"MusicMaker V8" ("MMV8") is a sample-based music editor I started as a hobby
project in 1986. It was (much) later published in France and the German
speaking parts of Europe by Data Becker (V1.76) and - regrettably - Wolf
Software (V2.358, Germany only).
This is version 3 which dates back to late 1992 and was never published as a
commercial product.
MMV8 is not "just another tracker". The music system is more flexible and
uses a lot less memory. The ground layer are "macros" which - unlike
"patterns" in trackers - apply to a single channel only. Those "macros" are
then put in a playing order, which is called a track. As MMV8 provides up
to eight audio channels, up to eight tracks can be set up.
MMV8's 8-channel-engine, despite dating back to 1989/90, is very fast and,
if I may say so myself, very sophisticated. All channels are capable of
playing at different volume levels. Although published as late as in 1991,
MMV8 was in fact still the first program on the market offering that feature.
Furthermore, the engine offers two modes, separately selectable for each
hardware channel. The "GOOD" method is for high quality output, while the
"FAST" method uses an advanced downsampling algorithm and through that is
fast enough to allow using it for background music in games, even on a
standard 68000-based Amiga.
MMV8 includes a - considering its time - feature-rich sample editor and
supports digitizing new samples. It is compatible with many digitizers of
the era, eg the GVP DSS8+. Samples can be compressed ("packed") using a
variation of the Fibonacci compression algorithm, with selectable compression
rates up to 50%. (While at 50% the compression is, of course, quite audible,
one hardly notices it at 75%.)
Other features include
- ARexx port
- MIDI support for key input
- horizontal interface, complete macros on screen.
- English or German user interface (OS2.1+)
SDK, sources for players and a few demo tunes are included.
Version 3.0 had a lot of improvements over the versions published earlier.
Notably, it now can save tunes in single files ("modules"). (The previous
split-file system is still supported, of course.)
How to install:
MM back then came on three disks. While until version 3.03, the Aminet
distribution kept this scheme, as of 3.04 MMV8 is distributed in a single
large archive.
To install, un-archive to a temporary directory and run "Install-MM" from
Workbench.
Minimum requirements:
- 1 MB memory
- OS 1.3
Please note that MMV8 is not under active development, nor does it aim to be
in any way "state of the art". It's a piece of history - my history. In 2017,
I ran it for the first time after approximately 25 years, and since then -
simply out of pure nostalgia - added some minor features, fixed bugs and
adapted some usability issues to today's expectations (eg mouse wheel
support). Not because of advancing it, but just "because I can".
Revision history:
Version 3.05: (Dec 2020)
- Fix mouse wheel support by tricking FreeWheel into thinking we are
MUI windows. Nasty hack, but if FreeWheel is dumb enough to interfere
with apps that support the mouse wheel natively, there is no other way.
Version 3.04: (Feb 2018)
- Three-disk-scheme dumped in favor of a single lha archive for distribution
- Improved installer script (better error handling; Eagle- and Deliplayers
now also installed; no more MM-Startup in WBStartup; SD: and IN: assigns
dropped; etc.)
- MM2PCM utility added to distribution (see Aminet's MMV8_2_PCM package)
- MM, Wurlitzer: Filerequester now properly supports relative paths (for
whatever it's worth..)
- Minor cosmetic changes
Version 3.03:
- MM: MIDI support extended:
- Supports some MIDI controllers for special functions (see READ.ME)
- Better key buffering
- MM: Fix glitch in 4 channel player on some 68060 based systems
(Fix contained in all replayers & libraries)
- MM: Fix File Requester (sometimes non-filesystem devices showed up as
selectable devices.)
- MusicMakerReceiver: Fixes for 68040+.
- Mouse wheel support where useful
- Other minor changes
Version 3.02:
- MM: Several enhancements to the File Requester. Also, MM can now handle
filenames up to 108 characters in length.
- MM: When loading an instrument in instrument editor, shift-clicking on
a file in the file requester now auditions that file. Choosing an
instrument was never that comfortable.
- MM: Fix a nearly 30 year old bug when loading compressed IFF-8SVX
samples.
- MM: Bugfix: Mouse-pointer was updated too often in Track-Editor.
- MM: On NTSC-machines, the main screen is now an autoscroll screen, not
an interlaced one.
- MM: Several text changes, updated german catalog
- MM: New drawing routines for LFO curves and the EXT-downsampling table
- MM: New way of defining the downsampling table in EXT-mode for FAST
channels in Preferences; I hope this clarifies what that actually
does.
- mmv88.library: Undo 3.01 change of disabling FAST mixing method. This
was not the right thing to do.
- Several other changes under the hood.
- Fix Developer-archive; was lha'd instead of lharc'd, failed to install
in 3.01.
Version 3.01:
- MM: Fix ignored disabled macros in MacEd
- MM: Default to doing nothing instead of Overwriting in Tracks
- MM: Watch all (not just CustEd) channels play if interlace screen is
available.
- mmv88.library: Disable "FAST" mixing method on 68020+
- mmv88.library: Remove "CachePreDMA" calls, they were not required.
Lots of sample tunes available at
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uosntvqsps0p4un/MMMusic.lha?dl=1
Copyright notice:
MusicMaker V8 is herewith declared freeware. I do have, as a matter of fact,
all necessary licenses.
Q: Why is the program called "V8", when it is only version 3?
A: 8 refers to the number of channels available. "V8" is a playful reference
to the world of motor engines, where that term usually has the aura of luxury
and grandness.
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