Terzoid Software|
Terzoid Software |
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What Operating Systems will NoiZe run on?
NoiZe Versions 3.0 and earlier will install and run as 16-bit applications on the following versions of Windows:
NOTE: NoiZe Version 3.2 will not run on any version of Windows prior to Windows 95. If you are running Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.11 for Workgroups, you should stay with NoiZe Version3.0. Please contact Terzoid Software for availability. Show me that list of questions again. Does NoiZe support Instrument ABC?
Show me that list of questions again. Do you still sell Editor Modules separately?
Sounds neat, huh? We previously sold additional Editor Modules as add-ons to the Standard Version of NoiZe. However, one of our primary goals was to allow you to download and unlock new versions of NoiZe with an electronically delivered Registration Key, and that doesn't mesh well with the individual Editor Module idea. So we just decided to not charge at all for the Editor Modules. You only pay for the program. And you'll notice we kept the same great low price! It just seemed like the right thing to do. Show me that list of questions again. How is NoiZe different from Editor XYZ?
Our advantage is that we built in the power of Windows from the start. When NoiZe was first released back in 1995, it set the standard for Windows-based graphical Universal Editor/Librarians. Some of the other programs have recently added alot of fancy graphics and Windows-like user interfaces (that happen to look alot like NoiZe), but they still can't match the flexibility and ease of use that are essential to NoiZe. In the real estate business, it is said that the three most important attributes of a property are location, location, and location (in that order!). In editing, the three most important things are real estate, real estate, and real estate. NoiZe makes the best use of your display real estate by being able to present as many parameters in the editor view as possible. Our competitor's products don't do this very well. One of them has 3 sizes, too-small-to-read, too-big-to-use and downright-huge. The other puts all the parameters in one huge scrolling window, with a little goto menu at the top. Neither of these approaches takes good advantage of your screen space. If you want to play find-the-parameter, you might as well use the instrument front panel! Being able to see and manipulate all of your patch parameters on a single screen helps makes editing a creative endeavor instead of a challenge to your patience. We group patch parameters into logical sets such as LFO1, VDA, Filter, RealTime Control, etc. and put them onto their own movable, zoomable, hideable window. You can arrange these windows on your screen the way you need for the editing task at hand. You can save and recall five of these layouts for a given editor with a toolbar button click. One of the principal advantages of using a computer-based editor is having the ability to see hundreds of parameters in a single display instead of the few that you can see on your synth's front panel. NoiZe lets you, quickly and easily, take advantage of your display space, whether you are using a standard VGA display or a 21" XVGA screen with loads of pixels. NoiZe follows the standard Windows document-view model. That means that each Editor is a SYSEX document, like a word-processor document or a spreadsheet file, and you can open views on as many of these documents as you need to. You can open several single-patch editors, bank editors, system-global editors, (for one or several instruments) at the same time and switch between them at will, NoiZe will sync the instrument to your task each time you change active windows. NoiZe does not manage the relationships between your patches and combis/multis/performances etc. Doing this would require implementing some behind-the-scenes logic that you would have to understand fully to avoid a new set of problems. Rather than trying to be "too clever by half", NoiZe lets you deal with these relationships. This works best with our flexible "document" architecture, which lets you create banks of any size, individual patch editors, or whatever makes the most sense to you. One of the ways we make it easier to understand how a patch works is simply being able to see most or all of your parameters at once, and being able to make a change and hear the result interactively. Another is using the standard Windows technique of disabling non-relevant parameters. Just as your File-Save command is often disabled if you haven't changed anything yet, NoiZe editors disable controls (changes them to dark gray) whose value will not affect the sound in the current context. Nobody else does this as comprehensively as we do, most editing program don't do it at all! Show me that list of questions again. What's the difference between an Editor Module and a Librarian Module?
An Editor Module allows NoiZe to fetch and send SYSEX data to and from an instrument, and to edit the individual parameters within that SYSEX data. It includes all of the functionality of a Librarian Module, plus it allows you to manipulate the individual parameters within your data. So an Editor Module allows you to use the full functionality of NoiZe with an instrument, including the graphic Editor Views, generating new patches with Morph or Randomize, and so forth. A Librarian Module is basically a subset of an Editor Module. It allows NoiZe to communicate with a specific type of instrument in order to fetch and send SYSEX data, but does not include the ability to edit the individual parameters within the SYSEX data. So a Librarian Module allows you to fetch, store, organize, rearrange, save multiple versions of patches, reload, audition, categorize, search, and do most of the other functions of NoiZe, you just can't modify the individual parameters. This means that Librarian Modules don't have a graphical Editor View. (However, some Librarian Modules allow you to edit the name of a Patch, if it has one.) Some Librarian Modules provide a hexidecimal editor that allows you to edit the raw SYSEX data if you are so inclined. You also can't generate new patches using Morph or Randomize, or otherwise manipulate the individual parameters of the data. Data fetched using Librarian Modules is stored using NoiZe's Projects and Libraries along with any data from Editor Modules, so you can mix and match Librarian Modules and Editor Modules as you see fit. Another difference between Editor Modules and Librarian Modules is that NoiZe has a built-in facility for creating your own Librarian Modules that you can use and share with other NoiZe users. You can't create your own Editor Modules yet (see the following question). Show me that list of questions again. Can I create my own Editor Modules?
But one thing we'd like to make very clear - if you aren't a programmer you will probably find developing a good Editor Module a challenging task. Even though creating an Editor Module does not require any programming, it can be quite tedious. If you are a programmer, you'll need to understand SYSEX fairly well, and it will still be more difficult than you might imagine. For example, our JV-1080 patch editor interface contains 546 parameters, 1480 controls, and 94 dependency records. Not to mention the other bits and pieces. Each of these items consist of lots of numbers that require painstaking effort to get correct. If you don't care about things like parameter updates or effects parameter editing, you can cut the work down significantly, but creating an editor will never be a trivial project. Also, support would be an issue for us. It took us a long time to learn how to decipher the SYSEX heiroglyphics at the back of the instrument's manual, and we couldn't afford to teach everyone how to do it. Again, this tool would only be useful for those with lots of time and a good general grounding in MIDI, SYSEX and programming logic. If you would be interested in such a product, let us know. Show me that list of questions again. Can I order NoiZe online?
Show me that list of questions again. I live outside the USA, how can I purchase NoiZe?
The best method of international payment is by credit card, specifically VISA or MasterCard. All prices will be charged as indicated in US Dollars. Some people e-mail their credit-card information to us, but that isn't particularly secure. The best way to order is by using our Secure Online Order Form. (See the previous question.) You may also order by printing out our Text Order Form and sending it to us by mail. An alternative to credit card payment is International Money Order, which is usually available through your postal service. We've tried inter-bank wire transfer, but the fees associated with the transfer were outrageous. Unless you want to pay an extra $50 US or so, forget wire transfer. Show me that list of questions again. How do I unlock my trial version after purchasing NoiZe?
Entering your Serial Number and Registration Key into the trial version of NoiZe will convert it into a permanent version of NoiZe, NoiZe:One, or NoiZe:Lib, depending upon which version you purchased. You do not need to download a separate program for each type of NoiZe. To unlock your trial version of NoiZe:
Remember, NoiZe is not freeware. A permanent Registration Key is registered to you personally, and allows you to use NoiZe for your own personal use. You are not allowed to give, rent, sell, or distribute your Registration Key or Serial Number to anyone else, or to post it in a newsgroup, chat room, bulletin board, web page, or otherwise make it available for anyone else to use. Show me that list of questions again. Are any features disabled in the trial version of NoiZe?
Show me that list of questions again. What tools did you use to develop NoiZe?
The edit controls are our own C++ objects that are rendered directly onto the editor pane window and handle their own events. This allows us to size the controls incrementally, and uses far fewer Windows resources than would be used by Windows controls. Our controls let you edit with the mouse or keyboard. They always try to do the right thing with any input they receive. For Version 1, we used a third-party DLL to perform the low-level MIDI, but we replaced it with our own custom MIDI DLL in Version 2. This allowed us much more control over the high-bandwidth messaging required for sending and receiving SysEx messages. We can also get finer timing resolution and status monitoring, which is reflected in the blinking lights on the Communication Progress dialog and in the Midi Log. Our Version 2 MIDI DLL sat on top of the Windows MMSYSTEM DLL, which allowed us to talk to any Windows compatible MIDI interface driver. Starting with Version 3.2, we made use of the 32-bit Windows MIDI system calls, which no longer require the use of a DLL. That allowed us to port our custom MIDI DLL code over to 32-bit and link it staticly into the application executable. It's still the same rock-solid MIDI handling code with the blinking lights and everything, but now it works in the 32-bit Windows environments. |
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Last Updated: September 3, 2008 by webmaster@terzoid.com
Copyright © 1995-2010 by Terzoid Software |
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