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2. Intermediate
   Ok, I know my way around, I can sample and use effects, and I've released
   a few mods, but just how are certain things done?
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    Effects
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   Do you use echoes on various parts of your MODs? If not, why not? They
are an easy way of filling out the sound. Really easy to do as well. Simply
copy a channel into another empty channel, change the volume of the channel
down to under half of it's current volume, and insert a row in only that
channel. Play back the pattern, if it sounds nice, then you've succeeded.
Inserting only one row will only work well at slow BPMs, however, so keep on
inserting and playing back until it sounds nice.
   One point to remember, and this is something I've seen in many MODs, even
ones produced by masters (I won't give any names :v]), is that if the echo
is fairly long a few notes will be chopped off the end of the echoed channel
when you insert rows. But these notes still exist in the original channel.
When the tune is played back the echo will appear to stop at the beginning of
each pattern, and then start again. This reduces the 'live' feel of the
entire tune. Just remember to copy the chopped notes onto the beginning of
the next pattern in the playing list, and everything will sound fine.

   Another cool effect (IMHO) is gating. This is usually done with the A
command. Load a long/looped sample and set it to maximum volume. Now input
the channel below (The notes can be anything, but keep the effects the same)
(No Volume Column)

   C-5  1 A0F   -   Starts note, slides volume
   ---  1 A0F   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A0F   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A0F   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A0F   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A0F   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A0C   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A08   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   E-5  1 A0A   -   Starts note, slides volume
   ---  1 A0A   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A08   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A06   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   D-5  1 A08   -   Starts note, slides volume
   ---  1 A08   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A06   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume
   ---  1 A04   -   Sets volume to sample default volume, then slides volume

Now play, and you should find that you get this choppy sound that gets less
choppy with the slower slides. That choppiness is gating. Gating works best
when used on strings and vocals, but just play around and see what you come
up with.

   Sampling
  ~~~~~~~~~~
   - CD Ripping

   Do you have a CD-ROM drive? If so, do you use a CD-Ripper? You should do.
(If you already do then you can skip this section) A CD-Ripper will allow you
to get -perfect- copies of audio on CDs. Which means no noise to spoil your
lovely sample.
   Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that either Amiga's or Atari's
currently have any programs available to rip digital data off a CD.
   As far as I know, FT2 is the only tracker to have a ripper built in, but
it isn't very compatible. If you use DOS for tracking then a CD-ripper called
CD2Wav seems to work very well, it'll also take advantage of any 32-Bit
CD-ROM drivers installed if you run it under Windows 95/NT. However it can't
rip specific sections of a CD. If you want a small 2 second bite of sound
from the end of the track, you have to rip everything before the part you
want, which is very inconvenient.
   If you want to rip CD-DA on Windows 3.1, then the only package I know of
is Digital Domain. This is quite basic, but it does the job quickly and
effectively. On Windows 95/NT, CD-Worx would be a good choice. CD-Worx comes
in separate versions for 95 and NT, due to the fact that NT uses a different
way of handling things. CD-Worx is a nice program, with features for ripping
from a variety of CD formats. Audiograbber is the one I currently use, simply
because it always seems to work, and you can specify that if any errors do
occur simply to carry on.
   One problem you more than likely find if you use Windows 95 OSR2 is that
CD-Rippers don't seem to work with it. To get around this you'll have to
bypass Windows 95's 32-Bit disk drivers by going to Control Panel/System/
Performance/File-System/Troubleshooting/Disable All 32-Bit Protect-Mode Disk
Drivers. Note that you must have DOS CD-ROM drivers installed for this to
work properly.

   - Filtering

   There are a number of features available in most good sampling programs
that can be used to improve the quality of the sound. First up is filters,
usually there will be some sort of controllable low/high pass filter that you
can use.
   One purpose of using a low pass filter is to remove any noise from a low
pitched bass sample, it can also beefen up the sample as well. The most
important thing to remember is not to use a low pass which lets too high
frequencies through. A low pass of about 8 KHz seems to work fine in removing
noise from most bass samples.
   
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