Optional Software On this side you will find manuals for all Optional Software I know of. As far as I know this software is freeware (if it is not, please let me know!). If you are interested in a copy mail me. I have written the manual for "Optional Software Test Disk v. 1.62". The other manuals are written by Frank Nitzinsky. Optional Software Test Disk v. 1.62 CKMEMORY Checks the RAM memory. Reads and writes in all memory cells. A very time consuming test. CKSWITCH Tests all buttons on the FZ and the sustain pedal. You are notified if you press the wrong button by an error message on the display. CKPLAY Checks the keyboard. Shows note number, velocity and aftertouch values. Also checks pitchbend, modulation, foot volume and main volume. CKMIDI Checks the MIDI ports. Connect the FZ MIDI OUT to the FZ MIDI IN and execute the test. CKPORT Checks the high speed port. Two FZ-1/10M/20M is needed to perform the test. Have not been able to get it to work. CKDISK Checks the floppy drive by reading and writing data from/to a disk. NOTE! Use an empty, formatted disk! COPYDISK Disk copy program. SPLAYC Simple sequencer. Can only record MIDI data via the MIDI in port, not from the keyboard. The tempo can be changed from 1000 to 32767. The controls are STOP, PLAY, REC and CLR. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Below follows the manuals written by Frank Nitzinsky This is all the information I have on the Casio FZ Optional Software. I intend for this list to be a complete guide that will hopefully replace the old documentation. Future versions should be available in HTML, Word 6.0 and .TXT format. However, there are a few applications of which I am lacking information, as there are some applications I do not even have. If you have any information or corrections to this list for me, please e-mail them to me at: eye-d@dds.nl. If you have an application that I have not listed here, or paper-documentation that I have stated I do not have, which you want to send over... my address is: Frank Nitzinsky Simone Veilhof 19 4463 JB Goes The Netherlands I will gladly make copies for other FZ-users out there. If you want an application that I have, send me an e-mail and we’ll discuss the best way to handle the transfer! Now, help me! Frank Disk Copy Tool This application will enable you to make multiple copies of any Casio FZ Optional Software packages or sound disks. COPY TOOL is, in fact, necessary to copy any Optional Software applications, while sound disks can also be copied from the DATA DUMP menu. Note: COPY TOOL is currently resident on the disk labeled LOOP OPTIMIZER. To use COPY TOOL: You will need one or more blank formatted DS/HD disks on which to copy, and the master copy of whatever optional software (or even sound disks) you wish to copy. 1) Insert the FZ COPY TOOL (or LOOP OPTIMIZER) disk into the drive. 2) Go to the MAIN MENU, cursor down to OPT SOFTWARE, and press ENTER. 3) Cursor down to COPY DISK and press enter. 4) You will receive a prompt to INSERT MASTER; at this time, insert the master disk you wish to make a copy of and press YES. 5) The screen will say READING MASTER, as it does just that. 6) When the master disk is read into memory, the screen will say INSERT BLANK. Remove the master disk and insert your formatted blank DS/HD disk. 7) Wait just a moment (5 sec.) before pressing YES to start copying onto the blank disk. The screen will say WRITING BLANK while making the copy. 8) When the first copy is completed, the screen will read NEXT BLANK?, at which time you can insert additional formatted blank disks to copy the same program onto. Press YES; the screen will read INSERT BLANK, the press YES a second time to start copying. If you don’t require any more copies, press ESCAPE to return to the MAIN MENU. Sound disks or propriety optional software disks for the FZs can be copied using this program. Note: MAX-MIN (only included on early copies of the program) is an experimental program, using an undocumented numerical method of determining amplitude levels to ascertain whether a particular sample is clipping or not. You will probably save time and get more mileage out of your ears for this purpose, so we don’t see the need to go into detail. If you can use it, fine, it’s fairly self explanatory; if not, simply ignore it. Beware that this program does not verify your data, it just copies! As far as I know this application does not allow itself to be saved to another disk without having to copy the entire disk on which the program resides. Disk Directory FZ Disk File Directory let’s you know what type of files are on your disks at a glance, how much memory they take up (in Kbytes), and how much room is left on the disk (in Kbytes). To use: 1) Load the FZ FILE DIRECTORY disk into your machine using the OPT SOFTWARE option on the MAIN MENU. Procedure: insert Directory Disk, cursor down to OPTIONAL SOFTWARE, press enter, then when DIRECTORY appears on screen, 2) Insert your disk with sounds on it and press ENTER. You will get a reading of "free=", which tells you how much memory (in K) is left on the disk. Also, you will see what files are on the disk and how much "K" they use. The letters mean: F = Full Data, B = Bank Data, V = Voice Data, E = Effect Data, and P = Program Data. 3) This disk is public domain and is not copy protected. It may be copied using the following procedure: Load the Directory Disk; press DISPLAY, then press (on the numeric keypad), 1-7-4-9 (which spells "saki", according to our engineers!). The screen will then read "PROGRAM SAVE?". Insert a blank, formatted disk, and answer YES. The screen will read EXECUTED OK" when the copy is completed. We encourage copying of this useful tool. The original documentation is a tad misleading when it comes to the copying of the program. You do not need a blank formatted disk, and the disk is not saved in its entirety. All the program does is save itself to whatever disk you want, and it is only 9K! This is a very handy application to put on new sound disks before you fill them up. Fade Optimizer The Fade Optimizer and the Loop Optimzer are two separate programs that used to be united in the Loop Tool application. I think that these are either newer or older versions of the Loop Tool. (I got them on a disk with the FZ-20M Hard Disk application so I assume that they are newer.) The Fade Optimzer application has only the "Cross Fade" sections of the Loop Tool, the loop function now resides in the Loop Optimizer. The program can copy itself to another disk by pressing DISPLAY, followed by 1-7-4-9. You will the get a prompt asking you if you want to save the program. You can then insert a disk and press YES. HDD Operator This piece of optional software needed when using a SCSI hard disk with the Casio FZ-20M. I have no documentation for this piece of software but I have found that the program can copy itself to another disk by pressing DISPLAY, followed by 1-7-4-9. You will the get a prompt asking you if you want to save the program. You can then insert a disk and press YES. The program gives you the following menus: HDD SAVE, HDD FORMAT, FDD LOAD, FDD MERGE & OPTION COPY. Loop Optimizer The Loop Optimizer and the Fade Optimzer are two separate programs that used to be united in the Loop Tool application. I think that these are either newer or older versions of the Loop Tool. (I got them on a disk with the FZ-20M Hard Disk application so I assume that they are newer.) The Loop Optimzer application has only the "Loop Section" of the Loop Tool, all other functions reside in the Fade Optimizer. The program can copy itself to another disk by pressing DISPLAY, followed by 1-7-4-9. You will the get a prompt asking you if you want to save the program. You can then insert a disk and press YES. Loop Tool The LOOP TOOL Optional Software application for the FZ samplers allows a smooth crossfade to be achieved, removing "pops" and "clicks" from a looped sound. There are several individual programs within the LOOP TOOL program: Loop Optimizer, Sin X Fader (or "Feeder" depending on the version you have), Lin X Fader, Rev X Fader, etc. The objective here is not to outline the fine points of all these programs, but to get you the results quickly. Therefore, we recommend using the SIN X FADER part of the program. Here’s the fastest way: 1) Loop the desired voice as well as you can (using CREATE VOICE/LOOP SET and the display screen and various resolutions). Get as close as you can to a smooth loop with no "pop". 2) SAVE this data as a VOICE DUMP (SAVE VOICE), onto a blank work disk or disk where there is enough room to store it temporarily. The reason for this: if your crossfade doesn’t work the first time, you can simply reload the voice into the same location and try again. 3) Insert LOOP TOOL into the drive and go to OPTIONAL SOFTWARE on the main menu. Enter LOOP TOOL, then SIN X FADER. 4) Enter a X TIME of 15480, using either the keypad or the value slider. 5) Cursor down to EXECUTE, and press ENTER and then YES. 6) When you get "executed okay", press PLAY to get back to the play screen. Move the cursor down so it’s pointing to the voice you were working on. The pop and click should be gone from the loop. If it’s not, reload the original voice data (VOICE LOAD), and try a different number. EZ, huh? Works, too. The Loop Optimizer and other programs are experimental applications that we have found not to be as consistently successful as SIN X FADER (some early programs have a SOLO CHORUS application, which does little more than make your voice disappear completely!). Some of you may find otherwise, and we encourage you to experiment. If you want it fast however, SIN-X is probably the way to go. There is no discernible difference in effectiveness between the different revisions of the program, so whatever you have is as good as having the latest revision. Remember to save your voice first before performing the operations, so if you don’t get the crossfade the first time, you can simply replace the unsuccessful try with the original voice data. A little bit of amplitude beating (swelling in volume) is often unavoidable with certain sounds; in musical context it is often not noticeable. And remember: the magic number is 15480! Happy looping! This program can most likely also copy itself to another disk by pressing DISPLAY, followed by 1-7-4-9. You will the get a prompt asking you if you want to save the program. You can then insert a disk and press YES. MAX-MIN MAX-MIN is an experimental program, using an undocumented numerical method of determining amplitude levels to ascertain whether a particular sample is distorted or not. MAX-MIN shows a value for a sampled voice. If the displayed value lies between +max32766 and -min32767 this proves that the sample is not distorted. I have neither this application nor its documentation. This program will most likely allow itself to be saved to another disk by pressing DISPLAY, followed by 1-7-4-9. You should get a prompt asking you if you want to save the program. You can then insert a disk and press YES. Playbacker Tool (Version 2.0) This optional software package turns your FZ into a single track, real-time MIDI recorder and plays back your music sequences. Operational Instruction Fed from the MIDI-in jack, the sequence data will be saved on another formatted disk together with the Playbacker Tool program as a demonstration file. The FZ Playbacker Tool requires: 1) A MIDI-equipped digital sequencer, 2) One or more FZ sound disks, 3) A blank formatted disk, 4) A unit of either FZ-1 or FZ-10M. Step 1: Load sound data from an FZ sound disk to the FZ’s internal memory. Step 2: Insert the FZ Playbacker Tool into the FZ floppy disk drive, and select OPT SOFTWARE from the MODIFY MENU. Step 3: Select the PB TOOL and press ENTER to show the following sections: 1) REC 2) PLAY 3) SAVE 4) SPEED Step 4: In order to record the sequence into the FZ, 1) connect a MIDI cable from the MIDI-out jack of the digital sequencer to the MIDI-in jack of your FZ, 2) Press "1" to enter REC (record) mode, 3) Press YES to start recording while at the same time starting your digital sequencer. 4) Press ESC at any time to stop/finish recording. You can record sequence data up to 27.5K (29,184) bytes, for a 3,700-note music duration. Step 5: In order to save the sequence data to a disk, 1) Insert the formatted disk into the FZ floppy disk drive, 2) Press "3" to enter the SAVE mode, 3) Select BASIC (normal), or AREA (allows for channel splits). All settings are made to Bank 8. 4) Press YES to starts the save. This procedure will save a playback-only copy of the PB TOOL as well as the sequence data. The sequence can be loaded from the disk in the future by selecting the sequence in OPT SOFTWARE. If the sound data consists of more than one disk, the sequence should be saved to all other disks as well. 5) Press the ESCAPE key to exit the SAVE mode. Step 6: In order to playback the sequence, 1) Press "2" to enter the PLAY mode, 2) You will now see a selection of three choices. 1) Play, (for one-shot playback), 2) Repeat, for endless playback, and 3) Speed, which gives you five different speeds to which you can set the Playbacker. Step 7: Save your FZ sound data to the disk(s). This application also does not allow itself to be saved to another disk without having to copy the entire disk on which the program resides. Wave Synthesizer This optional software immediately jumps to the WAVE SYNTH section on the FZ. I have no documentation for this program and have no idea what it does. The program can copy itself to another disk by pressing DISPLAY, followed by 1-7-4-9. You will the get a prompt asking you if you want to save the program. You can then insert a disk and press YES.