
Roland Multimedia
Roland Audio Tools software for RAP10
Release notes 5/4/94 version 3.7

The following is an addendum to the Roland Audio Tools manual.  This sheet covers topics and frequently asked questions that are not covered in the manual for version 3.7 of Roland Audio Tools.  BEFORE CALLING ROLAND FOR SUPPORT PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:
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1.) It is very important to avoid IRQ, DMA, and I/O conflicts when installing the RAP-10AT.  IRQ 5 is generally the safest IRQ setting to choose since this IRQ is used for a second printer and most users need only 1 printer port.  CD-ROM players frequently use a DMA channel, so be sure not to set the RAP-10AT to a DMA channel that is used by another device. 
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2.) Avoid using hard disk compression programs (such as DBLSPACE or STACKER) with Roland Audio Tools.  The RAP-10AT is a high performance card that can be demanding on a hard drive's performance, and such compression schemes can slow down or prevent the RAP-10AT from performing at optimum level.
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3.) Roland Audio Tools is a high quality audio production facility for final sequencing of playback on Standard MIDI Files and WAV audio files.  It is intended as a MIDI sequencer player and is not a MIDI sequencer recording program.
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4.) If you get a repeating/looping startup sound when starting Windows, check for a DMA conflict with another device.  You can change the DMA channels used by the RAP-10AT by editing the SYSTEM.INI file under DOS using the EDIT.COM program.  If you are unsure how to use EDIT.COM consult your DOS manual.  Near the bottom of the SYSTEM.INI file there will be a section that looks like this:
[rap10.drv]
port=240
int=5
dma=56 (this can be changed to 57, or 67 to choose DMA 5 & 7 or 6 & 7.)
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5.) If you do not hear sound from the RAP-10AT and you have a MIDI cable from the MIDI OUT on your MIDI controller (such as the Roland PC-200mkII) to MIDI IN on the MCB-10 interface, be sure you have enabled MIDI throughput in the MIDI Player Options portion of the rack section of Roland Audio Tools.  If not, sound will not be produced from the RAP-10AT by pressing keys on your music keyboard.  Consult pg. 7-1 through 7-3 for how to enable Input Feedthrough.
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6.) Chorus or Reverb that is applied to Wave audio tracks can only be heard during playback, not during record.
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7.) If your system freezes up when scrubbing .WAV files in the Waveform Editor, you may have to change to 256 or more colors on your video driver.  Contact the manufacturer of your video card (or motherboard if you have integrated video) for help installing a video driver of 256 colors or more.
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8.) The VU or level meters do not monitor input prior to the record button being pressed.  Recording levels should be set by recording.
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9.) Do not drag the WaMI sequencer window while playing a WaMI file.  This causes the computer to redraw the screen which interrupts the playback. 
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10.) Be sure you have an MCB-10 MIDI connector Box attached to the RAP-10 when the system is turned on before enabling Input Feedthrough from the rack area of Roland Audio Tools.
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11.) Chorus and Reverb effects assigned to Wave track -1 in the WaMI mixer are the ones that will be heard when in the Waveform Editor.  Thus, if Wave track -2 is set to SOLO, no sound will be produced when playing audio from the Waveform Editor because Track -1 is Muted.
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12.) MIDI Volume changes that were recorded within the WaMI mixer are the only ones that will have a visual representation on the volume fader control. Volume changes made in an original Standard MIDI File will not be reflected visually in the WaMI mixer, but will be heard.
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13.) Roland Audio Tools responds to MIDI Time Code only from an MCB-10 MIDI interface input.  MTC generated by other drivers or coming from other MIDI cards will be ignored.  
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14.) If you have a DELL computer and experience Memory Parity Errors when attempting to record, you must make a change to the CMOS settings of your computer.  Change the DMA clock speed to SCLCK/2.  If you are unsure of how to do this, please consult your computer's user manual or contact DELL for assistance.
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15.) If you are having troubles recording .WAV files from the WaMI mixer, try the following steps:

a.) Click the Record Enable button for the track you desire to record to.
	(this is located near the lower left corner of the volume slider.)
b.) Click the Master Record button next to the Q button on the right.
c.) Click the in point button on the track you desire to record to.
	(this is located near the upper left corner of the volume slider area.)
d.) Click Play. The mixer should begin recording.
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16.) How to upgrade an existing version of Roland Audio Tools to version 3.7:

a.)In the DRIVERS section of the Windows CONTROL PANEL click on the RAP-10 driver to highlight it, and click the REMOVE button.  When asked to confirm this, click the YES button.  Click the Restart Windows Button.

b.)Place Disk 1 of Roland Audio Tools into the A: drive.  

c.)From the Program manager or File Manager, go to the FILE menu and choose RUN.  On the Command line type A:\SETUP then click the OK button.

d.)Follow the instructions on screen from here forward.
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17.) If you are having troubles trying to record audio WAV files:
If WAV files are playing back choppy or broken up:

a.) Try disabling your computer's external CPU cache.  If you are unsure how to do this, please refer to your computer owners manual or contact the manufacturer of the computer.  Some cache implementations (typically  no-name brand, generic computers) prohibit the RAP-10AT from accomplishing its high quality performance level.

b.) If you have a caching hard drive adaptor, try disabling its cache.  

c.) If you are using DOS 6 or higher, run SCANDISK, followed by DEFRAG (if you are unsure how to do this, consult your DOS manual or type HELP followed by the name of the program you need help with [ex: HELP DEFRAG]).  If you are using DOS 5 or earlier run CHKDSK/F, and consider the purchase of DOS 6.0, 6.2, or a hard disk optimization program.  Hard disks do not write data in locations that are the quickest to get to. Over time, this can keep your hard disk from running at its top performance level, which the RAP-10 prefers.  You should do this about once a month or every other month for hard drive maintenance.

d.) Lower the amount of RAM allocated to SMARTDRV.EXE. (If you are unsure how to do this, please consult your DOS manual.) If you are having problems recording or playing back WAV files, your SMARTDRV line in your Autoexec.bat file should be changed to read C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE 128 128

e.) If you have a TEMP directory specified in the Autoexec.bat file, make sure it exists on your hard drive.  (ex: C:\TEMP should exist on the hard drive if C:\TEMP is set in Autoexec.bat)
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18.) If WAV files get out of sync with MIDI files over long periods of time:

a.) The RAP-10AT works properly on computers with a BUS speed of 8Mhz ONLY.  If you are unsure of the speed at which the slots run at on your computer, please contact the manufacturer of the computer for assistance in making sure it is running at AT-STANDARD 8Mhz.

b.) If you have a Gateway 2000 system, in some cases the system uses DMA channels for its hard drive controller and/or floppy controller.  Enhanced ISA timing as mentioned above in section a.) is used on some machines as well.  

c.) If you are using DOS 6 or higher, run SCANDISK, followed by DEFRAG (if you are unsure how to do this, consult your DOS manual or type HELP followed by the name of the program you need help with [ex: HELP DEFRAG]).  If you are using DOS 5 or earlier run CHKDSK/F, and consider the purchase of DOS 6.0, 6.2, or a hard disk optimization program.  Hard disks do not write data in locations that are the quickest to get to. Over time, this can keep your hard disk from running at its top performance level, which the RAP-10 prefers.  You should do this about once a month or every other month for hard drive maintenance.
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19.) If the Startup WAV file or other sound sources that play when Windows loads are too loud:

a.) Run the NOTEPAD program from the ACCESSORIES group.  
From the FILE menu choose OPEN.  
In the FILENAME box type RAP10.INI then click the OK button.
Add the line Wave Volume=60 on the first empty line.  The text should look like this:

[rap10]
Mic/Line Gain=Mic
Monitor=On
Mic/Line Volume=127
Aux Volume=127
Wave Volume=60 (this is the line you must add)

Choose EXIT from the FILE menu and click the YES button when asked to save.
To change the volume of any of these, simply choose a number between 0 and 127, 127 being top volume.  ***NOTE***These changes are applied when Windows is exited and re-started.
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20.) If you have 4MB of RAM the following should be considered:

a.) Setting a Virtual Boundary larger than 0 sets aside an amount of RAM equal to the number chosen, for editing Waveforms.  This can result in severely low memory in 4MB systems.  4MB is a minimum requirement for Roland Audio Tools, and for projects that require editing of WAV files, 8MB or more is recommended.  Check section B-5 through B-6 of the Roland Audio Tools manual.

b.) More windows resources are used as each Window in Roland Audio Tools is opened.  These resources are gained back by Windows when Roland Audio Tools is exited.  Thus, you may not be able to run another application while Roland Audio Tools is running without Windows running out of resources.  If you experience this problem, and need to run multiple programs with Roland Audio Tools, you should consider upgrading to 8MB or more of RAM.
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Roland can be reached at (213) 685-5141 x770 or through Compuserve by typing GO ROLAND at any prompt. The account number is RolandTech,72662,376


 


