ST: Sound Tools



ST translates sound samples between different file formats,
and performs various sound effects.

This release understands "raw" files in various binary formats,
Sound Blaster .VOC files, IRCAM SoundFile files, SUN Sparcstation 
.au files, mutant DEC .au files, Amiga/SGI AIFF files, 
Macintosh HCOM files, Sounder files, and Soundtool (DOS) files.

The sound effects include changing the sample rate, adding echo 
delay lines, applying low- and band-pass filtering, and the 
infamous Fender Vibro effect.

History:
This is the fifth release of the Sound Tools.

This release includes handles for .WAV files,
a device handler for the Unix driver for the Sound Blaster,
and clean-ups in the DOS port.

Caveats:
The annoying .AU problems should be cleaned up.
The .SND problem is still not fully resolved.
SOX is really only useable day-to-day if you
hide the wacky options with one-line shell scripts.

Channel averaging doesn't work.  The software architecure
of stereo & quad is bogus.

Installing:
The Makefile needs one option set: -DSYSV if you're on a
System V machine, or -DBSD if you're on a BSD-ish machine.
See the INSTALL file for more detailed instructions.

After compiling, run 'tests.sh'.  It should print nothing.  This
indicates that the program mostly works.  By reading the tests
you may see how to make a sound sample file which you can play.
'monkey.au' and 'monkey.voc' are a short lo-fi monkey screech
in two supported file formats, to help you ensure Sound Tools works.

SOX uses file suffices to determine the nature of a sound sample file.
If it finds the suffix in its list, it uses the appropriate read
or write handler to deal with that file.  You may override the suffix
by giving a different type via the '-t type' argument.  See the manual
page for more information.  The 'tests.sh' script illustrates various
sox usages.

I hope to inspire the creation of a common base of sound processing
tools for computer multimedia work, similar to the PBM toolkit for 
image manipulation.

The files I wrote are copyright Lance Norskog, and may be used for
any purpose.   The U-Law translation and echo delay line code 
come from Jef Poskanzer's SST package.  The .AU, .AIFF, 
.HCOM formats, and numerous bug fixes were contributed by 
Guido Van Rossum.  The 8SVX, Sounder, Soundtool (another name
clash!) and many DOS fixes were contributed by Bill Neisius.
The .WAV and SB driver handlers were contributed by Rick Richardson.

Sound Tools may be used for any purpose.  Source
distributions must include the copyright notices.  Binary
distributions must include acknowledgements to the creators.

Note: There will be absolutely no more hardware driver
handlers in SOX.  Playing & recording sound samples is
not SOX's job; translation and sound effects is it.

When you have minor changes to contribute, it's OK to post
them; if you have a major release, please send it to me.
I'd like to coordinate the releases and do a peer review.
Please document your changes.  I don't posess every kind
of computer currently sold, and we are now beyond the phase
where I can understand and test all source fixes.

Coming soon: full Amiga support!

Enjoy!

	Creator & Maintainer:
		Lance Norskog		thinman@netcom.com

	Contributors:
		Guido Van Rossum	guido@cwi.nl
		Jef Poskanzer		jef@well.sf.ca.us
		Bill Neisius		bill%solaria@hac2arpa.hac.com 
		Rick Richardson		rick@digibd.com


		(your name could be here, too)