PSPSeq 2.11
pspseq@dspmusic.org
http://www.dspmusic.org/psp
http://groups.google.com/group/pspseq
(c) ethan bordeaux 2004-2008

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(0)  Introduction

Thanks for downloading PSPSeq!  PSPSeq is a powerful sequencer and synthesizer
for writing music on the Sony PSP handheld system.  The main documentation is
PSPSeq.rtf and should be used as the full reference for the program.  However,
I wanted to provide a quick start guide for PSPSeq because I know not everyone
wants to pour through 40+ pages of documentation, to write a make some loops.  I
strongly encourage that once you get started with PSPSeq (and before you email
me with any questions or feature requests) that you read the full documentation
as there is a lot of additional information and tips contained in there.

(1) Installing PSPSeq

PSPSeq is homebrew software; because of this to run this program you must follow
very specific steps which change depending on the firmware revision on your PSP.
To find your firmware revision, go the Cross Media Bar (XMB) and select System
Settings->System Information.  The System Software version is the firmware
revision.

There are a number of online guides which detail the steps required to run
homebrew.  Because firmware compatibility is always changing, it is recommended
that one tied to a popular online forum is used as a reference.  One good
resource is this post at qj.net:

http://forums.qj.net/f-psp-homebrew-and-hacks-help-21/t-ultimate-homebrew-guide-faq-v214-updated-jan-30-07-76940.html

To run PSPSeq on a 1.0 or 1.5 firmware system, copy the appropriate
subdirectories to the Memory Stick (generally speaking this directory is
ms0:\PSP\GAME\PSPSEQ211).  To run PSPSeq on the latest custom firmware, the best
method is to use the eLoader created and supported by noobz.eu.  Information on
this tool can be found here:

http://www.noobz.eu/joomla/news/eloader-v1.000.html

The firmware update and compatibility landscape is constantly changing.  In
general PSPSeq is a well-behaved program; therefore it should be compatible with
new methods developed to run unsigned code.  If you are having trouble getting
PSPSeq to run on your firmware revision, visit the PSPSeq forums at
http://groups.google.com/group/pspseq or contact me at pspseq@dspmusic.org and I
will do what I can to help.

PSPSeq is a part of the Installotron project started by Fanjita.  This is an
attempt to create a generic installing environment for PSP homebrew and is a
great piece of homebrew in its own right.  It can be found at:

http://psp-homebrew.eu/

PSPSeq saves all sequence files (.SEQ) in a .\SEQ subdirectory and (in its
default configuration) all of its .WAV files (both inputs and outputs) in a
.\WAV directory under the install location of PSPSeq.  The synthesizer
initialization file CUSTOM.PSI is placed in the same directory as the PBP
executable.  If any of these directories or files are not available, the
corresponding functionality will also not be avaialble.

(2) Using PSPSeq

When PSPSeq is loaded, it is in Stepedit Mode; this allows you to trigger notes
(hits) on each track and configure some parameters.  The current selected step
is highlighted in red; all other steps are green.  To move to a specific
step/track, move the D-pad or A-pad.  To trigger a note at a particular step,
hold the X button.  One unique feature of PSPSeq is that each hit is
"probabilistically" triggered; this means that rather than always triggering a
note at a particular step it is possible to set a probability that a note will
trigger at a particular step.  This is represented by the "TRIG" value in the
upper right hand side of the screen.  If TRIG is 0, the note will never trigger,
if it is 50, there is a 50% chance it will retrigger, and if it is 100 the note
will always retrigger.  Setting the probability is done by holding the X button
and moving the A-pad up or down.  To set a volume for a particular hit, hold the
X button and move the A-pad or D-pad left or right to decrease or increase the
volume.  The volume is visible next to "VOL" on the upper right hand side of the
screen.

Instant setting of TRIG and VOL to 0 is possible by pressing X and the
L-trigger simultaneously, and instant setting of TRIG and VOL to 100 and 50 is
possible by pressing X and the R-trigger simultaneously.

To modify the overall volume and pan on a track, press the O button and move
the A-pad or D-pad left or right (for left and right pan) and up or down (to
increase and decrease track volume).  These parameters are next to "PAN" and
"TVOL" in the upper right hand side of the screen.

To mute a track, press the square button.  To mute all but the selected track,
press square and L-trigger, and to unmute all tracks press square and the
R-trigger.

To modify 2 different synthesis parameters, hold the triangle button.  There are
a number of button combinations for modifying the rate at which parameters are
modified.  They are as follows:

    A-pad up/down or left/right:                fast modify
    A-pad up/down or left/right + L-trigger:    slow modify
    A-pad up/down or left/right + R-trigger:    fastest modify
    D-pad up/down or left/right + L-trigger:    slowest modify, discrete steps
    A-pad up/down or left/right + R-trigger:    fast modify, discrete steps

Additional synthesis parameters are available via the menuing system.

To swap loops (for composing a song consisting of many loops) press the
L-trigger or R-trigger.  The current loop is next to "LP" at the lower left
hand side of the screen.  PSPSeq supports up to 100 unique loops per song.

To access the transport to start/stop the sequencer, enable loop vs song mode,
set the beats per minute (BPM) and global volume, press the SELECT button.
Parameters are modified by pressing the D-pad up/down and in the BPM and volume
cases, the A-pad or D-pad up/down.

To access the menu system, press the START button.  Please note that menus are
only available if in LOOP mode or if the sequencer is halted.  Pressing START
while in SONG mode and the sequencer is playing will bring up the visualization
screen (to exit visualizations press O).

In general, the D-pad is used to move between menu items, pressing the D-pad
right or pressing X selects a menu option, pressing the D-pad left or pressing
O goes back one menu level (and exits the menu system when at the top level).
The menu system contains the following general capabilities:

  SYSTEM    new, load, save, save as, record, visualize, display, about, help,
            exit
  TEMPO     BPM, tap tempo, swing, swing steps, seqlen
  TRACK     copy trig, copy track, copy gen/fx/env/freq, clear track, shift
            track, fill track
  LOOP      copy track to loop, copy loop, copy track to all loops, clear loop
  SONG      sequence
  CONFIG    freqmode, stereoize, humanize, loop jump, record location
  SYNTH     edit synth, add synth, del synth

For more detailed information, refer to PSPSeq.pdf.  PSPSeq also includes a 
quick reference sheet for commands called PSPSeq Quick Reference.pdf.

Good luck!

(3) Revision History

Features Added to 2.11                                          Mar-01-08

- VOL used on non-triggered hits
- copy/paste of step parameters also copies TRIG/VOL values
- using L/R trigger with D-pad in WAV synth steps through parameters in a more
  logical manner (L-trig+D-pad goes up/down 1/512 and R-trig+D-pad goes up/down
  1/32).
- fixed bug where writing to memory stick fails if >2GB memory available.  the
  maximum value is now 4GB.
- pressing SELECT starts on PLAY/STOP rather than LOOP/SONG for faster starting
  and stopping of the step sequencer.
- WAV properly loads 8-bit samples.
- little optimizations to envelopes and writing to the screen

Features Added to 2.10                                          Apr-15-07

- interpolate GEN/FX/ENV parameters
- copy/paste synth data in a step from Stepedit Mode
- copy gen, copy fx, copy env, copy freq between tracks
- trackshift, move all params in one direction or another
- instant delete and TRIG/VOL override setting in Stepedit Mode
- solo/unmute all tracks
- copy track to all loops
- configurable record WAV output to ms0:/PSP/MUSIC
- new visualization modes and controls
- display of battery life, time, memory available
- memory optimizations and bug fixes to WAV playback
- small optimizations and bugfixes

Features Added to 2.01                                          Feb-25-07

- fixed bug in Stepedit Mode which occasionally caused the sequencer to enter
  Transport Mode.  this may have also fixed a redraw bug in the sequencer.
- updated weighting of instruments to try to avoid processor overloading.

Features Added to 2.00                                          Feb-08-07

- visualization
- frequency tracking in SVFFX
- 2 FM synthesizers, single oscillator 2-op and dual oscilaltor 2-op
- WAV file playback synthesis
- square wave synthesizer with configurable pulse width
- WAV recording of songs and loops
- waveshaper FX
- square resets parameters to default value in synthesizer
- more wavetable options
- improved noise generator
- add/remove instruments
- only put FX on menu when FX exists
- menu/sequencer trigger bug fixes
- more A-pad and D-pad controls on parameters
- fix tap tempo bug which halted the sequencer
- help menus within PSPSeq
- internal processing optimizations
- remove parameter data for untriggered steps

Features Added to 1.01                                          Oct-25-06

- fixed 3 bugs in 1.00 related setting FREQMODE, loading custom presets and
  the menu system.

Features Added to 1.00                                          Oct-22-06

- fully editable parameters on instruments
- customizable instrument groupings
- multiple loops/song sequencing for writing entire songs
- tap tempo
- improvements and optimizations to many of the generators and fx, along with
  new instruments
- configurable loop length
- proper swing handling

Features Added to 0.20                                          May-07-06

- partially editable parameters on instruments
- better BPM handling + swing
- clear/copy tracks
- absolute and 12 tone frequency handling
- new instruments
- 64 step sequencer
- documentation!

Features Added to 0.10                                          Feb-24-06

- file save and load
- track mute
- volume control for each track
- sequencer start/stop
- optimizations to allow for more concurrent audio tracks

Features Added to 0.00                                          Jan-29-06

- initial release!