Copyright: Copyright (c) 1996 Creative Technology Ltd.
Citation: Copyright (c) 1996 Creative Technology Ltd.


Contents

AWE Control

What is AWE Control?

Working with AWE Control

Troubleshooting


What is AWE Control?

AWE Control allows you to select and control different variations of effects such as reverberation and chorusing for your MIDI playback in Windows.  It also allows you to specify the synthesizer standard to be used for your MIDI playback.


Working with AWE Control

Working with Effects Engine

Working with Synthesizer Bank

Working with User Bank

Working with WaveFx

Playing Back Instruments

Selecting Other AWE Devices

Enabling Stereo Music Synthesizer

Disabling MPU-401 Emulation in Windows 95

Browsing Sound Sample Files or SoundFont Banks

Using Shortcut Menu


Working with Effects Engine

Changing Effect Variations

Changing Treble Level or Bass Level


Changing Effect Variations

To change effect variations

1	In AWE Control, click the Effect tab.

2	In the Reverberation list, click the variation that you want.

3	In the Chorusing list, click the variation that you want.

4	To apply the changes, click the Apply button.

Tip

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.


Changing Treble Level or Bass Level

To change the treble level or bass level

1	In AWE Control, click the Effect tab.

2	Move the Treble Level or Bass Level slider left or right to set the level that you want.

3	To apply the changes, click the Apply button.

Tip

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.


Working with Synthesizer Bank

Changing Synthesizer Emulation

Using Customized Synthesizer Emulation


Changing Synthesizer Emulation

To change the synthesizer emulation

1	In AWE Control, click the Synth tab.

2	In the Available Synth list, click the synthesizer emulation that you want.

3	To apply the changes, click the Apply button.

Notes

There are three standards for the synthesizer emulation: General MIDI, GS, and MT-32.  These standards take their settings from the bank files SynthGM, SynthGS, and SynthMT respectively.  However, you can also use a customized synthesizer bank that consists of a set of instruments you have arranged.

The path and filename of the SoundFont bank used by the selected emulation is displayed in the Configured Path box.

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.

You can check the hardware memory status before changing any emulation.

Related Topic

Using Customized Synthesizer Emulation


Using Customized Synthesizer Emulation

To use a customized synthesizer emulation

1	In AWE Control, click the Synth tab.

2	In the Available Synth list, click User Synth.

3	Click the Browse button to search for the SoundFont bank that you want to use.
OR
In the Configured Path box, type the path and filename of the SoundFont bank.
(If you click the down-arrow button, a list of most recently accessed files will appear.)

4	To apply the changes, click the Apply button.

Tips

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.

You can check the hardware memory status before changing any emulation.


Working with User Bank

Checking User Banks Status

Loading SoundFont Banks

Clearing User Banks


Checking User Banks Status

To check the status of user banks

1	In AWE Control, click the User tab.

2	In the Current State box, click the down-arrow button and scroll through the list to see the status of all user banks.
If a user bank is loaded, its name will appear in the list.

Notes

The path and filename of the SoundFont bank used by the selected user bank is displayed in the Configured Path box.

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.


Loading SoundFont Banks

To load SoundFont banks into user banks

1	In AWE Control, click the User tab.

2	In the Current State list, click the user bank that you want load your SoundFont bank into.

3	Click the Browse button to search for the SoundFont bank that you want to use.
OR
In the Configured Path box, type the path and filename of the SoundFont bank.
(If you click the down-arrow button, a list of most recently accessed files will appear.)

4	To apply the changes, click the Apply button.

Tips

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.

You can check the hardware memory status before loading any user bank.


Clearing User Banks

To clear user banks

1	In AWE Control, click the User tab.

2	To clear a user bank, click the user bank in the Current State list, click the Clear button and select Current User Bank.
To clear all user banks, click the Clear button and select All User Banks.

Tips

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.

You can check the hardware memory status before clearing any user bank.

You can check whether a user bank has been cleared by scrolling through the Current State list.


Working with WaveFx

Checking WaveFx Instruments Status

Loading Instruments

Clearing Instruments


Checking WaveFx Instruments Status

To check the status of WaveFx instruments

1	In AWE Control, click the WaveFx tab.

2	In the Instrument box, click the down-arrow button and scroll through the list to see the status of all available instruments.
If a sound sample is loaded, its name will appear in the list.

Notes

The path and filename of the SoundFont bank used by the selected instrument is displayed in the Sound Sample Path box.

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.


Loading Instruments

To load instruments

1	In AWE Control, click the WaveFx tab.

2	In the Instrument list, click the instrument that you want to load your sound sample.

3	Click the Browse button to search for the sound sample (.WAV file) that you want to use.
OR
In the Sound Sample Path box, type the path and filename of the sound sample.
(If you click the down-arrow button, a list of most recently accessed files will appear.)

4	To apply the changes, click the Apply button.

Notes

You can load sound samples onto your AWE device and use them as instruments during MIDI playback.

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.

You can check the hardware memory status before loading any sound samples.


Clearing Instruments

To clear instruments

1	In AWE Control, click the WaveFx tab.

2	To clear an instrument, click the instrument in the Instrument list, click the Clear button and select Current Instrument.
To clear all instruments, click the Clear button and select All Instruments.

Tips

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.

You can check the hardware memory status before clearing any instruments.

You can check if an instrument is cleared by scrolling through the Instrument list.


Playing Back Instruments

Playing on the Virtual Keyboard

Testing Instruments with MIDI Controllers

Changing Virtual Keyboard's Octave Range

Resetting MIDI Controllers

Silencing All Sounds


Playing on the Virtual Keyboard

To play back on the Virtual keyboard

1	In AWE Control, click the Playback tab.

2	In the Playback Bank list, click the bank that you want.

3	In the Instrument list, click the instrument that you want to test.

4	Click the keys on the Virtual keyboard to test the instrument.

Tips

If you want to see the current hardware settings, click the Refresh button.

If the playback's sustain is too long, click the All Sound Off button.


Testing Instruments with MIDI Controllers

To test instruments with MIDI controllers

1	In AWE Control, click the Playback tab.

2	Select the instrument that you want to test.

3	In the MIDI Controllers list, click the MIDI controller that you want.

4	Move the Controller Value slider left or right to set your desired value.

5	Click the keys on the Virtual keyboard to test the instrument.

Tips

If you do not like the effects on your instrument, click the Reset Controllers button to set the MIDI controllers to their default values.

If the playback's sustain is too long, click the All Sound Off button.


Changing Virtual Keyboard's Octave Range

To change the Virtual keyboard's octave range

1	In AWE Control, click the Playback tab.

2	Move the slider next to the Virtual keyboard up or down to set the  range that you want.

3	Click the keys on the Virtual keyboard to test the instrument.


Resetting MIDI Controllers

To reset the MIDI controllers

1	In AWE Control, click the Playback tab.

2	Click the Reset Controllers button.


Silencing All Sounds

To silence all MIDI sustain sounds

1	In AWE Control, click the Playback tab.

2	Click the All Sound Off button.


Selecting Other AWE Devices

If you have multiple AWE devices installed in your system, you can choose the synthesizer that you want to use.

To select other AWE devices

1	In AWE Control, click the Device button.

2	In Device Selection dialog box, click the device that you want.
The properties of the selected device are displayed on the right.

3	To confirm your selection, click the Select button.
To cancel changes, click the Cancel button.


Enabling Stereo Music Synthesizer

To enable the stereo music synthesizer

1	In AWE Control, click the Device button.

2	In Device Selection dialog box, click the AWE device that you want.

3	Click to clear the Allow Wavetable Synthesis Only check box.

4	Click the Select or Cancel button.

Notes

If you do not see the Allow Wavetable Synthesis Only check box, it means that your audio card does not support this feature.

When you enable or disable the stereo music synthesizer, the effect takes place immediately.  Clicking the Select or Cancel button will not affect the changes.


Disabling MPU-401 Emulation in Windows 95

In Windows 95, if you have DOS games or other software that utilize the MPU-401 port but do not support wavetable synthesis, you can use MPU-401 MIDI Emulation to allow them to use wavetable synthesis.  With MPU-401 MIDI Emulation enabled, music output to the MPU-401 port is redirected to the wavetable synthesizer.

For MPU-401 MIDI Emulation to work, ensure that you select General MIDI or MPU-401 MIDI Out as the output music device for the game or software.  If the game or software installation prompts you for the address of the music device, you need to select the value of the P parameter in the BLASTER environment (for example, P330).  You can view the BLASTER environment by typing SET BLASTER at the DOS prompt and reading the BLASTER= statement.  In the case where the P parameter is not shown or where its value does not match any of the choices provided by the game or software installation, you should select another option.

To disable MPU-401 MIDI Emulation in Windows 95

1	In AWE Control, click the Device button.

2	In Device Selection dialog box, click the device that you want from the list.

3	Click to clear the Allow MPU401 Emulation On This Device check box.

4	Click the Select or Cancel button.

Notes

The first time you start AWE Control, MPU-401 MIDI Emulation is enabled by default.

MPU-401 MIDI Emulation is not applicable to Windows applications.


Browsing Sound Sample Files or SoundFont Banks

To browse for sound samples or SoundFont banks

1	In the Synth, User or WaveFx tabbed page, click the Browse button.

2	In the Browse dialog box, select the type of file that you want to open in the List Files Of Type box.

3	Navigate through the drives and directories of your system, and click the file that you want.
OR
Type its path and filename in the File Name box.

4	Click the OK button to confirm your selection.

Note

Information of the selected file is displayed at the bottom of the Browse dialog box.  If no description is displayed, the selected file may be in an unsupported format.


Using Shortcut Menu

The shortcut menu provides you with quick assess to the controls in AWE Control.

To use the shortcut menu

1	Right-click anywhere in AWE Control.

2	On the shortcut menu, select the command that you want.


Troubleshooting

If you have trouble launching AWE Control

If you have trouble changing to other AWE devices

If you have trouble applying changes

If you have trouble with missing files


If you have trouble launching AWE Control

If you cannot start AWE Control, one of the following messages may appear:

Invalid MIDI driver (SBAWE32.DRV)! AWE Manager has problem trying to acquire the MIDI driver.  Check if the correct driver is installed.

This message indicates that the AWE Manager, requested by AWE Control, has problem locating the AWE MIDI driver, SBAWE32.DRV.  Ensure that SBAWE32.DRV is in your Windows' system directory.

Existing MIDI driver (SBAWE32.DRV) has an incompatible version which cannot be used by this AWE Control.  Please re-install the driver.

This message indicates that the AWE MIDI driver installed in your system is an older version and is not compatible with AWE Control.  You should install the latest drivers from your audio package.

Current installed driver (SBAWE32.DRV) is version x.xx. AWE Manager (AWEMANXX.DLL version y.yy) requires driver with version z.zz and above.

This message indicates that the installed AWE MIDI driver has version x.xx which cannot be used by AWE Manager version y.yy.  You need AWE MIDI drivers with at least version z.zz.

None of your EMU8000 hardware are available now.  Check if there are other instances of AWE Control.

AWE Control can be launched multiple times when supporting multiple cards.  If you have only one AWE device, then you must already have launched AWE Control.  If you have multiple AWE devices, then you must have launched AWE Control multiple times.

To verify that there are other instances of AWE Control, minimize all applications on your desktop or press ALT+TAB on your computer keyboard to search for it.

Incompatible AWE Manager (AWEMANXX.DLL) version!  AWE Control requires AWE Manager with version x.xx and above.

This message indicates that the installed AWE Manager is an older version.  AWE Control needs AWE Manager with at least version x.xx.

Current installed AWE Manager (AWEMANXX.DLL) is version x.xx. AWE Control requires AWE Manager with version y.yy and above.

This message indicates that the installed AWE Manager has version x.xx which is not compatible with AWE Control.  AWE Control needs AWE Manager with at least version y.yy.


If you have trouble changing to other AWE devices

You can choose among different AWE devices installed in your system using AWE Control.

Another AWE Control has already acquired the selected XXXXX!

This message indicates that another AWE Control is using the XXXX device that you want to use.  You can verify this from the device list in the Device Selection dialog box.  The bitmap next to the device name in the list shows an hour glass to identify itself as being busy.


If you have trouble applying changes

You can apply changes to modifications made in Effect, Synth, User and WaveFx tabbed pages.  If you cannot do so, one of the following messages may appear:

MIDI driver (SBAWE32.DRV) is currently busy!  Current operation will be aborted.  Repeat operation if necessary.

OR

AWE Manager (AWEMANXX.DLL) is currently busy!  Current operation will be aborted.  Repeat operation if necessary.

This means that AWE MIDI driver or AWE Manager is currently busy performing some other operations.  When AWE Control is busy, your mouse pointer usually changes to an hour glass.  You should wait until AWE MIDI driver or AWE Manager is not busy and try again.

The path specified has the following problem: XXXXX.  The original path will be restored.

This message appears only when you try to load SoundFont banks or sound samples (.WAV files) onto the AWE device.  This means that the path that you have specified causes the problem XXXXX and AWE Control will use the original path.

To search for the path of a file, click the Browse button or the down-arrow button next to the Configured Path or Sound Sample Path box.

There is no .SBK file selected! You are not allowed to apply this on current bank.  Choose a .SBK file using the Browse command and apply again.

This message appears when you click the Apply button in the Synth or User tabbed page.  It means that you are trying to apply changes to AWE Control without specifying any SoundFont file.

There is no .WAV file selected!  You are not allowed to apply this on current instrument.  Choose a .WAV file using the Browse command and apply again.

This message appears when you click the Apply button in the WaveFx tabbed page.  It means that you are trying to apply changes to AWE Control without specifying any .WAV file.

Insufficient Memory!  AWE Control has detected insufficient memory on your system to complete current operation!  Quit some applications and retry again.

This message warns that you have insufficient system memory to complete the current operation.  This is unlikely to happen but if it does, you should try to quit some applications before trying again.

The selected file contains unrecognized format!  Current operation will be aborted.

This message indicates that the file you attempt to load onto the AWE device has an unsupported format.  You should verify the format of the file from the Browse dialog box.

Your EMU8000 hardware has insufficient memory! Current operation will be aborted.

This message should only appear when you attempt to load SoundFont banks or sound samples (.WAV files) onto the AWE device.  You should check the available memory on your AWE device before loading any files.

Effect Types cannot be changed during MIDI playback!  Stop the MIDI playback and repeat the operation.

When MIDI is playing back, you cannot change the effect types.  You must stop the playback to change the effect types.


If you have trouble with missing files

Missing files are usually caused by an incomplete software setup.  One of the following messages may appear:

CTRESXX.DLL not found!  Please make sure this DLL is located inside your shared components directory.

CTRESXX.DLL cannot be located in the shared components directory.  If you cannot find this file, you should still be able to work with AWE Control without any problem.

The path used to locate the required file is invalid!

This message appears when you assigned a path to a file that does not exist in your system.  You should verify that the path and filename are correct.


Glossary of Terms

All Sound Off

Apply

Available Device List

Available Synthesizer Support

Bass Level

Browse...

Cancel Select Device

Chorusing

Clear Banks or Instruments

Confirm Select Device

Controller Value Slider

Current User Bank State

Device Base Address

Device ROM Version

Device Sound Engine

Device...

Effect Types

File Date & Time

File Information

File Size

Configured or Sound Sample Path

Help...

Memory Status

MIDI Controllers List

Most Recently Used Files

MPU-401 Emulation

Octave Range

On Top

Playback Bank

Playback Instrument

Quit

Refresh

Reset Controllers

Reverberation

Stereo Music Synthesizer Support

Treble Level

Virtual Keyboard

WaveFx Instrument List


All Sound Off

Turns off all Note-On immediately.  This includes Note-On with sustain pedal down.


Apply

Applies any changes made in AWE Control to the AWE device in use.


Available Device List

Displays a list of available AWE devices in the current system.  If you have multiple AWE devices, you can select any one from the list to configure the properties.


Available Synthesizer Support

Lists the available synthesizers supported by the current AWE device.  The selected synthesizer will be used during MIDI playback.


Bass Level

Defines the lower pitches (or frequencies) of sounds.  It ranges from -12dB to +12dB.  Increasing the bass level increases the volume of the lower pitches of the instruments used during MIDI playback.


Browse...

Activates the Browse dialog box where you can browse for .SBK, .SF2 or .WAV files.


Cancel Select Device

Closes this dialog box and cancels any changes in the device selection.  However, changes made to the properties are not reversible.


Chorusing

Adds depth and warmth to the sound.  This gives audio playback orchestral fullness and resonance.  There are eight different levels of chorusing.


Clear Banks or Instruments

Clears the current bank, current instrument, list of 127 banks or list of 128 instruments.


Confirm Select Device

Confirms the selection of an AWE device and closes the Device Selection dialog box.  AWE Control will subsequently display the state of this device.


Controller Value Slider

MIDI Controller slider, which you can use to vary the value of a selected MIDI controller.


Current User Bank State

Displays a list of 127 user banks and the names of the loaded SoundFont banks.


Device Base Address

Indicates the base I/O address of the selected AWE device.  This field is useful only if you have multiple devices and need to identify individual devices.


Device ROM Version

Identifies the version of ROM samples used in the selected AWE device.  Different AWE devices may have different ROM versions.


Device Sound Engine

Sound engine is the core engine that reproduces MIDI playback on the selected AWE device.  Different versions of an AWE device may have different sound engines.  An example of a sound engine is EMU8000.


Device...

Activates the Device Selection dialog box, where you can select an AWE device, and view or make changes to any existing AWE devices' properties.


Effect Types

The Reverberation and Chorusing effect types can enhance the quality of your MIDI playback.


File Date & Time

Displays the date at which the selected file was created.


File Information

Displays the information of the selected file.  This information usually describes the contents and type of the file.


File Size

Displays the size of the selected file.


Configured or Sound Sample Path

Shows the path and name of the file that is used by the current synthesizer bank, user bank or instrument.


Help...

Launches the online help for AWE Control.


Memory Status

Shows the maximum and available amount of random access memory (RAM) on your AWE device.  The green region indicates the percentage of available memory.  It decreases when you load a SoundFont bank that has embedded sound samples or a sound sample (.WAV file) onto the AWE device.


MIDI Controllers List

Displays a list of MIDI controllers, which affect the playback session in the Playback tabbed page.


Most Recently Used Files

When you click this button, a list of up to 30 most recently accessed files is displayed.  These files can be in .SBK, .SF2 or .WAV format.


MPU-401 Emulation

Enables or disables MPU-401 emulation on the selected AWE device.  When MPU-401 emulation is enabled, all MIDI output to MPU-401 is redirected to the AWE device.


Octave Range

Allows you to select from four different octave ranges for the Virtual keyboard.  The ranges are C-1 to G2, C2 to G5, C5 to G8 and C6 to G9.


On Top

When this check box is selected, AWE Control always stays on top of other windows.


Playback Bank

Displays a list of banks and allows you to select a bank for playback.


Playback Instrument

Displays a list of instruments and allows you to select an instrument from the selected bank for playback.


Quit

Ends AWE Control.  Any changes made without applying will be lost.


Refresh

Refreshes the current tabbed page or all tabbed pages in AWE Control with the AWE device's current state.  Any changes made without applying to the AWE device will not be refreshed.


Reset Controllers

Resets the list of MIDI controllers to their default values, which are defined by the MIDI standard.  Those without reset-default values will not be reset.


Reverberation

Adds a spacious quality to the sound.  Listening to a sound containing reverberation is an experience similar to listening to music at an indoor concert.  There are eight different levels of reverberation.


Stereo Music Synthesizer Support

Enables or disables the support for the stereo music synthesizer.  When this check box is selected, you cannot use the stereo music synthesizer in the MIDI Mapper.


Treble Level

Defines the higher pitches (or frequencies) of sounds.  It ranges from -12dB to +12dB.  Increasing the treble level increases the volume of the higher pitches of the instruments used during MIDI playback.


Virtual Keyboard

Allows you to test the sounds of an instrument.  You can play on this virtual keyboard by clicking your left mouse button.  Holding the mouse button down has the same effect as holding the keyboard's keys down.  Also, when you press the lower portion of a key, a higher velocity is exerted on the key, producing a sound louder than that when you press the higher portion of the key.


WaveFx Instrument List

Displays a list of instruments and the names of the loaded wave files.