The MA-7 is a complete, "mini" music production studio for ringtones. It contains a programmable MIDI Sampler & FM hybrid synth, supports 16 PCM audio tracks and has a humanoid voice generator. In addition, FX such as reverb and chorus, together with interpolating 3D spatial positioning, can be applied to all tracks. In order to speed up your production flow, libraries, containing synth voices, audio chunks, humanoid voice synth scripts, effects patches and 3D patches can be saved separately and loaded into projects as needed - improving transfer of data between projects and allowing you easy access to all of your support programming.

In this series of articles, we will take an all-around look at the whole MA-7 studio, and in particular, discuss....

a) using the 3D positioning algorithms
b) using the DSP FX
c) the enhancements to the PCM synth engine
d) the enhancements to the FM synth engine

...let's start with the brand new stuff - the 3D positioning!

Our sense of the position that any source of sound occupies in space is not only given by its relative volume in a pair of left and right speakers. In fact, even a mono signal can be modified in such a way that we can be fooled into thinking it is coming from the left or right or even up or down (though this is a more subtle effect). What is perhaps more important in the world of ringtones, is that the perceived "width" of the sound field, that is the space occupied by all the sounds in it, can be far greater than the physical width between the loudspeakers.

The spatialization algorithms built into the MA-7 make use of this pyschoacoustic technology to apply such spatial effects to single mono sound sources, giving a new width and real-life ambience to the electronically generated music. The concept is quite simple and there are three levels of control to consider when we think about 3D Spatialization - the 3D track allocation, patterns and events.

3D Track Allocation:
This governs how each music track is affected by the 3D algorithms. There can be up to 4 independent tracks of 3D events, or 3D "patterns". Each one is identified by its ID number 0~3. Any of the 16 MIDI tracks or 16 Audio tracks can be assigned to any one of the 3D patterns. This following window is displayed by double clicking the orange tab which appears at the head of the Master Track whenever 3D events are added.

3D Patterns:
This is the apparent motion through space - left, right, front, back and even up and down - that a sound can take as the music progresses. A pattern is made by creating a series of points, or "spatial events". The 3D algorithm interpolates from one point to the next, so a sound will move smoothly along its pattern. The pattern themselves can comprise of complex spatial movements or be simple stationary positions. Remember there can be up to 4 patterns, each with its own ID#, in any music project contents file.

The pattern shown in the picture above describes a circle around the listener, at a perceived distance of one meter.

3D Events:
These are the specific points in space that describe the position of a sound at a particular time, and is linked to a certain time, measure/beat/tick, in the music. So for example an event or point, will have left<>right, back<>front and up<>down coordinates along with a specific measure/beat/tick position in time.

You will soon find your own way for using the unique 3D processor in your MA-7 Ringtones to add a unique depth and width to the soundfield. In the meantime, here are some hints and tips on using 3D effects that will help smooth out the learning process.

Data Size: Lets start with a familiar reminder - in the world of ringtones it is usually necessary to keep an eye on limitations of data size and data rates. 3D effects, use a considerable amount of calculation "under the hood", and you may find that the use of too much spatialization will cause the data rate limit of the SMAF file to be too great. If this is the case, the MD[B/s] box will flash - removing one track of spatialization will probably be enough to reduce the data rate to an acceptable level.

Keep it simple: Don't use too many events on your spatialization patterns. As you can see from the "dopplar" example, the interpolation between events is very effective and smooth. Use extra event points to keep the pattern on track and in time with the music.

Effects on Timbre: You may notice that using 3D changes the tone of instruments. This is normal, as changing tone is a natural characteristic of moving sound sources. However, if you are using 3D to maintain a static position then the change of tone and volume may be noticeable and you may want to make adjustments in the voice program.

Managing the patterns: The best view to keep a track of all your 3D events is obtained by right-clicking on the master Track and selecting "Edit 3D events". You can then use the ID filter to show specific patterns.

Storing and re-using your own patterns: When you begin to use 3D effects, you will probably start by pasting in a 3D pattern from the library, then adjusting the events in the contents window track page to fit more precisely with your music. If you do change the position and edit individual events in a pattern, be sure to save the file. This file can then be re-imported into your library and pasted again into the contents track page. Here is a method that you may find useful for repeating the same pattern - for example you might want a circular movement to repeat every 3 measures throughout the piece...

1. Paste in a pattern from the 3D library
2. Use the graphic display to adjust events to the music across the correct number of measures
3. Open up the 3D event editor (right-click anywhere in the master track)
4. Save the event list (pattern) as a .csv file
5. Import the .csv file into the library
6. Now you can re-paste your adjusted pattern easily throughout the music