Matilde Tracker v1.5 for Buzz

Introduction

Matilde Tracker is a tracker machine for Buzz which behaves more like Protracker than Jeskola Tracker.

All Protracker effects that make sense in Buzz are implemented and behave in a similar fashion to their Protracker cousins, so you'll feel right at home. The E/xy effects have been renamed to Ex/yy, read on.

Additionally you now have two effects per note, life is sweet!

The machine is a stereo generator, so you need Buzz 1.2 or later to use it. In fact, you'll probably need the latest beta too. Replace your buzz.exe with the one here. You'll also auxbus.dll. If stereo is annoying, there's a mono version you can use instead.

Volume, pitch and panning envelopes are supported, they take 64 ticks to complete. If this value is undesirable, it can be changed in the machine's attributes.

Have fun,
Carsten S°rensen

What's new in v1.5?

Filter, yay!
Virtual channels! Read more below.
New combined note delay and cut command (18)
New sustain pedal command (19)
New note cut (DC) command that releases note instead of setting volume to zero
Note delay (ED) command can now delay note off's
Bug fixed with looping stereo samples
About window made bigger
Bug fixed with some effects causing bi-di loops to mess up
Fixed CPU use problem with very volumes (<= -100dB)

What was new in v1.3?

Small bug fixed regarding volume envelopes whose first point was zero
Bi-directional loops, works when Buzz 1.2 is released
Wavetable screen wave playing supported
Wavetable screen envelope cursor supported
Randomize volume command (14)
Random delay command (15)
Randomize pitch command (16)
Harmonic play command (17)
Spline interpolation (check attributes)
Envelopes for pan and pitch
Attribute for pitch envelope depth

Improved MIDI support:

Attribute for MIDI wave to use
MIDI now uses full polyphony or free tracks only, yet another attribute

V2 TODO: Two virtual channels per track, selectable via attributes. V2 TODO: WAV harddisk streaming V2 MAYBE: Timestretch

What was new in v1.2?

Stereo wave support added. You need the "latest" Buzz to use it.
Yet another reloading-waves-while-playing crash fixed.
Continued arpeggio problem fixed
Subdivision precision improved
Loop points are now set the same way as Jeskola Tracker
Default name changed by popular request
MIDI support added
Shuffle command added (command 13)
Loop fit command added (commands 11 and 12)
F/00 crash fixed
Command 2 crash fixed
WM errors fixed

What was new in v1.1?

Probability command (10)
Sustain point and note off handled correctly
Reloading-waves-while-playing crash fixed

Virtual Channels

Matilde Tracker supports "virtual channels." It's a bit like NNAs in Impulse Tracker, but on the other hand, it's not. To use them, you must enable them for the tracker machine in question - this is done through an attribute (see below.)

When enabled, the tracker supports 64 note polyphony, in much the same way a hardware sampler handles it. What it does exactly, is when you play a new note the last one is allowed to finish. This is great for chord riffs, plucked strings and a bunch of other stuff. So now, instead of going through the hassle of using more tracks, you can enable virtual channels instead.

Sometimes the note will be cut anyway to make sure no samples sit there and take up all the channels. This happens when you have a looping sample with no suitable volume envelope. This is a safety measure and completely intentional.

Using MIDI

Setting up MIDI input is now very easy - everything is controlled from the attributes.

You'll have to set up the attributes to the right channel. Now, the machine will respond to MIDI in events.
The tracks play the note with the last instrument used in the track, so a track will have to have played something before any sound is made. This is normally not what you want, using an attribute you can select the wave MIDI events will use instead.

The default behaviour for MIDI events is to use all available tracks in succession from left to right, including all unused tracks. You can change the behaviour using an attribute to use unused tracks only so you can jam along with your track.

For more information, refer to the attribute descriptions below.

Machine attributes

Attribute	Description
Volume Ramp	The time in milliseconds micro volume-ramping takes. This is to avoid clicks.
Volume Envelope Span	The number of ticks a volume envelope spans from left to right.
MIDI Channel	The MIDI channel the machine responds to. 0 means it doesn't respond.
MIDI Velocity Sensitivity	How sensitive the machine is to MIDI velocity. 0 means it doesn't care, 256 means it cares a lot ;)
MIDI Wave	MIDI notes will use this waveform.
MIDI Uses Free Tracks	If 1 - MIDI notes will only use free tracks. If not, all tracks.
Filter	Filtering mode when playing waveforms. 0=none, 1=linear, 2=spline. Spline is much slower than linear, so only use it if you can handle it.
Pitch Envelope Depth	Pitch envelope will range between +- this attribute.
Enable Virtual Channels	0=normal behaviour, 1=virtual channels enabled

Pattern editor

Column	Description
1	The note to play
2	The current wave. If empty, the previously selected wave will be used
3	Volume. 0=mute, 40=half, 80=full, FE=about double the volume
4 and 6	Effect to use, see below for description
5 and 7	Argument to the effect

Obsolete/changed/ignored Protracker/FT2 effects

Command	Description	Reason
5/xy	Keep tone portamento'ing and do volume slide with argument	Obsolete, there's two effects columns
6/xy	Keep vibrato'ing and do volume slide with argument	Obsolete, there's two effects columns
B/xx	Break to position	Not possible, machines have no control over the songposition
C/xx	Set volume	Replaced by the volume parameter
D/xx	Break to next position, step xx	Not possible, machines have no control over the songposition
E/3x	Set glissando	Not implemented
E/43, E/47	Set vibrato waveform to noise	Not implemented
E/6x	Pattern loop	Not possible, machines have no control over the songposition
E/73, E/77	Set tremolo waveform to noise	Not implemented
E/Ex	Patterndelay	Not possible, machines have no control over the songposition
E/Fx	Invert loop	Not implemented

Implemented effects

Command	Argument	Description	Notes
00	xy	Arpeggio On subdivision step 0, the original note will be played. Step one will play the original note+x halftones. Step two will play the original note+y halftones. Step three will restart the process
01	xx	Slide up xx notches
02	xx	Slide down xx notches
03	xx	Tone portamento If xx is zero, keep portamento'ing
04	xy	Vibrato x - speed y - depth If either is zero, use previous value
05	xy	Slide panning x - amount to slide panning left y - amount to slide panning right
06	xy	Autopan x - speed y - depth If either is zero, use previous value
07	xy	Tremolo x - speed y - depth If either is zero, use previous value
08	xx	Set panning position 0=left, 80=middle, FF=right
09	xx	Sample offset xx - offset into sample. Unlike Protracker this is not an absolute offset but scales to the whole length of the sample, ie a value of 80 will start from the middle of the sample. If there's no argument, the sample offset will be set right at the end, useful for E8/01.	Use with a note
0A	xy	Volume slide x - amount to slide volume up y - amount to slide volume down
0F	xx	Subdivide amount This is the same as the Protracker Fxx command, except it doesn't actually change the speed of the song, only the speed of the track's effects. If the subdivide amount is higher, effects will be updated more often, making them run faster. The default value is 6.
10	xx	Probability xx - Probability for sample being played. 01=will almost certainly not be played, 80=50%, FF=almost certain	Use with a note
11	xx	Loop fit xx - Number of ticks the waveform's loop should take to complete. Changes the frequency of the waveform.	Use with a note
12	xx	Loop fit xx - Same as 11, but tracks song speed changes and adjust the frequency accordingly.	Use with a note
13	xy	Auto shuffle x - Ticks to shuffle. 2 shuffles every other step, 3 every third step and so on. y=Shuffle amount. 0=none, F=almost a full tick. change the subdivision amount to, say, 10 for greater precision.
14	xx	Randomize volume xx - Maximum amount the volume will be randomized
15	xx	Random delay xx - Maximum number of subdivision steps the note will be delayed	Use with a note
16	xx	Randomize pitch xx - Maximum number of notches the pitch will be randomized
17	xx	Harmonic play xx - The base frequency will be multiplied by xx
18	xy	Combined note delay and cut x - The subdivision step to trigger the note y - The subdivision step to release the note	Use with a note
19	xy	Sustain pedal y - Subdivision step to trigger command x=1 - Depress sustain pedal x=2 - Release sustain pedal
20	xx	Filter cutoff
21	xx	Slide filter cutoff up xx notches
22	xx	Slide filter cutoff down xx notches
23	0x	Set filter cutoff LFO type x - 0 - sine, retrig waveform at samplestart x - 1 - saw, retrig waveform at samplestart x - 2 - square, retrig waveform at samplestart x - 4 - sine, don't retrig waveform at samplestart x - 5 - saw, don't retrig waveform at samplestart x - 6 - square, don't retrig waveform at samplestart
24	xy	Filter cutoff LFO x - speed y - depth If either is zero, use previous value
25	xx	Fine slide filter cutoff up xx notches
26	xx	Fine slide filter cutoff down xx notches
28	xx	Filter resonance
29	xx	Slide filter resonance up xx notches
2A	xx	Slide filter resonance down xx notches
2B	0x	Set filter resonance LFO type x - 0 - sine, retrig waveform at samplestart x - 1 - saw, retrig waveform at samplestart x - 2 - square, retrig waveform at samplestart x - 4 - sine, don't retrig waveform at samplestart x - 5 - saw, don't retrig waveform at samplestart x - 6 - square, don't retrig waveform at samplestart
2C	xy	Filter resonance LFO x - speed y - depth If either is zero, use previous value
2D	xx	Fine slide filter resonance up xx notches
2E	xx	Fine slide filter resonance down xx notches
DC	xx	Note cutoff, releases note
E0	xx	Set filter type for track. xx - 1 - filter disabled x - 2 - 4p filter, lowpass x - 3 - 4p filter, highpass
E1	xx	Fine slide up xx notches
E2	xx	Fine slide down xx notches
E4	0x	Set vibrato type x - 0 - sine, retrig waveform at samplestart x - 1 - saw, retrig waveform at samplestart x - 2 - square, retrig waveform at samplestart x - 4 - sine, don't retrig waveform at samplestart x - 5 - saw, don't retrig waveform at samplestart x - 6 - square, don't retrig waveform at samplestart
E5	xx	Set finetune for track 00 = -1/2 halfnote, 80 = 0, FF = ~+1/2 halfnote
E6	0x	Set panning type See E4/0x for parameter
E7	0x	Set tremolo type See E4/0x for parameter
E8	01	Reverse direction of sample being played
E9	xx	Retrig sample xx - subdivision count at which sample is retriggered	Use with a note
EA	xx	Fine volume slide up
EB	xx	Fine volume slide down
EC	xx	Note cutoff, set volume to zero
ED	xx	Note delay Delay samplestart for xx subdivision steps	Use with a note
EE	xx	Fine panning slide left
EF	xx	Fine panning slide right