Octamed 4 as a MIDI controlled sampler?

[fatal3rror]

I've read that its possible to assign Octamed's 4 channels to separate MIDI channels and control them with a MIDI keyboard. I read the documentation and searched for tutorials related to this but only found detailed instructions related to MIDI-out rather than MIDI-in.



My end goal is to be able to control at least 4 different IFF audio samples via independent MIDI channels.


Ideally, I'd be able to use the following setup:
MIDI keyboard => DAW (Reaper running on modern computer) => Amiga 1200



Is this possible to accomplish with Octamed?


If so, what is a good resource to learn more?



If not, is there some other software that is recommend for this purpose?


I'm running OS 3.2.2.1 on an A1200 with an 030 accelerator and plenty of fast RAM for samples (128MB).

[Karlos]

I'm sure it's doable. Maybe not with v4, though. If you just want to use the Amiga as a multitimbral sampled, MidiIn is worth a look, though I've only used it on an accelerated machine.

[fatal3rror]

I have looked into MidiIn but had issues getting my samples to load.

I've been wanting to work with samples taken from SoundTracker Sample Disks which are not recognized by MidiIn. These samples are, however, recognized correctly by Octamed.

I was inspired to work with Octamed for this purpose by the following quote in the Aminet description for MidiIn:

The first program I used for playing samples via MIDI was OctaMed. It was very unconfortable, because it could play only one sample per MIDI channel. I could attach different actions like changing the sample to some keys, however. It was still not very intuitive. Then I found Bars&Pipes. I don't know if it's a good sequencer, because I only used it as a sample player. It had many limitations as well - the sample could not be longer than (I don't remember how many, but belive - not enough bytes), and it was still 8-bit sound.

I actually don't mind the limitations associated with Octamed if, of course, its controllable via MIDI as outlined in the original post. My problem is finding appropriate documentation on how to achieve this end result.


I chose Octamed over Bars & Pipes because it seemed like it was more widely used but perhaps I should give that a shot.

[Karlos]

Odd. You could always try to convert the samples. MidiIn might not be the tool if you want that specific Paula sound that you normally associate with trackers though. If memory serves it uses mixing and 14-bit replay. I just can't remember if it allows you to play back in more traditional 4ch 8 bit or not.

[KONEY]

You can for sure with SoundStudio but it's very limited. For example note-off are not read. No idea about V4 and why you need to use such an old version.

[fatal3rror]

I'll give SoundStudio and Bars&Pipes a proper try when I get a chance later this week.


I don't need V4 specifically, I only chose that version because its what I saw in various tutorials online.

[fatal3rror]

I got Octamed SoundStudio working with MIDI input!


Unfortunately, I can only seem to get a single instrument playing at once. The documentation seems to suggest that I can achieve exactly what I want using a "Slave Mode":

Using the new MIDI Slave mode, you can essentially turn your Amiga
into one of your MIDI devices! Completely ignoring the song-playing
abilities of OctaMED, you can use it to play samples, controlled by
another MIDI sequencer. Another use for the mode is to use the
combined talents of two Amigas to play true 8-channel songs!

Through the MIDI Controllers window, any MIDI controller can be set
using player commands. Neither MIDI Slave mode nor MIDI controllers
are described in detail in these help pages. Full descriptions are
in section 13 of the printed manual.

Unfortunately, its not clear how to control this mode and I can't seem to find the printed manual anywhere. Do any of you happen to know how to use "Slave Mode" or have a scanned copy of the manual?

[fatal3rror]

Problem solved!

I found Octamed Sound Studio's transcribed paper manual as a .guide file.

It is available here:
https://web.archive.org/web/19980614...:80/bin/v1.zip

It outlines how to use the Amiga as a MIDI slave device as follows:

Again, this works best in 4-channel mode, for highest quality. The procedure
is much the same as for joining two Amigas together.

1) Connect MIDI OUT (or MIDI THRU) on the external sequencer to MIDI IN on
the Amiga.

2) Load required instruments into the Amiga.

3) Set up the instruments as in step 3 of part 13.2.2.

4) On your external sequencer, play a particular Amiga sample by playing a
note through the MIDI channel corresponding to the sample's MIDICh value,
at a pitch within the sample's range (if a range is set). If you're
unsure of how MIDI pitches correspond to OctaMED pitches, switch Input
Active and Edit mode on and try entering a note, noting its pitch.

Other notes

a) Slave mode only responds to MIDI Note On messages. So any
effects received, including player commands, will be ignored.

b) You can, however, use player command 0C (set volume) with notes played
by the slave Amiga. The instrument's default volume (in Instrument
Properties) changes to the appropriate level when a 0C is received. The
Instrument Properties slider isn't updated, though, for efficiency
reasons.

c) To reduce the amount of MIDI data sent, you should really switch on
Suppress NoteOff on all of the MIDI instruments defined on the master
Amiga.