*** MasterKey for ATARI-Computers - INFO: ***

The program MasterKey uses the ATARI-computer as keyboard-
controler and MIDI-patchbay.
There are hardware-devices for this purpose, they modify the 
data sent from keyboards to sound-modules and make it easier, 
to switch between complex MIDI-constellations.
But those hardware-devices are often somewhat cripple to use 
and somewhat cryptic to program having only small displays.
The computer offers his monitor to make it much clearer, 
what You are doing and simplifies to save and load 
data to/from disk or harddisk.

*** Some Features of MasterKey: ***

Using an external MIDI-merge-box the program can react upon 
the signals of 2 Keyboards sending on different MIDI-channels.

MasterKey holds its data in a "bank" with a "*.KBD"-extension. 
In this bank it stores 100 "Patches", which mean 100 complex 
MIDI-constellations. 

These patches can be used in 100 "Chains", each of them a 
series of up to 25 "Steps", which can be "stepped through" 
with one click of a program-switch on Your keyboard, with a 
mouseclick or a keyboard-click on Your computer or even with 
a simple selfmade hardware-device connected to the 
joystick-jack of the ATARI-computer.

Each patch distributes the incoming keyboard-data between 
up to 6 "outputs". This means it sends the data after 
processing them to external sound-modules on their 
corresponding MIDI-channels.

For each of those "outputs" the following parameters can be 
adjusted:

1. Name of the appropriate MIDI-device
2. MIDI-Channel
3. Keyboard range
4. Transposition
5. MIDI bank-/program-nr.
6. Volume
7. Dynamic offset
8. Dynamic transformation curve
9. Use and transformation of pitch bend up/down, after touch, 
   3 special MIDI-controlers, all other MIDI-controlers 

Each patch can give You a "count-in-metronome", that starts 
after selecting the patch and stops with the first note You 
press on Your keyboards. This metronome uses monitor-blinking, 
monitor-beep or an external sound-module via MIDI.

Several more functions can be released by program-switches of 
the keyboards or by the "joystick-device", for example 
changing the program-number of a sound module, selecting the 
chain, starting/stopping the metronome-function, panic.

The program can send MIDI-(sysex-)data at program start/end 
(each up to 100 bytes) and when entering/leaving a patch 
(each up to 40 bytes) for certain adjustments that can not 
be achieved with simple MIDI-commands.

Last not least, MasterKey provides a MIDI-Monitor to display 
the incoming MIDI-signals in hexadecimal form.


*** !! WARNING !! ***

An explicit hint shall be made because of the software's 
ability to overwrite adjustments You made at Your sound- 
or effect-modules. It is one of the softwares purposes to 
modify those adjustments using MIDI-exclusive data ! 
So, please backup all internal data of Your synthesizers 
etc. before working with this software.


Contact:
Thomas Tegeler
2t@nwn.de