755 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
755 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
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Setting Up A MIDI System
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A Modernz Presentation
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By Skyewalker
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<C>opyright May 20th, 1992
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<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
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What Is MIDI?
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MIDI, is the acronym for Musical Instrument Digital
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Interface, a standard set up by a group of manufacturers to
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solve the most annoying problem in using musical keyboards
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and drum machines, how to make them sync with each other. The
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original MIDI set up consisted of only a cord that connected
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two instruments, either keyboard, drum machine, or guitar
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usually, together and made it so by pressing a key on
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keyboard, or a pad on the drum machine, or a string on a
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guitar, it would in turn, trigger that same note on all of
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the other instruments in the MIDI chain. From there onward,
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MIDI evolved into what it has become today, the manufacturers
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added onto the specifications for it, and added such things
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as Computer Control, and MIDI Controlers, thus ending all the
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standardization problems in the past.
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<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
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What does the basic MIDI setup consist of?
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Nowadays you can get a "MIDI setup" by just buying two
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MIDI instruments, whether it be Drums, guitar, keyboard, or
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even a MIDI Sax, and connecting them together with a MIDI
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cord, that can cost anywhere from $5.00 to $20.00 depending
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on the length of it. A more practical setup, and far more
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interesting is that which involves the use of a computer.
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Unfortunately for us PC users, the Mac has, for along time,
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claimed the number one spot in MIDI products, but the IBM
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isn't too far behind, to start out in getting a Computer MIDI
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setup, you will need these four basic parts:
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MIDI Interface: For IBM, the safest way to go is still a card
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compatible with the Roland MPU-401 (Midi Processing Unit) it
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will say this on the box of the card somewhere. This way, you
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are assured compatibility with most MIDI sequencers, which
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leads me to the next part.
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MIDI Sequencer: This is the heart of the setup, it is the
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computer program that controls the entire MIDI system. With
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the sequencer, you will be able to record songs, change
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settings on any instrument in the MIDI chain, and control a
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wealth of other features, depending on what Sequencer you
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get. The main one's for the IBM are the Sequencer Plus line,
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(from $90.00 to around $350) and Cakewalk, and Cakewalk Pro
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($150, $299), these are not rich in graphics, but are
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respected workhorses as Sequencers go. Master Tracks Pro for
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Windows is a high priced sequencer package richly filled with
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graphics going for around $400. For the Mac, the main series
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of Sequencers are by Opcode, and Mark Of The Unicorn, they
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range in price from $100, to over $700! But for your first
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sequencer and set up, I would choose one in the $150 range,
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seeing as they will have all the features you are ever likely
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to use, unless you go professional! Then apart from the
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sequencer, there is the main part of the setup, the
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instrument itself, which requires close attention to avoid
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buying the wrong thing!
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MIDI Keyboards: Now you can get a Keyboard with MIDI In and
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Out on it, for only a little over $100, while this looks
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good,
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you will sacrifice allot for buying a low price keyboard. For
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instance, when I first bought my MIDI keyboard, I found out I
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could only play one instrument on it, only have one track and
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only use it for one sound, so in essence I could have just
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hooked it up to a tape recorder and it would have done the
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same job (almost). The thing I learned, and you should do, is
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ask to see the instruction booklet of the instrument, in
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there you will find a chart called a "MIDI Implementation
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Chart" Yes you've guessed it, there are many levels of MIDI
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specifications, as in, the more you pay, the better you get.
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In the chart, there are things you should look for, the chart
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looks complex, but is infact, very basic, but first you need
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to know some terms in the MIDI Language.
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- MIDI Channels - Just like your TV set, MIDI uses channels
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to send and receive data, there are 16 of them, the more you
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get the better off you will be. Each channel can carry one
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track of data, one sound on it, so lets say, you could record
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a piano on one track, and a bass on another. You make Piano
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channel one, and Bass channel two, that way your keyboard
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will be able to divide up the data coming in, and assign the
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appropriate sound, to the appropriate notes coming down the
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cord. There is of course allot more to this, but this is
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supposed to be a basic file, so I'm sticking to the basics.
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Make sure your Instrument has as many channels as possible on
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it, my Yamaha PSS-790 has 16 channels, and cost only $300.
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- Multi Timbral - Probably the most important thing you
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should look for on the MIDI Implementation Sheet, this simply
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means that your Keyboard will be able to play more than one
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sound at the same time, for instance, you could have a Piano,
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a Bass and a Sax all playing at the same time, but only if
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the instrument is Multi Timbral, and trust me, there are
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keyboards out there that are NOT Multi Timbral, make sure
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yours is!
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- Program Change Command - Make SURE your keyboard responds
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to this message, seeing as it is essential to have in a MIDI
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setup, I've never seen a keyboard without it, but there
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maybe, who knows!! This basically makes it, so the sequencer
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on the computer, can send a message to the keyboard, or all
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instruments in the chain, to change the sound (patch) to a
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new one, it will do that by number, lets say number 75 is
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Strings, on your keyboard, and also is in MIDI mode, by
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sending Program Change 75 to your keyboard (by changing the
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sound on the keyboard itself, or through the sequencer) it
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will change the sound to Strings, as you can see this is
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rather important.
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- Extra things to look for - Of course, there are MANY more
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things you may want on your keyboard, such as, a Pitch
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Bender, this is like a whammy Bar for the keyboard, it's
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a little wheel usually on the left side of the keyboard, just
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before the keys start, by bending this wheel up and down, the
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note will slide up and down along with it, it's good for
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strange effects, and of course can be recorded by the
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sequencer and make other MIDI keyboards bend there notes the
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same way. MIDI Controlers would also be a plus, there are
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MANY of them, and you can assign each on it's own number,
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from 1 to 127, they are such things as Reverb (sounds like
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your playing in a big hall) and Vibrato (makes the notes
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increasingly wavy) and many more, but I'll stick to the
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basic things.
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<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
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After seeing those things above, make sure the ones I outlined
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are included in your keyboard, otherwise you will
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soon loose interest in MIDI. Anyway the sheet will look
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something like this.
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-------------------------------------------------------------
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Function Transmitted Received Remarks
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Program Change X X
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Note On-Off X X Chan 1-16
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Velocity X O
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Control Change
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91 X O Reverb
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64 O O Sustain
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7 X X Volume
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-------------------------------------------------------------
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The above chart is just an example, but most will look
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just like it. If you haven't guessed, the X means you are
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able to use the feature, and the O means your keyboard hasn't
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got it, or won't respond to it. The Transmit line, means the
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features your Keyboard sends to other Keyboards, or the
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sequencer or both, in the MIDI chain, for example, it could
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send a Note On command to the sequencer, which would record
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it as a key being pressed on, at whatever note it is,
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(recorded as a number, called MIDI Note Number) and however
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loud it is (if your keyboard supports that feature) and when
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it receives the Note Off command, it will stop recording that
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note, quite simple really! The Receive of course, is what
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your keyboard can understand when other keyboards send it
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data, for example, if you use the pitch bender on another
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keyboard, and your keyboard in the chain doesn't have it,
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then the note played on the keyboard that doesn't have it,
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will be strait through, with no bending, like the one's that
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do understand that command will. An easy rule of thumb is,
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the more X's you have, the better off you are!
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<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
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Understanding the MIDI Language
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This is a complex subject to understand, but with some
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reading, and playing with your keyboards, it will become very
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simple to understand. The MIDI Language is a very primitive
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one, with not many commands at all. All the language is
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basically, is a series of terms dealing with things the
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Keyboard can do, and respond too. I will handle these terms
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in different parts.
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- Part One, Channel Voice Messages
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- These are messages relating to the Sound (or voice)
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your keyboard is playing, as in degree of pitch bend, volume,
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and so on.
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- Note On
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This command turns a note on the keyboard on, and sends three
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pieces of data.
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1- The Channel Number, 1-16 where the note should be turned
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on at
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2- The key number of the note 0-127 (0 is the lowest note 127
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the highest)
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3- The key velocity 1-127 (The Volume of the note) on
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keyboards that don't respond to Velocity (non-velocity
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keyboards) whatever the maker wants the default to be,
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usually
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127
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- Note Off
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This simply does the reverse of the Note On, by turning the
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note off, sending the same three bits of data with it, except
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the Release value of each
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- Key Pressure
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This is the overall pressure of the note, some keyboards can
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send values to the sequencer on how hard the note was hit,
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thus determining how loud the sound is, it is also called
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Polyphonic Key Pressure, or Aftertouch. Three bits of data
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are also sent.
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1- The Channel Number, 1-16 of what channel the pressure data
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should be sent
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2- The Channel Pressure Value, 0-127 (0 being no pressure,
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and 127 being the maximum)
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- Part Two Channel Mode Messages
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These affect the channels mode of operation.
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- All Notes Off
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This simply sends a message to shut off all notes being
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played throughout the MIDI chain of keyboards/other
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instruments. Three data bits are also sent:
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1- Channel Number the message should be sent on 1-16
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2- Controller Number (123) that sends the All Notes Off
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command
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3- A "Dummy" byte, simply to pad out the length of the bits
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to three, thus making programming easier.
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There are a few more things in the Channel mode messages
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section, but none that are important to the beginner, or
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average MIDI user.
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- Part Three System Common Messages (all channels)
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- Song Position Pointer
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This is a command, that a sequencer uses to keep track of
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how many beats (up to 16,384) have been played since the song
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(sequence) has been started, thus finding out where it is in
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a song. A simple application is this: Placing a song position
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pointer message at a certain place in a song, makes it so the
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sequencer and lets say a drum machine could start from any
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point in the song together. Without this, it would be
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necessary to start from the beginning of the song each time!
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- Song Select
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Simply sends a message to select a song to play, 1-128
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(usually 0-127) Suppose a drum machines tracks had been
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combined to make a complete song, and it is numbered with a
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certain number, lets say 21. The Song Select message would be
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sent on a channel 1-16, and if number 21 was sent, that song,
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number 21 would be selected by the drum machine, and ready to
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play. Not all Instruments can receive this command, or set
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there song numbers up the same way.
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- Tune Request
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Simply makes all instruments in the chain, autotune to
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A440 Hertz, it only tells the instruments to tune themselves,
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not actually tunes them, so they are not garenteed to be
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in tune with each other, just with themselves.
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- System Exclusive
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This is a way of linking up two of the same maufacturers
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keyboards, and sending data between them, but they HAVE to be
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of the same make, otherwise one keyboard lets say made by
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Yamaha, won't understand data coming from an EM-U.
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- Part 4 System Real-Time Messages (all channels)
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- System Reset Command
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This simply resets all the MIDI devices in the chain,
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setting them back to there original default settings.
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- Timing Clock
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This command establishes a good synchronization between
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the instrument used to time (usually a Drum Machine) and all
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the other instruments in the chain (the slaves) and makes
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sure they are all in time with it, only one master clock
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should be used in the chain so all devices have a common
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timing reference.
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- Start From First Measure
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This command does what it states, starts the sequencer
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and keyboards from the first measure of the song that is to
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be played.
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- Continue Start
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This command resumes playing from where it left off if a
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Stop command had been received previously.
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- Stop
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This stops all MIDI devices in the chain from playing
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whatever song they were playing, it can be restarted with the
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Start Command, or Continue Started from where it left off,
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with the Continue Start command.
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- Active Sensing
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Not all instruments use this, but it is a system
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designed to stop stuck open notes, the instrument constantly
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scans the MIDI line for activity, whenever there is none, it
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will send out a message called Active Sensing, this will
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check for activity, and if there is none, or someone removes
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the MIDI cord plugged into the machine while a note is
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playing, it will automatically shut the note off. Simply
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designed to make sure things don't mess up when playing live.
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And Finally...
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There you have it, about all the MIDI terms useful to
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know, and there aren't many more than the above mentioned
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ones either! Of course this file only touches on MIDI, and
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what to get and what not to get, just look for all the terms
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above in the MIDI sheet in the Keyboards instruction book,
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and try to shop around and get as many as you can for the
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best price, the Yamaha PSS-790 and 795 are around $300, and
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come with Note On, Off, Program Change, All Note Off, Active
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Sensing, Velocity Receive, and a few other useful commands,
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and they opperate on all 16 channels, which is a major
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surprise at that price level, and are of course Multi
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Timbral, so whatever setup you choose to get, make sure it's
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the best for your money, any computer will do, even an IBM XT
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is suitable for running quite a few Sequencers, and MIDI
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prices have gone down allot in a few short years. There will
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be a few more MIDI Text Files, on more complex subjects such
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as MIDI Controlers, MIDI Hex Editing, and more indepth looks
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at these features already mentioned here.
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The best thing to do is go out and find a good book on
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MIDI, something basic, the best one I have found, and used
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somewhat for the writing of this text file, is:
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MIDI For Musicians by Craig Anderton
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Published by Amsco in 1986.
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This book is very well written for people who don't
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understand computers, let alone music or MIDI, so go out, get
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a good book, and enjoy your future MIDI setup, there fun, and
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interesting to learn as I have found!
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<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
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*******************************************************************************
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The Modernz can be contacted at:
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MATRIX BBS
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WOK-NOW!
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World of Kaos NOW!
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World of Knowledge NOW!
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St. Dismis Institute
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- Sysops: Wintermute
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Digital-demon
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(908) 905-6691
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(908) WOK-NOW!
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(908) 458-xxxx
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1200/2400/4800/9600
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14400/19200/38400
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Home of Modernz Text Philez
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Abyssal Net host
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Abyssal Net node @666
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Quadrophonia
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Sysop: No Name Brand
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(201) 804-3916
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300/1200/2400
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UUCP NUP:QUAD
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Abyssal Net node @0488
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The Hawk's Nest
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Sysop: The Hawk
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(201) 347-6969
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300/1200/2400/9600
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NUP: logon
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Transylvania
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Sysop: Darkman
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300/1200/2400
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Abyssal Net node @1
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Slaughter House
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(609) 584-7662
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300/1200/2400/4800/9600
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Syndicate Bbs
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Sysop: Hegz
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(908)506-6651
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300/1200/2400/4800/9600
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14400/19200/38400
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TLS HQ
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Skyline BBS
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(908)363-3832
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300/1200/2400
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Sysop: Skyewalker
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Abyssal Net Node @363
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The Lost Realm
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(412) 588-5056
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300/1200/2400
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SysOp: Orion Buster
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Hellfire BBS
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SANctuary World Headquarters!
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(908) 495-3926
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300/1200/2400
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SysOp: Red
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Abyssal Net node @181
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BlitzKreig BBS
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Home of TAP
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300/1200/2400
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(502)499-8933
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<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>
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Disclaimer
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~~~~~~~~~~
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This publication is for informational purposes ONLY.
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In no way are the above authors, or organizations, liable for the
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use or misuse of the information contained herein.
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Hellfire BBS, SANctuary Magazine, SANphilez, and SANsites are all
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unregistered trademarks of SANctuary.
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Matrix BBS, Modernz, and others are unregistered trademarks of Modernz.
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Distribution of these text files is allowed...and downright encouraged.
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<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>
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<*> <*>
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<*> THIS HAS BEEN A MODERNZ PRESENTATION <*>
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<*> <*>
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<*> SEE YOU ALL AT MATRIX BBS (908)905-6691 <*>
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<*> <*>
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<*> NON-PURSUITABLE WITHOUT A GLOBAL <*>
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<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>
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