Easy Whole 005 E 006 O02 Slow Balls Fen i gt al a OneWhole _e wmolayer Easy Whole Fent Down Medium Asian Medium Asian Begin End B The Snapshot source box The box on the left labeled Snapshot is your Snapshot list exactly as it appears in the Snapshot drop down menu on the Tool Bar The idea is to create a list of these snapshots for BankStep to automatically sequence through when you click on the Transport Run button The play list
69. mns one column for each MIDI channel or for each note in Drum mode At first the only inputs you will need to set are Clock and Note Other values are either preset to default values or may be ignored until you have a specific need to change them Volume defaults to 127 Velocity defaults to 112 You will see these levels on the MIDI module as little bar meters Blue for Velocity Green for Volume file C vbp BankStep Help index htm 2 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 48 PM BankStep User Manual 0 Piano1 3 Honky tonk 5 E Piano 2 6 Harpsichord The MIDI module has a number of cool features you will want to become familiar with eventually such as the ability to set delay on for each note automatic volume fade in and fade out and micro tone tunings using Pitch Bend For a complete description of these and other features see the MIDI Module page BankStep can make standard MIDI files that can either be used directly such as a web page MIDI file or imported into a composition program for further modification See the Composer page for information on making MIDI files Saving Your Work Individual patches are always saved as a Snapshot available on the toolbar as a camera icon Whatever patch is showing in the Snapshot will be the one that gets the changes and you do not have to worry about loosing a snapshot it is always saved When you create a new Snapshot camera icon whatever snapshot patch you are working on is copied to the
70. n into one see below We want your feedback Customer feedback whether favorable unfavorable or just suggestions and wish list items is essential to the process of making software that works well We really do want to hear from you Please email your comments suggestions and any other wish list items to support algoart com BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs appendix htm 2 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 56 PM BankStep Credits BankStep Example Patches The BankStep patches in the Example directory contain many different BankStep configurations to get you started and to give you a sampling of what you can do with BankStep A few patches are more or less blank created as examples for you to build your own patches upon These will not have an author listed Of the user created patches with the author s name in the title bar you can play many as complete compositions by clicking on the tool bar Compose button E Most patches have multiple Snapshots that you can select from the drop down toolbar Snapshot menu then press Run Stop to play just the Snapshot ti foo Unnamed gt Virtually all of the patches have some description of them by their authors To see the author s notes click on the tool bar Notepad button Our thanks to the BankStep users who created the example patches listed below with the compositions they donated
71. n one Dups Removes all duplicate values throughout the sequence Scatter Randomly reposition values from Start to Length steps Sort Ascending sort from Start of Length steps HSort Harmonic sort Sorts values from Start to Length steps according to selected sort key which you can access by right clicking on the button The sort key is a list of up to 12 chromatic scale numbers 0 1 2 11 The chromatic scale degree which is the value modulus 12 is matched against each of the keys in order with the matched values moved to the front Thus if you use a table with the values 0 7 4 all the octaves will be moved to the start of the table the 5ths after that followed by the major 3rds and then the other values in the original order To change or edit a sort key Ctrl Click on the HSort button and the key editor pop up appears Harmonic Sort Keys ES okl 07543982106111 Harmonic order Common Sort Keps Description 1 07543982106111 Hamonic order Common Ei 07543982101116 Harmonic order Tritone at end as 1359 Ham senes 1 3 5 7 9 11 19 15 17 1921 27 Click on one of the 16 buttons to select a key Click on OK to keep changes and exit click on the upper right x to exit without changes file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs row htm 3 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 52 PM BankStep Row Module Keys 1 3 are the prebuilt keys and can not be changed keys 4 12 can be user created and edited To make a key simpl
72. nd use the input button for the control value just as with the preset CC buttons Key AfterTouch The 4 inputs with text input boxes labeled KA may be used to send Key Aftertouch messages Use the text box to set the key number and the input button for the value Alternate Tunings using MIDI Pitch Bend The MIDI module has the ability to use MIDI Pitch Bend messages in conjunction with the normal Note messages to achieve microtonal tuning When you check Use PB Tuning the module switches to microtone tuning and you will see a drop down list of the tunings that are available If you are using more than one MIDI module the PB Tuning setting will be the same for all modules PB Tuning is disabled for any MIDI modules using Drum Mode however it works fine to mix your atonal drums with microtone tuned instruments The PB Tuning mode works by separating the scale step and octave from the Note input and then translating the scale step for the particular scale selected into MIDI Note and Pitch Bend messages A default tone table that contains the scale information is loaded automatically when BankStep first runs Click here to view a descriptive listing of the default tone table You can create custom tone tables with the MIDI MicroTone program which is available separately on the Algorithmic Arts web site This program gives you the ability to modify the tuning tables and to create new ones without having to deal with how the tuning data is form
73. next MIDI note by sending a Note On message The action of the Clock input is modified by the Width setting file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs midi htm 3 of 7 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM BankStep MIDI Module Width The Width input controls how the Note On works as well as its duration When set to any number gt 0 it will cause the note to play for that number of ticks If the duration runs over to the next clock cycle the note will go off for 1 tick then go on with the next clock tick In this mode with Width gt 0 you can use Delay to delay note onset by the number of ticks set Makes nice arpeggios With Width set to O the default the note On and note Off is set by the Clock input gate The On edge of the clock sends a Note On and the Off edge of the clock sends a Note Off With Width set to 1 any lt Q the Clock input is ignored and a new note is generated when the note value changes This is the legato mode in SoftStep You can set the Delay input to turn the note off before the note changes which is most useful for killing that last Note On Delay When Width is 1 or greater Delay sets the delay in ticks between the start of a new Clock pulse and the actual sending of the MIDI Note On message when Width is 1 or less if Delay is greater than 0 it sets the maximum time in ticks the note will remain on Note The MIDI note value 0 127 The actual value sent to MIDI is the sum of the Note input and the two Transp inputs
74. not the last saved patch file If you want to revert to the last saved patch file use Revert New is duplicated in the File Control Buttons in the Toolbar Not available in Player Revert reloads the unnamed QuickSave file This will revert BankStep to the latest of 1 the setup that was automatically loaded when you first started up BankSave 2 the last BankSave file you Opened 3 the last QuickSave Open invokes a standard Windows dialog box to open a previously created BankStep file Duplicated in the File Control Buttons in the Toolbar BankStep system files have the extension bsp they save the state of BankStep including Snapshots and all parameter values and connections of all the Snapshots There are two auxiliary file types that may be used with BankStep which are automatically loaded when the bsp file is loaded if any are in the same directory and have the same filename as the bsp file These are BioSequencer table files bst Pitch Bend Tuning table files pbt Normally BankStep uses the default versions of these files which is always loaded automatically when BankStep is run if you load an bsp file that also includes one of the auxiliary files and subsequently load another bsp file that does not include one then the default auxiliary file is loaded again QuickSave saves the current setup in an unnamed fast load format it is the same file that is automatically saved upon exit and loaded when you
75. ns a number of possible DNA sequences might represent the same protein sequence file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs aatable htm 9 28 2002 8 56 54 PM BankStep Module Layout BankStep Module Layout The Module Layout utility is used to select and position the modules for custom layouts You can select any number of any of the available BankStep modules and place them as you wish You can save layouts to be reused recommended or you can create new layouts for each composition Layout by Algorithmic Arts Banks aes 3 Rows Gates JEA seH xknb 2 gt 4x10 Short Delete Last Clk amp Bnki8 A al A KS LSW LSwitch Ran Rand Sam Sample Neg Negate Add Add Sch Scale Sem Semiln 6402480 1024x763 Modules are represented to scale as squares with the module label in the upper left Modules that have a variable size such as Banks will also show their size Creating Modules The list of all available modules is on the left Create modules by clicking the module name in the list and dragging it to the layout area The first module created will be placed in the upper left corner Once created modules can be positioned by clicking on them and dragging them to the new position Modules can be positioned against each other by dragging them onto other existing modules Dropping onto the left side of a module aligns the module with the bottom left of the target module dr
76. o revisit a patch you have saved select it from the list in the drop down menu If you select the MIDI Program Change option in the Options pop up you can change patches with a MIDI Program Change from an external MIDI device You can have up to 128 Snapshots numbered 0 127 per composition S File Has Changed LED When you have made a change in BankStep the LED graphic to the right of the Snapshot drop down will go on indicating there has been a file change and you will be asked if you want to save the current file when you exit open another file or clear the workspace with New You can manually turn the LED on or off and thereby set or clear the file save warning by clicking on the LED If you find this file save warning message annoying you can disable it in the Options pop up by checking No Change Warning 120 IHH 2 Tempo Controls Use the Tempo slider bar to change system tempo Range is from 20 to 240 beats per minute The four LED indicators to the right of the bar indicate tempo lower left green timing errors upper left red MIDI input upper right magenta and MIDI output lower right blue When BankStep is in Slave mode synchronized to an external MIDI device or another instance of BankStep the Tempo control is disabled as tempo would be controlled by the Master MIDI device See the Options page for information on setting MIDI Sync all Notes Off With MIDI sometimes you get stuck notes Press
77. olume Lag This is not a MIDI message input rather it controls the lag of the Volume input When set to 0 the default Lag is disabled and changes in the Volume input are sent immediately when set to any positive value changes in Volume are sent incrementally as specified by the Lag value Lag is useful for automatic fade in and fade out Lag values are in milliseconds 5 for each lag step with larger values having slower lag This control is essentially identical to the Lag module but specific to the Volume input value Pan CC 10 0 63 pans left 64 default is center and 65 127 pans right Prog Program Change Selects the instrument to play Many synths and virtually all sound cards use General MIDI values to specify instruments General MIDI values are available on the value input pop up as the drop down menu located under the OK button Bank Bank Change Some synths contain more than 128 instruments the maximum you can reach with the Program Change alone For these there is a Bank change which sets one of several available sets of instruments to be available to the Program Change The exact number of banks is dependent of the synthesizer and some synthesizers do not respond to standard Bank change messages at all although most modern synths do While Program Change is a specific MIDI message and does not use a CC Bank Change uses a combination of two CC s 0 and 32 PBend Pitch Bend This is the MIDI message that is sent out
78. ommend 300 MHz or faster for best results You also need a MIDI compatible sound card or interface A graphics display of at least 800x600 High Color 16 bit or True Color is recommended For best results system memory should be at least the minimum recommended by your version of Windows Software Synthesizer Compatibility BankStep has been tested extensively for compatibility with popular software synthesizers such as Reaktor VAZ2 ABox GigaSampler GigaStudio and Pulsar When using BankStep to control a softsynth we recommend a minimum CPU speed of 500 MHz and at least 64 MB of system memory Most soft synths do not have their own MIDI drivers and therefor require a program called a MIDI Loop Back in order to run them with SoftStep or any other MIDI generator This gives you a set of virtual patch cords where you can send the output of SoftStep to a Loop Back input then connect your soft synth to the same Loop Back output These programs are available as free downloads they are easy to install and once installed they are trouble free BankStep works very well with any of the several free MIDI Loop Back drivers such as Hubi s MidiLoopBack Win 95 98 MidiY oke Win98 2K XP or Sonic Foundry s Virtual Midi Router Win98 2K XP BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help index htm 4 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 48 PM BankStep Overview BankStep Overview
79. opping on the right half of file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs layout htm 1 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Module Layout the target aligns the module with the top right of the target The same method can be used when first creating a module by placing the drag cursor of the module to be created on to the left to align with bottom left or right to align with top right side of an existing module You can also place modules anywhere in the grid workspace Modules wil snap to the grid or to the half grid Deleting Modules Delete modules by dragging them into the lower right corner of the layout area Release the mouse button when the lower left and upper right corners are out of view You can also use the Delete Last button to remove the last module created Screen Size The pull down menu in the upper left sets the screen size The actual screen size will be determined by the module layout BankStep will size itself to fit the modules Setting the layout screen size only sets the workspace size and gives some indication of the screen size the module layout will occupy Modules All modules available to BankStep are listed in the selection box along the left of the workspace Modules are listed in a particular order which is the order the modules will be calculated when BankStep runs In general timing and control modules are calculated first and MIDI output calculated last This order will work properly in nearly all cases In
80. or Slave When in Slave mode modules do not process unless the Master device is sending out MIDI Sync clocks Slave mode also disables the Tempo Control as tempo is controlled by the Master MIDI device MIDI Sync defaults to None and the setting is not remembered You will have to select this option for each session in which you want to use MIDI Sync Remote Control When Receive is selected SoftStep s Transport buttons are remotely set by MIDI Start Stop and Continue messages When Send is selected BankStep will send these messages when the Transport buttons are clicked This control is not remembered the default is not checked You will have to select this option for each session in which you want to use MIDI Remote Control When Send mode is selected BankStep sends the Start message when the Run button is pressed at the beginning of a play list or after the Reset button has been clicked When Run is clicked to resume play that had been interrupted by the Stop button BankStep sends the Continue message When Receive mode is selected BankStep responds to a Start MIDI message with a Reset Run action and to a Continue message with just a Run action and no Reset General BankStep Options The remaining options are independent of which MIDI Port you select or in the case ProgChg gt Snapshots below can be independently set to any MIDI Port ProgChg gt Snapshots file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs options htm 2 of 4 9 28 2002
81. or slow computers that might vary tempo slightly when playing in real time as other tasks such as moving the display window are also running The images above show the Transport Controls with the play list box closed Click on the book icon to open and close the play list Nothing changes whether the play list is open or closed just the view Closing it just saves on screen space To create a MIDI File set the Begin and End markers to the play list steps you want to include in the file If you have only the default AutoSnap snapshot this is already set in the play list with an X in the Begin End column of the play list which means recording will start and end on the same step The default number of measures that will be recorded per step is 8 but you can change that to whatever you like by entering the value into the text box below the big blue readout box and then clicking on the blank button to its right to enter the value into the currently selected play list item the value shows up ready to start counting down in the blue readout box You may audition what you will be recording by clicking on the Play button the Pause button will stop the playlist sequencer but it does not stop the BankStep modules from playing See the section on System Flags for information on how to set up modules to recognize the transport controls The Stop button also stops the play list from sequencing the difference from Pause is that it also sets BankStep
82. ple melody line right away If it does not the easiest way to tell if your computer is set up to play MIDI is to find a MIDI file anything with the extension mid and double click on it Do this when BankStep is not running Media Player or whatever your default MIDI player is should pop up and start playing the MIDI file If it does not you need to figure out what it will take to play a MIDI file with the default Windows MIDI player Once you have MIDI sound exit all your other MIDI software such as Media Player or any MIDI sequencer programs that may be running and start up BankStep BankStep can co exist with just about any other MIDI or audio or soft synth program but keep it simple at first Listening to the Example Patches BankStep comes with several example patches many of which have been composed by BankStep users Most but not all patches are set up as a composition of several Snapshots You can play either individual Snapshots or the entire composition To play the composition click on the Composer button in the Toolbar To play individual Snapshots select one from the drop down Snapshot menu then click on the Run Stop button file C vbp BankStep Help index htm 3 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 48 PM BankStep User Manual Computer System Requirements BankStep runs on all Windows operating systems from Windows 95 on This includes Windows 95 98 ME XP 2000 and NT4 While there are no hard limitations on CPU speed we rec
83. ps in a feedback loop where the Clock module steps the Bank module which in turn supplies timing information for the Clock module Inputs Ticks Value Value button is to the right of the light blue Sync Free button Sets the clock tick rate Lower values are faster except a value of 0 sets 12 ticks eighth note and 1 sets 24 ticks quarter note When in Free Run mode you can set the tick value to any number up to 9999 ticks in Sync mode values of 3 100 given tick value See tick chart below for input values gt 100 Red LED Hold Logical On gate stops holds the clock and clears the clock outputs to Off Red LED highlights when Holding Logical Outputs Clk X 1 The normal clock pulse represented by the first yellow of the output LEDs along the top of the module Clk X 2 Clock Pulse at half rate Represented by 2nd first orange output LED Clk X 3 Clock Pulse at1 3 Represented by 3rd output LED Clk X 4 Clock Pulse at 1 4 rate Represented by 4th output LED Tick Values for Gates modules and Clock modules in Sync mode file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs clock htm 1 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Clock Module Tnput Ticks Note Value Value 0 12 Eighth 1 24 Quarter Input Ticks See Note Values to translate Note Values 96 Whole Note 128 triplet Double 144 dotted Whole 192 Double Whole 256 triplet Quad 288 dotted Double 384 Quad Whole 512
84. put Sem X The semitone of the input value Oct Octave Module Produces the octave component of the input value Normally this is an integer division by 12 with the remainder discarded When a MIDI module is set to use microtone scales the divisor is changed from 12 to whatever the microtone scale steps are Special Blue Mode button Click in for octave numbers 0 9 out for MIDI values Octave numbers may be connected to the Octave input of the MIDI module when it is set to microtone scales Input In Input Values The value to have its octave extracted from Value Output Oct X The octave of the input value file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs semitone htm 1 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM BankStep Semitone Modules BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs semitone htm 2 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM BankStep Arpeggio Module Bio Bio Sequencer Module po TE 1 999 bglob m a TStart Sark Or 4 DNA T EmA G3 ods G LIVILWVVED FLFICIFDCI ERSLFYLLF PET 7VTNAQ STLICIYSIF PHNLLACHSE LBETTTNECI The Bio Sequencer module reads DNA or protein sequences prepared by the Bio Editor which is available from Algorithmic Arts as a separate program The bio seqences are stored as a bst file by the Bio Editor However BankStep includes a default bio sequence file preloaded with several example DNA and protein sequ
85. re distinguished by different color buttons While you are free to specify your own color scheme in the example images Value inputs are blue and Logical inputs are red When you click on a button you will see different pop up menus for each of the two input types and the list of possible connections will be different Connect Bnk A Input 1 Yalue 0 af OK Cancel qi t 32nd founs Brand Piano D 0 J oO N E to ho s o file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs input htm 1 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 51 PM BankStep Input Pop Up Bnk B BT Enk BE Enk BG Enk B Ay Enk BS Enk E T Enk C bG Enk C bT Enk CE Enk CG Enk C Aw Bat G4 Gat 4 GA Gata Ti GatA T2 Gat A T3 Gat A T4 Gat 4 TA Lag A E Neg Mot A r A Enk CS Enk E T Clk A 1 Clk A 2 Clk A 3 Chk A 4 Cnt A Fip Gat AC Gat AE Gat4 G1 Gat4 G2 Gat4 G3 Ran cre Ran cd Ran c8 Tat 4 lt gt ee Tst 4 gt Tat Value Connections Value connections may be numbers or outputs from other modules or system values Numbers may range from 9999 to 9999 but as MIDI is limited to 0 127 this is the Value range you will use most of the time Numbers are listed in the left panel of the Value input pop up Just click on a number and it will become the input to the module and appear as its label For numbers not listed you can type it in the text box in the upper left of the pop up You can use the inc dec arrows to adjust the number in small
86. s SoundBlaster sound cards use a non standard MIDI Bank Change protocol If your sound card is any of the SB type cards including SB Live and Audigy cards check this option to enable MIDI Bank Change to work properly with these cards Font Warning Off When BankStep starts up if it detects you are using a non standard font size it will give you a warning that some components may not display properly Check if you would rather not see this warning If you are using standard fonts this option is grayed out Ran Seed file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs options htm 3 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Options Sets the seed to be used by the Random number generator The random generators will repeat the same sequence whenever BankStep is restarted as when the Toolbar Run Start button is clicked This gives you a stable repeatable composition even if you use random numbers If you want to always start with a random series set Ran Seed to 0 WN Delay You can delay the onset of the whole note count available as the Control Flag WNotes by setting aa value in whole notes here Whole note counting starts after the internal clocks are reset as when Run Stop is clicked and after the delay set here Latency Latency is the amount of head start MIDI messages have so they can be sent out to the synthesizer or sound card with no perceived timing inaccuracies When first installed Latency is set to 0 as this gives the best per
87. s that define your BankStep workspace You are free to create Layouts from any combination of any number of modules once the layout is created it becomes the template for the workspace you have defined Layouts have no connections or settings they are only the unconnected modules Therefore there is no need for Layouts in the BankStep Player and the Layout menu does not appear in the Player Load Layout Load a previously constructed Layout file The layout file is loaded into BankStep then it is converted into an empty BankStep patch which becomes the current patch as if you had loaded it from a patch file After loading a Layout you are free to start making settings and connections and you can create Snapshots or save the patch just as with any other BankStep patch Edit Layout Opens the Layout utility where you can edit the current module layout scheme or to create your own from scratch When you create a Layout you choose which modules to work with and how they are positioned After a Layout is created the modules become fixed much as if they were bolted into an equipment rack While you do have the option of changing a Layout at any time modifying a layout resets any saved module connection patches just as you would have to remove patchcords from a hardware rack before rearranging or adding to the modules in a rack Help Menu file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs mainmenu htm 2 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Main Men
88. seq htm 4 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 54 PM Amino Acid and Codon Table 20 Amino acids their single letter data base codes SLC and their corresponding DNA codons Amino Acid SLC DNA codons Isoleucine I att ATC ATA 2 leucine L IETT CTC CTA CTG TTA TTG Valine v GTT GTC GTA GTG Phenylalanine TIT TIC Methionine Mm Be Alanine A oct GCC GCA GCG o Glycine G ceT GGC GGA GGG proline Pp ccr ccc cca CCG Threonine ACT ACC ACA ACG Serine s TCT TCC TCA TCG AGT AGC lTtyrosine y Barn TAC Tryptophan oOo pE iee o Glutamine sd CAA CAG Asparagine N AAT AAC Histidine CAT CAC Glutamic acid GAA GAG Aspartic acid sd GAT GAC Arginine R CGT CGC CGA CGG AGA AGG Stop codons Stop TAA TAG TGA In this table the twenty amino acids found in proteins are listed along with the single letter code used to represent these amino acids in protein data bases The DNA codons representing each amino acid are also listed All 64 possible 3 letter combinations of the DNA coding units T C A and G are used either to encode one of these amino acids or as one of the N OO Fl DG Z O SS KK ajal wv ajl Prj oO S Sy Ss ey a three stop codons that signals the end of a sequence While DNA can be decoded unambiguously it is not possible to predict a DNA sequence from its protein sequence Because most amino acids have multiple codo
89. set Run Stop to Run and a pulse at the Reset input will set Run Stop to Stop Inputs Yellow LED Set Logical A pulse at this input causes the output to go On and stay On until the Reset input gets a new pulse at which time the output will go Off and stay there until the Set input gets another pulse etc Orange LED Reset Logical A pulse at this input causes the output to go Off and stay Off until the Set input gets a new pulse at which time the output will go On and stay there until the Reset input gets another pulse etc This input is ignored when the blue Feedback button is clicked in Logical Output Flp X Results of the Flip Flop operation BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs flip htm 9 28 2002 8 56 57 PM BankStep Sample Module Sam Sample Module In FF 0 Emulates an analog Sample amp Hold A clock pulse reads the value at the In input and holds it as the module output until another clock pulse is received Input Yellow LED Logical Clock pulses at this input reads the Value at the In input and holds it as the output In Input Value Value to be sampled Value Output Sam X The last In value sampled BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs samp htm 9 28 2002 8 56 57 PM BankStep Delay Module Diy Delay Mod
90. signatures in real time To summarize Note takes the scale step of the note you want to play You can transpose this by octaves x 5 or x 12 or x 19 or whatever the number of scale steps for the scale Root takes an offset into the scale It should only be in the range of 0 to scale steps 1 And Octave takes the octave to play in This is in the MIDI octave range of 0 9 Setting Octave to 5 for example will always produce a pitch of standard middle C if Note and Root are 0 The Octave module can be set to extract octave numbers from MIDI note numbers The drop down menu listbox that appears when PB Tuning mode is selected selects which of the 128 possible tune tables to use The number of scale steps is indicated in the list just before the scale name One important factor in successful use of PB Tuning is that your synth s Pitch Bend Range must be properly set up This is done automatically by BankStep whenever it restarts as when the toolbar Run module is clicked or when a file is first loads but it is a good idea to check a synth when using PB Tuning for the first time to see if it responded properly to the range setup messages You can usually tell by selecting a harmonic table such as Basic Just Intonation and playing a scale on it If in doubt you can download SoftStep and run the included test patch file called TestTone ssp BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankS
91. t input would be selected by a value of 0 3 6 etc The selected input is indicated by the highlighted red LED Red LED Value Inputs These inputs are routed to the output unchanged The active input is indicated by the highlighted red LED file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs switch htm 2 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Random Modules Value Output Sel X The unchanged value of the selected input BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs switch htm 3 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 55 PM BankStep Random Module Tst Test Module Tst A A Or o ES Compares the A input with the B input and produces 3 logical outputs based on the test of A equal to B A greater than or equal to B and A greater than B Available in Short version with the 3rd input hidden Tests are always A relative to B Thus A greater than B is the same as B less than or equal to A A greater than or equal to B is the same as B less than A A special mode is available by setting either the A or B input but not both to 9999 In this case the other input will compare its current input with its previous input This is most useful for detecting when a value changes Also useful for converting a changing value into a clock pulse Inputs A Value Input to test against B input Set to 9999 to compare B input with previous B input B Value Input to test ag
92. t while we try to answer all tech support questions as quickly as possible those that are already covered in the online manual do not receive the same high priority and often will be answered simply by a manual reference Update Notification While we do not send out unsolicited email spam we do have a mailing list you may easily subscribe and unsubscribe to Even then we only send out email when we have something new to pass on to you such as notice of a new version To subscribe or unsubscribe to our mailing lists visit the Algorithmic Arts Support Page BankStep File Compatibility BankStep Player can read and play any file created with BankStep 2 0 however BankStep 2 0 and Player can not read BankStep 1 0 files nor can BankStep 1 0 read files created with BankStep 2 0 Name Stamping Your Compositions All compositions created by registered BankStep users will have their name stamped into the bsp file which is displayed on the BankStep title bar when the bsp file is loaded Files created by one registered user but modified by another will have both names listed with the original creator listed first Maximum Number of Modules file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs appendix htm 1 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 56 PM BankStep Appendix It is unlikely you will run out of modules when creating your layouts The maximum number of any one kind of module you can create is 99 Modules are named with the module names plus a letter A B C
93. te On Off states Ons becomes Off Offs becomes On Flip again to restore Pattern Button Sets the On Off pattern as set by the 8 On and Off buttons below which sets the number of gates turned on followed by the number turned off for each cycle For example setting button 2 of the top On row and button 3 of the bottom Off row results in a pattern of 2 gates on 3 gates off 2 on 3 off etc OK Button Exit the Fill pop up and return to BankStep Same as the upper right x exit button BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs gates htm 3 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 52 PM BankStep Row Module Row Sequencer Row Module This is a row of 2 48 sequencer knobs similar to a Bank sequencer knob row The selected output knob is highlighted blue knob selection can be by the value input or if the input is Off 0 by clicking on a knob The number of knobs in the module is set from 2 48 at the time the module Layout is created The Row module can be used in several ways It can be used simply as a value selector such as pushbuttons on a car radio it can be used to expand the number of rows in a Bank sequencer by connecting the input to the Bank sequencer or stage value output and it can be used as a translator by setting the knobs as translation values and connecting the input to the raw value output to be translated Inputs Stage Input Value
94. tep Help alldocs midi htm 7 of 7 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM BankStep Lag Module Lag Module ag OFF 0 Lag causes the output to change slowly from one step to the next with intermediate steps along the way It is useful for making gradual changes in MIDI parameters such as Pan MIDI module Volume inputs have this same Lag function built in The top In input takes the value to be lagged the bottom input is the lag time in steps of 5 milliseconds Higher lag times change more slowly and 0 is an instant change with the input going directly to the output Lag works equally well with a value change at the input or a value change from a Snapshot change Inputs In Input Value The value to be lagged The output effectively chases this input lagging by an amount set by the Lag input Lag Lag Value The amount of lag to apply Value Output Lag X Result of the lag function applied to the In input BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs lag htm 9 28 2002 8 56 53 PM file Cl vbp BankS tep Help alldocs tuningtable txt 6icar Scales starting from compiled from the Scala library http www xs4all nl huygensf scala Label Nam Scale size Q 12 Tone 12 Basic Just Intonation 12 15 8 2 Augmented Just 12 225 128 15 8 3 Kepler s Just Scale 12 925 1528 4 Pythagorean 12 6561 4096 27 16 59049
95. the sum 25 as its output Making it Go Logical values are used mainly to control timing and routing They may be either Gates or Triggers Gates are On for the duration triggers are On for only one tick a tick is one calculation cycle defined by MIDI as of 1 24th of a quarter note Triggers and Gates that are On for some number of ticks then go Off are collectively referred to as pulses For example the output of a Clock module which is a gate that cycles between some number of ticks On then some number of ticks Off is called a clock pulse The basic if simplified chain of events is Bank sequencers are stepped by clock pulses the values from the Bank Sequencer may be combined and modified in innumerable ways and eventually they end up going to the MIDI module as Note Velocity etc values The clock pulses that stepped the sequencers are used as timing events to trigger the MIDI Notes Clock pulses are created by a Clock modules as well as other modules that can generate Logical gate and trigger outputs such as Bank Sequencers which have settable gate and trigger outputs for each stage in addition to the Value stage outputs Clock modules have 4 outputs regular clock plus clock 2 3 and 4 you can see the LED for each output flash as the Clock module ticks Out to MIDI The MIDI module combines 4 channels in one module When you click on the MIDI button you will see a very large field of connection buttons set up in 4 colu
96. this button to send All Notes Off messages to all MIDI channels almost always this will clear the stuck notes BankStep is inhibited from sending MIDI while this button is depressed Click it a 2nd time to resume normal operation The MIDI data sent by this switch is configurable See the Options page for details gt Run Stop Sets the Run Stop Control Flags so you can start and stop playing from the tool bar Duplicates the transport controls in the Composer utility page The Run Stop button does not of itself run the BankStep modules It can not because BankStep modules are always running Every MIDI tick every module is processed What the Run Stop does is set a value that reports to SoftStep modules what its state is and it also sends out a message when the transition is from Stop to Run that tells certain modules to reset themselves It is very much up to the composer how the Run Stop button affects the patch file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs toolbar htm 2 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 50 PM file Cl vbp BankS tep Help alldocs toolbar htm and some patches do not use it at all When changing from Stop button out to Run button in a 1 tick trigger is sent that is readable as the TStart Logical module input additionally some modules such as Gates and MIDI will reset upon this transition Ball Clock Pops up or closes the Ball Clock window which contains a ball that travels across the window changing direction when
97. to restart from the beginning when Play is next clicked When playing the blue readout box shows which measure of the step is being played and the Msrs readout above it shows total measures remaining measures file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs composer htm 3 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 50 PM BankStep Composer When you are ready to record click on the Stop button then click on the Record button just under the LED graphic The dark red dot will turn bright red but nothing else will happen Now click on the Play button and recording will commence While you are actually recording the MIDI file the red LED above the Record button will turn on After the last measure is recorded the transport automatically sets the Stop button and the recording LED goes back off At this stage the MIDI File has been recorded to a temporary file You can save the file in any directory by clicking on the Save button just to the right of the Record button This action simply copies the temporary file into the location of your choice Auditioning the MIDI File After you have recorded a MIDI file you can audition it with the MIDI file player or MIDI sequencer of your choice The topmost of the three long buttons just above the Exit button will launch your default MIDI Player On most Windows systems this will be the Microsoft Media Player but whatever you have set to be the default player the one that plays when you click on a MIDI file name is the one
98. tonk 5 E Piano 2 6 Harpsichord The MIDI module has a number of cool features you will want to become familiar with eventually such as the ability to set delay on for each note automatic volume fade in and fade out and micro tone tunings using Pitch Bend For a complete description of these and other features see the MIDI Module page BankStep can make standard MIDI files that can either be used directly such as a web page MIDI file or imported into a composition program for further modification See the Composer page for information on making MIDI files Saving Your Work Individual patches are always saved as a Snapshot available on the toolbar as a camera icon Whatever patch is showing in the Snapshot will be the one that gets the changes and you do not have to worry about loosing a snapshot itis always saved When you create a new Snapshot camera icon whatever snapshot patch you are working on is copied to the a new snap at the top of the list The delete snap button removes this last snap Files can be saved and loaded in the normal Windows manner also the current state of BankStep is automatically saved on exit and loaded again on startup You can force this unnamed quick save anytime with the menu File Quick Save or with the toolbar Quick Save disk icon button Conversely you can reload a Quick Save with the File Revert menu command Layouts are separate files that define the module layout Layouts are saved with the f
99. tput Hi High Limit Value Sets the high limit for the counter When the count reaches this value it rolls around to the Low value and continues counting If Hi is less than Lo the module counts down instead of up For use as a one shot the Hi input sets the number of ticks the logical output will be held On Lo Low Limit Value Sets the low limit for the counter This is the start value for the count When Lo is greater than Hi the count is reversed however the Lo input still specifies the starting point for the count after it reaches the Hi limit For use as a one shot Lo sets the number of ticks the logical output is held Off before going On for the number of ticks set by Hi Value Output Cnt X The count value as seen in the value output label Counter is reset to O0 when Start Stop toolbar button is clicked in Start Logical Outputs Cnt X The one shot pulse that starts upon receiving a clock pulse at the Clock input after Lo delay ticks and On for duration Hi ticks BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs count htm 9 28 2002 8 56 57 PM BankStep Arpeggio Module Arp Arpeggio Module Produces a series of 4 timed pulses upon receipt of an input pulse Inputs Yellow LED Logical A clock pulses at this input generates a new set of output pulses T1 T2 T3 Time Values Sets the delay time in ticks for the T1 T3 outputs
100. u BankStep Help opens this help document with your default browser Visit Web Site links to the Algorithmic Arts web site http algoart com Check For Newer Release links to a page in the Algorithmic Arts web site that will inform you if there is a newer release of BankStep available Register User This is where you register and install your BankStep license The BankStep Player is freeware and does not need to be registered To register enter your name and key number into the registration pop up and click on the Install button The next time you run BankStep the new registration will be effective After registeration the name you supply will appear as the author of all music created with BankStep so you should give your name exactly as you want it to be associated with your music While your copy of BankStep is keyed your name it is not copy protected and our as a book license is very liberal about allowing you to install it in secondary or laptop computers as long as you are honoring your agreement that it is used by only one person at a time About standard Windows About box that includes version and license information BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs mainmenu htm 3 of 3 9 28 2002 8 56 49 PM BankStep Options BankStep Options The Options menu is accessed from the main menu This is where you set th
101. u can just double click on the Snapshot source list on the Snapshot you want to add and it will be the same as selecting it then clicking the Add button You can also insert a selection into the play list First highlight the Snapshot you want to insert into the play list then highlight the play list step number where you want the insert to go Then click on the Insert button just under the Add button The play list will expand and the selection is inserted To delete a play list item highlight it and click on the Delete button Editing the play list You can move play list items up and down in the list by highlighting them and clicking on the Up and Down buttons Change the Begin and End markers by highlighting the position you want and clicking on the Begin or End button Set the number of measures to play Msrs column by highlighting the step and then entering the number in the text box just under the big blue Measures readout Click the button to the right of the text box to enter the number into the play list file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs composer htm 2 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 50 PM BankStep Composer Making a MIDI File Play List Com Mists B21 8 S e alfe olala wimplayer a The Transport Controls make it easy to create a MIDI file of an entire play list of Snapshots or of just a single snapshot A MIDI file created with the transport controls will always be exactly in tempo even on overloaded
102. ule OFF 0 n orm o T2 E Orr O XT A 3 tap delay line Each of the 3 outputs reflect the input delayed by the number of ticks set at the T inputs Inputs In Input Value The value to be delayed Sent to the outputs unchanged but delayed by the number of ticks set at the T inputs T1 T2 T3 Time Value The time in ticks to delay the respective T outputs by Values of 0 no delay to 9999 are allowed XT Expand Value Multiplier for the T inputs For example with an XT input of 10 and a T1 input of 77 the actual delay time for T1 would be 770 ticks Value Output Dly X T1 T3 Copy of the input delayed by the ticks set in the respective T inputs BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs delay htm 9 28 2002 8 56 58 PM BankStep Knob Module Knb Knob Module PC Simple Value knob Range is 0 127 Use click and up down drag to make large changes click and drag left right for small changes Value Output Knb X The knob value You may set the Help Tip message that pops up whenever the mouse cursor is over a Knob as well as an offset to the value and a multiplier for it with the Knob Setup dialog which can be invoked by right clicking on the Knob Letter label Setup for Knob A E zj Krob Help Tip Messagg Tool Tip Pult o Ofst o OF A non zxero Mult input causes that value to be multipli
103. ut Dat X Out Output value of the data byte at the current address The value range if 0 255 normally 0 127 if the blue data limit button is depressed Dat X 32 Output value divided by 32 The purpose of this output is to split the output into 4 ranges for a 0 127 output so you can use 4 different Bank or Row sequencer tables to translate the data into notes See the example DataBin patches for examples of how this is used Dat X 16 Output value divided by 16 gives 8 ranges for a 0 127 output Logical Outputs Dat X End True at the end of the sequence Dat X b8 High byte of the currently addressed sequence data BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs dataseq htm 2 of 2 9 28 2002 8 56 57 PM BankStep Count Module Cnt Count Module D CF or Produces a count value output of input pulses of range between Hi and Lo inputs counts backwards if Lo input is greater than Hi input Secondary function is as a one shot that produces a logical output that goes On after a delay in ticks set by Lo and then remains On for number of ticks set in the Hi input Thus this module has two different functions depending on whether the Value output or the Logical input is used Inputs Yellow LED Clock Logical Clock pulses at this input increment the count value and start a new Off Lo On Hi count sequence for the logical one shot ou
104. y type in up to 12 chromatic intervals numbers 0 11 in the order you want them to sort If a key number is repeated the sort will use the same values that number of times If a key has more than 12 number of steps any values not matched are moved into place after the sorted values with their relative places unchaged Double click on a key entry line to generate a semi random key set The main purpos of HSort is to automate the task of building note translation tables that are weighted toward a harmonic center or grouping Usually this will be used with tables that are based on frequency of occurance with the more frequently occuring values appearing at the head of the table BankStep is Copyright 2001 2002 by John Dunn and Algorithmic Arts All Rights Reserved file C vbp BankStep Help alldocs row htm 4 of 4 9 28 2002 8 56 52 PM BankStep MIDI Module Mid MIDI Module Controls 4 channels of MIDI output A control panel with inputs to the MIDI module is accessed by clicking on the upper right blue button which shows the MIDI channel s and port it is assigned to The row of blue LEDs along the top show MIDI activity They will highlight when the channel sends a Note On message The 4 sets of dual bars display MIDI Velocity light blue and MIDI Volume green Red LEDs along the bottom are Mute buttons Click to mute the channel highlights to bright red click again to allow sound To the right of the MIDI module is a list

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