Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

On Tue, 4 Jul 2006, sindi keesan wrote:

> > > > > Are the patches larger or smaller than the source code?  How big are they?
> > > >
> > > >    Up to 20 MB.   I said BIG !
> > >
> > > >     But I could set up a smaller selection, they just wouldn't sound as
> > > > good.  say 4 - 7 MB ?

Your package uncompressed to a 600K binary, 128 '.pat' files of which the 
largest were acpiano and acguitar (about 1MB each), and I bet I could 
delete most of them and still play orchestral music.  One midi file wanted 
a 'hammond' but settled for something else.  A timidity.cfg which pointed 
at your patches directory and also gravis.cfg.  And documentation.


timidity filename.mid   - plays without any need for switches, device 
names, etc.  Sounds a great deal better than my 71K AWE sound bank .sbk.

 >
> What exactly is a patch, does it have to be 128 instruments?  I think it
> was derived from the use of patch cords in a Moog synthesizer.

Apparently it is 128 patches in each directory and probably timidity would 
work with only a subset.  I don't play music with bowglass, cabasa, 
atmosphr or even bongo.

The binary requires only the three basic libc5 files so ought to work in 
BL2 with libc5 added, but perhaps you could also post the libc6 binary.
> Could I myself reduce the size of the 'patch' by deleting anything not
> used in an orchestra or symphony band?
>
> > > Could you choose just ONE piano, one harpsichord, four strings, flute,
> > > piccolo, trumpet, trombone, horn, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, kettle drums,
> > > snare drums (and whatever else I forgot) and make that one patch, or does
> > > it not work that way?
>
> >    No, it doesn't work like that.  If you don't have a patch for the
> > instrument specified in the MIDI, then that track will be silent.

My midi files don't specify the really odd patches, though one 
branddenberg concerto called for marimba and celeste.

I will see if there is some way to specify which patch is used for which 
track.

Sindi